Imagine yourself as a 10 pound speck for just a few minutes. You've spent much of the winter hanging out in a relatively warm East Matagorda Bay mud flat, waiting for spring to show itself. And there it is - the sun finally starts coming out enough to warm the waters, signaling that it's time for action.
You start to move, cruising right along the flat until you see it - your favorite spot to feed. The patch of mud with its shell pad is a familiar landmark and you think back happily about years past when you would happily fill up on all you can eat shrimp and finger mullet. Your stomach immediately starts to grumble as you recall these feasts.
You get into your favorite spot, right where the shell bed meets the mud and wait. Before long, a tempting six inch mullet comes along, oblivious to your presence.
Before the mullet even knows what happened, you're drifting back to the bottom feasting on your first catch of the season.
Soon after, a wobbling, wounded-looking mullet pierces the water's surface, several feet away. Vibrant in color, the four inch bait fish gently dances, flaunting its dazzling body as it sinks leisurely through the water column.
Like a flash of lightning you're on the mullet and it's in your jaws - but this one seems to be stronger than you!
With a violent shake of your head you manage to get the mullet out of your mouth, but you find yourself pulled towards to the surface by a force you can't see - the struggle quickly tires you out, beaten by a Boga in your lip.
"It's gotta be at least ten pounds!" someone exclaims.
Two other people come up and look you over approvingly. You think you see the flash of a camera.
Back in the water and exhausted from the escapade, you finally break free from the anglers' light hold.
While making your way back to the bottom, you can faintly make out someone saying "And that's why I like Corky Fat Boy lures." You're not entirely sure what that means, but you know you'll think twice before pouncing on a wounded mullet next time.
Of course, trophy trout don't actually understand what we're saying (do they?). Otherwise, they'd be well aware that being fooled by that lure was the fulfillment of an angler's fondest wish.
When word broke out that James Wallace broke the state's speckled trout record, an infection had spread across the gulf coast; fishermen turned to an arsenal of Corky's, a slow sinking soft bait, when hunting for the trout of their lifetime. Packing the size of a topwater and the wobble of a broken-back, the tempting attraction of a slow retrieved Corky in winter is just flat out effective for trophy specks.
"When James Wallace caught that monster, things really took off for us," reports Paul Brown, founder of B&L Corky. "People were flooding in and bought us out of every Corky we had in no time flat." After all this time, this family owned Houston shop still finds Corky saltwater fishing lures one of their biggest sellers.
Port Mansfield fishing guide, Captain Mike McBride definitely knows a thing or two about Corky's and uses a unique retrieve to fool lower coast specks.
"You'll definite work Corkys a little different depending where you are on the coast, but personally I pop the knot off when I'm trying to keep the slack under control." Against the common wisdom and frequent mentions in fishing reports, McBride doesn't use the ultra slow technique, preferring to work his lure vigorously. "The point of a Corky is that it makes those unpredictable movements that realistically imitate prey," McBride states.
Captain Jesse Arsola, Matagorda trophy trout guide says he also has his own technique for getting the best results with Corky saltwater fishing lures.
"When you're dealing with trout who are in an aggressive mood they'll bite just about anything. However, those times when you have to work at it to get them interested, that is when your technique really matters."
"I use a counting system nearly every time I work a Corky. Count how long it takes for the Corky to reach the bottom. Vary how many seconds you let the Corky fall before yanking the slack out of the line. Find out which count you are catching your fish on. This gives major insight in knowing which part of the water column the trout are feeding on best."
Captain John Havens is an accomplished tournament angler from Clear Lake who tells us that his favorite out of the many saltwater fishing lures he's tried is the Corky Devil, either in gold, chartreuse or white. He uses a standard retrieve with his Corky lures and claims this has always worked best for him.
"Make sure to stay in contact with the lure at all times to feel the most subtle of bites." When working a Corky Devil, Havens retrieves with a lift of the rod with one or two twitches before allowing the lure to fall.
You start to move, cruising right along the flat until you see it - your favorite spot to feed. The patch of mud with its shell pad is a familiar landmark and you think back happily about years past when you would happily fill up on all you can eat shrimp and finger mullet. Your stomach immediately starts to grumble as you recall these feasts.
You get into your favorite spot, right where the shell bed meets the mud and wait. Before long, a tempting six inch mullet comes along, oblivious to your presence.
Before the mullet even knows what happened, you're drifting back to the bottom feasting on your first catch of the season.
Soon after, a wobbling, wounded-looking mullet pierces the water's surface, several feet away. Vibrant in color, the four inch bait fish gently dances, flaunting its dazzling body as it sinks leisurely through the water column.
Like a flash of lightning you're on the mullet and it's in your jaws - but this one seems to be stronger than you!
With a violent shake of your head you manage to get the mullet out of your mouth, but you find yourself pulled towards to the surface by a force you can't see - the struggle quickly tires you out, beaten by a Boga in your lip.
"It's gotta be at least ten pounds!" someone exclaims.
Two other people come up and look you over approvingly. You think you see the flash of a camera.
Back in the water and exhausted from the escapade, you finally break free from the anglers' light hold.
While making your way back to the bottom, you can faintly make out someone saying "And that's why I like Corky Fat Boy lures." You're not entirely sure what that means, but you know you'll think twice before pouncing on a wounded mullet next time.
Of course, trophy trout don't actually understand what we're saying (do they?). Otherwise, they'd be well aware that being fooled by that lure was the fulfillment of an angler's fondest wish.
When word broke out that James Wallace broke the state's speckled trout record, an infection had spread across the gulf coast; fishermen turned to an arsenal of Corky's, a slow sinking soft bait, when hunting for the trout of their lifetime. Packing the size of a topwater and the wobble of a broken-back, the tempting attraction of a slow retrieved Corky in winter is just flat out effective for trophy specks.
"When James Wallace caught that monster, things really took off for us," reports Paul Brown, founder of B&L Corky. "People were flooding in and bought us out of every Corky we had in no time flat." After all this time, this family owned Houston shop still finds Corky saltwater fishing lures one of their biggest sellers.
Port Mansfield fishing guide, Captain Mike McBride definitely knows a thing or two about Corky's and uses a unique retrieve to fool lower coast specks.
"You'll definite work Corkys a little different depending where you are on the coast, but personally I pop the knot off when I'm trying to keep the slack under control." Against the common wisdom and frequent mentions in fishing reports, McBride doesn't use the ultra slow technique, preferring to work his lure vigorously. "The point of a Corky is that it makes those unpredictable movements that realistically imitate prey," McBride states.
Captain Jesse Arsola, Matagorda trophy trout guide says he also has his own technique for getting the best results with Corky saltwater fishing lures.
"When you're dealing with trout who are in an aggressive mood they'll bite just about anything. However, those times when you have to work at it to get them interested, that is when your technique really matters."
"I use a counting system nearly every time I work a Corky. Count how long it takes for the Corky to reach the bottom. Vary how many seconds you let the Corky fall before yanking the slack out of the line. Find out which count you are catching your fish on. This gives major insight in knowing which part of the water column the trout are feeding on best."
Captain John Havens is an accomplished tournament angler from Clear Lake who tells us that his favorite out of the many saltwater fishing lures he's tried is the Corky Devil, either in gold, chartreuse or white. He uses a standard retrieve with his Corky lures and claims this has always worked best for him.
"Make sure to stay in contact with the lure at all times to feel the most subtle of bites." When working a Corky Devil, Havens retrieves with a lift of the rod with one or two twitches before allowing the lure to fall.
About the Author:
Captain Kyle Tomek is a Texas fishing guide who submits featured fishing reports to Texas FishCast. You can submit fishing reports through your Facebook account to Texas FishCast. You can share pictures and videos and tag your fishing buddies for everyone to see.
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