Bay Flats Lodge on San Antonio Bay – Seadrift, Texas
July 14, 2013
“Wade fishing proved best for trout with slick calm conditions and hot temperatures on Saturday. We started our day fishing a mid-bay reef in 2-4 ft of water and then shifted our focus to main bay shorelines to search for larger trout. Throwing live bait in 2-3 ft of grass and sand potholes produced limits of solid specks up to 24-inches.” The other boat in our party punched tops & TTF lures while wade fishing same locals; they picked up 12 trout for the day.
“Fishing Dirty”
When weather conditions allow, you will find us fishing over oyster shell in late July and into August. There’s just no better guarantee than the shell during this period of the year. You get up early in the morning, and if the wind didn’t blow hard yesterday, and it isn’t supposed to blow much today, then you simply head for your favorite patch of shell and fish the leeward side for speckled trout or the windward side for what can often be some rather impressive red fish action. Regardless, shell in the summertime along San Antonio Bay shell pads can be simply indescribable. However, the weather doesn’t always cooperate, and you’re not always allowed the convenience of just making it out to your favorite shell spot. Sometimes the wind blows. And when it does, you have to have an alternative plan if you want to be successful when you’re unable to get out on top of the shell.
About a week ago we took some party members to a shoreline that had previously been giving-up good numbers of nice trout. Recently, however, we have been experiencing a day of east wind, then a day of west wind, and then a day of southeast wind. Like I said, we had already recognized catches of good fish for several days during the previous week. However, when we arrived at this same location on this day, we were faced with water conditions that would appear to be unfavorable due to the many variations in the wind direction over the course of the past few days. We hadn’t noticed the color of the water when we first got out of the boat while still under the concealment of the pre-morning darkness. But as soon as the sun climbed higher into the sky, we could see more and more just how disturbed the water had become due to the different kinds of wind. There were patches of water that looked like coffee with cream in it, and then there were spots that looked like someone had just waded across the bottom and had stirred-up some of the soft sand. In other small spots the water looked green, and there were even a minor number of places along the same shore where the water looked to be downright clear.
Just before the varying winds hit earlier in the week, this individual slice of shoreline had held water that was comparable to that of the Florida Keys, or thereabouts. On this day, once we realized what we were dealing with, we decided to continue onward with our prior plan for wading this area, regardless of what the water happened to look like at present. We fished nonstop for the next couple hours with little-to-no results for our efforts. As we made our way further down the shoreline I continually searched the upcoming waters ahead for any alteration in color that might offer us a positive change to the otherwise negative bite pattern that we were experiencing at the moment. One of the party members were out in front of everyone in the pack, and once the two of them rounded a huge grassy point and headed down a new piece of the shoreline we noticed that the water that we were now walking in was rather clear. The water right against the bank was still quite muddy, but where we were it had cleaned-up considerably. I immediately suggested we place everyone in a line out past the color change in the water and then have everyone cast their TTF baits as close to the bank as possible, thereby working the retrieve of their lures back across the color change in the water where is goes from dirty to clear. Consequently, it was only moments later that most every member of today’s party began hooking-up with pretty reasonable trout (and even a couple red fish).
You see, trout use the cover of off-colored water as a tool when attempting to ambush their food. The trout will sit right along the fringes of the color-change in their search for unsuspecting bait fish and other tiny sources of food, and when a tasty morsel swims by and is within reasonable striking distance the trout will often lunge out upon the victim with all their might. So, next time you find yourself surrounded by severely stained water, be sure you scan the immediate vicinity for any spots within the area that may be holding bits and pieces of cleaner water, even if it only happens to be streaks of green here and there.
With the kids out of school, I hope everyone is having a wonderful summertime vacation. It’s a great time to spend quality-time out on the water with the family while fishing. Stay hydrated, stay covered with proper clothing and sunscreen, and be safe and courteous while boating. Also remember the bays are full of hot jelly fish, so wear long pants if you’re getting wet.
This week on DU-TV: Texas Gulf Coast Ducks
On this week’s episode of DU-TV, longtime DU volunteers Bob and Rita Sundberg join host Field Hudnall on the Texas Gulf Coast for a mixed bag of duck hunting and saltwater fishing. This is Rita’s first-ever duck hunt, and the highlight of the show comes when she takes her first duck over a Lone Star freshwater marsh. Watch DU-TV on the Outdoor Channel every Monday at 12:00 p.m., Tuesday at 9:00 a.m., and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. (all times Eastern).
www.BayFlatsLodge.com
1-888-677-4868