The Fish Are Waiting For You!

Happy New Year and welcome to 2023! Highlights of the fall and early winter months include the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, mixed with a full range of hunting and fishing opportunities. It’s without a doubt the busiest season of the year for Texas outdoors enthusiasts. While I’m personally always anxious to see it come, I can honestly say I am almost equally anxious for it end. Now we can get down to some serious fishing!

Getting on the water during January has its challenges, at least from a weather viewpoint, but that’s actually part of the allure. Hardcore anglers don’t even give cold weather and misting rain a second thought. The reward for bundling in layers easily outweighs all of them – even the numb fingers. Just ask Capt. David Rowsey and this month’s cover angler, Chris Gwyn. These guys are by no means fair-weather fisherman.

And there’ll also be some very pleasant days. I can recall lots of shirtsleeve afternoons in January, the kind that come a couple of days after a wicked front blows through. Fish don’t have to eat every day, especially during a bitter blast followed by a sky-high barometer. But you sure don’t want to miss the day the barometer relaxes and the tide comes rolling back in. The words epic and legendary often appear in January fishing reports.

Common sense is the foundation for fishing success in any of the winter months. The biggest mistake any anxious angler could ever make would be failing to reference coastal weather forecasts. Next would be failing to heed warnings of impending dangerous weather. Speaking from experience, the last place you want to be is along the south shoreline of a major bay when a strong frontal system comes crashing to the coast. The last few hours of calm weather prior to the arrival are known to provide an incredible bite…but making your way back across the bay in towering waves can be dangerous, even life threatening. Don’t wait for the north wind to tell you when to leave. I have; and it was scary. And the scariest wasn’t even in winter, but the month of May, believe it or not. I scoffed at the forecast of 60 mph north wind. Boy, was that a mistake. Our only common sense that day was waiting four hours in Pringle Lake for the worst of it to pass.

So, with these words to the wise, my best advice is to pick your days and times carefully. There’s lots of great fishing opportunity coming in January. Check your waders in a swimming pool before heading out, dress appropriately, and pack some spare warm duds in a dry bag. The fish are waiting for you!