Contrary to my lack of my posting activity I have been on the water several times recently, but there hasn’t been much to post. Fishing has been slow over the last couple of weeks because of the sporadic conditions; the weather has been all over the place. I have caught good numbers of trout on a few outings with the rare fish over 3 or 4 lbs but for the most part the average size has left much to be desired. As I said before, my focus this time of year is gator trout and everything else is just incidental.
If some of my previous trips were any clue I have been grind mode lately and yesterday’s trip was no different. Raymond and I fished two different spots and were on the water before sunup and didn’t get off the water until well after dark. This is the third such marathon I’ve been apart of in recent memory; the first two produced better results.
Yesterday’s outing was a grind in every sense of the word. We fished for over 12 hours during near freezing temperatures the entire day. And to add to the drudgery we didn’t get a single bite all day until after dusk.
As soon as the sun set, like the flip of a switch, things went from dead to active. Nervous bait started boiling the surface with the occasional crash or slurp heard in the distance. Although we didn’t catch our targeted species we had plenty of bites to keep us interested. We landed at least a dozen reds to 27″ in an area where we traditionally catch mostly trout. During the redfish frenzy I also managed to catch the lone trout of the day, a solid 4lb fish.
Winds were light out the N/NW for most of the day and the water level was well below normal because of the front that passed through on Christmas day. There was very little tidal movement all day both during the outgoing and incoming. Water clarity was excellent with a couple feet of visibility.
We have been fishing the typical winter mud and shell near deep water pattern. Late afternoon has been the most productive part of the day. The lures we have had the most success on are Gambler Flapp’N Shad, TTF Flats Minnow and Hackberry Hustler’s in morning glory, liquid shrimp, mumpy glo, and matagorda magic. We have been slowly bouncing or dragging our lures on the bottom with the current using heavy jigheads, 1/4oz or 3/8oz.
