Hooked Up: January 2024

Happy Holidays to all! I hope this article finds you with a food hangover versus the other kind so often associated with New Year’s celebrations. Thankfully, my only view of those days are reflections in the rearview mirror. It’s a good plan to guarantee more quality days of bow hunting and fishing, and I seem to need even more of these as I get older.

Scoping meetings are coming up this month as final public input on what saltwater sportsmen would like to see in the speckled trout fishery; how it’s managed, and what it’s managed to provide. Recommendations have already been made to the commission and I believe it’s a pretty safe bet that the new bag limits will be three trout per day between 15- and 20-inches. Most serious trout fishermen seem to be in full agreement.

The issue that many of us are concerned with is that, the way things stand right now, one of those fish can be longer than 25 inches. The 25 inch rule is not written in stone, and can hopefully be revised to include NO trout longer than 20 inches until a trophy tag system can be implemented for the new license year beginning September 1, 2024.

From my viewpoint, this is what’s best for the trophy fishery and would insure that we would have minimal loss from any gains we have made since the freeze. This is all common sense stuff… I know, I know, I know, but sometimes things just have a way of complicating themselves when there are too many chefs in the kitchen. My take is just do what is best for the fishery and do it now. We can sacrifice a few summer months of killing to finally right the ship for the future.

Your input has never been more important and I hope all who read this will take the time to attend the scoping meeting closest to you…and recruit friends to do likewise. TPWD wants to hear from all users this month, before the commissioners meet in late January. You can let your voice be heard at the scheduled scoping meetings or via email to Coastal Fisheries at [email protected]. Also, follow the “Hot Topic” link on TPWD website where you can actually get a letter “on the record” to the commissioners.

Trout fishing in Baffin finally started hitting its groove in December, albeit a small groove. A few solid days this fall were mostly trumped by days of grinding for every bite. It wasn’t always easy, but the work paid off to catch some stud trout in 5- to 7-pound range. I’m very confident that January through spring will bring some old school trophies to hand. I’m truly excited about this winter season.

Our biggest issue this fall and winter thus far has been the unusually high water levels – very abnormal this time of year in Baffin. Fat water always seems to scatter the fish. Sometimes shallow, but more often out deep beyond the tops of our Simms waders. And, for another Baffin and Upper Laguna anomaly, whenever shorelines are devoid of bait, look at any drop-off in about five feet of water and it will be stacked, for anglers willing to fish from the boat.

While we have been grinding steadily to catch a few fish where it’s shallow enough to wade, some of the local talent have opted to “run through the Cut” and find a higher-quality bite down Mansfield way. That’s a long run from Corpus, but many do it daily for some better results, of late. Fishing in the Laguna Madre can be cyclical, especially in fall, and this pattern is not uncommon. Time and tails will change that soon enough.

Many of y’all call or text about what lures to bring on a charter. My regular clients are probably disappointed at how lackadaisical I sometimes am about this, but thirty-five years of grinding have taught me to keep it simple and stick with the basics. My wade box will have almost no variation over the next few months. For soft plastic I go with Bass Assassin 5” rattails, floater-diver Double D, a MirrOlure lipped stickbait, and a couple of suspending lures such as Fat Boy or Original Corky Floater. Choose colors based on water quality and clarity; my personal preferences are natural-looking lures without chartreuse tails in clear water, darker shades in low light or stained conditions, and variations of white when the sun is high. Keep it simple!

Remember the buffalo! -Capt David Rowsey