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Sunday
March 21, 2010 Since 1922 |
The right place to dupe a speckled trout
By Bink Grimes
Baytown Sun Published March 26, 2006 Reports were not encouraging. Winds were ravaging the waters like they had been all winter. Catches were at a minimum. Water clarity resembled a frosty glass of Yoo-hoo.
When blistering cold winds blow in Texas, there are not many places to hide, especially if you plan to fish.
Consecutive weeks of enduring 15-25 mph winds is enough to give any die-hard plugger cabin fever, and, it did. There was only one solution — hitch the boat and head south.
Rain dripping from the roof of the Corpus Christi hotel welcomed us as we stepped out the door to check the weather. Lightning and blowing precipitation kept us pinned to the dock until after sunrise. Our destination was some 42 miles away and about 45 minutes into the ride the skies began to clear as our teeth chattered from the mixture of soaked clothes and steady winds.
As the boat idled off the channel, we spotted a few flipping mullet tight against the shoreline. To our amazement, water clarity was almost a foot down, evident by the visible contour of each rock that sat just under the surface of the water.
Baffin Bay’s propensity to yield consistent catches, even during windy blusters has prompted many upper coastal guides to relocate during January, February and March. When the winter wind blows hard in Sabine Lake, Galveston Bay and Matagorda Bay, a fishing day is pretty much shot. When it blows in Baffin, it is business as usual.
Baffin Bay runs east and west, giving its entire north shoreline protection from blistering winter winds; if the weather shifts to the south, bounce across the bay and work leeward waters. Ardent anglers learn to cast in gusty conditions, or stayed reclined in their favorite chair until the weather stabilizes in May.
Baffin’s lure is its trophy speckled trout. The Texas state record was caught here, a 13.69- pounder duped by Jim Wallace. The International Gamefish Association fly-fishing record was caught-and-released in Baffin as well, a 15.6-pound sow coaxed by Bud Rowland.
There are reports and pictures to verify a 48-inch, 25-pound trout found floating during fish- killing freezes in the 1960s. Since TPWD began conducting gillnet surveys more than 25 years ago, biologists estimate more than 86 percent of 30-inch or larger trout caught in the nets along the entire Texas coast come from the lower Laguna Madre — the stretch of coast Baffin Bay resides.
Biologists believe the Laguna Madre’s hypersaline waters, which are saltier than the Gulf of Mexico, contribute to the behemoth growth of speckled trout. A trout in a hypersaline environment does not endure the freshwater swings upper coastal trout do. Flood rains dump fresh water into the bays by way of rivers; and, upper coastal bays need the freshwater for shrimp production and other shellfish.
Lack of fishing pressure is another determining factor that builds a bigger fish. Baffin Bay is a remote place. You don’t just decide to go fish Baffin for a few hours. From Corpus Christi, it is at least a 40-minute boat ride. From nearby Rivera, it is closer.
There are places for fish to hide in Baffin Bay that are not reachable by humans. Lack of pressure results in easier homeostasis. Compare it to stress. Those humans with stress live shorter, unhealthier lives, while those with few cares live long and prosperous lives. Now apply that to speckled trout — you get the picture.
Being an avid topwater freak, as much as I hate to admit it, suspending plugs and soft plastics catch more fish in Baffin Bay in the winter. I am not saying the topwater will not work, it has its applications on warm sunny days between cold fronts. Nevertheless, the majority of winter fish stage on the bottom portion of the water column. There, temperatures are warmer than the surface — sometimes just one degree warmer — but, that one degree can make all the difference when searching for fish.
The lore of Baffin Bay is much larger than its actual fishing acreage. What sets Baffin apart from other Texas bays is its unique rocks. The locals would have you believe these rocks are lower-unit-eating-machines. And the rocks have ruined a day or two of fishing, while prompting a few insurance claims as well. However, stay between the marked channels when on plane and you will have few problems.
The rocks, according to authorities, were formed by prehistoric worms millions of years ago.
If you are reluctant to try new places on your own, hiring a guide is you best bet. You will learn how a professional runs the bay and fishes its contours. Money well spent in my estimation.
I hope to be in Baffin in a few weeks. If you want the best odds in Texas of catching a heavy trout, you will be too.
Baytown Sun Published March 26, 2006 Reports were not encouraging. Winds were ravaging the waters like they had been all winter. Catches were at a minimum. Water clarity resembled a frosty glass of Yoo-hoo.
When blistering cold winds blow in Texas, there are not many places to hide, especially if you plan to fish.
Consecutive weeks of enduring 15-25 mph winds is enough to give any die-hard plugger cabin fever, and, it did. There was only one solution — hitch the boat and head south.
Rain dripping from the roof of the Corpus Christi hotel welcomed us as we stepped out the door to check the weather. Lightning and blowing precipitation kept us pinned to the dock until after sunrise. Our destination was some 42 miles away and about 45 minutes into the ride the skies began to clear as our teeth chattered from the mixture of soaked clothes and steady winds.
As the boat idled off the channel, we spotted a few flipping mullet tight against the shoreline. To our amazement, water clarity was almost a foot down, evident by the visible contour of each rock that sat just under the surface of the water.
Baffin Bay’s propensity to yield consistent catches, even during windy blusters has prompted many upper coastal guides to relocate during January, February and March. When the winter wind blows hard in Sabine Lake, Galveston Bay and Matagorda Bay, a fishing day is pretty much shot. When it blows in Baffin, it is business as usual.
Baffin Bay runs east and west, giving its entire north shoreline protection from blistering winter winds; if the weather shifts to the south, bounce across the bay and work leeward waters. Ardent anglers learn to cast in gusty conditions, or stayed reclined in their favorite chair until the weather stabilizes in May.
Baffin’s lure is its trophy speckled trout. The Texas state record was caught here, a 13.69- pounder duped by Jim Wallace. The International Gamefish Association fly-fishing record was caught-and-released in Baffin as well, a 15.6-pound sow coaxed by Bud Rowland.
There are reports and pictures to verify a 48-inch, 25-pound trout found floating during fish- killing freezes in the 1960s. Since TPWD began conducting gillnet surveys more than 25 years ago, biologists estimate more than 86 percent of 30-inch or larger trout caught in the nets along the entire Texas coast come from the lower Laguna Madre — the stretch of coast Baffin Bay resides.
Biologists believe the Laguna Madre’s hypersaline waters, which are saltier than the Gulf of Mexico, contribute to the behemoth growth of speckled trout. A trout in a hypersaline environment does not endure the freshwater swings upper coastal trout do. Flood rains dump fresh water into the bays by way of rivers; and, upper coastal bays need the freshwater for shrimp production and other shellfish.
Lack of fishing pressure is another determining factor that builds a bigger fish. Baffin Bay is a remote place. You don’t just decide to go fish Baffin for a few hours. From Corpus Christi, it is at least a 40-minute boat ride. From nearby Rivera, it is closer.
There are places for fish to hide in Baffin Bay that are not reachable by humans. Lack of pressure results in easier homeostasis. Compare it to stress. Those humans with stress live shorter, unhealthier lives, while those with few cares live long and prosperous lives. Now apply that to speckled trout — you get the picture.
Being an avid topwater freak, as much as I hate to admit it, suspending plugs and soft plastics catch more fish in Baffin Bay in the winter. I am not saying the topwater will not work, it has its applications on warm sunny days between cold fronts. Nevertheless, the majority of winter fish stage on the bottom portion of the water column. There, temperatures are warmer than the surface — sometimes just one degree warmer — but, that one degree can make all the difference when searching for fish.
The lore of Baffin Bay is much larger than its actual fishing acreage. What sets Baffin apart from other Texas bays is its unique rocks. The locals would have you believe these rocks are lower-unit-eating-machines. And the rocks have ruined a day or two of fishing, while prompting a few insurance claims as well. However, stay between the marked channels when on plane and you will have few problems.
The rocks, according to authorities, were formed by prehistoric worms millions of years ago.
If you are reluctant to try new places on your own, hiring a guide is you best bet. You will learn how a professional runs the bay and fishes its contours. Money well spent in my estimation.
I hope to be in Baffin in a few weeks. If you want the best odds in Texas of catching a heavy trout, you will be too.