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Mid-Coast Bays: June 2009
Leon Leopold with an oversized redfish on the reefs.
I'm glad there is only one May in every year, because I don't think my body or mind could handle the stress that the fishing has put me through lately. There were many days that you could catch plenty of redfish or trout in a given location just to show up the next day and not even get a bite. After making our first wade in the morning it's pretty disheartening when your customers turn to you and ask, "Are we going to your best spot now?" Most of the time they were joking.sometimes they were not.
Because of the fluctuations in weather and tides the fish were extremely hard for me to pattern consistently. In June it should be a whole new ballgame. We should see the winds decrease to their normal velocities and the tidal patterns should also become normal.
June to me means reef hopping in my home waters of San Antonio Bay. San Antonio Bay is where I honed my plugging skills on my speckled friends; back when I started guiding professionally in 1986 I would steer away from redfish and anything else that wasn't speckled with a mouthful of jagged teeth. Sure, redfish inhabited certain areas of the reefs I waded but, I usually steered clear unless someone was really interested in them.
Please don't take me wrong, I was not too good to catch redfish; instead I preferred chasing my speckled friends and figuring out their patterns.
Looking back on my logs from previous years and by patterning the fish so far in May I can say that the fish are and will be holding on the reefs in San Antonio Bay. In June we will be targeting reefs that have cuts through them and also have deep drop offs and troughs that still have shell, we should be steering away from the muddy areas of the reefs.
The lure I prefer for this scenario is the Texas Assassin rigged on a 1/16th ounce Assassin jighead. The colors I prefer are usually plum/chartreuse or pumpkinseed/chartreuse, on most days when you are in the fish, color doesn't seem to make that much difference.
For those of you wondering; yes, topwaters do work on the reefs but normally you will have more consistent action and will catch more fish on soft plastics.
When wading the reefs there are a few things to remember. Always move slowly while wading on shell due to the crunching noise the shell makes as you walk on it, once you or your buddy hooks a fish stop! Work the area thoroughly before moving on, many bites have been shut down due to an excited angler walking into the fish. The eastern sides of the reefs in San Antonio Bay are generally better than the western sides because the eastern side has more of a gradual slope to it and there are many guts and depressions forming the needed structure to help the trout hunt down the mullet and shrimp.
For anyone wading the reefs, no matter what time of the year, you should always wear long pants. You will encounter lots of jellyfish. There is hardly anything worse than getting into a bunch of trout and having to return to the boat and tend to the burning sensation that the hot jelly has inflicted. Some tips here on jelly stings; meat tenderizer rubbed into the affected area will stop the sting almost immediately. Vinegar works but makes you smell like a pickle. I prefer the meat tenderizer; actually I prefer the long wading pants.
When the reefs get blown out in San Antonio Bay you will find me chasing my speckled friends on the shorelines of the same bay fishing the many guts and bars. If anyone has any questions regarding the reefs and how I fish them, or any fishing/boating questions, please feel welcome to contact me by telephone or e-mail.
Fish hard, fish smart!
Because of the fluctuations in weather and tides the fish were extremely hard for me to pattern consistently. In June it should be a whole new ballgame. We should see the winds decrease to their normal velocities and the tidal patterns should also become normal.
June to me means reef hopping in my home waters of San Antonio Bay. San Antonio Bay is where I honed my plugging skills on my speckled friends; back when I started guiding professionally in 1986 I would steer away from redfish and anything else that wasn't speckled with a mouthful of jagged teeth. Sure, redfish inhabited certain areas of the reefs I waded but, I usually steered clear unless someone was really interested in them.
Please don't take me wrong, I was not too good to catch redfish; instead I preferred chasing my speckled friends and figuring out their patterns.
Looking back on my logs from previous years and by patterning the fish so far in May I can say that the fish are and will be holding on the reefs in San Antonio Bay. In June we will be targeting reefs that have cuts through them and also have deep drop offs and troughs that still have shell, we should be steering away from the muddy areas of the reefs.
The lure I prefer for this scenario is the Texas Assassin rigged on a 1/16th ounce Assassin jighead. The colors I prefer are usually plum/chartreuse or pumpkinseed/chartreuse, on most days when you are in the fish, color doesn't seem to make that much difference.
For those of you wondering; yes, topwaters do work on the reefs but normally you will have more consistent action and will catch more fish on soft plastics.
When wading the reefs there are a few things to remember. Always move slowly while wading on shell due to the crunching noise the shell makes as you walk on it, once you or your buddy hooks a fish stop! Work the area thoroughly before moving on, many bites have been shut down due to an excited angler walking into the fish. The eastern sides of the reefs in San Antonio Bay are generally better than the western sides because the eastern side has more of a gradual slope to it and there are many guts and depressions forming the needed structure to help the trout hunt down the mullet and shrimp.
For anyone wading the reefs, no matter what time of the year, you should always wear long pants. You will encounter lots of jellyfish. There is hardly anything worse than getting into a bunch of trout and having to return to the boat and tend to the burning sensation that the hot jelly has inflicted. Some tips here on jelly stings; meat tenderizer rubbed into the affected area will stop the sting almost immediately. Vinegar works but makes you smell like a pickle. I prefer the meat tenderizer; actually I prefer the long wading pants.
When the reefs get blown out in San Antonio Bay you will find me chasing my speckled friends on the shorelines of the same bay fishing the many guts and bars. If anyone has any questions regarding the reefs and how I fish them, or any fishing/boating questions, please feel welcome to contact me by telephone or e-mail.
Fish hard, fish smart!