By: Capt. Craig Lambert
What a good flushing of the bay system we had with Hurricane Harvey. These types of events are a necessary and much needed natural process for our bay system. Now that we are a month or so away from the storm the bay system is really starting to shape up and fishing has returned back to normal. Although our northern portions of the bay are still a little fresh, as fall progresses, expect the north end to rebound quickly unless we get more major rain events of course.
This month will be typical of most October’s in the past. Expect to catch a lot of redfish and specks along with a few flounder that always start to show up at this time. The jetties have been the hot spot these last few weeks because that is where the saltiest water has been but areas like East Bay and West Bay having been producing decent boxes of fish.
Look to shorelines and structure more as speckled trout pull off of the middle reefs and start heading towards shallower waters. The concrete ship and Bolivar wells have always been good spots for redfish but because of Harvey the specks may be still hanging around these areas. Seawolf Park will most likely see a little earlier flounder run than usual this month so flounder fishermen get ready that area will see some flat fish after we have a few of these early season cold fronts that drop the water levels a bit.
The fading light and cooler water temperatures will allow the wadefishermen to get up close to those grassy shorelines looking for gamefish in 2-3 ft of water. A 1/16th oz jig on lighter wind days and a 1/8th oz on windier days is what I prefer and I especially love fishing during low light conditions on nasty, soupy, rainy days. Those are the days that produce the biggest fish. Sunny days with no wind may be nice for the angler but big fish prefer to eat during weather events like fronts and foggy, cloudy days so plan your trips accordingly. Look for the redfish and bigger sow trout to be running the shallower grasslines while the smaller trout are out running the flats. Soft plastics in plum or red shad are my favorite colors but you should throw whatever you are confident with. I prefer the softer baits when wadefishing like Bass Assassins and Big Nasty’s. They produce a little more action and the fish hold on to them longer it seems. Do not be afraid to throw a super Spook or other topwater bait. This is topwater time for sure. I use the harder and more durable plastics like Norton Sand Eels for bird activity which has already begun in a few areas of the bay system. Expect bird activity to increase after every cold front as large quantities of shrimp are flushed out of our marshes.
Areas like lower Trinity Bay and the San Jacinto River are still a little fresh. That has kept the trout down south in our lower Bay system for now but as the salinity levels rise a few trout will continue their migration northward. The redfish are much more tolerant to fresh water so they are already found along the ship channel and can be found over spoils, shallow clam reefs and along rip-rap all the way up to the northern fishing grounds. Spinner baits or shrimp and a popping cork are both deadly redfish baits that will produce better than most others. Keep your baits up close to the rocks and you will be in the strike zone.
Looks like we have a great fall fishing season ahead so everyone be safe and take a kid fishing!
Capt. Craig Lambert | Galvestoninshorefishing.com | 832.338.4570
