Calm BEFORE THE

With big trout on my mind, I hooked up the boat and headed to deep south Texas. An approaching cold front was going to shorten my trip to a single day, but I felt confident it would be worth the 5-hour drive. As the cold front swept across north Texas, my anticipation was high as I headed south to warmer temperatures and extra hours before the frigid air and high-powered north wind turned a nice winter’s day into artic conditions.

The morning greeted me with calm winds and dense fog, which is not typical south Texas weather 14 hours prior to the strongest cold front of the year. The norm is 25 knots from the south or southeast with a storm of this magnitude on the doorstep.

I headed to my pre-determined location at a safe speed considering the conditions. I was in no hurry, as the prime bite was not until 10 a.m. The forecast was sunny, calm and 70 degrees for the day, followed by north at 35 knots and a low of 28 the next morning. I was certain the approaching weather would have the bite fired up, and it did not disappoint. The fish didn’t feed on everything I tied on, but once I homed in on what they wanted it was nonstop!

I pulled up to a favorite cove, positioned the boat well outside the prime area and quietly slipped into air-clear, knee-deep water of the grass flat. I had a 5-inch paddletail ready at the end of my rod. After covering the prime area with only one follow by a small red, it was time to change. I downsized to a 3.25-inch paddletail with a light purple back and a pearl belly. As I looked up after rigging my lure, I spotted a huge trout about 5 yards in front of me. She was there for several seconds and then slowly disappeared. I knew she was aware of my presence even though she didn’t spook, and I didn’t have high hopes of catching her, but I did try. I was excited knowing my plan had me in the area of the trophy-size trout I was targeting.

I noticed nervous mullet about 40 yards away and slowly made my way in that direction. It was nonstop action on reds in the 26-inch range, and I caught one 3-pound trout. These fish were a little deeper in thigh-deep, crystal-clear water over grass and potholes.

Throughout the day, I tossed three sizes of similar body-style paddletails, all with built-in tail rattles. The smallest, a 3.25-inch lure, was the only one that caught fish. I used three different colors, so it was only the size that mattered on this day under pre-front conditions. Although I did not land the big trout I was targeting, I am satisfied that I was in the right place and will go back soon.