Mansfield Report: December 2023

Greetings from Port Mansfield! Fall finally arrived and we are now looking forward to winter. I am often asked which of the cooler months is the best month to catch “good” fish. My long-standing reply has been that December is tough to beat and my opinion hasn’t wavered. December has earned a well-deserved reputation for opportunity to catch both numbers and quality speckled trout. I say this because they’re equally eager to eat topwaters, suspending baits, and plastics this month. That said, I often lean toward topwaters, mostly for the visual thrill.

I am pleased to report that our Lower Laguna is currently in good shape with great water quality and abundant forage, much of which I attribute to continued strong flows through our East Cut jetties. We have a lot of smaller trout (12”-14”) working over our lures, which is often cited as an excellent sign for the future of the fishery. However, on that topic, I would like to share a recent observation.

On September 1 trout regulations reverted to the former 15” minimum length. Almost immediately I began noticing lots of folks keeping that class of fish. Remarkably, I also noted that it didn’t take long until many began commenting on the numbers of “just under 15-inch trout” being landed. What that tells me is that we rapidly depleted the 15–17-inch class of trout that were protected under the “emergency” regulations and we are now back to working through a lot of small trout in search of 15-inch keepers. While I might be jumping the gun, I see this as evidence that our fishery wasn’t quite ready to revert to the former length regulations. In less than three months we are already back to “sifting dinks” to find keepers, and that is alarming to me. I offer this for whatever it’s worth.

Redfish have been quite abundant overall. We have them all across the flats in mostly knee-deep water. Water temperatures have cooled and there is no doubt the reds have responded favorably. While most of our reds have been running toward the smaller end of the slot their explosive blowups on topwaters still provides plenty of excitement. Trout are also more numerous in shallow water. We are beginning to see a few good ones, up to 25-plus in small “wolfpacks,” which makes it nice because one will often take a lure out of pure competitiveness rather than hunger.

We’re back to wearing waders daily, which equates to “big trout” season, and I have already begun mental preparations for what is in store the next few months. Needless to say my expectations are high for what lies ahead. I’ll be sprinkling in some “good times fishing” while methodically wading the shallows for THE ONE. So, for those of you who have me booked this trophy trout season, I’m ready. I believe this could be the year we will see at least one true double-digit trout; last year our heaviest was 9.75 pounds. For three years we’ve been conserving our trophy class trout and it’s now time to see if we can land her.

It’s not too late to inspect your waders before getting a leaky surprise, but time is running out. I would also like to point out a few new items I will be using this year. First, I’m excited to get into the Simms G3 Guide Wading Pant. This is perfect for my application as I rarely wade more than thigh deep. I’ve worn them a couple of times and they are perfect for shallow water. Next, I’ll be using a new type of wader from Simms, the Confluence Wader, which is made of Toray, an alternative to Gore-Tex. These waders are also good for hunters because they have double-molded neoprene knee pads, perfect for getting in and out of a boat and also kneeling while waterfowl hunting.

It goes without saying I will be tossing Mansfield Knockers when conditions call for topwaters, along with lots of KWigglers when it is time to work em’ over with plastics. In the rod department I’ll rely on my trusty FTU G2 Green Rods in spinning and baitcasting versions, in both Finesse and the Classic models. A Shimano Vanford 2500 and Aldebaran will be my go-to reels.

I had another outstanding trip to Brazil chasing trophy Peacock Bass, Arapaima, and big Tiger Shovelnose catfish. Stay tuned for a full report coming soon in a special write-up in this fine magazine. It should be one heck of a read.

Until next time, remember fresh is better than frozen!