Catching Up: September 2006

The heat just keeps on coming. We're still catching lots of fish- all kinds, trout, redfish, flounder, drum and even pompano in the Laguna Madre. The water clarity has been good from the mouth of Baffin Bay south to the Land Cut. We've had some really calm mornings that have enabled us a chance do some topwater stuff. The top water bite has been strong. Lot's of blow ups, it's been exciting.

There's been great fishing on the south shore of Baffin Bay. In the morning I'm wading up shallow casting Skitter walks, Top Dog She Pup in chrome and silver and the bone and silver has been really good, too.

Later on in the day we move out to the deeper rocks, stand and throw bone diamond Assassins against the rocks and let it fall off the edge. This has been producing some really nice trout.

We've even had some exciting fly-fishing. The conditions have been perfect for fly-fishing; calm weather, clear water, and a lot of hookups. John Mackintosh and Walter Bain came down for some fly-fishing and they did very well. We were working the edge of the Land Cut with the trolling motor, casting the topwater poppers up on the drop-off and pulling them off the edge. The big trout were blowing up on these fly-lined topwaters. We caught several fish that day, and lost two really big ones that just over-powered the tackle and broke off. The tippet was too light. The four and six pound tippet didn't cut it. Maybe use at least a 12-pound tippet down here I wanted to answer a couple of questions that I get asked a lot. How old are these trout that are 25 inches long? How old are the trout that are 30 inches long? Why are the trout bigger in the Laguna Madre? So, to be sure on the facts, I called Mr. Art Morris, the Fisheries Outreach Specialist with Texas Parks and Wildlife here in Corpus Christi. I've known Art for a long time and I have great respect for him, he's been with TP&W for over 25 years. Here's some of the interesting information he shared with me.

First on growth- the male and female grow at different rates. A female trout in one year is about 12 inches long, every year after that she grows about two inches per year. At 25 inches she'll be approximately six years old.

After that the fish will start to put on more weight than length. For example, at 7 years old she will be 27.6 inches and at 8 years old she will be 29.3 inches and she'll be 30.8 inches at 9 years old. Of course a lot of this depends on the conditions; those being weather, the water quality, forage availability, etc.

The male trout grow slower; most never make it beyond 20 inches. A male that is 20 inches would be nine years old; a really huge specimen might be 26 inches. When they start out there is a fifty-fifty ratio of male to female. As they get older there are a lot more female.

What surprised me was the state record trout- caught in February 1996 it was only six years old yet it weighed well over thirteen pounds. Art explained that it's kind of like a bass pond. If there's too many fish in it, they don't grow as fast because there's more competition for food. If there are fewer fish and a lot of bait they grow faster.

So, after the freeze the fish that did survive had less competition and grew very fast. Also, after the freezes of '83 and '89 we had normal winters that followed. This gave them a chance to rebound.

Now, why are they bigger in the Laguna Madre? Is it a different gene pool? Say, as from Florida? Art says, "No, they are the same species, it's just lack of pressure. We have larger areas of water without the constant pressure."

He told me about the net samples they run. The largest trout caught in the Laguna Madre in a survey net was 33 inches and weighed 12 pounds, on May 6, 2004. But, the largest in Texas that came from a survey net was 34.9 inches and weighed 15 pounds. It came from Matagorda Bay in 1988.

He said we're having our third highest catch rate since 1980. It's been above average these last two years and we're catching more numbers of eighteen to twenty-six inch trout. It's been good.

All in all, trout are an extremely tough fish. They are a great survivor. The conditions in the Laguna Madre are very harsh. They must survive a wide range of water temperatures, variable salinity levels, brown tides, red tides and winter freezes and that's just nature.

Art said that they are seeing a big swing from freshwater fishing to saltwater fishing. The saltwater fishing license sales are overtaking the freshwater fishing license. He said that there is an average of 2000 people a month taking up saltwater fishing. Our fishing population will double in the next twenty years.

I enjoyed talking to Art and I really appreciate all the information he provided for this column.

I know that the fishing will continue to be good. The fall months bring great trout fishing, redfishing and the flounder run and even dove hunting to look forward to. It's great to be able to do all that South Texas has to offer. We're lucky to be able to live here.

New on the market, Bass Assassin has come out with a new clicker cork with a titanium wire. It comes in an oval or tube shape. In dirty water and rough conditions use them with a Bass Assassin scented shrimp, on about a twenty inch drop with a twenty pound Seagaur fluorocarbon leader. Pop the cork and they will hammer them. You can use this method all year round. Also, they've got a mud minnow out that just devastates big trout.

My son and I are honored and feel it's a great privilege to be part of the Waterloo Rod Team. I'm using a 6'6" Titanium HP Slam, and the Titanium HP Mag. It's the most incredible rod I've ever put in my hand. When you hold a rod in your hand all day long as I do, believe me there is a difference. I'm using nothing but the very best! Thank you to Waterloo Rod Company, USA.