Port Aransas & Rockport Texas Bay Fishing, Offshore Fishing and Duck Hunting! Capt. Scott McCune "The Saltwater Cowboy"

Article20070412

Spring Break Fishing - Take a Break, Fish Late!

Who loves to go fishing with the family but the wife and the kids hate waking up early? Well Winter and Spring is just the ticket, although fishing can be good in the morning during the Spring the number of boats on water can actually dampen the bite (no pun intended). If I had my choice of which 8 hours to fish a customer it would be 8 hours until dark, especially on a weekend and that means starting the day off at around 11:00am.

2007-4 Saturday sunset and the fish

still biting, the only boat on the water!

I generally start out by running around and fishing areas that aren't being traveled over hard by other boats, that aren't as "Fish" obvious or that may take special knowledge of underwater obstructions to access. And what is it with a lot of anglers "now-in-days", it seems if they see a guide boat or a boat with fisherman dressed with Columbia fishing gear they immediately put on the breaks and start behind your drift or right next to you eliminating the possibility of another undisturbed prosperous drift...then 10 minutes later they pick up and run down the grass line you were catching all the fish on. Back in the day boats didn't want to be stacked up next to each other! So good fisherman always remember not to pound an area to death, as with Tuna schools in the Gulf or Trout/Reds in the Bay, give the fish a rest after a prosperous drift. If you do not make repeated drifts it will not alert other boats to your prosperity, you can come back every hour or 2 and find more successful fishing!

During Spring fishing time I like to fish grass lines, potholes for a mix of Reds and Trout. Muddy flats on windy days can great for Redfish action so don't let the wind scare you! If your using shrimp and popping cork or lures, you will triple your keeper catch by reaching that grass line or pot hole when it is far from the boat, so keep your eyes open...fish like hiding places for ambush! Remember the longer a bait or lure stays in the strike zone the more fish you'll catch!

2007-3 Denver's 20NM windy Red,

among many others!

2007-3 Spring Break Big Fish!

In my next article I'll write about fishing with your children, Spring time fishing can be a great time to introduce your kids to the Bay because of the fast paced action. I have taught children as young a 5 years old how to cast Shrimp and popping cork, my own son could do it effectively before his 4th birthday.

Don't knock Shrimp and Popping cork, you can actually make it as technical as a lure and catch more fish 8 months out of the year!

The cork rig I use is a Cajun Thunder in various colors, Fluorocarbon leader in different lengths, various size and color of beads and number #2 or #4 treble hooks, try to find the combination of these that are working on any given day.

Hint #1– use a leader size that will keep the shrimp right above the grass or bottom and aim for the pot holes with your casts.

Hint #2 – Clear water small shrimp, use the smaller hooks and beads, just the opposite for off colored water. Also match up the cork to the beads.

Hint #3 – Have the people fishing with you use a different setup until you find the pattern or if you are alone, rig up multiple rods with different setups so you can change quickly depending on the depth or fish in that area.

Fish More, Live Longer!

Capt. Scott McCune (USCG Master)

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