Reports & Forecasts: September 2023

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com - 409.935.7242
James says he’ll be focusing mostly on the nearshore Gulf to hunt roaming schools of tarpon during September, and that the patterns which best produce trout will remain much the same as they have all summer. “Barring any storms, and given the typical calm wind patterns of September, tarpon fishing can be great this month. I’ll be searching for them as often as I can, looking for fish rolling at the surface, or working around concentrations of bait and bird activity in the open Gulf. Folks interested in fishing for trout in the bays should continue to focus on areas in deep water, mostly close to the ship channel or ICW. Keying on areas with plenty of slicks popping and/or working birds will lead to the best results. Deploying an anchor and making repeated casts at structures sticking up off the bottom works best. In those kinds of places, it’s important to set the boat in the right place, to allow for throwing lures around the structures and retrieving them in directions with or indirectly with the current. Depth and speed of presentation are critical in these situations too.”

Jimmy West | Bolivar Guide Service - 409.996.3054
Jim always gets excited for the coming hunting seasons once September looms on the horizon. “Dove season will start on the first, and teal season cranks up soon after that. I’ll be hunting a lot this month. The prospects for fast shooting on the dove side look great. Hot, dry weather makes for excellent dove hunting. Folks interested in hunting the waterfowl will be reliant on having water on the prairies. People who have wells or other sources of water will have great hunting, while others will go without birds in this drought. All that can change, of course, if we get a tropical storm or some other big rain event. The fishing will remain much the same as it has all summer. Recently, we had a good run of catching trout in the surf, fish up to about six and a half pounds. During the calm spells, that pattern can remain productive in September. Otherwise, folks will do best fishing out in the middle, keying on slicks and rafts of bait and mud stirs in fairly deep water around some of the main reefs. The bite for waders on the shorelines is usually a short-lived, early-morning thing.”

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves | Groves Guide Service
979.849.7019 - 979.864.9323
In addition to the surf, which is always a good option for anglers targeting trout during the hot months, when winds calm enough to allow the water to run green to the beach, Randall also mentions another productive plan. “We’ll be targeting trout in fairly deep water, with some scattered shell on the bottom. At the end of summer, some of the shrimp start moving out of the backwater areas, heading through the open bay, toward the Gulf. When they do, the trout feed aggressively on them. Normally, we use slicks to locate the places where the action is occurring. When fishing slicks, we like to start off well upwind and upcurrent of small slicks for best results. On the best days, we find flocks of gulls hovering over the herds, waiting to grab shrimp as they jump out of the water, trying to avoid the attacking trout. When we find working birds, the action is usually fast on a variety of lures, including topwaters. More of the time, Norton Sand Eel Jr in colors like tequila gold and cayenne gold work better. We keep these rigged on a little heavier jigheads when we’re fishing out of the boat.”

Matagorda Bays | Capt. Glenn Ging
Glenn’s Guide Service - 979.479.1460
www.glennsguideservice.com
The worst of the heat is pretty much over with for the year and relief from our first cool fronts is right around the corner. We’ll still see some hot days, though. The fishing in East Matagorda continues pretty consistent, with a nice mix of trout and redfish for drifters working mid-bay reefs. We are catching some really nice fish on the new Bass Assassin Lit’l P&V rigged on light jigheads, sometimes under Coastal Corks. Vudu shrimp under corks are working as well. Waders are doing well on live bait, fishing reefs on the east end of the bay and on the south shoreline over scattered shell in chest-deep water. West Matagorda is producing some nice tripletail here and there, mostly on live shrimp. There are decent numbers of speckled trout and black drum being caught on the shell reefs with live shrimp over that way too. Others are catching plenty of speckled trout and redfish by wading and throwing soft plastics and topwaters around the grassbeds on the south shoreline. The first cool fronts of the year should give us a few more days to fish the beachfront.

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam
www.palaciosguideservice.com - 979.240.8204
We’ve had calmer winds, with a southeasterly heading much of the time lately, and fishing has improved dramatically. With the hot weather, our fish have moved close to deeper water; the trout bite has been steady out at the wells and deeper reefs in West Matagorda Bay on free-lined live shrimp and DSL lures in white ice and magic grass. Redfish are starting to show on area shorelines, mostly with deep water nearby, and we’re seeing a few schools. Pumpkinseed and pearl Norton Bull Minnows rubbed with Pro-Cure Shrimp Gel have been the best baits for reds. Tripletail this year are somewhat scarce, but we have landed a few, ranging from eight to about twelve pounds, using live shrimp about four to six feet under corks around visible structures. Giggers are finding better numbers of flounder on the south shoreline of West Matagorda Bay in places with sandy, grassy bottoms. They’re bringing in lots of solid 18-20” fish. We have lots of shad, shrimp and mullet in the bays, and action should pick up even more as the weather cools, especially in the back-bays and coves where gulls should be working over herds of migrating shrimp.”

Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith
Back Bay Guide Service - 361.935.6833
Lynn mentions a continuing need to fish in places with good tidal movements and where deep water and shallow flats lie in close proximity to one another, as the heat wave of summer rolls into September. “We’re all looking forward to some cooler weather, but September is usually another hot month. The patterns we’ve been fishing all summer will continue to produce best. I like to fish the surf as much as I can when winds die down and the clear water moves close to land. The trout bite is often great out there on topwaters early in the mornings in those situations. Best bet is to stay tight to the shore and fish the first and second guts until it gets hot, then move out into the deeper guts later. When we’re unable to get into the surf, we like to wade reefs and flats with deep water nearby. The bite is often best in the morning hours, when the tide is coming in. With so much bait in the water, it’s important to find areas with obviously active bait, meaning bait that’s showing fear from predators in the area. This usually means mullet that are moving fast and jumping a lot.”

Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894
With the arrival of September, changes are definitely in the air for Blake. “The approaching fall season means a return to the cast-n-blast routine for me. This month, dove and teal seasons will arrive. I don’t do as many combination trips yet, but they’re coming. Until we get into big duck season, I’ll spend more of my time fishing than hunting, then it will become more of an even split. The fishing has remained steady in the Coastal Bend this summer, despite the blazing heat. We’ve had some decent days in the surf, and fishing for trout in the bays has been better in places close to deep water. In September, we catch plenty of trout in places where the reds are gathering up to move offshore to spend their lives as adults. The flats near the channels leading to Port Aransas all have the potential to hold big schools of reds this time of year. We normally key on big mud stirs, bird activity and nervous bait to find the migrating schools. The topwater bite is sporadically good for both trout and reds in September, but fishing with soft plastics and/or live bait is sometimes more productive.”

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut
Robert Zapata | [email protected] - 361.563.1160
I hope everyone is enjoying the fishing this summer, but I think we will all welcome a little bit cooler temperatures. The trout have been in the shallows, in about two feet of water or less, for just a few hours after sunrise. Natural-colored Bass Assassin Die Dappers rigged on sixteenth-ounce Spring-Lock jigheads are working well before they move out into deeper water as the sun gets higher in the sky. Look for them in areas with sandy potholes and grass lines. The redfish schools will still be around, especially on days when the wind is calm and in water depths of less than three feet. The key to success with catching the schooling reds is to not crash into them with the outboard. Stopping upwind at least 100 yards and then keeping up with them using the trolling motor works much better. I like to cast the Assassin Die Dappers in colors like sand trout and salt & pepper/chartreuse tail rigged on eighth-ounce jigheads or half-ounce weedless spoons to the outside edges of the schools so as not to spook the school too much. It’s also best not to pass directly over the schools in the boat.

Corpus Christi | Joe Mendez - www.sightcast1.com - 361.877.1230
Lots of people see September as a fall month, and the calendar verifies that part of it is, but the fishing patterns which work best in the Baffin Bay/Upper Laguna Madre area look much the same as they have throughout the hot months of summer. “We will be targeting trout on the deep, outer parts of flats, around the last visible grassbeds, and around the outer parts of rock formations, lying close to deep water. Should we receive a few significant cool fronts, the bite can be good tight to area shorelines and around the shallowest portions of the sand bars and rock formations in Baffin. The redfish will begin schooling and heading toward the passes this month. We find them best in the shallows early in the mornings by watching for the big wakes the schools make as they respond to passing boats. Later in the days, we find them swimming in deeper water, over bottoms without grass. In either scenario, we catch plenty by moving the boat upwind of the schools and making long casts around the edges of the concentrations.

P.I.N.S. Fishing Forecast | Eric Ozolins
361.877.3583 - Oceanepics.com
The migrations of baitfish along the beaches are beginning to take shape. Dusky anchovies will kick it off and get driven in acre-size baitballs right up to the beach. Mackerel, skipjacks, jackfish, tarpon, sharks and other predators will be attacking them. Best bet is throwing a topwater or large spoon to avoid as many of the numerous skipjacks as possible. Hundreds, if not thousands of birds diving to snatch victims of the frays will identify the places with fast action. When these baitballs do get pushed almost up on the sand, sharks will practically beach themselves gorging on the anchovies. Be careful and alert when wading, not just for sharks but also for stingrays, still present in big numbers. The majority of action in September will revolve around bait presence. Aside from targeting fish around baitballs, the early-morning action on trout around structures should be steady on both topwaters and soft plastics. Shark fishing will pick back up, with blacktip and bull sharks retreating from the shrimpers and coming to the beaches to feast on the anchovies and other migrating forage species. Anyone heading to the beach this time of year should keep an eye on the weather.

Port Mansfield | Ruben Garza
Snookdudecharters.com - 832.385.1431
Getaway Adventures Lodge - 956.944.4000
September is a really fun month, productive for both fishing and dove hunting. Which means a lot of cast-n-blasts charters for many local guides. September winds are often light in the mornings, and this is helpful to the people fishing. When winds are light over the LLM, the west shoreline is often the best place to target trout and redfish. Anywhere from Century Point to the Oak Mottes has excellent potential in this situation. Farther north, stretches from the mouth of Little Bay to Gladys Hole can also be outstanding. Topwaters work most every day, so smart anglers keep Mansfield Knockers in Ruby Tuesday handy. Soft plastics like KWiggler Ball Tail Shad in Mansfield Margarita, Pollo Loco and Lagunaflauge are also productive. Closer to port, West Bay, Bennie’s Bar, the Pipeline and the Saucer are great areas. On the flats both north and south of the East Cut, redfish will be schooling in the shallows over sandy bottoms first thing in the mornings. Later, toward midday, they usually move to deeper water, following the schools of mullet. It’s hard to beat a gold weedless spoon when targeting the reds, but small topwaters also work well at times.

Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel
Aaron Cisneros | tightlinescharters.com - 956.639.1941
Trout fishing has remained steady. Trout of all sizes have been fairly plentiful on relatively deep, grassy flats. We’ve been finding our best numbers in depths of three to four feet, with the steadiest bite coming on ZMan Redbone Jerk ShadZ, rigged on eighth-ounce Eye Strike jigheads. We’ve been having our best luck when we’re working the lures low and slow, keeping them in contact with the bottom, and short-hopping them up out of the grass. Redfish have begun schooling in greater numbers. Most days, we’re finding a fast redfish bite in shallow water, on flats less than two feet deep. The redfish have been most active early in the mornings and again late in the evenings, but have been harder to catch during the hottest part of the days. We’ve been finding good numbers of tailing reds in the back-bays. A small topwater has been a great choice for targeting these reds early. Rigging with single hooks has helped considerably to overcome the floating grass situation. We typically switch to gold weedless spoons toward midday as the wind builds, rather than fighting the grass with topwaters. I expect these patterns will continue throughout the month.