Heading South for Trophy Trout!

Although sight-fishing for redfish can be really good in December, with conditions of light wind and sunny days after passing cold fronts; we begin to shift gears this time of year, pulling up stakes out of Seadrift and heading for Port Mansfield and the Lower Laguna Madre.

Port Mansfield is where we spend our winter and spring, up until the full and new moons in April, chasing sow trout in the Lower Laguna Madre. We spend day after day stalking these fish with clients, following the ever-changing patterns due to weather, wind, and temperature. For me, fishing the Lower Laguna started in 2008, for a week each year after the close of duck season, and then for a few days on a favorable moon phase again in March. A guide buddy of mine, whose granddad was a guide at Port Mansfield back in the 70s and 80s, would join and venture down to revisit some of his old stomping grounds in search of our own personal best trout. Over the years we became good friends with Mike McBride and Tricia Whitley. Usually renting a room from her dad, J.D. Whitley, staying up longer than we should have, swapping fishing tales. From the first wading trip to those fabled waters I knew I wanted to share this experience with others. I also knew I had a lot to learn before I could confidently and competently guide somebody in the many miles of shallow flats.

Soaking up as much as I could from J.D., Tricia, Mike, and my buddy; the secrets of success began to unfold. Each year we would unlock just a little more with different weather patterns and water temperature changes common to the winter season. Finally, in 2016, I decided to hang up the decoys for good, ending my days as a mid-coast waterfowl guide, and begin offering January and February trips to some of my repeat summer clients. We began our winter trips as 2-day minimums and would book little strings of them, then load up and head back to Seadrift in between trips to fish with customers there. After a couple years, and many late nights on the road, my wife and I decided to swing for the fences and go exclusively to Port Mansfield in the winter. We hit a homerun in 2018, it was some of the best big trout fishing we had experienced in our careers. The weather worked out, the patterns held in place, and client after client succeeded in landing their personal best trout. It was a winter that through the grace of God, put us on the map as a guide service who knew how to find big trout.

Our current Port Mansfield calendar starts in December and runs through the second weekend of March. Following that, we return for the new and full moon in April. Leading up to the freeze in February 2021, fishing was becoming bigger and bigger each year. It was a very healthy bay system and like nothing we had ever seen. The numbers of big trout were absolutely mind-blowing, not only from what my boat was doing, but from what we heard at the docks, and talking to other locals. Then, just like that, Mother Nature took it all away. I can honestly say that I have never seen anything like it, nor do I ever want to again. The number of big trout was astonishing, and made you think; how, with so many floating dead from the freeze, were we not landing even more big trout? I think that just goes to show how illusive they can be.

Thankfully, Texas Parks and Wildlife put emergency regulations in place almost immediately for the Texas Laguna Madre. For that, in 2022, although there were no eight and nine-pounders landed by my anglers, we were all pleased to see the numbers of three- to six-pound fish. Most of the fish we caught that year were in the 19- to 21-inch class, with the better weights averaging around four pounds. Noticeable was the abundance of bait and the lack of predation, which made it tricky many days to pattern the trout. It didn’t matter where you went you were always in the bait. But, just because you were in the bait, did not mean you were catching fish.

To me, this is where timing became a big part of our success. Knowing, or thinking I knew, we tried to stay abreast and ahead of each pattern change. Scrutinizing the weather patterns as they evolved, and figuring out what these fish would be doing under different scenarios, is what helped us stay on a solid enough bite to keep clients interested. Trying (hoping) to get ahead of fish, or knowing how colder or warmer water temps would make these big trout react and move to different areas of the bay, to either seek refuge, or take advantage of the opportunity to feed, makes this the incredible challenge that I enjoy. Using what I have learned from years on the water, along with countless conversations with fellow guides, trying to predict the next pattern definitely increased my knowledge and made me a better angler and guide.

The Lower Laguna offers some sixty-plus miles of knee-deep water with almost endless fishing possibilities. Learning to use subtle contour changes, drop-offs, grass lines and edges, is a never-ending learning curve, in my opinion. Figuring out what zone fish are holding in, or more importantly, where the bait is holding, will lead to successful fishing days. From the fish we landed last year, more four- to six and a half-pounders than we could count, with a healthy smattering of sevens and a couple of eights, I am really looking forward to seeing what this coming winter season will offer. That is, if winter ever shows up. I am a firm believer that sharp temperature changes are a big part of the trigger that we need to see in order for the bigger trout to feed aggressively.

Clients often ask which month is the best to be down there. I simply reply that that is a loaded question, because there are variables that make each month special. The bigger question is whether we will be in the right place when those variables hit? I tell them there is a reason I have elected to go to Port Mansfield each of these months, and these include the cold fronts and the big warm-up periods in early spring that trigger the pre-spawn bite. There are so many things each month can present that I now offer them the two best weeks of each month, which I have found are the week of the new moon and week of the full moon.

One thing is certain, with the arrival of first cool front each fall, I get the itch to head south. My mind begins to race as to which flat I would like to be standing on, visualizing sand pockets and grass mats, already knowing what bait I would tie on and how I would approach the area. So yes, I’m ready, how ‘bout you? Give us a call for open dates and the trip of a lifetime on some of the most beautiful water on the Texas coast.

All our trips are 3-day minimum bookings, all wading artificial, with catch and release of all trout and redfish. This is done out of respect to the local guides who make a year ‘round living down there. Our primary mission has and always will be to provide our clients the opportunity to land their personal best trout.

Captain Nathan Beabout