Big speck while wading flats

By Robert Sloan outdoor newS

Kerri Chatham, a Port O’Connor fishing guide, made a run to Port Mansfield with her husband and father-inlaw, and the trip paid off with a nice speckled trout.

Chatham’s specialty is wading the flats just about anywhere she can find clean water, grass and baitfish.

“We had a really good time,” she said. “We waded the whole time we were there. The water on that area of the Laguna Madre can be anything from sandy green to gin clear. Drift fishing is popular there — it’s a way to cover a lot of water. Since the wind blows there more often than not, driftfishing is a good option. But wading is my specialty and the clear water flats out of Mansfield are perfect for wad-

Some of the best wading can be done on the flats off the Intracoastal Waterway. That’s where you’ll find lots of grass and lots of sand pockets.

“One of the best combinations you can have while wading is to be in clear water where you have scattered grass with sand pockets,” Chatham said.

On this trip, the group caught a good number of trout over 21 inches, along with a few reds, but the trip was highlighted by a 28-inch trout caught by the guide, her personal best.

“The weather was good,” says Chatham. “We found some good flats to wade and they were holding lots of small minnows, along with mullet. When I hooked up with that big trout we were fishing a north wind under a sunny sky.”

One of her favorite lures is the original Down South paddle tail in a

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