The second half of January was middle-of-the-road with decent catches of fish and average straps of ducks. Milder weather dominated the days making me think we will have an early Spring and maybe a rainy warmer February. Blistering cold blasts have been rare lately which is a welcome change from a few years past. Personally as I age I prefer the warmer temps and as one customer put it the other day ‘folks don’t move North when they retire’. It’s been more like Florida weather around here lately rather than middle coast of Texas. I’ll take it!

The guys fishing are experiencing good catches of both the bottom feeders (red-fish and drum) and the middle feeders (speckled trout). What makes a fish a pre-dominant bottom or middle feeder you may ask? Look at the location of their mouths from a side view of their heads and you will notice the obvious. Sure red-fish bomb baits on top and will smash your topwater lures come March but mostly they graze like a cow, the latter is the same for the black drum. Trout on the other hand with their middle headed (if you will) mouth location enjoy more of a full water column entirely. Just a tidbit I learned when I was eight years old from a nice gent teaching me to fish.

Wading lures have been the most fulfilling days on the water for yours truly. This is my favorite time of the year out in the water sliding my wade boots across the soft mud searching for that one thump on a suspending soft lure giving you no doubt a big girl has been tricked! Such fun! True too the bait guys are doing well catching redfish and drum using dead shrimp and crab and this will continue with the cooler waters until things warm up again with the tilting of the earth as we move to Spring. Live shrimp will then dominate our bait fishing outings as the trout

come alive over deeper structure chasing the shrimp which will be in abundance. I’m getting excited already for the end of February and those days where you think to yourself it’s already feeling like April around here with this warm sun! Get ready because once you read this edition of the Saltwater Angler Magazine it will be time for action.

Grab the family and gear and come down to spend a day or two with us. We still have some February special pricing to kick off the year and there are plenty of dates in March and beyond, all we are missing is your name filled in on the calendar!

Capt Stephen Boriskie
Bay Flats Lodge,
Seadrift, Texas,
888-677-4868