Every February, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department closes the bays to commercial and recreational crabbing for a 10-day period. This temporary closure enables a coordinated effort by agencies and organizations to remove derelict crab traps which continue to entrap and kill crabs, fish and turtles.

This year, 1632 traps were removed from the three coastal bay systems on the Texas mid-coast (Lavaca/Matagorda, San Antonio and Aransas Bays). “It’s very important to remove these old traps from the bays. Not only are they a source of ghost fishing, but they’re also navigation hazards,” said co-organizer Katie Swanson, Mission-Aransas Reserve Stewardship Coordinator at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute.

Removal of derelict crab traps was a massive effort this year involving 68 boat days and 164 volunteer days. The effort was led by San Antonio Bay Partnership, who organized many groups, including U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Coastal Fisheries, local chapters of the Coastal Conservation Association, the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority, Guadalupe Blanco River Trust, International Crane Foundation, Mid-Coast Texas Master Naturalists, Mission-Aransas Reserve at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute, Dallas Zoo / Bay Flats Lodge, Texas Sea Grant, FlatsWorthy Inc., Lavaca-Navidad River Authority, Lavaca Bay Foundation, Matagorda Bay Foundation and individual citizen volunteers.

“The effort was a great success! Participation was up from last year and we covered a wider area. The Lavaca Bay Foundation organized a search of Lavaca Bay that hasn’t been cleaned in a while. New technology was employed to improve efficiency,” said San Antonio Bay Partnership Chairman Allan Berger.” “While the technology helps, it’s still about boats, volunteers and eyes on the water. The tally is significantly higher than last year, due to the expanded area and a greater organized effort.”

This is the first year that technology was used to mark abandoned traps from the air and to make those data available to volunteers on the water. Berger continues “The data reveals that many of the derelict traps are on the shoreline, likely the result of weather events. However, a significant number appear to be in place and not picked up by commercial crabbers. It is anticipated that an analysis of the data can reveal root-causes and result in fewer lost traps in the future.”

The derelict crab clean-up effort was supported with funds from HEB, Citgo, Dallas Zoo and Texas SeaGrant in addition to in-kind support from U.S. .Fish and Wildlife Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Guadalupe Blanco River Trust, International Crane Foundation, Mission-Aransas Reserve at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute, Bay Flats Lodge, FlatsWorthy Inc., Lavaca-Navidad River Authority, Lavaca Bay Foundation, and Matagorda Bay Foundation, and the captains who provided their private boats. To celebrate the success of the effort, GBRA sponsored a party at Hooper’s Bar and Grille in Port O’ Connor.

Berger says that “While the cleanup is a lot of work, it is essential for keeping our bays clean and productive—and it’s fun.” If you want to be included in the early planning for next year, contact Allan Berger at allanrberger@comcast.net

The Only thing you are going to catch on my Boat is Fish! Great Times and Memories! Oh you will also catch some Sun. Bring Sunscreen! I already De Germed all my equipment so you are safe from any virus on my Boats.

Spring Break! Yaaaa! Party!! We all need a Break! Now Kids are getting 2 weeks off for Spring Break. We definitely need a Break from the News Rhetoric for sure. Make it a Happy Spring Break not a dreary one. Oh we can chat on the Virus Free Boats about all of it if you want to but in the mean time let’s get out there and have some Fun!

The South Winds and In Coming tides have been a welcome sight. The shrimp migration along with all the other crustaceans should be doing their annual thing which brings and breathes life back into our Bays and Estuaries. Let me just throw this 1 out there. Even the Hardheads are coming back. UGH, Hard heads are a pain in the @$$ and I don’t miss them at all. What good are they? Well we did catch a ling on a hard head at the Jetties one time. Yeah surprised me too. I looked it up and they feed on those things. Knowing that Ling eat hard heads makes me want to let em go so they can eat all the hard heads they can. Ok maybe not, we only let em go when they are not keepers.

Anyway, we been hammering the fish! Trout, Reds, Flounder, Drum and Sheepshead.

Ok Sheepshead aren’t as sexy as catching a Trout on top water. They aren’t as pretty as a Trout or Red, unless you are Goth, then a Sheepshead would be sexier. Look, is it me, or is it as I get some miles on my boats that I enjoy going after fish that are feeding and will even hit dead Bait or even chunks of dead Bait.

For example, We are Combat Redfishing or Back Bay Airboat Redfishing (for the less aggressive fishermen), we cruise the marsh roll up on a herd of Reds and Black Drum. We set the Power Pole down on the Air Ranger to lock in the Boat for the Attack. We sling baits of choice, preferably dead and Stinky, toward the sand pockets. The line bombs are in place ready to get jerk’d down. When those mighty Lightning Rods barrel down to the boat gunnel it makes my heart skip a beat and I start looking for the beast out in the shallow marsh in the direction the rod tip is pointing. It’s exciting!

I Love watching people, Young And Old scramble over those bent over Rods. It’s a kick watching the Fishermen get so excited when fish hit the bait. It’s a rush, even the sexy hard core wader gets a kick out of it. It’s a riot watching grown men fight over a bent rod with a fish on the end.

Hey, Middle Coast Community, let’s make the best of this uncertain time remain calm and make some good Spring Break Memories! Also don’t drink and drive. Stay Safe and Thank our Local Law Enforcement Officers for doing a great job. Be Courteous to them and they might just use their discretion and give you a Big Break!

If there is anyone that needs help please give me a shout!281 217 0399

I’m not UNICEF but would gladly get you back to the dock safely.

Shout Out to Billy Rhyne for Lodge Availability. His number is 713 907 4796

March begins a series of transitional months for speckled trout along the coastline of Texas. But anglers shouldn’t need to prepare for any abrupt changes, as nature will tend to adjust its developments slowly as we officially head into springtime this month. Air and water temperatures will begin a gradual climb, and daylight hours will start getting just a little bit longer with each passing day. Underwater floral arrangements will once again prepare for blooming, and marine life activities will soon become much more prevalent in area bay waters with the recent passing of winter.

But even though the strength of northern cold fronts will continue to weaken as we push through the month, we may still see some rather cold temperatures at times, even if it only happens to be for one day at a time. This fluctuation in temperatures and conditions can result in the trout chasing their own tails, so to speak – the trout sometimes become so confused they don’t know what they’re supposed to be doing from one day to the next. And if the fish have a hard time figuring out the right thing to be doing on any given March day and in any given March condition, you can only imagine how frustrating it can oftentimes be for coastal anglers this month to figure out the where’s, how’s, and why’s of catching the fish.

Regardless of how puzzled the fish may become as things begin changing, one constant that anglers should be able to begin counting on shortly is the fact that the fish should soon be showing signs of more aggressive feeding patterns following the extended coldness of winter. Before long, schools of baitfish like mud minnows, finger mullet, croaker, and piggy fish are all going to burst into their natural springtime activity and should soon become the sole food target of the hungry trout. Successful March anglers will be those presenting artificial baits that closely resemble that of these larger baitfish, with the mullet-imitators promising to lead the pack for triumph and victory.

Declining northerly winds this month will once again start to fill area shorelines with higher water levels which means an increase in water movement – always a good thing when searching for the trout bite. Anglers locating active baitfish in clear water on either a rising or a falling tide should be able to recognize both accomplishment and happiness at the end of the day. But just remember that this is March, which means it’s not really winter any longer, but it’s not fully spring yet either. Just keep grinding!

Time to ‘Spring Forward’… a phrase that holds as much excitement for me as when I heard ‘triple treats’ after the game was over when I was in Little League Baseball as a kid! There was always one parent who would double down and buy the players two of any treat we wanted at the snack stand but then, on a rare occasion someone would pony up for the triple! Man I still remember the red snow cone stain on my White Sox uniform and never thought about how much my mom would have to scrub that jersey to get the stain out. Those were wonderful memories of my childhood and I have never forgotten the feeling of a benefactor taking care of us. Fast forward and here we are in March 2020 which is the beginning of baseball season for many, but also the the renewed sense of the great outdoors for me. Spring forward with the time, with the extension of daylight, with the increasing warmth of the sunshine, and with the feeling of new beginnings.

It’s as if some great Heavenly hand has flipped on the lights around here and painted the skies a more brilliant shade of blue and the clouds more white than they have seemed to be in a while. As we kick off the month of March and are truly beginning the new year of the fishing season, there is much enthusiasm in the air. Being in a coastal town such as Port O’Connor you notice slight changes in the scenery and the effect on those around you as a result. There is more pep in our step with the longer days ahead of us and a renewed sense of community and wonder. Folks we haven’t seen in a while are coming around and the boat dealerships and convenience stores are abuzz with new life as all are anticipating a great Spring and Summer. The air is warmer and the sun brighter and you feel like there is more time to get out on the water and enjoy more of the sport of angling and boating and all that goes along with it. The promise of this feeling has been there for some time through the end of duck season and the few days of glam in February, but now it’s for real.
Time to get the rig in order by cleaning off the dust from the winterized motor; time to clean out the crusty salt from the wade boots; time to spray down the fishing rods and reels with a good coat of reel magic; and time to hit the water! Get out there with the enthusiasm you did as a kid remembering all you learned from your dad and mom, your grandfather and grandmother, or from any other benefactor who taught you in the beginning about the love of the outdoors and the respect of the resource. Most importantly don’t pass up on an opportunity to share your knowledge with those whom you are mentoring. Give a kid a fishing rod and he will fish for a day, pass on to him your passion and he will fish for a lifetime.

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