Fish Talk: June 2011

Time is passing awfully fast with what seems like spring rolling right into summer. Fishing patterns have been very difficult to interpret lately it seems that when we find a decent bite the wind does crazy things and we are right back to scratching our heads. We finally got into some steady action when the wind laid for three days the first weekend of May but it came right back with a vengeance. Of equal concern right now is the drought. We need a couple of days of soaking rain to break the pattern and sweeten the bays. My brow is already dripping thinking about all the vegetation that will need watering and all the hot and windy fishing days ahead. I have seen these conditions in years past and I'm here to tell you three or four inches of rain would work wonders for area farmers and fishermen alike.

Fishing in and around the wind has not been easy, pinned to protected shorelines, but a good number of fish came in on the new and full moons recently. We actually had a run of five days straight with limits over in West Matagorda Bay. No big trout but good solid 16-18 inchers. Some were caught on MirrOlure bone-colored Pups and the Okie Shad One Knocker Super Spook. The vast majority of these trout came off Bass Assassins as you might expect; Chicken-on-a-Chain, Roach, and Hot Chicken paddletails were good numbers. Redfish have been holding tight to the shorelines as they often do, which makes them rather easy to target. East Bay has produced scattered trout action over deeper reefs on Drunk Monkey Bass Assassin under rattling corks, and fishermen who prefer live shrimp under corks have been getting some too. The shorelines that have been holding redfish roaming flats close to the bank have also been holding a fair number of trout mixed with them.

Writing this on May 11, I can only guess what the rest of the month will bring. My prayer and I assume everyone else is for some much needed rain along with a decline in wind strength. With that said my trips over to East Bay will typically consist of wading reefs while throwing Assassins and hitting the shorelines for reds.

As anyone knows who fishes our bays, West Bay is a different animal in the sense that fishing patterns and procedures usually differ somewhat. As I've iterated many times, an incoming tide is your friend in this bay system. The glass minnows are in West Bay in abundance along with lots of small shad. If we can just get a break in the weather we will have lots of great days ahead. Even though gas prices are currently still spiraling upward, I'll point my boat in that direction for the most consistent action I can put my clients on.

Grassbeds and incoming tide has normally been most productive for me in West Bay and I'm not planning to change anything any time soon. The character in the gray suit showed up the other day scaring the wits out of one of my clients and initiating the shark bucket procedure. Get yourself some kind of floating bucket device if you plan for keeping table fare.

Typical routine for fishing will entail an early rise to get to my spot before the crowd. Boat traffic is increasing by the day and will continue to increase when school lets out. Once there, I will start out fishing shallow and ease my way to the deeper bars and grass beds. Usually by the time the sun is up my clients and I are in waist-deep water. If we happen to catch a bunch of trout on the grass beds early, I'll move in tight on the shorelines aiming for reds. I might even cross the bay headed for Oyster Lake. Another possibility is to fish the surf if and when that door opens. I have yet to see any sign of "surf weather" on the horizon but you can bet I'll be keeping an eye peeled for it.

Favored baits will be She Pup or She Dog on top and maybe some playing time for the Okie Shad One Knocker. Plastics of course will be Bass Assassins - Chicken-on-a-Chain, Hot Chicken, Roach, and 10W40 in both 5" straight tail and 4" paddletail.

Do not go fishing without checking the tide and solunar charts in this magazine. Good fishin' and God Bless.