Reports & Forecasts: June 2019

Lake Calcasieu Louisiana
Jeff and Mary Poe - Big Lake Guide Service - 337.598.3268
At the current time, trout fishing has been a bit challenging. We are putting fish in the boat consistently, but it is tougher than we were expecting at this time last month. The torrential rains we’ve experienced over the last few weeks have freshened the estuary and muddied the waters. The bright spot has been redfish for the last week or so. The bite at the Cameron Jetties has been fantastic on the incoming tide. Looking ahead to June, we expect things to settle down and become more productive. The freshwater should be gone, opening up options all over the estuary. Typically, June is our best month for catching large numbers of trout. Normally, weather patterns start to calm, which opens our nearshore options. The jetties, surf, and short-rigs should all be productive places this month. These are always some of our most memorable trips of the year, because the pace of catching is often fast, hard to keep up with. We look forward to seeing all of you on the water soon.

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com - 409.935.7242
In June, James usually finds the wading good for a while, then sees something of a shift towards fishing deeper, open waters out of the boat later in the month. “We like to wade reefs and shorelines in the area bays early in the morning this time of year, especially when the tide is coming in. Areas behind San Luis Pass, shorelines close to the ship channel, and cuts and drains in both East and Trinity Bays have good potential this time of year. It's a great month to throw topwaters. I tend to favor SheDogs and ShePups, which are pretty easy on the wrists, and the fish eat 'em up. The red and white ones and the pink and silver ones have been working well lately. When the topwaters aren't working, the shrimp-colored Sea Shads are working better. By the time June rolls around, we should have more birds working, catching some easy limits under them, and we should also be able to do some effective slick-hopping, keying in on schools of trout feeding in places not too far from the ship channel out of the boat.”

Jimmy West - Bolivar Guide Service - 409.996.3054
Heavy rains were inundating Galveston during the time Jim gave his report. “I'm watching the news, and some places have gotten seven or eight inches of rain already. So fishing in the near future will depend on how high the rivers get. Shoreline fishing will get tough if it gets too fresh over most of the area, but fishing out in the middle might get even better. Lately, we've been catching pretty good wading some of the shorelines in East Bay, throwing slow-sinking twitch baits and topwaters. Good numbers of solid trout to about five pounds are biting them. If and when we're forced out into the middle by the freshwater, into depths of seven to ten feet, we'll switch over to catching everything on tails. The key out there will be to match the size of jighead to the conditions. In order to catch the fish hugging the bottom in the layer of salty water down there, you've got to keep the lure close to the bottom. If tides and winds are light, eighth-ounce jigheads might work; stronger winds and tides will dictate the use of heavier ones.”

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves - Groves Guide Service
979.849.7019 - 979.864.9323
Randall was optimistic when he submitted this report, predicting a productive summer of fishing in the San Luis Pass area. “We've had a big run of brown shrimp moving into the bays recently. We've been catching fish steadily. Had seventeen trout and a couple reds today, which has been pretty typical. We caught pretty good on soft plastics rigged on three-eighths ounce jigheads today, fishing out of the boat. We also did decent wading with some of the custom Paul Brown Lures, including the silver one with black spots. Any day now, I expect the ribbonfish to start migrating into the bays from the surf. When that happens, we usually catch pretty good for a while, throwing pearl SkitterWalks and the large Sand Eels, which more closely resemble the long, slender, silver ribbonfish. And, speaking of the surf, we look forward to spending lots of morning targeting our trout out there, when winds are light and morning incoming tides make it productive. I think we're heading for a really outstanding summer of catching around here.”

Matagorda | Tommy Countz
Bay Guide Service - 979.863.7553 cell 281.450.4037
Like most every other month, June presents plenty of options for anglers in the Matagorda area. “When I'm wading, I'm usually in West Bay, throwing topwaters on the shallow grass beds close to the shorelines early, then switching to soft plastics like a glow Lil' John later in the morning, rigged on a sixteenth-ounce jighead. If the tide is dropping out, we wind up on the outer beds and bars. Of course, we like to walk over the island into the surf any time we can, meaning when the wind lays down. Out along the beach, we usually fish in a similar way to what we do in the bay, working topwaters in the shallow guts early, then moving out deeper with soft plastics later. If we're fishing out of the boat, we're probably drifting over the big artificial reef in West Bay or in either end of East Bay, using paddletails rigged on heavier jigheads, either quarter or three-eighths ounce, bumping them off the bottom. Sometimes, we fish with live shrimp dangled about four feet under a popping cork, which keeps us ready to target tripletail if and when we see them.”

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam
www.palaciosguideservice.com - 979.240.8204
Fishing is on fire in Palacios! Trout fishing has been great over deep shell, throwing live shrimp rigged three to four feet under corks, underneath the lights at night on 1st St. and East Bay Piers, free-lining live shrimp, and on grassy shorelines, throwing bone Spook Juniors. The size of most of our trout right now are sixteen to nineteen inches, with a few over twenty. Redfish are on scattered shell and grass shorelines in less than two feet of water, chasing glass minnows and grass shrimp. Gold quarter-ounce spoons and chartreuse/pearl/chartreuse ShePups have been effective for them. Late-season fronts are keeping our flounder gigging strong, with easy limits on good light north winds. June can be a great month in the surf on the peninsula, early mornings in the first gut and in deeper water as the sun rises higher. SheDogs in green/chrome and chartreuse/chrome are favorites. Tripletail will be showing up and should be around any visible or floating structure in the bay, readily biting live shrimp rigged five to six feet under popping corks.

Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith
Back Bay Guide Service - 361.983.4434
Lynn likes fishing shallow, sandy, grassy flats close to Pass Cavallo when the calendar switches over from spring to summer. “We like to try to stay close to the big rafts of mullet moving into West Matagorda Bay. We usually catch some pretty big trout this month, throwing topwaters as much as we can. They work really well early in the mornings, especially when an incoming tide peaks not long after daybreak. We will also throw soft plastics around the concentrations of mullet on days when we've had a good topwater bite for a while, then it plays out. When not fishing flats close to the surf, we will spend some days in the surf itself, working the part right on the beach early, moving out as the day progresses. In the bays, we like to fish some of the mid-bay reefs, particularly those with relatively deep, open water close by. Trout fishing is usually steady in places like that in June. We'll still focus on catching redfish in the back-lakes. The bite is good for reds on soft plastics in areas with scattered shell, mud and grass, also lots of bait.”

Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894
Blake looks forward to fishing in the surf as much as possible, once June rolls around. “I like to fish in the surf this time of year. It can be really productive. We usually start off close to the beach, throwing topwaters, then move out to the deeper guts and throw MirrOlures and soft plastics later. But I don't count on the surf so much, because the productivity of it is so weather dependent, especially now that Cedar Bayou has sealed up again. Mostly, I like fishing hard sand bottoms in the local bays this time of year, when the wind is up, or shell reefs out in the middle, when winds are lighter. Wherever we're fishing, we like to throw topwaters early when we can, soft plastics later. And, of course, I do quite a bit of wading with live croakers this time of year. Locating large concentrations of bait makes a big difference once the warm season starts. It doesn't make much sense to be fishing somewhere without plenty of food for the trout and redfish, since so many places have such a good variety of small fish and crustaceans in them.”

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut
Robert Zapata – [email protected] - 361.563.1160
The month of June is one of my favorite times for fishing. The weather is consistently calmer than earlier in the spring, and that translates into better catching. This is still a great month to start out the mornings fishing with your favorite MirrOlure SheDogs or TopDogs, as long there is not too much floating grass. If you get many blow ups on the top waters but no hook ups, switching to the MirrOlure Catch 5 and working it just under the surface sometimes improves the catch rate. If there is too much floating or suspended grass, use the Bass Assassin Die Dappers in colors like sand trout, chartreuse dog, or chicken on a chain, rigged on a sixteenth-ounce Spring Lock jighead. These will produce good numbers of trout and redfish. On sunny days, with less than twenty knot winds, the sight-casting game will be very good in water less than twelve inches deep, fishing with shrimp-flavored Fish-Bites. Of course, the live croakers will be catching many trout, redfish and flounder along grass lines and in areas with sandy potholes.

Corpus Christi | Joe Mendez – www.sightcast1.com - 361.877.1230
June usually brings calmer conditions than the previous months, which creates improved opportunities for catching trout and redfish in a variety of ways, Joe says. “Wading with topwaters on shorelines and around shallow sand bars along the ICW will produce excellent catches of both trout and redfish, especially when winds die down late at night and the calm lull lasts into the early-morning hours this month. If a bunch of fish bite the topwaters early in a place, then stop once the sun rises further over the horizon, it's usually possible to keep catching by switching to soft plastics and throwing them in a little deeper water. Fishing out of the boat, along grassy edges, over deep potholes and around rocks on shorelines with deep water close by also works great in June. Since the water is so clear lately, it's possible to throw soft plastics along the edges of potholes and around the rocks without getting hung up often. During the middle of the bright days, sight-casting options for drum, redfish and trout also present themselves regularly.”

P.I.N.S. Fishing Forecast | Eric Ozolins
361-877-3583 | Oceanepics.com
Summer is coming soon! June can be prime-time for speckled trout in the surf; my favorite method out there is throwing topwater lures early and late. Walking the dog has produced some of the largest trout I've ever seen from the surf. When driving the beach, look for suck-outs in the first bar, deeper holes, and wrecks. Expect to see some jack crevalle still hanging in the surf and they too will take trout lures…and wreak havoc on trout tackle. Spanish mackerel and skipjacks, while slow to show this year, should be making their presence known very soon. Spoons of any size and color often do the trick with these guys, especially under birds. It is not uncommon to hook a tarpon while targeting them. June also marks the arrival of large tiger sharks and great hammerheads, which feed on the large stingrays that come to the surf to birth their pups. Waders should keep their feet on the sand at all times; anyone struck by stingray barbs should seek medical attention immediately. Soaking the wound in hot water provides temporary relief.

Port Mansfield | Ruben Garza
Snookdudecharters.com – 832.385.1431
Getaway Adventures Lodge – 956.944.4000
The spring months on the Lower Laguna are quite windy, but June is generally calmest. This month, topwater action is normally best in low light, early and late, sometimes all day. West Bay, Peyton's Bay, The Saucer, and spoil banks along the ICW and East Cut all offer great opportunity. My favorite floaters are full-sized Super Spooks, Spook Juniors, and SkitterWalks, large and small. The best colors vary from day to day, so an assortment in the wade box is recommended. When surface action fades, best bet for trout will be soft plastics and gold spoons for reds. KWiggler Ball Tails on eighth-ounce heads are my go-to plastics wherever I’m fishing. Trout action has been best in thigh-deep water along the Pipeline, the old Weather Station, Wagner’s Bar, and south of Dubb’s Island. Redfish have been fairly steady east of Bennie’s Island, around Green Island, Butcher’s and Dubb's Islands. The east side sand flats are legendary for mid-day sight-casting opportunities for redfish and occasional big trout, another of many great June options.

Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel
Aaron Cisneros | tightlinescharters.com – 956-639-1941
Tide levels have been increasing over the past several weeks, normal for this time of year, which means we have more areas to fish than during the colder months. Flats, spoil islands, and back bay shorelines are virtually all in play at this time. Large rafts of mullet can be found in many areas and solid trout have been concentrating where the bait is most plentiful. Best trout action has been coming from mid-thigh to knee-deep water over grassbeds. We are throwing natural-colored KWigglers plastics for the most part on 1/16-ounce jigheads. Redfish have been mixed with trout along many of the shallow sand and grass shorelines and back bay regions. Weedless gold spoons have been working very well for reds in grassy situations, as well as the Super Spook Jr rigged with single hooks. Winds will continue to lie down, in general, as air and water temperatures continue to rise. Summer fishing patterns will soon be the norm and daily trout and redfish movements will become more predictable. Come on out and enjoy the fishing. You cannot catch them at home!