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Locating Structure on the National Seashore by Schapp Moppin
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Locating Structure on the National Seashore |
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In the whole scheme of things, late January through February tends to be a difficult time to catch fish on the National Seashore. The constant movement of weather fronts tends to keep the surf stirred up and the water temperature down. The north winds tend to push the baits off shore and the target fish tend to follow. This doesn't mean, though, that fishing is out of my head and that I just sit around waiting for spring. There is always an adventure on the beach, and sometimes it is vine ripe to check my secret fishing spots. As we get into the beginning of the year, we normally get some predicted bull tides. This massive water movement will normally produce extremes of both high and low tides. However, the extreme low tides allow us an opportunity to meet some old friends and find some new ones. On these days, no matter what the weather, the wife and I go looking for structure; wrecks we might not have seen for a while and any new ones that might have showed up. There are two kinds of structure on our beaches; natural shifting structure, and manmade structure that can lie in the first gut unseen for months, hiding its bait holding potential. The shifting structures such as cut offs, pinches, and suck outs change on a daily basis and are only useful to know at that moment. To come back to that spot on your next yearly visit is useless. However, the static, manmade structures hidden in the first and second guts are another story. When I find a wreck or something that has become uncovered I record it, logging the GPS coordinates and secretly retaining the location and its' potential to hold fish. A good wreck can produce on a consistent basis and when I fish the beach I never pass up the opportunity of fishing a wreck. They are always worth a stop. The structure does not have to appear to be much, for example this wreck has produced hundreds of Trout and Redfish over the years. Most of the resident fishermen of the National Seashore who know of its location will always give it a try as they pass by. No, I am not going to tell you where it is or its' name. Like the Spanish Gold that supposedly lays hidden on the seashore, to those that know where this it is, it is a treasure. Although the structure never goes away, wrecks will disappear for a time under the sand and stop producing for a while. Given time, they will pop back up again and the fish return. I never remove the location of a wreck or manmade structure from the GPS. The sandbars are always moving. Having the ability to read the water will help you to develop your fish finding skills and locate the holes, pinches and suck-outs that the sandbars produce as the deeper water funnels through them. Old Ralph Wade, who has fished the National Seashore since the 60s, will never pass up the opportunity to fish a blocked gut. A blocked gut, as in the picture, will hold bait. Redfish and Trout can sometimes be found in these in large numbers. It is nothing to find one of these when the fishing is good and limit out very quickly. Insert Picture: Blockedgut020809.jpg Blocked Gut: The gut clearly closes to the beach but the water is deep enough to hold fish. The trick to finding these ever moving structures is practice. I often get told by fishermen that they can't read the water. I tell them if they want to find a good fishing spot, take the wife and kids to the beach. The kids will always find the hole and go swimming in it. A lot of fishermen you see will wade through the potential fish-holding blocked gut to sling bait where there is no structure, just a wide bar. The reason I think the pinches and blocked guts work so well is that the bait can get confused as it comes up to the end of the gut. This confusion attracts the predator fish. A blocked gut is always a good place to sling your cast net when the bait is running and they are very easy to locate. Although we are just out looking for structure we never miss the opportunity to fish. This time of year you normally will get one or two Reds by placing baits at long distance. It was not long before the wife put a Pompano on the beach using fresh dead Shrimp and Fishbites at long distance. The Pompano fishery in Texas is getting streonger each year and will match any in the country; again this very taste fish is most often located around a pinch in the second gut. Texas Fishing Port Aransas Fishing
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