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ALL GPS COORDINATES VERIFIED BY
red/white or Texas Shad plastic around weedbeds if fish are active The ubiquitous Mauler/shrimp rig is always effective, especially if heavy March winds have murked up the water, or if the fish are deeper. Use an 18inch, 20- to 30-pound leader for added toughness.
Morning Glory Trout LOCATION: Baffin Bay HOTSPOT: The Tide Gauge GPS: N27 18.082, W97 27.512 SPECIES: speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Corky or Corky Devil in dark patterns; Bass Assassin in Morning Glory, Baffin Magic, Pumpkinseed/chartreuse CONTACT: Captain Mike Hart, 361-9856089, brushcountrycharters.com TIPS: Gator hunters love fishing Baffin in March. Those who are looking for the trout of a lifetime will fish areas such as the tide gauge. The key is to fish the area as carefully and as thoroughly as you can (in other words, s-l-o-w-l-y). You may only get a few strikes per day, but they are from the sort of trout that make you forget the dead time.
Soft Plastic Trout LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: Midlake Humps
attack any fast-moving bait that rumbles by them.
Shad & Shrimp Take Cats LOCATION: Falcon Lake HOTSPOT: San Ignacio GPS: N26 54.949, W99 19.230 SPECIES: catfish
BEST BAIT: fresh shad, shrimp, prepared baits CONTACT: Falcon Lake Bait and Tackle, 956-765-4866 TIPS: Catfishing is always good on Falcon, but action really starts to shake in March. Fish deeper water around San Ignacio with either fresh cut bait or fresh shrimp. Prepared dip and sponge baits will work, but catch mostly smaller fish. Better blues and channels prefer meat. A standard bottom rig works just fine, but some fishermen like to use as little weight as possible to let the bait descend through the water column more slowly. Contact North Regional Fishing Editor JD Moore by email at hotspotsnorth@fishgame.com Contact South Regional Fishing Editor Calixto Gonzales by email at cgonzales@fishgame.com.
GPS: N29 54.906, W93 50.415 SPECIES: speckled trout BAITS: soft plastic in chartreuse patterns, crankbaits CONTACT: Captain Bill Watkins, 401-7862018, www.fishsabinelake.com TIPS: If there are no birds working over schools of feeding fish, electronics will help you locate the humps. Drift over the humps and fish through them with shad tails. A novel approach is to use a crankbait to dig down deep. If the crank bangs along the bottom, you’ll get a fish’s attention. Fish are aggressive when they are on the feed, and will N10
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