Hump Day!

As we jumped out about thirty minutes before sunrise, I knew we’d be in for a long tough day with no wind and less than two inches of tide over an eight hour period. The fact that the predawn water temperature was already 87°F tested my confidence even more. Knowing the fish were there, I just had to find a lure and retrieval method that would fool them. Even more, not only did I have to do my best to convince my customers that fish were in the area, but also teach them how to trick these finicky late-summer trout. Sounds simple right?

I don’t mind grinding. That’s for sure. However, it seems like we’ve had more days this summer where we had to fish harder to catch less compared to years past. Getting back to this tough bite thing – It took a while but my clients finally got into the groove with the retrieval method that worked best. We had to rig rattail soft plastics on 1/16 ounce jig heads (in this case MirrOlure Provokers and Saltwater Assassins), then cast crosswind and let them flutter down towards the bottom. Then a slow-roll straight retrieve for five or six cranks with the rod tip low before banging on it hard with three or four pop-pop-pops. After the rhythmic pops we had to let it settle back down (essentially dead sticking) and then expect a subtle bite that felt like you were hooking into a wet rag. Count to two then set the hook. It was a bizarre way to work a lure but it worked when no other way would.

One thing I’ve discovered that really helps me capitalize on these mushy late-summer trout bites is using a soft tipped rod with a little extra length. I personally love my custom 6’ 9” Waterloo HP Lite in these situations, especially because I use braided line. The extra few inches (as opposed to a 6’ 6” rod) of the lighter weight and softer tipped blank makes it harder for those finicky trout to feel resistance. The fact that I use about a 5-foot fluorocarbon leader (20 lb. Seaguar Gold) also provides that little bit of stretch. One could argue that using monofilament backing would cause these “soft-mouthed” trout to feel even less resistance. While I agree with this assessment the one disadvantage of using mono could be the anglers’ ability to feel the softer than usual bites. And if you can’t feel them then you can’t catch them. Throw in a little wind and the need to cast crosswind and losing that sensitivity provided by braid becomes even a bigger issue. All of this being said, I know a couple of old salts who still manage to hold their own with monofilament. Especially if you ask them. Hahaha!

As I waded out toward the scattered shell covered drop-off I couldn’t help but think about what lies ahead and how refreshing it will be to be fishing in early fall with milder temperatures while watching teal fly overhead. While September isn’t always the greatest trout month around here, I view it as what folks in the five-day work week world refer to as “hump day.” September is our “hump month” or our Wednesday, if you will, that gets us from summer to fall.

Galveston Bay salinities remained higher this summer than they have been in about a decade. The area of the bay we fished today was hovering around 36-ppt (parts per thousand)! As a result our trout are spread out all over the complex. Back in the day this wouldn’t mean a heck of lot because we had so many fish. However, that’s no longer the case nowadays. It’s been a long hot summer with hundreds of guide boats as well as quite a few recreational anglers putting a pretty good dent in the trout population. There’s a reason why the Texas Parks and Wildlife’s spring gillnet catch rates are always higher than their fall ones. So, with trout-happy salinity levels throughout the entire 600 square mile Galveston Bay Complex, the late summer trout that are still swimming are scattered across larger areas and in much smaller pods. The opposite occurs during excessive fresh water runoff periods such as what occurred during the incredible trout stack ups of 2015 and 2016, and to a much lesser extent the spring/early summer of 2021.

The spread out nature of our fish means we are not seeing as many signs such as slicks that are created by feeding and regurgitating specks. Because of this I have had to focus more on areas that have produced in the past while hoping history repeats itself. Sometimes the trout are there but they’re just not showing themselves. Most of us lure fishermen love to fish with our eyes but often times we’re relegated to fishing structure as opposed to experiencing the thrill of using the senses God gave us. By structure I’m referring to revetment rocks, wells, submerged objects, pier pilings, etc. Whenever there’s active bait (usually mullet or shad) tight to the structure that’s a good sign. We usually find the best success on the down current side.

It may feel like we’re working hard for less pay but what we learn on the tough days will continue to pay dividends down the road. We’ve experienced years of being surrounded by dead giveaways. Now, we’ve had to fine tune our sensory skills to focus on the more subtle trout signs compared to seeing a football field of slicks. We’ve had to lower the bar when it comes to measuring a “good” day versus one that’s not so great. State of the art gear, crazy lure retrieval methods, and videogame-like electronics have kept us in the game. I can’t even begin to imagine trying to be successful these days using the stuff we grew up using!

There have been many little teaching moments (and learning moments for me) on my boat this summer. Some days have been much slower than I like (even with the new bar). But, at least we’ll hopefully be able to put our newly acquired and hard-earned skills to good use once those fall cool fronts start pushing through. Once we get over “Hump Day.”