Around Matagorda Bay

Weekly Newsletter
and
Fishing Report

One of you wrote in and asked for information about any areas in Matagorda Bay which might be quarantined for oystering. The Texas Department of Health Seafood Safety Division at http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/bfds/ssd/clasmap.html has information and maps showing which areas of East and West Matagorda Bay are quarantined, etc. for oystering. You can even order a free map showing those areas.

I have been getting a lot of requests and questions from you guys. If I don't know the answer, be patient - I will research it for you and send you the information when I find it. I enjoy getting ya'll's emails -- and pictures! 8-)

Our winds will be doing the ole Switcheroo this week - starting out with northeast winds, switching around to the south for the weekend, but the good news is that the winds should stay light and the weather should stay nice. So...no excuse for not going fishing - get those honey-do's done before the weekend!

We've heard some really good reports from East Matagorda Bay in the last couple of days. The trout are holding in the mud along shorelines such as the Brown Cedar Flats area and over the deeper shell areas of the bay, usually the west end. Corkies are good to use - and you might try putting a nail in your Corkie so that it sinks a little better. Soft plastics should also be good. You should be able to pull in some redfish in those same areas using gold spoons or Mirrolures.

Down at the jetties, pier and beach use shrimp or finger mullet to catch some nice black drum, sheepshead, and redfish.

The Cotton's Bayou and Green's Bayou areas of West Matagorda Bay should be good for trout and reds using soft plastics. In the channels and holes you will be catching redfish if you throw shrimp or mullet.

What baits do we like this week? Corkies, soft plastics such as Bass Assassins, Sand Eels, and TTKs in fire tiger, red shad, pumpkinseed/chartreuse, and electric chicken colors.

And in the meantime - come on down and wet a hook! Enjoy our bays ... and be safe and courteous on the water!

Good Luck!

Webmaster

P.S. I crave feedback, ideas for improvements, and fishing reports and pictures! Help me out.

Wednesday 1/29/03
In East Matagorda Bay today fishing wasn't as good as yesterday but there were some big trout caught by wade-fishing around the Brown Cedar Flats area again today. There were also trout, reds, and flounder caught along the south shoreline by wade fishermen. There were a few trout caught by drifting over scattered shell over the deep reefs down on the west end of that bay. Bass Assassins were mainly used for bait. Over in West Matagorda Bay there were limits of reds being caught in the Green's Bayou area on the south shoreline by wadefishermen using soft plastics.

Tuesday 1/28/03
I was just over at the cleaning tables at Matagorda Harbor. Capt. Billy Pustejovsky of Gold Tip Guide Service and the three men in his party had a load of fish - 40 trout with 5 or 6 of them over 25 inches, 6 redfish, and a few flounder. They had caught them by wadefishing down around Brown Cedar Flats in East Matagorda Bay using Bass Assassins. Seems like Capt. Pustejovsky really knows how to catch them! There were also a few trout and some redfish caught by drifting over the deeper shell reefs on the west end of East Matagorda Bay.

Monday 1/27/03
No fishing report again - couldn't even find anyone who went out.

Sunday 1/26/03
Bad weather...again. No fishing report available.

Saturday 1/25/03
In East Matagorda Bay there were some reds caught by drift fishermen, but for the most part, fishing is still in a slump.

Friday 1/24/03
It is still too cold and windy for fishing, so I will tell you about the proposals that Texas Parks and Wildlife will be considering later this year. 1) Maintain minimum speckled trout size to 15 inch minimum and 10 fish daily bag limit, and 2) Maximum trout size limit of 25" with 1 trout per day over. There are some other proposals that affect fishing guides but the ones listed above are the only ones that would apply to regular sport fishermen. But REMEMBER - these are only proposals at this point.

Thursday 1/23/03
Too cold and too windy.

Wednesday 1/22/03
Boy! Wasn't today a real howler! The wind blew all day, and the longer it blew, the colder it got! Not many ventured out into the bays. Capt. Charlie Paradoski and his party brought in a nice catch of speckled trout, flounder and redfish which they caught by drifting down on the west end of East Matagorda Bay using Bass Assassins.

In the winter you need to understand where the trout are and what they are doing before you can catch them. Where the reefs end, the bottom becomes mud. In the wintertime this mud stays warm and the trout like to sit on the warm mud and ambush bait to get their "dinner". You can notice that the water gets bluer right next to the shell -- this is where the trout are laying. And remember that trout do not move as much in the wintertime, so they have to use their other senses more to find food. This means that noisy people don't catch as many trout! So, keep your tackle working smooth and quiet, and get that bait away from you as far as possible.

Things you won't hear a fisherman say........

• "Duct tape won't fix that."
• "I've never gotten the hang of sharpening a knife."
• "My truck won't go through that."
• "Let's go shopping, fishing can wait."
• "Bob, those jeans make your butt look big, and your belt doesn't match your boots."
• "You don't need to buy those Corkies. Why don't you send your wife flowers instead?"
• "Know where I can get tickets to the opera?"
• "Hey! Lets take our wives fishing with us!"
• "I feel pretty guilty not washing those breakfast dishes before coming out here to fish!"
• "Sorry Guys, I can't go fishing with you, I'll miss my Soap Opera!"
• "Hey somebody come land this 20" trout and I'll go straighten up camp. "
• "I can't participate in National Hunting and Fishing Day cause my neighbor is throwing a tupperware party and I really need a mixing bowl."
• "No, my fish wasn't that big."
• "Aww man, I broke a nail."
• "I think these electronic fish finders should be banned."
• "C'mon, man - we can watch fishing shows anytime! Figure skating's on!!"
• "We gotta throw this fish back, I don't think it will fit in the frying pan."