When it’s time to get on the water, your gear should be as ready as you are. Introducing the new and completely redesigned - Plano® StowAway®. Thick, pre-cut dividers make for easy box setup. More divider slots allow you to store more lures. RustrictorTM technology blocks rust and corrosion to help keep your favorite tackle rust-free. A single latch with a labeling area helps to quickly identify and access tackle on the fly. The best part? We’ve kept your favorite Plano StowAway at the same affordable price. Don’t just be kind of ready - be Plano ready.
Mike Frazier is our cover angler. Mike says, “I was fishing with a friend, working sand pockets along the edge of a drop-off, when this beautiful trout slammed my lure. There was plenty of active bait present which boosted our confidence. I just didn’t expect this sevenplus pounder in the middle of summer.
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August Issue
Highlights
THE DIRTY SIDE OF DESALINATION
It seems the list of potential threats to the future health and productivity of Texas bays and estuaries is endless. If it’s not some unfortunate situation created by the hand of man, it’s the wrath of Mother Nature in the form of flood, drought, algal bloom, or freeze. The latest I have learned about is the rush toward desalination of seawater and brackish groundwater in coastal communities to satisfy the growing needs of industry, agriculture, and humans.
Surface water has long been the primary source of water supply here in Texas. In fact, most municipal water supplies have depended entirely upon it ever since municipal water supply corporations were created. And, up until about the present decade, everything has worked pretty well. Well, sort of.
Enter increased water needs from a growing population, along with ever-increasing needs from bourgeoning industries and agriculture.
A growing human population must have good-paying jobs and reliable food supplies if we are to continue enjoying our current quality of life. Alas, under the current supply strategies, we are pumping our wells, rivers and reservoirs dry. Now, I’m not here to condemn desal. In fact, I have been a proponent of the process since having served on the Guadalupe-
Blanco River Bay Basin Area Stakeholder Committee back in 20092012. Our charge as a committee was to seek the best science available to recommend minimum freshwater inflows necessary to sustain the Guadalupe Estuary and San Antonio Bay.
Two things became readily evident after sitting through three years of meetings. First – In the eyes of GBRA, any water that flowed into San Antonio Bay had been wasted. Second – Their best strategy for supplying future water needs to the people, farmers, and industries in the Lower Guadalupe Basin was to build more on-channel reservoirs for capturing and storing water during times of plenty, that could be used later when other sources had dried up.
The third prong of GBRA’s (and other river authorities) plan for solving the water supply problem for central and south Texas was a program called Inter-Basin Transfer. Simply put, surplus water from the Sabine-Neches, Trinity, and San Jacinto rivers would be piped west and south to communities that were running out.
Nowhere and at no time during my tenure on the BBASC was there any meaningful discussion about plans for desalination. Too expensive, they said.
Well, here we are a short fifteen years later and desal projects are springing up like weeds in your flower beds. The problem here is that desalination has a nasty side nobody wants to own or plan for – brine water disposal. The plan so far is to pump highly-concentrated brine into nearby bays and estuaries. And this is a very bad plan!
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Grady-White Canyon 456
Wayne Stickle came in from Austin at just the right time.
The trout and redfish bite was exceptional that day.
Tidbits for Late-Summer SUCCESS
STORY BY STEVE HILLMAN
We rolled out of the marina around 5:45 on a recent muggy-hot summer morning. That dreaded southwest wind was pumping at about 17 mph and the tide was lower than I like, especially for this time of year. I had two new clients with high expectations so this was certainly not a best case scenario. Luckily, I had one semi-protected spot in mind that was holding some decent trout over a small oyster reef in about six feet of water. There were quite a few undersized trout mixed in but enough legal ones to make it worth the effort. Besides, given the conditions, it’s not like I had the full menu to order from.
The fish we were on were tide runners (in from the Gulf) and they seemed to move a little more each day. So instead of just pulling into the area and slipping the anchor over the gunwale, we had to make a couple of drifts to pinpoint the school. Sure enough, after two drifts I realized they were about 100 yards from where they had been the day before. On our third drift I got just upwind of where I had marked them on the first two drifts and then put the anchor out, allowing enough scope to where the anchor line would come tight the right distance from the school. Ideally we wanted to reach those trout at the end of our casts and my anchor line came tight at just the right spot. Zach, Ann and I caught trout after trout with most of them ranging from 16- to 18-inches. I’m not a big proponent of poking more holes in them than we need to so we left them biting to go look for redfish and flounder.
After a long run across the bay to a protected shoreline in a back-lake, I killed the big motor and trolled into the area which consisted of a shallow flat loaded with clusters of live oysters. We were entering a solunar major feeding period as well as a tide change. The shad and mullet were very active and there were a few slicks popping up in less than 2-1/2 feet of water. Although we were targeting reds and flounder at this point we ended up catching dozens of really good trout, up to five pounds, on the oyster-covered flat. It wasn’t what we were after but you won’t hear any complaints from me. Zach and Ann were plenty thrilled as well. The moral of the story is trout aren’t always in deep water late in summer like we think they are (or should be).
I believe there are several factors that contribute to trout swimming up shallow, even in this summertime bathwater we’re fishing. If there’s live habitat such as live oyster reef or seagrass beds then there’s typically also forage species (food). Predator fish will seek out forage species even if it involves easing up shallow for a short period to do so. There is one other reason I’ve witnessed trout moving shallow in the heat of the summer and it involves survival. Dolphins and sharks feed very aggressively on trout and other species and it seems to become worse every year. I’ve seen trout get in less than a foot of water in the middle of a hot August day in an effort to escape dozens of hungry dolphins.
Just the other day my two clients and I were drifting a long stretch of revetment rocks catching trout after trout. We caught twenty-six trout of legal size in two long drifts. Joe and Jim kept their six trout, so we obviously released the other
twenty. The dolphins would not leave my boat. I guarantee you they ate almost every one we released. I truly believe that with fewer shrimpers these days dolphins can no longer rely upon a steady diet of bycatch. Now, they’ve had to revert back to the true apex predators that they are, and let’s face it, where there are trout there are fishermen in boats. The dolphins seem trained to follow us now.
I frequently talk about fishing over live habitat like oyster reefs, but as we get into late-summer a lot of our trout will actually travel short distances and get off of hard shell bottom and stage over mud and/or clay bottom because it’s cooler. We saw this play out on yesterday’s trip. We were drifting a narrow stretch of oyster reef restoration rocks but only catching a few. I told my clients we were going to have to try somewhere else because this wasn’t feeding the bulldog. We had just drifted off the shell when I said that and one of
One of many solid ones we tricked in the middle of a recent hot summer day in shallow water. Two words: bait and habitat!
Teeth marks (scrapes) from dolphin are almost a daily observation.
Kent Copeland with a good trout while “deadsticking” a Slammin’ Chicken Bass Assassin.
them set the hook on a nice trout. Then one of the other guys was hooked up. I slipped the anchor over and they proceeded to catch 20-plus trout a short distance from the reef, over a mud/clay bottom. I had hell pulling my thirteen pound fluke anchor with 10 feet of 5/16 chain out of that mud but it was worth it.
As usual here in the Galveston Bay Complex we have to think outside of the box at times when it comes to patterning trout because of the influences of the Trinity and San Jacinto Rivers. Just when I thought we may actually have a normal summer for a change with stable salinity levels conducive to establishing new resident populations of trout, the fresh water came. We started getting double barrel action from both rivers dumping more than 60,000 cubic feet per second of freshwater into our system! However, I’ve managed to not only stay ahead of the fresh water wedge coming down the bay but also take advantage of the “stack up” scenario it created. It’s been fun but I’d rather things just stay normal. All I can say is thank God for today’s conservative trout limits. It could’ve gotten kind of ugly otherwise, due to the number of anglers and boats who caught on fast.
As most folks know, saltwater stays near the bottom because its dissolved mineral content creates a higher density than fresh water. For this reason we’re working our Saltwater Assassin Lit’l P&V’s and Sea Shads very slowly, along the bottom in the salty layer. There’s a fine line between working them too slow and not slow enough. It’s kind of crazy. We’re pretty much deadsticking (completely stop reeling) our soft plastics to get bites. When we’re fishing in the lower reaches of the bay where the salinity is higher we’re chunking more topwaters and working the entire water column as usual.
Our bay system is constantly changing as are the conditions brought on by Mother Nature. We have to stay on our toes to stay on the fish. Time on the water is essential. We have to stay cognizant of all of the moving parts and understand the variables that influence our trout patterns. Salinity, water temperature, habitat, fishing pressure and bait migrations all have to be taken into consideration when planning a successful day on the water.
Stay cool and safe out there my friends. Good luck!
Apex Predators
STEVE HILLMAN
Steve Hillman is a full-time fishing guide on his home waters of Galveston Bay. Steve fishes the entire Galveston Bay Complex, wading and drifting for trout, redfish, and flounder using artificial lures.
Phone 4 09-256-7937
Email captsteve@hillmanguideservice.com
Web w ww.hillmanguideservice.com
Haley Matthews has been tricking big trout on my boat for 20-plus years. This trip was reminiscent of the old days.
Michael Contreras with a heavy Galveston Bay trout he caught while fishing slowly under a freshwater layer.
Nathan Silva caught some absolute tanks on Chartreuse/Silver Glitter Bass Assassins while casting to concentrations of shad over live oyster reef.
Lessons Gleaned (Part 3)
STORY BY KEVIN COCHRAN
For some anglers, deciding where to fish is a more reactive than predictive process. Fishing regularly in an area elevates the level of influence recent results exert on the choice. This truth becomes magnified after a recent effort produces especially satisfying results. As mentioned in Part 2 of this series, guides and avid anglers often start a day fishing in the place where they experienced the best catching on the previous outing.
Starting off in a spot which produced a rich recent result really makes sense with stable weather and other environmental conditions in play. Significant changes in weather, tide cycles and similar factors can complicate things, as can the passage of time. The value of relying on recent results to determine where to make a new effort decreases as the time between efforts increases. Within a given day, recent results exert profound influence at the micro level, on a cast-to-cast basis.
Essentially, an elementary fact prevails, especially for anglers who choose to fish by wading―the best place to make the next cast is the last place which produced a bite from the right kind of fish. Digging into the details related to an event I fished in August of 2001 helps reveal more subtle aspects related to this basic mantra. During the event, I chose to start the first day fishing a reef lying right next to the bank near Sand Point, on the north shoreline of West Matagorda Bay.
though, and I did manage to put my hands around the broad shoulders of a trout which later earned me a check; she weighed more than all but one of the others brought to the scales in the event, falling just an ounce or so shy of the winner.
I walked up on land to handle and string my prize, and once I had her secured, I let out a wail of delight likely heard by dudes working the docks in Port Lavaca. In an August tournament, few trout measuring 28 inches and weighing 7 pounds come to the scales, and this fish looked like a winner. Fortunately, as soon as I regained my game face, I experienced an important epiphany. I knew a trout similar to the one tied to my hip might replace her at the point on the reef.
A person didn’t need to rely on sophisticated angling acumen when deciding where to cast in this location back in those days. Standing just offshore of the tiny reef, which stretched no more than thirty yards down the bank and extended just forty or fifty feet out from the shoreline sand, one could easily probe every inch of the feature. Central portions of the reef jutted out slightly, creating a subtle point, visible under the water, with decent clarity prevailing.
I approached the reef slowly and as quietly as I could that Saturday morning, hoping not to spook any fish which might be feeding around it. Within minutes, I noticed something significant. I watched intently as mullet, many of them at least a foot long, swam west to east in the water fronting the shell bank, then suddenly changed their course and leapt free of the brine, jumping away from the subtle point. After this happened five times, I came to an inspiring conclusion; some kind of predator lay on the east side of the point, waiting to ambush its prey.
Once I realized this, I shuffled a bit to my right, so I could cast my Super Spook and make it land near the western end of the shell bank and bring it toward the point. I executed a presentation with some starting and stopping, pausing the lure right near the perceived sweet spot at least twice before reeling it in and starting over again. On the third cast, a whopper trout blew up on the plug while it rested within inches of where the oysters formed a point.
In those days, no one fished with braided line, and I knew I’d be lucky to land the fish as soon as I hooked her and we began our fight in the shallows, where numerous live oyster spikes jutted out of the sand, extending up close to the water’s surface. Luck smiled on me
Champing at the bit, licking my chops like a hungry gator, I slid back into the water and set up to continue casting my lure past the point and working it back into the precise location where I earned the first strike. Nothing happened on the first pass, nor the second, or third...in fact, I made nine empty retrieves into the Promised Land before the second fish blew up on my Spook with the same seemingly deadly vengeance as had her twin. The second monster fought with more intensity and unpredictability than the first, and after about a minute, broke my twelve-pound monofilament main-line on one of the oyster spikes. I then watched with disgust as she swam right by my feet, carrying my Woody Spook atop her head like some kind of cruel crown. Certainly, she had every bit of the length and weight of the fish I managed to land. For me, these events illuminate several significant truths, ones which drive my operating principles to this day.
Most importantly, I always attempt to find some kind of reason to precisely direct every cast, all day, every day. If signs of life don’t
Black Hickey with a solid trout caught in shallow water during the summer heat wave.
Travis Land caught this decent trout in water about waist-deep, on a soft plastic, while fishing with the captain in August.
Standing in waist-deep water and throwing soft plastics at rocks in deeper water regularly produces quality trout, as Jason King and the Captain proved in late-August a few years ago.
dictate something obvious, I rely on my knowledge of the lay of the land, choosing to cast at proven sweet spots within reach. But I would always prefer to cast at some significant sign, like the mullet adjusting their paths over and over again that summer morning on Sand Point. And, I will always choose to cast back at any spot where I earn the right kind of strike, or catch the right kind of fish, not just once, but at least several times, maybe a dozen or more, depending on the situation. A single empty cast and retrieve can’t prove a fish isn’t in the place. In some cases, making fish strike requires a persistent, creative effort. So, before I abandon the strategy of casting repeatedly back into the site of a memorable bite, I will adjust presentation, maybe even change my lure, before moving on to look for another likely place to send my plug on a mission.
This strategy has worked for me countless times, including on the day I hooked the biggest trout I’ve ever seen and on the day I best separated myself from the crowd in a legitimate competition. I recalled some of the events of the 2001 September Rockport Troutmasters event in the last feature. My first-day stringer bettered those of all the other contestants by at least four pounds, if you throw out the guys who fished with me.
Those details remain relevant here for one primary reason. All five of us caught all our fish that day in a circle measuring no more than twenty yards in diameter. In the back corner of a tiny cove, we coaxed about two dozen big trout to bite, likely ruining our chances for success in the place on day two of the event. Significantly, we had chosen to focus our efforts in the tight space for a supremely important reason.
The afternoon before, one of my partners caught a 31-inch, 9.5 pound trout in the location. We had struggled elsewhere, catching only small trout when we did manage to earn a strike. As I admired his trophy and took pictures of him holding it on the deck of the boat, I remember saying, “Well, now we know where we’re starting off tomorrow morning.” We recognized the significance of catching a trout of such dimensions less than twenty-four hours before the beginning of a tournament, and rightly made the choice to return the next morning to cast in the exact location where she took a bite.
Many times, casting immediately back at the site where one big trout bites produces a second strike, if not on the first cast or two, within a manageable amount of time. But spots have different qualities which affect this truth. Some sites have the capacity to hold plenty of fish, while others do not. Some sites will likely fill up with new fish faster than others. Savvy anglers factor in these truths when deciding how long to continue casting right back into a specific spot or close to the spot after a satisfying result happens.
Importantly, these anglers also consider other factors when attempting to decide whether to continue trying to make a good thing repeat itself, among them whether to change presentation style and/or the lure on the end of the line. Sometimes, by changing the
movement pattern of the lure, an angler can earn strikes from other fish in the place, after the original presentation loses its effectiveness. Similarly, a change in depth of presentation, usually involving a change in the type of lure, can help an angler earn more strikes in a place holding a number of quality fish. These elements of the puzzle can profoundly affect the productivity of outcomes. No one can catch a fish in a place where no fish swims. But we all fail to catch fish which swim within our reach some percentage of the time, because we use the wrong strategies or throw the wrong lures for the moment.
So far, this discussion of how competing against others in tournaments helped me refine the concepts by which I make decisions has centered almost entirely on the location part of the puzzle. In next month’s feature, I’ll focus more on other aspects of the endeavor, ones which either helped me succeed or doomed me to failure, and which helped me grow as an angler, as I honestly evaluated them over time.
Kevin Cochran is a long-time fishing guide at Corpus Christi (Padre Island), TX. Kevin is a speckled trout fanatic and has created several books and dvds on the subject.
Kevin’s home waters stretch from Corpus Christi Bay to the Land Cut.
T ROUT TRACKER GUIDE SERVICE
KEVIN COCHRAN
In shallow, clear water, it’s often possible to spot big trout, or at least see signs clearly indicating their presence.
Wasp 178 Poling Skiff
There’s an old saying, “If you can’t buy what you need you’ll have to make it.” Such was the way the husband and wife team of Beck and David Ellard got into boatbuilding.
First and foremost, Beck and David are shallow-water anglers. They live in Seadrift, TX and enjoy nothing better than sight-fishing redfish and trout on the flats and backwater areas of the San Antonio bay system that lies right out their back door.
Now about that, “you’ll have to make it,” saying. The Ellards had owned three boats prior to building their first, and none of them delivered what they were looking for. David, you see, suffers from a chronic and uncurable back ailment. A bumpy boat ride during a day of fishing would land him in bed for three days – in excruciating pain.
The Ellards are good friends with well-known Seadrift prop-builder and shallow-water angler extraordinaire – Jack Foreman. When explaining their dilemma of being unable to find a flats boat that delivered a ride soft enough for David’s ailing back, Jack encouraged they get busy and build one. After all, they were already highlyskilled fiberglass workers.
A little backstory on the Ellards; Beck and David have been in the fiberglass boat repair business sixteen years. “No job is too big or too small,” according to Beck. “Our regular work includes everything from gelcoat scratches to completely gutting hulls of older boats and replacing stringers, transoms and decks.”
David chimed in, “We once took on the repair of a 32-foot Bertram
offshore boat that had been wrecked. There were five gaping holes in the hull. Two of them large enough for a man to crawl through. And that’s how our crew got in and out in the beginning.”
During one of our visits to the B&D shop, David and one of his crew were reworking the joint between the gunwale and the deck cap of a nearly new and very expensive poling skiff. David said the owner could not figure out how or why the boat continually took on water – there were no cracks in the hull and all the thru-hull fittings were watertight.
“We see things like this often,” he explained. “Expensive boats, beautiful boats, highly-recognized brands – suffering from poor workmanship and lack of attention to detail in places the eye cannot see. This is the kind of stuff you learn in the repair business…and the kind of stuff we are careful to eliminate in the boats we build.”
The boat David was referring to was the Wasp 178. The 178 nomenclature is the length of the hull – 17 feet and 8 inches. When asked about the name, Beck explained that David had just sprayed the gelcoat into the mold for the first Wasp deck cap. “We hadn’t come up with a name for the boat yet when a wasp landed in that fresh gelcoat and left his tracks. We thought the name fit!”
The construction of the Wasp 178 is all hand-laid composite –there is no wood or other material to decay and create problems in the future.
The final hull design is the product of five years of constant improvement and dozens of engineering revisions. David explained that getting it right required incredible dedication, right up to the point of scrapping several early productions and starting over. The project actually began in 2019 and they didn’t call it complete until 2024.
The way a boat runs on plane in all manner of water conditions is obviously one of the attributes upon which a boat is judged. But that’s not where it ends. A poling skiff has got to float shallow and get back on plane in shallow water. And then there’s the poling characteristics. Seadrift skiff guide, Levi Holder, says the Wasp, “tracks like it’s on rails.” Its low sides eliminate the “sail effect” that plagues other skiffs, causing them to drift off-line, and fail to track properly in crosswinds. It must also be quiet – no hull slap – when poled into surface chop.
Of course, weight is an issue with all shallow-water boats and the Wasp is quite light compared to others in its class – tipping the scale at only 516 pounds without the outboard motor.
The Wasp is available just about any way the prospective owner may want to receive it. Fully customized, right down to all the rigging and design of the poling and casting platforms which are manufactured by a local aluminum fab shop. The buyer can visit with the fabricator to design everything to his personal preference prior to purchase. Likewise, the upholstery is produced by a local shop and be can be fully customized. The powder coating is also provided by a local company and color choices are endless.
The Wasp is also available in what Beck and David call their “barebones” offering. “To be honest,” David said, “We’ve yet to build any two exactly alike.”
Wasp 178 Specs
Length: 17 feet 8 inches
Beam: 5 feet 9 inches
Draft (at rest): 6 inches (on plane) 4 inches
Deadrise: 21°
Fuel Capacity: 20 gallons
Motor: 60 HP
10 Year Limited Warranty
Bare Bones Package
7” Simrad
Foreman Prop
Hydraulic Jackplate
60 HP Tohatsu
Coastline Trailer
$45,000 – Add ice and tackle and go fishing!
Call B & D Boatworks today to schedule a demo ride 361-489-1361 / 361-489-1336
www.b-d-boat-works.com
PFDs have certainly come a long way. This self-inflator model by Magellen (Academy Sports+Outdoors) is not only very lightweight and comfortable, but it can also save your life if, God forbid, you might be the victim of an accident.
Embrace the SUCK
STORY BY CHUCK UZZLE
Years ago during the Iraqi Freedom campaign, the U.S. military popularized a slang saying that encompassed the need to accept and persevere through difficult or unpleasant situations without complaining. It was called embrace the suck. To truly embrace the suck one must be willing to confront things that make them uncomfortable so they can overcome them and become a better person. The month of August forces many of us to do exactly that and embrace the suck as conditions on the water tend to become quite unpleasant as the mercury bumps the top of the thermometer. Extreme summer heat will be the name of the game this month and anglers from all parts of the Texas coast will be trying to figure new ways to deal with it. From the backwaters to the gulf every angler will need to make adjustments this month in order to not only be successful but to also be safe.
Let’s begin with the obvious patterns and the most familiar is focusing fishing activities early and late in the day. Many anglers will start their days an hour or so before sunrise and stay until the sun starts beaming a couple of hours after daybreak, and then calling it a day before the temperature becomes unbearable. Other anglers will apply this same philosophy, only in reverse, and start late in the afternoon, staying out until well after dark. Both are great options and can provide outstanding action when coupled with favorable tides.
For as long as I can remember there has been a dedicated bunch of anglers who call the jetty rocks home during the summer months and it’s virtually impossible to get there before they do. If I didn’t know any better I’d swear they camp out down there, waiting for the ideal conditions to happen and the fish to get active. I personally don’t fish much in the dark with clients for a variety of reasons, but I enjoy doing it myself when I get the opportunity. I know several guides who run trips at night in the summertime and do very well, so it’s certainly another great option. If you do intend to be on the water after dark be sure you let someone know where you’ll be, that you have all your safety gear in order, and have all the necessary lights in case you encounter any navigational or mechanical issues. Bad things that happen in daylight are almost always exponentially worse in the dark.
On the subject of safety gear I really feel the need to pass this along as it hits home for myself and others. I have always been good about wearing a life jacket or PFD (Personal Floatation Device) while underway in a boat. Like most folks, though, once I reached my destination, I removed the PFD and went on with the business of fishing or doing whatever activity I had planned. Over the past several months I have developed a new perspective on the PFD situation and have converted to the newer style that is self-inflating. These PFDs will activate automatically if you end up in the water, or can still be activated manually. I know most of you are thinking, “What’s the big deal here? It’s a life jacket, let’s move on to the fishing stuff.” I actually agree with some of that thinking but it’s the reasons to wear one all the time that I’m going to talk about.
For example; let’s say you get the opportunity to take some kids or new anglers fishing, and they are not proficient swimmers, nor are they familiar with water safety when something happens and you might fall out of the boat. At this point anything can happen; you can hit your head on the side of the boat during the fall or a submerged object in the water – and now it’s up to those folks in the boat who have no water safety training to rescue you. Another prime example is a sudden medical condition such as losing consciousness due to overheating, blood pressure issues, or anything similar which could lead to you falling overboard. If you are wearing a PFD your chances of getting back into the boat and getting appropriate attention increase at least a million percent
compared to someone without the PFD.
As a guide or even a friendly host, there are plenty of times you get people on your boat with no clue whether they can swim or handle themselves in the water, so you need to take precautions. The new self-inflating PFDs are comfortable, affordable, and take up much less storage in your boat due to their slim profile. Think of them as a very worthwhile investment that could keep you from having a really bad day on the water.
Earlier I mentioned the obvious patterns of staying out of the heat, but if you are inclined to tough it out during the heat of the day you can still score big. Obviously, you need to be prepared and certain precautions need to be taken. Easily the most important is staying hydrated and protecting yourself from the sun with sunscreen and the proper clothing – this pretty much goes without saying. You can almost guarantee that the crowds will be headed in during the hottest part of the day, looking for some air-conditioning, and you’ll have the majority of the lake or bay all to yourself. If you are fortunate enough to run across one of the big schools of redfish that seem to like this time of day, you can tug on them until your arms ache. The open body of Sabine Lake, basically two miles out from any shore, tends to be a great place to
Switching target species during August can make a big difference in gaining pulls from hard-fighting fish. The big grin from Dow Gene Anderson is all the proof you need.
One of the most basic strategies for beating August’s heat is to fish as the sun is rising or setting.
Elevated water temperatures can produce a finicky bite; be prepared to throw a variety of lures to trigger a strike.
look for these schools as they hunt down the big concentrations of shad and pogies. It will be unmistakable when you find them because you can both see and hear the surface chaos. This program will also be happening along the beachfront, with lots of jack crevalle present, so be prepared. Perhaps the type of fishing most affected during these weeks of exceptional summer heat is the shallow water bite in the backwater marshes. These lakes and ponds that average one to three feet deep will turn into brackish hot tubs as water temperatures soar to 90° and even higher. The excessive heat often makes the redfish quite lethargic, forcing them to seek relief in deeper guts and potholes. These fish will be tough to catch at times, and when you do catch one, it will take a while to revive them properly prior to releasing. The last thing you want to see is them swimming off a few yards and going belly-up. However, if you are fortunate enough to be in these shallow water areas during overcast days or after a rain shower has passed through it can be incredible. The water cools down and the fish become more active. The difference of only a few degrees in water temperature can be extraordinary.
Last but certainly not least will be the speckled trout bite that will be happening everywhere from the nearshore rigs and beachfront, all the way into the rivers. The jetties will get the lion’s share of traffic but
those who know the pattern will do equally as well along the deeper breaks in the channels where these fish will often stack up. We will see increased bird activity over schooling fish and hopefully their average size will increase again this year, as it did in 2024. The overall health of the fishery is improving but still fragile, so please use your best conservation ethic to assist the recovery.
It was August of 2017 when Hurricane Harvey delivered a very cruel blow, forever changing the landscape of Sabine Lake with nearly 60 inches of rain in four days, and we have yet to completely recover from that. Hopefully we never see a repeat of that catastrophe and eventually Sabine comes back to look like her former self.
As you venture out this month please take an extra minute or two to ensure that you and all who fish with you are prepared for the conditions. As always, if you get the opportunity, please take a kid fishing and share your passion for our sport with a new angler.
CHUCK UZZLE
CONTACT
Chuck fishes Sabine and Calcasieu Lakes from his home in Orange, TX. His specialties are light tackle and fly fishing for trout, reds, and flounder.
Phone 409-697-6111
Email wakesndrakes@yahoo.com
Website wakesndrakes.com
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FeatherJigs
STORY BY JOE RICHARD
Preparing for a fishing trip tomorrow, I’m wiring up short leaders for a few bucktail jigs and recalling countless successes with these classic lures. A friend recently introduced me to a technique of fast-trolling these jigs for Spanish mackerel, and it’s time to put a few in the freezer. As it turns out, instead of slinging gold spoons all day while the boat drifts along, one can circle a prime area at up to four knots and mackerel will attack the jigs with enthusiasm. It’s a welcome change, saving a lot of angling energy, which is vital for us slightly older guys still fishing the Gulf. Initially skeptical of this technique, I soon learned that big mackerel are happy chasing after trolled jigs, rather than our casting spoons, which are slow by comparison even with 6:1 or faster gear ratio reels. To be clear, I’m not saying one should plow up and down the jetties leaving a three-foot wake like Rodney Dangerfield, but try it in more secluded spots like 80 yards off the beach or around nearshore platforms in the Gulf.
Mackerel are quick as squirrels and a slow artificial will often draw critical inspection and refusals. By tomorrow, I hope to have new pictures of one of these jigs pinned to a ponderous mackerel’s lip. Five pounds would be nice, because they’re fighters. Twice, we’ve caught six-pounders that fought like their kingfish cousins, almost spooling our reels because we were using tackle better-suited for speckled trout.
Clear green water is a must for mackerel, and that’s where feather jigs really work, because they’re attacked visually; the opposite of bumping a plastic worm jig, perhaps laden with artificial smell, in murkier water. (Which is still the best tactic when visibility is limited.) When casting with feathers, the jigs sink fast and I let them go down 20 feet, before starting a fast and erratic retrieve. But again, green water is the key. Scan the horizon for dark water, before getting serious. For instance, that rig off Crystal Beach has been there since the 1980s and we sometimes tied up there in a jonboat, but only because it had clear water while the Galveston jetties sat in brown water. We had lots of strikes on spoons, and filled a box with mackerel.
though. Pompano are still in the surf, but the ling population there and elsewhere has fallen on hard times. Many ling tournaments have been cancelled in that area, where schools of huge ling used to cruise along the surf, to the delight of pier fishermen, who peppered those brown brutes with colorful, 2-ounce jigs.
Other coastal fish are also drawn to non-soft plastic jigs. Countless ling, perhaps the majority years ago, were caught with them. Along the Florida Panhandle, jig makers specialized in making the finest ling and pompano jigs, using natural feathers and artificial materials. Not sure how those guys are doing today,
Like everyone on the coast, I’ve thrown soft plastics a great deal, but it gets tiresome replacing the plastic, some of which self-destruct in 24 hours. That plastic is also supple, soft, and easily bitten off. Feather jigs are more durable and don’t leave plastic in the water. They can still be shredded from constant action, though. But saved and rebuilt. However in murky bay waters, the plastic worm jig still shines. All the way back to 1969, when Boone’s Tout Tails were a revelation for us. We used them in Sabine Lake but once we left the jetties and headed offshore, it was all bucktail jigs.
I started making my own jigs as a young teenager—hundreds of them— but eventually stopped. Cooking the lead is said to be hazardous and today one can buy shiny jigheads online and paint them after wrapping the tails. My uncle Wib, who taught me to wrap mylar-tail jigs, made them bullet-proof by dipping each jig down to the wrapped thread in a fast-warming Dixie cup of marine resin that hardened in 6-8 minutes. We had to work fast to dip and hang 100 jigs on the clothes line before the resin turned rock hard. Those jigs caught a big variety of fish. Decades flew by and the last time I wrapped jigs, bull redfish were
Ling offshore have always been suckers for feather jigs. This jig is crab-colored.
Trout caught in 25 feet of water on a feathered jig.
in Matagorda Bay, busting small, migrating blue crabs on top of the water. (The crabs were leaving because of a drought; the bay water had become too salty.) I’d wrapped a number of one-ounce jigheads with orange and green dyed feather tails. Then took a charter from Nacogdoches out there and we landed 24 bull reds on heavy spin tackle, either while casting or slow-trolling those jigs. The guys were stoked. Every fish was 37-42 inches.
In the rough-and-tough world of offshore fishing in clear water, there is no need for plastic jigs. Everything out there will hit feather jigs, and without tearing them up. Mackerel, kings, snapper, mahi, upper coast trout, tripletail, bluefish, ladyfish, you name it. Way back when on the Louisiana partyboats out of Cameron and Grand Chenier, we landed big sow snapper behind the boat after lowering 3/4 ounce jigs. The regular crowd with their broomstick rods were mystified how we ever landed big snapper with baitcaster reels and 20-pound line. We used jigs without bait. If we missed a strike, we just danced it around and another snapper would latch on. If we pinned a cigar minnow to a 2-ounce jig and lowered it deep, it was a quick hookup.
Years ago these “feathered” jigs were scarce as hen’s teeth in Texas (except for white/green striper jigs on Toledo Bend and Lake Texoma). I would fly to Miami on business and stop by to visit Lead Enterprises on the Miami River, where big bubbling cauldrons of lead could be viewed up close. It was a tough neighborhood, though I never heard gunfire, and hot in that factory! Large bay doors stayed open in summer with the fans blowing full power while cooking lead. However, the finished products, boxes of big pink, yellow or white jigs in different sizes, were available for purchase in air-conditioned comfort. I’d buy a year’s worth of 2- or 3-ounce feather jigs and head back to Houston where they were soon used on Texas amberjack, kingfish and snapper. Once, a 66-pound wahoo. We pulled another wahoo of 50 pounds out of the box at a king tournament’s weigh-in and the crowd there in Surfside grew silent, then someone shouted with relief it was only a wahoo. So I put it back and pulled out a 47-pound kingfish. Sometimes we
actually swept the event with second and third place, too.
How was this possible? We learned that fresh 30-inch ribbonfish pinned to those jigs (available every August from Galveston harbor and or nearby bay shrimpboats, or by casting spoons at Galveston Bay’s Moses Lake), really worked. Author’s note: For more details on this and many more adventures, check out my new e-book, The Kingfish Bible: New Revelations, available on Amazon.)
Fortunately, “feather” or “bucktail” jigs are easier to find these days; checking with Bass Pro Shop, they sell two-packs of white jigs with sturdy hooks, made by Offshore Angler. We recently bought a few and headed out a short ways, trolling and also casting their 1/4 ounce “DLX pompano jigs”. (We didn’t try their 1/2-ounce size because we weren’t going further offshore.) Those new jigs provided fast action on mackerel and ladyfish.
Rigged with just 6 inches of light wire leader meant that we suffered no tackle losses. Any of the Texas jetties offering green water should be fertile ground for these jigs in summer or fall, and also in green surf commonly found on Padre Island, where pompano mix with trout and mackerel.
JOE RICHARD
CONTACT
Joe Richard has fished the Gulf since 1967, starting out of Port Arthur, but his adventures have taken him up and down the entire coast. He was the editor of Tide magazine for eight years, and later Florida Sportsman’s book and assistant magazine editor. He began guiding out of Port O’Connor in 1994. His specialty is big kingfish, and his latest book is The Kingfish Bible, New Revelations. Available at Seafavorites.com
Baby kingfish (with gray dorsal fin) chewed on this 2-ounce jig.
These ladyfish almost love feathered jigs more than life itself.
JAY WATKINS
ASK THE PRO
GETTING BACK TO BASIC
I hope everyone is enjoying some good days on the water. Fishing in the Rockport area continues to show signs of recovery in our trout population. This does not mean that we don’t have tough days; fishing is still fishing, and there are times when I just don’t put my people in the right place. Still, I can honestly say that there are more trout in more areas this season than any time since the freeze of February 2021.
I have continued to fish in the southern portions of the Aransas Bay complex most days although I do frequent the Corpus Christi Bay area on occasion as well as the Boat Hole and Deadman areas when winds allow for easy navigation across Corpus Christi Bay. I have a handful of clients that I run down that way this time of year, looking for better size trout.
I like the large grass flats with varied water depths, crash channels and broken sand and potholes. During the latter weeks of July and early August I will start looking at the mid-bay reefs in northern Aransas, Copano, Mesquite and San Antonio bays. Light morning winds and rising water temperatures will create some great opportunities for anglers around our mid-bay reef structures. It’s hot and summer crowds are here, so a good daily game plan is a must-have in our bag of fishing tricks.
Lure wise, I go very basic in the summer months when water temperatures rise above 82°. MirrOlure Lil Johns and Lil John XLs, 5” Provokers, and Texas Customs Double Ds are seeing nearly all the water time. My newest soft plastic is the 4.3-inch Party Paddle from 6th Sense Fishing. I know, I’ve said it enough times over the years, I’m not a paddletail guy but this bait allows me to fish over heavy grass without getting fouled. The design allows for a slow retrieval rate that has proven deadly on both trout and reds. I started testing this lure in August last year and have become a fan for the situation and reason stated above. Simply put; we are never too old to become proficient with new
technology that is coming to the market these days.
For the record I will always be a soft jerkbait enthusiast, and this style of lure has been my go-to many years and remains so to the present. However, I am learning to be more open to change when it is warranted. Stand still and you’ll get run over!
So basic, as I describe my summertime lure selection, covers a lot of things that many anglers might not consider to be basic. I must constantly remind myself that what is basic to me might not be to others. I try to simplify the day, knowing that rising air and water temperatures throughout the day will create challenges for us. I first try to stay in areas where I have both shallow and deeper structures that are the same or at least similar.
Take grass beds for instance; I want grass that lies in both shallow and deep water. I search unceasingly for areas that consistently hold a reliable food source. I monitor the tidal movement periods more in the summer months than in any other season. I know areas where wind creates water movement, and I monitor these areas for bait presence daily.
I look at areas where all the elements I prefer to see are present…and boats are not. Seldom will such areas appear on maps or charts available to the general public. I had a client tell me one time that he recommended a group to me, and when he asked how they did, they said, “Great! And we never fished even one of the good areas marked on any of the maps we had.”
I am a huge fan of working areas where boat traffic will aid versus hinder us in catching fish. This past week I had an area on the windward portion of a large grass flat near a channel that led to the gulf. The incoming tide had positioned both trout and reds on a line where the water began to move. Gulls were working the line of the color change, helping to keep us in position. Boat traffic was being influenced by where I had my group positioned and were running the windward spoil where we knew fish were trying
Jay Ray doing a little Fish Coach 101.
to stage. Every time a boat ran along the windward spoil we got strikes within a few minutes. We had four-man limits of reds to 27-inches and released a few trout from 22 to 23 inches over an hour and a half period.
We will never be able to escape boat traffic; those days have long since passed. I am working on understanding and accepting that this is the new normal. Fish are going to be influenced by the pressure but at the end of the day they are going to still be fish and will need to eat to survive. We must be prepared to place ourselves in the right place coupled with the proper frame of mind.
I have a simple approach. Stand right here and don’t move; if you feel the need to move, move laterally instead of moving forward. Put your favorite soft plastic on and get to work. If that lure doesn’t work, I will give you one that will. I instructed the group to TRY and imagine how the fish are positioned and moving. “At what angle do you believe you need to cast to allow your lure to come out in front of as many targets as possible?”
Piggy Perch are bad right now over the heavy grass and a chartreuse tail gets bitten off almost immediately with most any brand of soft plastic, so I am not a fan of the chartreuse tail. I do, however, like a totally chartreuse lure, or even a clear pink bait. These two colors, although extremely bright, create drawing power and this works. I have dipped the Opening Night Bass Assassins, Provokers, and Lil Johns for years in Spike-It to make these colors.
I once believed that basic was boring, but I had to be reminded a few weeks ago that there is nothing boring about being able to consistently put your clients in a position to catch them. I leave the dock earlier this time of year, but I still like to allow the other fishermen to get out there and get where they want to be, and then I know what I’ve got to work with. Leaving in the dark is not my thing at age 68, and
honestly it doesn’t stop anyone from pulling up on you and fishing too close. I just let everyone get set up and then I go to work.
I mention most days to the person sitting next to me at the helm when I see a boat that isn’t set up in the right position so that we will return to that spot later in the day and catch them. Later, when I pull up to that area I say to that guy, “Remember my comment this morning?” Then, we get out and catch them. The length of a good cast can be all it takes to be in the proper position to catch them. If not in the proper position, you’ll never know they were ever there. To me this is basic stuff but maybe not to many; I don’t know.
Good trout can be caught throughout the day, not just in the grey hours of early morning or late afternoon. You catch them when you find them if you know how to adjust to the time of day. Adjustment is a broad statement, though. It involves a lot of variables. I might lengthen my leader, slow down or speed up my presentation, allow my lure to sink deeper, dead-stick the bait and just let it sit there on the bottom, downsize my lure or switch to a suspending or slowsinking bait. My adjustments are gut felt and born on the fly, which makes them hard to explain.
I have always prided myself on being able to catch fish in tough conditions. However, tough conditions do not always include high winds or stormy conditions. To me, hot and calm are the toughest conditions anglers can encounter, whether in salt or fresh. Heading to the dock at 10:00 or 11:00 won’t allow you to work on this portion of your game if it needs work. Now, maybe by 2:00 pm we ought to start rethinking our toughness as we age. I have clients that don’t fish with me anymore because I don’t want to go in on days when I have not produced what I expected to produce for them that day. It’s funny that all of them know that I am going to say, “I have one more
Keith Schmidt getting it done deep.
Dolphin encounters are definitely on the rise; this one was very lucky.
stop we need to make,” before calling it a day.
Jay Ray has a former client of mine that he fishes and he is a great guy, but when he wants to go in he truly wants to go in. A few years back in Port Mansfield my group came in a day earlier than Jay Ray’s, so as a result I finished up a day earlier. On Jay Ray’s third day I asked if I could join the group and they agreed. However, his client reminded me that I was not the guide and that we would be coming in when he wanted to, not me. Of course, he said all of this in a jesting manner, but the truth was he was dead serious and when that time came the next day, we went in. We had a great morning in less than favorable conditions, so everyone was OK with an early dock time.
So, maybe simple is not truly simple. What is simple to me in the forty-eighth year of my career is probably not really a good example, but it is all I have. I find myself feeling like younger anglers are disappointed when they come and fish and see the basic manner in which I do things. I almost want more for them to know that they might perceive that there is some real secretive something that I do. I try to explain that what I do, I do well; and therein lies the difference.
The topwater thing blows their minds. I just don’t prefer to throw topwaters as much as soft plastics or suspending types of lures. This does not mean that I do not throw them or don’t believe they work. I see fishermen overthinking the whole thing at times, allowing themselves to become confused due to having too much information. You might call it paralysis by analysis.
It honestly bugs the crap out me to listen to folks that I know to be uninformed and lacking in experience regurgitating information they heard or read somewhere and accepted as gospel. That’s harsh, but it
is accurate. We can certainly gain knowledge from what we read and from what we are told, it’s how we educate ourselves. But until we can apply that knowledge in the proper situations, it really doesn’t have much value to us. Here’s a perfect example: “You can tell me how to dig a ditch but until I dig one, I don’t know much about digging a ditch.” It’s really hot on the water so you need to be careful and make certain that you protect yourself from the elements and stay hydrated. I am going to take some time off in August and head to the mountains for some fly fishing. Maybe my September article will be about a different kind of trout.
May Your Fishing Always Be Catching. -Guide Jay Watkins
Targeting long, skinny potholes; casting at angles to the wind
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Jay Watkins has been a full-time fishing guide at Rockport, TX, for more than 45 years. Jay specializes in wading yearround for trout and redfish with artificial lures. Jay covers the Texas coast from San Antonio Bay to Corpus Christi Bay.
“It’s like some dream we live down there.” Jerry Jeff Walker
If you are a fan of the late and great Texas artist Jerry Jeff then you probably have an idea of what he is describing. If not, he is talking about Belize. He has several songs that he has recorded that describes the life and beauty that can be found on the island. Once I booked my plane ticket to head down there his tunes kept playing on repeat inside my head.
The country of Belize is located south of the Yucatan peninsula and shares a border with Mexico. Just off the coast is an island and the city of San Pedro, surrounded by everything an angler could want. On the east side you have the Atlantic Ocean and the west side you have the more famous Ambergris Caye. Both sides are covered with endless grass flats along with various pieces of reef structure. This area is a prime place for catching Bonefish, Tarpon, and Permit and all three species can be encountered anywhere in the waters surrounding the island.
When our flight touched down on the mainland it didn’t take long to notice lots of other travelers with fly rod cases as part of their luggage – a sure sign that fishing must be good! Once jumping on the smaller
plane to go over to the island, I got to experience one of my favorite things. Even though I hate flying I absolutely love looking out the window to get an aerial view of the areas that we could potentially be fishing. After getting a good overall look at the area I knew that we were in for a treat.
My friend Lane had handled all the arrangements and Captain Valmont was going to pick us up at our dock for our first fishing adventure. We were up early and had most of our stuff packed and ready to get on the boat. He pulled up right on time and we departed towards Ambergris Caye. After about a 45 minute ride he pulled over and began to scan an area. The previous day he had found a large school of Permit and had high hopes that they would still be there. After a few minutes he decided they moved on so we continued on. We arrived to a bigger set of backwater ponds that had clean white sand and mangrove shorelines. He didn’t have to pole us far until we found a few nice bones tailing and appearing happy.
Lane was on the deck first and had a decent shot at one coming directly down the shoreline. A well-placed cast later, the Bonefish continued on as if it had no
interest in the fly. Valmont quickly jumped off the platform and began to inspect our fly boxes with hopes to find the perfect one. He bypassed several that I would have grabbed and picked up a tiny, meager little shrimp. With confidence he tied it on and that fly stayed on the rod all weekend. The next Bonefish coming across the sand flat pounced on it and had no intention of letting it get away. After a few long, fast runs he gave up and we got our first fish of the trip to the boat.
I was on the deck next and we began to see plenty of bonefish showing themselves. There was a handful that tended to be spooky, which is not surprising, but I finally got one to eat. A perfect specimen and exactly what you would want in a bonefish. He followed the fly and kept nosing it until he finally ate and turned away for a fast run. The more that I get a chance to chase these fish the more my admiration grows. Catching them is pretty much everything an angler could want. We ended the day landing several bonefish but never had any chances to cast to Permit.
When we got back to the dock we talked Valmont into picking us up just before daylight, hoping to improve our chances to find some early morning Tarpon. Lane had brought along a portable green light and that evening we put it to work at the end of our pier, hoping to draw in a few Tarpon. We plugged it in and went into town to get dinner and we were both eager to see if her idea worked. As we made our way down the dock, fly rod in hand, we could see some larger shadows swimming around the outer edge – a pair of Tarpon in the 30-40 pound range. I waited for them to circle back and I landed my fly just in front of one of them. Without hesitation, the lead Tarpon turned and completely inhaled it. Making a strip-set, the fly came right out of his mouth and they both bolted quickly. Even though I didn’t get the hookup we proved the green light works!
The next morning came early and away we went. We started at some of the mangrove islands Capt. Valmont wanted to check out and hoped that
Tarpon were there. Quite coincidently, these were the same islands that I had spotted from the airplane. He poled me down a stretch of mangroves and we saw four smaller Tarpon hanging along the edge. He told me to wait until one turned and then I could get a decent shot. My opportunity finally came and I drew one out with my fly. She ate, turned and ran, and jumped one big leap. It was over as quickly as it started. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement but that’s exactly how Tarpon fishing goes. Our next move took us across another flat that was loaded with several schools of bonefish and played with them for a bit. Afterwards, we drove north and cut across to the ocean side with hopes to find more Tarpon. We saw one small school that was moving entirely too quickly to keep up with. I made one decent cast but they kept swimming.
The next day we stuck to the same program and had a near identical trip as the day before. The last day we spent riding around that island and seeing a few new sights, eating some different food and just enjoying our time there. I fully understand how Jerry Jeff had the inspiration to write songs and sing about Belize. It was a beautiful place with great people and great food. On top of all of that, the fishing makes it a one of a kind place. I’m already looking forward to making another trip back. CONTACT
Dave Roberts is an avid kayak-fishing enthusiast fishing primarily the inshore Upper Coast region with occasional adventures to surf and nearshore Gulf of Mexico.
Email: TexasKayakChronicles@yahoo.com
Website: www.TexasKayakChronicles.com
Why Anglers & Outdoors Enthusiasts
Love Bajío Glasses
Danny McGuire – I’m on the water several days a week. I just received my first pair of Bajío sunglasses and I love ‘em! I’m a big guy at 6’- 4” and I weigh 230. Naturally, my head and face are larger than the average guy and I have trouble finding eyewear that fits. The Bajío Greenland XL frame fits my face perfectly. Not too tight but snug enough to stay in place no matter the activity I’m involved in. The polarized lenses are incredibly clear for sight-casting big redfish!
Capt. Chuck Uzzle – I’ve worn Bajío sunglasses for the past five years and could not be happier. The customer service is unbeatable and I love what they stand for. The frames are light; their glass lenses are super clear, and they give you what fishermen want – the ability to see into the water. Made in the USA with a crazy good warranty, Bajío glasses are the real deal.
Pam Johnson – We’ve been at this shallow-water fishing game a long time and I have worn many brands of glasses over the years. Some that I’ve tried to wear just didn’t work for me; they’re made for men and women have narrower faces, so they’re constantly sliding down. Not so with my new Annette frames from Bajío. They fit perfectly and the they are also stylish, so I can wear them for many other activities and occasions.
Everett Johnson – I wear sunglasses almost every day for just about every activity imaginable –gardening, mowing, hunting, yardwork, and, of course, fishing. I’ve just retired a pair of the Nato model Bajío glasses with prescription lenses that held up miraculously for almost three years of tough service. I’m picky about how I clean my lenses – always with eyeglass cleaner and a micro-fiber cloth – never with alcohol
towelettes. The lenses in these glasses are tough as nails and clear as the day I took them out of the package. Try that with any other brand! I’ll be keeping them for backup duty as my new Greenlands from Bajío move to the lead-off spot in the lineup. Yeah, I’m sold on Bajío.
By Shane Bonnot | CCA Texas Advocacy Director
CCA TEXAS 89TH TEXAS LEGISLATURE UPDATE & CCA TEXAS
ICC WINNERS | TEXAS LEGISLATURE WRAPS UP WITH BIG WINS FOR COASTAL CONSERVATION AND MARICULTURE
As the 89th Texas Legislature concludes, several key bills have advanced that will significantly impact coastal conservation, oyster mariculture, and communitydriven restoration. These legislative actions underscore Texas’s commitment to finding common ground between environmental stewardship, sustainable aquaculture, and local economic development. Below is a snapshot of the major bills we’ve been monitoring or actively supporting:
Oyster Mariculture & Coastal Stewardship
House Bill 609 (Rep. Cody Vasut)
This bill simplifies operations for oyster farmers by allowing them to clean cultivation equipment (wash cages) on-site using untreated local water, without requiring additional permits. It’s a practical move that reduces red tape while maintaining critical environmental protections. Bill passed, sent to the Governor.
Senate Bill 1215 (Sen. Lois Kolkhorst)
Aimed at preserving wild oyster stocks, this legislation regulates the introduction of cultivated oysters into natural or private beds, allowing for direct seeding of reefs and planting of “spat-on-shell” or remotely set oyster spat. It seeks to ensure the sustainability of Texas’s coastal ecosystems. Bill signed, effective 9/1/25.
Senate Bill 2112 (Sen. Lois Kolkhorst)
To safeguard the integrity of oyster mariculture, SB 2112 increases penalties for criminal offenses tied to oyster farming. The intent is to deter unlawful practices and reinforce responsible aquaculture. Bill signed, effective 9/1/25.
Conservation Funding & Community Engagement
Senate Bill 1930 (Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa)
This bill ensures that revenue from saltwater fishing stamp sales is directed exclusively toward saltwater conservation projects, including hatchery improvements, habitat restoration, and shoreline access for anglers. Bill signed, effective 9/1/25.
Incentives for Sustainable Practices
House Bill 3486 (Rep. Todd Hunter)
Restaurants that buy and serve Texas farm-raised oysters would receive a $5 sales tax deduction per 100 oysters, encouraging support for local aquaculture. Bill passed, sent to the Governor.
House Bill 3487 (Rep. Todd Hunter)
In a complementary move, this bill offers restaurants a $2 tax break for every 50 pounds of oyster shells they recycle, helping promote shell recycling and reef restoration efforts. Bill passed, sent to the Governor.
Hometown chapter Aransas Bay Chapter narrowly won with a 125.25” stringer.
Looking Ahead
The end of the 89th Legislative Session was marked by a few meaningful steps forward for Texas’s coastal resilience and sustainability. While some initiatives moved swiftly through the process, others highlight the continued need for advocacy and collaboration. Together, these bills reflect growing recognition of the vital role our coasts play—not just in the health of our ecosystems, but in the strength of our communities and economy. We’ll continue to work with lawmakers, industry partners, and local stakeholders to ensure that the momentum built this session translates into lasting progress on the ground and in the water.
2025 CCA Texas Inter Chapter Challenge Fishing Tournament
CCA Texas hosted its annual Inter Chapter Challenge the weekend of June 13–14 in Rockport/Fulton. More than 320 local chapter board members attended representing 28 chapters from across the state.
Friday night’s Captains Meeting, held at the Fulton Convention Center, featured a delicious showcase of Texas farm-raised oysters from the Coastal Bend, including offerings from Big Tree Oyster Company, Blackjack Point Oyster Company, and Texas Clearwater Oyster Gardens. Saltwater Grill of Corpus Christi provided an outstanding meal, as always. The evening included plenty of door prizes and was full of fun and camaraderie.
The fishing tournament took place on Saturday. Following the 2021 freeze, CCA Texas transitioned the event to a Catch-Photo-Release format to promote conservation. The tournament bag includes four redfish and one flounder per team. Anglers submitted their catches through the Fishing Chaos tournament App, where each submission was judged and verified by a third-party official. The system ranks catches based on length and submission time for each species, determining the winning team accordingly.
Anglers gathered at Poor Man’s Country Club for the awards ceremony. Longtime CCA Texas supporters, Poor Man’s Country Club provided a fajita dinner buffet for attendees after a long day of fishing. The 2025 CCA Texas ICC Champion is the hometown Aransas Bay Chapter, with a total stringer length of 125.25 inches. Close behind, the Corpus Christi Chapter—the 2024 champions—earned second place with 125.0 inches. Austin Chapter claimed third place with a total of 124.25 inches.
In individual categories:
• Kaben Lunbeck won Largest Flounder
with a 21.25” fish.
• Grant Bible took home the Longest Hardhead award with a 19.75” catch.
• Quinn Koehler won the Redfish Spot Pot with a redfish displaying 12 spots on one side.
CCA Texas is deeply grateful for the dedication of every chapter and the volunteers who drive their success. The strength of CCA Texas has always come from these grassroots efforts, and the Inter Chapter Challenge is a chance to bring everyone together for a weekend of fun, food, fishing, and fellowship.
On behalf of CCA Texas—THANK YOU to each and every one of you.
With a last-minute surge, Corpus Christi Chapter narrowly missed a repeat and finished in 2nd place with 125.0”
Always in the hunt, Austin Chapter finished in 3rd place with 124.25”
By Kim Biba – TPWD NRDA Specialist
FIELD NOTES
RESTORING NATURE, REVITALIZING RECREATION: WHERE CONSERVATION MEETS PLAY
At the heart of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) mission lies the commitment to conserve the natural and cultural resources of Texas ensuring that future generations can enjoy the state’s unique hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation opportunities. This mission goes beyond just managing the state’s natural resources; it includes restoration. Through a collaborative partnership with the Texas General Land Office (GLO), Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI), TPWD is part of the Deepwater Horizon Texas Trustee Implementation Group (Texas TIG). This group is dedicated to restoring the state’s natural resources that were injured by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The Texas TIG funds a variety of projects that provide both ecological uplift to natural resources and enhance recreational opportunities for the public. These projects serve TPWD’s mission to restore and protect the state’s natural and cultural resources. Here are just a few of the remarkable projects made possible through these collaborative efforts.
McFaddin Beach: Restoring a Delicate Coastal Ecosystem
The McFaddin Beach and Dune Restoration Project has
become the largest beach renourishment initiative in the state. This vital project is not just about adding sand – it’s about preserving the natural defenses that protect both the landscape and wildlife from the effects of saltwater caused by storms and human activities. Historically, dunes along Texas’ coastline acted as a barrier, absorbing the brunt of storm surges and preventing saltwater from invading the interior marshes. These dunes weren’t just beautiful – they were essential. As the dunes eroded, saltwater began seeping into the interior marshes, killing off plant communities and turning what was once a vibrant marshland into open water.
Through this large-scale project, sand was added to more than 14 miles of beach and dunes, effectively rebuilding the dunes to their former glory. To ensure long-term sustainability, native vegetation was carefully planted along the newly restored dunes to stabilize the area against future erosion. These plants are more than just decoration—they are essential in anchoring the sand and preventing further degradation of the shoreline. The newly nourished beach is a beacon of hope for both wildlife and residents alike. It provides essential foraging and nesting habitat for birds and burrowing invertebrates, offering refuge to species that rely on these coastal ecosystems for survival. For the Salt Bayou ecosystem, it acts as a buffer, absorbing the impact of future storms and protecting the delicate balance of life that depends on it. The revitalized McFaddin Beach is
McFaddin Beach after the Beach and Dune Restoration Project was completed. Photo Credit: Patrick M. Quigley 2024
now open to the public, inviting Texans to enjoy the natural beauty of the Gulf Coast once again. Whether it’s building sandcastles, wading in the warm Gulf waters, fishing along the shore, or bird watching, the restored beach offers countless opportunities for recreation and relaxation.
Sea Rim State Park: Enhancing Recreational Infrastructure
Nestled along the windswept upper coast of Texas in Jefferson County, Sea Rim State Park is a hidden gem where marsh meets the Gulf. Spanning more than 4,000 acres of coastal wetlands and boasting two miles of undeveloped beach, the park has long been a desired destination for birders, anglers, paddlers, and beach lovers alike. The Sea Rim State Park Improvements Project added a set of thoughtfully designed amenities that make it easier and more enjoyable to connect with nature.
The upgrades include two wildlife viewing platforms, a fish cleaning shelter, and a comfort station. The viewing platform at Fence Lake sits about 30 feet offshore, accessible only by watercraft. Fence Lake is a shallow, tidally influenced body of water. From the platform, visitors are rewarded with sweeping views of the surrounding marsh grasses and an elevated vantage point for spotting wildlife.
The Willow Pond boardwalk and platform offers a more accessible option for wildlife watchers. This boardwalk is fully ADA-compliant. It opens up the wonders of the marsh to all visitors, including those with limited mobility.
For those who come to fish, the fish cleaning shelter is a welcome addition. The 10-by-10-foot facility gives anglers a convenient and clean space to prepare their fresh catch. It’s a simple upgrade that makes a big difference in keeping the area tidy and user-friendly.
Last but not least, the comfort station features a concrete walkway and a vault toilet. The facility is both ADA-accessible and strategically placed for boaters, duck hunters, and wildlife enthusiasts. Whether you’re headed out for a paddle or wrapping up a morning of birdwatching, it’s a welcome bit of convenience in the heart of the marsh.
These additions make a big impact on the visitor experience. Whether you’re visiting Sea Rim State Park for the first time or rediscovering a favorite spot, there’s never been a better time to explore what this coastal treasure has to offer.
Artificial Reefs: Building Underwater Havens
The Texas TIG has also provided recreational opportunities below the water’s surface. Artificial reefs are often seen as an oasis in the desert. These underwater havens attract fish
Willow Pond boardwalk and platform at Sea Rim State Park.
The Kraken after being submerged and converted into an artificial reef.
Artificial reef concrete pyramids being deployed at the Freeport Artificial Reef site.
to predictable locations. The Texas TIG funded three artificial reef projects along the Texas coast.
Two of the Texas TIG’s projects involved submerging concrete pyramids 6-10 miles offshore, providing easy access for recreational users such as fishermen and divers. Between the two projects, over 2,400 concrete pyramids were submerged. The third project took it a step further, submerging a massive 371-foot ship named The Kraken. Almaco, Red Snapper, and Amberjack have been attracted as frequent visitors to this reef. This site has two mooring buoys to aid in diver and angler access and is located along the route many use when visiting the Flower Garden Banks. All three projects provide divers and fishermen with a unique and exciting way to connect with the Gulf’s diverse marine life.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Texas’ Natural Resource Restoration
As these projects demonstrate, the Texas TIG’s efforts have made a tangible difference in enhancing recreational opportunities for Texas while conserving natural resources. The group’s continued work will help ensure that the state’s coastal habitats, wildlife, and ecosystems will continue to thrive, providing both recreational opportunities for Texans and a sanctuary for the diverse species that call the Lone Star State home.
To learn more about these projects and the Texas TIG’s ongoing restoration efforts, visit NOAA’s Gulf Spill Restoration Website.
Check the TPWD Outdoor Annual, your local TPWD Law Enforcement office, or tpwd.texas.gov for more info.
ERIC OZOLINS EXTREME
KAYAK FISHING & SHARKS FROM THE SAND
BIG SHARK BLISS
Along the Coastal Bend of Texas, where the sea meets the sand, the scorching doldrums of summer can be tough on the human soul. The salt-infused heat takes a toll physically, while the beach sand burns the feet. The extremity of the sun’s radiation also beats us down mentally. Despite all these superficially dire facts, hordes of anglers head to the surf this time of year to take their chances at big fish in the warm, often clear, ocean water.
When summer settles in and the surf runs calm, our nearshore waters look much like those in the Caribbean Sea, and speckled trout roam around in the beachfront guts, feeding on a variety of prey species. These thick, brawny trout seem bulked up from the struggles they face in the open ocean, heftier than their cousins we find in our bays and backwaters. Tarpon and mackerel also cruise the inshore waters during summer, within reach of coastal anglers, but for the most hardcore folks who head to the beaches with rods and reels this time of year, catching trophy sharks is the ultimate goal.
The beauty of this unique season is not found in quantity, variety, or the amount of action. Instead, summer beach fishing for many people is all about SIZE.
June, July, and August typically produce our biggest fish of the year. The Big 3 species typically present in the surf during summer are the tigers, great hammerheads, and bull sharks. Both dusky and lemon sharks measuring more than ten feet have been caught from the beaches of the Lone Star State during this time-frame as well. Dusky sharks are rare, and the only time we encounter them in the Texas surf is during offshore upwellings, which send cooler water than normal toward our beachfronts. While huge dusky sharks provide thrills to those lucky enough to catch them, in many years we have had no shot at them at all.
Of course, many factors affect our chances of beaching big sharks. Spring weather, with its almost constant barrage of strong winds, certainly does. The big blows generate strong currents close to shore, which large sharks typically avoid, riding out the tumultuous time far offshore, in water of much greater depths. Meanwhile, the strong currents reshape our sandbars, sometimes exposing buried shells. As a result, sandbars are sometimes hazardous early in the summer. Unfortunately, many of us experience cut-offs when running our big baits out for sharks over the crusty
Valen Colunga with a recent tiger shark landing.
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bars. The sharp, exposed edges of newly exposed shells sometimes cut lines. If they aren’t immediately severed, lines can be damaged by the shells, then break during fights with fish. As summer rolls on and gentle waves reset the bars, green water returns and begins covering most of the worst stuff again, and our gear is less often damaged.
Green to clear water plays a vital role in increasing our chances for encountering either of the king duo of sharks in our surf, the tigers and hammers. These sharks don’t often venture into muddy or even lightly-churned water as the bull sharks are apt to do. When the winds of summer predictably settle to a whisper, a noticeable increase in action with big sharks typically occurs. Big sharks just love clear, shallow water. Both hammers and tigers have large eyes, and they use them actively to feed during daylight hours.
Hammers love chasing down large fish like jacks and drum, even tarpon. Tigers aren’t built for speed, so they rely on ambush tactics when taking their prey. And they’ll eat most anything big that gets close enough to justify an attack. These sharks have been known to eat turtles, birds, even other sharks. At times, both hammers and tigers will also come up to investigate humans on kayaks. Typically, these inquisitive encounters pose no threats to us, but all anglers aboard kayaks should be aware these impressive predators generally move closer for a better look when they see us. Tigers, hammers and bulls all have huge appetites. They’re present in the summer surf-zone because of the abundance of potential prey. While schools of jackfish, tarpon, drum and sheepshead are all alluring to these sharks, stingrays that inhabit the nearshore waters tend to attract the largest of the monsters. During June, both the southern and roughtail stingrays move into the shallows fronting
Mathew Dunnells poses with a beautiful hammerhead on a recent trip.
Oz takes a short photo break while preparing to release this large summertime hammer.
Ozmosis Elite Shark Series rods, designed specifically for landing large sharks.
our beaches; most of the giant females, reaching up to 200 pounds, arrive heavily pregnant.
They move shallow to feed on crustaceans or scavenge small, dead fish. They’ll linger and feed in the surf zone until they give birth to a litter of pups. For the sharks, this provides a bountiful buffet. During this time, the big tigers and hammers often feed on the mature rays exclusively at night, when the water is clear, while darkness provides them some cover and enhances the stealth of their attacks. Once these giants succeed in locating a big ray, they often dispatch it by taking multiple big bites, until their appetite becomes temporarily satisfied.
Bull sharks nearing the nine-foot mark usually have massive girth, and are a welcome, though sometimes random catch. The hammerheads present perhaps the greatest angling challenge on earth, but they’re fragile, difficult to revive and release after epic battles. Consequently, I almost exclusively target the giant tigers. In terms of weight, tigers are the largest sharks we have, and to battle one to the beach and visually appreciate the creature at close range represents the very essence of sharking adventures.
During the peak of big shark season I’m most often kayaking out really large baits, like whole rays weighing up to 20 pounds, just before dark. In the past, we generally would thread multiple large J-hooks into our baits, but these days, laws restrict us to using only circle hooks. With circle hooks, I run one single 24/0 hook, held in the end of the bait, in the hopes a big shark will engulf the entire offering. I usually deploy a spread of two to four big baits, somewhere between four hundred and six hundred yards from the sand. Many times, just one bait gets picked up, but I’ve also experienced dreamy, hot August nights on which sharks take all the baits I run.
For decades now, Texas sharkers have focused their efforts primarily on the hottest season when targeting the biggest sharks. As with all kinds of fishing, success depends heavily on the qualities of the conditions. As long as the warm surf waters run relatively calm, with good visibility, chances run high that a few beastly critters are around. Both strong moons enhance anglers chances for encountering big fish. The summer full moons are called tiger moons for a reason, and the dark nights of the new moon also have high potential. Approaching tropical events seem to improve the bite too.
So far this summer we’ve been tackling plenty of slob hammerheads. As we get into August I expect to encounter mainly large tigers. It’s all more than exciting. When I’m awakened late at night in the surf by an 800-pound tiger shark, I realize my way of life is truly an obsession.
Science Sea and the
The Not-So-Rare Giant Crustacean
Sometimes we consider a species rare because it truly is, whether because it’s endangered or simply because it naturally has sparse populations. But other times, a species may only appear rare because it lives in such remote locations that people haven’t managed to find it very often. That seems to be the case with the world’s largest amphipod, Alicella gigantea. Amphipods include more than 10,700 shrimp-like crustaceans found throughout the sea and other aquatic environments. And Alicella gigantea, which can grow to a little over 13 inches long, outsizes them all, but it lives in a very hard-to-reach habitat.
Alicella gigantea live on the deep sea floor, so it’s not surprising that researchers have not seen many of them. But a group of scientists from Western Australia wanted to find out just how rare—or common— these critters might be. They collected all the scientific records they could find for this species since the first specimen was discovered in 1899. They found 195 records from 75 locations throughout the world, including finds in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. And it turns out, the large white crustaceans can live over quite a broad range of the deep sea, at depths ranging from 2.4 to 5.6 miles below the surface.
Knowing the conditions where the species lives, the researchers then estimated that similar habitat is present in more than half of the entire ocean floor—somewhere around 59% of it. Just as remarkably, when they analyzed the makeup of the specimens that had available genetic data, the scientists discovered that the Alicella gigantea amphipods were genetically very similar to one another from vastly different locations. That means huge swaths of the deep ocean floor throughout the world might be crawling with these huge crustaceans—making them not so rare after all.
For the past decade Eric ‘Oz’ Ozolins has been promoting shark catch and release and assisting various shark research programs. Eric offers guided shark fishing on Padre Island National Seashore. Also renowned for extreme kayak big game fishing, Eric is the owner of Catch Sharks Tackle Company.
The world’s largest amphipod, Alicella gigantea, feeding at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Credit: Alan Jamieson, CC BY-SA 4.0
Like chameleons, redfish can adjust their body coloration to match the habitat.
NATHAN BEABOUT MOSTLY SIGHT-FISHING
FRESHWATER ENFLOW INSURES THE HEALTH OF OUR ESTUARIES
Well, I know it’s on everybody’s mind, and no, the 15 inches of rain that fell in mid-June and flooded our bay systems will not hinder the fishing for long. In fact, it will set us up for some phenomenal fishing in late July and August. The Middle Texas Coast bay systems offer many places to fish that have had little effect from the runoff and inflow from the rivers, and our bays will flourish with life because of these river floods. Many folks get scared when they hear our rivers have crested and are dumping into the bay, and yes, the initial push of water may dampen fishing for a week or so, but our bays need this continual influx of freshwater. Some of the major food sources for game fish; shrimp, crabs, etc., get flushed out of the river deltas and upper areas of the estuaries bringing abundant food into the bays.
This freshwater helps to reduce our salinity levels and drops the bay water temperatures. Because of this our fish are less likely to leave the bays entirely in search of
more suitable salinity levels. While this can cause them to get pushed around for a time depending on water depth – salty water is heavier than fresh water and can exist in a thick layer in the lower portion of the water column – there is a good possibility they haven’t left at all, just hunkered down in the deeper and saltier zone.
Here’s a great example: What I have seen is trout on the reefs in San Antonio Bay will stay a mile or so in front of the freshwater line as it makes its way from the mouth of the Guadalupe to the lower portions of the bay system. Now this line can change daily depending on how hard the wind blows, and from which direction. Again, keep in mind that freshwater is lighter than saltwater, so while it might not look good on the surface the bottom half or more of the water column could still be plenty salty.
As the winds push and pull on the freshwater layer you will see certain areas change almost overnight. The
back lakes and marsh also hold a lot of freshwater during these big rain events. But if our tides are normal to high, we do not see it right away. Rather than raging like the rivers, it sort of seeps out. In some areas, you may notice getting more of a tea-stained look over time, while other areas remain green. Now if we have a weather pattern change and our winds begin to blow from a more southerly or southwestern direction, we will begin to see bigger tidal drops. When this occurs, it allows the water being held up on the island and in the grass to start running out. If we see these kinds of tide drops from a shift in the weather pattern, then more and more water begins to move out of the island causing large volumes of fresh water to overtake the back marsh and back lakes.
Still, do not let this alarm you. This, too, is flushing out tons of bait and food into our bay system. There will still be plenty of outside shorelines holding miles of salty green water. I always look at these events like a pieces of a puzzle. If you know fish live in area “A”, and this area is being overtaken by freshwater, what are your options? First of all, you need to look at depths, tides, and the primary food source in that area. Think like a fish. Where would you go to be comfortable? Sometimes these answers might surprise you. Yes, it is a mind game where we strive to find the prettiest green water we can this time of year, but challenge yourself. If all the key ingredients are there, or close by, try it. It will not take that long to find out if the fish are in the area or not. Think about it this way, you might stumble onto something that nobody knows about, then you have an area all to yourself, while others might just drive by. I cannot tell you how many times clients have looked at me cross-eyed when I tell them we are fishing here!
I know this isn’t the typical sight-casting article I usually share but I figured I would address something we have dealt with this summer and might continue to deal with if these rains persist. The last month or so we have been sight-casted in some pretty tea-stained water, but it makes it fun. Redfish seem to glow in that kind of water.
Full time guide since 2007
Seadrift, Port O’Connor, & Port Mansfield, TX Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
Phone 210.452.9680
Email www.nmsportsmansadventures.com
Captain Nathan Beabout USCG/TPWD Licensed
Look close; there’s a redfish in that teastained water. It always amazes me how redfish can adapt to water conditions.
AUGUST ADDICTIONS: CHASING TARPON & SNOOK ON THE LOWER COAST
There’s something about August on the lower Texas coast that pulls me toward two fish in particular – tarpon and snook. Maybe it’s the heat. Maybe it’s the still mornings and the aggressive tides. Or maybe it’s just the way both species seem to show up and move in all the right ways this time of year. Either way, once we hit mid-summer, my mindset shifts. Don’t get me wrong I love chasing redfish and trout like anyone else, but when these two begin to show up I can’t help myself to go looking for them.
This time of year, chasing tarpon and snook turns into a full-on mission to understand them better every day. And, the thing is, I don’t discriminate when it comes to how we target them. If I’ve got to throw live bait, I’ll do it. If they’ll eat a lure, even better. The goal is simple – Get tight on two of the most elusive, explosive, and addicting species we’ve got swimming in the Lower Laguna Madre. When it comes to chasing tarpon, I spend most of my time working structure and the beachfront. Those rolling, silver-backed giants are usually on the move, and some days they’ll test your patience. But once you see that first one roll or eat a bait on the surface, everything else fades. The beachfront is a special place when it’s on. You’ll get mornings with hardly any chop, and you can actually see them cruising, rolling, free-jumping, or daisy chaining like
ghosts, just under the surface. Other days, they’re laid up near structure or the jetties, pilings, or deep drop-offs where they wait to ambush bait.
Live mullet or piggy perch will always be a go-to, but I also keep a Waterloo rod ready, rigged with a KWiggler 4” Paddletail in Bart’s Sand Ninja or something very bright. Some of my best bites come when I least expect it, and having the right setup ready can make or break the moment. Hooking a tarpon is one thing; landing one is quite another story. They’ll go airborne, cartwheel, shake hooks, or dump your spool before you even know what happened. It’s pure chaos, but the best kind.
Now, snook, these guys are a completely different kind of hunt. Definitely more calculated. I’m usually targeting structure – bridge pilings, rocky seawalls, docks, piers, and jetties. If there’s good current and bait stacked up, chances are there’s a snook tucked in somewhere nearby. They’re ambush predators through and through, and they like to stay tight to cover. Sometimes the bites come fast. Other times, you’ve got to work every inch of a spot and get that lure or bait just right before they’ll take it.
Snook have a bad habit of making you work for it, but they’ll also absolutely wreck a bait in short order when they’re fired up. I like throwing paddletails and topwaters
on structure, the Mansfield Knockers draw lots of strikes with their obnoxious rattles; but again, if the bite’s slow and the fish are there, I’ve got no shame in free-lining a live shrimp or mullet to get it done.
The cool thing about focusing on both of these species is how much it pushes me to be a better angler. You can’t just wing it with tarpon or snook. You’ve got to pay attention. Watch the tides, read the current, follow the bait, and make every cast count. They’re unforgiving fish. You can fish the right spot for hours and never get a sniff. Or you can show up at the right time and have a day you’ll never forget.
What I love most is that these fish teach you something every time. Whether it’s learning how to position the boat better, what lure retrieve cadence works, or simply when to move on – every trip chasing tarpon or snook adds a little more to the tool kit.
August might not be everyone’s favorite time to be on the water. It’s hot, it’s humid, and you’re likely going to really earn your bites. But for me, this is the stretch where the payoff is worth every drop of sweat. Whether I’m tucked in tight near some mangrove thicket working for redfish, working covered pilings, or drifting the edge of the surf zone looking for silver flashes, I know I’m right where I need to be.
James Kosub James Kosub says, “I fell in love with fishing as a child and my passion deepened when I discover the Texas coast. Shallow water redfish have become an obsession.”
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Matagorda
Bink Grimes is a full-time fishing and hunting guide, freelance writer and photographer, and owner of Sunrise Lodge on Matagorda Bay.
Many days in August we pray for wind. Sure, it’s hot, but if you leave the dock a little earlier and head back to the dock before it blisters, August can be just as profitable as June. Southeast winds normally bring a low barometer; and, falling barometric pressure is generally more conducive for fish to bite. North winds flatten the summer surf, giving us miles and miles of guts and bars to work the beach.
The good news with an easterly flow is that tides rise and push water to back lakes and estuaries devoid of tides for most of the summer. To put it plainly, the bays get a shot in the arm when southeast winds blow.
Reefs along the north shoreline are a boon for waders tossing topwaters on the incoming tide. Never underestimate the cuts leading to the bay on the incoming tide as well. Those fish enter and exit the ditch daily through those cuts.
The mid-bay reefs consistently hold good trout in August. We start out in waist-deep water on the shell drop-off and then end up in chest-deep water on the end of the reef as the water warms. Know your tides. There have been many mornings I have arrived to find nothing, but patience prevails knowing the incoming tide will bring fish to the reef.
When winds are light, we drift the middle of East Bay. Trout and redfish hang there all year, and slicks become more prevalent during August, especially for schooling redfish.
There are some good trout on the shorelines for waders as well. Again, it’s an early bite with the heat. We find those trout over the grass early – they fall along the ledge in about 4-5 feet of water later in the day.
incoming tide. There has been solid bird action on light wind days all summer long, proving this year’s shrimp crop is a good one.
August normally brings with it a few weak cool fronts that knock down the humidity, flatten the Gulf of Mexico, and usher in the first batch of blue-winged teal. We will work the surf and jetty rocks on these days, concentrating in the first gut on the incoming tide and tossing topwaters on the outer bars on the falling tide.
Speaking of teal, this year’s nine day season will run Sept.20-28. During the special season we will be hunting the morning and fishing the afternoon. If you are considering a guided teal hunt, don’t wait till September to book it.
Seems I’ve said it every month but it is worth repeating – our bays are bouncing back due to conservation efforts and better fishing practices that promote catch and release. Better fish are showing daily and the quality of trout in our bays is impressive. Keep taking care of our bays and beaches and thank you to all who are letting a few more go.
For info on rentals, real estate, waterfront lodging and hunting and fishing, contact Sunrise Lodge and Properties.
Don’t be surprised to find birds working along the north shoreline with calm conditions. Since the ICW runs along the northern boundary of East Bay, those shrimp running the “ditch” often enter the bay on the
Port
O'Connor
Seadrift
Captain Gary Gray is a full time guide, born and raised in Seadrift. He has been guiding the Seadrift/Port O’Connor region since 1986. Gary specializes in year ‘round wade fishing for speckled trout and redfish with artificial lures.
July fishing has been rather slow but steady this year. What I mean is my clients and I have been struggling with getting into or staying put in locations that hold good numbers of quality fish. It seems like we get on a good bite in an area and the wind slowly increases as the sun rises, so much that it will gradually make the conditions so bad that we end up leaving and moving to other areas that may not be holding the quality of fish we desire.
There is light at the end of the tunnel, though. August weather is generally more stable with sunny days and lighter winds…in other words, the dog days. While some might disagree, the heat is not all that bad if you have the outlook that the fish will feed more aggressively in the cooler early morning hours, and then head to the nearest drop-off to take advantage of darker, cooler depths. They’ll still feed, but more selectively than during early morning.
With August’s lighter winds you will likely see the bow of my Shallowsport X3 headed to areas that will have four major characteristics – shallow feeding areas, deep water access nearby, and with good current flow. Last but not least would be an abundant supply of bait fish in the area.
There are actually quite a few areas that offer these four basic attributes. One that comes to mind quickly is mid-bay reefs, such as can be found in West Matagorda, San Antonio, and Mesquite bays. Major reefs are easy to locate as there will typically be waves breaking across them. More to my liking, however, are the many not-so-major reef structures that appear on your GPS screen. Generally speaking these smaller and lesser-known reefs receive less fishing pressure.
Most days, I will start out throwing the 4” Saltwater Assassin Sea Shads rigged on a 1/16-ounce Assassin jighead. My preferred colors are the Purple Chicken and Magic Grass.
Another area that will hold the “fab four qualifications” is the surf along Matagorda Peninsula and Matagorda Island; which is truly my favorite place to fish during late summer. The breeze coming over the gulf always feels cooler out there, and the water is a good deal cooler and more oxygenated than in the bays. As a result the fish always seem friskier and more apt to feed more aggressively. They’ll thump a lure or live bait harder and they’ll fight harder, and you might also encounter a greater variety of species – jackfish, blue fish, tarpon, and Spanish mackerel to name just a few. Though rather rare, we have even land landed ling (cobia) out there.
There are several ways you can fish the surf. Some folks like to anchor their boat or utilize the Spot-Lock feature of the trolling motor while tossing live bait fish into the first or second guts. A method that can be super effective for those who like to remain in the boat.
And, of course, there are a great number of fishermen who like to anchor near the second bar and get out and wade the first and second guts, tossing live bait or artificial lures. Typically, in the surf, I will be using either the 5-inch Saltwater Assassin Saltwater Shad or their 5-inch Artemis Shad. Currents can be strong at times and for that reason I will normally rig these on a 1/4-ounce Bass Assassin jighead.
The surf is not all peaches and cream, though. You have to remain alert to the conditions at all times. Probably the most important safety concern is the breakers on the beach. If you get into the surf and the waves are breaking on the third bar, turn around and go back into the bay. When the waves break on the third bar that means it is too rough to safely fish the beach front, whether you are planning to anchor and wade or anchor and fish from the boat. It’s just not safe.
Even when the gulf is calm you will still need to be cautious about how and where you position and anchor your boat to make sure you do not have a rogue wave crashing water into your boat, meaning that you should never, ever have your boat anchored on top of one of the sand bars. Always position your boat in a gut when anchoring.
August is usually our hottest month so get an early start and stay hydrated. Try to be off the water before it gets too hot.
Fish hard, fish smart!
Nick Heath with a nice San Antonio Bay redfish.
Kyle White, gettin’ ‘er done in style!
Upper Laguna/ Baffin
David Rowsey has 30 years in Baffin and Upper Laguna Madre; trophy trout with artificial lures is his specialty. David has a great passion for conservation and encourages catch and release of trophy fish.
It’s downright stifling outside. The humidity wraps around you like a steaming towel, and our wades are creeping deeper every day just to find a little relief. Staying hydrated isn’t optional – it’s survival. I always pack plenty of water and keep a few bottles of Propel on hand. One trick I swear by is tossing a cotton towel into the ice chest. After a wade, it’s Heaven to wipe your face or wrap it around your neck. Another trick is pulling the drain plug on your ice chest and letting icecold water flow across your bare feet. Scoop a few handfuls and dump it on your head. Silly? Maybe. But I’ve been overheated before; I’d rather look goofy and stay cool than toast my core and ruin the day.
August is always tough – on the body and on the bite. If you’re a lure purist like me, it can humble you fast. I’ve learned to temper expectations and focus on making the most of what each day gives us. That early trout bite? It’s still there – but you better be in position by sunrise, because it fades fast once the sun starts cooking.
After that, we shift gears. When the topwater bite dies off and the water heats up, I’m quick to pull the trolling motor and start rock-hopping; working deep structure in 5- to 7-foot depths. These rock piles hold fish during the dog days, and almost every piece of structure will produce at least one bite, often more. If you can find mullet on top of those rocks – especially ones acting skittish – you’re in business. Something’s down there making them nervous.
One of the most effective (and surprising) patterns I’ve found during late summer is chasing black drum. Yep, you heard right – big, rooting schools of black drum. And no, I’m not about to pitch you on a Topwater Drum Charter. But hear me out…
Years ago, I stumbled across what I thought was a big school of redfish. I eased in ready to crush them, only to discover they were black drum. I couldn’t get them to bite, but something weird happened. I started getting hit by trout. One after another. After ten or so I finally got that redfish thump I’d been waiting for…except it wasn’t a redfish. It was a big ol’ trout pushing 30 inches.
Call it a lightbulb moment. As the sun got higher,
I realized the trout weren’t schooling with the drum; they were tailgating them. Those wise old trout were cruising just outside the chaos, picking off all the bait getting flushed out as the drum plowed through the rocks like bulldozers. It was a buffet line, and the trout were gorging.
Since then, I have used that pattern many times – with solid results. In fact, that exact approach helped me win a Baffin Troutmasters Tournament and secure Angler of the Year. I didn’t even wade that day. Just let the drum do the heavy lifting and target the trout following them.
Pro Tip: If by chance you hook into a black drum by accident, there’s no need to advertise it. Just fillet the evidence – they’re delicious.
Topwaters are still your best bet at first light, especially if you can find those tightly packed mullet rafts on the south shoreline of Baffin. But once the sun comes up and the bait leaves the surface, it’s time to tie on the 5” Bass Assassin. That plastic has put more fish in my boat than just about anything else, and it remains my confidence lure through the heat of the day.
Michael Curran with a beautiful 7-pound summertime trout, first wade right out of the boat. MirrOlure Lil John did the trick.
The pattern I just described is going to hold through September. The heat will not be letting up, and neither is the need to adapt. After all, even for the most diehard waders, the fish sometimes push deeper than we can follow. When that happens, pride takes a back seat to productivity and trolling motors become tools, not crutches.
Mother Nature is a beast. Just when you think you’ve got her dialed in, she throws you a curveball. But that’s what keeps it interesting. Thirty-five years of fishing these bays, and I still get humbled –and I still learn.
So, my best advice? Get out early. Wade shallow for trout before the sun gets up. Then follow the bite to deeper structure; rocks, and even schools of black drum. Pay attention and be flexible. And when the bite is slow remember that the heat is beatable, the trout are catchable, and every day on the water is still better than one off it.
Remember the buffalo! Capt David Rowsey
Port Mansfield
Captain Wayne Davis has been fishing the Lower Laguna-Port Mansfield for over 20 years. He specializes in wade fishing with lures.
Telephone
210-287-3877
Email captwayne@kwigglers.com
WAYNE’S Mansfield Report
Greetings from Port Mansfield. I may have mentioned it last month, but this heat is really getting to be something else. The winds have started to back down somewhat, which can be both a blessing and a curse. No wind in August means you are fishing in a sauna and high wind in August feels like someone has a blow dryer aimed right in your face. Either way it’s August and we must make the most of it.
This last month or so I have been keeping busy chasing redfish, which has reminded me of certain key elements of their feeding and behavior patterns. When working reds in backwater flats that are connected to drains, its more about timing than anything else, and some of this also applies to reds staged in deep water elsewhere in the bay system. What I mean is it is best if you keep track of time in both of these areas. For instance; there were several days when I would hit a “redfish hole” early in the morning and get one or two blowups, whereas the previous day we caught a lot in the same area at noon. Well, that difference in timing turned a slow day into a wonderful day of fishing, (although the exact time varies some and is usually a little later each day). We caught many reds for a few hours before the bite slowed and eventually stopped. The lightbulb went off and I started timing it accordingly as the days went on.
Next, I checked the tides and noticed the water was flowing out of the big drains associated with the small flat. Pretty neat to put this together although many anglers before me have likely done it as well. While playing the redfish game we also ran across a few good trout, one of which was longer than thirty-one inches (see photo). This pattern eventually shifts so take advantage of it while you can.
As we work through the next couple of months, and at the time of this writing, we have been starting our morning wades on “sloped” bottoms where there is immediate access to deeper water. What I mean is one wader in the group will be waist-deep and the others staged successively shallower toward the kneedeep. A recent wade produced four trout over twenty-six inches utilizing these tactics. Most came from off-colored water between mid-thigh and waist-deep. I like this approach simply because you can figure out pretty quickly where the fish are staged. Bait is also a good indicator and lately it has been thick in spots like I just described. White Wig-A-Los and 4-inch Paddletails on 1/8oz jigs
have been our best baits. I have been stubborn with my Mansfield Knockers but the plastics have outperformed them these last few trips. Now, if I had landed every blow-up…
August will also have me looking for those elusive Texas snook, encounters with which usually become more numerous this month. The water is hot, (actually, the water has been hot enough more than two months now) but the winds have held me back quite a bit during June and July. I am really looking forward to this and I sure hope I get a few more shots at some tarpon. The last few years I have been chasing several small pods of tarpon around the bay while wading and I am hoping to dial in on that again. We shall see, but they certainly have a mind of their own and sure are hard to land when you get lucky enough to hook one.
You do not need heavy tackle to land bay tarpon and snook. I have pointed out in previous articles that you can catch them both on your everyday trout and redfish gear, such as I have done many times. A Fishing Tackle Unlimited G2 Green Rod, a Shimano Vanford or Chronarch reel, with 20-lb braid and 30-lb fluorocarbon leader can certainly get the job done. This set up will not break the bank and, more importantly, it will not fatigue you unnecessarily during a long day of casting.
In closing, remember to try and time those fish if you can, be patient and capitalize on the minor and major feeding times. Fish weekdays as much as possible to avoid boat traffic and fishing pressure. Please be courteous and kind to your fellow anglers if weekends are the only days you can be on the water.
Until next time; remember that fresh is better than frozen.
Danny’s thirty-oneplus trophy fell for a Mansfield Knocker!
Catie was very happy to land her personal best redfish recently.
Arroyo
Colorado to Port Isabel
A Brownsville-area native, Capt. Ernest Cisneros fishes the Lower Laguna Madre from Port Mansfield to Port Isabel. Ernest specializes in wading and poled skiff adventures for snook, trout, and redfish.
Based on my experience over the years, I would say August is a transitional month. Actually, I lump August and September together, given that they are both challenging months for me to catch good numbers of fish on a consistent basis. Reasons for this are several – air and water temperatures are still high and the tide level depends greatly on tropical weather. If the Gulf is clear the tides will run mostly to the low side of average. However, during stretches of low atmospheric pressure we can expect tides to run higher than usual. Add to this the fact that fish, especially trout, will tend to stage in deeper, cooler water that is sometimes too deep to wade.
If you study the tide tables you will see, among other things, there are what we call two tide and four tide days. Historically and scientifically speaking, the two tide days are better for fishing than four tide days. Here’s why…
A two tide day consists of one incoming flow and one outgoing flow. They therefore carry stronger currents and flow for longer durations than those of a four tide day. Four tide days have two incoming and two outgoing flows, which are shorter and tend to be weaker. The stronger currents of two tide days will flush out and transport more bait fish and crustaceans from their hiding places, triggering more feeding activity from game fish.
Our recent success with redfish has been below normal, which I contribute mostly to elevated water temperatures. We are catching some here and there, but the numbers aren’t as high as they were when the water temperature was cooler. I haven’t experienced or seen any large schools of redfish lately, but that will change this month as the bull reds are expected to show up at the Brazos Santiago Pass and Port Mansfield’s East Cut jetties.
Generally speaking, August is when we begin to see redfish beginning to gather in schools. However, if unusually high tides persist due to tropical weather this pattern can be altered or delayed. If the tides remain low as they typically do in summer, the redfish schools will be easier to locate. Lately, our most consistent catching has occurred along ICW spoil islands, a pattern we hope will continue in August.
along the drop-off, throwing soft plastics on heavier jigs – the Eye Strike series from ZMan weighing 3/8 and even 1/2 ounce at times to keep the baits bouncing bottom on the deeper ledges. Trout have been easiest to target on the ledges and this trend should continue during August.
Here are a few more pointers when targeting late-summer trout. Target flats that lie adjacent to the ICW during early morning. Soft plastics have been the best producers; I recommend ZMan’s StreakZ in Space Guppy, their PaddlerZ in Sexy Penny, and the Big BallerZ in Beer Run, Plum/Chart, and Gold Fire. Another recommendation, whenever floating and suspending grass becomes a problem, I like to rig my plastics in weedless fashion using ZMan’s Texas Eye or Texas Eye Finesse jig heads. This setup catches less grass than any I’ve ever tried.
Flounder catches have been increasing, even when not targeting them specifically. If you might decide to target flounder, focus on points in the ICW, especially at the intersections with smaller channels. Other good locations have been at the base of pier pilings and the drains and cuts that lead to back-bays.
Over the last four years, August and September have become the best months for targeting snook on the flats. I attribute this to reduced boat traffic. Once school starts and dove season opens, we begin to see fewer boats as many outdoorspeople turn to other pastimes. Unlike trout and redfish, snook thrive during the hotter months, especially on days with strongest tidal currents. I suggest fishing around the new and full moon periods, being on the water during periods of maximum water flows, and always during the solunar feeding periods.
The trout fishery has saved us on quite a few days lately. When the bite has been slow in other areas we head to the ICW and wade
Tips and tricks of landing and handling fish
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Schools of tarpon will begin to show in the August surf. Bull redfish can be found along the rocks of the Brazos Santiago Pass and Port Mansfield jetties. Further offshore, anglers can expect to encounter delicious red snapper and occasional ling. Fishing success will soon begin to hinge on tropical weather in the Gulf. Always consult the weather forecast when planning fishing trips.
Reese tricked this oversized redfish on ZMan’s MinnowZ rigged on Texas Eye jig head.
Rick Melcher displaying one of nine snook he caught that day.
FISHING REPORTS AND FORECASTS from Big Lake to Boca Chica
Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com - 409.935.7242
In August, James likes to put a priority on chasing the silver kings in the Gulf, when conditions allow. “This is a great month to target tarpon. We like to run through the jetties on calmer days and look for pods of fish rolling and chasing bait. If we can’t find any that way, we will make long drifts in areas where we’ve seen some recently, and where we find other fish and signs in abundance. As long as we don’t have tropical systems around, the Gulf usually runs pretty smooth during the dog days, so we expect to have as many chances at tarpon this month as we do in any. If I’m fishing for trout this time of year, I like to stay in the deeper parts of Lower Galveston Bay and East Bay, mostly. All the wells and shell pads and other structures lying close to the ship channel have good potential to hold plenty of trout. Catching them means timing the tide cycles right and setting up the boat properly, so lures can be cast and retrieved with the current at the right depth. This can be tricky; a long anchor rope helps, especially during strong tide movements.”
Jimmy West | Bolivar Guide Service - 409.996.3054
Jim likes to wade more than he likes to fish out of the boat, in general. But during the peak of the summer heat wave, fishing out in the middle is usually the more productive option. “We do best this time of year fishing in the deeper water out around the mid-bay reefs in both East and Trinity bays. When we’re working those areas, we like to key on places with plenty of active bait showing, also where we see some birds either hovering and diving, or at least sitting on the water. Popping slicks and visible mud stirs also provide clues to where the schools of fish are working. On the calmer days, early in the mornings especially, topwaters work well at times, especially if lots of mullet are jumping and we’re able to cast right at the frantic bait. On average, though, soft plastics work best to catch the fish during the hottest part of the year. We rig them on jigheads heavy enough to keep the lures down pretty close to the bottom most of the time, even ticking the shell at times. The surf is also a productive option during the calm spells in August.”
West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves | Groves Guide Service
979.849.7019 - 979.864.9323
In August, with the water about as hot as it gets on a regular basis, Randall sometimes resorts to fishing with bait, to keep the bites coming at a fast clip. “We have so much food in the water for the predators this time of year. It can be tough to turn their attention away from all of it with lures. So we sometimes get out the cast nets and start building up stocks of whatever the trout and reds are feeding on, then giving them what they want. It can be the only way to catch plenty of fish on some days. On other occasions, the bite on lures can be fantastic this time of year. Mostly, that means when light winds prevail and the surf runs green to the beach. Then, we do well out there catching trout, often on topwaters, and best when the tide is coming in during the first few hours of daylight. Fishing the summer surf is a prized tradition for a reason; it can be so much fun. Lately, I’ve been having the best luck throwing a Norton Sand Eel Junior in glow/silver glitter and a chartreuse tail rigged on a three-eighth ounce jighead.”
Matagorda Bays | Capt. Glenn Ging - Glenn’s Guide Service
979.479.1460 - www.glennsguideservice.com
Once the southwest winds subsided and the runoff from the torrential rains dissipated, fishing has gotten much better in the Matagorda area. Drifting deep shell reefs in East Matagorda Bay with soft plastics or live shrimp under corks has been producing steady catches of trout lately. Waders have been scoring good catches on live bait and lures when working the mid-bay reefs. West Matagorda Bay has been producing good catches of trout off the deeper reefs and structures for anglers using live shrimp and soft plastics. Waders in West Matagorda have been catching plenty of trout on the south shoreline grass beds, but the sharks have been especially bad this summer. In the cleaner water, I’ve been doing well on Bass Assassins and Down South Lures in more natural color schemes like Chicken on a Chain, Bone Diamond, Big Poppa Pearl and Spicy Pumpkin. We’re keeping a close eye on the surf and should see some good opportunities to fish out there this month. It’ll be hot, so the best plan is to get out early and stay well-hydrated. It also makes good sense to come in early, especially when an easy morning bites stops abruptly and becomes a grind.
After recent torrential rains, we’ve been making some pretty long runs to find water with higher salinity, so we can catch some fish. Our trout bite has been good wading and drifting the shoreline of West Matagorda Bay from about Greens to the Big Jetties. Skitter Walks in trout pattern and bone have been the best topwaters. Down South Lures in Magic Grass and Color X have been the best tails. We’ve been starting shallow throwing over grass beds, then working out to the guts later in the morning for best results. The yellow well at The Elbow and the spoils on the Ship Channel have been holding good trout. Over there, free-lining live shrimp and croakers is the best strategy. Redfish have been plentiful on the north shoreline of West Matagorda Bay; the rains have flushed out the back-lakes. We’re seeing some schooling activity, with the reds chasing shrimp down the shorelines. Small lures like Norton Bull Minnows have worked best to get their attention. Next month, I expect the fishing to get better back closer to Palacios as we get some salinity mixed back in our local waters. Turtle Bay and South Bay will be good spots to look for birds working.
Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith
Back Bay Guide Service - 361.935.6833
When fishing during the peak of the summer heat wave, Lynn favors several key locations. “Of course, as I always mention, we hope to get into the surf this time of year as much as we can. We tend to find somewhat bigger, more vigorous specks out there than we do in the bays this time of year. And fishing for them out along the beachfront is about as fun as it gets, at least for lure fishermen. We do well when the water runs green to the beach by targeting the trout with topwaters in the first gut at daybreak, then moving out into the deeper guts and throwing soft plastics later in the morning. We also do well on some of the spoils between Port O’Connor and Port Lavaca this time of year, especially with incoming morning tides. The mid-bay reefs separating the main bays south of town also produce well at times, as long as the water’s moving. And, we have
good luck on a regular basis fishing the shallow sand bars dotted with some grass beds lying close to the pass. As with the spoils, the bite is best on these bars on morning incoming tides.”
Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894
Blake says the most productive patterns available to anglers in the Coastal Bend during August typically depend on the weather and other factors. “In a typical August, when we get prolonged calm spells, fishing for trout in the surf is by far the best option. Though accessing the surf area around Cedar Bayou is more work now that we have signs stopping us from running out there all the way in the boat, the action is still great when conditions are right. If we get more wind than usual this month, the fishing is usually better around some of the mid-bay reefs in Aransas and Copano bays, and along the deep grass edges on protected shorelines. The depths of both the La Quinta and Lydia Ann channels provide fish places to retreat and find cooler water. In extra windy conditions this month, the best bite for trout can often be found on the protected sides of spoil islands lying adjacent to these deep ditches. Working the edges of flats and grass beds lying close to the depths often pays off for wading anglers. In Ingleside, anglers trying this should pay close attention to passing ships, which can throw dangerous wakes.”
Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay
Captain James Sanchez Guide Service - 210.260.7454
During August’s peak summer heat, fish often feed vigorously for a short time, then abruptly stop feeding. Getting an early start and focusing on both minor and major feeding periods can help anglers earn more strikes on lures during this sometimes difficult month. Our trout fishing has been excellent all summer, with plenty of keepers landed and some larger ones in the mix. Given that our tides will be very low, I’ll be targeting fish on the shallow edges of drop-offs at dawn when the water’s coolest. Twitching a Mansfield Knocker or a Spook Junior around schools of mullet is a reliable way to get bites from aggressively feeding fish. From mid-morning through the afternoon, we’ll continue to catch trout and redfish around shoreline points or grass lines in three to four feet of water. Soft plastics like KWigglers Ball Tail Shads in Bone Diamond, Naked Margarita and Plum Perfect work best when the blow-ups stop. Redfish have recently been challenging to find, but we can expect this to improve as they begin to school this month. In the mornings, before the boats scare them off, wading shallow sand flats with scattered grass beds produces plenty; spoil islands produce better in the afternoons.
Corpus Christi & Baffin Bay | Capt. Chris Elliott’s Guide Service captchriselliott@yahoo.com - 361.834.7262
Lately, the Upper Laguna Madre has been looking like a backyard pool after the yard gets mowed, with floating dead grass all over the place. Each morning, I tie on a top water with treble hooks and am reminded of this after of a few casts made dragging what feels like a leaf rake across the surface. But we aren’t letting the grass stop us from getting an early morning topwater bite. Swapping the treble hooks out for single hooks or switching to a Double D has been the game plan almost every morning. Putting on a soft plastic like a KWiggler Wig-A-Lo on a weedless hook will eliminate the grass problem too. Lately, I’ve found myself going that route and walking the dog with it just under the surface, and the trout have been absolutely slamming it. Some of the redfish are still hanging out on shallow flats, but we’re finding bigger fish closer to dropoffs in about two feet of water. A straight-tail soft plastic bounced around good potholes has been producing good numbers of redfish, along with the occasional quality flounder. Being thorough and working all parts of each pothole within reach will increase productivity over time.
P.I.N.S. Fishing Forecast | Eric Ozolins
361.877.3583 - Oceanepics.com
This summer, we’ve had everything from various types of seaweed piling up to copious amounts of tar on the beach. The winds blew hard practically all of June. For a brief period this resulted in cold, dirty water and upwellings along the southern coast, then it finally calmed and warmed to normal. On days with clear water, the trout bite has been very good this summer on topwaters and soft plastics. With the water both clearing and warming back up, I expect all sorts of crazy action in August. The dusky anchovies should start moving closer to the beach. Underneath the birds, chaotic action can lead to catching anything from trout to tarpon to sharks. If the water is clear enough, spotting small schools of slot reds swimming in the guts might be possible. Gold spoons cast close in front of them usually works to catch ‘em. Spanish mackerel and skipjacks should be abundant, and fairly easy to catch on spoons as well. Jacks might make their way in closer to feed on the bait balls. Shark fishing will remain fairly slow, with the exception of the occasional big shark being caught at night,. These will mainly be large tigers.
Port Mansfield, Texas | Ruben Garza Snookdudecharters.com - 832.385.1431
GetAway Lodge - 956.944.4000
Hot summer weather creates a need to start early in shallow water, and then move deeper as the day progresses. Shallow water cools quickly overnight, but also warms quickly after the sun comes up. Fish react to hot water by abandoning it, and this means moving from shallow water to deeper water this time of year. Early in the mornings, the west shoreline north of town can be great when winds are calm. When fishing the shallows around the Saucer or up north by the Old Game Warden Shack, we do best by staying around plenty of active baitfish. When the active bait moves out deeper, we move with ‘em. I like to start off summer mornings throwing a Mansfield Knocker rigged with single hooks, and gold, weedless spoons work well for the reds. KWiggler Ball Tail Juniors in Plum-Chartreuse or Bart’s Sand Ninja work well, for those who prefer fishing soft plastics. When fishing deeper later in the days, the most productive depth is usually about belly-deep. We like to concentrate our casts into potholes while wading the deepest water we can safely operate in. Drifting alongside the ICW spoils is a productive plan for afternoon fishing during the summer heat wave.
Fishing on the Lower Laguna has been good in the hot weather. The fish have also felt the heat, so they’ve retreated to the depths of the ICW at times. We’re catching best on drop-offs right along the ditch and on shallow sand bars lying close to the depths. We’re finding the bite is best when we keep our soft plastics moving slowly and staying close to the bottom, actually making contact with the bottom from time to time. For us, quarter-ounce Trout-Eye jigheads from Z-Man aid in this endeavor. Trout of all sizes have been schooling together in the deeper, cooler water, so it can be difficult to cull keepers out of the more numerous undersized fish. The redfish have started schooling up in the passes connecting the bays to the Gulf, and in deeper water adjacent to the ICW. Z-man DieZel MinnowZ in the Redbone color have been working great when we find the reds. Quarter-ounce jigheads help in the effort to make long casts, so we can stay away from the schools, and they keep the lure low in the water column. In the mornings, we find the reds shallow and do well catching them on small topwaters.
Mason Fullenwider Magnolia Beach - 5’ 50 lb gar
Perry Baumann redfish at sunrise CPR
Jim Keys Port Mansfield - jack crevalle CPR
John Vann Galveston Bay - 32” bull red CPR
Meagan Young POC - 7.5 lb redfish
Mike Gartner Freeport - 21.5” personal best trout!
Hunter Kelley 21” trout CPR
Heidi Faldik Matagorda surf - 49” personal best spinner shark!
First come – first published! Photos are judged on artistic merit and sporting ethic displayed. No stringer, cleaning table, or hanging board images allowed. Digital images only. Adjust camera to high or best quality. All images become property of TSFMag. Email to: Photos@TSFMag.com Include short description of your catch with name, date, bay system, etc.
Photo
Jonah Pascoe POC - first Texas red!
Julia Vargas Aransas Pass - 30.5” personal best bull red! CPR
Ryan Weitinger Matagorda - 5’ 5” personal best bull shark!
Tara Richard Galveston West Bay - 17” trout CPR
Rich Gonzales Port Arthur, Sabine Pass - 43” bull red
Rylan Flack Baffin Bay - trout
Annabeth Baffin Bay - 20” personal best trout!
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Gulf Coast
Soft-Shell Crab Po’ Boys
INGREDIENTS
• 4 soft-shell crabs cleaned
• ¼ cup HEB Frying Flour
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 crusty Italian rolls
• butter
• tar tar sauce (recipe below)
• 1 large beefsteak tomato, sliced
• lettuce
Tartar Sauce
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup minced dill pickles
• 3 Tbsp minced shallots
• 2 Tbsp drained capers, minced
PREPARATION
Po’Boy style seafood sandwiches are always a treat no matter whether you use shrimp, oysters, or fresh catch-of-the-day fish fillets. Making them with soft-shell crabs takes the whole experience over the top. As with all seafood the trick is to avoid overcooking the crabs.
1. Clean the mandible section of the crab by removing any orange or yellow substance.
2. Dredge the crabs with HEB Frying Flour.
3. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the crabs and cook for one and a half minutes, turn and cook for an additional one and a half minutes.
4. Flour has seasoning in it so sample before adding more salt and pepper. Keep warm.
5. Assemble the sandwich: split the rolls lengthwise, brush with butter, toast on a griddle. Spread with tartar sauce, add lettuce, tomatoes, and top with crab.
6. Serve with fries or chips.
PREPARATION
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped Italian parsley
• 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed juice from 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp hot sauce
In a medium bowl, mix mayonnaise, dill pickles, shallots, capers, parsley, lemon juice, lemon zest, mustard, black pepper, salt, and hot sauce. Let sit for 30 minutes, then use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
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