Mid-Coast Bays: September 2024

I get excited when September rolls around because I know that the fall weather I have been yearning for is right around the corner. This summer heat has been rough and I am ready for some cooler weather and all that it brings with it. While I am aware that we probably won’t feel a significant temperature difference any time soon, it is usually later in the month that we get our first official “cool” front. Will it change the fishing very much? The short answer is probably not.

We will still be in summer fishing patterns most of the month due to the water temps still hovering in the low to mid-80s. If and when that first cool front arrives, about the only thing that will change that might affect some of our favorite summertime locations will be the direction of the wind. As of late, I have been spending most of my days along the south shorelines of Espiritu Santo and San Antonio Bay.

If you have never ventured farther south than Cedar Lake; all I can say is you are missing out. This entire shoreline has firm, sand bottom and abundant guts that run parallel to the shoreline. However, don’t look to fish the drop-off along this shoreline. The bottom tapers very gradually and the drop-off lies a considerable distance from shore.

While I love the many parallel guts and grass beds found in them, it is the “wash outs” created by Hurricane Harvey that make this shoreline so attractive. What began as narrow breaches in the shoreline between the bay and nearby backwaters have grown to become more numerous and deeper over the years. Some of these may be only a few feet deep while several others are 5 to 6 feet. Think of them as highways for fish traveling in and out of the backwater flats.

I like to start my wade about fifty yards from these openings, working my way towards the nearest point. These points are usually where the magic happens; trout and redfish alike stage near them for easy picks as various bait species swim through on the currents. Lately, we have also been catching a few flounder, which is always a nice bonus. Use caution if you decide to wade up into the back lakes though, many of them have extremely muddy bottoms which can make for a very difficult wade.

The reefs in San Antonio Bay continue to be excellent places to target. The water is in excellent shape and most of the oyster reefs seem to be thriving. Trout numbers have been very good with many slot-size fish being caught, with quite a few small ones in the mix, as we normally expect. Fishing the reefs with the steepest and deepest drop-offs has been most productive due to the elevated water temperatures. These fish are using the deeper sides of the reefs to keep cool while ambushing bait that uses the shallower crowns of the oyster beds as protection.

Most days when I am fishing the reefs in San Antonio Bay, the best bites happen closer to the bottom than near the surface. The Bass Assassin 3.5-inch Lit’l P&V rigged on 1/8-ounce jigheads has become my go-to lure of late. This is a scent-infused twitchbait with a very erratic action that seems to trigger reaction strikes, even in the heat of the day. I have confidence in two colors, usually letting the fish tell me which one they prefer. Salt and Pepper Silver Phantom with chartreuse tail and Slammin’ Chicken seem to work best.

While the reefs hold plenty of speckled trout they are not known to hold strong numbers of redfish. Preferred habitats for slot-sized reds are grass beds, shoreline guts, and shallow flats. The west shoreline of San Antonio Bay along the Aransas Wildlife Refuge is an excellent area with plenty of grass beds and numerous guts that hold a healthy population of everything redfish love to eat, from mullet to small blue crabs, and grass shrimp. As of late I have been encountering many small schools of redfish but I look for these to combine into larger schools as they usually do in fall.

It’s still very hot and so is the water in the bays. Unfortunately, there have been some recent cases of Vibrio along the Texas coast. Always keep your cuts and nicks cleaned with a good antiseptic cleanser like Hibiclens. I always keep this on my boat no matter the time of year. To be better prepared and avoid dangerous infections, I think it would be wise for all anglers to educate themselves on what to watch for and the early symptoms of Vibrio.