Reports & Forecasts: June 2017

Lake Calcasieu Louisiana
Jeff and Mary Poe - Big Lake Guide Service - 337.598.3268
This month will offer some of the best fishing of the year. Areas around mid-lake reefs, along the Calcasieu Ship Channel, around nearshore platforms, as well as the Cameron Jetties and the surf will kick off at this time. Big trout can be targeted at daybreak and dusk on topwater plugs. Sand flats and oyster reefs lying in two to five feet of water adjacent to the ship channel are likely places to catch these giants. The surf is also a good place to target numbers of solid trout this time of year. But the biggest numbers of fish will come off the edges of the channel and around mid-lake reefs. These fish will be caught mostly on soft plastics which imitate shrimp, rigged on quarter-ounce jigheads. MirrOlure Lil' Johns will be our soft plastics of choice, in a variety of different colors. We usually stick to solid colors in dirty water and translucent ones in clear water. Birds will also be picking over schools of fish at this time, so don't pass them by. Lots of trout and lower numbers of bull reds can be found under them.

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com - 409.935.7242
“We're catching some pretty good fish lately,” James says. “Seems like about half of the fish are out in the middle, over deep shell, while the other half are on the shorelines. We've had some birds working for a while now. We've had some good sessions wading near Rollover Pass in East Bay too. Biggest problems we have are crowds and windy conditions. Light winds allow us to move around and fish where we want to, and avoid the concentrations of boaters. If it's windy, that doesn't work as well, since it limits where we can fish. The topwater bite has been good at times lately, especially on SheDogs, but it's not consistent. The Sea Shads work more consistently. We also find that fast presentations with swim baits work really well this time of year. In June, it's usually pretty easy to catch fish where you want to and how you want to. Of course, you need relatively light winds to open up all the possibilities. June and October are two of my favorite months because of the number of productive options available.”

Jimmy West - Bolivar Guide Service - 409.996.3054
Fishing has been really good in the Galveston area when winds are light, Jim reports. “We have a bunch of fish stacked up out in the middle around the shell reefs, and they are pretty easy to locate and catch when it's not too windy. The beachfront has already turned on and produced really good trout fishing for solid fish. We've had some bigger fish out in the middle, up to seven pounds, and some fives and sixes on the shorelines too. On the windier days, wading is necessary, and it can be pretty good too. June patterns are much the same as they are now. We normally get quite a bit of wind early in the month, and we sometimes see the development of the westerly winds later in the month, some years. We should be able to fish almost every day next month, though. The topwater bite is really good lately, which is typical for May. June is a great month for topwaters too. And, we also do really well on Sea Shads, with paddletails. Out in the middle, the vibrating tail seems to get more bites than the rat-tail lots of days.”

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves - Groves Guide Service
979.849.7019 - 979.864.9323
The month of June is well-known to be a productive one in the area around San Luis Pass. “We love this time of year. We have plenty of favorable options when winds are light and the water is warm like it is in June. We fish the surf as much as we can, do quite a bit of wading behind the pass too, also hit some of the reefs in area bays for wading, and fish out of the boat over deeper water with mud and shell on the bottom at times too. Lately, soft plastics have been producing more bites than the other lures. We're having good luck on full-sized Sand Eels in glow with chartreuse tail, rigged on three-eighths ounce heads. We have had a decent topwater bite at times, throwing Skitterwalks in the woodpecker color pattern, white with red head. When winds are howling louder and/or if the moon phase has the tide in an unfavorable pattern, we do resort to using live bait to continue catching. We'll continue doing the same things next month. With any luck, we'll have lighter winds on a more regular basis, and that will allow us to catch better in more places and will produce more days with a vigorous topwater bite.”

Matagorda | Charlie Paradoski
Bay Guide Service | 713.725.2401
“June is a month of hoping you can get into the surf as much as possible,” Charlie says. “I hope we see the weather settle down so we can get into a steady, predictable pattern. Normally, winds die down somewhat during the month of June and the surf becomes a better option more of the time. Normally, the first two or three days after the wind dies, the fishing in the surf will blast off. We usually catch pretty good then on topwaters close to the beach early, then move of deeper and throw soft plastics or MirrOlures later in the morning. Every year is different. Some years, we catch 'em really good on top, but in other years, soft plastics work much better. That can be true, of course, when we're fishing the other really good pattern for June, which is working the areas around the reefs in the west end of East Bay. Over there, we do have some luck at times throwing topwaters, especially if we're wading the reefs, sometimes out of the boat too. Mostly, we throw soft plastics on jigheads heavy enough to allow us to maintain contact with the bottom.”

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam
www.palaciosguideservice.com - 979.240.8204
Fishing has been fantastic in our area. With water temperatures running above normal, our local estuaries are full of bait and gamefish. Our trout bite has been off the charts over shell. Live shrimp, Gulp! and VuDu shrimp rigged three feet under popping corks have worked best. Solid trout up to three pounds have been plentiful on most trips. With these big tides, the reds have been hammering small topwaters along grassy shorelines, mostly slot-sized, with a few bigs mixed in. Flounder numbers have been good; on calm nights we've been gigging fish up to eighteen inches, seeing lots of beds on sandy shorelines. June will shift our focus to the deep shell out in West Matagorda around wells and reefs. Best bite is early and slows down as the day heats up. We will be targeting fish in the surf under light onshore or north winds. Fishing tight to the beach then working out to the second gut is a good plan. Tripletail will also be a target of our efforts as water temperatures rise and we their numbers increase in the bay.

Port O'Connor | Lynn Smith
Back Bay Guide Service - 361.983.4434
In June, Lynn expects to be targeting trout and redfish along shorelines with sandy, grassy bottoms, in addition to some other patterns. “I like to fish through areas with a good mix of sand and grass this time of year, especially when we find large rafts of mullet in those places. We'll throw soft plastics like Hogies and Gamblers a lot, and some slow-sinking twitch baits like the broken-backed Corkys. The spoil banks along the channel usually start producing fairly consistently this time of year too, especially later in the month. Lighter winds and decent tide movements help that pattern. We will also be trying to get into the surf any chance we get. We've already had some decent luck out there, and conditions should be favorable on a more regular basis, allowing us to function and catch plenty of trout along the beach. We've had a great year fishing for trout already, and I expect the trend to continue this month. We do have the best luck using live bait once the water heats up at the beginning of summer.”

Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894
June is a good month for wading in various areas of the local Rockport Bays, Blake reports. “We work a lot of shorelines with mostly sand and grass on the bottom. We like to stay shallow early, tight to the banks, throwing topwaters a lot. I like the chrome and blue Super Spooks in particular. As the day wears on, we tend to move out deeper, sometimes as deep as we can wade, and switch over to throwing soft plastics like white/chartreuse Norton Sand Eels around deeper grass beds. We throw live croakers plenty this time of year too. Sometimes, the mid-bay reefs in Bays like Copano, San Antonio, Mesquite and Aransas Bays produce better than the shorelines, especially in the hot part of the day. We are hoping the surf will produce steadily this month too. Last year the beachfront was covered up with redfish. I've never caught so many reds out there as we did last year. Most years, it's a trout thing along the beach, though. We are having a pretty good year catching trout already this year, and I expect June to be good too.”

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut
Robert Zapata - [email protected] - 361.563.1160
The month of June has long been one of my favorite months for fishing because so many things become consistent. The weather is generally more predictable, with the winds being calmer than earlier in the spring, and the water temperatures also become stable. The water clarity is really good right now all over the Laguna Madre. My confidence is up and the productive attitude seems to positively affect my fishing clients. This month, I will start my days looking for trout in two feet of water or less that has potholes with firm sand and gravel on the bottom. I will be casting Bass Assassin Die Dappers in colors like sand trout and salt & pepper silver phantom on sixteenth-ounce springlock jigheads on sunny days and hot chicken on cloudy days. This is also a good month to fish with live baits in two to three feet of water along grass lines and drop offs. Live croakers will catch trout, reds and flounder. As the day progresses, and the sun gets higher in the sky, I’ll drift or wade in one foot of water and sight-cast for reds and black drum.

Corpus Christi | Joe Mendez www.sightcast1.com - 361.937.5961
Water quality over the entire Baffin/ULM and Corpus Christi Bay systems is in pristine condition lately. “The water down south is incredibly clear lately. This makes for generally good fishing early in the mornings, when light conditions are low, meaning the fish feed actively then. Blind-casting around structures like rocks and potholes in the grass beds will produce plenty of bites from trout, reds and ladyfish. When the sun climbs a little higher, the potential for sight-casting improves dramatically. We have some big schools of trout and redfish roaming the shallows lately. With steady winds blowing over the clear water, it's often possible to see them and make casts right into their midst. When not drifting around in the shallows looking for those opportunities, we have better luck under the bright sun while drifting around deep grass edges and rocks lying close to a drop off to deeper water. Places like Rocky Slough, Summer House and Pensacal Point offer numerous productive structures and edges like these.”

P.I.N.S. Fishing Forecast | Eric Ozolins
For the first time in three years, sargassum continues to impact Texas beaches coast wide. Hopefully it will diminish as summer approaches. An annoyance to fishermen, sargassum is great for the ecosystem, delivering plankton and fry of many species that start the food chain. Cobia and tripletail are often possible from the beach when Sargasso is abundant. June also has potential for phenomenal speckled trout opportunity. Topwaters will be effective for luring trout, but also attract pesky jack crevalle. If you are targeting jacks, find the birds and bait getting crashed, and toss large spoons. Slot reds should be plentiful. Be aware of numerous stingrays when wading. Skipjacks will shadow bait schools and sharks will hound the skipjacks. Nighttime sharking will produce some of the largest sharks of the year, primarily tigers and hammers, with some bulls in the mix. Tarpon should be hitting the beach. Caution to beach drivers – decomposing sargassum partially covered by sand has the potential to sink your vehicle instantly.

Port Mansfield | Ruben Garza
Snookdudecharters.com 832.385.1431
Getaway Adventures Lodge 956.944.4000
Fishing has been very good to excellent, even when the wind approaches gale strength. Find a green streak of water with mullet jumping and small bait flipping. Topwaters might work but the best bet on windy days will be soft plastics on eighth-ounce heads. The new KWiggler Willow Tail Shad has become a go-to bait for us; trout and reds are eating them up. Red Shad is our top producer, followed by Mansfield Margarita. When the southeast wind turns the green water too murky, we head to the east side. The Willow Tail works on these sand-grass flats but a weedless gold spoon is tops for redfish, and we've also been catching a few big trout over the sand. On calmer days, the west shoreline and ICW spoils have been giving us insane topwater action. The smaller SkitterWalk in the trout color (SW08ST) has been a favorite. Another solid producer has been One Knocker Spooks in bone and pink/silver. Topwater action sometimes lasts all day. If the bite fades, switch to your favorite soft plastic and work the deeper edges of the structure.

Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel
Janie and Fred Petty www.fishingwithpettys.com 956.943.2747
Fishing has been very good considering the strong winds we’ve been dealing with this spring. Although normal for this time of year, the air quality has been hazy and muggy when the wind is out of the south; fronts offer the only break from the heavy humidity. Most days, the bite is going off best in the late afternoons, when boat traffic is lighter. Freddy says, “FP3s are keeping us in the game, whether we’re sight casting in the shallows or grinding it out in deeper, muddy pot holes. The weight of the cork rig helps lengthen your casts, which is very important when it’s calm and the water is clear, and the vibrations created by the innovative popping, call fish close enough to be effective when it’s windy and muddy. Be sure you tie a monofilament leader above the cork to keep the braided line from tangling in the swivel.” We’ve been throwing Berkley Gulp! Live three-inch shrimp on an eighth-ounce screw on jighead, in new penny and pearl white, dropping and hopping under red or yellow FP3s. Help stop open bay dredge disposal!