The View: April 2018

More people will attend church in April than any other month of the year; more people will eat hard-boiled eggs in April than any other month of the year; and, more shades of green from Easter dresses and stringy plastic grass will be seen in April than any other month of the year.

Green symbolizes new life, rebirth, a rejuvenation of the soul – all that is spring. April officially rolls away the cold stone of winter.

Trees are blossoming, water temperatures are rising, and bait is active. Spring equinox tides invigorate the shallows and back lakes, so every spot in the bay is a player. Oyster Lake, Crab Lake, Boggy and Lake Austin are great locales to find redfish and black drum on live shrimp under a popping cork. Scattered speckled trout can be found in the lakes with rising spring tides.

As finger mullet show en masse on shorelines, look for the topwater bite to get even better. March was a great topwater month with water temps in the upper-60s to lower-70s on most days. Longer days and swelling incoming tides prompt glass minnows (bay anchovies) to move on grassy shorelines anytime. Look for gaggles of diving brown pelicans to point the way.

The minnows usually show in West Matagorda Bay in the afternoon; and, incoming tides over sand and grass are a recipe for success.

Glow, pearl, or clear soft plastics most resemble a glass minnow. Darting and swimming baits like Down South Lures, Norton Bull Minnows, Bass Assassins and the new Chickenboy Whippin Chicken are good choices. Chicken on a Chain, Bone Diamond and Magic Grass are popular colors these days and perfect for mimicking a minnow.

As tides bloat, knee and thigh-deep shorelines in East Matagorda Bay become favored habitat for large specks. Brown Cedar Flats, Half-Moon Reef and Catch-All Basin are big trout havens. Corkys, MirrOlures, Super Spooks and She Dogs are all players.

Never discount deep shell in East Bay. Trout use it year ‘round and miles of scattered towheads of shell can be slowly drifted with soft plastics, topwaters or live shrimp under a popping cork. Really, the fact of the matter is that some of the largest specks in East Bay come from the middle of the bay while drifting.

April is never too early for the Gulf of Mexico. The warming trend of spring wakes up the jetty. There are some big ol' trout out there and a warm incoming ocean tide is all that is needed. The magic number is normally 72- to 75-degree water temperature. That shouldn't be a problem - heck, water temperatures reached 73-degrees during the last three days of February. As unpredictable as the weather has been in 2018, if it stays warm in March, we might be wading wet by April.

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