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ABOUT THE COVER Hudson Moon is our cover angler, showing off a beautiful speck that taped just short of 28 inches and 7.5 pounds. Hudson’s trophy was caught the morning of July 18, 2020 in East Matagorda Bay and took a KWigglers Ball Tail Shad. TSFMag salutes Hudson’s decision to release this great fish!

MAY 2021 VOL 31 NO 1

CONTENTS

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

8 14 20 26 32

38 42 46 50 54 56 60 85 86

Real Talk – Answers to FAQs My Maypole And That Just Happened Another Road Trip The Freeze of 2021: How you can heat up...

Steve Hillman Kevin Cochran Chuck Uzzle Joe Richard Quentin Hall

14

Let’s Ask The Pro Shallow Water Fishing TPWD Field Notes Kayak Fishing Chronicles TSFMag Conservation News Fishy Facts Extreme Kayak Fishing & Sharks...

Science & the Sea Boat Repair & Maintenance

42 WHAT OUR GUIDES

HAVE TO SAY

68 70 72 74 76 78

Dickie Colburn’s Sabine Scene The View from Matagorda Mid-Coast Bays with the Grays Hooked up with Rowsey Wayne’s Port Mansfield Report South Padre Fishing Scene

70

Dickie Colburn Bink Grimes Shellie Gray David Rowsey Wayne Davis Ernest Cisneros

REGULARS 6 Editorial 66 New Tackle & Gear 80 Fishing Reports and Forecasts 82 Catch of the Month 84 Gulf Coast Kitchen

84 4 | May 2021

Jay Watkins Scott Null Allison Baldwin Dave Roberts CCA Texas Stephanie Boyd Eric Ozolins UT Marine Science Institute Chris Mapp

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER Everett Johnson Everett@tsfmag.com VICE PRESIDENT PRODUCTION & ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Pam Johnson Pam@tsfmag.com Office: 361-785-3420 Cell: 361-550-9918 NATIONAL SALES REPRESENTATIVE Bart Manganiello Bartalm@optonline.net REGIONAL SALES REPRESENTATIVE Patti Elkins Patti@tsfmag.com Office: 361-785-3420 Cell: 361-649-2265 PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Donna Boyd Donna@tsfmag.com CIRCULATION SUBSCRIPTION – PRODUCT SALES Vicky Morgenroth Store@tsfmag.com DESIGN & LAYOUT Stephanie Boyd Artwork@tsfmag.com SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR Jen Shive Jen@tsfmag.com Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine is published monthly.

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EDITORIAL

NEWS, VIEWS, & DEVELOPMENTS

Here we go barreling into May with a full slate of things to do and lots to keep an eye on. Before we get into all that I want to say our writing team have been busy on the water and I believe we have a very informative issue this month. Hope you enjoy it.

Hottest topic by far is TPWD commissioner’s enactment of emergency spotted seatrout regulations for all Texas waters south of the JFK Causeway. The announcement came during regular commissioner’s hearings on March 25. Effective April 01, 2021 the daily bag limit was reduced from five fish to three, with a slot limit of 17- to 23-inches; no trout longer than 23 inches can be retained.

This action is intended to conserve postfreeze spawning biomass and contribute to the View The Video speediest recovery possible of Texas’ most popular Open Camera & hover over QR Code. When saltwater gamefish. The emergency regulations link appears, tap to will be in effect 120 days and can be extended 60 open in YouTube. additional days, depending on the results of the May Issue Highlights agency’s annual spring population surveys. Many & Other News conservation-minded anglers and fishing guides on the middle coast – East Matagorda down to the JFK Causeway – are expressing concern and willingness for similar measures in their waters.

That could actually come to pass when the middle coast population

surveys are concluded and data is published to the commission. Don’t expect changes immediately; the earliest that could happen would likely be September 01, 2021.

Another hot topic is red snapper season in federal waters. I have mentioned the Great Red Snapper Count (GRSC) in previous columns.

Finally, we have some solid science to substantiate our anecdotal claims over the years that the Gulf red snapper fishery is thriving way beyond the feds’ stock assessments, about 3x more to be exact. Given the release of the GRSC abundance data, anglers should be set to enjoy more fishing days in 2021…right? Not so fast.

Even with the GRSC data in hand, federal regulators appear reluctant to recognize the abundance of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. Call it convoluted, mystifying, whatever; there is actually a chance that Texas recreational anglers will be given a shorter season than last year. NOAA/ NMFS is still claiming over-fishing, believe it or not. If you find that disconcerting, Mississippi and Alabama anglers may not even get a season this summer. Watching this whole charade makes you wonder how people actually built pyramids thousands of years ago.

Another feather in the cap of CCA Texas; the CCA Texas Executive Board approved funding last week to provide $130,000 for new grow-out pond liners needed to expand TPWD hatchery efforts to rear and stock additional spotted seatrout fingerlings in Texas bays. Our seatrout fishery needs all the help it can get right now. Kudos to CCA Texas!

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Xavier Chapa released this nice trout that was mingling amongst some reds and flounder over some shallow clusters of oysters.

REAL TALK Answers to FAQs STORY BY STEVE HILLMAN

M

y clients and I fish from six to eight hours most days. Obviously, there are exceptions, such as the other day when we waded for over nine hours in some challenging conditions trying to make magic happen. I don’t think even Harry Houdini could’ve helped us in a 25 mph northeast wind, high barometric pressure, and super low tides on that particular day. Regardless of the length of our trips, most customers with whom I share my boat take advantage of the time to make observations and ask plenty of questions. These questions vary widely depending upon age and skill level and I very much appreciate all of them. I only have so much space for this article so here are a few I’ve been asked recently.

Why do we seem to catch so many undersized specks these days?

It seems like we say the same thing every year in the recent past years. “Man! This is a great sign! We should have a helluva population of keeper trout next year with all of these little ones we’re catching right now!” The reality is that when these trout reach legal size the vast majority of them get harvested due to increased fishing pressure. Of course there are other factors that have contributed in recent years such as the flushing of the Galveston Bay Complex from massive Hurricane Harvey floods. Our bays have been full of undersized trout ever since.

Harvesting high numbers of barely legal trout every year will never give us the opportunity to grow better numbers of trophy trout. Furthermore, Mother Nature has to allow those fish to stay in our system for more than just a few years. Think about it. The floods from Harvey were just 3 ½ years ago. Does anyone want to guess the average length of a three year old male spotted seatrout in Texas waters? The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department says that a three year old male is about 17 inches long. Females reach this length in 2 years.

TSFMAG.com | 9

To me the math is simple. Leave more to grow and eventually have higher numbers of larger trout, not to mention the biomass enhancement in spawning. It’s the same reason we don’t harvest young bucks with good genetics on our ranch. The potential for trophies in our deer herd would decrease dramatically and there would be little incentive to hunt.

Who would want to drive all the way down to South Texas to sit in a blind to watch four and six point bucks? In a similar way, it’s hard to get excited about catching a bunch of pencil trout.

It seems like we mostly catch the majority of our fish in just a few spots. Why is that?

Prior to Hurricane Ike, Galveston Radie and Heather Stroud along with Bay had roughly 24,000 acres of daughters, Katelyn and Emma had a live oyster reefs. While various blast catching and releasing trout and seagrasses definitely offer more flounder despite the soggy conditions! than suitable habitat in certain areas of our bay, they pale in comparison to live oyster reefs. I’ve written about it many times but I continue to get asked the same questions regarding loss of habitat. Ike silted over more than 50% of those live reefs. That was almost thirteen years ago.

In the meantime we’ve experience floods, droughts and predation, not to mention ever-increasing pressure from harvesters trying to makes ends meet. The end result is similar to what we’ve been faced with on the trout scene – there just doesn’t seem to be enough to go around. In simple terms, with fewer live reefs there are fewer areas to attract schools of specks. I could fill up at least two pages of this magazine by listing places we used to catch trout but no longer can because the habitat is gone.

Why do you kill the big motor so far away from where we’re fishing?

I can’t begin to count how many times I turn the key off and clients are already casting. I have to politely ask them to hold their casts as I troll into the fishing area from 80 or 100 yards away. I’ve seen so many boats plow into the area they plan to fish while throwing a giant wake, and then immediately just start casting. These kinds of anglers are the ones who ruin it for themselves and everyone around them. Stealth is the name of the game when targeting trout, especially the larger ones.

How do you know when to stay or leave?

Knowing when to stay and when to leave a spot has to be one of the most asked questions through the years. So here’s my thought process. Chances are that we are fishing a particular area because we’ve been catching fish there. So, here we are on our spot. Why are they not biting? Or, could it be they left? Maybe it’s time to head elsewhere – not so fast.

If we are getting numerous subtle bites but very few hook-ups 10 | May 2021

this tells us that those fish are still there but they’re just not ready to feed aggressively. Their presence can sometimes be further confirmed by observing slicks and bait in the area. It’s definitely best to wait them out especially if there’s an upcoming tide change or solunar feeding period approaching.

If we’re getting very few bites but the fish are hammering our lures than that generally tells me that there are only a few fish in that particular spot. Then we have to weigh our options. Do we go try to find greener pastures or do we grind it out for the few (we think) that are there? Everyone always says, “Never leave fish to find fish,” but no one ever quantified it.

For a more in depth perspective on this subject please refer to my September 2016 article titled Stay Put or Move? in this magazine. (www.texassaltwaterfishingmagazine.com).

How close is too close with regards to other fishermen?

This question doesn’t have a simple answer and common sense plays a major role here. I’ve had other anglers ask me at the marina, “Man.

TSFMAG.com | 11

Did I get too close to you today?” or struggling that day so he’s convinced “I hope I didn’t crowd you.” It should himself that it’s okay to practice poor go without saying that if someone etiquette as long as it results in fish feels compelled to ask that question on the cleaning table for his paying then they were most likely too close. customers. In another instance, if a However, it sometimes depends upon family who probably doesn’t get out circumstances as well as the area on the water but just a few times a we’re fishing. year ends up drifting a little too close I don’t fish the Galveston Jetties to me on a reef because they don’t much anymore but when I did it have a trolling motor then I might wasn’t uncommon to have another politely offer advice on how to better boat 50 or 60 yards from us. We understand how the current and/or would all be anchored while throwing wind affects their drift. against the rocks. Everyone had fun and everyone caught fish. No problem.

If there’s one thing you could change Now here’s a completely different about the guiding industry what scenario. We are wading a shoreline would it be? with the wind at our backs while I would like to see the image of methodically working our way toward our industry improve. It’s time the mouth of a non-navigable marsh for a facelift. Many of the things drain and a group of fishermen pulls in we promoted (intentionally or within 100 yards downwind of us and unintentionally) for years are no David Carroll released this solid trout along with many others by jumps out. This is blatantly wrong but longer needed or wanted. It’s time to staying where we knew the fish were and waiting on the tide change. it happens more than we would like. clean things up a bit. A steady diet of Or say we’re drifting a mid-bay oyster piles of dead stuff on social media isn’t reef and find a small set of trout slicks to what I would call a good representation of line up on. We set our drift based upon the our industry, especially given some of the wind, current, and the size of the slick(s). challenges we’re faced with these days. It Then, out of nowhere, another boat sends the wrong message. motors in between us and the slicks. This is Promoting more catch and release is a really less of a distance issue and more of good place to start. By the way, I’m looking a bad etiquette issue. I’ve seen folks really in the mirror when I offer these opinions push the envelope, especially on tough and suggestions. Just log onto certain days when not everyone is catching. We all fishing forums and you’ll read things like, have to use our best judgement when it “Guides are keeping limits every day and comes to these issues. that is the problem” or “I know guides who In addition, we should attempt to are running two trips a day and that’s just politely educate those who did something not right!” I’m not saying both of these stupid because sometimes folks examples are necessarily true but that simply just don’t know. We can usually seems to be the perception of many. differentiate between the ones who know I would love to see a higher level of better and the ones who don’t. If I’m professionalism among charter captains clearly trolling to a school of trout working (and recreational anglers) in addition to less under birds and another “guide” motors in animosity and smaller egos. I want to be Ryan Malek with a couple of bonus flounder between me and the group of birds then proud of the industry of which I’m a part. on a day dominated by reds and flounder. he obviously knows better. He’s probably We can do better and should do better.

Open Camera and hover over QR Code. When link appears at top of screen tap to open in YouTube.

Galveston Trout – Waiting for the switch to flip!

12 | May 2021

STEVE HILLMAN

CONTACT

View The Video

Steve Hillman is a full-time fishing guide on his home waters of Galveston Bay. Steve fishes the entire Galveston Bay Complex, wading and drifting for trout, redfish, and flounder using artificial lures.

Phone 409-256-7937 Email captsteve@hillmanguideservice.com Web www.hillmanguideservice.com

TSFMAG.com | 13

MY

maypo e

STORY BY KEVIN COCHRAN

I

n Western Europe, people have gathered and danced around the maypole for many centuries, usually to celebrate the impending arrival of summer and to promote the productivity of the plants they’ll grow and harvest. Some cultures also see the rituals surrounding the ceremonial pole as an attempt to enhance the fertility of the folks busting the moves. The hopeful hearts and souls of participants in the party energize the merriment associated with the revelry.

With summer approaching, many saltwater anglers in Texas think of the month of May in ways which resemble those prevalent in the ancient world. Many of us look forward to the steady stare of a golden sun rising over the waters of the Gulf with great anticipation, recalling the days of our youth and good times spent at the edge of the wide open sea. The patterns we generally fish in the warmest season begin to emerge with some consistency during this last full month of spring, providing us a glimpse of the predictably productive days to come.

In my years spent fishing the Baffin Bay/Upper Laguna Madre system, I’ve come to recognize several patterns which produce big trout in May, and I’ve caught some of my largest fish to date during the time frame. In 2010, on the 5th day of the month, I caught my longest trout—32.25 inches. Before releasing the glorious fish, I verified her length accurately, using a measuring stick on board the boat of a friend. I deployed a Paul Brown Fat Boy to trick her into taking a bite, working it along the edge of a bright set of potholes adorning an otherwise dark green, grassy flat in the Badlands.

Certainly, fishing verdant humps covered by shallow water can produce trout of epic dimensions in these bays this month, but I’ve found two other patterns somewhat more consistently productive during this time when water temperatures often rise above 80°

“Let me learn from the gaunt, still form of the hunting blue heron, whose patience and stealth provide models for a wadefisherman to live by.”

Neal Laskowski poses here with a trout he caught on a topwater during the peak season for using floating lures--May through July.

16 | May 2021

on a daily basis. Both these patterns prevail most often in places where major structural elements lie adjacent to open basins, with a distinct margin separating the shallows from the depths. In many cases, prominent sandbars with long, linear edges provide the main structural elements, some of them studded with serpulid rocks.

In the eastern half of Baffin Bay, many places meet such a description, including the rock bar at Penascal Point, the sandbar between there and Los Corrallos, Black’s Bluff, East Kleberg Point, the Tide Gauge Bar, Cathead, and the southern half of the Badlands. In all these areas, shallow water covers hard sandy bars, with rocks either lying in the shallows, or within casting range of the bars, surrounded by deeper water, or both. In May, no matter where the effort takes place, the best results always occur where copious amounts of bait, primarily mullet, provide hungry trout plenty of targets to try and take.

While the basic physical topographies of the places provide general context for the two aforementioned patterns, the details related to their variable attributes add nuance to the specific ways the patterns play out in time and space. In some cases, actively feeding trout work the edges and crowns of the shallow sandbars themselves, causing the mullet to huddle close together in gigantic rafts in the shallowest parts of the area.

This happens most frequently during the night or early in the morning, when water temperatures and light levels fall to their lowest values.

At other times, hungry trout hunting around rocks lying within casting range of the edges of the sandbars force mullet to cover the tops of crusty boulders like canned sardines; they create dark shadows, like clouds, revealing themselves clearly to any angler with even moderately well-trained eyes. In places where long sandbars front basins without serpulid rocks, feeding trout usually cause their potential prey to move together in formations which resemble marching soldiers; long lines of mullet flow like rivers parallel to the structures, in depths of four to five feet. Frantically darting, jumping individuals breaking away from these lines often indicate the precise locations of pods of trout attacking them from below.

In any case, anglers who keep their lures dancing among the thickest concentrations of obviously fearful mullet usually catch more big trout than those who cast randomly, without paying close attention to the signals the mullet provide. In water temperatures typical for the month of May, this often means working a full-sized floating plug in the midst of the mullet, ideally causing them to physically move aside to allow the lure to pass by. Undoubtedly, trout lurking beneath sheets of mullet notice the movement patterns of the live fish and the floating plastic plugs, then attack the perceived source of the commotion.

In places where clouds of mullet crowd on the tops of rocks, earning strikes often requires working lures right over the rocks.

Walking the lures alongside the rocks, even quite close to their edges, sometimes produces little or nothing, while pulling them directly over the rocks, knocking mullet out of the way, generates epic attacks. This was the case during the Troutmasters Classic of 2002, an event I chose not to enter, though I did go fishing. I caught a 29-inch trout on a Skitter Walk cast right into the middle of a clump of mullet atop a rock in the Badlands that Sunday.

The previous day, I made the other pattern pay, when I landed a 31-incher I suspect weighed 10 pounds, also on a Skitter Walk, pulling her from a flowing stream of mullet moving east to west in the depths within casting range of the southern edge of the Tide Gauge Bar. In both these cases, my lure caused mullet to scatter as it passed through

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PENN. LET THE BATTLE BEGIN.

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TSFMAG.com | 17

them, after I placed it deliberately in the midst of a visible pod. Of course, trout don’t always strike floating lures as readily as others worked lower in the water column.

This month, and in the hotter ones to follow, anglers often find faster action on soft plastics if and when the daily topwater drama dwindles and fades. From midmorning into the middle of the afternoon, soft plastics on light jigheads worked closer to the bottom earn more strikes than all lures worked closer to or directly on the water’s surface. My customer Adrian Valdez proved the truth of the previous statement just before 10 a.m. on the morning of May 10th, 2018, when he urged a 31-inch trout to take a glittering soft plastic with a chartreuse tail. He hopped the lure close to the bottom right in front of the windswept Here’s the captain with a solid trout caught (and released) face of a large serpulid rock in the Badlands soon after the weather warmed following the February freeze. to make his case.

His catch adds a layer of complexity to what generally feels like a simple tale.

In May, anglers hoping to catch giant trout in Baffin Bay often look for massive concentrations of mullet in places where sandbars and rocks lie in close proximity to one another. Early in the day, they cast topwaters right into the middle of the melee, bringing them right over the rocks where they’re present. Later in the day, after the mullet scatter and the vigor of the bite wanes, those same anglers switch to soft plastics and place them as close to the edges of the rocks as they can, hoping to urge reaction strikes from less-active hunters.

For the last two decades, these truths paid big dividends for me on trips made into the revered and celebrated waters of Baffin Bay and the Upper Laguna Madre, which recently suffered negative impacts from the sobering and deadly freeze of February. Certainly, many creatures failed Nelson Wheeler caught and released this trout to survive those bitter days. During the while fishing with the captain in mid-March. coldest part of the prolonged chill, I went out with a friend and rescued stunned sea turtles, partly because it felt so right, partly because I wanted to force myself to look at creatures facing a fate worse than mine. The dull, tired eyes of the helpless turtles threatened to haunt me.

After witnessing such devastating events, it’s all too easy to become

negatively focused on what we’ve lost.

Naturally, we feel sad to see so many fish, birds and other creatures cast forever into the abyss of oblivion by the cruel breath of Old Man Winter. But in this month when hopeful people have danced and sang for centuries, looking forward to future fertility, I will do the same. To find my saving grace, I choose to focus on the marbled, ornate beauty of the patterns which adorn the shells of the turtles whose lives I helped to spare. And I offer words I first published more than a decade ago, which seem perfectly poignant now...

I hope to catch many more trophy trout before I die. I wish to overcome their grand, unpredictable attempts to defy my desire to control them. I also intend to photograph them before sending them back to their shadowy world under the glare on the waves, preserving their iridescent beauty for all to see. Truth is, if we could look close enough into our photos, into the eyes of the trout, we would recognize ourselves in reflection.

I pledge to relish the transience of every sunrise as if it were my last and to pause to consider the miracle of the living things I’m lucky enough to glimpse as we press our faces into the winds of time. Let me interpret the plaintive cry of the coyote at dawn as a wakeup call and breathe deep the smell of mesquite and seagrass beds. Let me learn from the gaunt, still form of the hunting blue heron, whose patience and stealth provide models for a wadefisherman to live by.

Let me leave many ephemeral footprints where the sugar-sand shorelines of the Father Island kiss the crystalline waters of the Mother Lagoon. And someday, when all evidence of my passing here has washed away, let it be said I did everything I could to honor and preserve these priceless places and enchanting things.

View The Video

Open Camera and hover over QR Code. When link appears at top of screen tap to open in YouTube.

Three Topwaters

18 | May 2021

CONTACT

KEVIN COCHRAN

Kevin Cochran is a full-time fishing guide at Corpus Christi (Padre Island), TX. Kevin is a speckled trout fanatic and has created several books and dvds on the subject.

Kevin’s home waters stretch from Corpus Christi Bay to the Land Cut.

TROUT TRACKER GUIDE SERVICE Phone 361-688-3714 Email kevxlr8@mygrande.net Web www.FishBaffinBay.com www.captainkevblogs.com

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AND THAT JUST

HAPPENED STORY BY CHUCK UZZLE

F

or TSFMag readers who know me or have followed this column over the years knows I do my best to not cover the same old subjects. On occasion I have to actually cover something that’s serious and this is one of those times. There has never been a time where those of us who enjoy the outdoors have stood the chance to lose so much. It’s no secret that the new administration in the White House is far from friendly to fishermen and hunters, in fact they are threatening to take away many of our opportunities and rights.

TSFMAG.com | 21

During his first few days in office Joe Biden signed an historic number of executive orders and he continues to sign them on an all too frequent basis.

On January 30, President Biden signed another of his many executive orders which has become known as the “30 by 30.” This order aims to commit 30 percent of lands and oceans to conservation by 2030, which in the House version of the bill entails a complete ban on “commercial extractive use” in areas of the ocean conserved. The biggest problem for the angling community is that there is no differentiation between commercial fishing such as long liners or trawlers and sportfishing operations, they would all be banned in those areas under this order and that’s bad news.

Obviously this new executive order was met with major pushback from the commercial side.

According to SeafoodSource.com this new plan, when first unveiled in the Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act, drew a letter from over 800 members of the seafood industry – organized by the At-sea Processors Association, National Fisheries Institute, Saving Seafood, and the Seafood Harvesters of America – who oppose a blanket ban

The new sunglasses from Bajio are well worth a look.

22 | May 2021

Highly anticipated new tournament series coming to the Sabine area.

of all fishing activity in 30 percent of oceans owned by the U.S. “As participants in our nation’s seafood economy, we write to express deep concern regarding Title II of your recently introduced OceanBased Climate Solutions Act. If enacted, this Title would undermine our nation’s world-class system of fisheries management, harming fishermen and the coastal communities they sustain,” the letter states. “As you seek feedback on your legislation, we urge you to fundamentally rethink Title II’s provisions.”

For whatever reason the sportfishing community and it’s multi-billion dollar industry was also lumped into the pile with the commercial side of things and that’s where it affects folks like us.

If MPA’s (Marine Protected Areas) are established then those waters will be off limits to everyone, commercial and sportfish alike. On March 17 the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) held it’s first virtual policy briefing of the year to discuss the importance of including the hunting and fishing community in the development of policy related to the global “30 by 30” initiative. House Committee on Natural Resources Ranking Member and CSC (Congressional Sportsman’s Caucus) Vice-Chair Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) was quoted, “Conserving our nation’s rich natural resources will always be one of my top priorities in Congress; however, I’m concerned that a currently undefined “30 by 30” initiative may undermine this goal. We should be accessing our lands and waters for a variety of reasons, including multiple use, outdoor recreation, and hunting and fishing. Locking up lands and waters permanently and restricting management and responsible resource utilization actually does more harm than good and ignores centuries of efforts by hunters and anglers, who are true conservationists. Protecting the environment is about quality, not quantity, and simply setting an arbitrary acreage goal won’t allow land managers to properly steward resources. I hope to continue working with the sportsmen’s community to ensure we all have access to the lands and waters we enjoy

FO OT WEA R THAT TA K E S YO U A NY WHER E .

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important because the blue light is what causes haze. The Bajio’s are the clearest lenses on the market.” After checking them out for myself I would have to agree, they are as advertised and well worth a look.

Dealers all along the Texas and Louisiana coast are available so be sure to at least take a look next time you hit your favorite tackle shop.

Sabine and Calcasieu should be more welcoming to anglers this month, providing we are lucky to catch a break for the spring winds.

Both of these bodies of water appear to be none the worse for wear after February’s big freeze which is a true blessing because they both needed to dodge that bullet. Overall, trout fishing has been way down the past two to three years and any sign of resurgence is welcomed.

Please keep the fish in mind when you go out, keep what you’ll eat for dinner and let some swim for another day.

CHUCK UZZLE

CONTACT

for years to come”. This is certainly a topic that the fishing and outdoor world needs to keep careful watch on because, just like most things – once they are taken away you seldom if ever get them back.

On a much more enjoyable note there have been a few new happenings lately that I was pleased to see. Sabine Slam Bait Company has put together a four-event redfish tournament series that will be held out of Bridge City and headquartered at High Tides Restaurant on Cow Bayou. The four-event overall champions will take home a guaranteed purse of $10K cash. The tournament series is a first for this area and will undoubtedly bring out some good fishermen.

The dates for the four events are April 24, May 22, June 26, and the championship on July 31. Complete list rules and registration information is available on all the social media outlets for Sabine Slam Bait Co or you can call them at 409-330-7745.

Another fantastic introduction to the fishing world just debuted, a new sunglass company called “Bajio” recently hit the market and has scored some rave reviews. I spoke to Mike Holliday, Saltwater Community Fishing Manger for Bajio, and he told me, “ These glasses were made exclusively for fishermen by fishermen. Bajio’s lenses block out the highest percentage of blue light available today, which is so

Chuck fishes Sabine and Calcasieu Lakes from his home in Orange, TX. His specialties are light tackle and fly fishing for trout, reds, and flounder.

Phone 409-697-6111 Email wakesndrakes@yahoo.com Website wakesndrakes.com

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This town is located on the Steinhatchee River, which flows to the Gulf. A tired boat crew returns at sunset.

STORY BY JOE RICHARD

Y

ears ago we made annual summer road trips while trailering boats, with our tow vehicles generally pointed at Florida. We used a motley collection of vehicles, whichever ran best at the time, even two Volkswagens pulling watercraft ranging from 14-foot johnboats and bass boats. (Not recommended in August with air-cooled car engines) Then we had a pickup truck towing a big 15-foot bow-rider that could carry three of us offshore. With 15 gallons of gas in that boat, we could run from Key West out beyond the Marquesas Islands, to sunken Navy target ships sticking out of the water that were full of fish. Lots of adventures, and I met my future wife Miss Amy on one of those trips. The guys with me wanted to explore new waters, without being confined to bridge and pier fishing.

I got to thinking about those road trips, after this past winter’s devastating freeze and fish kill in Texas. If there was ever a time for a road trip, it’s this year. Having spent recent time in Florida, I can recommend several spots around the state for those who have a wanderlust for clear and relatively calm water, compared to Texas.

And no recent fish kills or red tides. Key West is a long haul from Texas and getting through Miami traffic these days is an adventure, since many residents there are…relatively new to the concept of speed limits, notably back home in Venezuela. On the other hand Key West this year doesn’t have cruise ships bursting with tourists, a huge blessing, and that alone might make it worth the trip.

However, our go-to spot these days is much closer to Texas, on Florida’s Coastal Bend, a town called Steinhatchee, one of a scattering of tiny coastal villages that remain quiet today. Picture Port O’Connor 30 years ago, except with a tall forest, black water creeks and 50 miles of consistent seagrass bottoms stretching out two miles offshore in 10 feet of water. No beaches to speak of; this is a low-wave energy coastline, but it’s not a bad drive at 10 ½ hours from Beaumont. You follow I-10 the entire way, except for the last hour.

These smaller Florida towns are Old Florida and have much the same character they did even 50 years ago, though a scattering of second homes have popped up.

As for the fishing: Though some boats range offshore for grouper, sea bass and snapper, the first two commonly caught in 30 feet of water, the big draw is inshore fish. Boats of all sizes drift over the grass and potholes, often using a drift sock if a breeze is blowing.

Which doesn’t happen much during summer, where sometimes a breeze is prayed for. Overall, spring and fall seasons are best, though this May should still be good. Trout seem to ease offshore in the heat of summer, but last August we had no problem catching 20 slot redfish on a high tide shoreline.

Boats of any size are seen here and kayaks fairly common off the coast, exploring a maze of creeks where oysters or limestone rocks are found. These natural rocks stretch from Steinhatchee for about 12 miles south to the Pepperfish Keys, so caution is advised with navigation during even a medium tide, within a half- mile of the coast. Most boats stay a mile offshore, turn and then ease inshore to favorite spots. The water is clear enough to spot the rocks, many of which have “kelp” attached that grows to the surface.

More than a mile out the water is about six feet deep, where trout, large mackerel and packs of big ladyfish wear us out. Occasional 30-pound kingfish have been caught here in only six feet of water, also ling and tarpon.

Thanks to many miles of healthy seagrass growing in clear water, this area is easily the most productive for seatrout in all of Florida.

The grass is so thick that it hosts millions of pinfish, and these are the go-to live baits used under corks. (Nobody in the area has ever heard of live croakers, so don’t bother asking). Live shrimp under a cork will work on trout, but pinfish dearly love shrimp, and they’re hungry as piranhas. The “pinnies” are available at marinas, but are easily caught with a 4-foot ultralight spin rod with 6-pound line.

Bait up a ¼ inch square of fish belly on a “hair hook” (a long shank, tiny hook) with a small bobber and BB weight, toss it out a few feet upwind, and set that rod in a holder. Pinfish will do the rest. If the water is warm you’ll need a live well, or a bucket with aerator. Bring an adequate dip net to scoop pinfish; you don’t want to grope 28 | May 2021

Gag grouper are fairly common here, with juveniles growing up in the seagrass bottoms before moving offshore.

Here’s a spoon-fed ling caught in six feet of water, which is always a kick. Since there wasn’t room in the Igloo, this one was released.

Redfish are almost entirely caught near shore, often at high tide, when most boats can more easily ease into the shallows.

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in a school of live pin cushions. I commonly set out a live pinfish hooked through both lips under a cork, way upwind while we drift, and that commonly catches the biggest trout or mackerel of the day. Sharks, too.

Most of our attention is focused downwind, slinging spoons and soft plastics or even topwater plugs. If there is much floating seagrass, topwaters are out. If the wind is cranking, it will line up the floating grass in rows like bowling lanes, and you have to fire off down the lanes. Early, late or cloudy days offer the best topwater action. Our go-to topwater plug has been the 4-inch Chug Bug in a variety of colors, except for the frog pattern. One year about May 1 we caught 10 species on that one brand, all in 4-6 feet of water.

Even three undersized ling.

Summer is peak boating season, because Steinhatchee is the epicenter for America’s sport scallop harvest, fun for the whole family, with two gallons of shell allowed per diver. (I counted our

two-person limit of four gallons last year and it came out to about 142 scallops, enough for several great pasta dinners). Scallops are picked up in three to about 10 feet of water, and even small boats get their limits. Years ago, we’d have the kids jump overboard and survey the bottom out to 20 yards or so, and report back with any scallops, before the adults suited up with snorkel gear. This is a relaxing endeavor, watching the fish and scanning potholes and grass bottoms for scallops. Instead of uniform turtle grass, look for a mix of potholes and a variety of bottom growth before dropping anchor. Or just head for the nearest cluster of boats, often there are 30 or more anchored in clusters in the best spots. And don’t worry about sharks—they’re well behaved in this part of Florida.

Seeing new waters and fish is worth the effort, and with today’s comfortable vehicles and boats, those tough road trips we made belong in the past.

Steinhatchee has the healthiest population of seatrout in Florida, thanks to extensive seagrass bottoms. Most are caught drift-fishing.

30 | May 2021

JOE RICHARD

Joe Richard has fished the Gulf since 1967, starting out of Port Arthur, but his adventures have taken him up and down the entire coast.

He was the editor of Tide magazine for eight years, and later Florida Sportsman’s book and assistant magazine editor. He began guiding out of Port O’Connor in 1994. His specialty is big kingfish, and his latest book is The Kingfish Bible, New Revelations. Available at Seafavorites.com

CONTACT

Steinhatchee has a decent variety of restaurants and they’ll cook your catch. Our go-to spot for spending a few nights there is Sea Hag Marina, which has modern rental cabins across the street. They’ve been there at least 20 years and have all the facilities on the water, including a fully-stocked tackle store, live bait, boat launch (using a forklift), fish cleaning tables, beer tables overlooking the docks, resident fishing guides, the works. Also a fleet of 24-foot Carolina Skiffs with four-stroke engines that will haul at least six people out for a day of fishing or diving. The boats are a good deal, at $199 a day. They might even save the trouble of towing a boat from Texas. Their website is at: Seahag.com

Sea Hag Marina on the river offers full service, a motel and a fleet of quality rental boats with four-stroke outboards.

TSFMAG.com | 31

THE FREEZE OF 2021 How You Can Heat Up Sportfish Recovery

STORY BY QUENTIN HALL Research Specialist | Center for Sportfish Science and Conservation at the Harte Research Institute

Our staff members routinely use lipping tools while conducting research. Over the years, we have observed extremely high long term (months to years) post-release survival rates for many of Texas’ most popular sportfish species. Photo: Quentin Hall.

I

t is no secret that the freeze of 2021 was a historic meteorological event, impacting the lives of every Texan. Texas’ wildlife was also impacted, particularly its coastal fisheries. As outlined by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) article in this publication last month, it will take time to fully understand the magnitude of the recent damage to our sportfisheries. This freeze was a natural, albeit extreme, event that our sportfish populations have evolved to withstand.

However, sportfish population’s inherent capacity for recovery in the wake of deleterious natural events does not account for the additional pressures related to recreational harvest.

During normal years, Texas’ sportfish populations continue to flourish due to good management and wise recreational angling practices. There are many examples of this, such as spotted seatrout and red drum, whose populations have remained stable despite increasing recreational fishing activity within the state. However, from a fisheries perspective, this is not shaping up to be a normal year. As mentioned in TPWD’s article in last month’s issue, many of Texas’ sportfish populations have exhibited declines after previous freeze events. Given the severity of the 2021 freeze, managers, researchers, and anglers alike must wait to see how much work is truly ahead of us.

So where does that leave us this fishing season? It leaves us with each of you.

The simple truth is that the recovery speed of Texas’ sportfish populations will come down to decisions made by individual anglers. There is nothing wrong with keeping a few fish for dinner, but this is probably not a great year for an all-out meat haul.

Let’s be clear, you should go fishing every chance you get. A few of us rely on fishing to earn a living. A lot of us depend on fishing to spend time with friends and escape the stresses of daily life. All of us want access to healthy and abundant sportfish populations.

As we look forward to a summer on the water, it is important to consider the benefits that catch and release fishing techniques can offer sportfisheries recovering from the freeze. First off, there is a stigma regarding catch and release angling that needs to be broken. Catch and release is not an elitist sport or something only to be applied when

flyfishing tarpon off expensive poling skiffs. To put this into perspective even further, every law-abiding angler is practicing catch and release on some level already. Anytime you release an undersized fish, or a fish that would put you over a limit, you have joined the ranks of catch and release anglers across the state.

But simply throwing a fish back in the water is not a guarantee it will survive. Variables like water temperature, fight time, hooking location, and handling methods all play a role in whether a fish survives after release. Some fish may swim off looking healthy and strong, only to die hours or even days later. In the research world, we refer to this as “post-release mortality” and it is rapidly becoming one of the most important factors when assessing fishing pressure and harvest levels.

The good news is that incorporating just a few simple tricks into your fish release routine can drastically increase “post-release survival”. Across the board, the most important thing anglers can do to ensure a successful release is to minimize handling stress. The simplest way to do this is by incorporating a lipping tool into your everyday fishing gear. Lipping tools come in all shapes and sizes and there is a plethora of misinformation surrounding their use (although certain sensitive species like bonefish are susceptible to injury). Here at the Sportfish Center, we routinely use Fig 1: Texas’ coastwide red drum and spotted seatrout population estimates versus saltwater fishing license sales lipping tools when handling fish for (catch per hour is commonly used to determine fish population sizes). Both popular sportfish species’ populations are our research. Over the years, we have remaining stable despite increasing recreational saltwater fishing activity. The annual variation depicted in this graph observed extremely high long term is relatively small and within normal limits. This indicates good management and wise angling practices. These data post-release survival rates for spotted were adapted from TPWD’s Marine Sport-Harvest Monitoring Program provided by the TPWD Coastal Fisheries Office. seatrout, red drum, common snook, black drum, and red snapper when lipping tools are properly used during the handling process. We prefer to use Boga-Grips as they are well made, have accurate scales, and incorporate swiveling heads. This last feature is Simple things like leaving a fish in the water and supporting their weight can extremely important as it protects the make a huge difference in post-release fish’s jaw from additional strain as it survival rates. Photo: Quentin Hall. rolls or twists. There are plenty of good cheap alternatives to Boga-Grips but look for a model with a swiveling head.

Other important release techniques can be conducted faster and more efficiently when using a lipping tool as well. They allow for easy restraint of a fish during hook removal without the need to physically grip the fish with your hand. It astounds me how many conservation-minded anglers will grab a fish by the gills when removing a hook (I’m guilty of this

34 | May 2021

TSFMAG.com | 35

from time to time - one of those people who live in glass houses kind of things). In addition to protecting the gills, minimizing physical touch also protects the animal’s slime coat. This thin layer of mucous serves numerous functions crucial to a fish’s health.

It protects the fish against pathogens, as well as making it more hydrodynamic, which is important for securing prey and evading predators. It may sound silly but damaging a fish’s slime coat can actually kill it rather quickly.

Lipping tools also allow the fish to be restrained while still in the water. Leaving a fish in the water is important as it supports the animal’s body weight. Fish anatomy has evolved in the relative “weightlessness” of water. Lifting a fish out of the water for extended periods, especially vertically, can cause extensive damage to the animal’s internal organs and bone structure.

Holding a fish vertically to get a quick weight is usually OK, but if you have to remove a fish from the water try to hold it horizontally and support its body as much as possible.

Providing fish with oxygen after a fight is extremely important, so being able to leave them in the water while removing the hook is incredibly beneficial. Along those lines, lipping tools also allow anglers to help fish recover immediately prior to release. Gently pull the fish in a figure-eight pattern to allow water to flow over the fish’s gills. You will know when the fish has recovered enough and wants to leave. If the fish does not seem to be recovering (and is legal), it is a good candidate for the stringer, allowing you to release other fish more likely to survive later in the trip.

There is not enough room in this article to list all the quick tricks anglers can implement to help fish survive after release, but there are resources available for those who wish to take their skills to the next level. The ReleaSense initiative, a partnership between the Harte Research Institute, Coastal Conservation Association, and Shimano Fishing North America, was created to provide a platform for anglers, industry, and resource managers to share information regarding the best catch and release practices for many prized sportfish species. It provides an expanding series of catch and release instructional videos, as well as interviews with leaders in the recreational fishing industry, fisheries managers, and expert anglers from across North America. Increasing awareness of this information will improve survival rates of released fish, ensuring healthy and sustainable populations of harvestable fish for the future. Visit www.ReleaSense.org to learn more, and stay tuned as we continue to expand, improve, and add content.

There is room for all of us to expand our use of catch and release techniques in all sectors of Texas’ marine sportfisheries.

With a little effort, we can all ensure access to sustainable sportfisheries for generations to come.

Quentin Hall is a Research Specialist and Angler Engagement Professional for the Center for Sportfish Science and Conservation at the Harte Research Institute. He turned his lifelong fishing and hunting habits into a career, receiving dual bachelor’s degrees in Animal Science and Fisheries Management from the University of Missouri and his M.S. in Marine Biology from Texas A&M. While Quentin’s research focuses on a variety of studies ranging from juvenile sportfish recruitment dynamics to sportfish movements, his real passion is connecting anglers with the science supporting their fisheries.

36 | May 2021

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TSFMAG.com | 37

J AY WAT K I N S

ASK THE PRO

POST-FREEZE ASSESSMENTS AND GAME PLANS The most frequent question since my last article has been, “So Jay, tell me honestly, how badly was our trout fishery affected during the February freeze?”

I tell everyone the same thing, “The scientists (TPWD) tell us that Aransas and Corpus Christi bays were not hurt as badly as bay systems to the south of the JFK Causeway.”

Reports from fellow guides and friends come in almost daily but I will comment only on places I am fishing. I will tell you we are currently catching trout on a daily basis when we are targeting them. After the ‘83 freeze and ‘89 freezes trout were very hard to come by.

I emphasize this by saying I caught only 61 trout in all of 1984!

Honestly, I feel there are many areas within all our bay systems that took a harder hit than others. Fish in areas of flats close to deep channels, bays, harbors, subdivision channels, etc., seemed to fare better than fish that had little to no deep water refuge. No doubt, TPWD closing these areas to fishing during the

Robert Moll fighting one early and shallow.

38 | May 2021

coldest days and voluntary suspension of barge traffic contributed to the survival ratio. I personally observed hundreds of trout, redfish and black drum leaving the deeper harbors and subdivision canals as air and water temperatures began to warm.

It was an awesome sight with my son Jay Ray and Jeff Steckler onboard. There was a mutual sigh of relief, knowing that we at least had some decent numbers of quality fish that had survived, fish that will be responsible for the rebuild. Knowing this we still felt then and even more now that we must put the fish first and release all the fish we can in order to kickstart the upcoming trout spawn.

Jay Ray and I already have a great following with clients in the catch and release of trout, especially 20-plus inch fish. Today I am proud to say that our following is growing and all of our clients on the books for 2021 have agreed to release ALL trout. Most have agreed further to release all gamefish in 2021. Might have to keep a few drum here and there for a few dinners at the yacht club but even this will be on a limited basis.

Please know that I have zero problem with anglers keeping enough reds and drum for dinner. I do however think that it would be in the best interest of the fishery overall to release as many redfish and drum as we can. All species were hurt and the more we help, the faster we will start to see a recovery.

Rockport area fish populations were definitely reduced. My slot-sized trout catch is currently running 60% below normal but I am seeing decent numbers of small trout that survived, something I did not see much following the freezes of ‘83 and ‘89.

So, Jay Ray and I are back to fishing, back to teaching and stressing the

importance of allowing what we have out there the chance to spawn by releasing them. Now, let’s get down to what I am doing to catch the trout I am catching. By the way, it might be the absolute best time to book your favorite trout guide and sit back and watch and listen to him work.

Toughest times require the toughest brain game and the ability to recall all the knowledge obtained in the previous big two freeze events.

First off, I am targeting areas where I know trout survived. I feel that spoils and shallow flats drop-offs that lie adjacent to deeper, warmer waters are where the trout are right now. I believe that as water temperatures warm into the mid- to upper-70s, mullet and menhaden will migrate into the bays from the Gulf. This food source is critical for the upcoming spawn so trout will begin to move up from deeper water to intercept the migration. I personally believe that some trout that might not normally move to the deeper and warmer Gulf waters might have done so during this freeze event. This would be especially true of the fish that live near Gulf passes. I believe (hope) these fish will eventually return, probably following alongside the mullet and menhaden.

Bait has been hard to locate the past several weeks but each day I feel like we are seeing more and more. I am working shallow near shoreline guts that run both parallel and perpendicular to shore, and what I call “pinch points” early in the day where we find baitfish activity. Then, as the sun rises higher into the morning sky, I move to the deeper submerged grassbeds along the shoreline drop-off.

Since Hurricane Harvey my area shorelines have what I refer to as “washouts.” These are areas where the force of wind and water literally washed out large holes in the shoreline. Some of these washouts continue to have water depths that do not allow me to walk across them in waders.

The deeper darker water adds some security for the trout and it also allows them to setup very close to the shallow areas in which they prefer to feed during major or minor feeding periods.

The washout game plan allows me to hit numerous areas that don’t take too much time to discover whether or not fish are present. It’s kind of the “aim small miss small” theory in application. On spoils, the trout are holding tight to any type of submerged grass or parallel shoreline guts.

Some slicking is helping us here and there but we are still about a month away from consistent slicking activity.

The trout I am catching right now are holding primarily on submerged grass edges along barrier island shorelines and sandbars. You have to bring your lure right up to the grass and literally bump the grass to get a reaction.

Once we get a few bites and get the pattern established it becomes a sightcasting to structure gig and can become very productive in a hurry for those that can accurately cast to the edges and keep the lure in the strike zone. I have a great mental picture of how the trout are setup on this type of structure and that is definitely a plus for me and my clients.

Shell ridges around our reefs are also good targets this

Great pic of a washout; note there is nice trout barely visible lurking near the bottom of the image.

Sara Taylor with her first redfish while wading – CPR!

TSFMAG.com | 39

View The Video

Open Camera and hover over QR Code. When link appears at top of screen tap to open in YouTube.

Jay Watkins’ Late Spring Reef Strategies

I am using two types of lures right now. My soft plastic selection consists of MirrOlure Lil John and Lil John XL, along with 5” Provokers and 5” Shad Bass Assassins. Watermelon, Golden Bream, Bone Diamond, Plum and Cajun Croaker are good color choices.

Couple the soft plastic with a 1/16 ounce 2/0 Texas Custom’s watermelon/red glitter jighead for best action. Texas Custom’s Double D Series is killer when working grass edges and reef ridges.

I bang my lure down to the edge of the grass or shell, maybe even bump the structure, and then let the lure pause, suspend and slowly rise. It’s a deadly combination of lure and presentation, I promise.

This often draws a reaction strike from fish that might not be interested in eating much of anything.

Good luck, be positive, think positive, and release them if you can.

May your fishing always be catching! -Guide Jay Watkins

C O N TA C T

time of year and how you approach is everything. I approach from offshore, working from deep to shallow. This is the subject of this month’s video clip so be sure to view it. Windward sides of the shell ridges are my preferred side to work but with narrow ridges it is not uncommon for fish to be on both sides. Trout like to setup facing into the current, so casting up-current and windward are suggested.

A bite should stop you in your tracks. Once a fish is caught, continue to cast to the general area where you caught that first fish.

What one fish likes, so will another. I call it reloading as fish move in and out but you have to be prepared to be patient and continue to cast to that particular area. Moving water will not only bring baitfish to the trout, it’ll bring the trout to you as well.

Never will the mind game and your ability to move and work slowly and thoroughly when in an area where you know trout to be present be more important. With decreased numbers of trout, bites will be less frequent and we must therefore be very thorough in our work, not walking through the area of bottom structure that we believe the fish be holding on.

Jay Watkins has been a full-time fishing guide at Rockport, TX, for more than 20 years. Jay specializes in wading yearround for trout and redfish with artificial lures. Jay covers the Texas coast from San Antonio Bay to Corpus Christi Bay. Telephone Email Website

361-729-9596 Jay@jaywatkins.com www.jaywatkins.com

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C A P T. S COT T N U L L

S H A L L O W W AT E R F I S H I N G

THE NEXT GENERATION DESERVES

WHAT WE’VE ENJOYED Last night I wrote a long and boring article trying to say what was on my mind. I usually hit send when I’m finished and let our editor handle it from there. This one just didn’t feel right so I slept on it and read it fresh this morning. While it said what I wanted, it lacked the impact I was shooting for. Then it hit me, fewer words and more photos.

As I sit here awaiting the birth of my next grandson I’ve been scrolling through the ol’ Facebook and thinking about what his future will look like. I have enjoyed a lifetime in the outdoors and it has been good for me in every way. Being outdoors kept me sane and offered a diversion during my years of working murder cases. Fishing and hunting with family and friends are some of my fondest memories. And while some of those involve days where we wore the fish out, most are about the moments. Those single special fish, whether it was a first of a species, the largest, or just the situation during which it was caught. None in that top 100 involved how

42 | May 2021

many fish we had in the cooler at the end of the day or whether my freezer was fully stocked. I want the same for him. He deserves that.

Watching the chest-beating and foolish displays of full limits as some sort of proof of fishing prowess is disappointing. Keep it up and one day we’ll be just like Florida. I was talking with a buddy who guides in south Florida this past week and he was shocked that people over here are still proud of their “dock shots.” Those went out of fashion over there twenty years ago. On the day we were talking he had customers out and said he’d be happy to just be able to catch one solid trout. Don’t think it can’t happen here? It was only a few short years ago that his home waters were one of the top trophy-trout destinations in the country.

Yes, it is legal to keep your limit every day, but before you decide to max out that ice chest think about these photos. This is why conservation is an important conversation.

Open Camera and hover over QR Code. When link appears at top of screen tap to open in YouTube.

Looking Ahead To Tarpon Along The Beach

44 | May 2021

C O N TA C T

View The Video

Capt Scott Null guides in the Port O’Connor area specializing in throwing artificials and flies to everything from redfish to tarpon. He is also co-host of the very popular Bite Me A Saltwater Fishing Podcast.

Telephone Email Website

281-450-2206 captscottnull@gmail.com www.captainscottnull.com

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By Allison Baldwin | TPWD Artificial Reef Program

FIELD NOTES

FINDING ANSWERS UNDERWATER The Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD) Artificial Reef program was established in 1990 with a guiding mission to develop, maintain, promote and enhance the artificial reef potential in Texas Coastal waters. Funded through industry partners and grants, the program has established almost 100 reef sites that run along the Texas coast and include locations in both state and federal waters. These reefs include sunken ships, prefabricated concrete pyramids, culverts and a myriad of other suitable materials. All this sounds great, right? But how do we measure the success of an artificial reef?

The answer comes in the form of our biological monitoring program. Guided by a handful of burning biological questions, scientists must find a time and cost-efficient way to collect informative data. Each reef can vary greatly in the materials used, creating a problem for biologists attempting to gather consistent data. For instance, a field of concrete pyramids sitting in 70 feet of murky water will require different observation techniques than a deep-water oil and gas platform 90 miles offshore.

Different data snapshots can be combined to provide a picture of reef health. Vertical longline (VLL) fishing, water quality sampling, and scientific SCUBA diving make up the bulk of our biological monitoring techniques. Sampling physical water quality parameters such as temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen can 46 | May 2021

help us understand how environmental factors impact the biological community. Vertical longline sampling provides valuable data and physical measurements used to assess the Red Snapper population. These methods are tried and tested, and when combined, they can give us great insight. However, there is only so much we can observe topside.

Getting a fish-eye-view with scientific diving provides unique opportunities to monitor and record data below the waves. Divers can more easily observe the condition of the reef material and the diversity and quantity of its inhabitants. Scientists can get a firsthand look at how fish communities interact with the reef, and we can take note of any invasive fish species or unusual behaviors. Plus, it is very satisfying to see months, even years of paperwork and permit applications come to fruition as a teeming artificial reef! Nevertheless, working underwater can be inherently dangerous and it’s my job as diving safety officer to mitigate those risks.

TPWD Artificial reef program SCUBA dives under standards and procedures established and reviewed annually by the American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS). All employees must complete an extensive 100-hour training course which includes topics on specialized diving equipment, survey techniques, and emergency management. This may seem excessive,

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and while research and data collection are the goal, safety is paramount regardless of the diving method used.

We use two diving methods - Roving diver surveys are performed by swimming randomly for ten minutes on the reef material, identifying fish by species and grouping into abundance categories. If a diver observes a large school of Vermillion Snapper, they would record Vermilion Snapper and mark them as abundant (more than 100 individuals). Video surveys are similar in survey time and reef position but deploy a GoPro camera mounted on parallel lasers. Focusing on recreational and commercially important species, divers will position the laser dots centrally along the lengths of individual fish. Back in the lab, clear screen grabs are taken from the video and used in conjunction with the known distance between the lasers to calculate size estimates of these fish.

Both SCUBA survey methods can give us a great snapshot of the existing biological community on a reef and when carried out over long periods of time, can even show trends. One example is the Kraken, a 371-foot long ship which was reefed in the winter of 2018. All pre-reefing dive surveys performed at the Kraken reef site saw only a few species of shark and one very friendly cobia. Post reefing, TPWD divers have observed large schools of Red and Vermillion snapper, Atlantic Spadefish, mackerel, several species of jack and grouper.

Sometimes the baitfish are so thick it can interfere with the laser survey!

However, benefits always come with drawbacks.

Reef sites which sit in murky water or at extreme depths are probably not the best candidates for SCUBA. Vertical long lines and water quality sampling are just a couple of research methods used in addition to diving, so we can paint a more complete biological picture.

Ultimately, the monitoring we do lays the foundation for our program. Working with the knowledge we gain, TPWD can make valuable management decisions in building and placing new reefs. These artificial reefs go on to create enhanced fishing and diving opportunities for coastal communities, bringing both economic and biological success to the coast of Texas.

For more information about the Texas Artificial Reef Program, contact us at (281) 534-0147 or via email at ArtificialReefs@tpwd.texas.gov.

Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ TexasParksAndWildlifeArtificialReefProgram.

Check the TPWD Outdoor Annual, your local TPWD Law Enforcement office, or tpwd.texas.gov for more info.

48 | May 2021

TSFMAG.com | 49

Bayou channels provide protection and fishing opportunity on even the windiest days.

DAV E R O B E R T S

K AYA K F I S H I N G C H R O N I C L E S

LESS THAN IDEAL CONDITIONS The majority of fisherman will likely agree there are aspects of our sport we have to simply accept and learn to deal with. Weather is one of these. We would all wish for calm winds sunny skies every outing but in reality that rarely happens. It never fails that when studying the weather it always seems to just get worse. Of course, there is a point of severity where everyone should stop and decide to do something else besides get on the water. However, when conditions are somewhere in the middle and you decide to go, there are some things that can help make your day more successful.

As far as weather, I have no problem saying that if the forecast is calling for rain anglers should stay off the water.

Typically with rain, you get high winds and that is not a good place to be, especially in a kayak. Along with that is lightning, something we should never take lightly. Second chances don’t come too often in that department.

The major factor that makes for a difficult day of kayak fishing is wind. This is something that we have to deal with in some amount on most trips and at times it can be very frustrating. When the winds tend to be high you 50 | May 2021

need to find a place of refuge; some of my favorite places are bayous. These channels can provide a perfect hideout to break the wind and make paddling a little easier. On top of that, fishing in these areas can be great for all targeted species. This is also one of the times that I pay attention to the solunar and tide charts because I like to target the falling tides. Reason being that the water will be much clearer on average than any main body of water.

One thing that will make your day a whole lot easier is an anchor trolley. Rarely does the wind always work in your favor but with this you can change the pivot point of your Stake-Out Stick in relation to your anchor to keep your kayak pointing in the direction you prefer to be facing. The anchor trolley and Stake-Out Stick are musthaves on windy days.

Wind is the major factor but another really big one is sunlight. Overcast days can be tough, especially if you plan on sight-fishing. However, some of my most productive days have come on dark, overcast days. My personal theory of why this happens is because predator fish have the advantage when feeding in low light

TSFMAG.com | 51

Bayou prize - perfect twenty-eight-inch redfish on the measuring board.

View The Video

Open Camera and hover over QR Code. When link appears at top of screen tap to open in YouTube.

Dave Roberts’ Lure Selections for Overcast Days 52 | May 2021

Reds of all sizes inhabit bayous.

C O N TA C T

conditions. The longer the window of enhanced feeding opportunity the more they will feed.

One of my favorite lures for overcast days is the black She Dog. I tend to lean towards topwaters because you can cover a large amount of water and it is a very affective presentation. I like to believe that because of what little light there is, fish can look up to see their prey but their prey doesn’t have enough light to see what lurks beneath them; hence the predator fish’s advantage.

Windy and overcast can both be tough conditions. Where things get interesting is when you have both wind and overcast. However, this too can be overcome with a few other tips.

If you follow the QR code at the end of my article, I will explain some of my lure presentations and what I like to do on days as such.

Here’s a few more tips that I did not cover in my video that I would like to pass along. First is slowing down and fishing an area thoroughly. Odds are that the water may be a little murky and it will take some time for a fish to find your lure. This is why I like to throw scented baits or lures with a lot of vibration. My usual go-to numbers in this situation are Berkley GULP! under a popping cork and Chatterbaits.

Wakebaits can also be very productive in these conditions. Once anchored and staked out, always cover all the water in front of you before moving on – every little point, pocket, and patch of grass.

The weather will always be unpredictable, something we as anglers have to learn to deal with the best way we can. Sometimes you just have to go and that is completely reasonable, but please make good decisions. Remember, there is usually a fine line between what is acceptable weather and what is not. However, even when conditions are not ideal, proper planning can make your day on the water a success.

Dave Roberts is an avid kayak-fishing enthusiast fishing primarily the inshore Upper Coast region with occasional adventures to surf and nearshore Gulf of Mexico.

Email: TexasKayakChronicles@yahoo.com Website: www.TexasKayakChronicles.com

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Though not affected as badly as trout, redfish also deserve our help. Please consider keeping only what you need for dinner and releasing the rest.

By John Blaha

T S F M A G C O N S E R VAT I O N N E W S

TIME TO CHANGE Without a doubt, 2020 marked a year of great change in many ways and that change continues to evolve as we move forward in 2021. It’s hard to believe that it has now been a year since business of all types and sizes were shut down and forced to find new ways to continue operating. These changes were deeply rooted in survival as businesses and organizations across the world invented and employed them in order to remain viable.

CCA State Chapters made necessary changes, all while keeping in place the mission to continue their work to ensure our coastal resources remain robust and available to both present and future generations.

CCA as an organization continued its advocacy and habitat work, and worked closely with local chapters to raise necessary funds to keep the mission moving forward. As we began planning for 2021 with a new hope of moving forward with the hope of moving towards our historic “normal” the freeze of February hit, and hit hard.

As the long days of cold played out, photos and videos of 54 | May 2021

fish kills became the talk of the fishing community.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) began their survey process and the Commissioners met on March 25 to review reports from Coastal Fisheries Division field stations and biologists. Ultimately, the upshot of those proceedings was the announcement of emergency fishing regulations that would reduce the daily bag limit of spotted sea trout from five to three, with a “keep” slot of 17- to 23-inches, and no trout retained longer than 23-inches. This emergency measure was enacted to include all Texas waters south of the JFK Causeway to the Texas-Mexico border and became effective on April 1, for a period of 120 days. It also included an option to extend the time period for 60 additional days. Springtime population surveys via gill net began in April, and the results will continue to tell the story of the damage from the freeze. The debate among recreational fishermen as to the damage of the freeze is never ending, and while we have seen the damage, there

It’s up to all of us individually to instill solid conservation ethics in the next generation of coastal anglers.

Spotted seatrout deserve all the Catchand-Release help we can give them to boost spawning productivity.

has also been encouraging signs as well. Bottom line is the resource suffered a damaging freeze and fish kill and it’s time to change.

CCA Texas STAR Tournament Committee and CCA Texas leadership watched the freeze and how it played out in all bay systems very closely. The committee ultimately took decisive action that changed the format of the tournament to a no-kill, tagged redfish, Catch and Clip tournament. While the STAR committee continues to hammer out the details, this is setting the standard for other CCA chapter events.

The Babes on the Bay All Women tournament, hosted by the Aransas Bay Chapter, has switched to a Catch-Photo-Release format in 2021 and will not include spotted sea trout in any bags. Many chapter events are following this path as well. These changes by two major tournaments will hopefully change the standard by which many amateur fishing tournaments up and down the coast operate.

Many of these tournaments support worthy causes, but changes are necessary to ensure our coastal fisheries remain healthy. 2020 saw an increase of 25% plus in fishing license sales. If you follow real estate sales, the real estate market in rural and coastal communities has exploded as people look to leave the crowded cities. Boat sales continue to exceed all prior years, and people simply want to be on the coast. With a growing user group and growth of our coastal communities, it’s time to change.

There is still lots to learn about the freeze of February 2021. As the results continue to evolve and we make adjustments, think about the future and what we want the next generations of our families and friends to be able to experience. There is certainly great hope because

of past management practices that helped create a robust fishery, new attitudes in conservation, and a greater understanding by all about the results of good management and conservation-minded actions.

As we move forward in 2021 and beyond, we should all continue to educate ourselves and one another, and hold ourselves and each other accountable for actions and commitment to make the great coastal resources of Texas even better.

Be sure to visit www.ccatexas.org and www.startournament.org and follow social media of both for details about ongoing efforts of CCA Texas, and changes and details to the STAR tournament. CCA has partnered with Shimano and Harte Research Institute to create ReleaSense. The goal of ReleaSense is to advance the traditional role of anglers as leaders in fisheries conservation. Simply put; fish today with tomorrow in mind. Be sure to visit the ReleaSense website (www.releasense.org) and follow them on social media.

Lastly, CCA Texas and its local chapters are back in business! Be sure to watch your emails and mail for local chapter event details, and how you can get involved.

View The Video

Open Camera and hover over QR Code. When link appears at top of screen tap to open in YouTube.

Conserving Fisheries – CCA Texas and Releasense.org – Get on board!

TSFMAG.com | 55

Photo by Dan Pancamo (@pancamo). Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

STEPHANIE BOYD

F I S H Y FA C T S

BLACK SKIMMER The black and white livery, the beak formation, and the excited barking voices of the skimmers all combine to make one think of aerial beagles hot on the scent of aerial rabbits…The skimmers themselves are unreal and unworldly birds, with their impractical looking forward ends, the peculiar lightness of their lilting flight, and the calls that sound like dogs baying in a dream. ~ Robert Cushman Murphy, Oceanic birds of South America (1936) The black skimmer, Rynchops niger, is one of three very similar bird species in the genus Rynchops in the gull family Laridae. The genus name Rynchops is from the Ancient Greek rhunkhos, meaning “bill,” and ops, meaning “face.” The specific niger is the Latin word for “black.” It has acquired many common names in North America, including scissor-bill, shearwater, seadog, flood gull, stormgull, razorbill, and cutwater. Skimmers are highly modified tern-like birds. They have exceedingly long wings and a distinctive bounding flight style. The black skimmer is the largest of the three skimmer species. It measures 16-20 inches long with up to a 4-foot wingspan and weighing in at 7.5 to 15.8 oz, with males averaging about 12.3 oz and females at 9.0 oz. The plumage is starkly black above and bright white along the wing 56 | May 2021

edge and below, with a black/red bill and orange/red legs. This striking combination makes them easy to spot as they loaf on the beach with other shorebirds. Juvenile skimmers, by contrast, are mottled brown and black on top and off-white underneath, and the legs, feet, and base of the bill are dusky-red. Skimmers have small eyes that are rather hidden in the black head feathers, so that it almost looks as if they have none. Unlike most birds, they have cat-like vertical pupils, narrowed to slits to cut the glare of water and white sand, and allowing for better vision during times of low light. Their most prominent morphological characteristic is the compressed, bladelike bill, in which the lower part is noticeably longer than the top, sometimes by as much as an inch. This unique feature is an evolutionary adaptation to its feeding and foraging behavior.

Black skimmers have a large range. In North America, they can be found on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts, and occasionally on inland lakes in Florida and California. They favor coastal waters protected from open surf, such as lagoons, estuaries, inlets, and sheltered bays. In South America, they occur virtually throughout the continent. In the Caribbean, they can be seen as far east as the Virgin Islands and Grenada.

Individuals from northern North America migrate to the

southern US and South America or the Caribbean for the winter, while individuals from southern South America Photo by Dick Daniels may migrate farther north to Costa Rica. (carolinabirds.org). Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Skimmers feed by opening the bill and dropping the long, narrow lower mandible into the water, skimming along until they feel a fish – hence the common name.

When the bill contacts a fish, the bird quickly bends its head forward and reflexively snaps its bill closed, whipping the fish out of the water. Since skimmers rely on touch, not sight, to capture prey, they can feed during dusk, dawn, and even night. This method of feeding is called tactile foraging. The world’s three species of skimmers are the only birds on Earth that regularly feed in this manner. Their diet is mainly small fish that venture too close to the surface, such as minnows, killifish, and herring, though they’ll also eat shrimp and other small crustaceans and very occasionally forage by wading in shallow water. Foraging activity peaks during low tide.

Despite touch being their primary hunting tool, the bill is relatively poorly infused with nerves, certainly not comparable to the highly innervated bills of some ducks and wading skimmers. Black skimmers begin a courtship process once they arrive bird species. Black skimmers fall prey to many different types of at a breeding colony, forming pairs and establishing territories within animals. Mammals and predatory birds often eat adults and juveniles about one week. They are monogamous and males aggressively alike. Eggs are preyed on by rats, gulls, dogs, raccoons, cats, and protect their mates. Both the male and female dig shallow scrapes even ants. They form colonies to passively avoid predation. When in the sand, one of which will be selected as the nest site. This also threatened, individuals in a colony will fly and bark warning calls that allows the neighbors to know where the nest will be constructed. are spread by neighboring individuals until the alarm is broadcast The distance between nests is usually about 3 feet, but when space is throughout the colony. available, nests can be up to 13 feet apart. During courtship, a male Highly social, black skimmers spend much of their time loafing presents a fish to the female. Once the female accepts the fish and gregariously on sandbars. They bathe regularly in freshwater and holds it in her beak, copulation occurs. The female holds the fish in her preen often. When sleeping, they tuck their heads into the feathers beak during copulation and swallows it afterward. If a male can’t find on their back. They roost and breed in colonies that can include a fish, he may still be successful in courting her by presenting a stick or thousands of pairs, young and old – though in colonies that grow to a leaf. This ritual may occur several times a day. From mid-May to early that size, the birds tend to nest in clusters of 50 or so pairs. There is June, the female lays a clutch of two to six eggs. She may replace a lost no social hierarchy but they tend to be highly territorial of nest sites. clutch, particularly those destroyed by flooding. Egg laying occurs over They communicate with each other through both vocalization and a span of about 8 days. Sandy-colored with brown speckling, the eggs displays. The only vocalization is a yapping bark, which can be heard are well camouflaged within their scrape nest. Both adults incubate in many contexts, from predator sightings and foraging to fighting. the eggs, which hatch in a little less than a month. Within a few days, Males give calls slightly lower in pitch than females. Warning barks to they start to wander within the nest vicinity. If danger threatens, they intruding neighbors are often accompanied by head tosses and an attempt to look inconspicuous by lying flat on the sand, or making a aggressive upright posture. Bill-clicking can also sometimes be heard little hollow to lie in. Adults take to the air and aggressively mob any during conflicts. To avoid aggression when moving through a colony, intruders, or may feign injury to lure predators away. By two weeks old, skimmers walk with the bill held upright. Their barking earned them the chicks are able to elude predators. Both parents feed the chicks. the name seadogs in some areas of the US. Black skimmers in flight are Initially, both the upper and lower bill are equal in length, and the like an aerial ballet. They circle, bank, and alight as one. Activity peaks chicks can pick up food from the ground, but by fledging, the lower at dawn and dusk. Their flight while foraging is very graceful. The short mandible is already nearly a half-inch longer than the upper. Fledging stroke of their wings and the manner in which they seem to bound up takes about 4 weeks, with males taking a little longer than females. and down gives the impression of slow movement, and yet they can After fledging in mid-July to early August, they remain in flocks prior attain speeds in excess of 25 miles per hour. to fall migration. On average, females reach sexual maturity around Breeding occurs during the summer, generally starting in late April 3 years of age, and males around 4 years. The average lifespan in the or May. Skimmers nest on the sand along sparsely vegetated beaches, wild is 5 to 15 years. The oldest recorded black skimmer was at least sandbars, and dredge spoil islands. Nesting occurs in colonies of one 23 years when it was identified in 2013 by its band in California. It had to several hundred pairs. Successful colonies often occupy the same been banded in the same state in 1990. nest sites each year, returning where they have experienced past In late 19th century, eggs were harvested commercially, and adults reproductive success, provided that suitable habitat remains. Small were killed for their feathers, leading to a population reduction. colonies or those that are unsuccessful usually relocate. They often They’ve made a good recovery since those days, but are still very join colonies of common and least terns, which nest earlier than the sensitive to disturbance during nesting, such as people walking or TSFMAG.com | 57

driving through nesting areas. People love the beach, too, and are often unaware that their activities can cause problems for the birds.

Plus, people are relocating to the coasts at unprecedented levels, causing exponentially increased development and traffic on the beaches. Habitat loss due to coastal development is the main threat to the species. Because so many coastal habitats have been developed or otherwise modified, skimmers have become limited in their distribution over most of their range. In addition, pesticides can lead to shell thinning in eggs, and other pollutants can lead to a complete lack of shell formation. While not listed as vulnerable at a federal level, the species appears on the lists of several states. On a good note, the symbolic fencing, beach maintenance, and other management actions designed for the piping plover often benefit black skimmer nesting habitat as well, along with many other coastal nesting species.

animaldiversity.org/accounts/Rynchops_niger/ IUCN Red List www.iucnredlist.org/species/22694256/93442996 Coastal Review Online www.coastalreview.org/2010/12/the-black-skimmer/ Oceanic birds of South America, by Robert Cushman Murphy archive.org/details/oceanicbirdsofso02murp/page/1174/mode/2up Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/birds/shorebirdsseabirds/black-skimmer/ New York State Department of Environmental Conservation www.dec.ny.gov/animals/79513.html

Where I learned about black skimmers, and you can too!

Conserve Wildlife: Foundation of New Jersey www.conservewildlifenj.org/species/fieldguide/view/Rynchops%20niger/

American Bird Conservancy abcbirds.org/bird/black-skimmer/

Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_skimmer

Audubon Guide to North American Birds www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/black-skimmer The Cornell Lab: All About Birds www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Skimmer/overview Animal Diversity Web

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58 | May 2021

View The Video

Open Camera and hover over QR Code. When link appears at top of screen tap to open in YouTube.

TPWD: Take a look at efforts underway to save one of the most threatened coastal birds in Texas.

TSFMAG.com | 59

Thick, salty fog takes no prisoners as it envelopes everything on the beach.

ERIC OZOLINS

E X T R E M E K AYA K F I S H I N G & S H A R K S F R O M T H E S A N D

HAZARDS OF THE

SALTWATER LIFE

I’d truly rather fish the waters of the Lone Star State than anywhere else in the world. As Texans, we’re amply blessed with an astounding array of opportunities, not just in the fishing realm, but also the entire outdoor recreational world. The Texas coast, a unique gem of sorts, endures everything nature throws at it. The weather varies widely, from freakish snow storms to searing heat and hurricanes, stagnant droughts and saturating floods.

What many people don’t fully appreciate is the unforgiving hazard inherent to the air of the Texas Coastal Bend—corrosive and hostile, it takes a toll on everything it touches. Aggressively, the salty breezes protect our fishery, providing us with occasionally uncanny action, but our gear pays a high price in the process.

For surf fishermen, quality gear is our life’s blood. Like illustrious medieval swords, our rods and reels serve as weapons for us, the angling knights. And like the knight’s sword, our gear symbolizes power, authority, 60 | May 2021

pride, and commitment, in a world built around honor and chivalry. Just as the knights would kneel and pray to their swords, beach fishermen have been caught praying over rods and reels.

Because our gear plays such a critical role in our meaningful quests, most of us treat it with supreme respect. Despite our care and efforts, our equipment inevitably falls prey to the effects of the harsh coastal air. Pristine, shiny reels quickly begin showing signs of wear, aluminum becomes marked with pits, and bags of leaders recede into rusty graves which never release their grip. Though we valiantly fight the good fight, the outcome of the war remains inevitable, once the process officially begins. Corrosive effects prove impossible to reverse and all metallic items eventually succumb.

I fish and practically live on Texas beaches at least 100 days every year, so I feel the effects of corrosion on my gear more than the average angler, but no beach goer can hide from the Gulf’s cruel breath. Some areas of the Coastal Bend endure almost relentless onshore flow.

Corpus Christi ranks among the windiest cities in the nation. What makes the situation so drastic is the content of the restless air. Our surf acts like a washing machine, as turbulent waves crash onto the sand.

Salt sprays into the warm, moist air and blows onshore, essentially making the air toxic to all metallic things. Our regularly muggy, warm wind amplifies the speed and effects of the rusting process. Like graveyards, our beaches become the resting place for the rusted remnants of trucks, trailers, and all things made of steel. Anything other than stainless steel, copper or aluminum rusts almost immediately.

The rotors on the brakes of the truck grow a thin layer of rust in half a day. Grocery store shopping carts five miles inland show signs of noticeable rust within a month of use. After a year or so, corrosion renders the entire fleet useless. The whole process eventually proves truly catastrophic.

This hazardous activity also compromises our main fishing gear. If not rinsed properly after every trip, expensive aluminum reels used for shark and offshore fishing develop pits and calcium deposits almost immediately. The corrosive effects of salty air appear on aluminum first as small pits, or holes in the metal, initially not deep enough to affect the integrity of the material. Eventually, these pits eat away at the metal and render the gear useless.

The effects of saltwater differ on hooks and other non-stainless tackle. Hooks become compromised by corrosion almost as soon as they taste the air. A set of hooks left on the tailgate of the truck overnight show rust by daylight. If left exposed, they turn to dust in what seems a ridiculously short time.

Like the hooks, internal parts of the reels suffer greatly from the corrosive effects of salty air. Rusty bearings seize up, paralyzing reels and requiring replacement surgeries.

Some line-guides on fishing rods can also be compromised by corrosion.

Most stainless steel knives used for cutting bait and lines put up a good fight compared to other components, but they too exhibit signs of corrosion. Rusting generally makes metal brittle. Everything from EZ-Up style shades to portable gas grills are highly susceptible to rusting and live on borrowed time as soon as they’re introduced to the environment. But super salty air consumes more than metal.

Over hundreds or thousands of hours, the humidity and chemicals in the air break down the rubber on the handles of fishing reels.

Some paddles peel off in layers; others turn

Light rust forms overnight on vehicle brake rotors.

Even rubber reel handles deteriorate due to the corrosive effects of the beach environment.

Bucket items neglected for one month become useless victims of salt corrosion.

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PLA-EF-MYM-AD_7_5x4_875.pdf

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Frabill-THN-BearClaw_Texas Saltwater.pdf

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into a doughy goo. Another destructive effect of moist salt air occurs when thick fog blankets the beach. Then, the normally crystal clear epoxy on long rods turns cloudy, as the ever aggressive elements seep in. This nagging effect does clear up when the rod dries and is wiped clean.

Other things don’t fare so well—notably, our vehicles, the costliest casualties of salty air and water. Even professional undercoating jobs cannot fully protect them. My current 4WD has been a beastly beach machine, logging more hours and miles on Texas beaches than any other vehicle I’ve owned. I’m now pushing 100k miles on it, probably 80,000 of those being beach miles. Over time, I’ve replaced countless leaf springs and brake assemblies, and had both front and rear drive shafts completely rust through. Most bolts have completely rusted out, despite being washed after every trip. I routinely re-apply the undercoating, but the sand blasts the new surface and reduces its protective qualities almost instantly.

Like a knight caring for his horse, I’ve taken exceptional care of my truck and gotten more life out of it than most anyone else would, but the time will soon come when I must replace it. During this crazy time in the world, I cannot tote the note on a new truck alone. I need a sponsor to assist with my research studies and charters. Accordingly, I shout out to my brothers and sisters in the outdoor world, in search of help. I offer an amazing opportunity for a company, dealership or individual to sponsor a unique outdoors persona. A well-recognized individual in the angling world, I’ve appeared on TV shows, in various magazines, and produced plenty of good publicity on social media.

My trucks have appeared on the pages of this magazine through all the years I’ve written for the publication.

I need a new 4WD; its make is not important. I intend to personally and thoroughly undercoat and protect the entire virgin truck with some of the newest anti-corrosion technology available, covering many hidden areas which people missed in the past.

Through experience, I’ve learned techniques to use when creating the ultimate 4WD machine in which to battle the crusty coastal elements.

All knights need a horse to ride! Please contact me if you have any interest in sponsoring my endeavors. I hereby pledge to make you and/or your company proud.

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C O N TA C T

Eric “Oz” Ozolins Demonstrates Salt Intrusion on South Texas Beaches

For the past decade Eric ‘Oz’ Ozolins has been promoting shark catch and release and assisting various shark research programs. Eric offers guided shark fishing on Padre Island National Seashore. Also renowned for extreme kayak big game fishing, Eric is the owner of Catch Sharks Tackle Company.

Email Websites

oz@oceanepics.com oceanepics.com | catchsharks.com TSFMAG.com | 63

Port Mansfield East Cut & Padre Island Beach Cleanup

Miller and Kathie Bassler, founders and organizers of the Port Mansfield East Cut and Padre Island Beach Cleanup, have announced Saturday, June 5, 2021 for the twelfth running of this commendable event. Covid precautions precluded staging the event in 2020.

This means an usually heavy load of trash has washed ashore and accumulated along the banks and jetties of the East Cut and adjacent Padre Island beach. Normally conducted annually, the call for volunteers to assist in cleaning these waterways is therefore more fervent for the June 5 event than ever before.

“As always, we welcome volunteers with and without boats as the program begins at the Port Mansfield Chamber Pavilion at 7:00 AM on Saturday for breakfast, safety briefing, and marching orders. Many Mansfield fishing guides and other Port Mansfield businesses have participated in the past along with other volunteer boat captains to transport workers to the work areas and these have been a true blessing and the cornerstone of our success,” said Miller Bassler.

Bassler also mentioned the need for four-wheel-drive truck owners willing to drive the PINS beach from Corpus Christi to the East Cut. “Getting the trash from the East Cut and beach back up to PINS headquarters for disposal is always a logistical challenge. We are very grateful for the volunteers who make the 62-mile trek down the beach and back up, pulling trailers filled with bags of trash.”

64 | May 2021

Schedule of June 5 Cleanup Activities -Breakfast at Chamber Pavilion 7:00 AM. Volunteers are assigned to captains and provided sack lunch with plenty of drinking water.

-Transport to work area -Off the beach by 3:00 PM for transport back to Chamber Pavilion -Dinner is provided for all volunteers at Pelican’s Pub Saturday evening.

This is a family event and a great opportunity to teach youngsters the importance of stewardship of natural resources. Scout Troops, science clubs, and any other community service groups are welcome to join. We will also be joined by a newly-organized group, Costa Cleanups, led by Tonya Tallard. This group will focus on the south side of the jetties and beach back toward South Padre where all transportation will be via four-wheel-drive trucks.

Please mark your calendar and join in this effort. Plan a few days of vacation following the cleanup to enjoy the great fishing and relaxation that is so wonderful and unique to Port Mansfield.

For more information: Kathie Bassler – Kathie@BasslerEnergyServices.com – 979-204-5185 Miller Bassler – Miller@BasslerEnergyServices.com – 979-324-5555 Tonya Tallard – CostaCleanups@gmail.com Checkout highlights of the 2019 event: https://vimeo.com/354408025

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TSFMAG.com | 67

DICKIE COLBURN

DICKIE COLBURN’S Sabine Scene

You will have to excuse Sabine Lake fishermen if they are somewhat confused as to whether a record freeze or a catastrophic flood wreaks more havoc on the trout population.

While the lower coast lost more S ab i n e magnum trout over a three day period than have ever even passed through Sabine Lake, our smaller Harvey survivors apparently fared much Dickie Colburn is a full better. There was little or no chance time guide out of Orange, that we could possibly lose even a Texas. Dickie has 37 years single bragging size sow trout to the experience guiding on Sabine and Calcasieu Lakes. ice as we haven’t even seen one since that epic flood in 2017.

Telephone So the sixty-four-thousand-dollar 409-883-0723 question is where did they all go when Website the salinity bottomed out at zero? www.sabineconnection.com There were none floating along the shoreline in the main lake and that coveted bite in the deeper waters of the ICW and ship channel has been non-existent to this day.

The best news, however, is that our rebounding trout population took a very minor hit for two reasons during the February freeze. Sabine Lake is basically a large shallow bowl surrounded by significantly deeper water. The wind blew the water out for two days prior to the freeze so our fish had already been forced into deeper haunts.

In general, our trout bite has been pretty average for this time of the year and should continue to improve with a little help from Mother Nature. We are seeing consistently higher tides that flood the grass and back lakes resulting in more reds in the marsh and more flounder

68 | May 2021

on the shoreline.

Unless you simply prefer wading over drift fishing, there is no advantage to leaving the boat right now. Regardless of how stealthy you may be, you have a better chance of lightning crushing your topwater than a big trout. There are, however, a growing number of two- to four-pound trout on the prowl and I do mean on the prowl!

We are spending a lot of time drifting three to five feet of water well off the shoreline and it is rare to find a good school of fish holding in the same area two days in a row. For that reason alone, going “old school” and making long drifts until you locate active fish is the most productive approach.

Because there is so much loose mud on the bottom, dragging a jig across the bottom is no longer as effective as it once was. We are still making long casts with everything from a Corky to a Top Dog, but the better option for successfully dragging something behind the boat is to tie on a four-inch Sea Shad or Lil John under a cork.

That loose mud can also work on your confidence level as the clearest stretch of shoreline can be rendered miserably dirty overnight.

It’s all about the wind, but don’t automatically bail on an area due to limited clarity. Experiment with colors and length of plastics before moving on. Red shad has worked very well for me in really dirty water and the larger profile of a five-inch tail helps as well.

On even the toughest of days, we have managed to boat a few slot reds working shoreline grass on the north end of the lake. It is not unusual to see them pushing bait to the surface and there is no wrong lure for that occasion. A gold weedless spoon or a five-inch Gulp tail is hard to beat in even the ugliest water.

Every shoreline drain holds infinite possibilities this month, but that is no secret and I would never depend on being the first one there.

I prefer a stiff outgoing tide, but any moving water improves your chances. Unlike exploiting calmer water, fish with a jighead heavy enough to keep your plastic on bottom when targeting these drains.

We are already finding a few scattered flounder in the grass and Flooded grass yields they have been solid 16- to 19-inch another solid slot red! fish. We have been unable to sit in one spot and catch a limit, but they have been a welcome bonus when working a shoreline for reds with a three- or four-inch Usual Suspect swimbait.

Bunker shad, space guppy and morning glory have all worked well.

If they have never done it any other way, change will not be part of their learning process. That is just one advantage for youngsters eager to experience the thrill of fishing for the first time. Don’t pass on this golden opportunity to show your kids that conservation is not just another word…it’s a solution!

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3/30/21 2:31 PM TSFMAG.com | 69

BINK GRIMES

THE VIEW FROM Matagorda

We all like to catch fish; however, after the freeze there is that tad of doubt in the back of your brain, wondering what the coming days might bring to our bays. I am here to report we have been catching good numbers of fish this M ata go r d a spring and that makes me feel good.

Results have been positive, but let’s take this opportunity to change our attitude and put back more than Bink Grimes is a full-time fishing we take out. I feel the Good Lord and hunting guide, freelance spared Matagorda from what could writer and photographer, and have really been a bad outcome; owner of Sunrise Lodge on Matagorda Bay. nevertheless, I have been convinced to practice better proactive judgment for the good of our fishery.

Telephone 979-241-1705 Already we have seen some of the Email first topwater action of the spring binkgrimes@sbcglobal.net on MirrOlure She Pups. The best bite Website has come on MirrOlure Lil’ Johns matagordasunriselodge.com and morning glory Bass Assassin Sea Shads. Good catches have been posted in the back lake areas on Bass Assassins and other shad imitations. Most of the fish are holding tight to the grass line and coming out on the sand when the sun shines.

Good trout are showing at the jetty on live shrimp and I expect better action on the reefs with the swollen tides. East Matagorda Bay has seen its best action along the east end of the bay with stiff winds.

Most of the mid-bay reefs have been off limits with muddy water.

Expect the next calm day to produce better catches on the west end of the bay around the Tripod and 3-Mile Lake area.

The good news is most anglers are being very respectful of our trout stocks since the freeze and keeping very few if any until spring population surveys can indicate just how hard the middle coast was hit.

Redfish have been the mainstay so far this spring with high winds and higher tides, which has worked out great and taken pressure off our trout stocks. Shell in West Matagorda Bay has held lots of redfish for anglers on shrimp and cut mullet. It will only get better in the coming days with springtime tides creeping higher and higher. Good

numbers of redfish can be found with mullet on sand flats around the Diversion Channel. It’s really all about the tide and a waiting game for the reds to move from the deep to the shallows.

Jetty anglers have been enjoying bent rods with cracked blue crabs and shrimp. Many of the redfish have been oversized but plenty of slot reds have been found on adjacent flats. With tides continuing to swell during April, expect redfish to roam the grassy shorelines and the farthest reaches of the back bays.

If anglers on our boats are wanting to take a few fillets home to eat, we have been encouraging them to try black drum. Many prefer their firm, white meat over redfish. Drum numbers have been impressive this spring around reefs and on the edges of channels. Many captains have said they haven’t seen black drum fishing this good in a few years. May is always a great time to catch drum since they work the edges of reefs for shrimp and crabs during high tides.

As far as wading goes, more of our clients like to get in the water in May. We love to work the sand and grass in West Bay with small topwaters and soft plastics.

Follow our catches on Facebook and Instagram (@ matagordasunriselodge) and let’s all strive to be good stewards of our lands and coastal waters.

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May in Matagorda - Conserving Our Fisheries 70 | May 2021

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TSFMAG.com | 71

CAPT. SHELLIE GRAY

MID-COAST BAYS With the Grays So happy Karl and Katie Sonntag celebrated their seventh anniversary fishing with me.

Port O'Connor Seadrift

Captain Shellie Gray was born in Port Lavaca and has been guiding in the Seadrift/Port O’Connor area full time for the past 18 years. Shellie specializes in wading for trout and redfish year round with artificial lures.

Out with old in with the new. I know this doesn’t necessarily pertain to fishing but I can’t help but think of it Telephone when May comes around. This time of 361-785-6708 year the waters are warmer and we are Email bayrats@tisd.net seeing a transition in fishing patterns.

Website Lately I have witnessed schools of www.bayrat.com smaller mullet and other baitfish on Facebook our sandy, outer shorelines of our @captsgaryandshelliegray major bay systems. This is encouraging given that we lost so many baitfish during the freeze back in February.

Even more encouraging, I am also seeing good numbers of hungry gamefish trailing these schools of bait.

Trout numbers should continue to increase on the shorelines of Espiritu Santo, San Antonio, and West Matagorda. Since the winds are typically more tolerable at sunrise, I start my days on windward shorelines where the catching has been most productive. These windward shorelines usually have just the right amount of off-colored water when the wind isn’t too bad. Off-colored water is considered structure, the same as grassbeds and grass lines, offering camouflage and ambush opportunities for predators.

Winds typically pick up by mid-morning forcing me to move to leeward shorelines. You are probably wondering, “how much wind is too much?” Well, if waves start crashing over my shoulders and I am no longer able to fancast the area, able to cast only straight downwind, this is when I think it’s time to relocate to a calmer area.

When making the move, I typically focus on leeward shorelines with the most pronounced guts and abundant grass. These locations will hold the most baitfish, which is key when looking for an area to fish.

Look for water that has potential for catching. In that I mean, you want to see swirls, bait jumping, or any other surface activity that would indicate the presence of feeding gamefish. I definitely prefer to see these signs before committing to wading the area. Fishing in springtime is quite different than wintertime. Most productive areas in winter show few if any signs of surface activity because most of the feeding takes place nearer the bottom and more difficult for anglers to observe.

I also favor outside shorelines that lie adjacent to openings to back lakes, often referred to as drains or creeks. Please keep in 72 | May 2021

mind though, many of our back lakes have only one way in and out.

Don’t be the angler that camps in front of these openings because you will surely get run over by boaters that have no other access to the lakes. If you are not familiar with the back lakes in the Port O’Connor-Seadrift area and don’t know which openings may be a busy waterway, you should avoid setting up directly in front of the openings. Fishing to either side can often be just as productive.

If you have yet to enjoy much success with topwaters, May can be a great time to change your luck. I will opt for larger, noisier plugs like the full-size Super Spooks in choppy and off-colored water. The opposite applies in calmer and clearer water. Try the Super Spook Jr. instead. If you are fishing with a buddy or two, try a topwater while your buddy uses a soft plastic. It’s always interesting to see which lure will get the most attention on any given day.

Some days we will get a ton of blowups and few hookups. When this happens I usually have the client throwing soft plastics cast alongside the angler using the surface plug. Almost without fail, those finicky surface feeders will nail the soft plastic. Blowups alone are so exciting that it is not uncommon for me to leave a topwater on all day, whether I am hooking fish or not. On days when topwaters are especially effective, the only reason we take them off is due to floating grass.

Don’t let the strong winds keep you at home. May is a great month to fish and because we are lucky to have so many protected back lakes and shorelines on the mid-coast, we can all enjoy great catches if we remain patient, respectful of other anglers, and our resources.

I want to give a big shout out to my mom. She is undoubtedly the best mother in the whole, wide world (yes, I am a little biased). She is the wind beneath my wings and I would not be the angler and teaching guide I am today if it weren’t for her. Happy Birthday AND Happy Mother’s Day Mom. I love you more!

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How to tie a loop knot.

TSFMAG.com | 73

DAVID ROWSEY

HOOKED UP WITH Rowsey

Well, it has certainly been an bay back to a condition it has not been in fifteen years – with proper interesting couple of months since the management, slot limits, etc. freeze. I hope this finds everybody Here are a few observations since the freeze, via the tip of my own getting on the water and checking rod and the deck of my boat. There are still trout in the bay; they did the pulse of the bays as often as you not all die. The largest trout my groups have caught since the freeze is can. Unbelievably, I have received zero 5.5 pounds and we are jumping for joy with anything over 3 pounds. cancellations due to the fish kill; which Many, many small trout survived and these will be the backbone of our Upper in my mind solidifies that people love spawning biomass going forward. It is therefore paramount that we Laguna/ being on the water and enjoying the release every one we catch. It’s pretty crazy, one day we might catch Ba f f i n sport more than the kill. Speaking only 5-10 trout and the next will produce 50-60. Trout fishing is all over personally along with a handful of the board down here right now. lure-only guides, we’ve received no Redfish and drum seem to have done very well through the freeze pushback whatsoever regarding the as I am seeing the drum, and catching good numbers of reds daily.

David Rowsey has over 25 years release of all trout. This really makes me Baitfish seem to be in short supply, which could pose its own problems in Baffin and Upper Laguna feel good about the future of the bays for all gamefish. That being said, hopefully our big springtime tides that Madre; trophy trout with and also that the majority of sports are continue into May will fill the bay with new baitfish from the gulf and artificial lures is his specialty. realizing the future of the fishery rests replenish what perished. I will also add that we have popped some very David has a great passion for on our shoulders…and large flounder already conservation and encourages we can make a difference. in late-March and that catch and release of trophy fish.

Roland Dugas III of Hats off to everybody fishery does not appear to Baton Rouge with a Telephone releasing trout! have been affected in the post-freeze 6-pounder 361-960-0340 on Bass Assassin.

I have to admit being least. It might be hoping Website Released to spawn! frustrated with TPWD for a lot but maybe the www.DavidRowsey.com Email on many levels over the cold weather boosted the david.rowsey@yahoo.com past twenty-five years, southern flounder spawn. albeit they have done In closing, please let @captdavidrowsey many great things in that me ask all guides and timeframe. My biggest sports reading this to issue has always been that TPWD is reactive versus push Catch and Release proactive in doing what is best for the fishery. I’m glad to to the max. Our fishery eat my words and tip my hat for emergency regulations is going to need our enacted in the wake of the fish kill. help to make a speedier In case you are not aware, TPWD commissioners (March recovery. Considering the 25, 2021) enacted emergency regulations to create a number of people now trout bag limit of three fish per angler, with slot size 17- to utilizing the resource, 23-inches, for 120 days, in all Texas waters south of the conservation from all JFK Causeway. This becomes effective April 1, 2021. The of us is the future if we emergency regulations can be extended 60 days if deemed want to have healthy and necessary. This will allow TPWD to conduct their annual gill quality inshore fisheries. net surveys to provide a more accurate assessment of the Be a hero…let’s all do effect of the freeze on the seatrout fishery. what needs to be done.

Guides and sportsmen alike in bay systems north of the Proverbs 27:23 – Know JFK are of mixed opinion, with most believing that TPWD well the condition of your should have applied the emergency regulations beginning flocks, and give attention at East Matagorda Bay, to include all waters south to the Rio to your herds.

Grande. From photos and videos I saw, I can understand Remember the Buffalo, and appreciate their frustration. I would tell my northern Capt David Rowsey bay fishermen to not give up hope, as a change can still come based on the gill net surveys. TPWD will have a much better View The Video view when that is completed. I have a gut feeling that TPWD is starting Open Camera and hover over QR Code. When link to realize that the public users who fund them through license sales, appears at top of screen tap to open in YouTube. boat and trailer license sales, etc., are onboard for tighter regulations Finding and releasing Upper on trout that would provide not only numbers but also greater quality.

Laguna trout since the freeze.

As devastating as this freeze was, the upside is that we can bring the 74 | May 2021

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WAYNE DAVIS

WAYNE’S Mansfield Report

Greetings from Port Mansfield. As deep and catching big reds. eager as we are to put the February I have been setting up on windblown shorelines with small, freeze behind us I must say that these flooded drains and starting about 100 yards shy of the drain inlet. are challenging times for our trout This scenario has been working for us for years, especially this time fishery. Please do not misunderstand, of year. If we have an outgoing flow from a drain you can bet, more Port this not a doom and gloom report, often than not, there will be some action. If it is blowing greater than Mansfield simply a snapshot of reality. I started 15mph and the water is murky I am using a full-size topwater and/or fishing here in the early 90s and fishing a KWigglers Willow Tail Shad in Red Shad Pro or the KW 4-inch Paddle was excellent. Keep in mind we were Tail in Strawberry Cool Tip. Redfish have also been liking Rootbeer still in recovery of the twin ’89 freezes Metal Flake with chartreuse tip. When the winds are calm I am tossing Captain Wayne Davis has at that time and there were fish to be either a Spook Jr or a KW Willow Tail in the new Truth color. Another been fishing the Lower caught. So, the fishery rebounded then new Willow Tail from KWigglers is the Naked Margarita – Mansfield Laguna-Port Mansfield for and it can and will again, especially if Margarita without the chartreuse tail. A very natural color that is over 20 years. He specializes we do our part as anglers. One fact I did effective when the fish are finicky. in wade fishing with lures. not know was that our fishery prior to With wader season soon behind us, remember to prep and the most recent event was more robust condition your waders and jackets before storing them. Check out Telephone 210-287-3877 than it was in the early 90s. Actually, it my latest video via the QR code below to see what I do at the end of Email was more robust pre-freeze than ever every winter season. I’m all about taking care of the little things so the captwayne@kwigglers.com before, even with all the present-day bigger things can take care of themselves. angling pressure. This was an eye-opener for sure.

Thanks to all who dropped by the KWigglers booth at the There are some morsels of opportunity as we dig out of the Houston Fishing Show. We always enjoy meeting and greeting, post-freeze rut. Redfish are keeping our lines tight and flounder making new friends, and renewing old friendships. It was are evidently returning from spawning in the gulf. Trout fishing is encouraging to see folks are still engaged and looking forward to a gradually coming back, up to about three and sometimes a few good summertime fishing season. more per outing, but very few of nice size. It is my opinion the trout Until next time; stay safe and remember to Catch and Release as we are starting to see around Port Mansfield are coming up from much as you can. The more we release to continue spawning the the south. Trout fishing is better closer to South Padre; not on fire, sooner we can get back on those big seven-plus pounders. but relatively better. As summer rolls in Jane Wolf from Patrick Mobley from North Dakota and Ervin Yarbrough and with the increased tidal flow from Virginia, first time from the state of Washington enjoyed a great day our recently dredged East Cut, I expect wade fishing and recently on the Lower Laguna. First time wade fishing! there will be a few more trout caught first-ever redfish. in and around Mansfield.

So, having said all that, it is evident I have been fishing south more than north. About every four to five trips I will mix it up and work the northern part of the LLM just to spot check the area. My fishing state of mind is to be the first to find good fishing instead of playing catch up and fish an area that has been producing for a couple weeks. Exercising this tactic can be a little risky but as I fish more I feel I have been able to chip away at the risk part.

If you are the first to stumble upon an area that is holding fish it can be epic, so it is a strategy I use and deploy when variables in my fishing equation align.

With water levels on the rise and winds on the increase I have been View The Video working back bay flats consistently. One thing that boggles my mind Open Camera and hover over QR Code. When link is how many baitfish I am seeing in the back bays. I never would have appears at top of screen tap to open in YouTube. imagined that many could have survived the freeze but they did. With Capt. Wayne Davis Recommends the bait we are finding plenty of redfish to keep our lines tight as NIKWAX For GORE-TEX Waders noted earlier. There is absolutely nothing wrong with standing knee76 | May 2021

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1/27/21 10:21 AM

CAPT. ERNEST CISNEROS

SOUTH PADRE Fishing Scene Hector Guerra’s reaction is how we should all look when we’re landing a good one!

Arr o y o C ol o ra d o t o Po rt I sa bel

A Brownsville-area native, Capt. Ernest Cisneros fishes the Lower Laguna Madre from Port Mansfield to Port Isabel.

Ernest specializes in wading and poled skiff adventures for snook, trout, and redfish.

Mark Alaniz and Dale Raabe landed these Lower Laguna trout from deep water on KWigglers plastics - CPR!

I will begin with a question. How do you rate your punctuality; are you always on time or constantly running late?

Being too early or too late to an area can be crucial to your success.

If you have fished long enough then you know what that’s like. On some occasions these decisions can lead to discouragement and eventually cause you to leave a productive area too soon. On the other hand, getting there too late is almost as bad as, “You shoulda been here yesterday.”

I recently had a group of anglers for two days of fishing. After a slow morning on their first day, the bite suddenly turned on around noon as we ran into a large school of redfish. Everyone was catching solid fish one after the other. The bite lasted two hours, which coincided with a solunar major feeding period. We were excited to return to the same spot the next morning, much earlier in the day than the previous day’s catching.

Disappointment set in quickly as only two small redfish were caught in two hours of effort. What was different from the previous day? To start, the fish basically weren’t there; the tides were lower than the day before and the bait was not as abundant nor as active. From experience, and to our dismay, I realized we had showed up at the party too early.

It goes to say that I like fishing because every day is different; as conditions change, fish patterns change accordingly. So it becomes a chess game trying to figure out the moves or migration of the fish we are after. This is always challenging but that’s where the fun lies.

Keeping a log of successes will make you more consistent in the long run. Not only good observations during successful days, but also when the catches are few. Ask yourself during and after an outing: What were the tide and weather conditions compared with recent successes? What were the solunar feeding periods? All we can do is learn, apply, and hope the fish cooperate. Bottom line, being too early or too late can bring a humbling experience.

We are seeing steady redfish action although not all flats are holding redfish. For the most part they are still holding in pockets and not widespread as before the freeze. Areas to target are those with plentiful bait – mullet and brown shrimp. Small topwaters have been especially effective in and around potholes where bait is most active. KWigglers Willow Tails and Ball Tails are also drawing lots of strikes. Noteworthy

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78 | May 2021

is the number of undersized reds, which is a good sign for the future of the fishery.

Coming off a rather dismal winter trophy season I was very apprehensive about the condition of our trout fishery after the freeze.

Having said that, I am happy to report that the waters south of the Arroyo Colorado and down to the Brownsville Ship Channel are now holding surprising numbers of respectable trout. Over the past two months we have caught more big trout than the past two winters combined; the majority of which are coming from or near deeper water. KWigglers Ball Tails on quarter and three-eighths jigheads to reach the depths of ten to twenty feet has been the key to our success. We have also been finding some respectable trout on the flats as they transition toward traditional spawning areas. I expect increasing numbers of larger trout will begin showing up on the flats as the water continues to warm.

Our trout will be spawning steadily as summer approaches and I would like to encourage all anglers to practice catch and release to boost the reproductive cycle and speed the recovery of our fishery.

Texas Parks and Wildlife have enacted emergency regulations to further benefit the species. The lower portion of the Laguna Madre wasn’t hit nearly as hard by the freeze as Arroyo City and Port Mansfield. So, while it appears that trout may be flourishing in the southernmost region of the Lower Laguna, taking care of what we have down here will no doubt be critically important to the recovery up there. The topwater bite should really turn on this month. Key areas to focus on will be potholes on flats, spoil areas, and bait-filled shorelines.

My overall assessment so far; Port Mansfield and Arroyo Colorado areas were hit hard by the freeze, but now fish are starting to make their way to areas that were once void of bait and gamefish. Let’s be proactive and not reactive. Keep only what you can eat fresh and let the rest go to continue spawning. Best fishing!

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FISHING REPORTS

ORECASTS F from Big Lake to Boca Chica

AND

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com - 409.935.7242 James says the fishing has been excellent during the first part of spring in the Galveston area. “Over the last few weeks, wading has been the best way to catch ‘em. We have plenty of both reds and trout in the shallows in all the bays. The best locations have a mix of sand and shell on the bottom. Small topwaters like She Pups have been working great, as have soft plastics rigged on light jigheads. The wading should continue to be good as we move into May, especially in areas close to the pass, and around Pelican and Sand islands, where incoming bait usually stirs up a run of good trout catching. Keying on slicks and nervous looking bait in those places is the key. As the weather gets warmer toward the end of the month, fishing out of the boat will become more and more productive, as some of the fish move off the shorelines into deeper water. Then, the areas off Green’s and Mecom’s cuts should produce well, also the deeper parts of Campbell’s Bayou. Usually, the wading is better in May during windy stretches, and fishing the open water areas is better when the wind lays some.”

Matagorda | Bay Guide Service Charlie Paradoski – 713.725.2401 Charlie expects fishing to pick up once warmer days arrive. “We’re starting to see some grass growing again on the flats in both bays, which is a little late but a welcome sight none-the-less. The freeze pushed that back some. But, by the time we get to May, we should have plenty of grass and fish on the flats. Most of the people lately have been targeting drum and redfish using live shrimp or cut mullet and doing pretty well with those species. May can be a great month for topwater action on reds in some of the backwater areas and in the shallow parts of the coves tight to the islands. The Colorado River is still producing plenty of fish, and it can be a good option when it’s windy, but the fishing in there during the day isn’t nearly as consistent as it is at night. So, it’s a better option for folks who are willing to venture over that way under the cover of darkness. Maybe the most promising thing on the horizon for the trout fishing is the start of the surf season. If we have a relatively calm month, we might see a good run of big trout along the beachfront.”

Jimmy West - Bolivar Guide Service - 409.996.3054 Jim says he’s been doing well wading some of the shallower reefs and shorelines with a mix of shell and mud lately. “We’re catching decent numbers of trout wading. The best bite is when the tide is moving, as always. Doesn’t much matter which way it’s moving, but it can’t be slack. When the tide is higher, we’re doing better on shorelines where we find some scattered shell. On lower tides, fishing the reefs farther from the bank can be better. As we move into May, more of our fish will move into deeper pockets of water out around the mid-bay reefs, and we’ll target them by looking for slicks and mud stirs. Normally, we find some big schools of reds churning up the mud out there. We should also have some birds working as the shrimp move into the bays and marshes. When it gets windy, we can move into the bayous and marsh lakes and target reds. Occasionally, we catch some pretty big trout working that pattern, too. Overall, things look pretty promising, especially if we don’t have too many days of strong south or southwest winds. If we do, the beachfront in Bolivar usually produces best.”

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam www.palaciosguideservice.com - 979.240.8204 Fishing has steadily improved in the wake of this winter’s freeze.

Fishing for reds has been fast and furious in the local rivers. We’re throwing live shrimp under popping corks and trolling along shorelines. All the local rivers are holding plenty of redfish. The bite has been best where ditches or creeks dump into open areas. Seems like every time we troll by a cut in the shoreline we get a few bites.

Most of the fish we’re catching have been running between twenty and twenty-five inches or so. Trout fishing has gotten better too, especially since the glass minnow migration kicked into high gear.

The trout have been hanging out close to the clouds of minnows and have been aggressively attacking small topwaters like bone Spook Juniors and She Pups. Most of the trout are running between sixteen and nineteen inches. Flounder have made their way back into the bays too, and we’re picking up a couple most every trip. These fish are biting best around the mouths of creeks and sloughs. May should be great, with plentiful options, including the surf and the well pads out in West Matagorda. We should also start seeing tripletail under rafts of floating debris.

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays Randall Groves - Groves Guide Service 979.849.7019 - 979.864.9323 In a place where the main feature of the coast is a major pass connecting the bay to the Gulf, spring is the season for many species to move from the ocean to the estuary. Consequently, the arrival of various life forms in the pass and on the adjacent flats inside the bay is the main thing anglers await in May, Randall says. “We’re anticipating the arrival of the shrimp, glass minnows, ribbon fish, shad and squid.

They are usually here sometime in May. Some should be heading through the pass any day now. Once we see the bait species moving in, a vigorous bite from the predators usually follows. Keying on slicks and visible signs of life are then the keys. We try to match the hatch somewhat, throwing topwaters like bone Skitter Walks around lots of ribbon fish and dark soft plastics when we see birds hovering over the shrimp. It’s a cool month to fish the area around San Luis Pass, for both trout and redfish. I also want to make everyone aware that I’ve opened an RV Park that’s welcoming all fishermen and their boats. To check it out, look up fishcamprvpark.com, or call me directly.

80 | May 2021

Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith Back Bay Guide Service - 361.983.4434 In May, Lynn expects to be primarily fishing for trout in places where they are able to move back and forth from the bays to the Gulf. “In the spring, we usually have good luck fishing areas around the pass, on sandy flats with scattered grassbeds. The trout will ride the rising tides in, using the guts in the sand bars, and will spread out on the flats adjacent to the guts during the day, especially when the tide is high. We’ll throw topwaters early in the mornings, especially if we see lots of nervous mullet jumping, but we’ll throw soft plastics more of the time. The bite this time of year is usually fairly aggressive, so we like presentations with some speed and lots of erratic movement.

I’ll also spend some time fishing around shell in the main bays when I’m not wading the flats adjacent to the pass. Some of the main bay reefs hold lots of trout in April and May. Fishing around reefs is usually best on soft plastics, but it’s kind of like the fishing on the

flats. An incoming tide early in the morning increases the potential for a good bite on topwaters.”

Rockport | Blake Muirhead Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894 Blake expects a variety of patterns to produce well for trout and redfish in May. “One of the main things I like to do is fish the areas close to the Lydia Ann and La Quinta channels. This time of year, we catch more trout than normal in places like that, while the bait is making a push from the Gulf into the bays. We usually find our fish around riffling rafts of mullet in places like Super Flats and East Flats during May. Topwaters work well on some days, especially early in the mornings, if the tide is moving in. I also like to fish sandy, grassy shorelines, staying tight to the cord grass on the bank. We catch some of our biggest trout of the year during spring working this pattern.

On the calmest days, two other patterns come into play. The mid-bay reefs produce well at times, with soft plastics usually working best out there. And, if the winds calm for a couple days, the surf can be the best place to be. I usually make a few trips around the jetties and up the beach this month when the water’s green to the beach.”

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut Robert Zapata – rz1528@grandecom.net - 361.563.1160 May weather typically makes it a great month to be out on the water fishing. The menu will include a variety of fish, including some of the big trout which make this area famous, also redfish, flounder and black drum. Because of the variety of lures that work well this time of year, catching fish is packed full of fun. We find most of our fish in less than two feet of water, in areas with lots of grass and scattered sandy potholes. We also do well along grass lines and drop-offs from shallower to deeper water. The trout will be spawning and active in the shallows. We focus on areas with slicks and/or good concentrations of mullet to decide where to fish, approaching them quietly with the trolling motor before getting out to wade. We like to throw Bass Assassin Die Dappers on sixteenth-ounce jigheads.

Of course, we tie them onto fluorocarbon leaders. If the bite with lures gets slow, we won’t hesitate to switch over to live shrimp under popping corks, especially if strong winds muck up the water a bit.

Dangling Gulp! products about a foot under a Bass Assassin Kwik Kork is another good option.

Corpus Christi | Joe Mendez – www.sightcast1.com - 361.877.1230 May is typically a great month to fish for trout and redfish in the Upper Laguna Madre and Baffin Bay, Joe says. “This is one of the best months for a combination of fast action and potential for big trout. We did, of course, lose some of our trout in the February freeze, but we’ve been catching decent numbers of bigger than average trout in the shallows lately, and May is historically a good month to catch some of the big female trout, while they are in active spawning mode. Of course, all of us should do what we can to preserve fish for the future by catching and releasing trout, especially the big ones. People sight-casting from the deck of a boat should be prepared to handle their fish at the gunwale, even when taking pictures, and release the fish quickly, without slinging them onto the dry deck. This helps ensure the fish will survive after they’re released. Of course, fishing for redfish in the shallows is also good in May, especially in the mornings, on flats with lots of grass and scattered sandy potholes. After the sun gets up some, fishing for them is better in four to five feet of water.”

P.I.N.S. Fishing Forecast | Eric Ozolins 361-877-3583 | Oceanepics.com The Texas surf has seen some highs and lows recently. Water temps took a long time to warm up and induce migrations after the big chill.

The mullet took a beating from the cold, and have been noticeably absent, especially from Rockport south. Without a strong run of mullet along the beach, we have had low numbers of some of the predators who prey primarily on them, like jack crevalle.

However, we have caught some big jacks and oversized reds recently, using fresh dead whiting. Sharks are currently starting to really make their presence known in the surf zone. Mostly, they’re refusing to take stingrays, as they normally would, preferring whiting, sheepshead and pompano instead. During every calm spell, we’re catching pompano on shrimp and Fishbites. This should remain the case throughout the month of May. Trout have been thicker than normal in the surf this spring. Targeting them with topwaters, spoons and soft plastics will produce best results, during times when the waves aren’t too rowdy.

While wading this time of year, beware of the stingrays, as they move into the shallows in big numbers. Always shuffle the feet to keep them in touch with the bottom.

Port Mansfield | Ruben Garza Snookdudecharters.com – 832.385.1431 Getaway Adventures Lodge – 956.944.4000 Anglers in the Port Mansfield area are doing well targeting red and black drum lately. Trout fishing has been slower. Those bent on targeting trout should try the following areas this month: behind the cabins to Benny’s Island, east of Benny’s to the Pipeline. Relatively deep water is usually productive this time of year. North of the East Cut, fishing off the break in four to eight feet of water from the Weather Station to Jones Cut historically produces good catches.

On the west side, the stretch from Century Point to the Oak Mottes deserves some attention, when winds calm. Community Bar can also hold lots of trout in spring. Currently, we’re catching reds steadily, and the topwater action has been sizzling. We’re throwing Heddon’s black or bone One Knockers. Gold, weedless spoons also work well, for those who don’t want to work topwaters. Areas from West Bay south to Peyton’s Bay have been holding good numbers of reds. Also the stretch from the King Ranch pier north to Gladys’ Hole. Knee to thighdeep waters in the Saucer have also produced fast action at times for the reds. We’ll continue hoping the trout action picks up and enjoy playing with these aggressive reds.

Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel Aaron Cisneros | tightlinescharters.com – 956-639-1941 As is typical when the spring winds start to crank up, we’re finding a decent bite when targeting trout in shallow water along windblown shorelines lately. Action has been fairly steady on KWigglers in plum/ chartreuse rigged on eighth-ounce screw-lock jigheads. We’ve been working them fairly fast and making lots of erratic twitches with the rod tip to earn the most strikes. During the peak of the spawn, it’s not unusual to find large female trout mixed in with a bunch of small males, so we’re persistent as long as we’re getting plenty of bites. Fishing for reds has been outstanding. We’re catching best in shallow water, in places where a mostly grassy bottom has large sandy potholes scattered around. We’re getting most of our strikes around or in the potholes, throwing KWiggler Ball Tails in colors like lagunaflauge, rigged on eighth-ounce heads. Rising tides have filled the tidal flat lakes, and fishing for reds has been excellent in the ones on the island side of the bay when the wind really cranks, because many of these backwater areas offer protection from the strong breezes. Action should remain steady in these areas until the really hot weather comes to stay.

TSFMAG.com | 81

Mason Little Galveston - first keeper!

Andrew Maddox Seadrift Bay - 51” redfish CPR

Kyle Hunt POC - 77.8 lbs cubera snapper 82 | May 2021

Kennedy Little Galveston - first keeper!

Sam Bumbaugh Port Mansfield - 22” redfish

Becky Carroll West Matagorda Bay - 25” redfish

Susan Cahill Galveston - 32” redfish CPR

Isael Morales Baffin Bay - 28” redfish

Clifton Gillock Port Mansfield - 26” redfish

Alison Thiemer redfish CPR

Nolen Baker Chocolate Bay - 27” 8 lb trout CPR

John Wood West Bay - 28” trout

Photo Gallery Guidelines First come – first published!

Photos are judged on artistic merit and sporting ethic displayed. No stringer, cleaning table, or hanging board images allowed.

Digital images only. Adjust camera to high or best quality. All images become property of TSFMag. Email to: Photos@TSFMag.com Include short description of your catch with name, date, bay system, etc.

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Isael Morales II Baffin Bay - 28” trout CPR TSFMAG.com | 83

PAM JOHNSON

Gulf Coast

Got ideas, hints or recipes you’d like to share?

Email them to pam@tsfmag.com or send by fax: 361 792-4530

Creamy Cajun Black Drum This recipe features juicy, golden, pan-fried drum fillets in a zingy cream sauce.

INGREDIENTS

PREPARATION

6 medium to small drum fillets 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon + 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning (suggest a no-salt or low-salt variety) Flour for dredging 2 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoon olive oil 3 cloves garlic minced 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes 1/4 cup chicken broth 1 cup heavy/whipping cream 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese Salt & pepper to taste

1. Sprinkle fillets lightly with salt and pepper, garlic powder, and 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning. Coat lightly with flour.

2. Add butter and oil to a frying pan over medium-high heat.

Once the pan is hot, add the fillets. Cook for 4-5 minutes per side until golden. Remove from pan and set aside.

3. Add the minced garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and chicken broth to the pan with remaining drippings. Let it bubble for about 30 seconds.

4. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the cream and remaining 1 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning.

5. Add fillets back to the pan with sauce and cook another 5 minutes until sauce begins to thicken. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

84 | May 2021

Science and the

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A Familiar Flip of the Fin Whether it’s a swagger or waddle, a strut or a prance, the way a person walks can reveal a lot about their personality before they say a word. It turns out, the same may be true for fish. We don’t exactly have words, yet, for what a swordfish’s swagger or a sturgeon’s strut might look like, but scientists may soon. A group of researchers recently documented the fin movements of three-spined sticklebacks and found them to be distinctive enough to identify each fish by how it swam. Those movements revealed traits of the fish’s “micro-personality” in the same way a person’s gait can suggest they’re shy or outgoing, confident or anxious, bold or cautious.

Three-spined stickleback fish can be identified by their movments.

Credit: Creative Commons, JaySo83, CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 Three-spined sticklebacks have long fascinated scientists because their physical characteristics vary greatly within populations. Most species live in saltwater but breed in fresh or brackish water. Most are social and demonstrate complex reproductive behaviors, such as building nests and caring for their eggs. Their diversity and complex behaviors make them useful for studies of evolution and how populations differ genetically.

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To learn about their swimming styles, researchers filmed 15 sticklebacks in three tanks with different arrangements of plastic plants. Each fish used a set of unique movement patterns they repeated frequently enough that researchers could soon tell which fish was which simply by their movements, regardless of which tank they were in. Being able to identify a fish by how it swims could have implications for how scientists track fish in the open water, possibly helping improve the ability to learn about fish populations, to protect threatened species and to manage fisheries sustainably.

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TSFMAG.com | 85

S P O N S O R E D B Y C O A S TA L B E N D M A R I N E

C H R I S M A P P ’ S R E PA I R & M A I N T E N A N C E

SIMPLE TIPS FOR AVOIDING COMMON PROBLEMS Summer is one month away and lots of folks are anxious to get on the water. This month’s maintenance tips may the simplest but can have the Chris Mapp, owner of most profound effects.

Coastal Bend Marine and Flats Cat Boat Company.

We see an average of fifteen Great Service, Parts & Sales. boats each year that have water “What can we do for you?” intrusion into the hull. The intrusion is surprisingly simple to avoid and there are two main scenarios. First is forgetting to install the drain plugs before launching the boat – and Outboard manufacturers apply identifying codes to keys and ignition switches.

always keep a spare set. Second is forgetting to remove the plugs when storing the boat outdoors and rainwater fills the hull.

Another common problem is misplaced ignition keys. Most owners have a spare but it’s often at home, several hours away. All outboard manufacturers mark ignition keys with an identifying code. The same code can be found on the ignition switch itself, sometimes visible from the outside or sometimes when the switch is removed. As a multibrand outboard dealer we carry a wide assortment of replacement keys. Keep a spare on the boat!

This last tip is significant and worth repeating at every opportunity.

Squeeze the fuel primer bulb (if equipped) until firm to prime the engine before every outing. Fuel flashes off when the engine temperature under the cowling increases, causing stalling, hard starts, no starts, and engine misfire conditions. Fuel, when heated, changes state from liquid to vapor. Failure to prime the system creates a low flow and supply condition that can be more fumes than liquid.

Have a fun and safe summer!

Chris Mapp - chrismapp@coastalbendmarine.com Coastal Bend Marine | Port O’Connor, TX 361-983-4841 | Coastal Bend Marine.com

86 | May 2021

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Available in Casting & Spinning Models

SOLD EXCLUSIVELY AT 88 | May 2021

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