As the surface water temperature cools the topwater bite for reds will go bonkers on back water flats. Two of the top lures are a Super Spook Jr. in red/white, or a BaDonk-A-Donk in silver/chartreuse. Robert Sloan photo
September is truly one of the best months of the year here in Port O’Connor. Right about now is when we can double down on game and fish with gun and rod. One of the finest options we have right now is to hunt doves in the morning and fish for trout and reds in the afternoon. As of Saturday Sept. 13, we have the option of teal hunting in the morning, catching a football game and nap in the afternoon, then making a run for trout and reds. It doesn’t get any better than that.
September and October are two of the best months for wade fishing the flats in Port O’Connor for trout and reds. I recently had a trip with a client and we caught and released numerous reds and trout while wading a gin clear flat in 12 to 18 inches of water. The best bite was on a 3-1/2 inch Bomber Ba-Donk-A-Donk in silver flash/chartreuse. In the deeper guts use a 3-inch Yum Money Minnow swim bait in chartreuse/white or pearl on a 1/8 ounce Bomber Shad Head jig in white or chartreuse.
Early season teal hunts should be better than average
Texas duck hunters should see more action during the early teal season, Sept. 13-28, thanks to near record numbers of birds and an anticipated typical migration pattern, according to Steve Lightfoot with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
“Prospects for the early teal season are looking very good, especially compared to the last few years,” says Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Waterfowl Program Leader Kevin Kraai. “First, blue-winged teal populations are near record high numbers, and production reports are excellent. Additionally, unlike last year’s very late spring, nesting efforts were more on time this year and thus should result in a timely migration that will overlap better with our teal season dates.”
Texas hunters can take up to six teal daily during the 16-day season.
Biologists say habitat conditions across most of Texas are much improved from previous years. The coastal marshes and prairies were rapidly drying out late this summer before some very welcomed rainfall, near the end of August, put more shallow fresh water on the landscape and freshened up salty marshes.
“The ponds, lakes, and reservoirs of central and eastern Texas could use some additional water,” says Kraai. “But hunters that seek out the shallow waters of many of the water bodies that remain will likely encounter many of the migrating teal leaving the breeding grounds and moving though the area daily.”
New red snapper reporting program shows promising results
As one of the most sought after fish in the gulf, red snapper became the subject of a new reporting system that has shown favorable results.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Coastal Fisheries Division staff asked Texas anglers to report their red snapper landings beginning June 1, at the start of the nine-day federal season through their pilot reporting program and submit basic information about their catch. The survey questions included the trip’s total red snapper catch, the date it occurred, the number of fish landed, etc.
“Red snapper in Texas waters are doing great and show no signs of slowing down,” says Jeremy Leitz, Regulations Program Specialist at TPWD.
Overall, 119 fishing trips were recorded through a new online reporting system. More than 700 anglers harvested 1,511 red snapper within both federal and Texas state waters this past June.
TPWD recorded an additional 4,096 red snapper from targeted creel surveys conducted at boat ramps. The survey information was gathered from 1,917 anglers.
Although the 2014 federal season is over, anglers fishing in state waters are encouraged to continue to record their red snapper landings at www.tpwd.texas.gov/snapper.
The data, along with other harvest monitoring programs, will be used to help design future harvest programs and indicate the health of the red snapper fishery off Texas shores.
