Reports & Forecasts: August 2019

Lake Calcasieu Louisiana
Jeff and Mary Poe - Big Lake Guide Service – 337.598.3268
After dealing with so much rain, freshwater runoff and high winds for several months in a row, August sounds like a welcome breath of fresh air. The weather will be hot, but weather conditions this month usually provide plenty of productive fishing options. On many days, we get our limits of fish before noon and come back to the dock to beat the heat. We'll target fish in depths of seven feet or more because of the heat, so the Calcasieu Channel, Cameron Jetties, the surf and nearshore platforms usually produce best. The deeper, cooler water in these places offers the fish some escape from the suffocating heat on shallow flats. Soft plastics rigged on heavy jigheads weighing at least a quarter-ounce work best for targeting trout at these depths. Topwaters can work great during August, but the feeding window is shorter than at other times of year when the water's cooler. Early morning is typically the best time to throw the floating plugs. We're hoping for light winds, light flows of freshwater will allow us to fish where we need to this month, so we can enjoy some consistent trout fishing.

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com - 409.935.7242
James had been catching pretty good numbers of fish on trips made in the week or so prior to giving this report. “We're catching some fish, spending most of our time on shallow shell close to deeper water. Sometimes, we're wading really shallow, like less than knee-deep. A few days ago, we caught 25 trout working that shallow. We've been throwing medium-sized topwaters like the pink Ghosts and One Knockers. Also catching a bunch of fish on little boss Bass Assassins. We still have too much freshwater in some parts of the bays, so areas west of Pelican and Sand islands are producing better than places in East and Trinity bays. Trout fishing should remain basically the same throughout the month of August. If it stops raining, we might get some saltier water back into some new areas, like maybe Dollar Point and Smith Point, the south shoreline of East Bay. Otherwise, we'll stay west. Fishing might get really good out around the jetties and in the surf. Flounder fishing has been great and should continue to be. We've been catching some wading and out of the boat too.”

Jimmy West - Bolivar Guide Service - 409.996.3054
Jim said the freshwater flowing down the rivers after a wet spring had slowed the fishing in some parts of the Galveston Bay complex, but the bite has been hot in other places. “East, Trinity and Upper Galveston are very fresh. If any wind is blowing at all, a messy thing turns worse, and it gets really hard to catch a fish. Over here in East Bay right now, catching fish means working a soft plastic right on the bottom. Executing that out of a boat is difficult for the average fisherman. Further west, in parts of Lower Galveston Bay and in West Bay, the water is saltier and greener, and the catching is easier. We've had some good trips over there recently, targeting trout and reds around rocky structures with topwaters and tails. Last week, I had two days where we caught 90 to 100 fish pretty easily. Nothing big, but enough keepers to make it worthwhile. It's easy catching compared to these other areas where the water's so fresh. The surf has been good at times too. If we get typical calm August weather, fishing on the beach, the jetties and in western parts of the bays should be best.”

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves - Groves Guide Service
979.849.7019 - 979.864.9323
Randall had just gotten off the gulf from an offshore outing when he gave this report. “Great fishing today. We had several groupers and full limits of snapper, up to twenty pounds. We expect the offshore action to remain excellent through August and maybe beyond. Yesterday, fishing the beach was hot. It's been excellent every time the wind lays for a couple days. We've got some stained water right now, so we've been catching trout and redfish with noisy lures like Skitterwalks in white with red head. When the topwater bite slows, we're doing better with Norton Sand Shads rigged on quarter-ounce heads and dangled under popping corks. The fish seem to locate the lures better in the stained water when you make lots of noise with the cork to attract their attention. We should have steady action along the beachfront through August too, if winds are light. We'll move into some of the back bays along protected shorelines when the wind gets up, throwing topwaters and tails for redfish and trout. Overall, things have been trending up, and they should continue to do so with the expected calmer weather patterns.”

Matagorda | Bay Guide Service
Tommy Countz- 979.863.7553 cell 281.450.4037
The expected light winds and searing heat of August open up several productive options for folks fishing the Matagorda area. “Normally, I spend most of my time heading west this time of year. We'll wade the shorelines in West Matagorda some, focusing on the grass beds tight to the bank at first light, throwing small topwaters and dark soft plastics on light jigheads, but moving out to the deeper side of the bars quicker once the sun comes up. Lately, we've been doing well by walking out as far as we can get and casting out farther, working topwaters with a slow, erratic presentation. The trout have been blowing up well on that drill. If we're fishing out of the boat, we like to throw live shrimp under a popping cork over the artificial reef for trout mainly.  Live shrimp should also work well to take the tripletail off exposed structures like rigs and signs, also floating mats of grass. And, in most years, August is the best month of all for getting numbers of days with potential for catching in the surf, so we'll head out to the beach as often as we can.”

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam
www.palaciosguideservice.com – 979.240.8204
Fishing is finally settling into summer patterns, and results are getting good again. We've had some awesome days in the surf, also fishing deep shell reefs in West Matagorda Bay, and sight-casting redfish in the marshes. The surf turned on for some good stretches of days, and we clobbered the trout throwing green/chrome MirrOlure SheDogs and white Skitterwalks. The deep shell pads and sunken barges out in West Matagorda have been holding great numbers of trout up to twenty-two inches, and they are readily biting free-lined live shrimp and chicken of the sea DSL's. Fishing for reds in the marsh has been hot as well, since these high tides have sent the fish way back into the shallows. Matrix Shad crawfish in pearl and pumpkin have been hard for the cruising bruisers to resist. Our triple tail bite is not as good as it can be, due to all the runoff from the heavy rains, but I believe once salinity levels increase, we'll start catching more of them again. August is a great month to head out early, fish some deep structures or hit the surf and enjoy some fast catching.

Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith
Back Bay Guide Service – 361.983.4434
Lynn looks forward to fishing as much as possible in the surf during the month of August. “In a normal year, the wind lays in July and August, and the surf gets flat and green. We'll have our eye on that, and head out to the beachfront as much as we can. Out there, we like to throw topwaters early, staying in the gut closest to the sand, or the one outside the first bar. We usually have good luck on some of the bigger fish that way. As the sun climbs higher in the sky, we usually move out a little deeper and switch over to soft plastics eventually. Of course, trout are the target fish when we're fishing the beach. If conditions don't allow us to get to the surf on a given day, the main alternative plan is to fish the flats and shoreline areas close inside the pass, where we have grass beds on sandy bottom close to deeper water. Topwaters work well in places like that on an average August morning too, especially when we're targeting trout around rafted baitfish. When wind speeds ramp up a little, we'll make some forays into the back-lakes, searching for redfish.  

Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894
Blake likes to fish several different types of areas in August, depending on the wind and weather. “On a normal day, I start off fishing pretty shallow, say knee to thigh-deep water, on area shorelines with a mix of sand and grass. We'll wade and throw live croakers most of the time, soft plastics on other occasions. Of course, as it gets hotter late in the morning, we usually move out deeper and fish potholes and grass edges in water barely shallow enough for wading. On the calm days, I sometimes fish the reefs out in the middle of the bays. They usually hold plenty of trout in hot weather, since you have shallow structures close to deep water. The same calm days can also make the surf the place to be. I can remember years in the past when I've fished eight or ten days out along the beachfront in August, so that's a definite possibility. On the way in from the surf, I will also start checking the areas close to the Aransas Channel for redfish schooling up to head out into the gulf next month.

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut
Robert Zapata – [email protected] – 361.563.1160
“Summer fishing has been good so far in the Upper Laguna Madre, and I don't expect that to change much during the month of August. The air and water temperatures will stay hot, as will the catching. The fish will begin their days in shallow water close to shorelines early in the mornings and will drop into deeper water as the sun rises and warms things up. On a typical August morning, winds are light at first, then they get progressively stronger into the middle of the afternoon. We've been catching some good trout and reds on Bass Assassin Elite Shiners in colors like Houdini, meat hook and mama's 14K, rigged on sixteenth-ounce Spring Lock jigheads. One trout caught recently stretched the tape to 31 ½ inches, and was caught in a foot of water. Bass Assassin Die Dappers in colors like chicken on a chain and salt and pepper silver phantom with chartreuse tail are working best in deeper water later in the day. Free-lining live croakers and piggy perch along grass lines, in potholes and around rock formations has been productive too. I'm seeing lots of stingrays when wading, so I wear ForEverLast RayGuards at all times.”

Corpus Christi | Joe Mendez – www.sightcast1.com – 361.877.1230
Hot summer mornings normally produce light winds, often with a westerly aspect. When this becomes the norm, Joe likes fishing the shoreline of the Kenedy Ranch south of Baffin Bay. “Trolling down the outside edges of the large rocks lying close to the Kenedy Ranch Shoreline is a productive plan on most mornings this time of year. With the excellent water clarity we've had for a while now, even the deepest rocks are visible once the sun gets up a little ways in the sky. It's usually possible to catch plenty of trout and a few redfish on topwaters early, but the bite is generally best on paddletails rigged on eighth-ounce to quarter-ounce heads. The key to catching in this area is casting at the bright spots close to the rocks. Most of the fish seem to prefer sitting on the grassy edges of these sandy spots, waiting to ambush something that swims through the area. Light south or southeast winds make it easy to stay outside the deeper rocks and cast toward them. If west winds are blowing, taking the boat closer to the shoreline and casting out makes more sense, but requires caution to avoid bumping into shallow boulders.”

P.I.N.S. Fishing Forecast | Eric Ozolins
361-877-3583 | Oceanepics.com
Summer doldrums now dominate the Texas surf, and fishing will vary along the coast. Down south, clear green water will make morning trout fishing exciting. Trout will also be most active when the tide is moving. My personal preference is topwater lures; bigger lures produce bigger trout. Soft plastics will also produce lots of specks. Overall, expect the middle of the day to be very slow. The exception will be unusual bait activity. The farther we go into August, the more bait-balls get pushed inshore by predators. During these frenzies, you can find anything from skipjacks to tarpon and sharks. Large spoons are a great way to target tarpon. Red drum will be fairly easy to catch on live and cut bait.  Shark action will occur mostly at night as larger predators feed under cover of darkness in calm, clear water. The heat of summer brings two possible dangers. Stingrays are currently very abundant in the surf, so be sure to shuffle your feet when wading. The other hazard is tropical weather. Before each outing, take a look at the tropical forecast and plan accordingly.

Port Mansfield | Ruben Garza
Snookdudecharters.com – 832.385.1431
Getaway Adventures Lodge – 956.944.4000
August has a reputation for early morning topwater action that sometimes lasts all day. With calm winds, areas to consider will be the west shoreline from Port all the way to Gladys, and any of the spoil humps along the ICW. When the wind is a factor we head to the eastside flats. The Saucer area and Game Warden Shack are always worth a look. That’s a lot of water to cover but one of August’s greatest indicators is the presence of slicks to focus upon. Birds work in August, especially over deeper water from Century Point to the Oak Mottes. Trout under birds will usually hit topwaters but your hookup ratio is almost better with soft plastics. KWigglers Ball Tails and Willow Tails on 1/8 jigs are both excellent baits. As the day heats up, we like to head for deeper water along the ledge between the Weather Station and Wagner's Bar and key on muddy streaks created by schools of mullet. For a change of pace, try trolling and plugging the gulf side of the East Cut jetties for bull reds, king and Spanish mackerel, and occasional tarpon.

Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel
Aaron Cisneros | tightlinescharters.com – 956-639-1941
Staying on consistent trout action with steadily rising water temperatures in recent weeks means beginning our days in three-foot depths and slowly wading toward chest-deep water. Topwaters have been very effective in the early hours, the Super Spook Jr in bone getting lots of strikes. Usually by mid-morning we have made the switch to KWigglers Ball Tail Shads on 1/8 Screwlock Jigheads. Plastic colors vary daily with depth and water clarity but overall the plum-chartreuse gets the job as well as any. Schools of redfish have been fairly easy to find along remote grass-sand shorelines where boat traffic is lightest and bait is plentiful. Small topwaters have been collecting fairly steady action the first few hours after sunrise while the trusty weedless gold spoon works all the time. The normal summertime pattern of best action occurring early and again late in the afternoon has begun to develop noticeably in the past couple of weeks and I expect this will continue throughout August. If you’re not out there at sunrise you will probably miss the best opportunity the day has to offer.