The View: August 2023

I’ll state the obvious – it is hot! Always has been, always will be. It’s Texas and we love it.

We leave early, way before sunrise, and return about lunch time, just about the time you could grill a steak on the concrete.

August is one of those months where you can count on the weather to stabilize. Historically, there are many days with winds 10 knots or less; and, many days when we have the opportunity to fish the surf.

It has been almost six weeks since we have been in the surf. Late May and early June teased us with about two weeks of fishable weather along the beach. The fish were there and if August affords us another green tide, the fish will be there again.

We love duping them on topwaters and MirrOlure Soft Dines. I love a She Pup or a Top Dog Jr. in the Gulf. Work the first gut on the incoming and the edges of the first and second gut on the outgoing tide.

East Matagorda Bay has been solid so far this summer. Many days we have landed and released 20 to 30 trout while either wading or drifting. Go-to baits have been plum Bass Assassins, Down South Lures, MirrOlure Lil Johns and Soft Dines.

Sadly, there has been a lot of killing of solid trout going on this summer. How quickly so many have forgotten their pledge to release fish after the devastating freeze back in February 2021.

I hear guides ask, “How can we ask people to release their fish when they only come once or twice a year?”

That’s easy:

 “Good morning. Glad to have y’all on the boat today.”

“What are we fishing for today captain?”

“Trout and redfish, we will let the weather and wind dictate and pivot from there.”

“How many can you catch of each?”

“You can catch as many as you like, but we are trying to protect our fishery and release all trout when ethically possible.”

“Can we keep a few of the smaller ones for dinner?”

“I have no problem with that; if we run in to a few male trout we can certainly keep a few.”

That conversation has been had just about every morning for the past two years. Half of the time, especially customers who have fished with me for years, take pride in saying, “We are not keeping any trout today.”

The breath of fresh air has been the strong majority of anglers who say, “You are the captain, you know what’s best. We want to do what’s best for the fishery so it will grow stronger.”

With that said, to the disapproval of many, TPWD is reinstating the 5-trout, 15-inch minimum bag limits of old, on September 1, 2023.

TPWD has a difficult job trying to make everyone happy while trying to manage a fishery that all anglers can use. I have some dear friends of 25 years or better who work for the state agency. I drew a TPWD check for 20 years while compiling the Weekly Coastal Fishing report that appeared in every newspaper that had the space to print it. So, I am pro – TPWD. But not on this issue.

Anglers never had a chance to approve or disapprove. No scoping meetings were held, no online surveys, no dock-side surveys from TPWD technicians asking real anglers how they feel about the condition of the fishery.

We have taken so many positive strides for our fishery since the Freeze of 2021. Our fishing is better, our fish are bigger and, more importantly, our attitudes toward conservation are greatly improved.

Catch and release works. It just doesn’t make sense to revert to the days of old. But what does make sense these days?

Here’s what I am going to do: Keep controlling what I can control – me. Keep letting way more trout go back to the bays instead of the cooler. Keep teaching conservative attitudes on my boat.

Keep praying for more wisdom for lawmakers. Every little thing you can do for our fishery gives hope for better days on the water.

Sunrise Lodge and Properties specializes in fishing, hunting, vacation rentals and coastal real estate. We are happy to offer free advice to anyone to enhance your experience in Matagorda.