How I Discovered Surf Fishing

I recently took a trip to Cabo San Lucas with my family for a wedding. We went offshore fishing the day after we arrived and caught some great fish but being surrounded by water got the best of me. I couldn’t settle for just one day of fishing with the ocean only a cast away from the hotel pool. I asked Mario, the deckhand on our fishing charter, for advice on how to fish from the beach. The information I received was simple, he told me to get a big rod and a “Cabo Killer” from Jansen’s over by the Walmart.

The Laguna Madre has less inflows of freshwater because there are not any major rivers flowing into the system. This helps makes the water hypersaline, and the extra salty water could be a factor in why speckled trout seem to grow so big in South Texas.

Also, the Laguna Madre is shallow compared to many other bay systems in Texas. There are flats that are less than two feet deep which run for miles throughout the lagoon. The seagrass beds on these shallow flats help to keep the water clear, which makes the Laguna Madre one of the most scenic bay systems in North America.

Yellow Perch Lifespan

Yellow perch have a lifespan of nine to ten years but average lifespan varies based on the predator population and fishing pressure. They can reach sexual maturity in two years for males and three years for females. This early maturation makes perch prone to population booms and busts.Female perch tend to be larger, grow faster, live longer, and mature a year later than males.

Spawning takes place in the spring when water temperatures are between 35 and 65 degrees where they form large schools and inhabit shallow areas with little or no current. Spawning typically takes place at night or in the early morning. Perch lay their eggs in the form of gelatinous strands the consist of 10,000 to 40,000 eggs. Egg strands are commonly draped over vegetation, debris, or other structure. Females have the potential to spawn up to eight times in their lifetimes.

How to Locate Yellow Perch

Yellow perch habitat consists of vegetated shoreline waters and relatively shallow structures. Perch tend to form dense schools in shallow vegetation, because of their preference for small, weed-filled bodies of water. On rare occasions, yellow perch can be found in water deeper than 50 feet. Perch population can survive but are less abundant in deep, clear, open bodies of water. River populations of perch school up in protected waters just out of the current and moderately vegetated areas.

Appearance

Yellow perch are one of the most easily identifiable freshwater fish thanks to their distinct appearance. With a gold or yellow body that transitions to green toward the dorsal fin and black vertical bars down their sides, these fish are truly unique. Their flashy sides are contrasted by the olive coloration down their back and a cream colored belly. The anal fins can vary in color ranging from green to yellow and orange.

Fishing Laws Along Texas-Louisiana Border Waters

There are two primary benefits of the reciprocal agreements for fishermen in Texas and Louisiana. First, the reciprocity agreement allows licensed residents to fish the shared border waters without requiring multiple licenses. Second, seniors with resident Louisiana fishing licenses can generally fish throughout Texas, and seniors with resident Texas fishing licenses can generally fish throughout Louisiana. Let’s take a look at how these rules work to benefit the local angling communities.

What is a Walleye

The walleye is a predatory freshwater fish native to the northern United States and Canada. It’s a close relative of the European zander which looks almost identical. Walleyes can live to around 30 years old but rarely make it past five years old in heavily fished areas. The appearance of walleyes varies from one body of water to the next. Typically, walleye found within the same watershed look very similar but are distinctly different from other nearby bodies of water. The species has been stocked throughout its native range and introduced to bodies of water beyond its native range for over 100 years. The mixing of different variations of walleye has reduced some of the differences between walleye found in separate regions. The walleye is occasionally called a “yellow walleye” to separate it from the blue walleye, a color morph that was previously found in southern Canada but is likely extinct.