Historical fishing logs show us that February can sometimes turn out to be one of the absolute coldest months of the year. When the air and the water get really cold, anglers should look for the trout bite to be cooling off as well. The fish’s metabolism begins to slow down with the drop in temperature – the colder it gets, the slower their metabolism becomes. This is a time when the fish will generally seek the protection and somewhat warmer surroundings that is typically offered to them by deeper water, and will often feed at a very reduced rate as compared to the warmer months of the year.

Some of the best trout that have ever been taken out of Texas bays have come during the month of February, and this year shouldn’t be any different. Anglers should focus their efforts this month in places consisting primarily of grass and mud in protected coves and area drains, channels, and bayous that are situated as entrances and exits in and out of some of the larger back lakes located out on Matagorda Island. Those targeting big trout will be required to work their baits slowly as they anticipate what often proves to be a very minimal “bump” at the other end of their fishing line, especially when wintertime waters get extremely cold.

For all of the coastal anglers who are truly serious about their will and ambition for chasing trophy cold-water trout, they should never leave home without having a few slow-sinkers (suspending plugs) in their tackle box. Some old pluggers still toss the original MirrOlure 51 and 52 M/MR Series baits. These used to be the all around utility bait back in the early years, especially in wintertime on finicky trout and redfish. A couple of today’s popular ones that have evolved over the years, and that have proven to be all time favorites along the Texas coast, are the original Corky and the Corky Fat Boy.

Using soft plastic tails can also yield full stringers of wintertime trout, but anglers may find it to be in their favor if they use a lighter jig-head this month. Cold temperatures tend to make the fish somewhat lethargic at times, so anglers should downsize to a 1/16-oz. jig-head on plastic tails, slow down on their retrieve, and use a smaller diameter fishing line in hopes that doing so may enhance a better feel of what’s normally a much slighter “wintertime strike”. It’s February, which means it’s time for big trout. It also means anglers might work hard all day for just a few bites, but they’ll still have lots of fun doing it.