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‘Ladies' day on bay
By Ron Matson
When summer arrives so do the “ladies” of the bay. For some reel fun find a school of ladyfish and be ready for exciting action. Huge schools of these acrobatic swift running jumpers have been in our bays for several weeks.
Most local anglers refer to ladyfish as skipjacks. My reference book also shows tenpounder, chiro and banane as other names. Anyone who has hooked even a small ladyfish will tell you ounce for ounce, pound for pound, they battle with the determination and strength usually attributed to more popular sport fish.
The main reason most fishers do not target ladyfish is because while edible, the flesh is very soft and bony making for poor table quality. On two separate bay trips, we found huge schools feeding under the birds.
On our way to Mud Island we spotted bird activity and decided to investigate by positioning a drift on the upwind side of a raucous flock of gulls. This allowed us to drift into the feeding school without spooking the fish. No matter what you choose to throw at them, they will hit with vengeance. Freelining cutbait, live or dead shrimp is a surefire method which provides instant action. These ladyfish are sometimes referred to as poor man's tarpon. These ladyfish average one of two pounds in weight with some in the three- to five-pound range. Last July, we were drifting near the end of the Port Aransas jetties and landed some five pound and up ladyfish while catching king mackeral. These ladyfish fought almost as hard as the kings.
On this trip with four seasoned saltwater fisherman, it was not uncommon for them to all have fish on at the same time. There were two or three fish in the air at the same time, with some spitting the hooks out. Not only is this fun sport fishing, but it also affords one the opportunity to hone their skills on a fish that gets away without the loss of bragging rights. It is also a time for realizing the importance of good equipment and razorsharp hooks.
One of our seasoned fishers said in all of his years on the bays he never saw action this fast and furious and was truly amazed at the sheer numbers of feeding fish in this school. The next fringe benefit was we kept three ladyfish for cutbait. Redfish and larger sized speckled trout (24 inches and up) eat cut ladyfish with abandon. Later that day we proved the worth of this cutbait with some very good fishing/catching.
Three less-than-seasoned anglers were next to encounter a date with ladyfish. The fun on this trip will be the topic of conversation for a long time or at least until their next trip. The day began with a 20-minute encounter with a small local squall that hit us on our way to Traylor Island. Waves mounted up quickly with windblown crests spraying water on the level. Some wave troughs were so deep we shipped water on several occasions. On days like this I am thankful I have a large seaworthy boat which will handle situations like this. Our fishing was less than expected at our first stop. After an hour or so at this location, we worked our way south along the island with the same results. The plan was to move over to Mud Island. We saw a large flock of birds and we set up a drift which took us into a massive school of feeding fish. Freelining live and dead shrimp with 20 mph winds with higher gusts, is no easy task, but these fishers were up to the task. Each cast produced hammering strikes with strong runs and leaping ladyfish. We boxed two small and two large ladyfish for cutbait and released a couple dozen more. We made three passes through the school and got the added bonus of three keeper-sized gafftopsail catfish. There was some speckled seatrout mixed in, but were all schoolie size. We didn't try for sharks. Sometimes if you drag a chunk of cutbait or any live baitfish a foot or two off of the bottom, sharks will be the ticket. This was taking place close to where the new state record bull shark was caught. We left this feeding frenzy to fish out the balance of the day for redfish and specks. If your mindset is strictly glammorfish or tablefish, skip the skipjacks, but for some action, give the ladyfish a try.
What's happening on bays?
There's fresh water, perhaps more than we need. Most reports coming in from north of Aransas Bay are saying the fresh water level has moved the fish into areas where there is a good rate of exchange allowing for enough salinity to sustain the food chain. The best action has been reported in the Intracoastal waterway, shrimp channel, and the Corpus Christi ship channel. Speckled seatrout are still showing up along the south end of Mud Island. A few scattered redfish are along the shorelines of Mud Island as well. Best baits are piggies, croakers, and live shrimp. Your favorite artificial plastic worked on a jighead, topwaters early and subfloaters are also effective.
Today's tip
Fish the birds - this is usually a sign of feeding fish activity. Learning the difference will help you know what is happening in various situations. Large groups of pelicans repeatedly diving in an area indicates schools of baitfish (mullet, shad, etc.). Where there is baitfish, there is usually bigger fish looking for and easy meal. Large flocks of gulls and terns over open water usually indicates large schools of fish. Depending where this open water is will indicate what kind of fish are causing the activity. Many times I have encountered flocks of various birds right next to shore in our bay system and found redfish ready to hit anything you throw.
This week's hotspot
Try the deeper water of the Intracoastal Waterway, the shrimpboat channel along the causeway of the Corpus Christi ship channel for speckled seatrout. Dagger Island has been steady for both redfish and specks. With all of the runoff caused by the recent rains, more trash is showing up in the bays. Please do what you can to help keep our waters clean by bringing back all of your own trash as well as anything you see out on your trip. Be safe and I'll see you out on the water.
Most local anglers refer to ladyfish as skipjacks. My reference book also shows tenpounder, chiro and banane as other names. Anyone who has hooked even a small ladyfish will tell you ounce for ounce, pound for pound, they battle with the determination and strength usually attributed to more popular sport fish.
The main reason most fishers do not target ladyfish is because while edible, the flesh is very soft and bony making for poor table quality. On two separate bay trips, we found huge schools feeding under the birds.
On our way to Mud Island we spotted bird activity and decided to investigate by positioning a drift on the upwind side of a raucous flock of gulls. This allowed us to drift into the feeding school without spooking the fish. No matter what you choose to throw at them, they will hit with vengeance. Freelining cutbait, live or dead shrimp is a surefire method which provides instant action. These ladyfish are sometimes referred to as poor man's tarpon. These ladyfish average one of two pounds in weight with some in the three- to five-pound range. Last July, we were drifting near the end of the Port Aransas jetties and landed some five pound and up ladyfish while catching king mackeral. These ladyfish fought almost as hard as the kings.
On this trip with four seasoned saltwater fisherman, it was not uncommon for them to all have fish on at the same time. There were two or three fish in the air at the same time, with some spitting the hooks out. Not only is this fun sport fishing, but it also affords one the opportunity to hone their skills on a fish that gets away without the loss of bragging rights. It is also a time for realizing the importance of good equipment and razorsharp hooks.
One of our seasoned fishers said in all of his years on the bays he never saw action this fast and furious and was truly amazed at the sheer numbers of feeding fish in this school. The next fringe benefit was we kept three ladyfish for cutbait. Redfish and larger sized speckled trout (24 inches and up) eat cut ladyfish with abandon. Later that day we proved the worth of this cutbait with some very good fishing/catching.
Three less-than-seasoned anglers were next to encounter a date with ladyfish. The fun on this trip will be the topic of conversation for a long time or at least until their next trip. The day began with a 20-minute encounter with a small local squall that hit us on our way to Traylor Island. Waves mounted up quickly with windblown crests spraying water on the level. Some wave troughs were so deep we shipped water on several occasions. On days like this I am thankful I have a large seaworthy boat which will handle situations like this. Our fishing was less than expected at our first stop. After an hour or so at this location, we worked our way south along the island with the same results. The plan was to move over to Mud Island. We saw a large flock of birds and we set up a drift which took us into a massive school of feeding fish. Freelining live and dead shrimp with 20 mph winds with higher gusts, is no easy task, but these fishers were up to the task. Each cast produced hammering strikes with strong runs and leaping ladyfish. We boxed two small and two large ladyfish for cutbait and released a couple dozen more. We made three passes through the school and got the added bonus of three keeper-sized gafftopsail catfish. There was some speckled seatrout mixed in, but were all schoolie size. We didn't try for sharks. Sometimes if you drag a chunk of cutbait or any live baitfish a foot or two off of the bottom, sharks will be the ticket. This was taking place close to where the new state record bull shark was caught. We left this feeding frenzy to fish out the balance of the day for redfish and specks. If your mindset is strictly glammorfish or tablefish, skip the skipjacks, but for some action, give the ladyfish a try.
What's happening on bays?
There's fresh water, perhaps more than we need. Most reports coming in from north of Aransas Bay are saying the fresh water level has moved the fish into areas where there is a good rate of exchange allowing for enough salinity to sustain the food chain. The best action has been reported in the Intracoastal waterway, shrimp channel, and the Corpus Christi ship channel. Speckled seatrout are still showing up along the south end of Mud Island. A few scattered redfish are along the shorelines of Mud Island as well. Best baits are piggies, croakers, and live shrimp. Your favorite artificial plastic worked on a jighead, topwaters early and subfloaters are also effective.
Today's tip
Fish the birds - this is usually a sign of feeding fish activity. Learning the difference will help you know what is happening in various situations. Large groups of pelicans repeatedly diving in an area indicates schools of baitfish (mullet, shad, etc.). Where there is baitfish, there is usually bigger fish looking for and easy meal. Large flocks of gulls and terns over open water usually indicates large schools of fish. Depending where this open water is will indicate what kind of fish are causing the activity. Many times I have encountered flocks of various birds right next to shore in our bay system and found redfish ready to hit anything you throw.
This week's hotspot
Try the deeper water of the Intracoastal Waterway, the shrimpboat channel along the causeway of the Corpus Christi ship channel for speckled seatrout. Dagger Island has been steady for both redfish and specks. With all of the runoff caused by the recent rains, more trash is showing up in the bays. Please do what you can to help keep our waters clean by bringing back all of your own trash as well as anything you see out on your trip. Be safe and I'll see you out on the water.
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