South Padre: April 2012

Many wonder who is the best fisherman on the water today. Without a doubt, I cast my vote for the osprey. I was recently wading during a slow bite period and found myself watching an osprey searching for its next meal; slowly soaring and wheeling, very patient and very focused. There was no bait visible on the surface; everything seemed to be down in the water column. Discouragement and doubts about the productivity of the spot were starting to set in as I watched the bird dive. Rising with clenched talons it struggled to its nearby roost atop an old piling to eat a fat mullet.

That osprey gave me the inspiration I needed to continue and it wasn't long until our dismal no-fish period turned into an epic bite. It goes to show that not all valuable fishing clues come from the water. Be observant of all your surroundings. Staying mentally sharp can payoff big when the fish start their feed.

I have lots of BIG news. I have been reporting a solid trout bite with some exceptional fish for the last two months and I am happy to report that it has become nothing short of phenomenal. The warm weather seems to have the trout setting up in spring patterns earlier than normal and I have been able to pattern a school of large trout like nothing I have ever found before. Most of the biggest ones we are catching have had big mullet sticking out of their mouth, and on a couple of occasions small trout. That's right - small trout!

Like I said, these large trout have been showing on the shallow flats with consistency, but getting them to bite wasn't easy. For several weeks, we tried every lure I could think of with only moderate success, spooking them in that clear, shallow water far more than encouraging a strike. Even though we knew where they were and fished the prime feed times, our few successes were limited to low light periods very early and then again late in the afternoon.

Finally in desperation I decided to try a tiny topwater. My first cast with the 3" Zara Puppy produced what we were hoping for; an eight-and-a-half pounder just annihilated that tiny bait. With a bit more learning and finesse, my client's success ratio on those big sows that had been lock-jawed for weeks shot up like a rocket. This month the topwater bite should heat up on the shallow grass flats and also on the sand. If your desire is to land a trophy, it may mean grinding all day until they decide to eat. Sometimes that feed may occur right before sunset. Remember the osprey and stay patient and sharp when chasing the big ones.

With spring soon in full swing, the back bays north and south of the Arroyo Colorado will start to hold good concentrations of redfish. The two main things that will attract these redfish to the back lakes are higher tides and the brown shrimp. Windy conditions will be typical this time of the year, but the arrival of the wind can sometimes aid fishermen. For example feeding redfish tend to stir up the bottom looking for tiny crustaceans. Their aggressive feed causes shrimp to jump and skip on the surface which easily attracts the attention of opportunistic sea gulls that cleverly use the wind to hover over redfish and eat what they can snatch as they try to escape the hungry red monsters. Even with the wind masking noise in the water your approach must be very quiet. I can assure you stalking tailing redfish can be a blast and the action can spoil you very quickly.

This time of the year anglers need to keep an eye on the weather, especially the daily wind forecast, and don't be afraid to try something new if your "same-old" approach is not working. I can recall the reason I gave up on hunting was because I could never figure out the deer or whatever I was hunting. It didn't aid the cause that I once missed a deer at thirty yards or the time I bird hunted in Mexico, using a case of shotgun shells and shooting only two birds while my son shot eighty birds right next to me. However, when it comes to fishing, I strive to be just like an osprey: keen, patient, and determined to figure out the fish that I pursue. Now, that's what makes fishing extremely fun. Wanna join the chase? Come on; let's go fish like an osprey.