Mid-Coast Bays: February 2025

Well, here’s another case of “careful what you wish for.” I have been complaining to my clients and anyone who would listen that we need some colder, more winter-like weather. So, here I sit writing my February article during a screaming norther that dropped the temperature from yesterday’s balmy 70° to a crisp 33° this morning. With the wind howling 25 mph it makes me very happy to be sitting inside my warm house with a fire blazing, and not out on the bay.

 I would consider this the first arctic front of this winter. Sure, we had some earlier fronts that brought in cooler weather but nothing that lasted more than a couple of days. This arctic blast will be with us for the next six to seven days. That being said we will talk about areas that you need to target on these frigid days.

There are a lot of scenarios to consider this time of year when these fronts arrive to the Texas middle coast. First and foremost will be the water levels. Tides will drop dramatically, so much so that places you were running your boat two days earlier will now be nearly void of water. Reminds me of a time I was fishing a shallow backwater area before an approaching front and the front hit while we were in this small area. The wind blew in with such force that it left my Shallowsport sitting on bottom until the wind slowed and allowed water to funnel its way back in. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Just thankful we weren’t in an open water area, which likely would have become a dangerous situation.

Anyway, back to the colder temps. During these colder times we will be fishing deeper areas until the sun warms the water on the flats. The areas we will target are usually the drains that feed the backwaters of Matagorda Island, such as the drain that feeds the east end of Pringle Lake or the old entrance channel to Contee Lake, to name a few. They are not exceptionally deep but they provide enough of a thermocline that it will make the difference between life and death for the redfish and trout we are seeking. Not to mention all of the mullet and other baitfish from the areas also know where these deeper areas are and will be staying snug and warm with the same predators that will be feeding on them as soon as they feel like eating. It’s not uncommon to foul-hook mullet while fishing these deeper areas during drops in the temperatures, which just lets you know you are in the right spot.

 There are other areas that will produce during the coldest of days – the Army Hole near Port O’Connor, the Refuge Harbor in Port Lavaca and, of course, the Victoria Barge Canal. The Barge Canal can be great during a howling norther as it has high bluff banks that will protect you from stiff northerly winds. The preferred method in the Barge Canal is to either drift or troll while throwing soft plastics such as the 4” Saltwater Assassins Sea Shad in darker colors – Morning Glory or Magic Grass. We typically rig these on anything from 1/8 to 1/4-ounce Assassin jigheads.

If there was one thing that I would strongly advise to improve your wintertime fish catching, it would be to spool your reel with braided fishing line, now. I switched to braid some years ago and will never go back. It took a lot of trial and error and reel set-ups, but man, what a difference it makes when chasing the light pickup of a frigid trout. I settled on the Fins Wind Tamer Pitch Black braid in 30-pound test. The great thing about the Pitch Black is that it doesn’t fade, ever. It stands up to the everyday rigors of fishing around oyster shell and other underwater hazards. The 30-pound Pitch Black paired with my Lew’s CL1SH on my Waterloo HP Lite rod are a hard combination to beat any day of the year.

In closing I would like to remind everyone that TPWD may enact fishing closures in certain areas when temperatures dip below freezing for extended periods. You can check their website to discover where these closures will be enacted to insure you are not unintentionally breaking the law. This was put in to affect to protect species from overharvesting while they are vulnerable and trying to survive the cold water temps.

Fish hard, fish smart!