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Hello Anglers! Summer is just around the corner, but these late spring cold fronts have been coming in with a vengeance. Winds have still been hammering anglers from both directions in a seven day period making conditions on the coast most of the time less than ideal.

Even with these last fronts blowing in, water temperatures have still managed to stay in the low 70’s allowing most anglers to pack up their waders until the fall. Barometer levels have been super high the day before and the day of the front causing the fish to have lockjaw until the last two hours of daylight. That’s why picking your day and being at the right place at the right time has been a major factor this past month when trying to string up a limit of speckled trout.

Even though the wind continues to be a pain, the bays are in great shape. There is still green water in many areas and the bays are full of bait and fish. I believe that this will be a banner year for trout and redfish. After dodging another freeze, no fresh water in the bays, no more oyster boats till fall and from what I’ve seen so far, fishing and catching should be awesome.

The majority of female trout 25 inches and under are in full spawn mode. They are looking for areas to lay their eggs and have begun to move up to the grass lines and depth changes along the shorelines. They have also invaded the shell reefs, mainly the shell that is covered by 2-4 foot of water. These are the key areas I have been and will concentrating on the next few months.

Above normal tides have moved some of the biggest trout and redfish right next to the bank and on top of shell that is normally out of the water or less than 8 inches deep. One of the hottest baits when wading in water less than waist deep is the Catch-5 Series III Top Water Bait by Mirrolure. This lure comes in a variety of colors and looks like a wounded perch moving back and forth on top of the water when worked properly. The pink-back chartreuse belly (Catch-5) has been the most effective color.

If the trout aren’t in the topwater mode we’ve been changing over to the black-morning glory bass assassins. This lure has been working in clear and off-colored water. We’re still using the 1/16 oz limetruce assassin jig head on the bass assassins. You can throw this combination in water less than knee deep without hanging up on the bottom.

We have been catching a lot of trout in the 18-22 inch range with several up to 24 inches. The bays seem to be full of fish this size. For the next month, the most effective method for catching trout and reds when they‘re not hitting artificial lure is shrimp under an almeda rattle cork. High winds muddy the water in prime locations, but with the noise made from the cork it doesn’t matter what color the water is. Croakers are also beginning to show up at the bait stands but are still a little small. It’s only a matter of days before these nasty creatures will be filling bait wells and bait buckets. The first one to get on the shoreline with croakers will have full boxes of fish. If you haven’t been on the water this year, now is the time.

Good Fishin!

Capt. Danny

Danny Goyen writes a fishing column for the Victoria Advocate. Contact him at 361-574-1206, or e-mail him at sports@vicad.com.