David Hemphill is always on his favorite flat this time of year. And for good reason.

Spring Break is upon us and it looks like it’s going to be a good one. February was a good month for fishing even as the northers blew the water out of the back bays. The shorelines had plenty of Trout and Reds for all the wade fishermen who wanted to string a few fish despite the lower tides. March came and Bam! Big Tides and Big Fish.

Another little tidbit of up to date on the water info is how many Flounder are in the bay. I was amazed how good the Flounder Gigging trips have been going lately. Usually Flounder Giggers haven’t really gotten serious this month. They are waiting for May or later. The trips we have had gigging are quick limits or it has taken a few hours to get 3 limits or so.

The jetties have been producing plenty of rod bending action from Sheephead to Bull Reds. And when the weather settles, Offshore has been producing good numbers of Big Snapper on the structure in State waters. Fishermen have had a great year so far and we should see it continue through the Spring Season.

Speaking of the Spring Season, Turkey Hunting kicks off in a couple of weeks. Just the other day, There were 2 big ol’ Tom’s dancing, prancing and serenading a big group of hens out at the Saltwater Ranch. Scott and I were talking at the Ranch about a monster gobbler that he has been seeing. He said this Gobbler has a beard that looks like a rope. The beard touches the ground and makes a U turn, guessing between 10-12”. That sounds like a Trophy for sure.

In Texas, We are blessed to have wild game we can hunt thru May leaving only 3 months out of the year we don’t have anything to hunt, unless you predator hunt or chase exotics. Oh yeah, Hog Hunting too but summer time Hog Hunting can be pretty hot to say the least, even at night.

March on the Middle Coast is going to be Epic and already has been so far. We have seen so many trophy Trout being caught everyday since the last full moon. Social Media, I have to admit is a great place to see your friends Share (Brag) about their trophy trout. Tops and Tails seem to be the bait of choice. Of course the Custom Corky is another bait that produces big O Sow Trout. The best advice on lure selection for catching a Gator Trout is throw what you know. Remember the old sayings, “Big Bait Big Fish” & “Bigger is Better” make sure you use the Bigger Baits. Here’s why I am telling you this, obviously experience I know Big Trout, lol. The other real reason to use big baits for Big Trout is on several occasions this season the bigger trout that inhaled the baits and died due to inhaling the bait or exhaustion; They all have had monster mullet in their stomachs when I cleaned them. The smaller keeper trout have had pretty big mullet in their stomach as well. Mullet colored Big Baits is the key this Spring to catching you a wall hanger or the next State Record. My favorite baits this time of year are the Woodpecker Super Spook or the Bone Chrome Bone. The New XL DSL Baits, Key Lime and anyone of em with a chartreuse tail. The DSL Big Eyes are a must have in any color as well. When in doubt throw what you know. This Spring is already Epic so come get you some!

Another Great Treat on the Middle Coast, Calhoun County, is at Bubba’s Seafood on Wednesday nights, ALL YOU CAN EAT CRAWFISH. He says “Come get some on ya!!” and you will.

Weekend dates are booking up here at the Saltwater Lodge fairly early this year, so get your Dates and Deposits into the Office and let’s go Bend Some Rods.
The Lodge Line is: 361-785-3825, ask for Scott.

Fishing Report

Big winds associated with a late week cool snap pushed up a bunch of water over prime feeding structure and that set the stage for a “catalyst feed” and board bending meltdown for guests. I’ve often reported that big winds are among our favorite conditions early Spring. While some stretches of the coast may not fish as well in these conditions, our environs set up nicely with numerous protected back lakes and shallow bays. By airboat and bayboat, our guides focused on massive schools of Black Drum and Redfish solidly in the mid slot. Pony Drum to 28” burned the biceps after Redfish limits sending guests home with some awesome tablefare. Tim and his wife Joanna had just an epic trip with Capt. Donnie Heath catching and releasing some 33 slot Redfish over two days along with their limit of Black Drum. Capt. James Cunningham was tasked with introducing Liz H. to coastal fishing along with her husband Skip. Missiona accomplished according to Skip as Liz was setting the hook on limits of Redfish and Black Drum.

Airboat Redfishing Trips

Capt. Chris Cady reported countless schools of solid Redfish and Drum by airboat fishing with Ron B. and daughter. March is the premiere month in the back lakes and we look forward to getting you in the action!
Wade Fishing Artificials/Big Trout

Capt. Nathan Beabout reported solid action in decent water on Dirty Tequila and Blue Moon Down South Lures. He’s heading South to Mansfield for some big Trout and we’re wishing him tight lines and safe travels. Capt. Chris Cady stuck a nice Trout on Topwater scouting ahead of trips and pushing 28” “released”. Capt. James Cunningham reported “Redfish everywhere” ahead of the Legends Tournament scouting with Chris and anglers in the tourney. Trout were a little challenging in big winds but some solid bites were found on pumpkin/chart and Chicken on a Chain.

The fishing is always best when you can get away!

Capt. Kris Kelley. Castaway Lodge 1-888-618-4868

Spring begins in March, so we should look for things to start changing around here. Some of the more abrupt changes may be with our weather, as March often offers oscillating winds that can sometimes be quite strong along our Texas coastal region. We should probably also expect air and water temperatures to vary a bit as we head into an overall warming trend, but don’t dismiss cold weather altogether this month. In the past, the month of March has been known to present us with a few cold snaps that truly belong in the record books.

As stated, the need for us to deal with some possibly strong winds this month will begin to become more of the norm rather than the exception as we progress throughout this month and into the next. We should also expect to see pattern changes in the wind from that of northeasterly flows to that of southeasterly flows. Some days this month may be so windy you may need to rely on alternate plans and locations if you still want to fish. When this happens, look for confines offering protection from the wind. Along the Port O’Connor and Seadrift region of our coast, places like the Intracoastal Waterway, the Victoria Barge Canal, and any of the number of back lake areas strewn across Matagorda Island offer prime alternatives for anglings wishing to duck out of nagging winds in order to be able to keep fishing, instead of heading off the water early or choosing not to go at all.

We should also begin seeing changes in water clarity this month as the water begins taking on a greening effect instead of that of previous gin-clear characteristics. We can also count on water temperatures to begin warming now and to continue doing so for the next few months as we move through spring.

Warming temperatures also mean that it won’t be long now before we’re able to start looking for hungry springtime speckled trout atop shorelines that are covered with lots of sand and grass. You should be able to start your first wading session of the morning amongst mud and grass, and then transition to hard sand, or sand and shell, just as soon as rays of sunlight are allowed to warm the mid-morning flats. Up until this month, it has been important to key-in on areas containing lots of mud. But with the environment slowly warming itself, it will now become very important for coastal anglers wishing to be successful this month to concentrate on slowly changing their focus to that of hard-sand.

Capt. Chris Martin, Bay Flats Lodge, Inc 1.888.677.4868

San Antonio Bay led the coast this year in traps brought in during the February Crab Trap Removal. There were traps dropped off at all 3 sites. In fact, all 3 dumpsters were completely full, and traps had to be transported to other sites, partially because they were smaller dumpsters than we have used in the past. We will go back to the large 30yd roll-offs next year. A big thanks to Dan Alonso (San Antonio Bay Foundation) and Allan Berger (San Antonio Bay Partnership) for enlisting and coordinating many boats and volunteers. These 2 groups were responsible for almost all the traps removed from the San Antonio Bay system. Great job guys!! That’s how you lead by example!

As always thanks to Neal and Karen Gray for letting us use a corner of their parking lot at Charlie’s. Thanks also to the POC CCA chapter for providing food at the POC site. These folks have been making food available for the crab trap clean up since the beginning; that’s just amazing!  Thanks also to CCA for supporting this effort with people, supplies, and funding. This year Waste Management also donated all 3 dumpsters. And special recognition goes to all the volunteers who sacrificed a perfectly good fishing day just so they could trash their boats with mud, oysters, barnacles, and old traps. Without all the volunteers over the years the traps would still be out there fishing, killing crabs, fish, and turtles, and generally getting in the way. Great work folks, you are truly environmental heroes!

And I would like to take this opportunity to voice a special thanks to my friend Ronnie Luster. Ronnie and warden Captain Rex Mayes were instrumental in getting us started down this road of ridding the bays of abandoned traps. Through his efforts with the CCA Ronnie has been involved for all these years.

Norman Boyd
San Antonio Bay Ecosystem Leader
Texas Parks & Wildlife Depart. Coastal Fisheries Division