Saltwater Fishing Report

Reds by the rocks

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The customers caught limits of redfish, a bull red and a few black drum.

On the the second day of fishing, the group started out with sardines, thinking that would be a sure bet, but the same tactics didn’t work. They switched to live shrimp and loaded the cooler.

“You just never know,” Coffey said. “But what I don’t do is leave the dock without live shrimp and a few boxes of frozen sardines. The sardines come in handy when I’m chumming. That’s a big part of being successful at the jetties on any given day, especially during the fall run.”

Coffey has a plastic whiffle ball bat that he uses to chum with. It’s cut in half and filled with chunks of sardines and maybe some dead shrimp.

Another really important thing about fishing the jetties is having a trolling motor that can hold the boat over structure that you plan to fish.

“Not too many people use an anchor at the jetties anymore,” Coffey said. “Being able to pull up to a proven spot and hold right there will definitely put more fish in the cooler.”

The best structures along the POC jetties are along drops and ledges.

“I like to fish along the edge of rocks in about 4 feet of water that drops off into 15 to 20 feet of water,” Coffey said. “That’s like a highway for both trout and reds.

Two of the best areas to fish along these jetties are at the end of the rocks. That’s where the water is 25-35 feet deep.

“I especially like to fish the end of the jetties when the tide is moving, but not ripping out,” Coffey said. “The reds and trout will feed down-current behind a pile of rocks, so they can ambush baitfish like mullet, crabs, shrimp and shad.”

Coffey uses a 4/0 croaker hook for fishing croaker and chunks of Spanish sardines. With shrimp, he’ll go with a smaller 3/0 croaker hook. The hooks are fished about 8 inches above a 2-, 3- or 4-ounce egg sinker.

“I like to use a stout leader and line so they won’t fray on the jagged rocks along the jetties,” he said. “Plus, you want to be able to reel in the big bull reds.”

Award for sculptor

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James Earl Fraser Award for best sculpture three times and the General Pittman Award for Wildlife three times by the Prix de West Art Show at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Center.

The Bird Dog Hall of Fame, in Grand Junction, Tennessee, features Matia’s life-size English Springer Spaniel commissioned by the English Springer Spaniel Field Trial Association. The American Kennel Club Museum, in New York City, commissioned his life-size Airdale “Blue” mascot of the Blue Buffalo Pet Food Corporation.

TEXAS SALTWATER FISHING REPORT

SABINE LAKE: 80 degrees. Redfish are schooling and are good on scented plastics and live shrimp under a popping cork. Speckled trout are fair to good on soft plastics.

BOLIVAR: 81 degrees. Redfish, including bull redfish, are good on live finger mullet, fresh cut bait and squid.

TRINITY BAY: 84 degrees. Speckled trout are good but small under birds on soft plastics. Redfish are fair on shrimp.

EAST GALVESTON BAY: 81 degrees. Speckled trout are good under birds on soft plastics. Redfish are fair to good when schools are found on shrimp and soft plastics.

WEST GALVESTON BAY: 81 degrees. Speckled trout are fair to good on scented plastics. Redfish are fair on shrimp and soft plastics.

FREEPORT: 81 degrees. Flounder and redfish are good on shrimp under a popping cork, following the shrimp migrating from the marshes into the back lakes to the bay. Speckled trout are good but small under the birds.

EAST MATAGORDA BAY: 82 degrees. Redfish are good under birds and along shorelines on shrimp and soft plastics.

WEST MATAGORDA BAY: 82 degrees. Redfish are good in the surf and along the shoreline, with reds schooling and biting on shrimp and soft plastics. Speckled trout are fair in the bay on soft plastics.

PORT O’CONNOR: 82 degrees. Bull redfish are good on sardines, shrimp and live piggy perch by the jetty. Speckled trout are slow. Black drum are good on dead shrimp.

ROCKPORT: 82 degrees. Redfish are good in the flooded grass on finger mullet. Redfish and scattered trout are fair along the jetties and surf on free-lined croaker and mullet.

PORT ARANSAS: 84 degrees. Bull redfish are good at the jetties on live and cut mullet. Speckled trout are fair along the jetties and in the surf on free-lined croaker and mullet.

CORPUS CHRISTI: 83 degrees. Redfish are good by the east flats in the grass on finger mullet. Speckled trout are fair by the gas wells on live shrimp.

BAFFIN BAY: 82 degrees. Redfish, speckled trout and black drum are fair to good on cut bait, shrimp and soft plastics.

PORT MANSFIELD: 85 degrees. Redfish are good south of the pass on flats in scattered grass and potholes on top-waters and paddle tails. Flounder are fair to good in the east cut on on ball tail shads. Speckled trout are slow.

SOUTH PADRE: 81 degrees. Speckled trout are fair on live shrimp under popping corks. Redfish are good on shrimp and cut mullet.

PORT ISABEL: 81 degrees. Speckled trout are fair on live shrimp under popping corks, with keeper redfish mixed in. Redfish are good on cut mullet.

—TPWD

Catfish, sandies biting

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“They are pretty scattered during the early morning hours until the sun comes up,” he explained. “During the midday hours when the sun is high in the sky, the sandies are stacking up along the roadbeds in 17 to 18 feet of water. Slabs have been my go-to lure choice. Most of these fish have been in the 12- to 13-inch range.”

On Lake Buchanan, Ken Milam said the striped bass bite has been a little tough.

“Most of the stripers we are catching are hanging out over the treetops in 25 to 32 feet of water,” Milam said. “I have been using live shad, but trolling with umbrella rigs with white jigs has been productive once the fish are located.”

Milam said schools of white bass have been coming up to the surface and busting shad early in the mornings and late in the evenings.

“Spoons and jigs chunked right in the middle of the schools of whites will produce plenty of hookups,” he said. “These schools have been totally random. You never really know where you’re going to see them from one day to the next.”

Milam said water depths of 15-25 feet around the edges of main lake humps have been holding plenty of catfish. Cut shad and cut bluegill have been producing the most bites.

Jordan Sanders has been finding plenty of crappie on Lake Fork and Lake O’ the Pines.

“On Fork, I’ve been targeting the main lake creek channel in water depths of 18 to 24 feet,” the guide said. “Most of the crappie are suspended in the 10- to 16-foot range around timber, and the bigger fish are holding a little bit deeper around the base of the trees. Jigs have been the ticket, and color has not mattered. The bite has been that good.”

Sanders also said his anglers are catching, on average, at least 6-10 fish in the 2-pound range each trip.

“On Lake O’ the Pines, areas along the main lake creek channel and ditches off of

John Spagnola, right, landed this 2-plus-pound crappie while fishing on Lake Fork with guide Jordan Sanders. Photo from Jordan Sanders.

the main channel with timber in about 18 feet of water are all loaded with crappie,” Sanders said.

On Fayette County reservoir, Rick Denton said varying wind directions have kept him on the move and focusing on different ends of the lake.

“Most of our bass are staging on the edges of flats near deep water,” he said. “Areas adjacent to 30 to 40 feet of water with flats in 18 to 20 feet have been the hotspots.”

Denton said Carolina-rigged soft plastics have been the best bait presentation.

“Slow retrieves have been the ticket,” he said. “You almost have to just twitch the bait, and then let it sit for several seconds. The bite has been super light and almost just feels like a slight weight on the end of your line, rather than a distinguishable thump.”

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Success with reds, trout

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within a matter of 30 seconds or less,” Skloss said. “There had to be 20-25 boats stacked up in the area and before too long, everyone started to catch fish. Folks were using everything from live bait to heavy jigs.”

Skloss said the current was nearly slack when the feeding frenzy kicked into high gear.

“The tide was swapping from outgoing to incoming, and the water was pretty flat,” he said. “Most of the redfish were in the upper slot range, and we caught a few that were a few inches over. We caught so many — our arms felt like noodles.”

Donald Skloss shows one of many redfish he caught while fishing with his son, Brad, among other boats along the north jetty in Port Aransas. Photo by Brad Skloss.

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