Saltwater Fishing Information for the Texas Gulf Coast, Inshore and Offshore
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CURRENT MOON
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Wintertime fishing is extremely different from fishing during other times of the year, and it is only the hardcore coastal trout angler that usually learns to deal with it to any level of notable success. During the months of January through March, our Texas coastal weather forecasts can include anything from a blue northern to that of beach-going qualifications. Aside from blue-bird days, some of the warmer days can often be damp and muggy, and are most often accompanied by close clouds moving swiftly out of the south. But when the coast turns cold, it can get really, really cold. Coastal occupants realize somewhat of a wet cold during winter, making it feel as much as fifteen to twenty degrees colder than the reading on the thermometer, and that does not always take into consideration any additionally measurable wind chill factor that might present itself as a result of a bitter north wind that may be blowing at any given time. However, there is one noteworthy thing about fishing during this time of the year, and that is that there generally are not too many other anglers out on the water to compete with for fishing space. Given their options, most others will choose not to expose themselves to the wet and cold elements, as they refuse to relinquish the confines of their home where it is safely warmer and more comfortable. And that is unfortunate for them, because winter, as ill-tempered and as unpleasant as it can sometimes be, still resides as being a banner time to catch large, thick yellow-mouths, especially given our extreme southern locale. If you enjoy fishing for speckled trout then there is no other time like February to begin catching them in the San Antonio Bay region. You can not only catch your legal limit in February, but potentially an all-time career trophy-trout as well.
One important thing the winter trout angler must keep in mind is the tide and its varying levels. Cold water trout do not tend to move around much, and when the tide does not move the trout seem to move even less. It is for this reason that I attempt to plan my trips that are during extremely cold weather periods around more measurable tidal movements, paying special attention, of course, to overwhelmingly lower tides. A low, low winter tide can often introduce obstructions and obstacles that are at other times normally covered by at least a foot or two of water - there's nothing worse than spinning a hub or cracking a prop on an exposed oyster reef, or fully grounding your hull atop a deep mud flat in the dead of winter while out in the middle of nowhere. Another thing to take note of in wintertime fishing, something we don't have to worry much about right now along the Texas coast, is the salinity level of the water in which you are fishing. Keeping tally of salinity measurements can certainly make you a more productive trout man, so it's vital to remember that heavy rainfall can change the saline count dramatically. Remind yourself of the fact that salt water is heavier than fresh water, and that cold weather trout will search to find deeper water during periods of extreme cold conditions, especially during or immediately following locally heavy rainfall.
There is a lot of water outlining the Port O'Connor and Seadrift bay regions, and the waters along the north and south shorelines are, for the most part, represented by one to four feet of water that often flows in and out of guts, bayous, and backwater lake areas. These are prime trout hunting spots that I love to wade beginning in February. But, how do you know where to drop anchor and start fishing? Well, that depends on what the water looks like and whether you witness the presence of any baitfish - I said "baitfish" here simply due to the bays being generally void of any shrimp activity once the month of February has rolled around.
I like to practice what I've come to call the "1-on-1" technique. At minimum, I'll search to find at least one area that consists of some green water, and then I'll explore that greenish water for at least one sign of baitfish activity. Now, you are not likely to locate a large concentration of mullet in February, but where you happen to see a few engaged in active jumping is a good indication of nearby predators. Okay, I've now located an area of green water that I've seen a couple of mullet jumping out of, but what do I do now? If its heavy trout that you are after, fish that I would categorize as being in the three to five pound bracket, then I would have to say that your lure selection may not be as critical to your success as is that of the speed of your retrieve during the month of February. However, if you've concluded that you have the required dedication and determination to hunt for that career trophy, a fish in the six to eight pound range, or even nine pounds plus range, then what I'm going to say next may seem old-school to some, but I have found it to still hold true even to this day. I firmly believe that the larger, cold water monster trout tend to only eat once, or maybe twice, each day, and that when they do eat they prefer to Super-Size their meal. It is for this reason that I like to recall the old adage that "bigger is better" while I'm fishing in February. I'll be throwing large mullet imitations all this month and into March - the kind that I can work below the surface to probe the varying water columns, and that can be retrieved slowly along the bottom in order to imitate an inactive mullet.
