Robert B. party with Bay Flats guide Steve Boldt using live shrimp on some undisclosed shell pad near Mesquite Bay, early June.

Most of May was spent fighting nagging winds that often would persist even throughout the nighttime hours and on into the next day. We spent the majority of our time running for sheltered shorelines and scouting the many back lakes for a place to park on most days. It was a tough time for anyone who was trying to be successful at coastal fishing on a regular basis, but lately it seems as though the beginning of June may be bringing us a well-deserved slack period in the wind. Many of the low pressure cells that brought a lot of the highly welcomed May precipitation with them have just now been replaced by the latest high pressure area that the weather folks say might be with us for a little while. Resultant of this, the winds in recent days have seemed to return to normal and have once again allowed us to broaden our horizons in our daily search for summertime speckled trout and red fish.

Like I said, high winds the past few weeks placed us in survival mode when looking for acceptable places to fish, but since the winds have now laid a bit, we’re getting back to being able to explore more open and exposed areas like that of the many mid-bay oyster reefs out in the upper and lower parts of San Antonio Bay, and we have even managed brief success as of late over some of the isolated shell and grass down in Mesquite Bay. Another positive prospect presented to us with the presence of a little less wind has been some of the many little islands that populate the Port O’Connor and Seadrift areas of Espiritu Santo Bay, San Antonio Bay, Mesquite Bay, and even over in the West Matagorda Bay arena. We have noticed that our greatest rewards around these small mid-bay islands occur on the down-current side of the island during a falling tide. Most of the islands we’ve waded the past few days have had a great deal of shell mixed with soft mud and grass, or sandy spots positioned haphazardly amongst bottom grass beds. When approaching these little island areas, and unless you are able to visually see the bottom, it might be in your best interest to try to examine the make-up of the bottom structure prior to exiting the boat. There’s often a soft side to the island, and then there’s often a more firm side to the island. In places where marsh grasses may make their way down from the island bank and lead directly into the water sometimes signifies some of the softest mud you’ll find anywhere, and may make wading nearly impossible. Another good thing to keep in mind when fishing these places is that they are, in fact, islands that are surrounded by open bay waters, so you should always be aware of the possibility of sudden drop-offs into much deeper water whenever you’re wading these areas.

Back in May we tended to find that the fishing was somewhat inconsistent from day to day, with one day being very good, and the next day very slow – “very good” meaning limits of trout or red fish, and “very slow” meaning we simply didn’t experience catches at the level that we are generally used to seeing. However, the last few days have shown us less wind which means greater opportunity, which has resulted in better fishing. There’s a lot of shrimp in the water right now, so many anglers have been throwing artificial baits like the plastic shrimp tails that have either the regular tail on them or the paddle tail. I like using the regular tailed shrimp baits in water that’s clear and clean, while saving the paddle-tailed shrimp baits for water that’s murky or stained. If the day is sunny without much cloud cover and the water in clear, I like throwing brighter colors, with strawberry/white being my absolute favorite. If the sky becomes overcast, or the water is not clear, then I’ll change my presentation to that of a darker color like the plum/chartreuse. Rigging these shrimp tail baits a couple feet beneath a popping cork is also a good summertime alternative that has worked for us more times than can be remembered.

With the summertime heat rapidly encroaching upon us, please keep in mind that it is of utmost importance that you apply plenty of sunscreen first thing in the morning, re-apply it throughout the day, and then put some more on – skin cancer in later years is no fun, and it can be downright dangerous to your health. Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants, and drink plenty of fluids (non-alcoholic fluids) all day long. 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