Mansfield Report: July 2018

Sitting to write this report we are looking summer square in the face with temperatures already approaching the century mark. Memorial Day weekend kicks off the summer season and I cannot recall a busier weekend in Port Mansfield. Parking lots overflowing with trucks and trailers with dozens parked along the streets close to the ramps on both sides of Port. Traffic on the water was not any better. A lot of anglers who come to Port wade, but I noticed something different with most waders I encountered; that being most had bait buckets.

Let’s take a local hot spot – Community Bar – just north of Port about three miles. This relatively short sandbar runs east and west, is very narrow and only about 1000 yards in length. On Memorial Day Sunday, I counted eight boats with upwards of twenty-five waders spattered along its length. It just seemed a little crowded in my opinion. The rest of the bay was actually not much different, lots of boats and lots of fishermen that resulted in an overwhelming amount of fish being brought to the filet tables.

Weather patterns are stabilizing, winds are trending to their typical early-summer patterns, which is calm to light in the mornings and breezy in the afternoons. Water levels remain a little low, but I have seen the levels come up a few inches in the several days prior to this writing. Bait has shown up with a vengeance, seagrass is growing, and water clarity is awesome. We have just the right amount of clear, green, and murky water in and around the bay to fit your angling preference.

If you get out early enough, its ok to fish the real clear water, prior to 9:00 AM or so. The bait has been in this clear water early but as the sun comes up you will find the bait balls drifting into the greener water and onto the murkier water later in the day. Our trout fishing is now considered good to great and some of the best trout swim with (under) the mullet. All you need do is toss your lure in the bait balls, let it sink below the mullet, twitch it slowly, and wait for the strike. Be careful not to confuse mullet bumping your line with an actual strike. A foul hooked mullet puts up a pretty good fight – so I’ve heard…

Our topwater bite is picking up and when the fish are feeding they will flat out slam a topwater. I’m still sticking with One Knockers and find myself fishing a bone or natural color most of the time.A quick tip on where to throw topwaters regarding water depth; I found myself catching large trout recently while fishing a topwater in over eight foot of water. Most of the time we throw tops in relatively shallow water, say four feet or less; well, don’t be afraid to work one out deep. This day I landed some very large trout while standing on a ledge and throwing my topwater as far as I could into deep water. Large sweeping swags with the One Knocker had those fish responding well.

Along with a strong trout bite our redfish are starting to show themselves, but not in the large numbers we have seen in years past. But they are currently being caught with more regularity and when you find them you usually can catch more than just a couple. Just stay put and work the area well.

I have been trying to get out early in the morning, before the sun comes up as to get to a spot that has the best potential for catching fish through late-morning. It’s smart to grab a spot like this so you can fish more and boat ride less. Granted, there might be times to scout, but who gets tired of catching mid- to- upper-slot trout with some even being trophies? Most folks appreciate the “catching” part of fishing.

Best baits have been KWigglers Willow Tails and 4 -inch paddletails while shallow in Padre Punch, Mansfield Margarita, and Turtle Grass colors. Once out deeper or fishing off a point or ledge, we switch to the Ball Tail Shad in Bone Diamond – Flo Mingo and Olive Red Metal Flake. With this series of baits we can cover all fishing applications in most depths of water.

Until next time, stay safe and please consider catch and release, we all need to do our part to protect our bays from overfishing.