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Mid-Coast Bays: December 2013
November fishing in the San Antonio Bay area has been above par for me and my clients and I’m looking forward to December. We have been able to take advantage of some very aggressive trout bites wading the many mid-bay reefs for which SAB is famous. Great weather days between the cold fronts have allowed us to take advantage of excellent water conditions and smooth bays.
There are some key things to remember when you are reef hopping this time of year. Oyster season is in full swing so besides dodging other fishermen and being careful not to encroach on their wading area, you will need to give the oystermen some room too – or perhaps I should say give yourself some room from them. Most of the commercial fishermen nowadays try not to disturb the fishermen – at least not like they once did. I suggest treating them the way you would want to be treated and hope they oblige. What I am trying to say is if you see an oyster boat working a small reef; don’t expect them to stay on one end. They will probably be working the length of it so it is best to move on to another.
In between the cold fronts we will usually get some slick calm mornings as the wind switches from the north to south. It’s during these really calm mornings that I have been using a MirrOlure 10MR which is a floating twitch-bait with props on front and also the rear. The 10MR is easy to cast and really makes a lot of fish catching commotion. What really makes this bait good for me is that because of the size of the lure and the smaller hooks, I believe you get a better hookup ratio than you get with a normal topwater. The colors I have been using are the CFPR which is chartreuse back, pearl belly, silver scales and also the #18 which has green back, white belly, and silver sides. What we are trying to mimic here is finger mullet and small shad and these two colors match that really well.
The way we have been fishing the 10MR is to make short quick jerks so that the props really shred the water, then let it set a second and rip it some more. Every day is different for fishing and I’m sure there’s more than one way to catch a fish with it.
Besides my everyday go-to lure, the 5” Bass Assassin in Hot Chicken and Slammin Chicken colors rigged on a 1/16 ounce jighead, we have also been throwing Corky Fat Boys in the 11 and 49 color patterns when working the reefs.
When leaving your boat for a wade on the reefs please do not depend on your Power Pole as the sole means of anchoring. Always use your regular anchor, (remember those?) or a Stake Out Stick (that I live by) to back up your Power Pole. You never know when a boat or barge wake or possibly a sudden wind switch could dislodge your Power Pole and let your boat drift off. I am still picking waders up on reefs and shorelines that have put their faith in their Power Poles alone.
Another tool that makes my job easier day in day out is my selection of fishing rods. I am lucky to be able to use any rod I would like but I choose Waterloo!
Jimmy and Carson at Waterloo Rod Company have given me the tools to do whatever or throw whatever I want on any given day. I normally carry two rods on any given day, the 6’6” Ultra Mag and the 6’7” HP Lite, for the last ten or so years I have been using the shorter rods (insert short rod joke here) and they seem to fit the bill perfectly. Back to Waterloo; when I first met with Jimmy at his shop he asked which rod I liked and I mentioned the above two. He then asked, “you want this handle or this handle, or maybe this one?” I had to tell him wait a minute; I’m not used to having all these options. After the handle dilemma he then asked which eyes I wanted on my rods. To make a long story not any longer, Waterloo has made my job easier by giving me a rod fitted to me; lighter and more sensitive than any of the other rod companies have to offer. Thank you Jimmy and Carson!
Fish hard, fish smart!
There are some key things to remember when you are reef hopping this time of year. Oyster season is in full swing so besides dodging other fishermen and being careful not to encroach on their wading area, you will need to give the oystermen some room too – or perhaps I should say give yourself some room from them. Most of the commercial fishermen nowadays try not to disturb the fishermen – at least not like they once did. I suggest treating them the way you would want to be treated and hope they oblige. What I am trying to say is if you see an oyster boat working a small reef; don’t expect them to stay on one end. They will probably be working the length of it so it is best to move on to another.
In between the cold fronts we will usually get some slick calm mornings as the wind switches from the north to south. It’s during these really calm mornings that I have been using a MirrOlure 10MR which is a floating twitch-bait with props on front and also the rear. The 10MR is easy to cast and really makes a lot of fish catching commotion. What really makes this bait good for me is that because of the size of the lure and the smaller hooks, I believe you get a better hookup ratio than you get with a normal topwater. The colors I have been using are the CFPR which is chartreuse back, pearl belly, silver scales and also the #18 which has green back, white belly, and silver sides. What we are trying to mimic here is finger mullet and small shad and these two colors match that really well.
The way we have been fishing the 10MR is to make short quick jerks so that the props really shred the water, then let it set a second and rip it some more. Every day is different for fishing and I’m sure there’s more than one way to catch a fish with it.
Besides my everyday go-to lure, the 5” Bass Assassin in Hot Chicken and Slammin Chicken colors rigged on a 1/16 ounce jighead, we have also been throwing Corky Fat Boys in the 11 and 49 color patterns when working the reefs.
When leaving your boat for a wade on the reefs please do not depend on your Power Pole as the sole means of anchoring. Always use your regular anchor, (remember those?) or a Stake Out Stick (that I live by) to back up your Power Pole. You never know when a boat or barge wake or possibly a sudden wind switch could dislodge your Power Pole and let your boat drift off. I am still picking waders up on reefs and shorelines that have put their faith in their Power Poles alone.
Another tool that makes my job easier day in day out is my selection of fishing rods. I am lucky to be able to use any rod I would like but I choose Waterloo!
Jimmy and Carson at Waterloo Rod Company have given me the tools to do whatever or throw whatever I want on any given day. I normally carry two rods on any given day, the 6’6” Ultra Mag and the 6’7” HP Lite, for the last ten or so years I have been using the shorter rods (insert short rod joke here) and they seem to fit the bill perfectly. Back to Waterloo; when I first met with Jimmy at his shop he asked which rod I liked and I mentioned the above two. He then asked, “you want this handle or this handle, or maybe this one?” I had to tell him wait a minute; I’m not used to having all these options. After the handle dilemma he then asked which eyes I wanted on my rods. To make a long story not any longer, Waterloo has made my job easier by giving me a rod fitted to me; lighter and more sensitive than any of the other rod companies have to offer. Thank you Jimmy and Carson!
Fish hard, fish smart!