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Captain James Sanchez

Corpus Christi, TX, United States

Upper Laguna Madre and Baffin Bay Wade and drift fishing with artificial lures (210) 260-7454
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12 posts
16 comments

Posted

11 Jul 22:58

Low Tides of Summer

I had a great question from member Sfulp about why tides are lower in the summer even with a full moon. I’ll do my best to explain this and hope you can learn something. 

First, is the earths position from the sun, which in summer is farther away. With less gravitational pull it results in weak tidal ranges. They’re weaker during the last quarter moon after the full moon and first quarter moon after a new moon. 

Second, we’ve had strong southeast winds the past two weeks. Since tides are wind driven in the Upper Laguna. Water is blown into Baffin or the west side of the ULM and the water drops on the east side. If they’re straight south, water is blown north into Corpus Christi Bay. 

Third, is high pressure settling over the coast like this weekend. The increased pressure squeezes down on the atmosphere, which further pushes water out of the bays. Also, you’ll notice there’s hardly any clouds and temperatures soar. During low pressure, it’s the opposite as the atmosphere lifts up. Combined with southeast winds, water is allowed to move back into the bay. Cloud cover, chances of rain, and though it’s still hot, temperatures can be cooler by 2 or 3 degrees.

Posted

01 Jul 00:26

Fishing Thermoclines During Summer

If you've been wading recently, you've likely encountered colder pockets of water near the bottom. This transition layer between the warm surface water and cool, dense water below is called a thermocline. For example, if the surface water temperatures are 88 degrees, the layer below can be two to three degrees cooler. 

During the hottest parts of the day, fish gather along ledges and drop-offs to escape the heat, holding close to the bottom where it’s cooler. Here, they conserve energy and won't chase down their prey aggressively unless it’s within close range. Knowing this, slowly working soft plastics on the bottom will produce strikes from trout, redfish, and flounder.
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Posted

22 Apr 17:39

My son decided he couldn’t wait till next week, lol. Dylan Andrew Sanchez was born last Friday! My wife and him are doing great!

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Posted

16 Apr 21:41

This is regarding the question about studies on speckled trout spawning. I’ve linked the Sportfish Center’s Spotted Seatrout Species Profile and the paper I was discussing last night:

https://issuu.com/harte_research_institute/docs/cssc_species_profile_flyer-s.trout_v.2

 https://www.gsmfc.org/publications/gsmfc%20number%20087.pdf
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Posted

16 Apr 21:35

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Below is the information on why some spotted seatrout make sounds while others do not. The answer is that male spotted seatrout have a specialized muscle called a sonic muscle that vibrates against the swim bladder, producing drumming or croaking sounds.

This muscle is exclusive to male spotted seatrout and is used to attract females during spawning, as illustrated in the picture. Furthermore, research has shown that their red sonic muscle is prominent only during spawning and becomes inactive during winter. This is also observed in male red drum, spot, star drum, and silver perch, although both sexes of black drum and Atlantic croaker possess sonic muscles.

Picture 1: Male spotted seatrout anatomy

Picture 2: Female spotted seatrout anatomy

Posted

16 Apr 21:04

Here is the information for the Sportfish Center Tagging Initiative. This is a great opportunity for recreational anglers to participate in the scientific process. If you are interested in tagging the species listed below, please email me at james.sanchez@tamucc.edu or scan the QR code to request a tagging kit. In your email, please include your first and last name, phone number, email address, and mailing address for our records. Once I receive this information, I’ll mail your tagging kit to you.

 

Species of interest:

- Southern Flounder (Any size)

- Spotted Seatrout >20 in

- Red Drum >30 in

- Snook (Common and Largescale Fat; any size)

- Atlantic Tarpon

- Cobia

- Tripletail

Posted

01 Apr 16:38

00:47

Here’s a good example of what redfish predate on during spring in the Laguna Madre. This one in particular had 30+ mud crabs and one lug worm in its stomach.

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Posted

20 Mar 18:52

After listening to Capt. Hillman’s podcast, I wanted to share a graphic I created for the Sportfish Center's social media. I hope this information helps you learn about slicks and how they're formed by fish. Yes, even Gafftops...

If you have ever gone fishing on the coast, you have probably seen a fish slick on the water's surface. It has a sweet and pungent smell akin to watermelon or fresh-cut grass. This slick is a telltale sign that helps anglers locate fish in the area. Spotted seatrout are often the cause of these slicks. However, they can also form from other fish such as red drum, black drum, southern flounder, ladyfish, hardhead catfish, and gafftopsail catfish.

Two scenarios can explain how slicks form. First, a predatory fish will consume a prey item such as mullet, menhaden, pinfish, bay anchovy, or shrimp. During consumption, the prey can be torn apart and release oily body fluids. Second, after a heavy meal, a predator will regurgitate its food (e.g., like a person burping), releasing fragments of its prey and even digestive juices. In either case, the contents are less dense than the surrounding saltwater environment and float to the surface, creating an oily slick. These slicks start small and can quickly expand in size, depending on the strength of the wind or current. If you come across a sizable one, it has had time to spread out, and you should position yourself upwind where the fish that created it will be holding.
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Posted

21 Feb 23:57

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Hello AU members,

As promised, here is my first post to educate members about the science behind fishing. Feel free to ask any questions!

Fishery Science Content - Sea Lice

During winter, fish decrease their activity as the water temperature drops, making them vulnerable to ectoparasites. Common parasitic copepods such as Caligus spp., commonly known as sea lice, are often observed by anglers on spotted seatrout, red drum, black drum, and southern flounder. As the fish rest on the bottom, these parasites attach themselves to their abdomen to feed on their blood and mucus, causing skin lesions (red sores) that increase the risk of infection.  

As anglers, these observations highlight the diminished activity levels of fish when water temperatures are cold. By working lures slowly on the bottom, you improve your chance of catching fish by giving them the opportunity to get a quick meal without having to expend a lot of energy.
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Posted

27 Jan 23:52

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Baffin Bay: January 25 - 26 

Here’s my report after running trips in Baffin Bay this past weekend. To start, the good news is that I didn’t see any dead fish following water temperatures in the 40s.

On Saturday, my clients and I were greeted to 47 degree water temperatures. Our strategy was to wade in waist- to belly-deep water with scattered seagrass beds and rock formations. Initially, we observed little to no bait activity until the major feed began. As the south winds picked up and the water warmed slightly, we finally spotted a couple of mullet jumping along a color change. It was a slow day, but we managed to catch five trout (the largest weighing 4.5 pounds), a black drum, and two redfish, including one undersized fish that weighed four pounds.

Sunday proved to be much more productive, with the water warming up to 52 degrees. We noticed multiple slicks and more mullet within just 30 minutes compared to the previous day. Although we initially tried to find fish in shallower water without success, we reverted to the same strategy as the day before. This approach paid off, resulting in over 20 trout caught, though surprisingly only three were keepers. In my opinion, it seems the larger fish had not moved up shallow just yet. As with Saturday, the best bite occurred during the major feeding time and quickly tapered off afterward. All our fish were caught using either a Ball Tail Shad or a Wig-A-Lo Jr., worked slowly along the bottom.