The arrival of fall begets many changes for anglers on the Texas coast. Artic blasts bring relief from the scorching summer heat, but more importantly, the objects of our fascination begin to fatten up for winter when food sources will be scarce and water temps are too low to warrant any wasted movements. Creatures of sizes begin their yearly rituals preparing themselves for the tough times ahead. What does this mean to us fisherman? Cooler water and air temps, baitfish hatches, gorging fish, but most notably superb fishing.
I got on the water a few days last week. The fishing was great, but the catching was only good compared to the last month of epic fishing. While the fishing was slower than it had been, for fear of being label spoiled, I’ll refrain from complaining; it’s hard to nag when you’re having double digit redfish days. My only qualm, where did all the shrimp go? A few weeks ago the marsh seemed to be loaded by the millions. Last weekend that was not the case. Shrimp were in short supply but there is still good numbers of finger-sized mullet and small shad left.
Past experience tells me that once the shrimp vacate the marsh the fishing starts to slow down exponentially. I hope that is not the case this year but only time will tell. My guess is the lack of freshwater run-off had an ill-effect on the shrimp hatch this year. The low water levels accompanying the few fronts that have passed was enough to push the remaining shrimp to deep water.
Raymond, Luis and I got on the water last Friday. There were fish scattered all over the place but very few schools. We had a tough time catching anything until the sun reached high enough in the sky to reveal where the fish where hiding. The water was extremely clear and we could spot fish from a long distance away. From then to about 10:00am the action was fast and furious. We landed several limits of redfish and a few flounder. A caught my fish on a TTF Flats Minnow in mumpy glo, the new Gun Dog Creeper, and on small #4 white shrimp fly.
On Saturday I met up with Greg and Brandon. The day was overcast and windy so sight fishing was out of the question. We struggled to find any fish all morning until we reached the end of the marsh where we found a decent amount of fish scattered about. We ran over more fish than we caught due to the high water and low light but we managed to catch about a dozen fish to 31.5″. I caught my fish on a redfish skitterwalk or a TTF Flats Minnow in bone catcher.
Sunday, I headed out solo. Repeat of the day before. Slow start with the high water and overcast skies. I had to work harder and cover more water but I was able find some scattered fish over shell. I ended the day landing several different species including redfish, trout, black drum, and a hardhead. A unique slam. I caught all of my fish, hardhead included, on a morning glory Hackberry Hustler.
Here’s a few pictures and videos from last weeks action…
