Diana Pierce used fresh cut Gulf trout on Bomber Cobia stand up jigs, to help catch this pile of red snapper, grouper and Gulf trout. Robert Sloan photo

At daylight the weather was picture perfect – dead calm, mid-60s and sunny. Not too bad, considering it was a recent late winter day. A short offshore run for a mixed bag of tasty fish seemed like a logical option. So, Diana Pierce and I hooked up with Empire Lodge Capt. Dodd Coffey and before you know it we had iced a box full of snapper, a grouper and Gulf trout.

We made the run from the Port O’Connor jetties to a structure sitting in 60 feet of water, and in short order it was game on. While drifting with fresh cut Gulf trout on Bomber jigs we caught red snapper to 7 pounds, and a grouper to 11 pounds.

This is an excellent time of year to fish offshore if you can catch the conditions just right. And if you can find some sort of bottom structure in state waters, it’s legal to keep four red snapper per person with a minimum of 15 inches.
On that same day we caught a box full of Gulf trout to about 3 pounds. This particular fish is excellent to eat, and they are quite numerous. They can be caught all day long with a small piece of shrimp fished on bottom.

For details on offshore fishing give Capt. Dodd Coffey a call at the Empire Lodge of Port O’Connor. This is a full service lodge offering inshore and offshore fishing trips, including fly fishing. For details call 361-571-5071 or go to www.portoconnorlodge.com.

Spring nesting conditions are looking good for ducks

Here’s a warm notion for duck hunters: This cold, snowy winter will fill plenty of ponds on the prairies with the spring thaw. And the more ponds that dot North America’s waterfowl breeding grounds, the better the conditions migrating ducks will find when they return to the prairie pothole region to nest.

“As a duck hunter, I’m excited about the prospects,” said Delta Waterfowl president Frank Rohwer. “There are a lot of good things going for us this past fall and winter as far as filling potholes for breeding ducks.”

Although it’s a bit premature to consider spring 2014 a basin-filler, consider three key factors that contribute to spring ponds once the snow melts: fall moisture, frost seal and spring precipitation.

“October was a very wet month in the Dakotas,” says Tyler Shoberg, with Delta Waterfowl. “According to the National Weather Service, nearly all of North Dakota and much of South Dakota received double or triple the average amount of rain, which filled basins leading into the winter freeze. This is in stark contrast to fall 2012, when more drought-like conditions left potholes high and dry by the time the snow flew. Since September, most of the prairie pothole region spanning Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba received average to above average precipitation.”

With ample moisture and plenty of freezing temperatures since, a solid frost seal is all but assured.

“Frozen ground takes longer to thaw, which hinders soil from absorbing water and allows seasonal wetlands to spring up across the landscape,” says Shoberg. “These temporary oases are full of nutrients essential to the health of nesting hens and ducklings.”