Hunting Report
Fishing Report
 

"Wind doesn't slow saltwater action"
Victoria Advocate Thursday, April 12,1998
Partial clipping of complete article

For at least three weeks, windy conditions plagued mid-coast saltwater fisherman. On Saturday morning, the southeast wind wasn't anything  new for Gary Gray of Bay Rat Guide Service to deal with when he left the docks at Charlie's Bait Camp at Seadrift with Andy Baker Sr. and his son, Andy, of Kingwood.

The wind was blowing 15 mph with gusts to 20 in the morning and by the afternoon it was blowing a steady 20.

The strong winds didn't slow the trio's trip to protected areas of San Antonio Bay. They limited out on speckled trout from 18 to 25 inches by noon and then went to work on stringing limits of redfish from 21-25 inches. They picked up the last red before 4. The 25-inch speck weighed 5 pounds.

The specks and reds hit live shrimp under a rattle cork and a CT mullet (with 1/16th-ounce jighead) by What's Bittin' Bait Co. of La Marque while drift fishing.

 They used Shimano Chronarch bait-casting and Shimano Stradic spinning reels, 7- and 7½-foot All Star rods and Berkley Trilene 12 pound test line.

 Gray, who has been guiding since 1986, will provide more insight on fishing the back bays  off Port O'Connor and Seadrift during his talk tonight at the April meeting of the Mid-Coast Conservation Association - Texas.

During their Saturday trip, Gray said "we were fishing in water 2 feet deep down to a foot. There was one streak down the middle of the bay that was clear. We caught the trout out of the clear water in the morning.

"In the afternoon, we caught the reds in muddy water and we caught a couple more trout out of the muddy water. We were drifting with the anchor but the wind was speeding up the drifting quite a bit.

While the north wind plays havoc with the redfish and trout action in mid-coast bays, the Victoria guide said a south-south wind is more suitable for the Port O'Connor - Seadrift area.

"With the south-southeast wind, I knew we wouldn't  have any problem catching fish." Gray said. "You can always find protected water in the San Antonio Bay area.

 "We had south-southeast wind Saturday. That wind direction is a better wind for our bay system. A north wind stirs up the mud and it's more uncomfortable with a north wind.

South-southeast wind pushes the silt to the north shore. When the wind switches, it loosens the silt and makes the water muddier than a south wind and drops the tide."

Gray points out that "when a north wind is blowing, there are not that many protected areas to fish. We have to go into the back lakes like Pringle and Contee and hope for the bait fish. It's hard to find decent water with a north wind and there are not that many places to fish.

"After a cold front, we have a high pressure system for a couple days and the fish dig down it's hard to make them bite. After the wind switches to the southeast, the high pressure goes and fishing gets real good.

"It's easier to fish on a south-southeast wind and the water is better. The bays can withstand 15-20 mph south-southeast winds.

"When the water is dead calm, it's pretty hard to fish. Some ripple is better than none. As far as the wind, it doesn't make that much difference compared to the tide movement.

"As long as you have tide movement, you will do well and as long as bait is around. You have to have bait to catch something. You can catch plenty of fish if you find the bait fish, but you have to stick with it."

Gray said " the wind seemed to have helped and I keyed on mullet and that's what I have been keying on the last month... find the bait. Fishing was hard Saturday. It wasn't easy but a steady grind.

"We had some good fishing that day but we had to key on the bait. It has been windy the last three weeks. We had one or two days when it was calm but we had to find decent water with the wind.

"We key on the bait not because of the wind, but we look for the bait year-round. This time of year we key on mullet as far as the bait goes. I look for some sign of bait fish this time of year since not all water is full of fish. I look for mullet flipping around the surface or fish chasing them.

"There are areas that are not holding any fish or very few. If you key on bait fish, the odds go way up on the success.

"For the first three months of the year when you catch the weather right, fishing is good as any time of year. We've limited out on trout and reds three times this year, which is pretty good to the past years. Reds never stop biting in the winter and trout fishing picks up in February."

Captain's Gary and Shellie Gray - 361.785.6708

P.O. Box 626 Seadrift, Texas 77983