The older I get the more I realize that spring fishing saltwater using the methods I choose and the bays that I fish, I ought to just stay home. Got blanked in Keller Bay last week. Week before that I caught one trout in East Matagorda. Think I'll head to the hill country and hunt turkeys in the mornings and kill hogs at night. Come on May!

Hang in there pal! Where in the Hill Country do you hunt?

On my sister's place between Ozona and Comstock and on my place southeast of Rocksprings. Nothing like gobblers booming on a spring morning.

OSO, I understand the fishing is not too bad in San Antonio Bay now. I appears you live close by. My brother and I call ourselves "Jetty Jerkers" at the POC big jetties. We hang live bait there.

Tight lines,

Ok, so I'm curious. I'm just getting started fishing the bays/salt so trying to learn as much as I can so pardon in advance if this is a stupid question. You say that Spring sucks for the methods and bays you fish. This implies that some methods work in the Spring, just not yours. So what's your method that doesn't work now and what methods do work now? Thanks!

Good question. If I knew what worked now I might try it. Each spring, I seem to lose my fish. There might be some days where I can scratch out a few fish but I can not say that I can consistently find and catch trout and redfish in March and April. Some have told me it's a transition time for the fish, feeding differently and moving from one structure to another. Whatever it is, it sure is helping the fish..

Spring is a good time to surf fish. A lot of fish have moved to the gulf to spawn. Plus the fresh awater from spring storms pushed them out to the Gulf. March and April are some of my better months in the surf. May, I start back with the lakes and bays.

I tend to focus my efforts so that I don't due much saltwater fishing in February, March, and April. The whitebass spawn typically starts in february. Largemouth bass spawn in March and crappie later in March/april. As a result, I have a lot of good fishing close to home. For me nothing compares to saltwater fishing but it's hard to drive hours and struggle to find fish when I can catch all I want a 1/2 hour from home.

If you are in the right part of the world, and happen to have the right equipment to get to them, this time is unmatched in the far back reaches of the back lakes. Spring flood tides push fish way far back, takes the right boat to get to them though.

In February,March,April you can catch nice fish if you know to fish and where.

I know one thing, I wouldn't bet a house payment on getting a bite in Keller right now. Decent in summer, good in fall, but tough nut in early spring for sure.

If you can find a deeper "drainage" or gut that drains a skinny flat, on a falling tide, you will find fish there.

To be honest Spring has been great for me. I fish off my family dock on the ICW in Sargent, Texas. Live shrimp fished on the bottom, and I have been slammin' the fish.

Fishing has been pretty good around Port A the last few days. We had three limits of reds on Saturday and released at least that many wading the Shamrock Cove area. Only day we have been able to see the bottom so far.
All three of us have not limited out at the same time since then but had five keeper reds on Sunday and two yesterday and four or five keeper black drum each day so no complaints. Took today off to give the girls a break from the kids for a day. Looks like better sight fishing weather the rest of the week so looking forward to finishing strong.

You know Pat, Keller is one of my spring choices where I can scratch out a few fish. Last week when I dropped the boat in at the state ramp and ran across to the pocket I figured it would be good. Water was beautiful.. I got anchored up and slid out of the boat into thigh deep water casting soft plastics. Saw my wading boots. No bites. Moved deeper, to the tops of my waders. Saw my wading boots. No bites. Back to the boat to drift. Saw the bottom. No bites. If I wasn't so hard headed I might have waded shorelines for reds. I guess I'm just not that mad at 'em anymore. Turkeys and hogs better watch out though!