The autumn season has just begun, and milder temperatures will slowly become the norm rather than the exception. With these milder conditions coastal anglers will have chances at taking advantage of some new opportunities that previously may not have been available to them over the course of the previous hot-weather months. But in order to be fruitful in the emergence of this year’s fall fishing pattern, anglers will need to take a close look at some of the changing criteria that could help them become successful along the way.

First, the dominant winds out of the south will slowly begin handing-off their authority to a northerly influence. This should prove to be rather slight in nature during early October, but should also signify to anglers the importance for them to begin thinking of a new approach for days when they may be out on the water when northern winds are stronger than usual. In as such, coastal anglers will soon be required to find areas that support comfortable, yet productive, fishing conditions. This will probably mean that many anglers will need to find shorelines that are protected from the north wind – a practice that might just be downright new to a lot of us. Whenever I’m forced to look for such areas, I always make it a point to try to promise myself not to stop on any shoreline that doesn’t appear to have any bait activity. Granted, bay waters will have already cooled a bit in October, but not yet to the point to where bait activity will have been greatly affected. When you do find bait in a place protected from the north wind, pay attention to the color of the water. If you happen to be fishing during the actual occurrence of a cooling frontal passage, the water may not be as clear as it would be otherwise. When this is the case for me, I always throw darker baits while casting to jumping and nervous mullet. As we get closer to the much colder days of winter, the bay waters in our coastal bend area will start taking on a crystal clear coloring effect. Once that begins happening on a regular basis, I will start to consistently throw baits that have some sort of bright color associated with them – dark plastics that have a very dark body, but that also have a very bright tail.

A second item on the criteria list for a rewarding autumn will be my ability to locate supporting structure. What does that mean exactly? This means that if I’m picking a protected shoreline on which to start my day, I’m going to want to find one that has shallow water immediately adjacent to some deeper water. These autumn fish are often traveling to-and-from a bit deeper water this time of the year, approaching the shallows in order to warm-up a little during the daytime sunlight. I also like finding protected shorelines that have a lot of small patches of shell scattered all along the banks. Trout like these areas, but the red fish action can simply be tremendous in places like this in October. Now then, if I happen to be fishing the open water of the bay on the third day (normally the first calm day) following the passage of a cool front, then structure takes on an entirely different meaning for me. Open-water structure, for me, means only one thing…..shell. Due to the fact that I’m located so close to San Antonio Bay, I’m fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of some of the finest fall shell fishing that the Texas coast has to offer. Say Antonio Bay is littered with shell reefs and pads, all of which tend to come alive at this time of the year when the waters begin their annual cooling period. I’ve achieved some of my absolute finest days on the third and fourth days after a cold front while fishing on top of and around the shell reefs in San Antonio Bay in October and November. If you haven’t tried it, you really should!

In wrapping up this edition of Guide Lines, we wish to remind all of the rapid approach of the upcoming waterfowl season, with this year’s duck season being November 3-25, 2012, and then again on December 8, 2012, through January 27, 2013. We will soon commence our annual preparations of the blinds, and we recommend November as being a wonderful time of the year to experience a “Blast & Cast” trip, also known as our Duck-Fish Combos – hunt waterfowl in the morning, take a short break, and then exchange the shotgun for top water lures in the afternoon. Remember to practice CPR, “Catch, Photo, and Release”, whenever possible on trophy Trout and Reds…Guide Chris Martin, Port O’Connor/Seadrift region. www.BayFlatsLodge.com…1-888-677-4868