South Padre: April 2023

April and I have a love-hate relationship. I love that April marks the beginning of the speckled trout spawning season and females that are still winter-fat can attain peak weights as developing roe can add a pound or even more before those eggs are released. What I hate is that April’s wind can blow your socks off, even if you’re standing in the water. If you do not have a pair of drift anchors or twin Power-Poles on your boat you could be in for some frustrating moments.

Finding suitable water clarity this month is one of the keys to success with artificial lures and that’s where protected shorelines enter the picture. But let’s not get too hung up on the clarity thing; the fish are still there and still need to eat. We experienced many days with strong wind in March and we tackled it using topwaters such as the Z-Man Hellraizer and the five-inch Diezel Minnowz paddletails. Fish are definitely attracted to lures that produce surface commotion, sound, and vibration in murky water conditions.

No question that our Lower Laguna redfish fishery is thriving. Crossing grass flats on both the east and west sides recently on calm days, we found them so thick that we had to take care not to run over them. Another very promising sign is the number of undersize reds we are catching.   

This month, many anglers might ask, “Where should we start targeting redfish with these windy conditions?” As mentioned above you can begin by focusing on protected shorelines holding decent water clarity. Edges of color changes can also be very good. But like I said earlier, don’t get too hung up on water clarity. The presence of active bait – even in downright nasty water conditions – can be all you need. Tie on a noisy topwater or paddletail that produces lots of vibration and get busy.

Another thing I love about April is the abundance of small shrimp. Reds will be grubbing bottom and shrimp fleeing ahead of them at the surface will point the way to tight lines. Keep your eyes peeled for diving gulls and terns, and redfish tails wagging above the surface. Z-Man’s Salty Nedz Shrimpz can be especially effective while all this is going on.   

The recovery of our trout fishery continues to show positive signs even though we are definitely lacking the numbers of heavyweight specimens in the eight to ten, and even eleven-pound-classes we enjoyed in years past.  Trout in the seventeen- to twenty-inch class are currently plentiful, however we are also seeing fewer in the twenty-one to upper-twenties size classes than we are accustomed. Sure would be nice if TPWD could find a way to stretch the current three fish limit a few more years although I am told that is not likely to happen. Right now, I would say the best strategy for anglers who long to see a return to historic numbers of trophy class fish in the Lower Laguna Madre would be to continue practicing catch and release as much as possible.  

Temperatures will be on the rise and tides will be steadily increasing through April. I expect that our best opportunities for bigger trout will likely come during April’s full and new moon periods, which also happen to be what we call two-tide days, days that biologists say are peak times for trout spawning.

So, if you’re thinking trophy caliber trout; think shallow grass beds with lots of potholes and plenty of bait present. Reference your solunar tables and fish when tidal currents are strongest…and make a million casts. What lures do I recommend? Topwaters are known producers of large trout and, if it’s windy, I have gained a lot of confidence lately in Z-Man’s Hellraizer. I believe it annoys them into striking even when they’re not feeding. If they won’t go on the surface switch to the scented Paddlerz, Streakz, and the five-inch Diezel Minnowz. If the bigger fish are in the shallow grass flats I recommend Z-Man's Texas Eye Jig Heads, which will help a lure glide through the thickest grass.

Please exercise good common sense out there. We hear stories every year of April’s winds swamping and capsizing boats. Study your weather apps, learn which areas offer protection from the wind, and which shorelines you can run without going aground or hitting some type of structure or other obstacle in the water. Stay safe and think big this month when dealing with the fish and the wind.