If there’s one thing we can be certain about in the month of June, it is the fact that we probably will be seeing varying tides on an almost daily basis, with four tides occurring on a lot of those days. We will also continue to have windy days, and we will almost surely see the direction of those winds vary quite unexpectedly, at times. And barring the exception of any unanticipated tropical weather system, anglers should probably expect pretty much the same conditions on a daily basis throughout this month and into the next.

Rising water temperatures should also be expected in June. When you combine rising temps with other variations taking place on a regular basis, June anglers should anticipate a certain level of difficulty whenever trying to determine any type of daily pattern to the fish activity. The fish, too, have to deal with all of this constant change, so keep that in mind on your next June outing. Make it a point to get to your first wading destination just as early as you can each morning – try your best to be there just prior to sunrise, if possible. Many summertime coastal anglers prefer doing this for a couple different reasons. The first is that you beat the heat, meaning you’ll be able to enjoying fishing before it gets to be too hot each day. Another reason for doing this allows you to pick your wading territory before the next guy gets there. Doing so can sometimes mean the difference between success and failure and the end of the day.

With all of this said, it may become extremely difficult to find June’s fish in the exact same spot as yesterday. Because the dominant winds are generally of a southerly nature right now, start looking for fish this month in places like the shorelines outside of Pringle Lake, easy-access back lakes like Panther Lake, and any and all of the southern-most shorelines of Espiritu Santo and San Antonio Bay that line the grassy banks of Matagorda Island. In your approach to your morning wading spots this month, attempt to locate shorelines and lake areas that contain plenty of trout-green water and an ample amount of visible bait activity. If you prefer top water action, start with a surface walker and proceed from there with plastic tails in deeper water if there happens to be no “takers” on the top. Good luck to you in June, and keep grindin’!

Fishing with Capt. Stephen Boriske

The past couple weeks have been more about finding a safe and protected area to fish out of the 30 mph blows than anything else.  Interestingly the fish haven’t seemed to be that thrown off by it and we have been boxing some fair numbers of larger trout and solid redfish while focusing on both clean and stained water color.  Now that the end of May is here the wind has calmed down at least for a short time and the catching is going to go wide open.  The main reason for this is we will be able to fish more of our spots on a much larger section of water out in the open.

There are those of us who are still using live shrimp with the corks and catching trout, drum and redfish, even flounder and sheepshead but as for me I have gone full on “Croakerin’!”  Once upon a time I frowned on the use of Croakers for bait because I thought it too deadly and easy to catch trout and redfish and was worried about depleting the resource but that was total ignorance on my part because there is nothing easy about working these babies right and it’s definitely not a given you will catch a good fish with them.  It’s what I say each day to kick things off…”there is my way of fishing Croaker which I will demonstrate and help you with and there is the wrong way, and we are going to do it my way because if not instead of catching trout you will catch crabs and trash fish all day and will wonder why it didn’t work.”  That statement raises a lot of eyebrows and heads and gets the ball rolling in the predawn hours but really it’s with the intent of helping my anglers catch the fish they want, maybe the fish of a lifetime, and helping them become better at it.  Once they “get it” though look out!

That said there are times when no matter what you do the fish just are not going to eat.  What helps me with accepting this reality is to check the solunar charts which you can access easily online and see when the prime times will be for the month.  Going out prepared to catch some good fish is what everyone wants to do but you have to apply some sense and use information and advances in technology gathered for years as to what is really to be expected that day on the water.  Of course every day fishing is better than working but it makes more sense to the angler to apply logic and science on one of those ‘bad’ days.

I always say go fishing when you can and keep an open mind, don’t put so much pressure on yourself ‘we have to catch that biggest redfish’…’our buddies put in x amount for the longest trout’…sure that stuff is fun just don’t take it and yourself too seriously.  You can’t make them eat and there is a lot of luck in this beloved sport so remember the main reason you are out there with us is to have fun, relax and enjoy the great outdoors.

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