Where to begin about the fishing? Well, The temperatures have hovered around miserable for what seems like more than a month. The wind has been blowing from some direction that has an “N” in it for about the same period. The water (a.k.a. mud) has been about as low as you’ll see it for all but a few rare days. Unless you’re duck hunting in an airboat you probably haven’t seen much of the back bays and you certainly haven’t been running the lakes. On the positive side though, we really do appreciate the rain we’ve been getting with each frontal passage, that is of course unless you were one of the lucky ones that camped on the island during one of the recent duck hunts.

It’s always this way or close to it this time of year but I still complain anyway. Hopefully we’ll see a trend toward some fishable weather soon, I’ve spent about all the time I care to cleaning my tackle and re-spooling reels. Deer season ended last week and duck season ended Sunday so I guess its time to get with it.

I have been able to venture out a few times. This weekend I took a trip to the jetties. We caught quite a few sheepshead until it just got too cold for us to stay. I saw two other boats the entire trip, a little strange for a Saturday. Look for the reds and drum to turn on at the jetties and in the back as well, we just need some water back there and we’ll be OK. Big Drum time is just around the corner as well.

Capt. Bob Hill
Port O’Connor Charters
(361) 983-4325

1. Big Pocket Area- Fish on a northeast or southeast wind.
Reds: Wade fish south shoreline near bayous and duck blinds. This is where the pocket bends back towards Light House Cove. Moderate to slow retrieve with some rod tip action. Will not see a lot of bait this time of the year. Focus on structure. Fish tips of points, bayou openings and sand guts. Best time to fish is early and late afternoons. Several limits of reds came from this spot, heavy slot size.
Trout: Use Corky slow sinking lures fish north shoreline, right across from the boat cut between Farwell and Big Pocket. Locate scattered shell and mud and focus on jumping mullet. Fish color change when possible. Trout are on the smaller size but can be plentiful at times.

2. Farwell Island- Fish on a northeast or southeast wind.
Trout: Corky lures, catch 2000 or tails fish very northeast corner of Farwell Island. There is a shell reef that runs perpendicular to Farwell Island heading back north. This reef is about 5 feet wide and 100 yards long. Look for nervous mullet or good tidal movement. Stand almost in the Farwell cut, wade fish down the north side of Farwell casting towards the crown of the reef. Reds will be on the shallows towards the cut, while trout will be up on the reef or drop off of the reef. I have caught trout to 4 lbs. with several limits trips from this spot.

3.   Pringle Lake- Fish on a northeast or north wind. East wind is ok.
Trout: Normally this area will have a low tide. That is ok! Go through the Pringle cut and take a right as you pass the PVC markers. Go west about 100 yards off the north shoreline. The mud is terrible right up against the north shore. Park your boat right even where the cedar trees start. Try to locate jumping bait or nervous splashing. Both trout and reds will feed in this area. The water can be almost wader high on us short guys. The bottom is soft mud and grass. Key in on off color water, or color change. Wade very slowly in this area. Scatter your guys out to keep drift fishermen off of you.  We have caught many limits of trout with several reds to boot from this area.

4.   Panther Lake Cut- Fish on either a northwest, northeast, north, southeast, or east winds.
Trout: On east wind or northeast wind, motor your boat across south end of the reef near south shoreline, inside the cut. Now, slowly motor to the very east side of the reef. I prefer to anchor on a north wind on the north end of the reef, trying to stay away from the reef. Try not to ever walk on top of the reef. Remember, if you’re scaring away bait, or defiantly scaring away trout. While standing on the east side of the reef towards the north end of the reef, cast on top of the reef on high tides. On lower tides work the deep blue water. Darker color lures normally do better. On northwest wind or strong north wind, park outside the lake and walk across to the point. Cast towards the north end of other reef. Red fish can be located on the east side of the reef. Normally on a high east wind the reds are better. Cast right on top of the reef. Jumping mullet is a great sign both trout and reds are here. We have had several nice limits of trout up to 5 lbs in this area. Redfish limits have been taken as well.

www.bayflatslodge.com

Spencer Y. crew, all the way from West Virginia, trophy duck hunting with Bay Flats Lodge Captain Jason Wagenfehr 1/15/2011.

Duck hunting was solid with limits to near limits for our guests. Captain David used the layout blinds for David B. from Rockwall, IL and they shot full limits of ducks. Captain Jason dumped full limits of pintails and redheads for our newest guests Spencer Y. and crew from Virginia. Captain Nathan worked hard to put Chris S. from Houston on near limits of pintails, teal and redheads. They also really enjoyed the fried & raw oyster dinner during the evening before their hunt. Later in the day, we welcomed back Kurt and Kevin from Chicago, IL. Captain TJ located 7 pintails & redheads for the two. They really enjoyed watching the air show of ducks coming into the blocks. Captain Harold welcomed returning customer Anthony S. and guest from San Antonio for an afternoon hunt. They also picked up very good looking drake redheads and pintails.  -Capt. Chris Martin, Bay Flats Lodge

Guest of Pesado Construction Castaway Lodge, January, 2011

For many this is a given, but this time of year its always worth considering. Chasing Trout and Redfish through late Winter and early Spring is going to include a key ingredient, soft mud bottoms with grass or lightly scattered shell. I’ve seen small slash guts with a mud bottom on hard sand outside beaches hold every fish in the neighborhood. Feeling is the mud bottoms hold warmth and offer a greater comfort zone relative to colder hard surfaces like sand or shell. “Mud bottom” is a general term and not all of it is going to produce. The focus on mud bottoms is an important one and there is little question it is steering the angler into the right direction. Studying Trout and Redfish in the back lakes of Matagorda Island and other marshes, I’ve noticed as temperatures warm, there is a sizeable migration off of mud heading toward sand/grass and shell leaving the warmer mud environment. Year after year, like clockwork, as temperatures warm in April, the size of fish holding over mud tends to get smaller and the fish seem to scatter. When it’s cool with water temperatures in the 40’s & 50’s, mud is going to be the place to be. There are a lot of muddy bottoms to choose from, and in the back lakes the choices are endless. There are other considerations such as mud bottoms off the taper or on the quick dropoff side of oyster reefs. Mud guts on hard sand outside beaches may be few and far between but make a mental note of their location for future reference.

Focus On Water Levels
Another thing to keep in focus on this time of year is the correlation between water levels and fish movement. When there is little water in the bay due to a passing cold front or lingering low tide, there is no doubt the fish are going to be in the deepest part of whatever shallow water environment they are holding in. Over shell, expect the fish distant from the crest of reefs and farther off the shell taper. As water levels increase, expect the fish moving shallower and nearer to shorelines or the crest of shell reefs. The correlation between fish location and water levels was never more evident than here lately.
With very low tides, I came off a duck hunt looking to bend a rod on some Redfish with some guests from Florida. As I left one lake and ran through a gut entering another, I noticed a couple of Redfish shooting off near the mouth of the gut. As I headed farther into the lake (on slick calm glass conditions) there was no mistaking the concentration of large Redfish from the mid-slot into to the lower 30” class foraging, pushing wakes, and kicking mud. We don’t get much respect from the boys over there when it comes to fishing, but when they got a look at our Redfish they just about flipped. The fish had positioned themselves in the deepest “swale” or depression that the area in this lake had to offer. What happened next left the Florida boys with a Texas Redfish experience they won’t soon forget. Days later, I made another run at these fish but strong overnight storms had piled up a bunch of water on the Island and in the back lakes. Without hesitation or slowing down, I guessed that the fish wouldn’t be located in the deeper area where they were but guessed that they would be foraging closer to the shorelines. My first guess was correct and sure enough that’s where they had relocated (within about 300 yards from the low tide conditions and deeper area from days before). The push shallower and retraction deeper as water levels rise and fall is a pattern I’ve witnessed time and again, year after year. Keeping a muddy bottom focus through March will get in proximity of concentrations of Trout and Redfish, recognizing water levels and how the fish are relating to them will narrow things down even further.

Fishing Report
The last push of duck season saw us doing a little bit of fishing. As of Sunday, Capt. Doug reported slow Redfish action in upper SAB with overcast skies and chilly temperatures. Redfish concentrations on the island dumped into deeper areas with fish pushing the upper end of the slot on low water conditions. Trout reports are pretty scarce as of right now.
Good luck in your fishing and stay safe out there! Capt. Kris Kelley www.seadriftbayfishing.com

AA meets each Saturday night at 7 p.m. at First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall in Port O’Connor.

AA Meetings are held each Monday at 7:30 p.m. at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, 4th & Cleveland, in Seadrift.  Fellowship begins at 7:00.

Friday Night Youth meets each Friday, except the first Friday of the month, at Fisherman’s Chapel in Port O’Connor from 7:00 until 10:00 p.m.

POC Sports Association meets the third Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at POC Community Center.

POC Lions Club meets the second Wednesday of each month, 12 Noon, at Cathy’s Restaurant

Commissioner’s Court meets the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month at 10 a.m., 1st Floor of the Court House, Port Lavaca.

Crossroads Astronomy Club meets at 7:00 p.m., third Mondays, at U of H, Victoria, Room 223 info: wes81461@yahoo.com   935-2016

Reading Hour for 3rd & 4th Graders at the Port O’Connor Library is held each Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 1    Seadrift City Council
7:00 p.m.    Seadrift City Hall

Tuesday, Feb. 1    Bunco
7:00 p.m.    POC Community Center (Back Room)

Tuesday, Feb. 1    The Country Opry
7:00 p.m.    The Heritage Center (Dinner at 6:00 p.m.)

Thurs., Feb. 3    Port O’Connor Service Club
10:00 a.m.    POC Community Center (Back Room)

Friday, Feb. 4    Volunteer Meeting for Warrior’s Weekend
6:00 p.m.    Cathy’s Restaurant, POC Info: 361-652-4677

Friday, Feb. 4    Family Movie Night
7:00-8:45 p.m.    POC School Auditorium

Monday, Feb. 7    Clayton’s Angels Spaghetti Dinner
11:00 – 7:00    Bauer Exhibit Building, Fairgrounds 361-550-1883

Thurs., Feb. 10    Annual Valentine’s Banquet

Friday, Feb. 11    Girl Scout Cookie Sale

4:00 – 7:00 p.m.    Speedy Stop in Port O’Connor

Sat., Feb. 12    Service Club Valentine Bake Sale
8:00 a.m. until    Speedy Stop in Port O’Connor