Winter fishing West bay (3 Reports)

[OldTownYakBoi]

Man we are running low on reports these days so I thought I'd share 3 trips from the month of February.

Feb 5th - Got to link up with my good buddy SaltyKat for some fishing, he lives in Chicago and usually comes down every winter and it's always fun to fish together. I've learned a lot from him and had the pleasure of hearing plenty of stories from the good ole days. We launched into west bay around 730, tide was incoming and fog was thick. Water temps were in the mid 60's with a light south wind. We ended up fishing around some docks most of the day due to thick fog and got on a solid redfish bite. I was working a pink fatboy and he was using his trusty 27mr twitch bait mullet pattern. It didn't take us too long to get into some fish and after a few hours had plenty of catches. I lost multiple good trout but ended landing 3 slot reds from 23-26 that went on ice and a small 16 in trout.

He had multiple slots and the big daddy of the day, a near 30 in red.

All fish were caught in a pretty small area and we were both surprised by the lack of trout. Fish were staging around current breaks of docks and edges where patches of oysters met the mud.

Feb 9th

I launched at sunrise on Feb 9th solo, water temp was near 70 degrees and had a decent outgoing tide. I hit some mid bay reefs and really had to search for them. After 2 hours I got on a short but good bite window, landing 3 overslot trout from 22-24 inches.

The fish were shallow and very tight to the oyster bars in less than a foot of water and just outside the current. They all thumped the pink glittery corky with authority. This was the only action of the day and I felt lucky to have it as there was tons of boats out enjoying the warm winter day. I had success with a steady walk the dog retrieval with short pauses. Unfortunately the 24 inch trout inhaled and swallowed the pink fat boy. I knew she got it deep immediately bc she came flying a few feet out of the water on the hook set and proceeded to jump and head shake like this all the way back to the kayak. After a long struggle to save her that not only was the fish going to die, but I also wouldn't be getting my corky back. So I decided to cut my line and let her go, she went belly up immediately which made me sick. This is the part of the new regulations I hate and do not understand, it kind of ruined the day for me and I came back to the launch shortly after.

Feb 27th

I launched at sunrise and was met with a light-moderate north wind and a strong falling tide.i started the day fishing a H20 express version of a soft dine XL and 5 casts in hooked a nice 20in trout on a muddy flat adjacent to a channel.i then fished some docks for about an hour with no success before heading out to fish some reefs. I found some fish stacked in a small section of the reef and caught all my fish of the day in this small zone. I landed 2 more 20in trout and a 22 in redfish, along with an undersized red and a 16in trout. The bite died off fairly quick and it was all over by 9 am. I fished and searched for another hour and a half without any success before heading in. All fish except the first were caught on a corky fat boy, black back with white sides and a chrt belly. The cadence was a steady walk the dog but had to give it some longer pauses. They were not high in the water column and unless you were hanging shell you weren't going to get bit. I've really been enjoying winter fishing these past few seasons as I dial in, gaining more experience and more confidence in the legendary Paul brown lures. This action of this lure is just special and there is not much else like it. I love the 27mr too like saltykat but I just can't get away from using the fatboy. I really don't think color makes much a difference, one day out this winter I got bit throwing 4-5 different colors on the same trip, it's all in that wide sweeping action and the wobble on the fall.

I'm looking to get in a few more late winter trips before I shift gears and focus on targeting lights and dock fishing. Hope some of you are able to get out and enjoy what our Texas coast offers before it heats up.

And if you get a chance I'd love to read some more reports from fellow angler's, they're insightful, fun to read, and just serves to fire others up to get out on the water. The few reports we have often have 1-5k views... So I ask, can a man get some more reports?

Tight lines - YakBoi

[OldTownYakBoi]

[Neumie]

Excellent reports.

Having to release a fish knowing it will die is always a punch to the gut.

I'll admit it's hard to motivate myself with getting out in the cold weather especially since I oved this winter and have 2 year old twins to help out with. I tend to bank my fishing days when the water is comfortable to wet wade and not have to deal with waders.

Again, thanks for the great report on contribution to TKF.

[karstopo]

Nice! Nice fish! Good to hear Don is still fishing here in the winter.

My last saltwater trip was at the end of January, but that was a boat trip. Keep meaning to go kayak fishing, but I always find something else to do. Busy time for a vegetable gardening person such as myself. Plus, I’ve already got too much fish in the freezer from the fall that needs eating soon so I’m not quite as motivated to fish just for the groceries.

Plan is to fish this morning (another boat trip). Friend want to run his boat. He hasn’t been out lately either.

Fish from our boat trip in late January came from 46° water. Fattest bunch of redfish I have ever seen. Water was nearly opaque, but redfish have spider senses and can find a Hammertime (no chartreuse) paddle tail blindfolded.[attachment=0]FullSizeRender.jpeg[/attachment

[OldTownYakBoi]

Excellent reports.

Having to release a fish knowing it will die is always a punch to the gut.

I'll admit it's hard to motivate myself with getting out in the cold weather especially since I oved this winter and have 2 year old twins to help out with. I tend to bank my fishing days when the water is comfortable to wet wade and not have to deal with waders.

Again, thanks for the great report on contribution to TKF.

Neumie it really does suck releasing a fish you know if going to die, and personally for me it never gets easier. As for cold water and weather fishing I can sympathize with the motivation. Especially when it gets really cold, but I have had some stellar days over the last few winters and that corky bite keeps me coming back for more. Im still searching for that giant, and surprisingly enough my PB came from the surf, a 27 incher on a catch 2000.

[OldTownYakBoi]

Nice! Nice fish! Good to hear Don is still fishing here in the winter.

My last saltwater trip was at the end of January, but that was a boat trip. Keep meaning to go kayak fishing, but I always find something else to do. Busy time for a vegetable gardening person such as myself. Plus, I’ve already got too much fish in the freezer from the fall that needs eating soon so I’m not quite as motivated to fish just for the groceries.

Plan is to fish this morning (another boat trip). Friend want to run his boat. He hasn’t been out lately either. 123_1.jpegFullSizeRender.jpeg

Fish from our boat trip in late January came from 46° water. Fattest bunch of redfish I have ever seen. Water was nearly opaque, but redfish have spider senses and can find a Hammertime (no chartreuse) paddle tail blindfolded.[attachment=0]FullSizeRender.jpeg[/attachment

Don is a heck of a fisherman and a grinder, he's got 40 years on me, but you'd never know it once he gets in that pro angler. He is a trout junkie and loves to troll to find the bite, a bit unorthodox but it works and I've picked up a lot from him over the years. Btw those redfish are some absolute toads! Cold water fishing has grown on me, it's nice to have most of the bay to yourself.