Violent cold weather out there on the bay today. the temperature is dropping like a rock. The wind is blowing a gale and ain’t nobody foolish enough to be out there this week. Reports should be very short and sweet.
Violent cold weather out there on the bay today. the temperature is dropping like a rock. The wind is blowing a gale and ain’t nobody foolish enough to be out there this week. Reports should be very short and sweet.
I just watched Caleb and Pat's wintertime tides and temps video. Excellent info for not overthinking the settings but "grind 'til you find" counsel. The loon(-atics) portion was good as I see and fish near loons in Redfish Bay from park-and-wade spots. The loon photo Caleb shared is a Common Loon (truly the most common species along the Texas coast, and especially in winter although some do stay into the warm season). It is in full breeding plumage, unlike most of the wintering birds we have in Texas which are drab dark-backed with white sides and bellies, and was obviously a photo from far north as it's in full breeding plumage and holding juvenile pike or pickerel. I like the notion of using them as "bird dog birds" as what they eat is what the bigger trout are eating and the same size as many of our 4-6" lures we're also using.
Gonna get a little chilly. If you think there is any chance you have water in your motor, it’s a good idea to trim it wayyyy under, as far as it will, and jack up the front of the trailer. I can always get a little more water out that way!
Fished Baffin this morning. Friend of mine in our group landed this gal. Little under 7lbs according to the Boga. Found them on or near the bottom using soft plastics. Tried the Corky, but the floating grass was ridiculous. Incredible weather today! I refuse to look at the forecast for this coming week.
Had a great day in the kayaks today. I had planned on going to East Matagorda but at the last minute decided to head to Texas Bayou. We caught a bunch of reds and trout. All the fish were caught on K Wiggler Wig A Lo in The Truth color on a 1/4 oz knotty Hooker Jig head. The water was in great shape, tide was slowly falling and I was surprised we didn’t seen any bait the entire day.
I know it’s late, but here’s my fishing update from this past weekend in the cold.
I launched at 11:00 AM on Saturday, and the water temperature was 45 degrees. After rescuing and dropping off some stunned sea turtles, I set out to fish. I drifted for two hours without a bite, so I moved closer to the ICW, where I found warmer water, specifically in a dead-end gut that was 49 degrees. The first signs of life were some black drum up shallow, followed by my first mullet of the day. Walking the edge of it, my initial casts with a Ball Tail Shad produced immediate hits, and I caught two trout. However, they were short-striking, so I switched to the junior version on a 3/16-ounce jighead. For the next 45 minutes, either I got bit or caught a fish, resulting in a total of 21 trout, including two limits from 15 to 18 inches. Additionally, by the time I left the was temperature was 52 degrees.
After that, I met up with two friends to wade a shoreline point adjacent to a deep drop-off, which coincided with the moonrise minor feed. I was wading in waist-deep water that was also at 49 degrees and had scattered seagrass beds. This was the most mullet I’d seen all day, and there was even a brown pelican feeding nearby. While fishing through the evening, I ended up catching four more trout (the biggest two weighed 4.5 and 5.5 pounds), four redfish, and a black drum, all on a Ball Tail Shad.
On Sunday, a friend and I waded along a spoil island where the water temperature was 50 degrees. He caught a big drum and some trout, while I waded farther out into waist-deep water with seagrass beds and potholes. The mullet were definitely more active, and the trout we caught were fat. We caught the tail end of the major feed and ended up with 10 trout (two keepers). From the afternoon until dark, we fished in areas similar to the previous day and saw water temperatures increase to 51 degrees. We caught over 40 trout with a total of seven limits. The trout he kept for dinner had some interesting prey items in their stomachs. Besides pinfish and mullet, one 16-inch trout had a 9-inch Violet Goby in it, and another had an Atlantic Needlefish. All our fish were caught on a Ball Tail Shad or Wig-A-Lo. With more cold weather expected this Sunday, I hope this gives you some insights into strategies you can use to catch some fish.
The last 2 days I’ve waded miles and miles of Baffin Bay in what felt like ice cold water. Thankfully I didn’t see any water temps below 44. I came up on a couple finger mullet that were a little slow moving, but once I grabbed them they would take off. We had some thick trout from 17-22” and a bonus redfish that weighed 14.5lbs. Key in on that mud and rocks and be patient. Figure out what depth your bites or bait action is at and if need be get on the boat and drift.
Warming trend is upon us! Personally, I would wait a couple days and let this pressure come down... If that's a possibility for you, that, and searching the shallows for fish enjoying some sunshine would be my go to for wading. Trolling, drifting, or poling the flats would be another option! If you have to go today or tomorrow, the evening bite with the same methods of searching the flats could be a good idea!
