Why is February such a good month on Galveston Bay? Well let’s start with giant Trophy sized Speckled Trout on the shallow flats and shorelines being hungrily sought by the wadefishermen who have waited all year long for this month to target their favorite species. The big fish bite sparks off the beginning of a springtime pattern that will last until late March or early April and with the right weather this can be one of the best times of the year for some serious Speckled Trout action. We can also look forward to the beginning of the Black Drum run which will definitely make the jetty anglers happy. Black Drum aka “Big Uglies” will come in to the jetties and then follow the main ship channel northward inhabiting all of the reefs and spoils along the way.
As February rolls in, the days are getting longer, spring is getting closer and the fish are getting hungrier. This is Trophy Trout month and some of us wait all year long for February to arrive to go chase down that elusive monster sized yellow mouthed beauty. Late winter/early spring has always been the best months for chasing big specks on shallow flats and our bay complex is loaded with great areas to hunker down in the water and go looking for these beautiful fish. Most of my best experiences with Trophy Speckled Trout have been at very low light conditions or even in the dark. Trying to coincide a full or new moon with the major and minor feeding times are your key factors to predictable fishing for oversized Specks. They tend to follow those major feeding times very closely. Remember the “Big Girls” get big for a reason so targeting them is like targeting any trophy animal. A great deal of dedication, experience and skill is involved with some good timing and luck. My favorite all-access wading spot and Trophy Speckled Trout spot is the Anahuac National Refuge shoreline. With easy access by truck no boat is needed and you literally have access to several miles of fantastic fish-catching shoreline with all of the natural conditions needed. Weather and tidal conditions must be right for the Refuge with normal to above average tides and some type of easterly wind if possible. Other areas to look at are the south shoreline and coves of both East and West Bays along with the northern upper pocket of Trinity Bay. All of these areas are hot spots for trophy fish. But there are plenty of opportunities out there beyond these well known areas for you to explore and make your own angling memories. Shallow shorelines with lots of mud and shell is what you need and the desire to be dedicated and go make it happen.
Soon the Black Drum will begin to invade our jetty system and ship channel, typically around mid to late February, as they spread up and along the many spoils and reefs along the ship channel going past the Fred Hartman bridge. A close cousin to the redfish, the Black Drum is great table fare and a hard fighter that can grow to brutish sizes of up to 60 pounds or more. Keep the ones under 20 inches to eat and throw the rest back. They tend to get wormy as they get bigger so just release the bigger ones with care. A live or dead shrimp is your best bait for putting a lot of these fish in the freezer. I usually find them in the same shelly areas as the redfish and trout. They are typically on or near the bottom eating clam shells, shrimp and crabs hanging out where the shell is thickest. I usually find them on shallow flats in 2-5 ft of water so a popping cork with a deep leader hanging a few inches above the bottom. But do not be in a hurry to set the hook on them. They have a tendency to “nibble” on your shrimp and taste it a little before committing to it so let them take your cork under water for a slow 3 second count before setting the hook. This will increase your hookups and fill the freezer with tasty fillets.
Look for some of the best angling days of the year to happen this month and they will definitely coincide with good weather conditions and good tides. So don’t forget to take a kid fishing and I will see you on the water!!
Capt. Craig Lambert | Galvestoninshorefishing.com | 832.338.4570