Mansfield Report: November 2024

Greetings from Port Mansfield! Finally looking forward to some cooler temperatures, which seemed a bit late in arriving this season. I remember toward the end of September, just praying for a cold front, but at that time it was just wishful thinking.

As most serious anglers know, a lot of folks will be putting up their rod and reels this month and reaching for rifles and heading to the deer lease. As a full-time year-round angler, I am fine with that. Despite being here in Port Mansfield with the vast flats of the Lower Laguna, it can sometimes get a little crowded out there.

I would like to recap briefly on our Texas Women Anglers Fish Camp we hosted back in September and point out how quickly things can change with just the slightest decrease in water levels. At the time of the camp, we had high water and with that the trout (mostly over twenty-five inches) were staged high up on the sand in less than knee-deep water. The first day was one for the books, most ladies landed their personal-best trout, and we had ten trout over twenty-five inches up to twenty-eight. Most of the ladies landed their fish on topwaters, which made it super exciting, and a few got them on the KWigglers Wig-A-Lo. Knowing what we thought we knew, and after a brief discussion, we figured to hit the same area the following day as conditions were not changing much, with one exception, which we discovered the following morning…

Heading out of the harbor, we noticed the water level dropped no more than a couple of inches. I reasoned this slight change would simply move the trout out just a bit deeper. We set up our wade accordingly, all with high hopes of big topwater explosions. After about 45 minutes it began to sink in that something was off, the fish had moved. Sure, we had a few good blowups, but most were small reds. However, we did produce a 24-inch trout within the first hour. We all discussed our next move, which led us out just a bit deeper, figuring they had moved out farther than we thought. But that was not the case. These fish made a major adjustment with just a few inches of water level decrease. This is not something to bet the farm on, just something for the toolbox if you should encounter a comparable situation. Knowing this now, we should have made a major adjustment, not a minor one…

What might that major adjustment look like? Well, since we were on the east side of the bay on hard-packed sand in gin-clear water, one idea might be to move to the west side of the bay and look at cloudy water. Another idea might be to check chalky water with a softer bottom. On both options, I would also need to see some bait activity. This is obviously a hindsight consideration, but one to think about, nonetheless. I digress…

As the water cools heading into fall, fishing will undoubtedly turn on and it will be obvious what is unfolding by just the way fish will look. It will be most notable in trout; their bellies will be more than just plump, and their shoulders will be broad and firm. Some call it more of a football appearance. Topwaters will be the bait of choice and there will be times we will not be able to get it away from them. Flats fishing will be at its best during this time of the year. Potholes, grass beds, flickering mullet and piggie perch will be the recipe you want to see and, best of all you, will be witnessing it in less than two feet of water.

Our fishery is in decent shape overall, with a lot of smaller trout in the daily mix of solid numbers of mid-sized trout. Not to mention a good smattering of trout in the mid- to upper-twenties. With this in perspective, our fall and winter fishing should be epic. Even looking further down the road, say three years out or longer, we will undoubtedly have a trout fishery second to none. We should always keep in mind that good stewardship should be at the fore of our thoughts and angling efforts to ensure the quality of our fishery for generations to come.

Until next time; remember that fresh is better than frozen.