Consider Sight-Fishing

Allow me a moment to introduce myself. I am Captain Nathan Beabout, a Seadrift and Port O’Connor fishing guide on the San Antonio Bay/Espiritu Santo Bay systems since 2007. I grew up on the waters of Rockport chasing reds with my family.  My primary style of fishing is wading with artificials and sight-casting redfish from a 6-foot tower on the bow of my boat. After retiring from duck hunting in 2015, I have spent my winters in Port Mansfield, Texas; chasing big trout with clients in the Lower Laguna Madre.

While I have many stories from over the years of wade fishing, from fish we have caught to things we have seen, I would like to start sharing in this article and future writings, my sight-casting experiences. For me, sight-casting from a tower started over 12 years ago when I began fishing redfish tournaments in the various Texas and Louisiana tournament series. It didn’t take me long to discover this was something I needed to offer clients who didn’t care much for wading. The number one question I get for sight-casting reds is, what is the best time of year? In the fishing world, that is a somewhat loaded question. I believe you can sight-cast successfully almost year-round; all it takes is partly sunny/sunny skies and a wind from basically any direction, so long as it’s less than 12mph. The most predictable months for this style of fishing are May-September here on the Middle Texas Coast. The best times to be sight-casting during the fall through spring months are the days shortly after cold/cool fronts as skies clear and before strong ESE winds return.

Redfish can be found in our backwater marshes, tidal creeks, and shallow ponds year-round, which makes sight-casting here in the Seadrift area so unique. This area of the Middle Texas Coast is home to nearly 40 miles of wind-protected Matagorda Island marsh. In the month of June, two primary patterns can develop. If we are experiencing a normal- to high-rainfall year, our water will stay cool and mostly at normal tide levels. Under such conditions, redfish are more likely to stay in the shallow water ponds and skinny grass flats longer during the day, before retreating to deeper creeks and channels as the water warms. One of my rules of thumb is, (and it’s no secret), the skinnier you chase reds, the smaller the bait you throw. My tackle boxes are loaded down with Down South Lures of every size and color, from Super Models to Burner Shads. I like to throw a 1/4 ounce Owner Cutting Point screw-lock jig head typically every day while sight-casting. This allows the bait to cut through the wind and not be blown too far off course before hitting the water. It also gets the bait down in front of the fish faster, especially if they are cruising quickly. One big key in fishing skinny is to creep slowly or sit for long periods of time, allowing these fish to resume their normal activities and pretty much come to you.

On the other hand, during a drought year, or one of less than normal rainfall, we will typically be stuck under a high atmospheric pressure bubble. These conditions will generally include westerly winds, which tend to drain water out of our bay system. Air and water temperatures will be warmer than normal, and this can quickly change a redfish’s activity and feeding patterns. Given tides typically averaging 1- to 3-feet below normal, the shallow backwater ponds will be reduced to mostly sheet water, and become hot in a hurry. One key for us under conditions like this is to attack areas in or directly adjacent to deeper water, meaning 3- to 12- feet. Timing is essential under these conditions, and even sight-casting, we can be on the water before the sun comes up. Clients often look at me sideways when I tell them we will leave in the pre-dawn hours, and it isn’t until we get set up that they understand why. Usually in that period before the sun peaks out over the morning clouds, you can find reds with their backs out of water or in small pods tailing down the banks. Not long after the sun rises under these low tide conditions, we find ourselves sitting in deep creeks and channels in areas we can see down 3- to 5-feet, waiting for a fish to appear, crawling along the bottom.

So, if wade fishing or leaving a boat to fish isn’t for you, let’s give sight-casting a try together. Scheduling a trip with the right conditions can require a little planning, but being able to pick the exact day will be an experience you won’t soon forget.