By Captain Jake Rangnow
Few things excited me more than the hunt for big trout. It’s a game of patience, persistence and maybe a little bit of luck; but when they all come together they make for something special. We have gotten to the point where it is time for the “Magic 3”. This is a point in the winter where the tides bottom out, the water temperatures plummet, most of the small bait is gone from the bays, and a big trout’s diet consist almost exclusively of bigger fin fish. This really changes the game and the “Magic 3” comes into play. I feel that around every three days big trout feed. These big trout over 28” are smart. The water is cold and they don’t want to have to chase around small, fast bait all day. I am not saying that you can’t get them to eat every day, because they are opportunistic predators; but this time of year they would rather eat a 12” mullet than chase around small fish or shrimp while continuously burning lots of energy.
The winter pattern is simple but can seem almost impossible to predict at times. Every 5-6 days the conditions change like clockwork. First is a day of calm south wind as the front approaches, this is one of the best days to get lots of good bites. Then with the front comes, a strong North wind and cold temperatures, which pushes the fish off of the shallow mud and into the deep winter holes. They usually will remain there for a couple days (sometimes it is 4-5 days). Then will come the high blue skies and a strong north wind; this is usually one of the most difficult times to catch a big trout. The pressure is high, the temperature is cold and sometimes it seems as if there may not be a trout left in the bay. They don’t move much and lay low where the water temperatures are much more stable. Finally comes the magical third day, the wind will lie down and will switch to the east, the sun warms up the shallow mud flats, with the water warming on flats the mullet start to disperse from the depths and with them come the big trout. They will be hungry and likely haven’t eaten much in the last 3 days. These big trout will usually stay in the same area for a couple of days as the temperatures stabilize moving through the flats ambushing unsuspecting mullet and they feed when the opportunity presents itself.
On The Water
On The WaterIt was the Middle of January, about 60 degrees, sunny, a light Northeast wind, and a couple of days post front. Everything was set up nice to get a few big bites on the mud flats. We started out on a windblown shoreline, hopped out of the boat and headed to a drain that was dumping against the light north wind. It was mostly just a mud flat in front of the drain with current coming around a small shell hump. We worked slow up to the shell pad and pulled a solid 28” trout of the eddy side of the pad. The lure of choice was a pink corky devil. We then worked up to the drain and caught another healthy 28” trout that fell to a dark purple tail about 50 yards in front of the drain.
Next, we headed out to a big mud flat surrounded by deep water. We knew that the fish were likely to pull up there later in the day. We got out and started our wade, we moved slow fan casting. As we scanned the flat, mullet were flipping and jumping all over. We made what felt like 100+ casts with not a single bite, but we knew they were there just needed them to eat. Finally the bite came as soon as my corky hit the water. It was a 30”, 8 pound stud. Another 10 cast later it happened again, almost in identical fashion, as soon as the lure hit the water, there she was. This told me I was getting reaction strikes. I quickly tie on the first top water I could get to and the second cast I hooked up to a over 30” fish, which would have been my biggest of the year she ended up pulling off but it was one of the most ferocious blow ups I have ever seen.
It just goes back to a few of the keys to catching trophy trout; patience. Give it time; sometimes it takes a grind to find that big bite. You may have to go many trips without finding that big fish, but there is no better teacher than experience. They say luck is a great result of preparation and opportunity. So get a game plan together, then adjust depending on what you see and feel once you are in the water. The simplistic complexity of the hunt for a trophy trout is a process that we live for!
Tails and Tusk Outfitters | Captain Jake Rangnow | 361-243-2490