Something In the Air

It’s always a very welcome feeling, stepping outside when the first breath of a dry north breeze hits the Texas coast. Even though the first cool front of the season won’t knock the temperature down very much, the significant drop in humidity is enough to make me giddy. It’s the feeling of knowing you’ve made it through another brutal Texas summer and some of the best days of the year are on the horizon.

The redfish also take notice when this change takes place. It’s at this time when the winds swap to a light north, usually dropping the tides to slightly below predicted levels. It’s just enough to give us a taste of schooling fall redfish action. Redfish aren’t the only ones that take notice, there will be other signs of a seasonal change as well. One of my favorites being flights of blue-winged teal cutting around the marsh. They migrate down every September without fail and are a sure sign that fall is approaching.

So, what does all this mean in regard to fishing? Well, in short, it means it’s a good time to go. Days are getting shorter; water temperatures are beginning to cool and there’s plenty of forage in shallow flats and marshes. Hungry fish won’t be far behind them. It’s a sight-fisherman’s favorite time of year. This is confirmed every year by the number of inquiries I get for trips in the fall season. August usually starts to get pretty quiet as the heat is typically quite brutal, but as soon as we get a couple of fronts the phone starts to ring. I’m not sure if that’s because people don’t want to be out on 100-degree days or they just know the fishing can be better when the water cools slightly. Either way, it works out.

September is just a taste of fall weather though, and more days than not the fish still beat to their summer drum. You must take your strategy day by day this time of year. For instance, a typical fall pattern for me would be fishing around marsh edges in secondary lakes looking for schooling reds, a strategy that usually works best with lower-than-normal tides. However, in September we’re still susceptible to tropical weather systems and tidal surges. During swollen tide conditions redfish can be displaced into areas that are typically sheet water or dry land. So, fishing your fall go-to spots will likely yield little success as the fish may have been scattered.

While participating in this year’s Galveston Classic Fly Fishing Tournament, a tropical storm had made its way into the gulf, swelling the tides by nearly 4 feet, a level I had never fished before. Scrapping all previous plans, we scrambled for water shallow enough for sight-fishing. Finally, we found some sand outcroppings along Matagorda Island with clean water. I parked the boat and within a few minutes spotted a “backing” redfish and in we went. One good heave of the push pole and my Sabine skiff slid into the flooded spot. My client Keith and I probably boated 10 redfish in that one small area – the most gorgeous waters we had seen in two days. The fish weren’t big enough for us to win, although making the top ten felt like quite an accomplishment on such a crazy tide.

The moral of the story is you must follow the water to find the fish. Yes, September means we’re due for a front and lower water levels at some point, but we’re also due for a flood tide before month’s end. Staying alert to actual water levels versus predicted tides is a must if you consider yourself a sight-fisherman. The best way I have found to keep up with this data is with NOAA stations saved to my Smartphone.

Go to tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov and click on your state and a map pops up. The pins colored yellow and red are typically the stations with a live reading. Then click on station home and a live graph should pop up. The red line on the graph is the actual water level in real time. The blue line being the predicted level. Our tides here in Texas are strongly influenced by wind. So, it’s critical to keep tabs on the actual water level as weather patterns are changing.

When the water level is running at normal levels my game plan will include searching open grass flats. Obviously, this pertains mostly to the middle to lower part of the coast. Late summer transitioning to fall, I can typically locate large schools of horse mullet on deeper flats. Deeper meaning 2-4 ft range. What does this have to do with gamefish, you may ask? Well, redfish and trout will often be found lurking among or near these larger mullet and can be picked off with a well-placed cast.

Blind casting into these areas with a topwater plug may be more productive than waiting to cast to a single target, but not as much fun, in my opinion. Sometimes, the fish may be swimming with the large strings of mullet, and other times may be lying motionless beneath them. Moving the boat very slowly is highly recommended. First, it will give you more time to spot the fish, and second, the slower you move the fewer mullet you will spook, which in turn spooks the fish you’re trying to catch. Stop the boat at a distance before moving into an area you think may be holding fish. Look for large active mullet on the surface and then slide in to investigate.

I’m looking forward to the fishing this fall more than ever. It has been a challenging year condition-wise, and I can’t wait for the consistency the fall season can bring. We have received copious amounts of rain of late, especially on the upper coast, and the marshes are already teeming with shrimp. While the long stints of rainy weather have been trying at times, I know we will be rewarded soon.