Calling all Speckled Trout Wade Fisherman

[wittich]

My brother moved to Maryland. My other fishing buddies are all fly fisherman. I have this new addiction to wade fishing for speckled trout in the winter. I usually fish the Rockport area, But I will go to Seadrift or Corpus also. I need a new fishing buddy. Anyone else interested in wade fishing for trout?

[mwatson71]

Winter trout wading is indeed addictive. I waded yesterday and landed a 26” speck and watched my guide pull up a 30” speck. My son and I probably lost three or four more that would have topped 25-26” but actually caught and released three between 22-24” and several in the 20-22” range along with a catch and release of double limits of reds.

[wittich]

Who was your guide?

[Dandydon]

And what are the GPS coordinates for that fishing spot?!

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[wittich]

Come on, we can't even ask what guide someone is using? I will say hands down Jay watkins is the best there is. He is just difficult to get because he is booked out for 4 months in advance.

[Dandydon]

Capt. Watson doesn't easily give up fishing information, but is one of our best fishermen.

I should know. He's a captain in my Hobie Navy. I'm the Admiral. Maybe in private he'll tell me where he fished and the name of his guide.

Until then you'll have to wonder, lol.

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[mwatson71]

I fished with Capt. Joe Prado out of Port Mansfield. We waded and threw topwaters from 6:30a until about 2:00p. Our trip was specifically to target big trout so our numbers were not all that impressive, but the number of big girls was pretty impressive and his biggest was at least 30”. We measured it up against my Sarge and it was easily two inches past the 28” mark without pinching the tail. We didn’t want to risk killing it by hauling her back to the boat and putting her on a bump board. We did have some by-catch in the 15-18” range that would have made fine table fare, but we weren’t keeping anything on this trip. He is big on releasing trout since the freeze but has no issue keeping reds. We released everything yesterday and I also figure if you tell your guide early that it is a catch and release day, they let you fish a little longer since they aren’t cleaning fish for 30 minutes, or having to clean slime off the boat and out of the ice chest. And you are conserving their resources and livelihood. I personally have no problem with anyone that wants to keep every legal fish they are entitled to keep and there are trips that I do that on.

I should add just in case it is an issue, that he is an artificials only guide.

[mwatson71]

[karstopo]

My brother moved to Maryland. My other fishing buddies are all fly fisherman. I have this new addiction to wade fishing for speckled trout in the winter. I usually fish the Rockport area, But I will go to Seadrift or Corpus also. I need a new fishing buddy. Anyone else interested in wade fishing for trout?

What your fly fishing buddies won’t go fishing with you anymore because they are fly fish only types that look way down from their lofty heights on anything different from fly fishing or is it you don’t want to fish with them because they only fling feathers and fluff? I often fly fish side by side with my baitcasting using, lure chunking, knuckle dragging Neanderthal friends. Maybe your friends just want to pole around in the shallows for sight casting opportunities, but couldn’t they drop you off on the way to wade fish some promising water? It doesn’t have to be y’all can’t be friends anymore because one prefers conventional tackle and the other fly gear. But, I’m no fly fishing purist and I am happy to fish conventional tackle and lures whenever I feel the need or urge. One thing I don’t like is windshield time so I don’t stray far from the water here close to my home.

[Kitsune]

I have become such a Redfish snob over the years, I get mad when I see a speck on my line.

[shoffer]

I use Prado all the time also. Great guide - about 10 years guiding, but still young enough to work hard for his customers.

Wish I could have joined Watson on this trip, but the Fishing Gods have iced me with work and familial obligations of late.

[Dandydon]

Thanks for the additional tasty info, Capt. Watson. Your photos are epic. Wish I had been on that wade trip, too!

But then again, back in 2003 I had the wade trip of all time. Within 70 minutes my green Skitterwalk and I strung up 3 specks over 9 lbs, 3 over 8 lbs, and 2 over 7 lbs, all released. Best fishing day of my life. Thank you, Lord.

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[wittich]

I fished with Capt. Joe Prado out of Port Mansfield. We waded and threw topwaters from 6:30a until about 2:00p. Our trip was specifically to target big trout so our numbers were not all that impressive, but the number of big girls was pretty impressive and his biggest was at least 30”. We measured it up against my Sarge and it was easily two inches past the 28” mark without pinching the tail. We didn’t want to risk killing it by hauling her back to the boat and putting her on a bump board. We did have some by-catch in the 15-18” range that would have made fine table fare, but we weren’t keeping anything on this trip. He is big on releasing trout since the freeze but has no issue keeping reds. We released everything yesterday and I also figure if you tell your guide early that it is a catch and release day, they let you fish a little longer since they aren’t cleaning fish for 30 minutes, or having to clean slime off the boat and out of the ice chest. And you are conserving their resources and livelihood. I personally have no problem with anyone that wants to keep every legal fish they are entitled to keep and there are trips that I do that on.

I should add just in case it is an issue, that he is an artificials only guide.

I would never thought of throwing topwaters all day at this time of year.
I'm glad to hear so many guides are on board with catch and release. Thanks for the report.

[wittich]

My brother moved to Maryland. My other fishing buddies are all fly fisherman. I have this new addiction to wade fishing for speckled trout in the winter. I usually fish the Rockport area, But I will go to Seadrift or Corpus also. I need a new fishing buddy. Anyone else interested in wade fishing for trout?

What your fly fishing buddies won’t go fishing with you anymore because they are fly fish only types that look way down from their lofty heights on anything different from fly fishing or is it you don’t want to fish with them because they only fling feathers and fluff? I often fly fish side by side with my baitcasting using, lure chunking, knuckle dragging Neanderthal friends. Maybe your friends just want to pole around in the shallows for sight casting opportunities, but couldn’t they drop you off on the way to wade fish some promising water? It doesn’t have to be y’all can’t be friends anymore because one prefers conventional tackle and the other fly gear. But, I’m no fly fishing purist and I am happy to fish conventional tackle and lures whenever I feel the need or urge. One thing I don’t like is windshield time so I don’t stray far from the water here close to my home.

We are still great friends & we flyfish together a lot. They just don't seem to get the appeal of wading early in the morning in cold conditions and throwing artificals hoping for a big trout. I guess many flyfisherman look down on guys throw lures on baitcasting rods, who then look down on the guys using spincasting reels, who look down on the guys throwing bait.

[mwatson71]

I fished with Capt. Joe Prado out of Port Mansfield. We waded and threw topwaters from 6:30a until about 2:00p. Our trip was specifically to target big trout so our numbers were not all that impressive, but the number of big girls was pretty impressive and his biggest was at least 30”. We measured it up against my Sarge and it was easily two inches past the 28” mark without pinching the tail. We didn’t want to risk killing it by hauling her back to the boat and putting her on a bump board. We did have some by-catch in the 15-18” range that would have made fine table fare, but we weren’t keeping anything on this trip. He is big on releasing trout since the freeze but has no issue keeping reds. We released everything yesterday and I also figure if you tell your guide early that it is a catch and release day, they let you fish a little longer since they aren’t cleaning fish for 30 minutes, or having to clean slime off the boat and out of the ice chest. And you are conserving their resources and livelihood. I personally have no problem with anyone that wants to keep every legal fish they are entitled to keep and there are trips that I do that on.

I should add just in case it is an issue, that he is an artificials only guide.

I would never thought of throwing topwaters all day at this time of year.
I'm glad to hear so many guides are on board with catch and release. Thanks for the report.

Joe will let you keep your fish since you are the paying customer, but I think he might try harder to get you a trophy trout if he kniws it is going back to breed and maybe be caught again. The freeze really did hurt their trout population, so I am happy to release them and let their numbers get back up. And as I tomd him, I can pretty much go out and get all the trout I want to eat in Galveston on almost any given night.

As to the topwaters all day, I always trust the guide in what to throw. I would have been throwing Down South if it was me, or maybe Corkies. But his 30” trout came at noon on a topwater. We caught bug ones from 6:30a until 2p when we stopped.

[wittich]

Thanks for the additional tasty info, Capt. Watson. Your photos are epic. Wish I had been on that wade trip, too!

But then again, back in 2003 I had the wade trip of all time. Within 70 minutes my green Skitterwalk and I strung up 3 specks over 9 lbs, 3 over 8 lbs, and 2 over 7 lbs, all released. Best fishing day of my life. Thank you, Lord.

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Dandydon,

That sounds like one hell of a great day fishing. I would like to hear the full story of that trip sometime.

[Dandydon]

Then let's go kayak fishing together after this Arctic front is gone. Haven't been fishing for a long time, so might have to practice my casting and peddling skills, lol.

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[wittich]

Then let's go kayak fishing together after this Arctic front is gone. Haven't been fishing for a long time, so might have to practice my casting and peddling skills, lol.

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I'm in. Let's go fishing.