Hooked Up: November 2025

Well, she finally got home. After being lost for almost 5 months she came blowing back into town like an F-47 running from a hurricane. When I first saw her, she was cold and hungry. Comforting her was not to be allowed, as she had a mission upon arrival and that was to cool the Laguna Madre waters back into something that resembles a winter trout season. It didn’t take her long to get her belly full as she enveloped south Texas and Baffin Bay.  Although her spirit was formidable, she finally settled down and gave us the first opportunity to pet her head and appreciate what we had been missing - the first big cold front of the season. Finally!

Whether a rookie into the game or a seasoned veteran, the lore of trophy trout fishing should be nipping at your Achilles at this time.  

I am often asked, “What is the best time of year to have the best chance of a big trout?” The basic truth is anytime you get the chance to go, but the hard and cold truth is when water temperatures begin to drop drastically, with additional assurance that additional fronts will keep it in a range of about 55°-65°. Of course, there are variations due to what else the elements may bring you at any given time, but that’s what I consider the ideal range. Historically, November will be the first month for everything to line up appropriately and get us to where we start seeing patterns we can count on.  

I have been pounding the sand, mud, and tripping on rocks in the Upper Laguna and Baffin for such a long time now that I have officially become “sir” around the marina.  As many of you know, about the only good thing that comes with age is experience. I’m slow on social media, have to exercise and stretch every morning before a day on the water, but as I type this – on my birthday ironically – I’m so grateful that I got into saltwater fishing at a young age and can rely on past experiences, lots good and plenty of bad, to adjust on the fly and make quick decisions that benefit both myself and clients.  One thing all the years on the water has taught me about catching giant trout is that it is much easier to catch them when they are comfortable in their surroundings and more congregated, due to water temps and relative scarcity of their preferred food source – mullet.

For months I have been going on and on about deep structure fishing with bay water temps in the low 90s.  As if flipping a toggle switch to activate your running lights, we are now switching over to a pattern that will find us in crotch- to knee-deep water on the regular.

Even in the depths of winter, shallow water still warms faster than it does out deep. Shorelines absorb and radiate heat back into the waters, even on the coldest days. Trout and mullet both seek it out for the same reason, but now the trout’s food supply is in its immediate house where shallower water turns into a more concentrated hunting ground.   

I’ve never minded putting in miles of effort to reach what seems an almost unobtainable goal of catching big trout at will, but dang if I don’t like it to get a little easier occasionally! This time of the year is the beginning of that possibility and when your efforts will most likely be rewarded with a personal-best fish, and even a bunch of them if you slow down to think about what you are doing and concentrate on what makes a fish comfortable versus fishing a favorite spot.

Trout are no different than us. They like to feel safe in their home, know where their next meal is coming from, and gather in the company of like-minded individuals. Outside of blistering cold north winds and boats running too dang close to shorelines, this is typically found in the water depths mentioned.  We are blessed in this area to have many miles of productive shoreline to welcome them back home this time of year.

Left undisturbed by outboards encroaching on them, they will stay in wading-depth water for the winter season to be caught with regularity, versus only finding them there occasionally. These scenarios are what makes big trout fishing a favorite winter sport to so many up and down the coast.

My most sincere condolences go out to the family and friends of our beloved Capt. Craig West at this time of bereavement. Rest In Peace, Craig.