This really windy spring is matching the intensity of our very cold winter. The first tournament fished out of my new big, bad blue and black Majek Illusion was the IFA. The tournament was fun and very professional but a windy experience that pushed my new Yamaha 225 SHO motor and proved she is a beast.If you did not see it at the IFA tournament come see it at the Rudyâs tournament in Port Aransas on May24th or just stop me at the dock. Premier Yamaha did a great job on the rigging. I have seen a lot of rigging and this is first class. Marty, with Coastline Trailers, and the Gentlemen at Blue Streak Aluminum did a super job and you should check them out. Like I have mentioned before the finish work and performance of a Majek is unsurpassed on the Gulf Coast. It was good to see some old friends and meet some new ones at the IFA Tournament. I believe we are going to have a great bay tournament fishing year. Wind can always be dealt with, we are lucky as bay anglers living on the Gulf Coast to have so many options to fish when faced with such conditions.
As you plan in advance your fishing, pre-fishing or tournament locations logs can come in handy when dealing with wind as long as the weather patterns are normal for that year. The logs will enable you to attempt to scout areas ahead of time by looking at fish locations in past years with the same weather patterns. This year has not been our normal mild winter pattern and therefore has created a different fish pattern. This is when long range weather reports become very important for deciding on locations to begin scouting. But use caution and never accept a long-range forecast for fact especially during changing of seasons. We all know the old adage in South Texas, if you donât like the weather wait 15 minutes and it will change. We recommend using an internet weather source you have faith in and checking it the night before your trip as well as the morning before you leave the house.
If a late front comes through with high north winds or a low pressure sits on the area and creates strong south winds, big changes will occur. This time of year late cold fronts will drop fish out of the shallows which creates great ambush points for fishing. Also with a late cold front the back lakes on the north side of our bays will empty and the lakes on the south shorelines will fill. Low pressure with high south winds can concentrate bait on the windward shorelines of back lakes and bays. The water color will murk up in these areas. The effect on lakes will be reversed with the south wind; the north lakes will fill and the lakes on the south shore lines will become shallow but wonât empty. Just some food for thought so when trying to make your decision on fishing locations you have some variables to consider. Donât be scared to fish murky water if the fish are holding on deep structure and have been for a month or longer. The fish will not move because of a front and deep can mean as shallow as 2â 6â.
Multiple variables can figure into the equations but if you are given all of them it is not the same as figuring it out for yourself which is always more satisfying. We have become a society that wants everything handed to us. I would like to think that our fishing is a way to get away from that. I know when I started fishing the part that was the most exciting is the discovery and this is still true today. I talk about reading the book, the one Mother Nature shows us. This is not an easy thing to do when the table of contents is what we learn as we go. But more time on the water will always increase the table. Be an adventurer and discover for yourself and the reward will be great.
We would like to congratulate the winners of the IFA Redfish Tournament held on April 5th. The first place team of Ron Hene Jr. and Tad Wit won with a weight of 17.44, the second place team of Cody Barton and Bobby Lambright weighed in with 16.89 and the third place team of Jay Watkins and Ryan Watkins had a weight of 16.49. Congratulation again and great job in some tough fishing conditions.