Fall is nearly upon us and you may have already noticed the first signs of autumn's approach: the leaves may be starting to fade, the tides are falling and some of the wildflowers are beginning to die back. While plants may be winding things down in the fall, drift fishing is just picking up. All the way from the upper Texas coast to the Lower Laguna Madre's shallows, autumn is an excellent time for drifting for redfish and speckled trout with brown lures.
Fall's cooler temperatures and lower tides mean that bait fish start to migrate from the protected waters where they hide out during the summer. One of the best fall fishing tips is to watch for this migration, when redfish and trout swarm for these prey in driftable waters.
Fish attracting structures are the best places to begin drifting for redfish and speckled trout, as Captain Cody Maddox tells us. Maddox tends to do his drifting in the vicinity of the upper West Bay's shell bottoms with their holes and drops.
"When I talk about fish holes in the shell, I'm talking about drifting an area of about seven feet which has a shallow area around it, usually about three feet. Shell humps and reef points are also great places for drifting with brown lures," says Maddox.
For his fall drift fishing, Maddox favors ? - 1/8 ounce riggings with soft plastic. When fishing deeper water, he tends to switch to a 3/8 oz head instead. A brown lures fan, Maddox says that he gets the best results with limetreuse, chartreuse and plum as well as with morning glory.
"As far as fall fishing tips go, I'd suggest working your bait really fast over the bottom and then letting it sit for couple of seconds. If that doesn't work for you, then try slowing it a little just a bit off of the shell tip; I usually use a weedless hook setup for this. Sometimes the smallest change makes a big difference in your results," says Maddox.
Bastrop fishing guide, Captain Randall Groves prefers the fall season to drift fish than any other season. "It is all about working water streaks up here on the upper coast," states Groves. "When it gets really cold and the water gets clear, I do much better fishing muddy streaks rather than the clear water."
Groves likes to drift in deep shell areas along with the muddy waters of bayous and creeks. "I do a lot of drifting in deep shell in the fall, but once the wind picks up, I tend to do best in the creeks and bayous instead."
One of Groves' fishing tips is to focus on retrieval. "A lot of people will tell you to fish slow with soft plastics in cold weather, but I haven't found that to be true at all." Instead of what he calls a "hungry" bite, Groves looks for what he terms a "reactionary" bite. "Slowing down can work, but I get plenty of bites in cold water working my lures fast."
"I use ? and 3/8 oz lead heads with my soft plastics and use a Laguna Texas Wader III or another whippy rod to get my lures through water column with ease," says Groves.
Captain Dwayne Newburn is a Matagorda Bay guide who says the best fishing tips for fall drifting have to do with your motor. "I use a trolling motor for fall drifting. You'll find yourself fishing around groups of birds; and your trolling motor can actually be your best friend in this situation." Newburn refers of course to the phenomena of gulls and other birds feeding on swarms of bait fish who swim to the shallows to avoid the speckled trout and redfish found feeding below.
Captain Newburn is also a deep shell autumn angler, adding that he prefers to hit the dips and indentations of shell pads when drift fishing in the fall.
"When drifting, I do well with DOA Shrimp and Cajun Thunder Popping Corks. I'm also a fan of Norton Sand Eel Jr. with laguna shrimp and Saltwater Assassins with new penny and native shrimp," says Newburn, who prefers 1/8 oz jig heads with his soft plastic brown lures in shallow water and ? oz heads in deeper waters.
Captain Danny Neu, a Lower Laguna Madre guide is an avid autumn fisher. "It's one of my favorite times to fish, especially for large speckled trout. The bait fish head out of the bays and there aren't as many of them around, so you've got to hug the shoreline for miles sometimes, but when you come on a cluster of them, you know for sure that you've got trout and redfish right there," say s Neu.
On a normal day of drift fishing in fall, Neu typically spends the morning hours looks for bait activity in deeper water. "In colder water temperatures, I'll start drifts in deeper water before moving to shallower areas when the sun beams overhead and warms the shallows."
"When it comes to lures for cold weather, I always go for topwater plugs. In fall I can use these all day for redfish and trout; they just work, plain and simple," says Neu.
"When I'm drifting in the lower coast area, I go with smaller plugs like the Super Spook Jr. I like to have a rod rigged with a red and white soft plastic and another with a Super Spook Jr.," says Captain Neu.
Fall's cooler temperatures and lower tides mean that bait fish start to migrate from the protected waters where they hide out during the summer. One of the best fall fishing tips is to watch for this migration, when redfish and trout swarm for these prey in driftable waters.
Fish attracting structures are the best places to begin drifting for redfish and speckled trout, as Captain Cody Maddox tells us. Maddox tends to do his drifting in the vicinity of the upper West Bay's shell bottoms with their holes and drops.
"When I talk about fish holes in the shell, I'm talking about drifting an area of about seven feet which has a shallow area around it, usually about three feet. Shell humps and reef points are also great places for drifting with brown lures," says Maddox.
For his fall drift fishing, Maddox favors ? - 1/8 ounce riggings with soft plastic. When fishing deeper water, he tends to switch to a 3/8 oz head instead. A brown lures fan, Maddox says that he gets the best results with limetreuse, chartreuse and plum as well as with morning glory.
"As far as fall fishing tips go, I'd suggest working your bait really fast over the bottom and then letting it sit for couple of seconds. If that doesn't work for you, then try slowing it a little just a bit off of the shell tip; I usually use a weedless hook setup for this. Sometimes the smallest change makes a big difference in your results," says Maddox.
Bastrop fishing guide, Captain Randall Groves prefers the fall season to drift fish than any other season. "It is all about working water streaks up here on the upper coast," states Groves. "When it gets really cold and the water gets clear, I do much better fishing muddy streaks rather than the clear water."
Groves likes to drift in deep shell areas along with the muddy waters of bayous and creeks. "I do a lot of drifting in deep shell in the fall, but once the wind picks up, I tend to do best in the creeks and bayous instead."
One of Groves' fishing tips is to focus on retrieval. "A lot of people will tell you to fish slow with soft plastics in cold weather, but I haven't found that to be true at all." Instead of what he calls a "hungry" bite, Groves looks for what he terms a "reactionary" bite. "Slowing down can work, but I get plenty of bites in cold water working my lures fast."
"I use ? and 3/8 oz lead heads with my soft plastics and use a Laguna Texas Wader III or another whippy rod to get my lures through water column with ease," says Groves.
Captain Dwayne Newburn is a Matagorda Bay guide who says the best fishing tips for fall drifting have to do with your motor. "I use a trolling motor for fall drifting. You'll find yourself fishing around groups of birds; and your trolling motor can actually be your best friend in this situation." Newburn refers of course to the phenomena of gulls and other birds feeding on swarms of bait fish who swim to the shallows to avoid the speckled trout and redfish found feeding below.
Captain Newburn is also a deep shell autumn angler, adding that he prefers to hit the dips and indentations of shell pads when drift fishing in the fall.
"When drifting, I do well with DOA Shrimp and Cajun Thunder Popping Corks. I'm also a fan of Norton Sand Eel Jr. with laguna shrimp and Saltwater Assassins with new penny and native shrimp," says Newburn, who prefers 1/8 oz jig heads with his soft plastic brown lures in shallow water and ? oz heads in deeper waters.
Captain Danny Neu, a Lower Laguna Madre guide is an avid autumn fisher. "It's one of my favorite times to fish, especially for large speckled trout. The bait fish head out of the bays and there aren't as many of them around, so you've got to hug the shoreline for miles sometimes, but when you come on a cluster of them, you know for sure that you've got trout and redfish right there," say s Neu.
On a normal day of drift fishing in fall, Neu typically spends the morning hours looks for bait activity in deeper water. "In colder water temperatures, I'll start drifts in deeper water before moving to shallower areas when the sun beams overhead and warms the shallows."
"When it comes to lures for cold weather, I always go for topwater plugs. In fall I can use these all day for redfish and trout; they just work, plain and simple," says Neu.
"When I'm drifting in the lower coast area, I go with smaller plugs like the Super Spook Jr. I like to have a rod rigged with a red and white soft plastic and another with a Super Spook Jr.," says Captain Neu.
About the Author:
Captain Kyle Tomek is a Texas fishing guide who submits featured saltwater fishing tips to Texas FishCast. You can submit saltwater fishing tips through your Facebook account to Texas FishCast. You can share pictures and videos and tag your fishing buddies for everyone to see.
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