want it or as I often say, “How mad at ‘em are ya?” There were many days when we waded until well past sunset after making hundreds of empty casts before finally being rewarded. There were others when the above average fish we were seeking never came to hand. It comes with the territory this time of year and, besides, it’s all about the hunt. It’s been more than nine years since I’ve harvested a trophy buck but I still crouch down in my South Texas bow blind every chance I get during the season. I’m not going to stop hunting just because I can’t kill a trophy every year. The chase is what keeps us going. While getting plenty of bites is certainly entertaining our success should never be measured in pounds of fillets. Historically, March can challenge our mental and physical fortitude. Just when we think winter is on her way out a late cold front will cause our trout to stay in limbo as is typically the case during this back-and-forth month. Stability is not a word that typically comes to mind when discussing March. “Calm” is another word that’s usually not used in the same sentence. Stiff easterly winds will often force us to wade tight to shorelines as our bays swell with more water than we’ve seen in months. The funny thing is that these areas are where we need to be anyway, especially for quality fish. My personal best trout was caught in March 2009 while wading a Baffin Bay shoreline in fairly stiff winds and high pressure. The 9.25 pound speck couldn’t resist the wiggle of my amber Corky Devil. I’ll never forget that day. I was with my old buddy Walt Kalinowski and some friends. We toughed it out in less than desirable conditions but everyone in our group was rewarded with impressive quality trout. I remember losing another one that may have been even bigger, but I got “buck fever” and forced her to hand too soon. It’s hard to stay calm when fighting a big trout, but you have to. Knowing how the elements affect fishing areas is very important. Wind and current play a major role in deciding where to fish. Salinity, water temperature, water clarity and barometric pressure are also 12 | March 2019
(top left) This one weighed a little over 8.25 pounds and was one of only three trout caught that evening. I’m not sure who was more hardheaded, us or the trout!
(top right) Staying late paid off! 8 pounds CPR!
(left) We were the only boat in West Galveston Bay this day. The high temperature was 39 degrees! That might have had something to do with it.
variables to consider when game planning for a trip. Structure, habitat and bottom undulations are some of the constants to be added to complete the equation. We can also throw in the added variable of boat traffic (fishing pressure) as well. The latter can sometimes be avoided by fishing late afternoon hours and even at night. These are frequently time periods when late winter/early spring big trout like to feed anyway. I recently had an off day due to a cancellation so I called my friend, Bob Hardy, to see if he wanted to scout a few areas for big trout with me. It was two days after a pretty strong cold front. The water temperature had risen to 56° and the barometric pressure had dropped to 1015 millibars. We had some areas in mind that set up well for the conditions and the time of day we were fishing. As we jumped out at our first stop we noticed a random mullet flipping here and there. Despite the promising signs, after more than an hour without a bite, we decided to try spot number two. This area shared some similarities with our first stop in that it consisted primarily of mud and shell. However, it was closer to a low salinity end of the bay creating the scenario of a stopping point or “stack up” situation for the trout. The tide was peaked but due to start falling within a couple of hours. The new moon major which didn’t end up being anything “major” had just ended at 3:00 PM. I was throwing a Corky Fat Boy and