It isn't every fisherman who will look back nostalgically on the Spring 2008 fishing season - but there are a few out there who will smile fondly. Despite that, most anglers are just glad it's over. Spring 2008 was the windiest that has been seen in decades; there was just one baitfish which salvaged these horribly windy spring days for many middle coast guides and anglers.
Summer is the season the surf rolls in, fall is the migration of shrimp, but the annual arrival of the almighty glass minnow is the highlight of springtime. Moving by the thousands, the silver and flashy prey arrive to the shallow flats. The buffet ushers in the pelicans and gulls which will feed for weeks on end. In an all-at-once attack, the speckled trout and redfish will hang near and then suddenly strike. Be patient and wait it out as it will significantly improve your chances of capitalizing on the frenzy.
On the brink of one of the windiest days last spring, Capt. Ken Sabin and I guided a large group of fishermen from Dallas and Austin. Winds had just swapped from the south at 20 mph to the north at around 30. Mother Nature's last minute decision to alter the wind's direction did a fantastic job pulling out the tide and muddying up every inch of wadeable water.
Upon leaving the Matagorda Harbor, Sabin and I were ambushed with recommendations by returning guides to cancel rather than attempt to wade in the blown out waters. We opted to give the customers a fighting chance at catching a fish rather than sending them home from a fishing trip that did not even involve a boat ride.
A wide cove on the south shoreline with a waist deep western bank was full of bait that was situated over thick grass. Pelicans slammed the water with high dive assaults. Within casting distance of the baitfish school, we lined up and affixed our wading boots in firm mud. Despite a falling tide and decreasing clarity, I was confident fish would move in. Brown Lures makes a glow and chartreuse soft plastic lure that worked well to produce the initial strikes by matching the glass minnows' darting features. Dark strawberry and white succeeded in drawing undersized fish. A cruising redfish soon felt the hooks from a miniature chrome topwater. The bite remained slow, as I have seen it so many times before, until minimal sunlight remained. The real numbers of fish filed in.
With the bait tightly packed down from what once occupied the space of a swimming pool, the surface became like popcorn with minnows flipping and bouncing while pursued by trout jolting clear out of the water. Piranha-like predators furiously attacked the glass minnows like machines as the surface of the water began to boil.
Usually, you'd reel in quickly keeping the lure over the surface of the water to get trout interested - but this cove was so full of them that we did better with a slow reel. To give you an idea of how well this trip went, we all caught our limits of redfish!
If you are still waiting to get out there, find the bait and don't be afraid to stay out late. At nightfall, the bite is often just getting started.
Summer is the season the surf rolls in, fall is the migration of shrimp, but the annual arrival of the almighty glass minnow is the highlight of springtime. Moving by the thousands, the silver and flashy prey arrive to the shallow flats. The buffet ushers in the pelicans and gulls which will feed for weeks on end. In an all-at-once attack, the speckled trout and redfish will hang near and then suddenly strike. Be patient and wait it out as it will significantly improve your chances of capitalizing on the frenzy.
On the brink of one of the windiest days last spring, Capt. Ken Sabin and I guided a large group of fishermen from Dallas and Austin. Winds had just swapped from the south at 20 mph to the north at around 30. Mother Nature's last minute decision to alter the wind's direction did a fantastic job pulling out the tide and muddying up every inch of wadeable water.
Upon leaving the Matagorda Harbor, Sabin and I were ambushed with recommendations by returning guides to cancel rather than attempt to wade in the blown out waters. We opted to give the customers a fighting chance at catching a fish rather than sending them home from a fishing trip that did not even involve a boat ride.
A wide cove on the south shoreline with a waist deep western bank was full of bait that was situated over thick grass. Pelicans slammed the water with high dive assaults. Within casting distance of the baitfish school, we lined up and affixed our wading boots in firm mud. Despite a falling tide and decreasing clarity, I was confident fish would move in. Brown Lures makes a glow and chartreuse soft plastic lure that worked well to produce the initial strikes by matching the glass minnows' darting features. Dark strawberry and white succeeded in drawing undersized fish. A cruising redfish soon felt the hooks from a miniature chrome topwater. The bite remained slow, as I have seen it so many times before, until minimal sunlight remained. The real numbers of fish filed in.
With the bait tightly packed down from what once occupied the space of a swimming pool, the surface became like popcorn with minnows flipping and bouncing while pursued by trout jolting clear out of the water. Piranha-like predators furiously attacked the glass minnows like machines as the surface of the water began to boil.
Usually, you'd reel in quickly keeping the lure over the surface of the water to get trout interested - but this cove was so full of them that we did better with a slow reel. To give you an idea of how well this trip went, we all caught our limits of redfish!
If you are still waiting to get out there, find the bait and don't be afraid to stay out late. At nightfall, the bite is often just getting started.
About the Author:
Captain Kyle Tomek is a professional fishing guide who specializes in wadefishing for big speckled trout and redfish in Texas, and uses Brown Lures' fishing gear. Kyle suggests you try out a fishing lure from Brown Lures for your next fishing trip.
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