Power plant outfall canals consistently produce cold-weather redfish and trout action that's as hot as the water they release. Here's all you need to know to flip the switch and turn on the fun.
By Chester Moore, Jr.

It looked way too cold to go fishing. A thin blanket of ice carpeted the ground, and small flurries of snow drifted down from the gray skies. Had I been in Minnesota this would have been prime time for ice fishing, but heading into such frigid conditions in Texas earns scrutinizing stares from onlookers.

"Only a crazy man would venture into such nasty weather. You guys need straight jackets," the man at the boat launch told us.

My cousin Frank Moore and I smiled and mumbled some little white lie like "It ain't that bad." But it's safe to say we both agreed with the man as we headed out into the 33-degree, stinging cold morning. We would have worn straight jackets if they could've kept us warmer.

The only "good" thing about the weather was there was no wind to speak of. The water in the Neches River was as smooth as glass, so the 16-foot aluminum boat glided across it with great ease.

When we reached our destination it seemed as if we were in some sort of strange, twisted, winter dream. Icicles dangled from the high lines above as steam rose from the water. At times it was so thick and rose so high that we had to slow down to a virtual crawl to avoid a collision with the bank or another boat. Being only half-awake, I kept thinking this might be some sort of strange purgatory, halfway between fishing heaven and hell.

Finally, I snapped back into reality when Frank motioned for me to stop as we came up to a big chain that blocked the canal. In the middle of the chain was a sign that read: "No Trespassing; Property of Entergy Corporation." We had reached the outflow station of the Neches River Entergy Power Plant.

"We should catch some fish," Frank said as he dipped his hand in the water. "The water's really warm, so they must be pumping out a lot today."

This Energy Plant is like several similar outfits along the Texas Gulf Coast. The plant cools its turbines by pumping water from one canal and expelling it to another. In this case, the water comes from a marsh that borders the Lower Neches Wildlife Management Area near Bridge City and exits into a canal that leads to the mouth of the Neches River-both of which usually hold salty water during winter.

Baitfish congregate in such warm water during cold spells, making them a sort of buffet for a host of large predators like redfish and speckled trout. They're great for human predators, too, since the cold-blooded fish become much more active feeders in these spots than in the much colder surrounding waters.

Frank and I were the only anglers present in the canal that day, but there were plenty of fish there. In fact, we limited on redfish and black drum and caught more than a dozen speckled trout.

Not bad for fishing in an ice storm.

Warm-water discharges come in many forms. They can be huge cooling plants that spew out thousands of gallons of warm water a minute or they can be small drainage pipes or culverts that have a very light flow. Oftentimes chemical refineries will have small pump stations that producea warm-water flow that diverts into underwater pipes. Any of these areas can hold a surprising amount of fish, but it's safe to say that the more flow and the warmer the water in comparison to the surrounding water, the more fish there will be.

Fish are often concentrated in such great numbers in these canals that they become easy pickings. Galveston-area guide Capt. George Knighten says that before limits were in place he remembers catching several ice chests of speckled trout at a time at the HL&P (Houston Lighting & Power Co.) outfall in Trinity Bay.