Crawfish season is in full swing now and that can only mean one thing, March has arrived and it’s time to shake off the ice and cold and put on the lighter jackets and gear because things are warming up quickly and the fishing is going to get hot!
This is one of my favorite months of the year because it just seems like anything is possible coming off the colder days and more into the warmer ones. This is a great time to make any final improvements to my boat and gear and get things in line for the upcoming busier season. I love going through all my tackle boxes and bags and cleaning out the old rusty junk and drying it all out and then going shopping for new lures and gear! Sort of like Christmas all over again there are just so many cool things for fishing to purchase and stock up on again. I like buying 1,000 hooks at a time so that they will last me all year and my order is already placed for some Eagle Claw number 5 and 6 kahle hooks and a couple dozen of my favorite corks-the Outcast by MidCoast Products.
The Middle Texas Coast is one of wonder and amazement. You wonder if the weather is going to cooperate and when it lets you out on the water there are times of amazement at how good your catch was that day. Wading with soft plastics in your favorite colors works very well and for me that would be an assortment of Texas Trout Killers, Killer Flats Minnows and Killer Hustlers in Morning Glory, Geaux Gleaux, Who Dat and Texas Roach, all with either a chartreuse or fire tail. I love Corky Devils as well in similar colors. Top waters like the Super Spook Jr in most any shiny color are fantastic this time of year too, so keep the topwater in your arsenal and mix it up to see what’s working, start at day break with a darker color and move to the lighter ones to shiny as the sun get’s up and if that doesn’t work reverse it!
March is one of those months when it seems that almost any method you use of angling fish works just as good as the next. During this time I will have clients fishing out of my boat launching outcast corks with a live shrimp under it on a two foot monofilament leader with the number 5 kahle hook. I use these hooks because they are a proven immediate hook set and also because they are easier to dislodge from the mouth of the fish and they tend not to get deep hooked so the fish not going into the take home box will live after hook up.
Equally effective is boat fishing chunking lures such as any of the myriad of topwater plugs and also we will work the water column with both slow and faster sinking soft plastics. There are days in March with the wind too high for drifting and so on those we can get out of the boat and wade fish using the same offerings.
My live bait customers enjoy this time of year and I gotta say it’s a fun time to be the guide. Most of the day is spent baiting hooks with live shrimp, netting fish and then doing it all over after the ensuing ‘high fives’. Action and more action whether it’s solid keeper sized Speckled Trout or Redfish or Black Drum or Sheepshead, throw in Flounder and the myriad of other fish you catch using this method. So you catch three Lady Fish and a few undersized Specks and then a keeper Speck, GREAT…you are catching fish and guess what, use that Lady Fish for cut bait later for Redfish! Works great along with cutters like Mullet. Plenty of bait this time of year and plenty of fish to catch around these parts and all over the Texas coast.
It’s going to be windy, it’s most likely going to be cool, and it’s definitely going to be choppy on the water so spend some time getting your gear in line and your layered clothing in case that late cool front smashes you around and the rain is too cold not to be prepared for it. Dress for the conditions and you can stay on the fish longer and enjoy it more.
Remember this is your time on the water away from the distractions of work-life-stress so take your time on the wade-don’t move too fast-slow the retrieve at times and try it that way, no need to cover the entire area fast to get to the next one, the tortoise wins this race at the end of the day.
