Inshore Angling in Adverse Conditions

Inshore Angling in Adverse Conditions

Being able to adjust to whatever is thrown at you is the key to success when fishing Texas bays in the summer.
Story and Photography By Danno Wise

Texas coastal bays are filled with anglers from June through August, as seemingly everyone with as much as a passing interest in inshore fishing spends some time on the water during the summer season. While many people think of summer as the perfect time to fish along the coast, a variety of challenging conditions can face anglers during the summer season. As a result, fishing isn’t always “ice cream smooth.”
Fishermen who can adjust to whatever man and nature throws at them between Memorial Day and Labor Day can consistently be successful when fishing Texas bays. Here are just a few of the common conditions fishermen must deal with during summer and some suggestions for how to adapt to them.
Clouds – While summer does offer more consistently clear sunny days that any other season, cloud cover can still move in on a summer day – often as a result of other impending bad weather. Nonetheless, when cloudy skies occur, they do change fishing conditions.
Cloud cover can be good or bad, depending on the type of fishing you are hoping to do. If you are sight-casting, overcast skies can be the kiss of death (although not necessarily insurmountable).
Conversely, there are times cloud cover can be advantageous to bay fishermen, especially those drifting or wading and blind-casting with artificial lures. For starters, clouds can cool off a hot summer day, making fishing more comfortable and, therefore, more aggressive. Clouds also reduce visibility, which makes fish harder to see (hence the issue for sight-casters) but can also make them less wary and more willing to strike.

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