South Padre: October 2023

Can you name the busiest highways in the United States or in Texas? The busiest in the US is I-405 through Los Angeles, and in Texas it’s I-35 through Austin. Now, if you're stuck in traffic elsewhere, you might argue these choices. But aside from that, what do busy highways have to do with fishing?

You see, fish seldom stay in the same location the entire day. Fish have tails and swim for comfort and survival. Our waters in the Lower Laguna Madre serve as highways for fish to roam freely to meet their needs for survival and continuation of the species.

As an angler, if you can figure out the busiest fish highways in your home waters, your chances of landing more fish can improve significantly. How do you find these fish highways? Every body of water is different, but if you pay close attention during significant high and low tide events, you can see where the currents are strongest. It could be a marsh drain, a canal, or across a shallow flat leading to deeper water. And, of course, the ICW is the primary water highway through all Texas bays.

Finding the fish highways: I have observed that mullet tend to lead the way as fish of all species enter or exit any particular body of water. They, too, follow the highways, and gamefish are never far behind. Another observation is the foam floating on the water’s surface during substantial water movements. It, too, can tell you where flows are strongest. Usually, that's where the fish highway is also located.

The winds finally laid down and now we wish we had some. It's seldom perfect out in nature, so we play the hand we’re dealt and make the best of it. One benefit of slick-calm conditions is in locating redfish; the ripples and wakes they create have been very noticeable of late.

We’ve experienced water temperatures in the low-90s the past two months and could still get good numbers of redfish. Now, with October upon us, redfish action should get even better, if you can imagine such a thing. Hot spots have been along ICW spoil islands and I expect this will continue into October. I also expect to see trout joining the reds along the spoils. Depending when the current heat wave may dissipate, look for both reds and trout up shallow in the early morning hours and then dropping down into deeper water as the water temps climb around midday. If by chance October brings us its traditionally cooler weather, then you can expect fish to remain shallower for longer periods, maybe all day.

We continue to do well with Z-Man lures for both redfish and trout, especially the Streakz in Space Guppy and Sexy Mullet. I am also impressed with their Eye Strike jigs and weedless Texas Eye hooks. The hook-set is phenomenal and they have improved our catching, given that we no longer shy from casting into heavily-grassed situations. Check out the video I have provided, a long-time client on his success using the Texas Eye.

I am not happy with the new trout regulations. I truly wish the emergency regulations could have remained at least two more years. The trout fishery has definitely rebounded since the freeze, but with quite a way yet to go in terms of numbers of trophy-size fish in the population. Just because the state currently allows a larger bag limit does not mean we cannot limit ourselves, though. What I’m saying is that a few now and then for dinner is a far cry from keeping five every day.

Last month, there were good numbers of trout along the edges of the ICW and adjacent flats. Deeper water was definitely the key to productivity. Trout patterns will begin to change as soon as daily water temperatures begin their seasonal decline, and most notable will be the length of time they spend on shallow flats with slightly deeper potholes. Trout will start to fatten up, and slicks will become more noticeable as they feed more frequently in cooler water.

As you may have noticed from photos I have included recently, we have enjoyed a banner year for snook. While I haven’t compiled the numbers yet, my guess would be that our landings have surpassed any of the past seven years, maybe the past ten. Hopefully, this trend will continue for years to come.

So, with October upon us, clean those reels, sharpen your hooks, and get on the highway. The best is yet to come.