The View: September 2017

Trout, teal, dove, redfish - That's a lot of choices! But, that's why we are so blessed to live in Texas and why we love September.

The first north breezes of September slice overnight mercury readings by 5- to 10-degrees. Those cooler nighttime temps do wonders for coastal fishing, knocking water temperatures down at least a couple of degrees. It may not seem significant, but there is a big difference between 78 and 80 when it comes to coastal fishing. A couple of degrees puts life in a fishery grown stagnant in summer heat.

Higher tides encourage waders in East Bay to return to the shorelines for larger trout. Muddy bottoms on Brown Cedar Flats and Catch-All Basin are prime locales to toss a topwater for gator trout. These are also solid spots for reds.

If water temperatures continue to hang in the 80s, Matagorda trout will remain in a summer pattern. That means over deep shell in East Bay, where Bass Assassins, Down South Lures, MirrOlure Soft-Dines, Gulps and live shrimp are best under a cork. Small topwaters like She Pups and Super Spook Jrs get blown out of the water as well.

Reefs along the north shoreline of West Bay hold trout, redfish and black drum that readily take live shrimp. Shell Island, Twin Island and all the points along the north shoreline are littered with shell. Redfish have been known to school in large numbers in late-September in these locales.

With high tides, expect redfish to fill the back lakes and grassy shorelines, and readily eating small topwaters and weedless soft plastics. Bloated water levels also encourage large, solitary trout to extend their boundaries to the upper reaches of estuaries. So, when casting to a pod of marsh redfish, don’t be surprised to find a silver streak cruising the shallows.

We find large schools of redfish on the north shoreline. Live shrimp, mullet and topwaters work well. Back bay areas like Oyster Lake, Crab Lake and Lake Austin hold healthy populations. Don't be surprised to see birds working in the back lakes on calm days as shrimp begin to leave the marsh.

Wading the mid-bay reefs in East Bay will produce throughout the year. With higher tides, the muddy bottoms around Brown Cedar Flats hold both trout and redfish for waders and drifters. The far east end of the bay gets really good this time of year.

Grass beds on the south shoreline of West Bay will continue to hold trout and redfish on topwaters and soft plastics. Since tides most often are higher than normal, expect those fish to be tight to the shorelines.

Teal season runs September 9- through 24. We will hunt every morning and fish the afternoons. Most of our morning hunts are done with plenty of time to get a bite to eat before hitting the bay before noon. Rice production is up this year and we have plenty of ponds full of food in Matagorda and Wharton counties. We have high-ground blinds on the prairie for ducks and geese along with marsh ponds, both fresh and salty, right along the coast.

The Special White Wing Dove Season runs Sept. 2-3 and 9-10, afternoon only, and the general South Zone dove season also opens September 22. This gives us another blast option through the end of October before regular duck and goose season opens November 4.

Follow our daily catches and hunts on Facebook, Instagram and weekly on the Texas Insider Fishing Report on Fox Sports Southwest.

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