South Padre: August 2022

If I had to pick the most challenging month to catch fish in the Lower Laguna Madre it would be August. Two primary factors contribute to this – extremely high water temperatures and the probability of tropical weather. The water temperature thing pretty much explains itself; trout and redfish change movement and feeding habits as they adjust to the daily high water temperatures. As for the tropical weather aspect; tropical depressions and storms in the Gulf of Mexico bring unstable weather to the Laguna with frequently heavy rainfall and runoff that can affect salinity and also sudden rises in tide levels. Still another problem will be dead grass at the surface and throughout the water column that can make it all but impossible to fish with artificial lures at times.

Redfish catches have been holding fair to good for us most days. We have been seeing them in the shallows in early morning, even during the lower tides, but as the day goes by and the water warms the reds retreat to deeper water and become harder to find. The major concentrations remain in tucked-away places where there’s less boat traffic and fishing pressure. Even though we will begin seeing reduced pressure as summer winds down and schools reopen, I expect rising water levels will keep the reds in remote backwater areas through late August and into September.

Depending the amount of cloud cover and rain we receive from the tropics, we could also see a reduction in bay water temperatures. This would improve the availability of small shrimp, pinfish, mullet, and crabs. If this happens we should experience some redfish tailing action in the shallows as they root the small forage from the grass. This will bring greatly improved topwater action compared to previous months. Go-to lures will be Super Spook Jrs and weedless KWiggler Willow Tails in shallow water, Ball Tails on standard jig heads in deeper water.

In general, I would say the rebound of our trout population continues as a welcome surprise to most anglers. The fishery is by no means fully recovered from the freeze last February, but if our landings are any indication it is well on its way. The number of undersized trout in the system certainly reinforces this. Handling them with care is of utmost importance as they will be the eventual keepers and trophies that will entertain us for years to come.

Tell-tale surface slicking continues to be one of the best indicators of trout feeding activity. Remember, the smaller the slick the fresher it is, so always try to work the area upwind of the slick very thoroughly. Catching a limit of keeper trout has not been hard lately, if that is your goal. Trout over twenty-five inches have been hard to find, and they tend to be skinny from several months of spawning activity when you do.

The best place to find a steady trout bite lately has been along the ICW drop-off. Lots of little ones but also some keepers in the mix. KWiggler Ball Tails in plum-chartreuse have been a mainstay for fooling trout of all sizes. In the deeper water of the drop-off I have been using a 1/4-oz jig head to probe the full water column. The trout will tend to be deeper from midday until late afternoon. When fishing shallower I switch back to my old standby 1/8-oz. As with the reds, and depending the amount of rain and fresh inflow, we could see a boost in topwater action this month.

Flounder landings of recent weeks reminds me of the early-2000s when limits were easily attainable. Most of our catches have been incidental, but the numbers are pretty impressive when specifically targeting them. Sandy potholes along spoil islands, drains, and old oil field cuts have all been productive. Let's hope this recent trend remains.

As I mentioned in the beginning, August has historically been a tough month for me and my charters. Hopefully the weather changes that are likely to come our way will make this one more productive. I strongly advise keeping a close watch on the weather forecast, storms can pop up out of nowhere when the tropics are active. Winds should be generally favorable except during storms. Nearshore and offshore fishing will be busting at the seams with plenty of tarpon, kingfish, bull redfish, and other species, if that type of fishing appeals to you. Whatever you plan to do on the water this month, be safe and fish it well!