Mid-Coast Bays: February 2024

As of this mid-January writing, I would say we have thus far experienced a relatively mild winter season. Only one day back in December, we had a light frost as the temperature dipped to barely freezing in the early morning hours. There have been several hard-blowing northers when the temperature hovered in the high-30s and low-40s for a few nights, but that is normal wintertime stuff on our part of the coast. Between the stronger cold fronts there have been warm and calm stretches of nearly a week, during which we were able to fish nearly any part of our local bay systems we wanted. And you can bet we took advantage.

Fishing in February should be a lot like January has been, and I will likely be spending the majority of my time in the back-lakes of Matagorda Island. I like the back lakes during winter for a number of reasons. The muddy bottoms warm faster than main bay shorelines, at least when the sun decides to show itself. This warmer water attracts baitfish such as mullet, which are one of the primary food sources for larger trout. The back-lakes also offer some amount of protection from the hard winds associated with cold fronts.

During extreme cold snaps, when even back-lake opportunity dwindles, you can drift or troll-motor deep water areas such as the Victoria Barge Canal and the Army Hole, and fish the ledges along the drop-offs. Another plus for fishing the Barge Canal is the wind protection afforded by the high manmade embankments along the north side.

Something to remember when fishing the deeper waters of the Barge Canal and Army Hole is the need for heavier jigheads to allow your soft plastic lures to sink to the depth where fish will likely be holding. My normal jighead weight for shallow water work is 1/16 ounce, but I recommend switching to 1/4 ounce in these deeper waters.

When targeting trout and redfish in the back-lake areas, my usual lure setup is 4-inch Bass Assassin Sea Shads on 1/16 ounce Assassin jigheads. However, when we experience an exceptional drop in air and water temperatures, you’ll likely see me switching to the Texas Custom Lures Double D in the Crown Royal color or one of their custom colored Corkys. I prefer the Crown Royal and Bay Mistress colors but, to be honest, all their colors are great.

When the weather allows, it is pretty tough for me to resist the urge to head out to San Antonio Bay’s mid-bay reefs. However, just because you’re on a reef doesn’t guarantee success. The first thing you need to establish is whether there is bait present. During colder periods, when the water temp is in the high-40s or low-50s, all the bait will be subsurface. This is when you look for swirls, ripples, or flashes beneath the surface. Pelicans resting on the exposed crown of the reef or on the water are another good indication there is bait in the area. Once you have established you have bait present, you will need to wade very slowly and concentrate on the drop-offs and any cuts through the reef that have flowing water. The trout will usually be found where the shell tapers down to mud bottom.

Another important aspect of wade fishing reefs is to stop and plant your feet immediately when you or a buddy gets the first strike or hook-up. If all members of the group will observe this one simple rule you should be able to stand in one spot and catch fish until you either catch all of them or they become spooked and move off. When this happens, start fan casting and moving slowly along the reef until you start catching again.

My favorite lure for reef trout is again the 4" Bass Assassin Sea Shad. My preferred colors are Purple Chicken or Houdini, depending on the water clarity. And again, I’ll be rigging them on 1/16-ounce Assassin jigheads. If the little paddletail Sea Shad is not your go-to plastic, you might try the 5” Bass Assassin Saltwater Shad in the same colors.

No matter what lure you decide to throw this time of year, make sure you work it slowly along the bottom. As I always tell my customers, “If you’re not hanging up on shell, you’re fishing too fast.”

Fish hard, fish smart!