Reports & Forecasts: March 2012

Lake Calcasieu Louisiana
Jeff and Mary Poe - Big Lake Guide Service - 337.598.3268
March is THE time to catch trophy trout. The best way to target these monsters is to get out and wade. With recent rains, look for larger trout to seek areas with higher salinities and lots of food. West Cove and Joe's Cove are definitely places of interest. These two areas produce more monster trout than anywhere else in the system. Flats adjacent to deep, salty water (Calcasieu Ship Channel) will be very productive. The Ship Channel is the key. It's like a highway for ocean water. Stick to it and your trips will be more productive. Topwaters will produce big fish, but don't put your suspending baits down yet. Every day is different; the fish like Super Spooks one minute, Corkies the next, and then MirrOdines soon after that! Let the fish dictate what to throw. Changing lures to fit the changing mood of the fish is key. Don't spend much time thinking about color! Put on the most beaten up lure in the box. If it's beaten up, it's probably caught lots of fish. Confidence in the lure on the end of the line matters more than what color it is!

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com - 409.935.7242
"From what I can see, fishing in Galveston is great right now, better than in Louisiana even," James says. "We had a really good run over the last week or so. Caught about 30 trout per day on average, with lots of solid fours and fives and a few over seven pounds. We are keying on wind-blown shorelines and wading. We look for areas with lots of bait blown into the shoreline and maybe some pelicans floating around and looking. As far as lures go, we've been using 5 MirrOlures a lot, in pink/silver and gold/chartreuse. Catch 5s are also working great, especially the red/silver/white one. On some days, the topwater bite has been hot too. We were catching best on bone Top Dogs and chartreuse Top Dogs. I look for the spring fishing in Galveston to be awesome too. I'll keep on the same sorts of areas and will keep wading as much as I can. As long as the wind isn't messing up the water too bad, it's a good idea to stay on the windy side and throw loud, flashy lures. It should be really good."

Jimmy West - Bolivar Guide Service - 409.996.3054
Fishing has been good this winter in East Bay, and Jim predicts more success in March. "We had a good week last week, catching good numbers of trout in the bays, lots of solid fish from two to maybe six pounds. Best trout was twenty seven inches. We've been wading out there and catching best on Corkies and Maniac Mullet. There's been a little topwater bite, but the slow sinkers are working better. And it's been an afternoon bite thing too, with the action lingering into the night. For wading, all those things should stay true well into March. There's also plenty of fish in the marshes right now. We're catching a good variety in there, including plenty of redfish and flounder. Seems these warm water temperatures have brought more flat fish than normal back into the bays early. Fishing the guts in the marsh should be productive in March too. I'll be keeping an eye on the freshwater coming down the Trinity River. It could move fish around some. Most likely, the upper parts of Trinity Bay will be wiped out if they keep the gates open for long."

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves - Groves Guide Service - 979.849.7019 - 979.864.9323
The quality trout have been biting lately for Randall. He's not catching numbers on most days, but the average size is good. In fact, he and a partner recently won a tournament in West Bay with several big trout on a marginal weather day. "We're catching best on Corkies in emerald silver, copper top and dayglo. Also getting a few good ones on topwaters like the chrome blue Super Spook and the One Knocker. They seem to work best when it's warmer and a little breezy. The topwater action should pick up as we head into March. I'll be looking for the annual migration of the glass minnows to start. When it does, we'll start keying on areas with lots of schools of those and try matching the hatch. Our redfish action should heat up in March too. It's a great month to target them around here. They will attack the topwaters with a vengeance at times, but in general, catching them regularly means throwing the Norton Sand Eels. A Sand Eel is a great lure to use when trying to imitate glass minnows."

Matagorda | Charlie Paradoski
Bay Guide Service -713.725.2401
Charlie emphatically states, "March is one of the best times to target trophy trout on the coast. And Matagorda is one of the top destinations for doing it. We expect to see more and more of the fish heading to the shallows along the shorelines. Here lately, we're still catching more fish out in the middle, drifting around over scattered shell and using soft plastics. But as we get into early spring, especially if we don't have any late-season cold fronts, the wading will become more productive than the drifting. When wading either West or East Bay, we'll favor slow-sinking twitch baits like the Corkies and Catch 2000s and of course, Bass Assassins. When conditions are favorable, meaning it's warm and winds are somewhat light, we'll throw a lot of topwaters too. As we speak, the Colorado River is running high and when it does, fish move toward both of the bays. It should only help us in our annual quest for some big trout this spring. It's not that fish can't be caught out of the boat, it's just fun to take advantage of the right opportunity to wade."

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam
www.palaciosguideservice.com - 979.240.8204
Unfortunately, fishing has been slow in the local waters lately. We have been working hard to figure it out, fishing rivers, shorelines, deepwater wells, and points in between, but we are just having a hard time patterning the fish on a consistent basis. With the temperatures going from seventy five one day down to forty the next, it seems like the fish don't know where to go. Hopefully, we will get into a better weather pattern in the upcoming months, and will see the return of a good bite. March is usually a good month for us, with spring on its way and an early run of bait coming back into the bays. East and South Bays, along with Turtle Bay are good spots to look for birds working over schools of trout intercepting the shrimp as they move in. Oyster Lake and Mad Island Lake are good backwater areas in which to find reds chasing bait along shallow shorelines. Look for white egrets standing in the shallows adjacent to the shorelines; they're usually close to the schools of reds this time of year.

Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith - Back Bay Guide Service - 361.983.4434
Lynn expects to keep fishing his cold-weather hours throughout the month of March. "I hope we have some warming weather, but I'll still be fishing from the middle of the morning on through the afternoon, letting the flats warm up. I'll focus on flats adjacent to deep water in bays like Mesquite and Ayers, bays with lots of mud and shell. Of course, I will be looking for concentrations of bait. I won't even stop if I don't see any bait. We'll throw soft plastics most of the time; dark colors are best. Red shad is a great old standby color. I also like plum/white and plum/chartreuse. We'll also throw slow sinking lures a bunch. I like Paul Brown's Original Lures the best overall. I can bend the tail and control what the bait is doing with them. If I want it to run shallower, I bend the tail up to keep it close to the surface. If I want it to run deeper, I bend the tail down so it will stay closer to the bottom. We should be catching both trout and redfish in good numbers in these bays this month; it's a great time to catch both species."

Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 - 361.441.3894
Blake says he'll be staying mobile in March, for a variety of reasons. "I like to switch my focus over to hard sandy, grassy bottoms this time of year. I'll be fishing in different parts of the area, all the way from San Antonio and Aransas Bays to Corpus Christi Bay. The menhaden usually migrate in sometime during this month, so I'll keep watching around the pass areas and try to take advantage of that. Usually, they can be found under diving flocks of pelicans, or the presence of lots of smelly slicks will give away the fact that the fish are feeding on them. At times, we'll see pelicans diving in a line for miles and slicks popping all around. That's a dead giveaway to the run of menhaden. As far as lures go, I'll be trying to catch as many as I can on top waters, and I'll still throw a few Corkies too. When the bite is a little tougher, I'll take out my go-to lures, the Norton Sand Eels in plum/chartreuse and pumpkinseed/chartreuse. It should be a great month to catch some big trout and of course plenty of redfish and the occasional flounder too."

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut
Robert Zapata – [email protected] - 361.563.1160
March is here in South Texas, so windy days are common. The air temperatures are up and so are the water temperatures, but don't store away the waders and Ray Guards just yet. According to my fishing logs, the trout will be moving up into water that is three feet deep or less. Follow the bait, because this is what the trout are doing at this time. Look for bigger concentrations of mullet and shad up on the water's surface, also keep an eye out for fish slicks, working sea gulls, or diving brown pelicans. Bring out your favorite topwater baits like the natural colored MirrOlure She Dogs. Also, bring along one of my new favorite plastic baits, Bass Assassin Die Dappers in chartreuse dog, pumpkinseed/chartreuse and plum/chartreuse, rigged on sixteenth ounce Spring Lock jigheads. Call me if you want to do some sight casting in less than twelve inches of water. It can be a lot of fun spotting a fish, casting an artificial lure at it and then watching the fish hit Die Dappers, Berkley Gulp! Shrimp or Fish Bites.

Corpus Christi | Joe Mendez – www.sightcast1.com - 361.937.5961
March is a good month to catch both trout and redfish in shallow water, Joe says. "It's a great time for sightcasting. The fish seem to want to stay shallow much of the time. In some areas, we have super clear water, which helps give us plenty of opportunity to see the fish before we throw at them. A couple of other options make a lot of sense this month too. There are plenty of trout to be caught on the deep edges of the grass in both Emmord's and Beacroft's Holes. Fishing for them by drifting is easy. Most of the time, a quarter ounce jighead and a dark worm of some kind will draw strikes regularly. If it gets windy enough for two or even three drift socks, a heavier jighead might work better. I also generally make some runs down south into the Land Cut this time of year. Normally, there is clear water in there and a migration of shrimp. Keeping the boat in the middle of the channel and throwing soft plastics at the west edge is the primary way to catch fish in there. Quarter ounce jigheads are the norm; heavier ones work better when it's windy."

Padre Island National Seashore
Billy Sandifer - Padre Island Safaris - 361.937.8446
March brings the spring equinox tides and generally higher water levels are to be expected throughout the month. Conditions can often be unfishable but fishing can be great when they are. Keep an eye on internet surf fishing message boards to see if sargassum has arrived or not as it will almost certainly be a major factor in March. Large jack crevalle usually arrive somewhere around the first weekend and will be present when conditions allow. Fishing for redfish will improve and bottom fishing for sheepshead, black drum and whiting is good with fresh, peeled, dead shrimp and "Fishbites." Lesser blacktipped sharks are often available on cast baits and bull sharks and other species are possible all throughout the month. Paying close attention to tide forecasts and weather reports is imperative to successful surf fishing in March. Remember that as far as we know right now the speed limit for driving on the beaches of Padre Island National Seashore will be reduced from 25 mph to 15 mph on March 1st.

Port Mansfield | Terry Neal
www.terrynealcharters.com – 956.944.2559
Have you ever wondered why big trout start to show up in March and April or why giant black drum move into the bay? This is also the season when we see Mr. Tom Turkey strutting around doing strange things. Do you suppose it has anything to do with the spring equinox? Spring equinox brings us strong tides of beautifully green Gulf water. There is a great awakening in the natural world and if you are lucky to be outdoors during this time, just take time to smell the roses. Fishing in the Land Cut and the East Cut can get really exciting this time of year as the strong currents push water and bait through these channels. With mullet from the Gulf and shrimp from the bay system up north, there'll be lots of bait to attract the fish. It's just a great time to be outdoors. The head boats are doing some trips out of Port Mansfield; nice snapper being caught. Remember: it's not all about the catching and killing; enjoy what you got; a gift!

Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel
Janie and Fred Petty – www.fishingwithpettys.com – 956.943.2747
We've been experimenting with presentations that normally work in the spring, taking advantage of mild winter conditions, with good results. Switching the Cajun Thunder round cork for the cigar shape, and using a faster retrieve, stopping occasionally to let the Gulp! drop, has paid off well for reds and trout. The flounder continue to prefer the slower CT round cork trailing Berkley Gulp three inch natural or new penny shrimp on a quarter ounce jighead. Water clarity has been excellent when it's calm, but clouding up quickly when there's wind, making the cork an option that will work either way. Freddy says, "Half of the fish we're cleaning are empty, and the other half are predominantly filled with crab and the occasional shrimp. What's unusual is the fact that we're seeing crabs in trout! Normally when shrimp are scarce, trout will eat more mullet, but this year is different. There's not much bait, due to the lack of grass." Another factor in preparing for a trip has been the morning fog, not just an impediment to catching, but dangerous for navigating.