# Rockport 2/27 - Something new



## pocjetty (Sep 12, 2014)

My friend Kevin (StabbinFlatties) called and said we had to go fishing on Wednesday. The new battery was dead on my boat, and I put the charger on it. You know those little red caps they put on battery terminals, with the + and - on them? They put them on the wrong side. All the smoke came out of my charger, so it doesn't work anymore. I had a spare battery, and we finally got on the water about 10:30.

Conditions were great. Just enough breeze, just enough ripple on the water. Kind of overcast, which I love. My only complaint was that the water was extremely clear everywhere. Our first stop was over mud and grass, and we found some small trout but never got a hint of the redfish we were looking for.

I took off to fish some shell (naturally), and we found some bigger trout. By bigger, I mean they were allllmost keepers. Actually, my first fish was legal, but after that they were all just a tiny bit short. But they were really, really fat. I kept thinking I had better fish, because they were so big-bodied. Not just healthy, but unnaturally bloated looking. We caught a lot of them, and Kevin kept saying that they were puking up... something. He finally said it looked like worms. That wasn't too surprising, since trout feed on a lot of "critters" in the winter. But I was a little surprised about them having so many of them that they were puking them up.

We finally left to find bigger fish. I'll leave out the middle, except to say that once we actually spooked two smallish redfish, and that was it. Our last stop was a cut through some heavy shell, with a wind-blown current pushing water through it. The trout were thick. Fish on most casts, multiple bites on many casts. Once again, they were mostly just undersized, and ridiculously bloated - so they felt like bigger fish when we were reeling them in. We knew it was our last stop, so we just took what the day was giving. I tried every trick I know, trying to find some bigger fish, but without much success We caught a LOT of fish, but only five keepers between us.

When we got them on the cleaning table at my house, the first one I put my hand on puked out what looked like some kind of jellied grass or something. I've never seen anything like it. I washed it away, and the next time I touched him a bunch more of it came out of his mouth. Kevin saw it and said, "That's what they were puking up out on the water." All I could say about it was that it was nasty looking. Most of the others had some come out of their mouths, and I kept washing it all away. When I was done, we realized that we should have taken a picture to see if anyone ever saw it before. 

The last carcass was on the table, and it's stomach was HUGE. Bloated and sort of black looking. I cut the stomach open, and it was just packed full of that green jelly mess. Looking at it closely, we could see that it was loaded with what appeared to be little worms. I still don't know what the green stuff was, or why the whole mess looked like it was sort of jellied. But these fish are loading up on these little worms right now, and not just in one area. The first ones were up in Carlos Bay, and the last ones were way down in the south of Aransas Bay.

Look at the picture below, and keep in mind that this was about a third of the stomach content of a 15" trout. They look like polychaete worms - sometimes called bristle worms. But I can't imagine how they are all able to find so many of them. All we can figure is that a BUNCH of them must have hatched out, and it's a feast for trout everywhere. And they've all eaten so much that their stomachs just can't hold it. All I know is that in the many years I've done this, I've never seen anything like that come out of a trout.


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## camclark04 (Feb 14, 2018)

Wow. Thanks for the post. Iâ€™m interested. Following this thread. 


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## pocjetty (Sep 12, 2014)

Here - I know it looks gross, but this picture gives you an idea of how green it looked. Most of the stuff they puked out looked a lot brighter green than this.

The stomach was stretched so tight with it that when I punctured it, the stuff just kind of exploded outward. I always say that fish are eating machines. When there is a plentiful food source, they will gorge themselves. The ones we caught were so full that there was no more room, but they were still eating.

Last thing - and I wish I had gone in to get a better camera. Some of the things look like bristle worms, because it looks like rows of bristle legs down each side. But a couple of them look like they have eyeballs, and more like they might be mysid shrimp of some kind.

Maybe it's a mix. Whatever they are, there must be a lot of them right now. We hardly saw any baitfish the whole trip.


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## Tigerhead52 (Oct 9, 2016)

I've caught redfish in the dead of winter that had similar stomach contents. Very green. Those fish were bloated also. When I would pierce their gut I could literally hear something like escaping air or gas. Had a little bit of a ripe smell but not too bad. I caught those fish over some deep reefs and I assumed they were eating algae and whatever else they could glean off of the reef. Whatever it was, it was rich and blew them up like a toad frog. By that I mean they weren't just full of solids, they were gassy.


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## Moochy (Sep 13, 2014)

I didn’t notice any smell to them and I tried to get Scott to get in close to get a smell but he wouldn’t have no part of it.


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## squirving88 (Mar 1, 2011)

I was speaking with Tobin a couple of weeks ago, and he informed me of a marine worm hatch going on right now in the bays. Not sure what they look like though.


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## habanerojooz (Dec 4, 2006)

This confirms for me the reason that Norton Sand eels are effective and it's because worm like critters are eaten by trout and redfish as food. That is somewhat obvious, but I've never seen worm or eel like bait sized creatures in the gulf and I've never seen them sold alive in a bait shop. But I presumed if Norton made a bait like that, then elongated eel shaped creatures were sought after as food. Whether it's an eel or a finned fish doesn't matter to me. It's the elongated shape (think Norton Sand Eels, Lil John XLs). This report and these pictures are proof. 

Seeing fishes stomachs packed buffet style might mean that they were on school of those critters. I wonder how long those critters are around and if there is an abundance of those critters in our Galveston bay system? Are they on a spawning cycle? I bet the trout are eager to move on from winter mullet and on to the new tasty stuff that comes every spring.

I've been itching to try a certain bait and rigging technique the next time I go out. If those critters are up here too, I bet that technique will be effective. I plan to find out soon. Thanks for this insightful information and the pictures.


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## WillieT (Aug 25, 2010)

Great report as always, but this one is really interesting. If anyone can figure it out Iâ€™d be interested to know.

The thing Iâ€™m really surprised about is that yâ€™all didnâ€™t limit. Thatâ€™s really unusual.


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## Oyster Dog (May 21, 2005)

It's these guys. They form huge swarms to mate, typically at night under lights, and the trout gorge themselves on them.


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## WillieT (Aug 25, 2010)

WOW. Mystery solved.


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## Oyster Dog (May 21, 2005)

http://txmarspecies.tamug.edu/invertdetails.cfm?scinameID=Alitta succinea


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## habanerojooz (Dec 4, 2006)

Oyster Dog said:


> http://txmarspecies.tamug.edu/invertdetails.cfm?scinameID=Alitta succinea


Thanks. Habitat says they burrow in sediment and live around sea grass. Perhaps that explains where those trout were finding them. That same brownish color of the worms is seen in those stomach content pictures. I remember that those worms were highlighted in a different thread a few weeks ago.


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## Puddle_Jumper (Jun 30, 2014)

Awesome report as always.. but yer rite... That does look nasty LOL


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## pocjetty (Sep 12, 2014)

WillieT said:


> Great report as always, but this one is really interesting. If anyone can figure it out Iâ€™d be interested to know.
> 
> The thing Iâ€™m really surprised about is that yâ€™all didnâ€™t limit. Thatâ€™s really unusual.


People read about fish being "in transition". Most think it's just because of a change of seasons, but it's really because of a transition to a new/different food source. Yesterday we found fish, but they were small fish. Bottom line, I failed to figure out what the bigger fish are feeding on right now. (And, of course, where.)

There was no bait anywhere on the shoreline flats. I mean none. We ran into a back lake, and it was the same story. I know some flats next to a deeper cut that often serve me well this time of year, but no bait there either. I'm a creature of the shallow water, which is sort of a hole in my game. The redfish and bigger trout are off after a different food source, and I totally struck out. The ones we caught were just the biggest of the small trout we were on. If I had the day to do over again, knowing what I learned, I have some ideas about what I'd do differently. But don't we always?

The worms in those fishes' stomachs were clearly juveniles compared to the picture above. I'd like to hear from Tobin, and find out how he knew that there is a hatch going on. I've known that trout pluck worms and other critters off the shell in the winter, but I've never seen their stomachs this packed with them before. Maybe it's coincidence, but you'd think I would have seen it before as much as I've fished for decades. I know that there are some differences in the fisheries here vs. further up the coast. I'm wondering if this is just an unusual hatch for this area.


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## pocjetty (Sep 12, 2014)

Oyster Dog said:


> http://txmarspecies.tamug.edu/invertdetails.cfm?scinameID=Alitta succinea


Thanks. Your info was excellent, and very helpful for me. Now the real test is how I can use that knowledge to catch more fish. :biggrin:

That web page talks about them being plentiful in estuaries. I wonder if all the fresh water in the last year and a half set up conditions that allowed for an exceptional hatch?

BTW - one of the things I tried yesterday was getting out to the edge of the smaller fish, hoping to find some big ones picking off a meal of small trout. Big trout will definitely eat smaller ones. But the dolphins were pretty active, and I think they had the same idea.


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## habanerojooz (Dec 4, 2006)

Neko rig. Should be killer.


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## troutsupport (May 22, 2006)

pocjetty said:


> I'd like to hear from Tobin, and find out how he knew that there is a hatch going on. I've known that trout pluck worms and other critters off the shell in the winter, but I've never seen their stomachs this packed with them before. Maybe it's coincidence, but you'd think I would have seen it before as much as I've fished for decades. I know that there are some differences in the fisheries here vs. further up the coast. I'm wondering if this is just an unusual hatch for this area.


Not an unusual hatch. All the forage feeding patterns happen consistently year after year so if you know them you can hunt those areas where they are happening. The worm hatch happens around this time of year every year in certain habitat types. You are right about the fact that the fish transition is about food, well, at least mostly about food, there are other conditions during each phase of the year that make the transition months harder obviously. The Bays and Shorelines redfish DVD and to some extent the Shallow redfish dvd briefly cover the main food forage shifts, but not all.. hell I could only put so much on a 2 hour dvd. How did we miss it for all those years. Well it's sorta like 'looking for your keys when we think we know where they are' they could be actually right in front of us and we don't realize it because we think they are somewhere else. When we're not looking for something, it's very hard to see what really is there as the truth. I'd say that the entire gulf coast is very similar.. but anywhere polychaete worms can be found they will exhibit similar patterns, and when they mate they are dense enough to attract reds and trout and other fish. The big trout will feed on them as well.. but you can't target big trout by fishing around the worms. it's just too much energy expenditure for a big fish that's looking for a big meal. For years and years I've watched all the forage hatches and know the timing of them all. More to come on this in the coming months.

Oh, as far as lures.. hard to beat the DSL for that worm hatch.. good wiggle and sorta stringy like them too. I don't think you have to get any closer than that. Sure any sandeel looking bait is fine as well.. let's remember thse are fish we are talking about and they don't have iPhones or tapatalk or anything.. any lure about the size and wiggle thrown in the right areas where they are hatching will get eating.. but so would just about any food like a small mullet even. Fish don't know they arn't supposed to eat something moving. If it moves = food most of the time.


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## habanerojooz (Dec 4, 2006)

Neko rig.


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## Moochy (Sep 13, 2014)

any lure about the size and wiggle thrown in the right areas where they are hatching will get eating.. but so would just about any food like a small mullet even. Fish don't know they arn't supposed to eat something moving. If it moves = food most of the time.[/QUOTE]

This is correct, these fish were eating. I threw a 6" large paddle tail and a 5" sand eel and was getting hits regardless if it was on the fall, steady retrieved, top, middle, or bottom of the water column. If it moved it died.


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## Aquafowler (Aug 9, 2016)

Dang good thread. Learned something new.


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## 2thDr (Jan 25, 2014)

*worms*

How long are they? Name?


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## Thestork (Dec 4, 2018)

I find those things in drum stomachs in the summer.....I think that's what they're eating when they're rooting around in shallow water.


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## Gofish2day (May 9, 2006)

I asked a guy who lived in Seadrift all his life. He said they were baby eels and had seen them before. Maybe that's just what he called them???


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## troutsupport (May 22, 2006)

a lot anglers will call them eels. There is an eel hatch as well at various times and at a distance they could look similar, but they are certainly different.


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## Hunter.S.Tomson (Aug 15, 2018)

habanerojooz said:


> This confirms for me the reason that Norton Sand eels are effective and it's because worm like critters are eaten by trout and redfish as food. That is somewhat obvious, but I've never seen worm or eel like bait sized creatures in the gulf and I've never seen them sold alive in a bait shop. But I presumed if Norton made a bait like that, then elongated eel shaped creatures were sought after as food. Whether it's an eel or a finned fish doesn't matter to me. It's the elongated shape (think Norton Sand Eels, Lil John XLs). This report and these pictures are proof.
> 
> Seeing fishes stomachs packed buffet style might mean that they were on school of those critters. I wonder how long those critters are around and if there is an abundance of those critters in our Galveston bay system? Are they on a spawning cycle? I bet the trout are eager to move on from winter mullet and on to the new tasty stuff that comes every spring.
> 
> I've been itching to try a certain bait and rigging technique the next time I go out. If those critters are up here too, I bet that technique will be effective. I plan to find out soon. Thanks for this insightful information and the pictures.


One of my go to baits is a hackberry hustler. Had some epic days throwing nothing but. I've caught more and bigger fish on it than just about anything


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## Tigerhead52 (Oct 9, 2016)

I had a buddy years ago who was big on drifting the reefs on the south end of Sabine this time of year. He would drift with a jig head and soft plastic that he would just drag on the bottom behind the boat. No reeling. The locals referred to it as "dredging". You had to take a shoe box full of jig heads but it was a very effective fishing method in that area. His go-to bait was a worm looking soft plastic made by Culprit. Looked very close to those critters.


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## riopga (Feb 15, 2017)

So I've read the responses, and the linked article, but I'm still not sure where the jelly part of all this comes from. I've seen fish stuffed with worms or shrimp before, but I've never seen anything like that jelly in a fish. It looks similar to frog eggs.


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## shane.shipman.72 (Jul 29, 2017)

Very interesting, thank you for sharing!

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## barronj (Sep 30, 2013)

Always learning something from your posts. Great info, thanks for sharing.


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## camclark04 (Feb 14, 2018)

Are these gone. Iâ€™m still having nightmares about this! 


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## pocjetty (Sep 12, 2014)

camclark04 said:


> Are these gone. Iâ€™m still having nightmares about this!


There are some worms in that family that have a sting that burns like fire. I wouldn't handle any of them, on general principle. But other than that, I wouldn't give them a second thought.

There are a lot of things in our bays that most people don't know about. The rocks in Port A are full of peppermint shrimp in the summer - the same shrimp they sell in aquarium stores. Sea robins and sea slugs are also really common on incoming nighttime tides in the summer. When we used to pull minnow seins, there were areas that were just full of pipefish an seahorses. I've netted several sargassum fish in marshy areas around Port A, and I saw a group of huge tiger prawn in the service channel between Aransas Pass and Port A, while floundering a few years ago. I've found anemones, including several condylactis which aren't supposed to be this far north, but were thriving.

I know this will sound gross, but I was fishing out in front of Pringle Lake many years ago, and saw something suspended in the water that looked like a big booger. It was sort of wobbling from the wave action, and I thought it must be some kind of rotten piece of plant. I guess something in the back of my mind realized it wasn't quite right, because I stopped and looked at it closely. It wasn't moving from the waves - it was swimming. It extended out little... things... from its sides and flapped them, then sucked them back in and extended more somewhere else. I've seen plenty of sea slugs and nudibranchs, but nothing with a body as loose and sloppy as this thing. There's no way to describe it but as a swimming booger.

This is what happens when I don't get to go fishing for too many days in a row.


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## Snookered (Jun 16, 2009)

pocjetty said:


> It wasn't moving from the waves - it was swimming. It extended out little... things... from its sides and flapped them, then sucked them back in and extended more somewhere else. I've seen plenty of sea slugs and nudibranchs, but nothing with a body as loose and sloppy as this thing. There's no way to describe it but as a swimming booger.
> 
> This is what happens when I don't get to go fishing for too many days in a row.


sea hare....Aplysia
snookered


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## pocjetty (Sep 12, 2014)

Snookered said:


> sea hare....Aplysia
> snookered


Sea hares are very cool. We used to see a lot of them coming in on incoming tides at Port A. Poke one with your rod tip, and they eject a big cloud of ink. This thing had no kind of structure whatsoever. Swimming booger.

My point was just that there is a lot of stuff in our bay waters that we usually don't take time to notice.


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