February – The Month of Angling Legends

Here comes February; the month that has gained great fame for trophy trout. Cold weather and lower than average tides have long been known for concentrating schools of larger trout, and no event helped fuel that story more than when Jim Wallace landed an incredible 13 pound 11 ounce specimen in Baffin Bay back in 1996. Wallace’s state record speck took a Paul Brown Original Corky lure, which permanently etched the names of both Mr. Brown and that of the slow-sinker bait he created in Texas angling history.

February weather can be fickle, though. Passing cold fronts can be both boon and bust as regards angling success. One day too early or too late can squash the bite and leave anglers scratching their heads. Like so many other pursuits; timing can be everything.

Preparation is also a key variable in the angling success equation. Warm underlayers and quality wading gear are absolute musts. Patience, too. Just because it’s February, you cannot expect an every-cast bite from outsized fish. You have to be mentally prepared to stand your ground and make a couple hundred casts somedays – until that big yellow mouth decides it’s time to eat and clamps your lure.

Our writing team have assembled a collection of informative pieces to hopefully increase your confidence and angling success and we hope you are able to take advantage of their years of experience and willingness to share. You will also do well to factor in the solunar calendar information we publish monthly. The day before a front and the second day following can be the gold standard for being in the right place at the right time.

A few words about conservation: There will be a number of fishing tournaments happening this month, with huge payouts to winning teams, which always attract a host of highly-skilled competitors. TSFMag has long endeavored to provide the best fishing education to its readers, along with a heaping helping of conservation ethic and respect for Texas fisheries. We are quite pleased to see many of these events conducted with live-weigh and release formats. We would like to go further and suggest that if the tournament you’re fishing does not include such you will take upon yourself to weigh your fish alive and then return them to the water after the event.

I also want to encourage everybody to renew their CCA Texas membership online. With so many fishing and outdoors shows being cancelled due to Covid precautions, many Texas anglers will likely miss visiting the CCA booth to renew their memberships and register for S.T.A.R. Please don’t let that happen. It only takes a few minutes to visit CCATexas.org and get it done.

Be safe, and don’t let Old Man Winter keep you off the water!

February Fishing Tips and Tidbits – Get On The Water!
https://youtu.be/ffpCWfT_pos