TRICIA’S
Mansfield Report
It’s early December and
Capt. Tricia’s Skinny Water Adventures operates out of Port Mansfield, specializing in wadefishing with artificial lures.
multiple trophy-class trout and schools of bruiser redfish testing
winter has finally arrived
even the best of tackle. While still classifiable as good, we
in deep South Texas. It’s
haven’t seen much of the exceptional yet. Persistent higher tides
raining; the temperature is
and a touch of red tide may explain some of it and conditions are
dropping and not expected
changing for the better as we speak.
to get above the 5Os for
The most consistent trout bite remains over deeper grass
several days. A gloomy short
beds. While topwaters have been exciting on specific occasions,
term report but exactly what
the little plastic tail has ruled. Whether we like it or not, it usually
serious fishermen have been
does, and most of your best anglers are adept at making the
waiting for. If everything
“worm” work it’s magic when all else fails. There have been
goes according to plan, we
fewer but bigger fish using the heavily grassed shallows, but
should see some of our best
if you wanted to catch them, it has taken a dedicated effort of
and most predictable fishing
fighting through floating grass and often across softer bottoms.
of the year between mid-December and the arrival of the equinox
While everybody wants a trophy, that badge has definitely been
tides in March and I am excited.
coming at a premium.
As far as recent activity, while we have indeed had some great
Redfish during late fall were mostly scattered and not
days, everything seems a little late this year. By this time a year
schooled as I predicted but, as always, persistence on the flats
ago we had already experienced several exceptional days of
paid off. Again, the tail was the most consistent tool in your box. It was all about the potholes and working a tail slowly through each one, sometimes repeatedly, to finally feel the distinctive thump that signaled another set of broad shoulders. Braided line helped to not only to feel those subtle pick-ups, but also to control the lure precisely. With reduced boat traffic we should expect more fish to use the shallows longer during the day. January is an exciting month as whenever the weather allows us to launch safely the potential for an outstanding day is always there. Even if we find only half of what we did last year things should still border upon epic. Of course, January fishing always revolves around the northers. Being this far south we recover in as few as 12 or perhaps 18 hours and post-front fishing is usually pretty good. Once the fish acclimate to colder water it will be business as usual, and the better ones will be extremely shallow both before and after each passage. Wintertime fish are often more concentrated which means that when it’s time to feed they will feed voraciously. It’s still all about finding them and figuring out the bite, though. Unfortunately, many anglers believe too much in the “deep and slow” and cheat
There is little question that wading the shallows is usually more productive than drifting.
themselves. Some of our best wintertime action comes in waist-deep and less. Watch what the bait is doing and follow their lead. When the bait is active in the shallows, let the masses dredge the depths.
68
January 2010
Texas Saltwater Fishing
www.TSFMAG.com
Just Keep Five