Help catching trout

Post Reply
User avatar
matthew.terry
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri May 08, 2020 11:57 am

Help catching trout

Post by matthew.terry »

Only been going out in my kayak for month or so, had some good results targeting redfish and snook back in the mangroves and been having a blast. I've gone out twice in Laguna Madre looking for speckled trout with no luck. Fished a little bit top water with lures and DOA shrimp under a popper, but mostly jigs. I think the problem is a combination location and beginner technique. Not sure what else to try. If anyone is heading out in the near future from Port Mansfield or SPI and would like some company/apprentice I'd love some help.

Thanks,

Matthew
User avatar
kickingback
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5178
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2016 3:24 pm
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: Help catching trout

Post by kickingback »

Have you heard of Trout Support and the videos Tobin made to help target saltwater fish. It can give you tips and pointers of wht to look for at any location. Good luck!
User avatar
Ron Mc
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5675
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:12 pm
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Contact:

Re: Help catching trout

Post by Ron Mc »

Concentrate outside of passes on the down-flow side when there's moving tide or wind current.
We plan every Estes trip to hit the cuts around this, then drift-fish for reds.
Very similar to the way you'd target snook.

Here's a free bone Tobin threw to all that will get you started
SWFinatic
Moderator
Posts: 1037
Joined: Thu May 31, 2018 9:31 am

Re: Help catching trout

Post by SWFinatic »

Matthew welcome to the forum.

If you want to figure the trout out on your own I get that. If you want to flatten that learning curve email Tobin- tobin@troutsupport.com and ask about his club membership. I promise you your knowledge of trout will increase within a week.
User avatar
matthew.terry
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri May 08, 2020 11:57 am

Re: Help catching trout

Post by matthew.terry »

The video was helpful, will look at the Tobin material. It's easier to see the flow near cuts and marsh inlets, I think I need to be more observant and get more experience around barrier islands and other underwater features. Fishing off community bar for instance, my guess is the fishing should be best on the downflow side (north if the tide is coming in, south if the tide is going out). Kind of a challenge to find good spots depending on tide, time of day, weather and places to launch so you don't have to paddle forever.
User avatar
Ron Mc
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5675
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:12 pm
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Contact:

Re: Help catching trout

Post by Ron Mc »

Matthew, my approach to kayak fishing is always planning around wind and tide.
Pick the location from back pocket to paddle first upwind to known structure and expected conditions. Then take advantage of the wind to set a drift sock and blind fish most of the way home.
Of course if your drift is fishy, you take up your sock, and paddle back up to drift again.

Image
The photo above and the chart below came from a good day I had with Neumie, on beating SSW wind, swinging to the E later in the day with an approaching front.
Image

This chart was a great result the next day on the beating NNW wind, calming into the day.
It worked out both days were about 7-mi of paddling, most of it up front, the rest spread out with a lot of fishing.
Image
Last edited by Ron Mc on Thu May 21, 2020 7:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
matthew.terry
Posts: 7
Joined: Fri May 08, 2020 11:57 am

Re: Help catching trout

Post by matthew.terry »

I need to pick up a drift sock. Did a 10 mile paddle the other day and the last 3 miles back was into a 15 knot wind, luckily there was mangrove cover so only the last quarter mile or so was full on wind. That day I caught three reds and a snook that was just under the limit, but probably spent too much time paddling. It's kind of cool that you get to be outdoors, get excercise, and figure out the puzzle of where the fish are.
User avatar
Ron Mc
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5675
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:12 pm
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Contact:

Re: Help catching trout

Post by Ron Mc »

enjoy the paddle, bro - that's as much why we do this as the fish. There's always more fish, and no time is wasted - you're always learning something.
mwatson71
Posts: 552
Joined: Mon Mar 28, 2016 2:03 am
Location: 77005

Re: Help catching trout

Post by mwatson71 »

Ron Mc wrote:enjoy the paddle, bro - that's as much why we do this as the fish. There's always more fish, and no time is wasted - you're always learning something.
+1
Whenever I get back from a kayak fishing trip my wife always asks, "how was it?" And the answer is always, "it was good" whether there were fish caught or not. Granted, some trips are better than others. Kind of like pizza - some better than others, but always good.
User avatar
Ron Mc
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5675
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:12 pm
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Contact:

Re: Help catching trout

Post by Ron Mc »

+2
matthew.terry wrote:I need to pick up a drift sock. Did a 10 mile paddle the other day and the last 3 miles back was into a 15 knot wind, luckily there was mangrove cover so only the last quarter mile or so was full on wind. That day I caught three reds and a snook that was just under the limit, but probably spent too much time paddling. It's kind of cool that you get to be outdoors, get excercise, and figure out the puzzle of where the fish are.
Trolleys come up all the time on the rigging forum.
On this corpusfishing post, I tried to percolate everything about trolley and drift sock rigging.
You can also buy some cost-effective trolley kits, and mine's all about custom rigging from scratch.
colby1979
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2012 10:55 pm
Location: Fort Davis, TX

Re: Help catching trout

Post by colby1979 »

Hi Matthew,
I'm heading to my house in Port Mansfield on Sunday the 24th to play with the the new Pescador pilot and plan to be there until the 3rd. I've caught lots of trout at the saucer and in the east cut but that would be quite a trip in the kayak. If the wind permits I plan to make a run or two south to see what I can find, also I have a private lighted pier for trout fishing after dark. Shoot me a PM if your gonna be in the area on those days and maybe we can tag up. Regards, Colby
Post Reply