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HOTSPOTS FOCUS: ROCKPORT TO PORT ARANSAS Continued from Page C14
shrimp; target the deeper reefs in this area.
MESQUITE BAY: Wade-fish the mouth of Cedar Bayou using Bass Assassins in Morning Glory and Red Shad colors. The east shoreline is a good bet for black drum
using peeled shrimp on a popping cork, or small cracked crab on a Carolina rig. AYRES BAY: The pocket of Ayres Island holds reds early in the morning; use freelined mud minnows. The north shore reefs are a good bet for trout using Berkley Gulp!
Morning Glory. Norton Sand Eels in Firetiger and Baffin Magic are also popular choices. The Berkley Gulp! 5-inch Jerk Shad is also an excellent choice. Use a 1/16-ounce jighead to slow the descent and keep them out of the slop. Shrimp imitators are also quite popular. The 3-inch Gulp! Shrimp in New Penny is the standard choice, but Glow has also gained quite a few fans. The DOA Shrimp in Glow or Glow/pink has started to show up in more and more tackle boxes. The most common method is to fish these baits under a noisy float such as the aforementioned popping cork or a 3-1/2-inch Alameda Rattle Float. The latter float’s squat shape makes it a little harder to see on a choppy day, but the internal rattles give off a louder, more constant sound as the cork bobs along. It makes the Alameda Float well worth the extra effort. If the redfish are not in a cooperative mood, move your boat to deeper water near the ICW edge, rig up a fish-finder or split shot rig, and plumb the depths for black drum. These bruisers are cruising the ICW drop-offs through March. Wind and chop
doesn’t bother them, and a big ugly would have to be full to the gills to turn down a live shrimp. No special tackle is required for black drum. The same medium outfit you use for redfish is more than adequate. Cast a shrimp-baited rig out just beyond the Waterway edge, and let your bait tumble along with the current. It won’t take very long before a pod of hungry grunters will come along. The pick-up isn’t a sudden event. Rather, the line slowly comes tight as the fish sucks in your bait and continues on its merry way. Lower your rod tip, let the line come tight, bring up your rod tip, and you are on. Drum are tough fighters. A fish in the 22- to 30-inch range will offer a stout fight with hard runs. When it isn’t peeling drag, a good-sized drum will sit in the current and sulk, forcing you to try to lever it up and toward the boat. That’s when it will make another run. The broad, thick fillets fry beautifully and make for a good meal, especially when you sit down to watch the Spurs whip up on the Rockets, or vice-versa.
March is the sort of month that Three Islanders should enjoy.
A L M A N A C / T E X A S
F i s h
Contact: Capt. Mac Gable, Mac Attack Guide Service, 512-809-2681, 361-790-9601
Contact: Calixto Gonzales by email at cgonzales@fishgame.com.
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