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Baffin Bay's Defining Features
Trophy trout enthusiasts fervently celebrate the legend of Baffin and its satellite bays. Across our nation and beyond, this unique hypersaline lagoon system has earned a reputation for producing giant speckled trout. In these waters, anglers sometimes catch multiple specimens weighing over eight pounds, and twelve-plus pounders occasionally come to hand.
According to biologists, the relatively constant salinity level of its waters most significantly influences Baffin's prolific production of big trout. The salt levels in Baffin almost always read higher than those in the open ocean, but hypersalinity in and of itself does not promote the production of big trout. A consistent salinity level does contribute to the growth potential of Baffin's resident fish by reducing the number of times the fish must adjust their swim bladders in response to changing conditions.
Every time heavy rains fill our rivers, freshwater flows into the bays they feed, causing salinity levels to temporarily drop. In response, resident fish react to the change in salinity (and consequently the change in the density of the water) by adjusting their swim bladders. The adjustment uses energy, which can't translate into growth. Over the lifetime of the fish, this need for regulation of the swim bladder reduces growth potential in trout living in bays fed by large rivers. No such waterways flow into Baffin Bay.
Other factors probably contribute to Baffin's ability to produce ample numbers of trout measuring thirty inches or more. Water quality issues in parts of the bay make catching fish difficult much of the time. Some of those areas lie far from the nearest boat ramp, reducing the number of people fishing them on a daily basis. Less fishing pressure and less-effective fishing pressure combine to give more trout the opportunity to reach maximum size. Most likely, Baffin and surrounding areas of the Laguna Madre hold significant schools of magnum specks for all these reasons.
Simply pointing the bow of a boat toward these prolific waters will not guarantee success, however. Catching Baffin's big trout on a consistent basis requires anglers to possess knowledge and skills related to fishing the three major defining features which make this lagoon unique: serpulid rock formations, offshore sand bars and the alluvial fans associated with tidal flats.
The remains of colonies of an extinct species of marine worms fossilized to form Baffin's rocks. Some of the boulders protrude well off the bottom, becoming exposed on low tides, while other "bottom huggers" barely extend above the sand, mud or grass surrounding them. The biggest cover more area than the average center console boat, but some span just a few feet in diameter.
Fishing around serpulid rocks produces quality catches for several reasons. For one thing, the rocks create anomalies on the bottom of the bay. Any distinctive feature on the bottom will occasionally attract fish. Areas in a bay which have a variety of types of bottom cover produce better than areas with a homogenous bottom.
Additionally, the boulders serve as a starting point for the food chain. Microorganisms grow on the hard, uneven surfaces of the fossils, attracting small fish and other creatures, which in turn garner the attention of larger, predatory fish like speckled trout.
Some of the fossils serve as platforms which forage species can use to "hide" from predators. When hungry trout begin harassing mullet, the panicked potential prey often gather in tight packs, crowding into the shallow waters covering the tops of rocks in a riffling "sheet." Catching trout by casting around the edges of the schools of mullet often becomes somewhat easy in such a situation. This scenario most commonly develops during the warm half of the year.
During colder months, fishing around the crusty fossils is a less-exact science. In winter, anglers often catch trout on muddy, grassy flats which contain serpulid rocks, but the trout and their prey don't usually relate to the boulders themselves. Depth plays a more critical role. Determining the precise depth preferred by the trout and making lots of casts around potholes and grass edges usually produces better than throwing at rocks. In all seasons, rocky flats generally hold some of Baffin's big trout.
As do Baffin's unique, offshore sand bars, which come in two basic types. Along both the south and north shorelines of the bay, basically parallel to land, stretch long, offshore sand bars with narrow, shallow spines. The most famous of these, the Tide Gauge Bar, extends from the shoreline just north of the west end of Cathead all the way to the rock formation lying off East Kleberg Point.
On the "outsides" (open-bay sides) of bars like these, moguls form, much like those found along Gulf beaches. These alternating guts and bars generally have hard, sandy bottoms covered with grass beds, which grow thicker in some stretches than others. On the "insides" (shoreline sides) of the spines of these bars lie guts, which usually have barren, muddy bottoms.
Extending from the edge of the inside gut to the shoreline, grass beds form in the shallows, creating a pothole-covered flat between the bar and the bank. All these features hold trout, redfish and other predators at times. In general, I find better fishing on the bars themselves in warm months, during the same time-frame when fishing around specific rocks works well. The inside gut and the flats lying between the bars and the shorelines generally produce better during cooler weather.
A second type of offshore sand bar system adorns Alazan Bay. Three large sand bars lie in the interiors of the coves and pockets in this shallow back bay's eastern half. Under about two to two and a half feet of water, grass usually grows atop the crowns of these bars. Waters approximately a foot to fifteen inches deeper surround the "humps." Especially during moderate-weather months, fishing around the grass beds growing on these sand bars can produce monster trout.
Other Texas bays have no sand bar systems like these, so catching fish on and around them requires specialized techniques and strategies. Fishing the alluvial fans associated with Baffin's tidal flats does not. Fringing the entire Laguna Madre, these shallow, sandy areas become alternately inundated by salty water, then left high and dry, as winds drive tide levels up and down.
Over time, water moving onto and off of the tidal flats washes sand into deeper areas adjacent to their mouths, forming alluvial fans, triangular-shaped sandy areas within the predominantly grassy flats. As with serpulid rocks and offshore bars, these anomalies attract both prey and predator species. When tides are high, mullet, other small fish and crustaceans venture into the shallows of the tidal lakes. When tides fall out, these creatures retreat back onto the main-bay flats, where hungry predators often wait.
This movement, like the transfer of sand from the lakes to the flats, has been going on for centuries, in effect programming Baffin's predator species to take advantage of the feeding opportunities. Monster trout instinctively know where to go when looking for a meal. They respond to seasonal and weather changes predictably, just as migrating birds know where to stop for food and drink along their well-established routes.
Fishing the sandy pockets in the grass beds fronting the entrances to tidal lakes produces plenty of big trout in Baffin, particularly when warm water flows out of the lakes onto cooler main-bay flats. One of the best sessions I ever experienced played out in such a situation.
Up and down the shorelines of the Laguna Madre, particularly along its western side, alluvial fans fronting tidal flats exist. The other features which make Baffin Bay unique occur only within the confines of one of the best-known big trout fisheries in the world. Studious anglers who learn to safely navigate among these potentially treacherous features have a chance to experience firsthand why so many trophy trout fanatics hold this bay in such high regard.
According to biologists, the relatively constant salinity level of its waters most significantly influences Baffin's prolific production of big trout. The salt levels in Baffin almost always read higher than those in the open ocean, but hypersalinity in and of itself does not promote the production of big trout. A consistent salinity level does contribute to the growth potential of Baffin's resident fish by reducing the number of times the fish must adjust their swim bladders in response to changing conditions.
Every time heavy rains fill our rivers, freshwater flows into the bays they feed, causing salinity levels to temporarily drop. In response, resident fish react to the change in salinity (and consequently the change in the density of the water) by adjusting their swim bladders. The adjustment uses energy, which can't translate into growth. Over the lifetime of the fish, this need for regulation of the swim bladder reduces growth potential in trout living in bays fed by large rivers. No such waterways flow into Baffin Bay.
Other factors probably contribute to Baffin's ability to produce ample numbers of trout measuring thirty inches or more. Water quality issues in parts of the bay make catching fish difficult much of the time. Some of those areas lie far from the nearest boat ramp, reducing the number of people fishing them on a daily basis. Less fishing pressure and less-effective fishing pressure combine to give more trout the opportunity to reach maximum size. Most likely, Baffin and surrounding areas of the Laguna Madre hold significant schools of magnum specks for all these reasons.
Simply pointing the bow of a boat toward these prolific waters will not guarantee success, however. Catching Baffin's big trout on a consistent basis requires anglers to possess knowledge and skills related to fishing the three major defining features which make this lagoon unique: serpulid rock formations, offshore sand bars and the alluvial fans associated with tidal flats.
The remains of colonies of an extinct species of marine worms fossilized to form Baffin's rocks. Some of the boulders protrude well off the bottom, becoming exposed on low tides, while other "bottom huggers" barely extend above the sand, mud or grass surrounding them. The biggest cover more area than the average center console boat, but some span just a few feet in diameter.
Fishing around serpulid rocks produces quality catches for several reasons. For one thing, the rocks create anomalies on the bottom of the bay. Any distinctive feature on the bottom will occasionally attract fish. Areas in a bay which have a variety of types of bottom cover produce better than areas with a homogenous bottom.
Additionally, the boulders serve as a starting point for the food chain. Microorganisms grow on the hard, uneven surfaces of the fossils, attracting small fish and other creatures, which in turn garner the attention of larger, predatory fish like speckled trout.
Some of the fossils serve as platforms which forage species can use to "hide" from predators. When hungry trout begin harassing mullet, the panicked potential prey often gather in tight packs, crowding into the shallow waters covering the tops of rocks in a riffling "sheet." Catching trout by casting around the edges of the schools of mullet often becomes somewhat easy in such a situation. This scenario most commonly develops during the warm half of the year.
During colder months, fishing around the crusty fossils is a less-exact science. In winter, anglers often catch trout on muddy, grassy flats which contain serpulid rocks, but the trout and their prey don't usually relate to the boulders themselves. Depth plays a more critical role. Determining the precise depth preferred by the trout and making lots of casts around potholes and grass edges usually produces better than throwing at rocks. In all seasons, rocky flats generally hold some of Baffin's big trout.
As do Baffin's unique, offshore sand bars, which come in two basic types. Along both the south and north shorelines of the bay, basically parallel to land, stretch long, offshore sand bars with narrow, shallow spines. The most famous of these, the Tide Gauge Bar, extends from the shoreline just north of the west end of Cathead all the way to the rock formation lying off East Kleberg Point.
On the "outsides" (open-bay sides) of bars like these, moguls form, much like those found along Gulf beaches. These alternating guts and bars generally have hard, sandy bottoms covered with grass beds, which grow thicker in some stretches than others. On the "insides" (shoreline sides) of the spines of these bars lie guts, which usually have barren, muddy bottoms.
Extending from the edge of the inside gut to the shoreline, grass beds form in the shallows, creating a pothole-covered flat between the bar and the bank. All these features hold trout, redfish and other predators at times. In general, I find better fishing on the bars themselves in warm months, during the same time-frame when fishing around specific rocks works well. The inside gut and the flats lying between the bars and the shorelines generally produce better during cooler weather.
A second type of offshore sand bar system adorns Alazan Bay. Three large sand bars lie in the interiors of the coves and pockets in this shallow back bay's eastern half. Under about two to two and a half feet of water, grass usually grows atop the crowns of these bars. Waters approximately a foot to fifteen inches deeper surround the "humps." Especially during moderate-weather months, fishing around the grass beds growing on these sand bars can produce monster trout.
Other Texas bays have no sand bar systems like these, so catching fish on and around them requires specialized techniques and strategies. Fishing the alluvial fans associated with Baffin's tidal flats does not. Fringing the entire Laguna Madre, these shallow, sandy areas become alternately inundated by salty water, then left high and dry, as winds drive tide levels up and down.
Over time, water moving onto and off of the tidal flats washes sand into deeper areas adjacent to their mouths, forming alluvial fans, triangular-shaped sandy areas within the predominantly grassy flats. As with serpulid rocks and offshore bars, these anomalies attract both prey and predator species. When tides are high, mullet, other small fish and crustaceans venture into the shallows of the tidal lakes. When tides fall out, these creatures retreat back onto the main-bay flats, where hungry predators often wait.
This movement, like the transfer of sand from the lakes to the flats, has been going on for centuries, in effect programming Baffin's predator species to take advantage of the feeding opportunities. Monster trout instinctively know where to go when looking for a meal. They respond to seasonal and weather changes predictably, just as migrating birds know where to stop for food and drink along their well-established routes.
Fishing the sandy pockets in the grass beds fronting the entrances to tidal lakes produces plenty of big trout in Baffin, particularly when warm water flows out of the lakes onto cooler main-bay flats. One of the best sessions I ever experienced played out in such a situation.
Up and down the shorelines of the Laguna Madre, particularly along its western side, alluvial fans fronting tidal flats exist. The other features which make Baffin Bay unique occur only within the confines of one of the best-known big trout fisheries in the world. Studious anglers who learn to safely navigate among these potentially treacherous features have a chance to experience firsthand why so many trophy trout fanatics hold this bay in such high regard.