Summer Strategy

My, oh my, is there anything finer than summertime on the Texas coast? For a die-hard sight fisherman like myself I’m not sure there is. Yes, it’s awfully hot outside, but that big, beautiful, blazing ball of fire is what allows us to do what we do, and its intensity this time of year allows us to do it well.

One thing that seems to make July a great month for sight fishing is consistent weather patterns. We can only hope that’s what we see this year. Last July was definitely consistent, with excessive winds from the southwest and low chances of rain, but that’s not exactly our normal. The July weather that I know and love is variable winds at sunrise followed by an onshore afternoon breeze of 10-15 knots out of the southeast, and if you’re lucky, a small pop up shower to cool everything down. That paints a beautiful word picture doesn’t it? I thought so, too.

Another reason I enjoy fishing the summer season is the variety of opportunity a day can bring. For starters, all inshore species are a possible target tight to the shoreline at first light. Stumbling into a school of jacks when crossing larger portions of the bay is also a possibility. Seasonable light winds also produce an opportunity for a small skiff to venture around passes and jetties, opening up another list of possibilities like bull reds, tripletail, cobia, and even tarpon. Any of the following make my day and are a welcomed break from the day to day of pursuing slot redfish on the flats. Don’t get me wrong, I will never grow weary of chasing our beloved redfish, it’s just fun to mix it up now and again.

A variety of species means a variety of tackle will be needed. The under-gunnel of my Sabine Skiff will often be loaded for bear this time of the year. It’s not uncommon for me to bring a 7,9, and 11-weight fly outfit, along with a couple of spinning rods and even plug rod if I have room. I’ve learned the hard way it’s better to be prepared on calm summer days because you never know where you’ll end up or how big the fish you might encounter.

Such was the case from the photo I shared in my March 2024 article with a customer holding a large jack crevalle landed on an 8-weight fly rod. The backstory is that we both had bigger gear in our vehicles that day but left it behind because the weather was a bit snotty starting off. Later, we found ourselves by the pass with ice cream conditions but didn’t venture out because we weren’t properly equipped. As we headed across the bay we stumbled into a school of large jacks and had to make do with the tackle we had aboard. It wasn’t ideal, and I can’t help but laugh looking back. The lesson learned is just bring the bigger rod, conditions change quickly out there.

It’s imperative to get an early start this time of the year to take advantage of cooler water temperatures. We often have a morning incoming tide on my part of the coast this month, and I like to take advantage of that in whatever back lakes have been holding fish. The incoming cooler water typically puts them in a happy feeding mood and will last for a few hours if I’m lucky. After the tide slacks and sun is up, the water gets stagnate and hot quickly. All hope isn’t lost, though, and this is typically when I’ll run for deeper water hoping to get a chance at some of the additional species we discussed earlier.

However, this isn’t always an option as sometimes the onshore winds may pick up a bit early, or there could be a thunderstorm nearby. In these cases I strongly urge you to not make a run to deeper water. The next best option is to fish shorelines with steep drop-offs that give fish quick access to deeper, cooler water. You can often find redfish, sheepshead, and black drum running these types of shorelines in warmer months. This is often a day saver for me as it doesn’t take much wind to discourage me from fishing deeper waters.

This brings me to reminding you that if you do plan to venture into deeper regions of the bay, nearshore, or even offshore in your flats or bay boat, please double check your safety equipment before doing so. When’s the last time you checked your bilge pump? Some self-bailing flats boats may not have one, but most do. This is often the first thing to go out on a new boat due to the environment they live in. Upon flipping the switch to the on position, if the pump sounds weak, or not running like it did when it was new, just replace it. If you’re replacing this yourself pay special attention to the GPH or gallon-per-hour rating on the original to be sure you’re replacing it with one that has equal or greater rating than the pump you’re taking out. This may be tempting because the lower rated pumps are cheaper, but this isn’t the place to cheap out.

Also, consider carrying a marine radio as a backup form of communication. Yes, you should absolutely be in cell phone range, I wouldn’t recommend leaving cell range in a flats boat, but some days it’s just too tempting to do so when the gulf looks more like the Lake of Mexico. An important issue is that nobody rigs flats and bay boats with marine radios nowadays, and if you have a problem out there you can get into trouble quickly without ability to call for help. Handhelds are cheap insurance. I’ve been carrying a Cobra marine handheld radio for a few years now in my boat bag, and while I haven’t had to use it, I feel good knowing it’s there.

That about wraps it up for this month. Let’s pray that this July is full of calm seas and seasonably light winds, we’re certainly due for a good one. If going out on your own this month, pack adequate tackle and stay vigilant of any approaching weather. It can get ugly very quickly on those 100° afternoons. If going with a guide, tip well, it’s hard work out there in the summer heat.