Hooked Up: April 2023

I recently discovered an app on my phone that will allow me to write an article from anywhere. Right now, I’m on the boat, fishing a little honeyhole I save for windy days.  Everything looks great as far as water clarity and bait. Normally I would be right in the middle of it, but my Power-Pole has something going on, rising on its own, leaving me stranded once already this morning. I was rescued by a fine man from Halletsville that got me back in my boat – Thank You! Lucky for me I have excellent sticks on the boat today and I can just turn them loose. 

As expected, the winds have been parting our hair on a daily basis. Utilizing spoil islands, the south shoreline of Baffin, and the eastern shoreline of Padre Island has kept us in the game as far as catching in less-than-ideal conditions.  

Anyone that has spent time in Roy’s Bait and Tackle knows that there are a ton of lures that might catch a fish. As the old saying goes, “Lures do most of their catching at the cash register.”  Funny and true. Of late, I’ve been going back into the wood pile and using older lures that are not necessarily the “hot” ones of today. Two in particular have been so much fun to fish – MirrOlure’s Catch 2000 in original size and the junior, along with the Catch 5. Fifteen to twenty years ago these were staples in every wade box. Not so much anymore as so many good MirrOlure products have hit the market and gained almost cult-like following. But the way I see it, today’s fish have never seen that super slow fall of the 2000s or the super wide walk of the Catch 5, and I’m here to tell you they still catch as well as ever. On days that we have a chance on top, I’ve been doing the “same old thing” with the original Top Dog. A real hard-knocking lure that emits a low thud versus the higher-pitched topwaters that seem to be more popular nowadays. It’s good to be different and do things outside of the norm. Try it and you might be as surprised as the seven-year-old trout that hits it.  

I mentioned last month the trout regs that were enacted following the February 2021 freeze. These will expire and revert back to the regulations that were in place prior to the freeze on August 31,2023. Being in the water every day, I (and some others) really have our finger on the pulse of what is going on and where our fishery stands at present.

What we must keep in mind is that the regulations we are currently fishing under were in response to the freeze and were never intended to replace the older regulations. Saying that, post-freeze regulations is where the fishery needs to be to have not only lots of fish, but quality fish as well. As captains and guides we will have to continue to police ourselves and do what needs to be done. As we have learned on a national level, rare is the day that government ideas are what is best. Let ‘em go if you want to catch trophy trout in the future. It’s that simple.  

Trout are now in full spawn mode and tend to favor shallow, grassy areas for this activity. I will be looking specifically for these fish in areas that have all of the right elements to conduct their business and at the same time trying to stay away from as many tower boats as possible. This spring has taught me something that I never had even a passing thought of in the past, and that is with so much boat traffic on shorelines these days, these trout just do not utilize the shallows (less than two feet) during daylight the way they used to. As much as I try to catch them skinny, they just seem to be out in deeper water, away from the froth of the whizzing props and hip-hop stereos. Humans do a lot of stupid shit to screw up a good thing. 

I’m closing, just remember the spawn is on!  Every female trout put back in the water plays a huge role in our ongoing recovery to right the ship following the 2021 freeze. If you ever want to see days again of multiple trout over seven pounds, catch and release is our only tool to get back there. Fish like a sportsman and treat the bay like a lady.