Mansfield Report: March 2024

Greetings from Port Mansfield! What a whirlwind tour we have been on lately; everything from extreme wintry weather to trout regulation changes, and everything in between. Everyone already knows the trout limits are changing for the better, and this can only mean that our trout fishery will continue to thrive, barring no further shenanigans from Mother Nature. I am hoping that we are now in a place of sustainability, at least for the foreseeable future. Within a few years our big trout population should increase steadily, all the while being able to keep a few for dinner occasionally without negatively impacting the fishery.

This winter is proving itself to be yet another great season in the Lower Laguna Madre. The more I fish the more I understand trout fishing. Sure, it can be a struggle at times, and on those days I tell myself I should have zigged instead of zagged, but I do my best to deliver an experience my clients can enjoy.

During tough days I find opportunities that do not always involve catching, such as talking with clients about high atmospheric pressure and trying to explain how it affects fish, and then trying to figure out ways to get them to eat in spite of it. Usually, I learn something from them and in turn we try to execute different approaches.

This was just the case recently. I had four anglers and we had high pressure; so we developed a plan. I staged them from calf-deep to waist-deep and we would each throw something different – a topwater, a suspending bait, a Corky, a small profile plastic, and a large profile plastic. With this approach we felt good about getting some response from the fish.

We all felt confident that good fish were present and worked the area thoroughly. The thigh-deep angler caught two fish on his Corky. Both were hooked on the side of the face, not in the mouth. This told me it was a reactionary swipe, and the fish simply were not eating. Luckily, this was toward the end of the day and not the beginning, so we left on that note. This lesson was definitely one to be remembered for another day down the road. My best advice is to try not to leave the bay without gaining some nugget of information from the day’s effort because you never know when you may need it again.

On good days, things are good, so much so that our wades are slow and effective. We dial in on what is in front of us and pick apart each pothole and cast at each flicker of bait. This has been the key to success the past couple of months. The potholes I have been targeting have been soft and deep, surrounded by thick shallow grass. Some days big trout are in large open potholes and some days they are in the smaller, deeper ones. Not exactly sure why this is but the takeaway is to never pass up throwing to any pothole. And, consider making multiple casts if one looks extra fishy. This was just the case the other day when I made at least five casts into the same pothole and ended up pulling one over five pounds from it.

Our Lower Laguna Madre has plenty of bait and good habitat, so much so that I feel very good about what is ahead of us. As we move along into spring I expect big fish to be caught, and I also expect some reaching the double-digit weight range. My big fish baits so far this year have been topwaters when the water is at or above 63°. We have caught some when it has been a bit cooler, but 63° and above seems to be what works best. Other big fish baits have been the full size Wig-A-Lo and smaller suspending twitchbaits. All three of these have consistently proven themselves over the last couple of months. So, with that said, I anticipate these baits to continue producing into the spring, with perhaps downsizing to a Wig-A-Lo Junior at times.

I am very optimistic looking forward and firmly believe we are very fortunate to have forward thinking leaders at TPWD and associated committees under their leadership. Things are looking good and things are getting done. Texas is and hopefully always will be the best place to fish, especially if you want to target big speckled trout.

Remember, fresh is better than frozen!