WAYNE DAVIS
WAYNE’S Mansfield Report
Greetings from Port Mansfield! I will the Harte Research Institute – Texas A&M Corpus Christi. jump right in and point out that water Speaking of the Harte Institute. Dr. Greg Stunz and team will be in temperatures got hot in a hurry this Port Mansfield on Sunday, September 19 assisting with a ReleaSense summer. What we normally see in seminar and training. The Port Mansfield Chamber of Commerce will August arrived in June. I’ve seen it as be hosting and everyone is invited. Dr. Stunz will provide scientific Port high as 91° and the average has been data regarding post-release survival and other topics. This is your Mansfield around 88°. There are patches of cooler opportunity to get the facts and ask questions of those who know. water near the East Cut but the flats Moving into late summer we should see redfish beginning to and backwater areas get toasty by school. If the water remains hot this might actually start in deeper midday. Makes me wonder what the water, and then move shallower as the water cools. There is nothing Captain Wayne Davis has water temps will be in August. quite like walking into a school of hungry reds in knee-deep water been fishing the Lower In my last column I reported redfish with everyone hooking up and having a good time. Laguna-Port Mansfield for action being relatively strong with Just yesterday I ran across a school of redfish in a big pothole. When over 20 years. He specializes trout still slow. Fishing has slowed in this happens, make a wide circle and set up about 75 yards upwind. in wade fishing with lures. general since then and some days can Let it settle down for a few minutes and then slowly wade back toward flat out be a struggle. Since the rise the pothole. Most of the time the reds will resume feeding and you Telephone 210-287-3877 in water temperature both the reds can ease in and catch a few. We did this and were successful. Check Email and trout have ventured off to deeper out the accompanying QR-code video. Brad Jackson had never wade captwayne@kwigglers.com water. It is challenging for the wade fished or even caught a redfish. However, on this day he had the rare fisherman, but it can still be done. pleasure of watching the school approach and with a little coaching When winds are relatively calm you can set up on submerged spoil he nailed it. On his third cast, no less. humps and toss soft plastics toward deeper water. The key is fishing Right now, our topwater bite has not been all that great but them near bottom while slowly bouncing the lure back up the spoil. the KWigglers 4-inch Paddle Tail and Willow Tail Shad have been This method has produced for us, but as noted, it is up to the wind producing the best bites in the shallow. The Ball Tail Shad has been on whether you can make it work. point in deeper water. On breezier days we set up near the ICW and work close to the Stay safe and remember now is the time to help our bay. Please ledge. This scenario works best with south-southeast wind. You want release more than you keep. to cast parallel to the channel and Brad Jackson’s red caught from a Who says redfish aren’t southerly winds help in that regard. school we found in a large pothole. fun? Jimi Frausto sure Our next play, if it is blowing 15-plus, is enjoyed catching this one! setting up along spoils early and working between them and the ICW. This is typically good until mid-morning or a bit later, depending on the amount of boat traffic. Floating grass is another issue we have to work around and it can be a deal breaker at times. Floating grass can be wind or tidal driven. If you watch the currents, you can usually find a stretch of water that is fishable. It may not be the exact area you want to fish, but it is what it is. Later in the day we are also working deep grassbeds and ledges to get bites when fish on shallow flats become scarce. If you have caught on that we have to fish near deep water with current, you are correct. The primary exception would be at first light. Snook are a different animal; they love hot water. The tricky part is View The Video finding them. Based on the February freeze it’s sure to be a challenge. Open Camera and hover over QR Code. When link But I am up for a challenge, so I will be poking around the flats and appears at top of screen tap to open in YouTube. potholes I have found them in years past and see what I come up Brad Jackson’s First Time Wade with. I sure hope that some made it through because they are such a Fishing and First-Ever Redfish! spectacular fish. I would also like to get a few more tags in them for 60 | August 2021
