Continuously Learning and Adapting

Boy, this past month has been a hot one. Water temperatures are running 87-88° at this writing, driven daily by mid- to upper-90° daytime air temperatures. Tides are low and winds are light, so there is not much water movement apart from the relatively weak tides. As is always the case, I am focused daily on areas with an abundance of bait present over the primary structure available in the areas I am fishing.

During summer’s dog days and into early fall, I move from Corpus Christi Bay to Aransas, Copano, St. Charles, Mesquite, and the southern portions of San Antonio Bay. I don’t mind burning gas and have always felt that I needed to be constantly searching for the next hot area. Over the past three years, due to the February ‘21 freeze, I have stayed longer in the Corpus and Aransas Bay areas than normal. My job as a guide is to place people in the best areas I can for the conditions of the day they have chosen to fish with me. I felt many times that I was truly beating the fish up in some areas more than I should, even though we have been releasing all our trout since that freeze.

I have always been of the mindset that I need at least a half-dozen areas known to be holding fish. Now, you know this cannot always be the case, none-the-less it is something I’ve always strived for to provide the best opportunity for my clients. I run tracks each morning in the bays I am fishing, searching for any signs of fish activity. I don’t always stop where I see the right stuff, but I always make a mental note. By doing this one increases the range of possibilities for the day, or a day later down the line.

Just this week I noticed a new area of bait activity and slicking I had been running past without seeing these telltale signs. After the third day I decided to start there on the fourth day. For the record, I had not seen anybody fishing there, which made it all the more attractive. I am often confused as to why fishermen would run past such signs; and you’re probably thinking, “But Jay, you did it three days in a row.” True, but I was saving it for a day when some of my other areas didn’t produce.

Back in the day, when we were killing every legal fish, I would notice the numbers in an area declining after fishing it several days. It was simple, at least to me; the fish we’d been taking were no longer there. Imagine, four anglers and a guide, all keeping limits, that were very liberal in those days ― 20 trout and 10 redfish per day. It was not uncommon to take 100-plus fish a day off a shoreline or mid-bay reef.

I notice today that areas that receive lots of pressure will quickly show signs of fewer slot-sized fish. Hence, the strategy of having a half-dozen good places and fishing them on a rotating basis. This allows the area to reload and, in a catch and release situation, gives the fish time to heal or whatever they need to do to be willing to eat a lure again. Which might pose a good question for the folks over at Harte Institute―Do fish have the ability to learn from their mistakes?

Years ago there was talk that bass, especially Florida-strain bass, could become educated to avoid certain colors and styles of lures in some of the heavily-fished lakes. While this was never proven scientifically, if indeed it is true, then I certainly believe saltwater species could become similarly educated. I would like to think that fish can learn and adapt. We, as anglers, must therefore continue to be open to learning in order to be better at catching them.

I had a discussion with my boys a while back about older anglers becoming stuck in a rut with their fishing. Both agreed that the fishery is under constant change due to new technology being introduced every day, and both expressed amazement at the changes I have witnessed over the past 50 years. They both agreed that the refusal to adapt and change would most probably lead to getting your teeth kicked on a regular basis. If you follow me on social media (official_jaywatkinssrfishing) you will see that I am surrounding myself with young anglers and guides that are inspiring me to continue to be open to learning. The most attractive aspect of fishing to me are the challenges we are faced with in highly-pressured fisheries. Remember this, the bays are open to the public on a 24/7/365 basis. Pressure is intense and the fish are continuously adapting.

Speaking of adapting, last week we had terribly hot conditions that warranted leaving the dock in the dark and fishing in the dark prior to sunrise. The tide was low and the wind was dead-calm. The pre-dawn surface water temp was upper-80s and rose to 90-plus by midday. Often, when faced with these conditions, I like to try and to shock the fish into eating. What I mean by this is using shockingly bright lures with some type of rattle.

Now, as many of you know, I’m not much of a topwater guy. I prefer lures I can work just below the surface with similar action and rattle as some of the smaller topwaters. I want the fish to be attracted to the lure, but not have to fully commit to coming to the surface to eat it. So, my choice for the conditions described is usually the Texas Customs Double D in Chartreuse-Gold-Chartreuse or Hot Pink-Gold-Pink. These lures are so bright that one would think it would just be too much―but it works. For the record, this has been a proven pattern all the way back to the days of the Cordell Broken Back.

I like concentrating on areas with smaller amounts of structure during times when a seasonal weather influence might create shorter feeding periods. It is an application of the Aim Small Miss Small concept you’ve likely heard me mention in the past. My confidence grows when I have several such structural features within a generally small area that I can address in a short amount of time during optimal feeding periods. See, it is all about getting the lure in front of as many targets as possible during a very limited time frame. Once this pattern is established, we can return to these areas later in the day, knowing and believing that fish are living close by and generate enough bites to finish out the day. It has always been important to me to finish our day with bites.

Something David Rowsey taught me many years ago was to avoid actually walking through these small areas of structure if planning on returning later in the day. Once you blow them out of the area there’s a strong possibility they might not return that day. It was one of the best things David ever taught me and I have not forgotten it.

Another thing I have always done is look for areas along shorelines and spoils that I seldom see other anglers fishing. Understand that the correct bottom structure must be in place and there also needs to be some food available. Last winter in Port Mansfield I found an area that looked promising but never saw other anglers fishing it, despite having seen bait present several times. On a foggy morning, I parked the boat on the shoreline and we eased offshore towards the area that I had been observing. In less than forty-five minutes we released a trout that weighed over eight pounds and another over seven, not counting one we missed that completely taco’ed a Custom Corky. I never went there again that year; maybe I’ll return next year in the fog.

My go-to lures this past month have been the MirrOlure Lil John and Lil John XL, along with the Texas Customs Double Ds. I never get out of the boat without these two types of lures, no matter the season. Not every day do I see both types work equally, but both types present the opportunity to keep them in front of more fish more of the time, based on their design and function.

If I had to pick my top soft plastic colors they would probably be Plum-Blue Glitter, Watermelon-Red Glitter, Golden Bream, Molting, Opening Night, Bone-Silver and Pistachio-Cajun Croaker.

The Texas Customs Double D comes in all the Custom Corky colors, and all are great under the proper water and sunlight conditions. Personally, I almost always carry several of the following: Plum Nasty, Truth, Pearl Harbor, Bay Mistress, Pinky, Grey Ghost, and my all-time favorite―Crown Royal. In dirty water, Gringo, Black Copper Dog, Double Bubble and Toxic Tide are excellent choices. Remember, Double Bubble and Toxic Tide are also excellent clear-water colors.

I am huge fan of the Texas Customs Jigheads, I believe they are truly the best on the market. I use the 1/16-ounce about 99% of the time but I probably need to start incorporating some heavier versions at times. Some of the younger anglers in the business are educating me on this aspect of the deeper water game. Mickey Eastman once told me that I could melt all my jigheads together and not have one heavy enough to fish the slicks in Trinity Bay. What great teachers I have had over my career. Looking forward to the young guns out there to educate me as I continue this journey. Thanks for reading and hope to see some of you on the boat or around the docks.

May Your Fishing Always Be Catching -Guide Jay Watkins