Fish Talk: June 2007

Anticipating June's arrival is summed up in two words, hookups and blowups. Taking a glance at the past month can make your head spin with the roller coaster of fishing activity. East Matagorda Bay's dirty water forced us to use that stink bait under a loud cork to have any chance of catching a fish. When the wind did give us a reprieve and the water cleared a bit we were able to catch a few fish drifting or wading. Some days saw a retreat to West Matagorda Bay just to look up some good water. Even running all the way to Airport Flats was not out of the equation.

Recently we've had some catching on Bass Assassins and a few tops early with plenty of glass minnows and mullet around, especially on an incoming tide. Pulled out of our waders on May 3^rd and started wading wet; boy did that feel good. It seems like our bigger fish for the past month came early in the day working knee-deep to thigh-deep while throwing small bone top waters or the 4-inch Sea Shad in roach or bone. Some of the guides ran evening trips and fished until dark with a lot of limits on trout and reds coming on that late bite.

Check out the shark activity over in West Matagorda Bay before heading out and if that's not enough of a hindrance, we've got those hateful stingrays that just keep popping up. Numerous fishermen have met up with these angry guys and believe me it is no party. The fishermen that have taken the beating from these stingrays have not for the most part been wearing protection. We always remind folks to slide their feet but don't forget there are holes out there and a possibility that a stingray might just be inside one. My suggestion is to wear your protection. Be safe not sorry because the pain is unbearable. This is one guy who will be wearing his ForEverLast Ray Guard boots so that he can wade another day.

As I mentioned, we're looking for hook-ups and blow-ups coming June. East Matagorda Bay should have settled winds by then and a good fishing pattern. Tactics are to wade the shorelines and reefs early, perhaps until mid-morning, then retreating and work the deeper shell. You might even see a little bird activity and slicks popping in the middle of the bay. Mullet and shrimp have already set up camp and we'll see those shad appearing sometime around mid-June.

Baits to toss for soft plastics are the Assassin Slurp in Drunk Monkey or Good Penny on a -1/8 oz lead head. I have done really well on the 5 inch shad in 10W40, Opening Night, Pumpkinseed, and Roach. I recommend these baits under a rattlin' cork if the water is off-colored. I will also be throwing a variety of topwaters. June is a good month for this because the fish are off the mud and bait movement will be good. A lot of times you will see bait being knocked up out of the water or trout jumping out of the water chasing bait. When you see this you will have a lot of fun fishing topwaters. Another thing is when extracting those big treble hooks from the old yellow mouth be extremely careful. All it takes is one wrong shake and you can get a hook in your hand in a blink of an eye.

It should be happening over in West Matagorda Bay as well. Fish the incoming tide, work the sandbars, guts, and grass beds while checking out baitfish, mainly mullet. I believe your bigger fish will fall to topwaters. Reds should be close to the shorelines or on the sandbars on a low tide and in the guts. Look for the wells to produce some trout. Don't forget about Oyster Lake, Crab Lake, and the reefs around Mad Island Cut. These areas should pay off on reds and a few trout especially around the reefs at Mad Island Cut. Just hope our weather stabilizes and I'm sure it will. Have a great time fishing and be very careful out there.