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The View: November 2013
By the time you read this, hopefully, the first real cold front of the fall has arrived, bringing with it chilly air, loads of waterfowl and a breathtaking portrait of a clear, autumn sunrise.
With fresh recruits of nippy air blowing from the north, water temperatures plunge, tides recede and marshes dump this year's hatch of shrimp, shad and crabs. November could provide the best fishing opportunities of the year, and there is no better bay system in Texas than Matagorda's East and West Bays.
If you prefer staying in the boat and anchoring with live bait, the fall offers excellent redfish and black drum action. Shell Island, Twin Island, Mad Island Cut and any other piece of shell holds fish that are hungry and willing to take live shrimp under a popping cork. Watch for oyster boats dredging shell and remember or mark that spot on your GPS for another day.
Speaking of oysters, Matagorda Bay reefs produce some of the fattest and saltiest oysters in the land. Shucked fresh daily at Buddy Treybig's Arnold's Seafood, you will never eat a better oyster. Pick up a quart or maybe even a gallon before you leave town.
The mouths of bayous and marshes on a falling tide are usually fall hotspots. Places like Oyster Lake, Crab Lake, Boggy Lake and Lake Austin are all excellent choices. Live shrimp under a popping cork, Berkley GULP, soft plastics or small topwaters worked across points are certain to draw strikes.
While you are there, don't be surprised to see birds working in the lakes, especially on an ardent falling tide when the shrimp are moving. One cast it will be a red, the next a trout and every once in a while a flounder.
Waders should work the same terrains, but more methodically. In East Matagorda Bay, Boiler Bayou, Kain Cove, Hog Island, Catch-All Basin and Brown Cedar Flats hold solid trout for anglers throwing Super Spooks, She Pups, Skitter Walks and Bass Assassins. I really like the Bass Assassins Lit'l Tapper in chicken on a chain and pepper/chartreuse. The baits are laced with Bang and smell like licorice, which I think makes the fish hang on a bit harder for a solid hookset.
Sight-casting to redfish along the grasslines of West Matagorda Bay's south shoreline has become popular on my boat. Watch for ripples, wakes and jumping shrimp near the grass and wait for the freight train to pass. Then toss a Bass Assassin under a cork in front of the school and loosen your drag. Sometimes you can hear reds crunching their jaws on small crabs. It is pretty cool to see 25-50 tails out of the water, coming right at you. It sometimes results in a case of "buck fever."
Birds consistently working over pods of shrimp is why many anglers can't wait for November in Matagorda Bay. With recent rains and the amount of shrimp we saw in the bay in September and October, it should be a solid fall for working birds. The neat thing about East Matagorda Bay is one group of birds will be found over solid trout, then you move to another flock and its all big reds. Another bonus is the large Gulf trout that have been as long as 20 inches.
With duck season opening November 2, I'll be hunting most mornings and then fishing the afternoons. Morning or afternoon, it really doesn't matter this time of year.
With fresh recruits of nippy air blowing from the north, water temperatures plunge, tides recede and marshes dump this year's hatch of shrimp, shad and crabs. November could provide the best fishing opportunities of the year, and there is no better bay system in Texas than Matagorda's East and West Bays.
If you prefer staying in the boat and anchoring with live bait, the fall offers excellent redfish and black drum action. Shell Island, Twin Island, Mad Island Cut and any other piece of shell holds fish that are hungry and willing to take live shrimp under a popping cork. Watch for oyster boats dredging shell and remember or mark that spot on your GPS for another day.
Speaking of oysters, Matagorda Bay reefs produce some of the fattest and saltiest oysters in the land. Shucked fresh daily at Buddy Treybig's Arnold's Seafood, you will never eat a better oyster. Pick up a quart or maybe even a gallon before you leave town.
The mouths of bayous and marshes on a falling tide are usually fall hotspots. Places like Oyster Lake, Crab Lake, Boggy Lake and Lake Austin are all excellent choices. Live shrimp under a popping cork, Berkley GULP, soft plastics or small topwaters worked across points are certain to draw strikes.
While you are there, don't be surprised to see birds working in the lakes, especially on an ardent falling tide when the shrimp are moving. One cast it will be a red, the next a trout and every once in a while a flounder.
Waders should work the same terrains, but more methodically. In East Matagorda Bay, Boiler Bayou, Kain Cove, Hog Island, Catch-All Basin and Brown Cedar Flats hold solid trout for anglers throwing Super Spooks, She Pups, Skitter Walks and Bass Assassins. I really like the Bass Assassins Lit'l Tapper in chicken on a chain and pepper/chartreuse. The baits are laced with Bang and smell like licorice, which I think makes the fish hang on a bit harder for a solid hookset.
Sight-casting to redfish along the grasslines of West Matagorda Bay's south shoreline has become popular on my boat. Watch for ripples, wakes and jumping shrimp near the grass and wait for the freight train to pass. Then toss a Bass Assassin under a cork in front of the school and loosen your drag. Sometimes you can hear reds crunching their jaws on small crabs. It is pretty cool to see 25-50 tails out of the water, coming right at you. It sometimes results in a case of "buck fever."
Birds consistently working over pods of shrimp is why many anglers can't wait for November in Matagorda Bay. With recent rains and the amount of shrimp we saw in the bay in September and October, it should be a solid fall for working birds. The neat thing about East Matagorda Bay is one group of birds will be found over solid trout, then you move to another flock and its all big reds. Another bonus is the large Gulf trout that have been as long as 20 inches.
With duck season opening November 2, I'll be hunting most mornings and then fishing the afternoons. Morning or afternoon, it really doesn't matter this time of year.