I could say I’m surprised the second half of September was so topsy-turvy considering all the weather changes but I would be lying to you be-cause it’s just what our normal transition month is all about from Summer to Fall. Weak cool fronts causing angry storms capable of producing heavy rain, high wind, lightening, hail and tornados can only be chal-lenged by turbulent tropical cyclones threatening to destroy property and reshape the coastline. All of this came to a head since our last publica-tion and we are all looking for more of a smooth change to Fall like tem-peratures…that’s the promise of the next day or two here in the middle coast as a frontal boundary is knocking on the door tomorrow. All that aside late September has held a bounty of fish down here and the next week or two looks very good for the trend to continue.

Water temperatures have been steadily dropping over the past couple of weeks partly due to weak cool fronts but mostly it’s a result of shorter days and freshwater inflows from recent rains. Higher tides have been common too and with that has come a replenishment of redfish, black drum and speckled trout to our area. The shrimp that are available from local shrimpers are much larger than over the past couple months. Good size for the table but also the redfish are loving those shrimp where you think ‘dang this is as big as a Coke bottle’ and they are slurp-ing those bigs up and fiercely defending them as they run off to the tune of a screaming drag on your reel! Speckled trout remain strong over shell reefs and in the back lakes and I have been catching them with both live shrimp and soft plastics under a popping cork.

As we move into October look for more of a good thing. The coming month is our most popular at the lodge and we are typically completely booked up for fishing trips from those wanting to get in on the hot action. Trout, Redfish, Drum, Flounder! All are common to our catches and cus-tomers are enjoying the cooler temps, the crisp dry air and the Southern hospitality all experienced here on the middle Texas coast.

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