Around Matagorda Bay - Weekly Newsletter and Fishing Report

Around Matagorda Bay

Weekly Newsletter
and
Fishing Report

August 15, 2002

...where fishing meets the net

Note from the Webmaster

In the Bay

We're working toward a full moon and the fish will be feeding during the night as we get closer to the full moon. I think the best BITE, though, will unfortunately be during the night on the incoming tides. Tide action will be slow for most of the week, but the tides will be strong. So I think the afternoons will be your second best BITE when you fish the outgoing tide. Just catch them where the bait is moving!

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Kingfisher's Site of the Week

Fish 4 Fun

Even though this site originates from Florida, it has lots of useful information for Texas fishermen, too. Fish4Fun is Florida's source for Fishing and Boating in Florida and the Bahamas with weekly fishing reports, free classifieds, fishing knots, boating safety, seafood recipes, resorts, boat dealers and more..

The biggest Black Drum caught in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Texas in 1988 was 81 lb. and was 51.18 inches long. The largest one on IGFA records for the whole world was caught in 1975 in Lewes, Delaware and weighed 113 lb. 1 oz.

Will fish I catch and release die anyway?

If fishes caught with artificial lures such as flies are handled carefully, most will survive. Apparently, many factors influence survival after release. If the fish was already stressed before being caught, for instance because of spawning or high water temperatures, it is less likely to survive. If the fish is "played" for a long time and is exhausted before release, it is probably less likely to survive. If the fish is hooked through a sensitive area such as the gills or the eye, or is hooked deeply in the throat (which seems more likely when using bait), it is less likely to survive. If the fish is handled roughly, for example squeezed strongly or held out of water too long, it is also less likely to survive. If a fish seems to be having difficulty after unhooking, cradle it gently in the water until it regains its equilibrium and swims off under its own power.

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the Matagorda Bay Weekly Newsletter
and Fishing Report:

Goofy Smiley Face

Hi, Guys!

We're starting out the weekend with unsettled weather - rain, wind, and thunderstorms roaming around. As the week progresses, I think you'll see it calm down, though. The bays should be a little choppy, but the southeasterly wind should allow you to enjoy some good fishing along south shorelines or other protected areas.

The surf should be good if you use live bait, soft plastics or topwaters.

It may be a little rough for offshore this weekend, so check your weather conditions before venturing out!

In East Matagorda Bay try out the mid-bay reefs for trout using Bass Assassin. For redfish, look to the protected shorelines (south in the case of a SE wind) and throw some live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic lure. If you're down on the east end of this bay, throwing a dark colored soft plastic may get you some broiled flounder for supper!

For West Matagorda Bay the south shoreline down on the west end should be good for trout - around Green's Bayou, Airport Flats, etc. - try the grassbeds along that shoreline. Try your plum or pumpkinseed Bass Assassins in this area.

The pier and jetties should produce a variety of fish - trout, reds, sand trout, whiting, and gafftop - on live and dead shrimp.

What baits do we like this week? As far as I'm concerned, a croaker wins every time as does a live shrimp under a popping cork! But soft plastics and topwaters hold true, too. Plum/chartreuse, pumpkinseed/chartreuse, red shad, pepper/chartreuse, and electric chicken are winners in soft plastics right now. Chartreuse is a good color for topwaters. And you might try this little trick - Paint the head of your topwater red with a marker and draw some gills and dots along the sides!

And in the meantime - come on down and wet a hook! Enjoy our bays!

Good Luck!

See ya next week,

Webmaster

P.S. I would love to get some feedback from you guys -- are you finding these newsletters helpful? Any suggestions for improvements? Let me know.

This Week's Fishing Reports

Thursday 08/15/02

Bad weather today - no fishing report.

Wednesday 08/14/02

Rainy and windy weather kept most fishermen in from the bays today. There were, however, some nice stringers of trout caught on pumpkinseed/chartreuse Bass Assassins in the Green's Bayou area of West Matagorda Bay today.

Tuesday 08/13/02

We had storms running around in Matagorda Bay today so it was a pretty "light" day of fishing. Over in East Matagorda Bay there were some scattered redfish and trout caught along the south shoreline using artificials. In West Matagorda Bay there were some nice stringers of trout caught on plum/chartreuse and fire tiger Bass Assassins by wadefishermen down around the Green's Bayou and Airport Flats areas.

Thanks to Chris Saulnier for sending us pictures of the nice gafftop that he caught last weekend!

Monday 08/12/02

West Matagorda Bay produced a few keeper trout and reds today - wadefishing along the south shoreline using artificials such as firetiger, salt and pepper/chartreuse, and morning glory/chartreuse Bass Assassins. It was pretty much the same in East Matagorda Bay - a few keepers caught here and there along the south shoreline.

Sunday 08/11/02

We had a pretty good weekend of fishing down here in East and West Matagorda Bays. There were nice stringers of trout caught along the south shoreline of both bays by wadefishermen using artificials and live shrimp. The Green's Bayou area of West Bay was real good for trout. East Matagorda Bay had some good spots of birds working with trout being caught underneath them.

Thursday 08/08/02

There's not much to report about the fishing today. Tropical Depression Bertha kept most of the fishermen at home.

Kingfisher's Tip of the Week

You can tell alot by examining where your fish are being hooked when you are using a topwater lure.

Where did you hook him? In the mouth? In the lips? Or in the gills or side of the face?

If you're hooking your fish in the mouth, then you're using the right size topwater lure. But if the rear hook is hooking in the gills or face, you might be using a lure that's too large. Try downsizing to a smaller one -- like changing from a Top Dog to a Top Dog Jr. And remember, many a fish is lost by trying to set the hook too fast!