PORT O'CONNOR
Though well off the beaten path, Port O'Connor ranks among the finest fishing areas along the entire Texas Gulf Coast. It's got a little bit of everything, from air-clear flats to deep-water jetties, and miles upon miles of blue-green water in the bays surrounding the many islands.

During July, you'll meet with the most consistent trout fishing at the jetties. The POC jetties are deep, and can be confusing at first. The slip-cork rig rules here; I've used it to catch hundreds of trout at this set of granite rocks. Some of my best catches are taken about midway along the west jetty, where you can find gaps in the rocks sitting in 8 to 14 feet of water. I anchor upcurrent of the spot I want to fish and let a slip-cork float a live shrimp over the gaps in the underwater rocks.

I've spent many a night fishing the Sabine and POC jetties with lights -- and if you're trying to beat the heat and the crowds, this is the ticket. At the Sabine jetties you want to set up on the Gulf side of the west jetty, about 100 yards from the end. It's tough to fish the channel side of the Sabine jetties because of all the ships and crew boats coming and going. At the POC jetties, very little ship traffic disturbs the fishery, and not many crew boats run out at night. At the POC jetties you'll do best on the channel side of the west jetty. Or you might want to try fishing at the little jetties leading into the big rocks.

LAGUNA MADRE
Trout fishing at the Laguna Madre hits a peak right about now -- and the place to be is Port Mansfield.

"Our trout fishing out of Port Mansfield is tough to beat during July and August," asserted guide and lodge owner Bruce Shuler, who runs trips with multiple guide boats out of Get Away Adventures Lodge. "Wading the cuts between the spoil banks is my favorite way to catch trout on the middle Laguna during July. I like to wade about waist-deep and fish soft plastics."

On the opposite end of the wading spectrum is guide Teddy Springer, who also works out of Get Away Adventures Lodge. "I like to keep my wading shallow, along the flats just off the Intracoastal Canal," he offered. "The trout will move up on the shallow flats early and late in the day. That's when I'll be fishing a Super Spook Jr. in black/white, bone or chrome. The trout will move up on the flats and feed shallow early, then move out into the guts as the sun gets up and heats up the water.

"What I like to do is run the channel until I see baitfish. That's when I'll pull over, anchor and wade. If the trout aren't in one area, I'll move until I find them. Once you find them, they will usually be feeding in the same area for a couple of days."

Last July I was fishing on the Laguna with Springer. (Shuler was off working the deep cuts alongside Mark Davis, senior manager of advertising and public relations with Shakespeare and Pflueger.) We headed to a shallow flat off the deep channel; there, the surface of the clear, green water was carpeted with mullet. Springer idled up on the flat and slipped the anchor over.