Hooked Up: November 2022

Oooooh Lord, these mornings are feeling good. Folks, I truly begin to feel a change in my attitude as the first hint of cool mornings begins to arrive. I feel it in my bones and deep down in my soul. The first October morning less than 70° can be as invigorating as 55° on a muddy flat or an open bow blind. Everything about life, and especially the outdoors, is just better right now. I hope when we all get to heaven the calendar is stuck in the fall season.

I'm finally rehabbed enough to get back on the water following shoulder surgery in late July. Casting still gives me a little pain but getting cut seems to have been worth it. Technically, I'm still in recovery. Truth be known I should have done it many years ago. Lesson learned!

Being a fulltime guide, I get to talk to a lot of people and answer the same questions over and over.  Most frequently asked is; "What’s the best month to catch a big trout?" 

From the bottom of my heart and as sincerely as I can possibly convey it, my response is always the same; "Every year is different. Any month can be as good as any other when the water temperature is sustained in the 60s and below." 

It just so happens that that typically begins in November. There have been a few years where we have seen it run into May, delaying the spawn, but those are certainly on the rare side. Much like deer hunting, the trophies are in "hard antler" and starting to get into a winter routine and all that comes with it. Still early in the game, but the door is now open, and the possibilities of landing multiple big trout during any outing are real from now through May.  

As the water temps begin to drop, many scenarios will develop for catching quality trout.  Trout will start staging in areas that have flats close to deep water, some will linger in the depths/rocks longer than most, while others will show up in random places where they just feel safe – away from our stomping feet and boat traffic. The bottom line is you will have opportunities to catch them the way you want to catch them throughout this month. Not only will trout be prevalent on your favorite structure types, they will also be likely to strike any lure in your box as they begin the attempt to put on winter weight.  Hard bottom, cool weather, and a topwater sounds pretty righteous to me!

Starting now, the observant fisherman will notice there are continuously fewer mullet (main food source for trout) available in the bay. These baitfish migrate to the gulf in fall, reducing the food supply for all the cold months to come. As a result of this, our trout will gorge every time the opportunity arises. Putting on winter weight is essential to their survival, much like any furbearing animal in the wild. This certainly works to our advantage as sportsmen, as we are, mostly, a lazy lot and like the instant results that come from dropping a Corky or Bass Assassin in the face of a greedy, gorging trout. 

Speaking of gorging, did I mention these trout will be FAT?  Swollen bellies and thicker shoulders are what we will be seeing on the trout from this point on. After thirty-something years of fishing down here, the visual of that every morning is what makes my feet hit the floor. 

Now that we know what to expect, how do we find them? This is the part where most get all jacked up in the head, and the solution is so simple. Bait and structure!  I've said this a hundred times, but quit "hot spot" fishing. Fish move daily and you have to move with them. 

Look for visible signs, specifically surface activity from mullet. It doesn't matter that you are in your favorite spot, "The eye eats first." If you don't see anything to hold trout there, chances are they’re not there.  Ride the troll motor or idle to some other structure that they may have gravitated towards – drop-offs, up on a flat, a deep break, etc. 

My clients will vouch for how many times I have shut down in an area just to say, "Hang tight, we’re moving again." Trust your eyes and your instincts to save countless hours of casting practice because the eye eats first.

Remember the buffalo!  -Capt David Rowsey