The weather is warming up, the wind is dying down, and the water is beckoning; time to fish! If it’s been awhile since your last fishing trip, you might feel a little rusty as you start preparing for that first day back on the water.
After our first fishing outing of the year, we came up with a few tips to make your next fishing trip a little more successful.
1. Get a good night’s sleep
That bite starts early, so make sure to go to bed early! The further you have to go to your fishing spot, the earlier you should get up. I like to grab an energy drink on the way to the marina to help me wake up!
If you’re a heavy sleeper, try setting a few alarms and setting your alarm across the room; this forces you to get out of bed to turn it off and helps you start waking up.
For whatever reason, this particular morning, I was exhausted. Like, don’t-hear-all-ten-of-your-alarms exhausted. Needless to say, I put our morning schedule behind by about 30 minutes by the time I did get up. (Sorry, Court!)
2. Make sure to have all licenses ready to go before leaving to fish
You’ll need your fishing license, boater’s ed. if it’s required in your state, licenses related to your trailer, boat, or other vehicles involved in getting you out there. Sorting this out the day before is much easier than the morning of your trip.
After putting the boat in the water, it was Court that noticed our trailer license plate was missing, after we had driven it across the island to the marina! We figured out where it had gone after our trip, but we were both sweating bullets while driving it back on the trailer.
3. Make sure all valuables are stowed safely before leaving
This sounds obvious, but sometimes, we get in a hurry trying to get out on the water and end up forgetting to lock up a phone, a wallet, etc. Most boats have waterproof hatches that are great for stowing valuables or they make smaller containers that can be left out on the deck.
As $35 in cash fluttered by us at full speed up on plane, we realized pretty quickly there had been an error. We were minding our own business when a flash of white fluttered between us and then swooshed through the air behind us into the water.
We both looked around, not sure what could have flown around us when Court spotted it underneath the captain’s chairs; his wallet laying open with all the cash missing. Thankfully, all the licenses and cards were still there!
We went back just to see if we could find it and the bills had floated away or sunken down to Davy Jones locker. That’s one way to make sure your monetary donation goes straight to the laguna…
4. Cast carefully in windy conditions
Casting in the wind can be tricky, even a headache. In windy conditions, spinning reels tend to be a little more forgiving than a bait caster, which can quickly bird nest if the reel spins faster than the line is unspooling.
With the great intention of croaker soaking, Court brought his bait caster. The wind was blowing at an odd angle and on a particularly strong cast, the croaker sailed through the air… no longer attached to the hook.
By the time we realized what had happened, Court’s bait caster had already bird nested to a point beyond fixing on the boat. Luckily for him, the fish weren’t interested in croaker anyway.
5. Always keep an eye on the weather in your fishing area, no matter what the forecast says
Weather can change quickly on the water, especially as you travel further away from your launching point. For example, we launch at a marina just off the highway leaving Corpus Christi for Padre Island, but we often fish much further south, sometimes as far as Port Mansfield.
As with anywhere else, forecasts aren’t always accurate, either. It’s important to periodically check the weather forecast or just keep an eye on your surroundings.
When we left to fish that morning, the weather was supposed to be overcast without rain until the afternoon. As we fished far south, the wind started to pick up and rain sprinkled over us. The overcast clouds morphed into dark, angry storm clouds. We were ready to wait it out until lighting crackled a little close to us and thunder started grumbling in the background.
As we raced to beat the storm back to the marina, we encountered choppy water and wild wind ripping across the waves. The closer we got to Corpus Christi, the more boats we saw baling on the fishing for safer waters. We never got caught in any dangerous weather, but it definitely came close!
7. Sometimes, you have bad luck, and you just have to make the best of it!
A big part of fishing is simply luck! No matter how skilled and prepared you are, there’s always an element of luck. On this trip, we managed to catch a few trout that would’ve been legal before the temporary limit, but just couldn’t find one over 17 inches. We also managed to go out on a day that was forecasted to be somewhat nice and ended up having storms blow in hours earlier than they were supposed to.
That being said, we were both thrilled to have that time on the boat. Even on the worst fishing day, you can find peace and relax to the gentle rocking rhythm of the water. You can take a deep breath of salty air after a long week when you’re running full speed on plane and the wind is tousling your hair.
As we unpacked our gear after a very unlucky day of fishing, we couldn’t help but laugh at our misfortunes and smile while reflecting on the day. Sometimes, you just have to make the best of it!
Hopefully, we’ve gotten the bad luck out of our system for the season and will start getting on the bite!
Jess and the Outdoors 