A
GUSTING SOUTHEAST WIND pumped from the Gulf of Mexico and ripped across West Galveston Island, riffling the gray
surface of the saltgrass cove. Humid clouds sagged against the setting sun and a dark squall was gathering momentum on the horizon. I shuffled waist deep and made a long cast with an Ambassadeur 5500, a whippy two-handed fiberglass rod, and a 52M MirrOlure. The pink-and- white plug sailed in a grand arc. You can throw a long way with an educat- ed thumb backed by a 20-knot tail- wind — one advantage of wading a barrier island with the onshore gusts at your back.
Aspeckled trout taping an honest 30 inches is, in the estimation of most old salts, the grandest prize for the inshore angler on the Texas coast.
The fishing was lonely, though, and my quest was to stick just one fish. Big speckled trout move under the billowing clouds and warming tides of late spring. And by “big,” I mean really big. The circumstances seldom are bet- ter for catching the Spotted Grail, a career speck. Aspeckled trout taping an honest 30 inches is, in the estimation of most old salts, the grandest prize for the inshore angler on the Texas coast. A solid 30 with thick pre-spawn girth may top 10 pounds — a coveted double-digit trout. The big sow trout is a gorgeous fish, maybe the perfect fish. The long profile and thick sides and graceful fins have an aura that other inshore species lack. The glowing silvers and greens and lavenders are accented by the bold black spots, a joy to admire in the early light on a trout-green tide. Redfish are too grumpy and the
scales are too coarse. Bonefish are trim and racy but forfeit major style points
TIDE
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