Reports & Forecasts: October 2022

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com – 409.935.7242
September is a transitional month, and figuring out productive patterns can be tricky, as summer patterns wind down and fall patterns crank up. October is more consistent, with easier fishing in general, James says. "This month, we usually get strong enough fronts to kick the fall patterns off for good. We find good action on both trout and reds in the shallows this month, and wadefishing is preferred most of the time. Areas close to places where shrimp spend the summer produce well, meaning the back-lakes and coves on both sides of West Bay. Working birds will betray the locations of migrating herds, but people who fish places with lots of mullet and other bait jumping in the shallows in the areas where birds are working usually catch more reds and some of the bigger trout. Small topwaters like the pink She Pup work great this time of year; both trout and reds love 'em. And, of course, soft plastics that look like shrimp are a safe bet for folks who don't like to work topwaters. At the beginning of the month, the potential for catching silver kings remains high. Some years, after mild fronts in October, tarpon are thick in the nearshore waters."

Jimmy West - Bolivar Guide Service – 409.996.3054
Fishing picks up nicely once October rolls around, Jim says. "We've still been catching best out on the middle, working slicks around the reefs. There's been a few birds working, but most of the trout under the flocks are dinks. Once we get some cooler weather, the fish will move into the backs of the bays, into shallower water, and we'll be able to catch 'em by wading most of the time. The topwater bite this month is usually really good. We catch well around the drains and in the bayous and lakes too, once the bull tide arrives and water temperatures cool down some. The key to catching this month is often to go early or stay late. The fish bite best around daybreak and again at dusk on a lot of days. So far, even with all the heavy rains around the state during August and early September, we haven't had too much of a problem with runoff coming down the Trinity River. If the bays stay mostly salty, we're set up for some good fall fishing, especially when we're targeting numbers of trout. I'll also be gearing up for duck season during October, and hunting doves too."

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves - Groves Guide Service 979.849.7019 – 979.864.9323
The shorter days and longer nights in October bring cooler air to the Texas Coast. Cold fronts passing over the coastal waters cause the tide levels to fluctuate over a large range. We typically have high tides, and marshes full of water, but when strong cold fronts cause the water to dump out of these areas, the shrimp begin moving toward the Gulf. When that happens, we find plenty of gulls hovering over the moving herds of shrimp, and fishing can be fast and furious for trout. I do best culling keepers out of the schools throwing black and gold Skitter Walks with the orange belly. If the fish want soft plastics instead of topwaters, I'll be throwing my trusty Norton Sand Eels in natural colors like tequila gold. We rig them on three-eighths ounce heads, and usually catch a mix of trout and reds in this scenario. We also have excellent luck catching reds on the shorelines and patch reefs in the back-lakes, sometimes on topwaters, other times on soft plastics. This pattern produces best when the marsh is full. We often find the hunting reds in those areas by keying on diving terns, also wading birds like herons and egrets.

Tommy Countz – Matagorda Bays – 979.863.7553 cell 281.450.4037

Tommy mentions October as his favorite month to fish in the Matagorda area. "It's nicer for the fish and for us. The cooler temperatures allow everybody to perform better. This month, we usually have reliable things, like the shrimp migration. Once the tides and temperatures fall, and the shrimp dump out of the backwater areas into the bays, we'll have birds working over the herds. This makes for easier fishing than what we typically experience throughout the hot months. This year, after all the late rain, we should have a big shrimp crop. We also have excellent fishing for redfish in the shallow nooks and crannies in both bays this month. Finding the hunting pods on the shorelines is a bit more like hunting than fishing, in some ways. Keying on the right signs allows us to see where the pods are, then set up to intercept them as they come toward us. This means we're often able to throw topwaters in front of them and experience the blow ups. Few things are more fun than watching slot reds tackle small topwaters. This is also a great time to target reds with flies, in the clear, shallow water."

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam
www.palaciosguideservice.com – 979.240.8204
Heavy rains in August broke the drought and sent freshwater flowing down our rivers, flushing the fish out and improving our fishing. The reds have been stacked along shorelines adjacent to drains, chasing schools of shrimp in herds of five to ten fish. We've been catching them best on live shrimp rigged about a foot under popping corks. We're also catching some on paddletails in pumpkinseed/chartreuse, rigged on quarter-ounce heads. The key to catching them on the lures is to cast right in front of the hunting pods. The trout bite has been a bit off, but we've had a good run catching really big sand trout, up to thirteen or fourteen inches. They're hanging around deep structures, biting live shrimp dangled about three feet under popping corks. Flounder gigging has recently picked up momentum, with plenty of locals sticking fish to about eighteen inches when winds are light in the evenings. The amount of bait in our bays right now is epic, which bodes well for the fishing this fall. We should start to see birds working on a regular basis, and bigger schools of aggressive reds. Things look really promising for the months of October and beyond.

Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith
Back Bay Guide Service – 361.983.4434
Lynn says the surf has produced the best fishing for trout throughout the summer, and he hopes to continue fishing out there some through October, if conditions allow. "We'll also fish some of the guts and flats close to the jetties and the pass. In October, we usually get some really high tides, and some of the fish in the surf ride the tide into the bays in places like that. It's a great time of year to catch some solid trout on topwaters around grass beds on sandy flats in such a situation. The flats adjacent to Cedar Bayou in Mesquite Bay offer similar potential for catching trout coming in out of the surf. When tides are less high and strong, we often do better this time of year fishing reefs in bays like Carlos, San Antonio and Espiritu Santo. We catch well on topwaters there at times, usually when winds are light and we have some cloud cover, but soft plastics work better around the shell, on average. Fishing for reds in the back-lakes and coves is often good this time of year too. High tides make accessing the areas easier, but low tides concentrate the fish better."

Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894
Blake looks forward to some fun fishing and hunting opportunities in October. "We usually have high tides this month. When we do, I like to fish some of the shorelines and reefs close to shore in places like Mesquite and San Antonio bays, and the smaller bays near those. When fishing the shorelines, I throw topwaters quite a bit, right close to the grass on the bank. I won't hesitate to throw soft plastics in dark colors like pumpkinseed and plum/chartreuse, also white/chartreuse, on light jigheads. Those lures work a little better, on average, around the reefs, though the topwaters work well there sometimes too. As far as hunting goes, I'm expecting some good dove hunting this month. With all the rain we've had, I've got some fields producing crops. So there's plenty of food to attract the doves. And, all the rain has left plenty of water standing in the ag fields too. This provides places for the ducks to get a drink every day, so the birds that show up in the Rockport area tend to stick around better. So, I'll be scouting the area, looking for arriving ducks this month, in advance of the season, which starts in November."

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut
Robert Zapata – [email protected] – 361.563.1160
The action in our part of the Laguna Madre and in Baffin Bay continues to receive high ratings from me. We're catching plenty of trout and redfish in both these local bay systems. The best numbers of keeper trout have been biting early in the mornings in two to three feet of water. I've been catching them easiest on Assassin Die Dappers in colors like chicken on a chain and salt and pepper/chartreuse rigged on sixteenth-ounce Assassin Spring-lock jigheads, attached to the end of about twenty inches of fluorocarbon leader line. The trout prefer areas with plenty of potholes breaking up the grassy bottoms, and the edges of grass lines, closer to a little deeper water. Live shrimp rigged about fifteen inches below popping corks in these same areas are also producing plenty of bites from both trout and reds. We're finding both black and red drum are schooling around grassy drop offs; they're biting the same Die Dappers rigged on eighth-ounce heads. We're also sight-casting decent numbers of black drum and redfish using shrimp-flavored Fish-bites in less than a foot of water in areas with really clear water, when winds are light to moderate, allowing us to see into the water.

Corpus Christi / Joe Mendez—www.sightcast1.com—361.877.1230
October generally provides good weather and fun fishing opportunities for anglers in the Corpus Christi area, according to Joe. "We get plenty of calmer, cooler days starting this month. It's fun to be on the ULM and in Baffin when the air is crisp this time of year. Fishing can be great at times, especially when light winds make for a good topwater bite early in the mornings. More of the time, we catch best by throwing soft plastics at grass beds and potholes right close to the banks, or on the shallow parts of spoils. This time of year, we have tons and tons of mullet, pinfish and other food sources for the trout and reds, so throwing lures which don't really look a lot like little fish sometimes works better than trying to match the hatch. Dark soft plastics with bright tails fit that description well. In some scenarios, when skies are bright and we have moderate winds, we're able to sight-cast plenty of black and red drum and a few big trout, usually around potholes breaking up the bottom on grassy flats covered by shallow water, reeling in paddletails slowly and steadily in front of their noses."

P. I.N.S. Fishing Forecast | Eric Ozolins
361-877-3583 | Oceanepics.com
After a scorching summer, the migrations that begin along the beaches in cooling weather are welcome. Mullet and menhaden should be running the surf in large numbers this month. The predators will follow them. We generally see increased amounts of red drum along the beachfront this time of year. Late in the month, the average size becomes really impressive. Jack crevalle show up early on cool mornings a day or so after a cold front. Live mullet works well to target both these species, as do lures like large spoons, topwaters and swim baits. Tarpon should be lurking in the surf this month too, gorging on easy meals before heading south for the winter. Smaller tarpon will take live mullet, but fresh dead skipjacks work better to entice the big ones. Bull and blacktip sharks will be the two main shark species wreaking havoc in the shallows. Spanish mackerel and bluefish will make appearances when water clarity is good; they love eating the mullet too. Both these species have sharp teeth, creating a need for tough leader materials. October is a great month to try the fishing on the beach, because of the pleasant weather and the variety of species to target.

Port Mansfield | Ruben Garza
Snookdudecharters.com – 832.385.1431
Getaway Adventures Lodge – 956.944.4000
In the Lower Laguna Madre, the seasonal redfish run is in full swing, with the typical high tides heading into the equinox. We're finding schools on both sides of the East Cut, moving around over a sandy bottom, early in the mornings. As the day progresses, the pods of mullet move out of the shallows and into deeper water, and the reds follow. Topwaters are working well some of the time to get the interest of the reds. If topwaters don't work, KWiggler paddletails or gold, weedless spoons usually do. With lighter winds and green water in play more often, trout action should pick up in West Bay and around The Saucer. They'll bite best in potholes about two or three feet deep. On the west shoreline, the action should be good from Tio Moya Pier to the mouth of Little Bay. Soft plastics rigged on eighth-ounce heads should earn the most strikes from the trout. Fishing around the jetties for reds, kings, sharks and jacks should be steady on days when the waves aren't too big. Out there, diving gulls and pelicans normally signal the presence of food for the predators. Wire leaders are suggested out around the rocks.

Lower Laguna Madre—South Padre—Port Isabel
Aaron Cisneros | tightlinescharters.com – 956-639-1941
"We've had good fishing in the Lower Laguna Madre recently, finding fish schooling in large numbers. The trout have mostly been hanging out in deeper water, ranging from three to about five feet deep. We're catching excellent numbers from fifteen to about twenty-five inches, mostly using Mansfield Margarita KWiggler Ball-tails rigged on quarter-ounce heads, working them low and slow, so they stay close to the bottom. The slower retrieves seem to be helping us cull the bigger fish out of the schools. Faster retrieves worked closer to the surface have been attracting more dinks. The redfish have been schooling close to shorelines, tight to the emergent grass, as we've had some really high tides. Oyster reefs have also been holding good numbers of reds. We're working hard to find concentrations of bait, since the high tides have scattered our fish somewhat. High tides also float grass off the mats, so we've had some issues with floating grass, and we're dealing with them by rigging topwaters with single hooks, and throwing eighth-ounce weedless gold spoons. Throughout the rest of the fall, finding places with concentrations of bait will be the key to locating the trout and reds."