Hooked Up: October 2024

Putting another summer in the rearview mirror is always a highlight for me as it marks the beginning of everything I love most in the outdoors; bigger trout, shotguns, bird dogs, archery hunting, and much time with cherished friends.

As I started seeing pintails appearing regularly in September, the first signs of the annual mullet spawning migration was also beginning to take form. This migration will continue to develop through October and well into November as the primary food source of the Upper Laguna and Baffin’s gamefish populations travels the ICW north toward the Port Aransas jetties, and south through the Land Cut toward Port Mansfield’s East Cut. Spoil island shorelines typically become hotspots of angling opportunity as this is happening. There will be many other options along adjacent flats and drop-offs along the migration route, and anglers will be well served to check any structure that is holding rafts of mullet at this time.

There is an old saying in the restaurant business that, “the eye eats first.” Same deal when assessing a good looking spot to begin a wade. Finding fish is not something that only guides do on a daily basis, anyone who pays attention to their surroundings and observes all the signs is qualified to be successful in this game. A trout is a simple creature; it is wired to eat for survival, recreate itself during spawning season, and seek safe havens in which to rest. The eating part is the one we, as anglers, can count on. Fortunately, we can actually see this taking place in the form of surface bait activity before we ever step out of the boat.

This time of year, especially, it could not be any easier to locate trout via eyesight to take much of the guesswork out of the equation. Anyone who fishes with me will vouch that we are not getting out of the boat unless what is presented on the menu is first appealing to the eye. If there is nothing present for the trout to eat, how can we expect to find a consistent bite?

No bait activity in an area should be viewed the same as a “closed” sign hanging on the door of a restaurant. Hopefully y’all get my point, because this time of year, on most spoil islands, there will be what appears as a line of food vending trucks from the trout’s point of view. If you can see that your chosen area has anything short of this you would be well advised to hop over to another spoil island until you find it. Nothing for a trout to eat means no bites for you. Quoting my dear friend Jay Watkins, “Fish smarter, not harder.”

When it comes to testing the temperament and feeding attitude of the trout during this migration, my go-to money maker is the 5” rattail Bass Assassin. There have been hundreds of knockoffs of this particular lure, but it will always be the “OG” in big trout soft plastics and the king of color pattern options. If you are serious about consistent hookups on big trout and a lure that has a legit track record at catching them, you would be well advised to have your wade box stuffed with them. There is literally a color pattern for every water and light condition you might encounter. Currently, I’m loving the Slammin’ Shad, which is a pearl base color with a lot of gold flake.

As much as the Bass Assassin will trick many trout during the mullet migration, another highly-favored option to cast amidst all the bait activity is the MirrOlure She Dog. Long casts, big surface reflections, and the knocking sound of a large ball bearing in an empty soup can makes this lure shine above any other topwater offering. The She Dog is especially effective on these fall days of somewhat murky water created by north wind and heavy surface chop.

Regardless of what you use to catch them, natural bait or lures, remember the new regulations and release them healthy to reproduce again. I honestly believe we are on the verge of seeing the return of our old fishery that many of today’s anglers never had the opportunity to witness. Three and a half years of heightened conservation ethic since the devastating 2021freeze and we are already seeing a huge difference in our trout fishery. Hold on tight, it’s going to be a fun ride.

Remember the buffalo! Capt. David Rowsey