This has been the coldest driest winter I can remember in the past five years. The September 2017 forecast that I read had me convinced with El Nino that our winter in the middle Texas coast was to be warmer and wetter than normal. I guess that’s why it’s called a forecast instead of ‘what’s really gonna happen’ because to me, that was way off!
I have almost gone broke in my petty cash fund this winter buying enough hot hands warmers to put in my pockets to withstand these days where the temperatures have not moved the mercury past the low 40s. The thing about being a guide in these parts is you know most of the year you will be in shorts and flip flops with a nicer fishing shirt which is what customers expect you to be wearing. Duck season rolls around and we switch costumes wearing more gear which consists of breathable waders and layers upon layers of base wear and jackets. More for show usually than necessity, we proudly wear these garments because we bought them and can’t fail to use them once in a while. However this year it’s been one of those times where you cannot put on enough gear. My toes are frozen most of the day and I usually lose feeling in my fingers around nine.
We are earning our money for sure right now when duck hunting and fishing out on the salt water. The ducks have been somewhat consistent in flight patterns but the fish have been more predicable. A positive effect of these cold blasts has been the timely movements of the fish as they attempt to stay alive and move to warmer waters. It’s been years since I have been so successful at finding good numbers of solid redfish and black drum but also speckled trout. Whether I’m working the bottom of a deeper gut with dead shrimp in water temps near 48 degrees or working a soft plastic under a popping cork in 56 degrees it’s been all good with customers boxing limits to near limits for multiple species during a four hour trip!
The key to surviving and prospering during these cold dips is preparedness. I have said it before that I not only have layers on my body but backup layers of clothing in tightly secured plastic bags just in case the water seeps in and freezes my program. Kudos to these fish which can adjust to swings in water temperatures by moving around to find slight warming trends from the depths. When we bring a redfish to the top and it feels frozen to me but had a robust fight to the top bowing up our rods it makes you think these guys are superior to the human race. Give me layers upon layers and I can hang with them but you won’t find me proving any kind of toughness joining the polar bear club of those Northerers. Heck I can’t feel my fingers to remove any gear any how!
Capt Stephen Boriskie
Bay Flats Lodge
Seadrift, Texas
888-677-4868
