Fishing buddies take advantage of spring-like conditions
Buddies take advantage of excellent spring-like action in Gulf of Mexico
CORPUS CHRISTI — After more than 50 years of sharing hunting and fishing adventures across Texas, 77-year-olds Charles Trimble and Gary Dukes decided this spring would be their first plunge into tempting speckled trout using popping corks and live shrimp.
They chose wisely.
Their trip during the second week of February started out with a brisk boat ride under brilliant blue skies but rapidly transformed into a warm day on the water as they were transported between spring trout hot spots by veteran guide Joey Farah.
Following the advice of the seasoned guide, the two longtime outdoor buddies and Trimble’s 28-year-old son, Craig, hooked into abundant numbers of trout up to 22-inches long and one hard-charging redfish that measured 28 inches from nose to tail when brought to the boat.
Taking home a limit of trout and trophy redfish after their day on the water — including some fresh fillets in their stomachs courtesy of a renowned Farah’s fabulous fresh fry savored on the dock of a floating cabin — they both said they could not have imagined a better way to spend the day.
“It doesn’t get any better than this,” Dukes said.
Farah was quick to agree, pointing out that a combination of factors have transformed this spring into one of the best fishing opportunities in recent memory.
“There are a huge amount of shrimp and other bait in the Upper Laguna Madre and Baffin Bay,” Farah said. “The tides have been so high for so long that the bait has stayed here and the big trout fishing is better than we’ve seen in quite a while. The drum run has also started early because a lot of fish just never left the bay area.
“All of the right conditions and factors have fallen into place for some super fishing.’’
Farah said he also gives credit to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department for expanding the five-fish bag limit on trout in 2014 to cover most of the Texas Gulf Coast as a key factor in the increasing big trout bonanza this spring.
“We are also experiencing some of the clearest water that I have seen in years,” he said. “That might be because they have stopped dredging (along the Intercoastal Canal) and because of the good rainfall and high tides. The fish are more spread out this year, so you have to be able to find them. The trout are really hanging around the rocks — chasing all the bait that is there — along with redfish and drum.
Trimble and Dukes said they both normally stick with artificials for their saltwater action. But after a little coaching from Farah, they found the fun factor was just as high when dangling a live shrimp under a popping cork.
Dukes, who lives just a few miles away from Marker 37 Marina and once owned a floating cabin in Baffin Bay, and his veteran fishing buddy from Austin have always enjoyed spending time at the coast.
“I haven’t been down here in awhile, but the coastline looks just the same as it always did,” Trimble said. “We just like to be down here catching fish.”
While fishing with live shrimp under a popping cork is a time-tested technique of hooking into speckled trout, redfish and black drum — all members of the croaker family — anglers will soon be turning to another system for hooking into black drum making their spring spawn.
Farah has mastered both techniques and can easily switch gears depending upon the saltwater species his anglers seek.
The standard technique for hooking into black drum is to thread a piece of shrimp on a No. 2-4 circle hook and use a small weight to keep the bait on the bottom. The method works for both the smaller drum weighing about 4-8 pounds — known as “butterfly drum” because of their reputation as fine tablefare — to big bruisers tipping the scales at 20, 30 to 40-pounds or more that are typically catch-and-release trophies.
“We are already catching the smaller drum in the areas where they normally congregate and expect the big bull action to fire up through April and May before the big fish move back out into the Gulf,” he said. “This year, all the good action is really coming together at the same time.”
For Dukes and Trimble, that means they picked just the right time for garnering another good memory to be savored.
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posted by Kontiki at 9:04 PM
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