Days of fall approach with the first signs of fading leaves, dying wildflowers, and falling tides. Drift fishing during the season, however, becomes anything but dead. From the upper reaches of the Texas Coast to the shallows of the Lower Laguna Madre, fall reigns as one of the best times to focus fishing efforts to drifting for speckled trout and redfish.
Why is fall better for drifting than other seasons? Fall brings change ranging from cooling temperatures to dropping tides. Falling with the tides is migrating bait fish that have relaxed within protected backwaters and saltwater marsh all summer long. Trout and redfish gang up and attack the fleeing feasts-all within driftable waters.
Structures which attract fish are the place to be when specking for trout and redfish, according to Captain Cody Maddox who drifts along the drops and holes of the upper West Bay.
"When I say I fish holes within shell, I am drifting a seven-foot area surrounded by a three-foot depth," states Maddox. "The points of reefs and shell humps are additional fish magnets."
For his fall drift fishing, Maddox favors ? - 1/8 ounce riggings with soft plastic. When fishing deeper water, he tends to switch to a 3/8 oz head instead. A brown lures fan, Maddox says that he gets the best results with limetreuse, chartreuse and plum as well as with morning glory.
"I have found a little technique to really produce fish in fall," claims Maddox. "I'll work bait really fast above the bottom before letting it sit for several seconds." "If that doesn't work, I'll work it a little slower off the top off the shell, sometimes using a weedless-hook setup." Sometimes the slightest variation in retrieve unlocks the jaws.
Bastrop fishing guide, Captain Randall Groves prefers the fall season to drift fish than any other season. "It is all about working water streaks up here on the upper coast," states Groves. "When it gets really cold and the water gets clear, I do much better fishing muddy streaks rather than the clear water."
Captain Groves tends to focus on drifting areas with deep shell as well as muddy creeks and bayous. "I'll usually drift deeper shell areas in autumn, but when it gets windy I have good luck in creeks and bayous."
Focusing on retrieval is one of the fishing tips Groves offers. "You'll hear a lot of people saying you should use a soft plastic and fish slow in fall and winter, but personally, I haven't found slow to be the best approach. I look for a reactionary bite instead of a hungry bite. You can get results by going slow, but I always do best working my lures faster in cold water."
"I use ? and 3/8 oz lead heads with my soft plastics and use a Laguna Texas Wader III or another whippy rod to get my lures through water column with ease," says Groves.
Matagorda Bay guide Captain Dwayne Newburn offers the following fishing tips. "In fall, I use a trolling motor to control my drift When you're fishing around a group of gulls or other birds, your trolling motor can be a great help." In fall, you'll often find groups of gulls working groups of bait fish fleeing up to the surface to escape the redfish and speckled trout feeding below.
Captain Newburn is also a deep shell autumn angler, adding that he prefers to hit the dips and indentations of shell pads when drift fishing in the fall.
"Cajun Thunder Popping Corks above D.O.A. Shrimp work well when drifting. I also like Norton Sand Eel Jr.'s in laguna shrimp and Saltwater Assassins in native shrimp and new penny." Newburn rigs his soft plastics with 1/8 ounce jig heads in depths to five feet and uses ? ounce heads in deeper water.
Captain Danny Neu, a Lower Laguna Madre guide is an avid autumn fisher. "It's one of my favorite times to fish, especially for large speckled trout. The bait fish head out of the bays and there aren't as many of them around, so you've got to hug the shoreline for miles sometimes, but when you come on a cluster of them, you know for sure that you've got trout and redfish right there," say s Neu.
Neu suggests these fishing tips for a day of drifting in the autumn. "I'll start out early in the morning and begin by drifting some deeper waters while I check for bait fish. When it gets near to noon and the sun starts warming the shallows, I move there to drift once the bait fish move to these warmer waters."
"As far as brown lures for fishing in colder weather, my number one choice is topwater plugs. In the autumn, you can throw these out all day and catch trout and redfish. It just plain works," Neu says.
Neu throws smaller plugs like the super spook jr. on the lower coast. "I like to keep one rod rigged with a super spook jr. and the other rigged with a soft plastic." When throwing soft plastics, red and white Brown Lures is his personal favorite.
Why is fall better for drifting than other seasons? Fall brings change ranging from cooling temperatures to dropping tides. Falling with the tides is migrating bait fish that have relaxed within protected backwaters and saltwater marsh all summer long. Trout and redfish gang up and attack the fleeing feasts-all within driftable waters.
Structures which attract fish are the place to be when specking for trout and redfish, according to Captain Cody Maddox who drifts along the drops and holes of the upper West Bay.
"When I say I fish holes within shell, I am drifting a seven-foot area surrounded by a three-foot depth," states Maddox. "The points of reefs and shell humps are additional fish magnets."
For his fall drift fishing, Maddox favors ? - 1/8 ounce riggings with soft plastic. When fishing deeper water, he tends to switch to a 3/8 oz head instead. A brown lures fan, Maddox says that he gets the best results with limetreuse, chartreuse and plum as well as with morning glory.
"I have found a little technique to really produce fish in fall," claims Maddox. "I'll work bait really fast above the bottom before letting it sit for several seconds." "If that doesn't work, I'll work it a little slower off the top off the shell, sometimes using a weedless-hook setup." Sometimes the slightest variation in retrieve unlocks the jaws.
Bastrop fishing guide, Captain Randall Groves prefers the fall season to drift fish than any other season. "It is all about working water streaks up here on the upper coast," states Groves. "When it gets really cold and the water gets clear, I do much better fishing muddy streaks rather than the clear water."
Captain Groves tends to focus on drifting areas with deep shell as well as muddy creeks and bayous. "I'll usually drift deeper shell areas in autumn, but when it gets windy I have good luck in creeks and bayous."
Focusing on retrieval is one of the fishing tips Groves offers. "You'll hear a lot of people saying you should use a soft plastic and fish slow in fall and winter, but personally, I haven't found slow to be the best approach. I look for a reactionary bite instead of a hungry bite. You can get results by going slow, but I always do best working my lures faster in cold water."
"I use ? and 3/8 oz lead heads with my soft plastics and use a Laguna Texas Wader III or another whippy rod to get my lures through water column with ease," says Groves.
Matagorda Bay guide Captain Dwayne Newburn offers the following fishing tips. "In fall, I use a trolling motor to control my drift When you're fishing around a group of gulls or other birds, your trolling motor can be a great help." In fall, you'll often find groups of gulls working groups of bait fish fleeing up to the surface to escape the redfish and speckled trout feeding below.
Captain Newburn is also a deep shell autumn angler, adding that he prefers to hit the dips and indentations of shell pads when drift fishing in the fall.
"Cajun Thunder Popping Corks above D.O.A. Shrimp work well when drifting. I also like Norton Sand Eel Jr.'s in laguna shrimp and Saltwater Assassins in native shrimp and new penny." Newburn rigs his soft plastics with 1/8 ounce jig heads in depths to five feet and uses ? ounce heads in deeper water.
Captain Danny Neu, a Lower Laguna Madre guide is an avid autumn fisher. "It's one of my favorite times to fish, especially for large speckled trout. The bait fish head out of the bays and there aren't as many of them around, so you've got to hug the shoreline for miles sometimes, but when you come on a cluster of them, you know for sure that you've got trout and redfish right there," say s Neu.
Neu suggests these fishing tips for a day of drifting in the autumn. "I'll start out early in the morning and begin by drifting some deeper waters while I check for bait fish. When it gets near to noon and the sun starts warming the shallows, I move there to drift once the bait fish move to these warmer waters."
"As far as brown lures for fishing in colder weather, my number one choice is topwater plugs. In the autumn, you can throw these out all day and catch trout and redfish. It just plain works," Neu says.
Neu throws smaller plugs like the super spook jr. on the lower coast. "I like to keep one rod rigged with a super spook jr. and the other rigged with a soft plastic." When throwing soft plastics, red and white Brown Lures is his personal favorite.
About the Author:
Captain Kyle Tomek is a Texas fishing guide who submits featured Texas fishing report to Texas FishCast. You can submit Texas fishing report through your Facebook account to Texas FishCast. You can share pictures and videos and tag your fishing buddies for everyone to see.
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