Hooked Up: October 2026

Well, it’s still hot. Just a hint of relief this month will have the hair standing on the back of my neck. I mean, I don’t know if it’s an age thing or if it’s really that much hotter, but dang if it doesn’t seem more and more like the summers are hotter every year and the winters are more chilling. Either way, I’m looking forward to some relief to get my mind and body on more of an even playing field.

October around Baffin is an interesting time. The seasons are walking the line between the good and the bad, and the fish seem to act as squirrelly as my mood during this transition. On the books it’s considered fall, but from Rockport to South Padre it’s still damn hot, and for the most part, the trout are acting the same as they’ve been the last couple of months. They’ll be shallow just after daylight but quickly heading to deeper, cooler waters as the sun burns through the morning cloud cover.

Working through this transition at least gets me primed for what’s coming in November and increases my anticipation of the cold fronts that will be arriving then. I find that trying to stay on top of the best trout the bay has to offer helps sharpen my focus and removes a lot of stress. While the summer crowds and bait guides are shutting it down for the winter, I’m in a mad dash to clean reels and respool with the new, slicker version of Seaguar’s Smack Down Braid, install new hooks on “seasoned” plugs, sorting at least a hundred half-used packages of Bass Assassins, and ordering replacements of the numbers I’m running low on. And, of course, there’s the new Haymie to outfit and prepare for the long grind of the winter and spring seasons. Somedays it’s a pain in the backside, but I’m a firm believer that preparation alleviates most every problem outside of a finicky bite, and I find it worth the effort to control everything I can before I get on the boat with a paying customer.

The big news for October, here in the Upper Laguna-Baffin region, is the largest bait migration of the year. A mass exodus of mullet will be headed out to the surf this month, along with redfish and other species. I will hate to see them go as their presence on some obscure structure is always my first sign to get out of the boat and make a wade.

There are times, however, when less can be more. Like during winter, when just a couple of bait flips will be all you need to see to put a pattern together. For now, though, if I’m anywhere on the Upper Laguna, I am most likely parked somewhere along the traditional migration routes to the gulf. Eastside and westside shorelines are always in play at this time, along with the spoil islands and humps along the Intracoastal Waterway. Traditionally speaking, these areas will have the highest concentrations of migrating game fish and bait fish, and a total no-brainer for getting your day off to a good start, even if nothing more than a lucky guess.

I’m not one that relies on luck when planning my day or trying to figure things out, but this migration is so fluid that you may catch them on a submersed spoil island one day, and they will be two or three islands north of you the next. Seriously, it’s called a migration for a reason, so you need to keep your head on a swivel and willing to move to stay up with their overnight progressions.

“Fishing under the birds” has never been a thing for me. It’s not that it’s not productive, but we just don’t seem to get the quality fish under them as the bays farther up the coast are able to enjoy. Saying that, October does give us an opportunity for some quality fishing under them throughout the bait migration, if you are looking to run and gun them from the boat.

In closing, I just want to remind everyone to be respectful of each other on the water. There are more boats out there today than I have ever witnessed. Guys burning shorelines and flats, unfortunate cases of super-fast boats being operated by drivers with questionable skills, new anglers who exhibit a sense of entitlement (and some who’ve been around long enough to know better), has really heightened everyone’s edginess out here. Be courteous and lead by example!