Mansfield Report: January 2025

Greetings from Port Mansfield! Here’s to wishing everyone a Happy New Year. This is the perfect time to reflect on all the blessings 2024 provided and also what 2025 might have to offer. Aside from whatever you personally have to be thankful for entering the New Year, let’s reflect for a moment upon what we should all be thankful for from the fishing perspective.  

2024 brought us a most welcome and proactive speckled trout management plan from Texas Parks and Wildlife―a plan that included public input, scientifically sound population survey and harvest data, recognized the current state of the fishery, and insures future sustainability―all while providing enhanced opportunity for anglers seeking trophy-class fish. You might even go so far as to include the potential for a new state record. Mother Nature was kind during 2024 and we experienced no significantly negative environmental issues so, all things considered, I would say it was a very good year.

Moving on to recent observations from the water… As one might imagine, things have shaped up nicely for what I believe could be an epic trophy trout season. We have already seen the signs and have already reaped rewards by landing some very solid fish closing in on the coveted thirty-inch mark, some pushing slightly more than eight pounds. I know what January can produce here in the Lower Laguna and am excited about it. I am hopeful of putting my anglers in the right place at the right time anytime between now and April.

Our water levels have receded some, and after hoping this would happen there was a period shortly after it did that I wished it hadn’t…and here’s why. When the water level was super high, I was able to locate some monster trout in areas where my boat would not float with normal tide levels and, truth be told, those fish were pretty easy to catch. This pattern held steady for several weeks. I figured that once the water fell out I would find them even more concentrated nearby, just out a bit deeper. Well, once the water fell out, I was probing in the likely areas, but those trout had other ideas and moved farther than I had guessed they might. It took me a while to figure it out but I stuck with the mission and found them. I was also able to garner a nugget of information for future use. I actually also believe the water temperature had something to do with my discovery as it also dropped some during that timeframe.

When we were “on” this pattern, believe it not, most of our fish were caught on plastics. Which came as somewhat of a surprise as I truly believed suspending twitchbaits would have been the better ticket. While we did manage to attract some topwater strikes, the old KWigglers Ball Tail Shad in Bone Diamond was the clear winner. I will keep that in mind for similar events in the future.  

As we plug along this trophy trout season, I would expect (and hope) water temperatures will remain cool―in the 58- to 65-degree range―coupled with low ceilings cover and winds mostly between 8-15 mph, from either south/southeast or north/northeast direction. And, while we’re at it, let’s also hope that floating grass will not be an everyday issue. Should we get lucky and actually receive these or similar conditions, you can bet I will be slow-walking a Mansfield Knocker, just as I was last January when I caught that impressive 11pounder. Other lure choices are sure to include the KWigglers Darter and Wig-A-Lo tied to my FTU Gen II Green Rods.  

I would also like to touch briefly on those not-so-pretty days we must also endure this time of year; the days of gusty northers pushing 25 mph and bone-chilling temperatures. During these times I like to discuss the realities of the situation with my clients, which more or less boil down to managing expectations as we make that difficult “go or no-go” decision.

Believe it or not, even with an obviously daunting weather forecast, some folks struggle a little bit in this department. Maybe it’s because Port Mansfield has such a great reputation for producing big trout on a regular basis. We have all been out there when we probably should not have been, however, every day is different and each should be analyzed accordingly. My best advise is to trust your guide and exercise your best common sense.

Again, I wish everyone a Happy New Year and hope it brings you happiness and great fishing.  

Remember, fresh is better than frozen. -Capt. Wayne Davis