The View: August 2024

I would like to begin by saying I have enjoyed some of the best wading action for quality trout this summer since the big freeze back in February 2021. That’s a pat on the back to all who have bought into catching and releasing their trout, TPWD’s efforts to enact more conservative bag limits, and just a general “release more than you take” attitude from so many anglers. Here’s a hearty thanks to all for a job well done!

Our bays are improving and our catches are improving. On a recent successful outing a client and I landed and released I don’t know how many five-pound trout on MirrOlure Soft Dines. I tried to force-feed them topwaters, but on this day they wanted the slow-sinker, so I didn’t argue with them. Please keep doing what’s best for our bays.

Here’s our approach for August:

By now you are accustomed to hundred-degree heat. Sure, it's hot, but if you leave the dock a little earlier and head back to the dock before it blisters, August can be just as profitable as any other month.

August normally brings with it weak cool fronts that knock the humidity down, flatten the Gulf of Mexico, and deliver the first batch of blue-winged teal to our coastal region. We will work the surf and jetty on these days, concentrating in the first gut on the incoming tide and tossing topwaters on the outer bars on the falling tide.

East Matagorda Bay is always a player with light winds. The mid-bay reefs consistently hold good trout in August. We start out in waist-deep water on the shell drop and then end up in chest-deep water on the end of the reef as the water warms.

Know your tides. There have been many mornings I have arrived to find nothing, but patience prevails knowing the incoming tide will bring fish to the reef. Slicks popping in deeper water adjacent to the reef are good signs.

Reefs along the north shoreline are a boon for waders tossing topwaters on the incoming tide. Never underestimate the cuts leading to the bay on the incoming tide as well. Those fish enter and exit the ditch daily through the cuts.

 Again, it's an early bite with the heat. We find those trout over the grass early, then they fall along the ledge into about 4-5 feet of water later in the day. Don't be surprised to find birds working along the north shoreline with calm conditions. Since the ICW runs along the northern boundary of East Bay, those shrimp running “the ditch" often enter the bay on the incoming tide.

Offshore anglers have been enjoying excellent red snapper action in 40-80 feet of water. Lots of 15-20 pound snapper have been caught over wrecks and reefs. Guide Michael Kubecka has been targeting swordfish 80-90 miles out over hilltops. If you ever run in to Kubecka, ask him about my smoked swordfish dip.

Expect kingfish, cobia and dorado to remain consistent over structure. If the past five August’s are barometers, expect tarpon to show along the beach. Legitimate 200-plus pounders were caught and released last summer.

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