Mid-Coast Bays: July 2022

The temperatures have heated up and so has the fishing. After dealing with gusting winds almost daily the first half of the year it is quite the relief to finally get some calmer weather. Calmer days means I have been able to venture out onto open bay waters rather than protected back lakes; however, calmer winds makes for hotter days. Let’s discuss the areas I will be targeting over the next couple of months.

If you have been reading my articles you are probably already aware that I had to bypass San Antonio Bay nearly all of 2021 due to exceptional local rainfall and Guadalupe River inflow. That pretty much limited me to fishing Espiritu Santo, West Matagorda, and the surf, when conditions allowed. While I love to fish all of these bays I tend to avoid them on weekends due to the extreme amount of boat traffic. Now that the daily wind has calmed I have been able to venture out into San Antonio Bay and revisit all the reefs that I frequented before the freshwater inundation.

I am happy to say that the bay has rebounded beautifully. Many reefs have small oysters growing and bait fish seem to be on almost all of the reefs. I have also noticed large migrations of shrimp and that is really what makes San Antonio Bay such a huge attraction for feeding fish. Look for birds hovering over or nearby reefs for your best odds of catching. If you see birds working in 4-foot or deeper water you can pretty much disregard them as they are most likely covering schools of small trout, gafftops, and ladyfish. If there are no birds working anywhere near you, focus in on bait activity. Look for jumping bait, schools of glass minnows, or shad. Failing to find bait activity is a good sign to move to another reef that has bait activity clearly visible. What I’m saying is that if you are hungry you don’t go to the library, you go to your favorite restaurant. Think of fishing the same way.

Matagorda Bay also shines brightly this time of year. Due to the extremely hot weather we see here on the Mid Coast in the summer, bay water temperatures will also be at their highest. This is when moving water can be most beneficial because of its cooling effect. Areas that have the strongest current are the areas closest to the passes to the Gulf. In our area, that would be Pass Cavallo and the Matagorda Ship Channel jetties. The fish in these areas are tide dependent, meaning that they typically feed best when the water is moving. Because of this, when I fish close or nearby the passes, I definitely watch my tide chart to know when the currents will be strongest.

Another area that has good water movement are the spoil banks along the ship channel just north of Port O’Connor. If you have never fished this area before I strongly suggest learning and exploring from the boat where the drop-offs are using your GPS sonar. The drop-offs can be severe and unexpected in much of these areas. If you decide to wade, which can be very rewarding, make sure to take a buddy with you just in case you get yourself into a tricky area.

The new emergency speckled trout regulations are currently in effect – 17 to 23-inch keeper slot, three fish bag limit – until August 31, 2023, at which time they are scheduled to revert back to the previous regulation of five fish bag limit at 15 to 25-inches. I totally support more conservation and I am in high hopes that these new regulations help increase the trout population. With that being said, I also wonder what the morality rate is of all the trout released that don’t meet the 17 inch minimum length.