Here’s Your Sign!

A few years back comedian and Galveston native Bill Engvall came out with a standup routine called Here’s Your Sign that poked fun at people who ask stupid questions.  Engvall would fire back answers even sillier than the questions asked. He would finish by saying, “Here’s your sign.” The sign said, “I’m Stupid.” 

One of my favorites was when he and his buddy caught a bunch of fish and a guy at the dock asked them, “Hey!  Did ya’ll catch all of those?” Engvall replied, “Nope! Talked ‘em into giving up. Here’s your sign!” 

Or how about this one? He pulls into a gas station with a flat tire and the attendant says, “Tire go flat?” Bill answered, “Nope! I was driving around and those other three just swelled right up on me. Here’s your sign!” 

I pulled into the convenience store on my way to the ramp one morning around 4:30 to get ice and coffee. A guy looked at my boat and asked, “You goin’ fishin’?” I replied, “No sir. I just thought I’d drag my boat around for a while before I go back to bed. Here’s your sign!”

We could sit here for hours discussing Here’s Your Sign moments but there are other types of signs I’d would rather talk about. They might not give you quite as good a chuckle but they might help you catch more fish over the next few months.

An obvious sign that rightfully gets mentioned most often is the presence of bait. This time of year such bait will most often be mullet. Mullet are typically much more active during warm-up periods ahead of cold fronts, which obviously enables us to locate them more easily. These pre-frontal days usually bring higher tides as southerly winds persist and barometric pressure drops. This is when we want to be wading near bayou outlets and coves as tides begin to fall. Whether flipping, fleeing or lazy jumping, mullet can easily be located during these situations. An occasional bonus during these scenarios are visible slicks which enable us to further pinpoint our target species.

I frequently hear fellow anglers say things like, “Man, the trout ought to eat like crazy tomorrow with that front coming in.”  While I have indeed witnessed a solid feeding pattern during such scenarios, my best luck has almost always been within a couple of hours of and during the actual passage of the front. This is when the barometric pressure is about to rise and the fish instinctively sense a drastic change that can trigger an unbelievable feed.

We witnessed this just the other day as our bite started out kind of slow with us only catching 7 or 8 fish the first couple of hours. As the wind shifted around to the northeast and the light mist turned into steady drizzle, bait came alive and the bite was on fire.  Over the next two hours the four of us caught over 80 fish (trout and reds). While the conditions weren’t exactly pleasant we were dressed appropriately.

For the record, I’m not advocating fishing during the passage of a blue norther that’s bringing 40 mph winds and small craft advisories. Those who would even launch their boat with such a forecast may need one of those signs we talked about earlier. The front we fished through was a weak Pacific front. Common sense for most, but still worth mentioning.    

I’d say more than half of the time during the late winter months bait signs are not so obvious. Thankfully there are other living creatures we share our estuaries with that can see things we can’t. The ones that immediately come to mind show up along the Texas Coast around October then usually leave by March. In our bay systems, they primarily feed upon fish, crustaceans and small eels. They can stay underwater for up to 90 seconds then surprise you by popping up right beside your boat. On a recent calm foggy morning we couldn’t see them but we could hear their smooth and majestic signature yodels. The common loon has led us to more fish this time of year than I can count. Pay attention to the loons. They’re on bait! 

There are certain circumstances that cause the entire bay to appear completely lifeless.  More often than not, these are bluebird, post-front, high pressure days. Before my clients learned the possible effects of such conditions I would routinely get comments like, “I just can’t understand why the fish aren’t biting. It’s such a beautiful day.”  Back then I would give them my broken record answer which included every reason in minute detail why such conditions shut the fishing down. These days, if they make comments like that I want to just go ahead and give them their sign. 

All is never lost, however, even when we face these dead water scenarios. Just last week I honestly thought I would experience my first skunk in almost two years. There was very little tide movement coupled with all of the conditions I mentioned above. After almost three hours with only a few throwbacks the guys (new customers) were getting restless. One guy even made the ole’ fish market comment. You know, the one where they say, “Well, I guess we’ll have to stop off at the seafood market on the way home.” 

Then I got hit with a much less ego-crushing comment: “Well, a bad day of fishing beats a good day at work.”  Of course there’s always the nice guy on the boat who’s afraid to formally declare his state of disappointment so he politely says, “It’s just nice being out here. After all, catching is only a bonus.”  After three hours of my soul being partially ripped from my being and me questioning my ability as a professional fishing guide, I was finally able to make something happen. 

I found one stretch of water that showed more promise than anything I’d seen all morning. The depth over the shell-bottom flat was approximately 4.5 feet. This flat dropped off into a 6-foot mud-bottomed channel. There were no visible slicks in the glass-like water but I could smell trout in the air. Not a single mullet was jumping but there were literally hundreds of them swirling just below the surface all around the boat. We noticed that the mullet only swirled when I moved the boat with the trolling motor. Otherwise, they were inactive and difficult to see. At least we finally found something that offered some upside. 

The bite wasn’t crazy but we managed to catch enough to justify the effort and I managed to not only save face with new clients but also salvaged enough dignity to get through the rest of the day.           

I mention it quite frequently, but one of my favorite things to look for this time of year are color changes. Color changes (aka color streaks or mud streaks) are caused primarily by wind and/or current. The murky water is a bait and predator fish magnet. Warmer water in the streaks and ambush points along the edges are the primary attributes of streaks. It’s really that simple.     

Sometimes signs we see on a given day may not help us much until down the road when conditions are different. A recent cold front brought northwest winds gusting to 45 mph. Most folks who fish the Texas coast know what stiff winds from the northwest do to our tide levels. Taking the time to venture out during extremely low tide periods can provide us with hidden secrets of the bay floor that would otherwise go unseen. A couple of examples would be small unmarked reefs and bottom undulations off the beaten paths. Such guts and structure can be targeted when tide levels return to normal. 

Those who have the most success on the water are the ones who are the most persistent and observant. They have separated themselves by their ability and determination to see, hear and smell every little sign that Mother Nature is willing to offer.