By the time this edition of Guide Lines goes to print, we may very well have already experienced one of autumn’s initial attempts at cooling things off for us around here. Granted, it may not seem like much of a change from the summertime heat we’ve seen lately, but it is a change, nonetheless. It’s also an indicator for things to come for this month and next. Fall is a period of transition that most coastal anglers look forward to, and a time that they also need to be prepared for. Coastal bend anglers can expect to see changes, not only in the weather, but in how they should approach their goals for success while out on the water in search of specks and reds in late September.With fall fishing patterns beginning to change this month, so should your tactics. Trout and reds alike will soon begin a slow movement to grass, mud, oyster, or a mixture of all three instead of simply hard-sand bottoms or strictly oyster reefs alone. Baitfish activity will begin a slight alteration as well, as pods and rafts begin to slowly decrease in size and numbers as we progress into the cooler months. Like I said, these transitions will be subtle this month, so if you don’t find the bite where you’ve had success over the warmer months, try changing your location to that of a grassy environment. A favorite choice of ours this time of year are places along windward shorelines that are heavily spotted with potholes – sandy or muddy open spots on the bay floor surrounded by heavy grass and vegetation. Trout love to sit within the camouflage and cover of the grass surrounding the pothole itself as they wait for unsuspecting prey to venture across the open area, thus these spots can often be very productive places to be right now. An equally good advantage for anglers, when tides allow this month, will be the back lake areas. Most all of the lakes are filled with thick mud and vast amounts of different sea grasses that will begin attracting the game fish more and more over the course of the fall months.

It may also be time for anglers to be considering certain changes in the way they present their different artificial baits. In the case of working the potholes that I mentioned earlier, we will work plastic baits a lot more quickly over the top of the grass until the bait reaches the open spot. Once the plastic bait is entering the non-grassy spot, often let the bait settle to the bottom of the pot hole and then begin to slowly bounce the bait across the open area, thinking all the time of trying to create a small, brief cloud of mud/sand (a mud trail) behind my bait after each time that it hits the bay floor. This technique has enticed many trout over the years, and is one that continues to work for us to this day. If you happen to be working a surface walker across a pothole area, experiment with different types of retrieves until you find one that is attractive to the fish. A highly productive top water retrieve, I’ve found, is to work the bait in a steady walk-the-dog retrieve over that part of the water that’s covering the grassy area. Then, just before my bait gets to the open pothole, I like to slow the retrieve considerably. I’ll actually let the bait sit motionless atop the water for a few seconds, and then will only give the bait one or two slight jerks of the rod tip. Fish like the appearance of the troubled bait and often thrust upon the lure with great force. There’s simply nothing more exciting to see in the whole world!

In closing, our team of guides at Bay Flats Lodge wishes to remind everyone of the rapid approach of the upcoming waterfowl season, with this year’s opening day being November 2nd. We will soon begin to prep our duck blinds, and November is a wonderful time of the year to experience a “Blast & Cast” trip where you can experience a morning of waterfowl hunting, take a short break, and then exchange the shotgun for top water lures and a fun afternoon of fishing. 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

Bay Flats Lodge, Inc., P.O. Box 580, Seadrift, Texas 77983-0580

All the way from France, daughter of Mr. Dubois with Capt. Stephen Boriskie of Bay Flats Lodge. “Using live bait was the ticket.”