It took a while for them to warm up, but once they did, the fish were eager and ready down in Port Mansfield.
The Getaway Adventures Lodge hosted Lone Star Outdoor News‘ Steve Schwartz, along with other members of the outdoor industry, for a day on the water with Capt. Paul Johnson. At 6 a.m. the boat cruised out to the bay, with some early success on the shallows — but all of the speckled trout were small.
The top-water lures weren’t producing and it was a slow three hours.
Perfect conditions finally yielded a few fish, including a good-sized redfish. But Johnson had a few aces up his sleeve, and took the crew to the intracoastal canal in the Laguna Madre. Keeper trout almost immediately started responding to the action. The shallow, grassy beds produced the best specimens on soft plastics.
Day one on the water proved to be a success in the end, even if it did start slow.
Clear conditions and warm water were perfect for wading throughout the Laguna Madre and the persistence paid off.
