Guidelines for Early Fall Fishing

It’s certainly been a long and windy summer. I can’t begin to describe my anticipation of our first cool front. Hopefully by the time this fine publication arrives in your mailbox we will have had several. The wind never really stopped blowing this summer like we’re typically accustomed to. Not only did it blow most days but it seemed all too often from the southwest. Most folks who spend any time on the Texas Coast know that this isn’t always the best wind direction for fishing success. While me and my crews were certainly able to make the best of it I’m more than ready to see some easterly flows.

There’s something about that cool morning air that just rejuvenates us. I’ve always noticed how everyone I talk to on the day of that first cool front is in a chipper mood and has that little extra jump in their step. It’s funny how Mother Nature knows how to reward us with weather changes right when we need them the most. Cooler days on the water means that I probably fish a little harder and stay a bit more focused than I was after fishing for weeks on end under a hot summer sun. It’s not just us who get energized by the magic of fall; the fish we target seem to be more energized as well.

For months our salinity levels have been extremely high throughout the Galveston Bay Complex. This has allowed our trout to spread out over many different areas of the bay, sometimes making them a little more difficult to find. As we ease into fall our trout will once again concentrate similarly to what they do during late spring. As a matter of fact, many of the areas we catch them during April and May will be productive during October. Just as brown shrimp migrate out of bayous, rivers and back bays in the spring, white shrimp do the same thing in the fall. With each passing front shrimp, shad, and other forage species will pump out of these areas. As this happens trout, redfish and flounder will gravitate to these funnel points making them easier to target.

High winds are often associated with passing fronts and they’re generally out of the northeast. This is especially true with the weaker fronts. We typically don’t experience those stronger northwesterly flows until later into the fall and on into winter. While a northeast wind can wreak havoc on most of our summertime fishing areas it actually doesn’t pose much of a problem during October and even on into November because many of the bayou drains and river mouths we target are protected on such wind direction.

Fish will continue to form tighter schools and feed more and more aggressively with each front. The more they feed the more they’ll regurgitate. This will create more slicks which obviously gives us a huge advantage when zeroing in on the schools. Soft plastics are always a safe bet but the topwater bite can be phenomenal this time of year as trout and reds go into frontal-induced feeding frenzies.

MirrOlure Provokers and Saltwater Assassins are our go-to soft plastics while my list of topwater choices includes quite a bit more variation based upon a number of factors. If the water’s surface is calm and I’m casting into concentrations of small shad then my topwater choice will likely be a MirrOlure Top Dog Jr., Super Spook Jr., or a Baby Skitter Walk. Color isn’t as important as size, body profile, and pitch, in my opinion. When there is a slight chop on the surface my favorites are MirrOlure Top Dogs, Rapala Skitter Walks and Super Spook One Knockers. The windy days usually call for louder pitched baits with bigger profiles. There’s no better topwater plug for this scenario than a MirrOlure She Dog. A full-sized Super Spook runs a close second but doesn’t quite offer the resonating deep pitch of that of the She Dog.

I mentioned that color isn’t as important as size and vibration but that doesn’t mean that color should be discounted. Some of the same general rules that apply to choosing the right color soft plastic also can be followed when picking out which topwater to throw. I’ve always lived by the whole contrast (silhouette) concept when making color choices of soft plastics. If the water is murky then I throw darker colors like Red Shad, Texas Roach, and Morning Glory. I’ve tricked many good trout on a solid black Super Spook in muddy water and while wading in the dark. Water with good visibility warrants worm colors like Glow, Chartreuse, and Salt and Pepper. Pink, Bone and Chartreuse topwaters would fit the bill in this case. But water clarity alone isn’t the ultimate determining factor when choosing the right color. For instance, if the water is “trout green” but it’s early morning light or overcast skies, then darker shades work great! All of this being said, Plum seems to be universal.

Whether we’re wading scattered oyster reefs near bayou drains, drifting open water slicks or working birds over migrating white shrimp – it’s very important that we handle the trout we catch and release responsibly. We will catch a lot of undersized (less than 15 inches) trout here in the Galveston Bay Complex this fall. With the freeze-induced emergency size requirements and limits (17-23 inches and 3 per angler) currently in place (until August 31, 2023) from FM 457 in Sargent south all the way to Brownsville, there will be even more throwbacks than usual caught.

Here’s a very simple list of things I highly recommend to greatly increase the survival rate of released trout:

• Crimp barbs down on jig heads.
• Do not bring them into the boat and let them flop around on the deck before releasing.
• Use a Boga Grip or wet hand to grab them. DO NOT USE A TOWEL!
• Wet down your Check-It-Stick or whatever measuring device you’re using before placing a fish on it.
• If you have a photo-worthy trout leave it in the water preferably using a Boga Grip. Gently swim the trout forward in a figure eight or circular motion to keep water moving through its gills until you’re ready to lift it for a couple of quick photos.
• Avoid stringing trout you plan to release.
• If you’re wading or drifting an area that’s producing predominantly undersized trout, leaving the area to find larger fish may be necessary.

I have to say that I was pleased with one thing in particular I witnessed all summer with the trout we caught here in Galveston Bay. Salinity levels and an abundance of forage (mainly shad from what I could tell) have kept our trout’s roe sacks continuously full. Six months (April through September) of prolific spawning will bode well for our future. In addition, many of the guides and recreational anglers from Galveston to Port Isabel have been practicing 100-percent catch and release since the February 2021 freeze. Some were actually doing it long before the freeze. It will take some time but I believe several pieces are currently in place to improve our trout fishery. I also believe there will always be more work to be done. In the meantime, come on cooler weather and get ready for some fall fishing!