Mid-Coast Bays: March 2012

The month of March tends to be one of the toughest months to plan a fishing getaway for anglers that only have the opportunity to fish one or two days a month. Wintertime weather is on its way out making room for springtime changes. So, what does this mean for anglers? Probably a bunch of wind, maybe gale force wind and, hopefully, some much needed rain.

In this article I want to talk a little about water levels and how they affect fishing. Many anglers refer to tide and currents as if the two occurrences are the same thing. Tide is defined as the vertical movement of water and this is caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and to a lesser extent, the sun. Currents, on the other hand, are defined as horizontal movement of water. Some currents are caused by the tide. When the tide increases in height it moves inshore spilling into the bays and eventually into the back lakes and marshes. The shoreward movement of water creates a tidal current - the "incoming" tide. The "outgoing" tide is exactly the reverse of the process - water flows seaward as the tide falls.

There are other factors that create currents and it is these factors that tend to affect the waters more so this time of year because of the unstable weather. Wind-driven currents occur when the friction of wind movement forces water ahead of it. When wind and tide are in the same direction, much higher and much lower tides can result. A hard north wind always pushes the water out creating lower water levels that are obvious when running through back lakes. Some anglers will notice lower levels at the boat ramp when launching their boat while many others won't even think to look. If the wind happens to be coming in from the south, then higher water levels will be observed and usually the stronger the south wind, the higher the water.

Another factor that can create current flow is atmospheric pressure. Low pressure can result in higher tides and higher pressure can result in lower tides. It is well known that the feeding frenzies we have experienced as a front approaches are related to the additional current speed generated by falling atmospheric pressure.

By now you are probably wondering why I am talking about something as simple as water levels. Well let me tell you, water level is a very important piece of the fishing success puzzle, yet you might be surprised how few of my fishing clients take this into consideration when they are planning their fishing trips. The lures we have been using, locations, preferred structure, along with presentations are almost always discussed while water levels tend to be overlooked.

When I am fishing under low water level conditions I usually concentrate my efforts towards the middle of the back lakes instead of up tight on the shorelines. If water levels drop dramatically look for fish to fall off into nearby channels and holes. Why? As water levels drop out from under them, baitfish naturally move into deeper water. And we all know that redfish and trout stay in pursuit of the baitfish.

The opposite is true when water levels are higher than normal. Fish are opportunist and will scatter to look for food in areas that might have been off limits to them a few days before because of less water. This is the reason it is advantageous to work your offerings up close to the shorelines of the bays and back lakes.

Redfish are famous for venturing as far back into the marsh as the water allows. The fish you will find in these areas are typically feeding very aggressively and are downright fun to target because they are not hesitant to strike whatever you put in front of them. I personally love it when water levels are super high enabling me to explore new back ponds and creeks. I have learned more about our waters when the levels where at their highest than any other time.

Oyster season finally opened on 26 January. As of this writing, Espiritu Santo and San Antonio Bay are the only waters open to harvest in this area. I am ecstatic to say the least. The red tide is gone and fresh oysters out of San Antonio Bay are hard to beat. Let's all keep praying that our rainfall levels return to normal this year - for the health of our bay systems and the creatures that depend on them.