Mansfield Report: September 2024

Greetings from Port Mansfield! It has been an exciting summer, and although it is still scorching out there, summer will soon begin fading away. This summer started off hot; if you recall bay water temperatures were already into the 90° range in June. There was a little relief back in late-July when we had quite a bit of rain and days filled with heavy cloud cover. This kept the water cooler than expected and, just as you might think, the fish responded accordingly. The lower water levels and light winds had redfish tails waving above the water’s surface as my anglers tossed tops and plastics at them. We had challenges, simply because during that period the reds loved thick grass and our lures did not. Precision casting was key and you either needed a 1/16-ounce jig or even a weedless set up. We could get some on top, but sight casting with plastics was the better option.

The winds and heat eventually returned, which helped us catch more fish because they were not as spooky. With the wind blowing, and slightly off-colored water, we could make longer casts and cover more water, thus producing more fish. Our redfish are still podding up quite well and I have even run across several schools on the flats. No doubt, the schooling redfish pattern will continue to unfold as fall approaches.

Our trout population is pretty darn good as we are catching a good spattering of all sizes, ranging from ten inches to some close to thirty. The big trout are not consistent in any one specific area, with one caveat, I have noted they are not concentrated in that shallow, calf-deep stuff I am used to. I have been venturing out into the thigh-deep where I find bait and that is also where we are finding the best trout. I also know guys that are drifting and others wading in 3- to 4-foot depths that are also catching solid fish. That deep stuff simply does not work for me like it used to, although if I am forced, I will go; but that is like Plan #7.

If you have fished Mansfield recently you certainly have noticed a lot of floating grass, and yes, it is pretty bad this year. However, you can work around it with a couple of approaches. One, you can obviously throw a weedless set up, such as a KWigglers Willow Maker jighead paired with a Wig-A-Lo. This is probably the most versatile set up regardless of floating or suspended grass. Next, you can consider casting between the rows of grass, but that does not always work because of crosswinds or poorly aimed casts.

What I have been noticing lately, and many of you probably have as well, are current lines. If you pay attention there is usually a strip of water within the range of your fishing area that may be clean. It happened to me this morning. We were struggling to work through floating grass and I was reluctant to leave because we had active bait present, and were catching a few fish. I noticed about one hundred yards to my west a distinct current line and could see the current was moving the grass eastward. I gathered my anglers and repositioned just on the west side of the current line, which was one solid line of grass. Once settled in I noticed the water was a little cooler and slightly off-color. My first cast with a Mansfield Knocker tossed into that “grass free” zone produced a nice redfish. Now, this is not always the case, but it happens more often than we likely pay attention to. Keep this in mind whenever you are in a similar situation.

This month will springboard us into fall fishing and hopefully there will be a little less pressure on our bay. The opening of dove season usually provides some relief in this regard. All species of fish will inherently become more active, and the flats will be more consistent for the next few months. It will be a pretty simple approach as fall develops; topwaters will be my number one pick as I ease out of my SCB Recon to start my morning wade. I have also been field testing a Fishing Tackle Unlimited G2 prototype topwater-specific spinning rod. So far, all I can say is, Wow! Stay tuned…

Stay safe out there and remember, fresh is better than frozen.