Anglers warm up to beat of winter drum

Written by Scott Sommerlatte

Thursday, 24 January 2008

Fish take to mud flats in bays between cold fronts. Winter flats anglers may be surprised to learn that not every tail that they see waving above the water’s surface is a redfish. “Because it was calm, I could see the tails from quite a distance,” said angler Brandon Smith of his recent trip to the flats of Matagorda Bay. “We poled up on them as quietly as possible, and when we got into the area all we found were what we thought were old tires that someone had thrown out.” “We thought we had spooked the fish off until my buddy noticed one of the tires swimming off,” he said. “It didn’t register right away but before long we were changing tactics and tackle and tossing flies to 20- to 30-pound black drum.” Every winter, after a substantial warming period between fronts, large black drum can be found moving from the deep channels onto the mud flats of Texas’ bays to feed. The drum feed over the muddy bottom since crabs, their primary food source, migrate to the mud flats in winter. The crabs burrow into the soft-bottomed flats to protect themselves from the cold, and because the mud warms more quickly, it allows them to dig out and feed during the occasional warming. Throughout most of the year, the mud flats will be off-color, not allowing anglers to sight-cast to fish. But in winter, when water temperatures are low, the water becomes gin-clear during periods of light winds since algae blooms are dormant. The clear water also allows the sun to penetrate the water and warm the bottom, drawing the crabs out of their holes and fish onto the flats. Anglers searching for drum also look for soft flats with oyster piles surrounded by scattered shell. “There is only one kind of flat that will warm faster than mud,” said guide Tom Horbey, “and that is a mud flat with shell.” Also, by scanning the bottom, signs of feeding black drum are evident in the forms of what Capt. Chuck Scates refers to as ‘drum doodles,’ small crater-like holes created on the bottom when a drum is trying to root a crab or worm out of a hole. Once located, anglers catch the drum using a variety of methods. The most effective is to use a live crab on a spinning rod. Most anglers toss the bait well beyond the fish to avoid spooking it, and then slowly reel up into the fish’s path and allow the bait to sink. Patience is required once the fish takes the bait because it takes it some time for the fish to get the crab all the way into its mouth. Once the fish starts to swim off, it is time to set the hook. Use of a circle hook is a wise choice when using this method to prevent gut-hooking a fish that is best released. Many Texas flats fishermen enjoy their sight-casting with a fly rod. While the obvious choice in flies would be something tied to resemble a crab, guide Tom Horbey prefers to toss a spoon-fly to them. “Its tough to beat a black and green spoon,” he said. “It isn’t too often that we can throw flies at 30-pound fish on flats,” Smith said. “I haven’t gotten one yet, but it is going to be exciting when I do.”

Last Updated ( Friday, 25 January 2008 )

 

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