By Captain Kyle Tomek
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 say I fish holes within shell, I am drifting a seven-foot area surrounded by a three-foot depth," states Maddox. "The points of reefs and shell humps are additional fish magnets."
When doing fall drifting, Maddox prefers soft plastic lures with? To 1/8 oz. riggings. However, he goes with a 3/8 oz. head when he makes his way to deeper waters. Other than brown lures, he tells us that morning glory, plum and chartreuse and limetreuse tend to work well for him.
"I have found a little technique to really produce fish in fall," claims Maddox. "I'll work bait really fast above the bottom before letting it sit for several seconds." "If that doesn't work, I'll work it a little slower off the top off the shell, sometimes using a weedless-hook setup." Sometimes the slightest variation in retrieve unlocks the jaws.
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."
Retrieval is where Groves places most focus. "Some say you have to fish soft plastics slow in winter and it is solely a myth." Groves asserts he looks more for a "reactionary" bite rather than a "hungry" bite. "Slowing it works too, however, I work them pretty fast in very cold water and draw plenty of strikes."
I use a 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.
"I use a trolling motor a lot to control my drift in fall," says Matagorda Bay guide Captain Dwayne Newburn. "A trolling motor especially helps when fishing around a group of working birds." Newburn refers to a common occurrence in fall when gulls are feeding on bait fish that are getting pushed up by feeding speckled trout and redfish below.
Another fan of autumn deep shell angling, Newburn says "I focus on the indentations and dips in shell pads when drifting in the fall."
"What works really well for me is brown lures like Cajun Thunder Popping Corks with DOA shrimp. I also like Saltwater Assassins along with native shrimp and new penny," says Newburn. Captain Newburn uses 1/8 oz. jig heads and soft plastic when working shallow waters, but switches to heavier? Oz. heads for deeper territory.
"I love fishing in fall," states Lower Laguna Madre guide Captain Danny Neu. "I favor the season especially when targeting big speckled trout. “As fall causes bait fish to flee bay systems, Neu says he must often travel the shoreline for miles before seeing any forms of bait fish. "There is typically less bait in the water in fall. However, whenever I eventually locate clustered bait fish the fish are nearby."
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 top water plugs. In fall I can use these all day for redfish and trout; they just work, plain and simple," says Neu.
In the waters of the lower coast, Neu uses smaller top water plugs like the Super Spook Jr. "I'll usually have one rod rigged with a soft plastic like red and white brown lures and another rigged up with a Super Spook Jr.", adds Captain Neu.
About the Author:
Captain Kyle Tomek is a Texas Gulf Coast 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.
