Beat the Heat - Go Deep
Texas Outdoor Journal - August 2001

Partial clipping of complete article

While Baffin has rocks, San Antonio Bay has built a reputation on its numerous shell reefs. Capt. Gary Gray of Bay Rat Guide described this bay as two halves. On the south side of the inter-coastal Canal that bisects this bay is where the deepest water at eight feet is held. The south side also has the fewest number of reefs. Lots of reefs are noted on some charts north of the Inter-coastal  with many more that are unmarked.

When fishing the south portion of San Antonio Bay, Gary will drift reefs like Middle Ground or Panther. He said Panther comes up to within a foot and a half of the surface while other parts of the reef drop off to six feet or better. In places, this long reefs is 200 feet wide.

"In the summer most of the trout are caught  in water four to five deep," he said, "However where you fish on the reef is equally important.

"You need to fish the irregularities," he continued, "When learning a reef you will need to watch your electronics and where the reef jumps up from five or six feet to three feet is where the fish will hold."

Gray credits his Dad with teaching him about structure while he was growing up. "Look at bass anglers that fish long points during the summer," he began. Our reefs are similar to those long points and while the variance is the structure may be as little as six inches, that is enough difference to hold fish."

Where Gray sets up depends on the particular situation. "The first thing to look for is obvious signs of feeding activity like slicks," he advised. "In the absences of slicks in the deep water I will fish the down current side. On reefs with the water breaking over the top of a reef where the fish can't swim across I will fish the current side because the bait is likely to be stacked up on that side.

"Sometimes I may anchor right on top of a reef and fish the down current side, particularly if the current is strong," he continued, " In this situation, cast with the wind and let the bait bounce over the shell, keeping your slack out as the bait drifts over the reef."

Gray said the perfect situation is when there is just enough current to allow him to cast to the reef and then jig the bait back like a worm. He said to just pop it up and then let it sink back down.

He also suggested using a heavier jig-head to get the lure down to the bigger fish which will be holding closer to the bottom. "If you fish too fast in the summer you will only be covering the upper portion of the water column and probably catching smaller fish, "he said.  "Fishing in the summer is similar to fishing in the winter as in both seasons extreme temperatures make the fish more sluggish. Slow down and you will catch more fish."