How to Turn Challenges into Success Stories

There are two months here along the Texas Coast that cause some folks to cringe every year when it comes to tricking speckled trout. This is especially true for those of us who choose to throw the counterfeit stuff at ‘em. April seems to be the one most dreaded while September runs a close second. Both are commonly referred to as transitional months as noticeable changes are brought about by substantial temperature fluctuations when going from one season to the next. Some would also argue that March should be included as well and I’m inclined to agree depending upon weather patterns for that particular year. This seems to be especially true when it comes to trout fishing here in the Galveston Bay Complex.

Some of the most extreme changes take place this time of year affecting the behavior of our fish, particularly speckled trout. As cold fronts become less frequent, water temperatures rise sometimes 6 or 8 degrees in a matter of days. Then just when it seems that winter is over and done with a late front pushes through dropping temperatures again. Winds tend to blow hard from every direction. Tides can rise way above normal which can spread out the fish. This time of year can be filled with numerous challenges but we can actually turn them into success stories by understanding the seasonal behavioral patterns of the fish we target.

Strong easterly winds can create unpleasant fishing conditions if we intend to fish open bay reefs or other structure. However, fishing out in the middle shouldn’t necessarily be our target area this time of year, especially early in the month. Easterly winds and higher than normal equinox tides tend to pull trout closer to shorelines. Barring too much north in the wind there are plenty of high percentage areas to jump out even in 20 mph winds in most of the bays along the Texas Coast. Furthermore, increased wind creates streaky water which helps us trick those finicky springtime trout.

Higher than usual tides also help us fish areas we wouldn’t otherwise be able to target. Such areas may include spartina (cordgrass) shorelines in back lakes, shallow oyster reefs, and other natural and man-made structure. One type of man-made structure that comes to mind here in Galveston Bay are some of the erosion control and marsh restoration “living shoreline” projects that currently span more than 20 miles of shoreline (www.galbay.org). We’ve caught some pretty impressive trout in recent years casting near revetment rocks along shorelines that may otherwise be too shallow to fish.

As mentioned, trout tend to become more dispersed during this seasonal transition. While this may be a disadvantage for catching high numbers of fish in a tight area there is a benefit. The warmer water temperatures that tend to scatter the trout also increases their metabolism. Obviously, with increased metabolism comes more frequent feeding. This is the good news. The sometimes not so good news is their food choices.

This is the time of year when billions of tiny shad and glass minnows are hatching and filling the water column. Trout and other predator fish will simply swim through clouds of these tiny morsels with their mouths open until they’re content, sometimes making them extremely difficult to trick with artificial lures. There is a benefit, however, to what seems like yet another roadblock to a good catching experience.

These high lipid (fat) content shad that may be responsible for one of the most finicky bites of the year also help add weight and girth to trout that are already heavy because they still haven’t lost their winter fat. Then there’s the added bonus weight of roe as trout approach the beginning of their spawning season – April through September. For these reasons April can be a special time of the year for catching heavyweight trout. This can be especially true as a full moon approaches.

Shad offer another benefit when it comes to locating trout. When specks regurgitate after feeding upon these super oily menhaden they produce some of the most well-defined slicks of the year. Once they so generously show us where they are we have to find a way to trick these full-bellied, tiny morsel-eating specks. My good friend, Captain Mickey Eastman, says that the best time to fool big trout this time of year is just before dark, especially leading up to the full moon, and I couldn’t agree more. Lord knows he’s caught his fair share of them through the years.

Not only is the timing imperative but lure choices are probably more important during this period than any other time of the year. I have two schools of thought on how to entice transitional trout and they are completely opposite of each other.

There are two characteristics possessed by springtime trout. One is that they are typically suspended in the water column. This is mainly because the prey upon which they are feeding is so small that it gets carried by the currents and wind. Opportunistic trout wait for the food to come to them as they wait with their mouths open without necessarily singling out any one target in particular. The other characteristic is that they spend a great deal of time in a negative feeding pattern. Because of these two factors I’ve had great success using baits that stay in the strike zone longer than say a soft plastic rigged on a 1/4 or 3/8 ounce jig head. MirrOlure Lil Johns, Provokers and Saltwater Assassins rigged on 1/16 ounce lead heads work really well for suspended tough-to-trick trout.

Another advantage of throwing a soft plastic is that we can cover a lot of water, thus hitting more of those scattered fish on the head. The more natural the presentation the better. If the lure sinks straight to the bottom then our chances of getting bit are far less. Using braided line also helps keep our baits suspended because of its slower sink rate. I also believe in using a fairly long (4-6 feet) 20-pound fluorocarbon leader for its invisible properties and abrasion resistance. Seaguar Gold label is my preference because it’s smaller diameter than other brands and it has very little memory so it never ends up looking like a Slinky. One thing I might add is that 20-pound test is plenty – 15-pound would even be enough. 30-pound is overkill in my opinion as it does not allow for as natural a presentation.

My other strategy is more of the bull in the china cabinet variety. Like most predator fish, trout are reaction feeders. Because of this, high-pitched topwaters such as MirrOlure She Dogs and Rapala Skitter Walks can draw reaction strikes even from the most stubborn ones. We’ve had times when our hook-up to blow-up ratio wasn’t all that impressive but at least we knew the fish were there. From that point we’d experiment with floating and subsurface twitchbaits such as the Double Ds and Barboleta Lele. More often than not we could figure out a way to catch enough of them to justify standing there.

As I mentioned earlier April trout patterns can change in a matter of days, and sometimes even over the course of the same day. All types of structure and bottom habitat can come into play. During cooler weather stretches trout will hang close to shell and softer bottom areas, especially near deeper guts. Warmer periods and higher tides may push them into sand-bottomed coves and tight to cordgrass-lined shorelines. Regardless of location, focal points should be where all or some of the following signs are present: bait, slicks, birds, and color streaks.

By learning to take what many consider challenges of April and using them to our benefit we can not only maximize our opportunities but maybe even latch on to one of those hefty pre-spawn sows we all dream about.