South Padre: February 2023

We were very lucky during the Christmas winter storm as air temperatures dipped to near-freezing or below in South Texas for several days. Luckily we had been experiencing colder than average temperatures in the days prior, so when the blast came a great number of fish were already staged in or near deeper water. The first day I ran the flats right after the storm, water temperatures ranged from 46° to 50°. I saw zero fish on the flats and very little bait. I saw one dead redfish and several dozen mullet lying dead on bottom and a few floating.

What I did see on the flats two days later, after the weather had warmed considerably, were numerous schools of redfish heading back toward their regular winter haunts. I also noticed schools of trout, some big ones, big enough to get any trout enthusiast excited.

Our redfish were in good numbers before the storm and I expect they will continue to be in great shape going forward. Limits were easily attainable just a few days into the warming period and I took that as a very positive sign. I would however like to encourage anglers to continue practicing good conservation; just because they’re stacked and hitting anything you throw is no justification for double-dipping on the limit.

February is the coldest month of the year on the Lower Laguna and the redfish will likely be migrating back and forth from shallow to deeper water with the passage of additional fronts. For this reason, shallow grass flats adjacent to deeper water can often be some of the most productive areas to fish. Mullet are the primary food source during winter, so it goes without saying that locating concentrations of mullet can be one of the best ways to find redfish. Other tell-tale signs can be mud-puffs, the small murky spots in otherwise clear water made by redfish as they bolt when startled. Even if you do not see bait or redfish, seeing multiple mud-puffs over a short distance is a good reason to stop and investigate.

February’s colder temperatures often has redfish hugging bottom, so don’t expect much topwater action, except perhaps during prolonged warming spells. Soft plastics will be more productive and slower retrieves near bottom usually draw the most strikes. Here lately the Z-Man StreakZ lures in the 3.75-inch pearl color has been working well for us. These baits have great darting action on slow retrieves that has attracted all the Big Three Species – snook, trout, and redfish. Made of ELAZTECH, they are ten times tougher than traditional plastics, yet the soft texture causes the fish to hold on longer for better hooksets.  

The size of the schools and the individual trout I have seen since the Christmas storm gives me high hopes for February. Just a few days after the big storm I saw trout swimming and sunning in the shallows that ranged from several pounds all the way up to true trophy class; some appeared as large as eight and maybe even nine pounds. The abundance of smaller trout we have been seeing and catching is also very encouraging as they are the future of the fishery.

When targeting trout, keep in mind that water temperature is ultra-critical during winter, and just a few degrees can make a huge difference in their willingness to feed. I have learned over the years the ideal temperatures to find trout feeding actively would be in the mid-60 degrees up into the 70-degrees range. But we’re talking February, so we must adjust our tactics and techniques accordingly to match the cooler water temperature and mood of the fish. Patience is the key, and fishing deeper and slower near bottom is sometimes the only way to get them to eat.

I have an announcement: My son, Capt. Aaron Cisneros, and I recently joined the Z-Man Fishing Products team. Z-Man is based in Charleston, S.C. and has maintained a large presence in freshwater fishing for many years, especially within the professional bass fishing community, and also growing rapidly in the saltwater market. Z-Man’s products include a wide variety of soft plastic baits, and all the hooks, jigheads, etc., that go along with them. Aaron and I look forward to helping promote Z-Man here in the Texas saltwater market through our social media platforms and YouTube channels; and later down the line, contributing to their product designs for Texas anglers.  

Best of luck in your efforts to land a new personal-best trout this month!