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Reports & Forecasts: June 2007
Lake Calcasieu Louisiana
Jeff and Mary Poe | Big Lake Guide Service | 337.598.3268
June is an excellent month for fishing Calcasieu Lake, at the close rigs in the Gulf and along the many miles of beaches Louisiana has to offer. The wind is often calm, the water clear, and the fish are biting everywhere. The big sow trout are still here, and they love to take the topwaters early and late in the day. Before sunrise, start your day on the south end at the old jetties throwing topwaters along the rocks. Midday action can be found over the various oyster reefs on the south end of the lake, tightlining, using H & H Baby Bull Minnows, Sand Eels, grubs & split tail beetles. The Cameron jetties, the beach and the close rigs will all be holding schools of fish. The redfish will be plentiful, with schools of bulls at the jetties and along the beach area and smaller keepers in the lake proper. If it's offshore action you want, be on the lookout for tripletail and ling. They will be hanging out under crab trap buoys and debris in the gulf and at the close rigs. June offers probably the widest variety of angling options of any month.
Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures | silverkingadventures.com | 409.935.7242
"We finally got some good weather and the fishing is on right now," James says. "I've been seeing birds working in all the bays except Trinity, it's still fresh. Everywhere else is shaping up nice. There are some good trout coming off the south shore of East Bay, lots of two to five pounders and of course some schoolies under the birds around the reefs in the middle over there. The Pass area is also holding some decent trout up to about five pounds. We've been catching most of our fish on Bass Assassins, a few on topwaters. June should be good; we should see some fish slicking on the channel, out in the middle of both East and West Bays, and in the surf." Speaking of the gulf, James is ready to start the hunt for the silver kings too. "We always head out looking for tarpon around Memorial Day. Last year, we found some huge schools early in June. If it's calm this year, I expect to find the same. There were times when it slicked off and I could see silver in the water for miles it seemed. I can't wait to get after 'em."
Jimmy West | Bolivar Guide Service | 409.996.3054
"It's on around here lately when the weather's good," Jim Says. "We've been catching fish by wading the shorelines and out in the middle too. The trout in the middle have been running a little bigger, on average. Lots of three and four pounders, with an occasional big fish thrown in. I had two over seven pounds in the last week or so. Some of the fish are coming on topwaters, especially when wading, and the Bass Assassins have been working out on the reefs. I'm sticking with an eighth ounce head. Using bright colors like limetreuse and white in the morning and switching to dark colors like plum, red shad and strawberry when it's bright." He says there are birds working daily in East Bay. "Some of the flocks are over real small fish, but some are over schools of solid keepers. During the week, when you can hit several flocks, it's possible to get limits from under them." He expects the patterns to hold through June. "We need high tides to catch fish when it's windy. If the tide's low and they're out in the middle, we need calmer weather."
West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves | Groves Guide Service
979.849.7019 | 979.864.9323
High winds and runoff from the Brazos River have made for marginal water conditions and some tough days of fishing lately in the San Luis Pass area. "Weather's getting better and the fishing is turning the corner," Randall says. "We've got lots of trout in the bay right now, mostly small keepers. Birds are working. We are catching our best numbers on dark Norton Sand Eels, particularly the black/chartreuse and the purple/chartreuse. The fish are eating white shrimp, but they like a purple worm best, go figure!" When the birds aren't showing the way, he's been targeting areas with scattered mud and shell. "When it gets real windy, we target redfish and even soak bait if we have to. Fishing is usually good for the old "saltwater armadillo" when the weather gets nasty." The surf should go off any time now, he predicts. "Saw a giant tripletail today, but couldn't make it bite. Once the winds gets more east in it and dies down some, the surf will green up. Then we'll be heading up the beach with our chrome topwaters tied on."
Matagorda | Tommy Countz
Bay Guide Service | 979.863.7553 cell 281.450.4037
With lighter winds and the return of green water, the fishing is picking up around Matagorda, reports Tommy. "We finally got a little relief from the breeze, and the water's clearing and dropping back to a normal tide level, so we're starting to find fish where they usually are this time of year. In West Bay, we are catching them over the grass beds under rafts of mullet. In East Bay, the mid-bay reefs are holding fish. We've been throwing a lot of small topwaters, like the She Pup and the junior Spooks and Skitterwalks. I love that blue/orange baby trout Skitterwalk Jr.. When the fish are less aggressive on those, we switch to Norton soft plastics. I've been throwing the shrimptails in dark colors. In June, when winds are light, we'll be wading out in the middle in East Bay, or drifting scattered shell, and also working the coves in West Bay," he predicts. "We'll start targeting tripletail too, and any time the surf clears, we'll head out there with our topwaters to take advantage of the run that starts out there."
Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam
www.palaciosguideservice.com | 979.240.8204
Fishing has been outstanding for redfish and trout the last couple of weeks. The influx of bait into the bays has the fish on a feeding frenzy. Redfish have been schooled up on area shorelines gorging themselves on schools of finger mullet and small hatches of fry. The old rubberlips have been exploding on She Dogs in chrome/chartreuse and pearl Skitterwalks. The reds have all been in water less than two feet deep and have mostly been concentrated on sand and grass shorelines. The trout bite has turned on at the rigs and gas wells out front in Tres Palacios Bay. Hot lures for the trout have been Berkley Gulp shrimp in pearl and root beer. The lures rigged on quarter ounce lead heads jigged off the shell around structure have accounted for good stringers of trout up to four pounds. June should be a great month. Trout should be easily accessible at the rigs and on other deep structures, tripletail should appear in full force around the markers and buoys, and redfish should be cruising all over the flats.
Port O'Connor | Lynn Smith | Back Bay Guide Service | 361.983.4434
"We'll be fishing some shallow flats around Pass Cavallo for our trout next month, and keeping our eye toward the surf too. We have some nice trout that have moved into that area recently, along with a good crop of glass minnows. We'll continue to target the schools of minnows to locate the trout and look for rafted mullet too. Best lures will be topwaters, especially blue/chrome Spooks and Spook Juniors and Top Dogs in chrome patterns. We'll also use our Corkies, Catch Vs and 2000s when the fish pull off onto deep grass beds. In the surf, it's hard to beat the topwaters. Usually, when conditions are right for the beach, the water's calm enough for the topwaters to work well, sometimes all day." He'll also be on the bay shorelines too, looking for redfish over there. "Our reds are usually around the rafts of mullet on shallow grassy, sandy shorelines in June. You can catch some on topwaters when they are most aggressive, but you'll need the worms and spoons when they are not in a good feeding mood."
Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service | 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894
"We've got a lot of trout in Aransas Bay right now," Blake says. "I've been catching them on sandy, grassy shorelines and mid-bay reefs. When the wind lays, the reefs light up for a couple of days. Of course, when it's windier, protected shorelines, or even windward shorelines are often better than the reefs. Our topwater bite has been okay lately, but not as good as when it was cooler. We'll get lots of blow ups early, but it tends to shut down pretty quick. As we move into June, we'll probably be using our Norton Sand Eels even more, in pumpkin/chartreuse, purple/chartreuse and pearl/chartreuse." He, like others, mentions that he is ready to head to the surf when conditions allow. "I usually wait for ice cream conditions before I head to the beach front, so I can safely park the boat and get out and wade. Sometimes, I'll run to Cedar Bayou and walk in. When it's right out there, it can be the best place along the beach. But if it's calm enough, it's often better to run through the jetties and up the beach so you can stay mobile and move around in the boat if you need to."
Padre Island National Seashore
Billy Sandifer | Padre Island Safaris | 361.937.8446
June is the beginning of quality conditions and fishing on PINS. Every fish species ever present in the surf is there in June. Speckled trout enthusiasts will find willing takers on topwaters, silver spoons, soft plastics, rattletraps and of course live bait. Some redfish will be present. Lots of Spanish mackerel and ladyfish can be expected. Wire leader is recommended for both of these toothy species. Tarpon will be present as will some jack crevalle, king mackerel, ling, Atlantic bluefish, mangrove snapper and palometa. Snook will be available at the Port Mansfield jetties and also at the Packery Channel jetties if the past couple of years are any indication. Little tunny are possible. Large numbers of whiting will be available on fresh, peeled, dead shrimp and Fishbites. Various shark species will be available on both cast and kayaked baits, primarily fresh caught and cut skipjacks. Once they arrive in good numbers, the sharks seem to prefer those sporty and acrobatic fish over whiting.
Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut
Robert Zapata | [email protected] | 361.563.1160
The latter part of April and early May proved to be great for both speckled trout and redfish. The water clarity is very good in most of the Laguna Madre, including Baffin Bay. The water level has risen and has flooded the shallow flats and shorelines, which in turn has provided good areas for the trout to spawn. All the bruises around the belly areas of female trout show that the spawn is in full swing. My clients have been catching good numbers of speckled trout between 25 and 29 inches with a few reaching 30 inches. The action with topwater baits has been exciting as we have been seeing both trout and redfish coming up hitting MirroLure She Dogs in chrome and bone colors! In areas with much floating grass, the Bass Assassin Slurp and Exude RT Slugs are doing the job better. The Exude RT Slugs that have been working are plum/chartreuse, bone diamond and pearl/chartreuse and the Bass Assassin Slurp colors are good penny and pearl. The fish have been holding in grasslines and potholes less than three feet deep and should continue to.
Corpus Christi | Joe Mendez | www.sightcast1.com | 361.937.5961
"The clear water around here has made for some excellent sightcasting lately," Joe reports. "There are trout and redfish up and down the intracoastal spoils, on the King Ranch shoreline and in Baffin. Large rafts of mullet are keying us in on the location of the schools of fish, and once the sun gets up, we have been able to see them on lots of occasions. There are some bruiser redfish in the Lagoon right now, up to thirty five inches and more. We've also seen and caught some big trout, up to around thirty inches. I've been using my old standby Exude RT Slugs; color doesn't seem to matter much. There has also been ample opportunity to catch fish on the flies with the light winds we've had on some days. If June is not too windy, these patterns should hold out. Lots of shallow trout and reds busting bait early, then the fish will be moving to the edges of the grass flats when it gets hotter. Even though they move a little deeper during the day, it's still possible to seem the schools, especially the reds; that's how clear the water is."
Port Mansfield | Bruce & Brandon Shuler
GetAway Adventures Lodge | 956.944.4000
"We're still catching a few big trout lately, like the 28 1/2 inch eight plus we had a week ago Friday, but most of our long fish are getting skinny, almost like summer fish. As the weather gets even hotter, we'll see the trout move off the edge onto the deep grass beds. Then it will be tough to catch enough keepers during the day to justify the effort," Bruce says. "To cope, we'll shift to more night wading, especially around the full moons. During the day, we'll spend more time targeting redfish. If the tide levels drop a little, we should see them stack up on the first drop off out from shore. Then it will be easy to catch a bunch. Topwaters will be the most fun way, of course, but soft plastics will get their play too. Also, we'll be trying to get offshore as much as we can in June. We will try to work on the nearshore schools of snapper up the beach. Also, we'll be targeting the king mackerel and other pelagic species with topwaters. It's a real hoot to see them skyrocket through a Super Spook when you're reeling it about as fast as you can."
Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel
Janie and Fred Petty | www.fishingwithpettys.com | 956.943.2747
The west side is now officially air boat hell! It's a challenge to find fish before the daily onslaught of noisy survey boats. The east side still has its share of chaos, although there are some spots where the water is clearing after the detonations. The problem is figuring out any type of pattern. We're bringing in reds, throwing half ounce gold or silver weedless spoons (ask Rip at Hook, Line & Sinker) early, switching to Maulers with Gulp shrimp in new penny or molting colors when they start getting finicky. Freddy says, "One day we'll limit on the first drift, the next day, it's a battle to get the fish we're seeing to eat anything, but once you stick one, you're in for a ride, because heavy winds are churning energizing oxygen into the water, making fish fight like crazy." We've had some awesome trout days, nailing 17 to 24 inch specks on the drop offs using Cajun Thunder corks rigged with Gulps on quarter ounce jigheads. Tarpon sightings are getting us pumped, but no hook-ups yet!
Jeff and Mary Poe | Big Lake Guide Service | 337.598.3268
June is an excellent month for fishing Calcasieu Lake, at the close rigs in the Gulf and along the many miles of beaches Louisiana has to offer. The wind is often calm, the water clear, and the fish are biting everywhere. The big sow trout are still here, and they love to take the topwaters early and late in the day. Before sunrise, start your day on the south end at the old jetties throwing topwaters along the rocks. Midday action can be found over the various oyster reefs on the south end of the lake, tightlining, using H & H Baby Bull Minnows, Sand Eels, grubs & split tail beetles. The Cameron jetties, the beach and the close rigs will all be holding schools of fish. The redfish will be plentiful, with schools of bulls at the jetties and along the beach area and smaller keepers in the lake proper. If it's offshore action you want, be on the lookout for tripletail and ling. They will be hanging out under crab trap buoys and debris in the gulf and at the close rigs. June offers probably the widest variety of angling options of any month.
Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures | silverkingadventures.com | 409.935.7242
"We finally got some good weather and the fishing is on right now," James says. "I've been seeing birds working in all the bays except Trinity, it's still fresh. Everywhere else is shaping up nice. There are some good trout coming off the south shore of East Bay, lots of two to five pounders and of course some schoolies under the birds around the reefs in the middle over there. The Pass area is also holding some decent trout up to about five pounds. We've been catching most of our fish on Bass Assassins, a few on topwaters. June should be good; we should see some fish slicking on the channel, out in the middle of both East and West Bays, and in the surf." Speaking of the gulf, James is ready to start the hunt for the silver kings too. "We always head out looking for tarpon around Memorial Day. Last year, we found some huge schools early in June. If it's calm this year, I expect to find the same. There were times when it slicked off and I could see silver in the water for miles it seemed. I can't wait to get after 'em."
Jimmy West | Bolivar Guide Service | 409.996.3054
"It's on around here lately when the weather's good," Jim Says. "We've been catching fish by wading the shorelines and out in the middle too. The trout in the middle have been running a little bigger, on average. Lots of three and four pounders, with an occasional big fish thrown in. I had two over seven pounds in the last week or so. Some of the fish are coming on topwaters, especially when wading, and the Bass Assassins have been working out on the reefs. I'm sticking with an eighth ounce head. Using bright colors like limetreuse and white in the morning and switching to dark colors like plum, red shad and strawberry when it's bright." He says there are birds working daily in East Bay. "Some of the flocks are over real small fish, but some are over schools of solid keepers. During the week, when you can hit several flocks, it's possible to get limits from under them." He expects the patterns to hold through June. "We need high tides to catch fish when it's windy. If the tide's low and they're out in the middle, we need calmer weather."
West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves | Groves Guide Service
979.849.7019 | 979.864.9323
High winds and runoff from the Brazos River have made for marginal water conditions and some tough days of fishing lately in the San Luis Pass area. "Weather's getting better and the fishing is turning the corner," Randall says. "We've got lots of trout in the bay right now, mostly small keepers. Birds are working. We are catching our best numbers on dark Norton Sand Eels, particularly the black/chartreuse and the purple/chartreuse. The fish are eating white shrimp, but they like a purple worm best, go figure!" When the birds aren't showing the way, he's been targeting areas with scattered mud and shell. "When it gets real windy, we target redfish and even soak bait if we have to. Fishing is usually good for the old "saltwater armadillo" when the weather gets nasty." The surf should go off any time now, he predicts. "Saw a giant tripletail today, but couldn't make it bite. Once the winds gets more east in it and dies down some, the surf will green up. Then we'll be heading up the beach with our chrome topwaters tied on."
Matagorda | Tommy Countz
Bay Guide Service | 979.863.7553 cell 281.450.4037
With lighter winds and the return of green water, the fishing is picking up around Matagorda, reports Tommy. "We finally got a little relief from the breeze, and the water's clearing and dropping back to a normal tide level, so we're starting to find fish where they usually are this time of year. In West Bay, we are catching them over the grass beds under rafts of mullet. In East Bay, the mid-bay reefs are holding fish. We've been throwing a lot of small topwaters, like the She Pup and the junior Spooks and Skitterwalks. I love that blue/orange baby trout Skitterwalk Jr.. When the fish are less aggressive on those, we switch to Norton soft plastics. I've been throwing the shrimptails in dark colors. In June, when winds are light, we'll be wading out in the middle in East Bay, or drifting scattered shell, and also working the coves in West Bay," he predicts. "We'll start targeting tripletail too, and any time the surf clears, we'll head out there with our topwaters to take advantage of the run that starts out there."
Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam
www.palaciosguideservice.com | 979.240.8204
Fishing has been outstanding for redfish and trout the last couple of weeks. The influx of bait into the bays has the fish on a feeding frenzy. Redfish have been schooled up on area shorelines gorging themselves on schools of finger mullet and small hatches of fry. The old rubberlips have been exploding on She Dogs in chrome/chartreuse and pearl Skitterwalks. The reds have all been in water less than two feet deep and have mostly been concentrated on sand and grass shorelines. The trout bite has turned on at the rigs and gas wells out front in Tres Palacios Bay. Hot lures for the trout have been Berkley Gulp shrimp in pearl and root beer. The lures rigged on quarter ounce lead heads jigged off the shell around structure have accounted for good stringers of trout up to four pounds. June should be a great month. Trout should be easily accessible at the rigs and on other deep structures, tripletail should appear in full force around the markers and buoys, and redfish should be cruising all over the flats.
Port O'Connor | Lynn Smith | Back Bay Guide Service | 361.983.4434
"We'll be fishing some shallow flats around Pass Cavallo for our trout next month, and keeping our eye toward the surf too. We have some nice trout that have moved into that area recently, along with a good crop of glass minnows. We'll continue to target the schools of minnows to locate the trout and look for rafted mullet too. Best lures will be topwaters, especially blue/chrome Spooks and Spook Juniors and Top Dogs in chrome patterns. We'll also use our Corkies, Catch Vs and 2000s when the fish pull off onto deep grass beds. In the surf, it's hard to beat the topwaters. Usually, when conditions are right for the beach, the water's calm enough for the topwaters to work well, sometimes all day." He'll also be on the bay shorelines too, looking for redfish over there. "Our reds are usually around the rafts of mullet on shallow grassy, sandy shorelines in June. You can catch some on topwaters when they are most aggressive, but you'll need the worms and spoons when they are not in a good feeding mood."
Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service | 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894
"We've got a lot of trout in Aransas Bay right now," Blake says. "I've been catching them on sandy, grassy shorelines and mid-bay reefs. When the wind lays, the reefs light up for a couple of days. Of course, when it's windier, protected shorelines, or even windward shorelines are often better than the reefs. Our topwater bite has been okay lately, but not as good as when it was cooler. We'll get lots of blow ups early, but it tends to shut down pretty quick. As we move into June, we'll probably be using our Norton Sand Eels even more, in pumpkin/chartreuse, purple/chartreuse and pearl/chartreuse." He, like others, mentions that he is ready to head to the surf when conditions allow. "I usually wait for ice cream conditions before I head to the beach front, so I can safely park the boat and get out and wade. Sometimes, I'll run to Cedar Bayou and walk in. When it's right out there, it can be the best place along the beach. But if it's calm enough, it's often better to run through the jetties and up the beach so you can stay mobile and move around in the boat if you need to."
Padre Island National Seashore
Billy Sandifer | Padre Island Safaris | 361.937.8446
June is the beginning of quality conditions and fishing on PINS. Every fish species ever present in the surf is there in June. Speckled trout enthusiasts will find willing takers on topwaters, silver spoons, soft plastics, rattletraps and of course live bait. Some redfish will be present. Lots of Spanish mackerel and ladyfish can be expected. Wire leader is recommended for both of these toothy species. Tarpon will be present as will some jack crevalle, king mackerel, ling, Atlantic bluefish, mangrove snapper and palometa. Snook will be available at the Port Mansfield jetties and also at the Packery Channel jetties if the past couple of years are any indication. Little tunny are possible. Large numbers of whiting will be available on fresh, peeled, dead shrimp and Fishbites. Various shark species will be available on both cast and kayaked baits, primarily fresh caught and cut skipjacks. Once they arrive in good numbers, the sharks seem to prefer those sporty and acrobatic fish over whiting.
Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut
Robert Zapata | [email protected] | 361.563.1160
The latter part of April and early May proved to be great for both speckled trout and redfish. The water clarity is very good in most of the Laguna Madre, including Baffin Bay. The water level has risen and has flooded the shallow flats and shorelines, which in turn has provided good areas for the trout to spawn. All the bruises around the belly areas of female trout show that the spawn is in full swing. My clients have been catching good numbers of speckled trout between 25 and 29 inches with a few reaching 30 inches. The action with topwater baits has been exciting as we have been seeing both trout and redfish coming up hitting MirroLure She Dogs in chrome and bone colors! In areas with much floating grass, the Bass Assassin Slurp and Exude RT Slugs are doing the job better. The Exude RT Slugs that have been working are plum/chartreuse, bone diamond and pearl/chartreuse and the Bass Assassin Slurp colors are good penny and pearl. The fish have been holding in grasslines and potholes less than three feet deep and should continue to.
Corpus Christi | Joe Mendez | www.sightcast1.com | 361.937.5961
"The clear water around here has made for some excellent sightcasting lately," Joe reports. "There are trout and redfish up and down the intracoastal spoils, on the King Ranch shoreline and in Baffin. Large rafts of mullet are keying us in on the location of the schools of fish, and once the sun gets up, we have been able to see them on lots of occasions. There are some bruiser redfish in the Lagoon right now, up to thirty five inches and more. We've also seen and caught some big trout, up to around thirty inches. I've been using my old standby Exude RT Slugs; color doesn't seem to matter much. There has also been ample opportunity to catch fish on the flies with the light winds we've had on some days. If June is not too windy, these patterns should hold out. Lots of shallow trout and reds busting bait early, then the fish will be moving to the edges of the grass flats when it gets hotter. Even though they move a little deeper during the day, it's still possible to seem the schools, especially the reds; that's how clear the water is."
Port Mansfield | Bruce & Brandon Shuler
GetAway Adventures Lodge | 956.944.4000
"We're still catching a few big trout lately, like the 28 1/2 inch eight plus we had a week ago Friday, but most of our long fish are getting skinny, almost like summer fish. As the weather gets even hotter, we'll see the trout move off the edge onto the deep grass beds. Then it will be tough to catch enough keepers during the day to justify the effort," Bruce says. "To cope, we'll shift to more night wading, especially around the full moons. During the day, we'll spend more time targeting redfish. If the tide levels drop a little, we should see them stack up on the first drop off out from shore. Then it will be easy to catch a bunch. Topwaters will be the most fun way, of course, but soft plastics will get their play too. Also, we'll be trying to get offshore as much as we can in June. We will try to work on the nearshore schools of snapper up the beach. Also, we'll be targeting the king mackerel and other pelagic species with topwaters. It's a real hoot to see them skyrocket through a Super Spook when you're reeling it about as fast as you can."
Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel
Janie and Fred Petty | www.fishingwithpettys.com | 956.943.2747
The west side is now officially air boat hell! It's a challenge to find fish before the daily onslaught of noisy survey boats. The east side still has its share of chaos, although there are some spots where the water is clearing after the detonations. The problem is figuring out any type of pattern. We're bringing in reds, throwing half ounce gold or silver weedless spoons (ask Rip at Hook, Line & Sinker) early, switching to Maulers with Gulp shrimp in new penny or molting colors when they start getting finicky. Freddy says, "One day we'll limit on the first drift, the next day, it's a battle to get the fish we're seeing to eat anything, but once you stick one, you're in for a ride, because heavy winds are churning energizing oxygen into the water, making fish fight like crazy." We've had some awesome trout days, nailing 17 to 24 inch specks on the drop offs using Cajun Thunder corks rigged with Gulps on quarter ounce jigheads. Tarpon sightings are getting us pumped, but no hook-ups yet!