I am beginning to love the effects El Nino is having on our fishing! The abundance of fresh water from the heavens last year has made for a super abundance of food for the fishes! The fishing has been way above average lately not counting against what madness went down in February.
Considering the quality and quantity of fish that I am finding… take your pick! Do you want shots at good numbers of fish or a few good shots at quality fish of several species? And even despite inclement weather, some fabulous fishing is occurring for dedicated anglers.
Gator trout pre-release
Fortunately, the new Beavertail Skiff is the driest ride I have ever had on a flats skiff and even in rough conditions this boat performs very well.
By any measure this new boat goes everywhere the old boat could get. That’s the most thrilling part! Or, well, maybe seeing more than a dozen trophy trout in one day is a little more thrilling but nailing a 28-inch below average trout really got the blood pumping. Our imaginations have soared for the week following and still continues to grow and call us back to the water.
I have been running into a real mecca of giant trout and even on the days we couldn’t sight cast we got them dialed in on topwater flies. Some glorious fish have been revealing themselves putting on the feed-bag, and even sometimes when the angler least expects it. Lessons are learned by all in situations like that… “Never take your eye off the fly!”
chartreuse and black fly
The redfish are also hungry and some 20+ fish schools of oversized redfish are begging to be caught. Chartreuse shrimp and mullet flies are my go to color and choice flies of all time regardless of light conditions. Then I go to blue crab flies (bigger is better if you ask me) and don’t forget to have some plain white topwater flies ready to zing! The majority of the black drum have been a little scarce from my normal operating areas the last week but those that I did find were close to 10lbs and have even found at least 1 drum per trip between 25-40lbs. Ya Ya!
Here also is a little video of my good buddy Bob playing tug-o-war with a very respectable trout on a fine day last week while breaking-in the new skiff. Give me a call directly to book your next Texas Fly Fishing Adventure! Capt Kenjo 361-500-2552
Salty Bendo on a 5 wt hooked up to a nice 22inch redfish in 6 inches of water
So I get this call, last minute, and Matt says, “Can we go fishing tomorrow?”
“Absolutely!” I tell him. “Be at the dock at 9am. Tomorrow is a fine day to use the 5wt!”
And sure enough, while the main water bodies were frigid, getting skinny in my skiff was the key to finding the right water temperatures and those little lakes and creeks had loads of redfish in them.
Uber skinny water redfish on 5wt couldn’t resist the chartreuse shrimp fly!
We didn’t find a single fish in water deeper than 12 inches. Matt did pretty work with his 5wt Scott rod and landed 9 redfish before 3pm! We got some very aggressive eats from these fish and the big ones we chased kept the excitement levels on top of the roof!
Forget about the weather and leave that up to your guide and it is sure he will put you on the fish!
“It has been crazy!” to say it in as few words as possible. Somehow I thought being a sleep deprived fly fisherman all these years would make being a sleep deprived parent easier but let me tell you folks… There is no comparison. October was by far the busiest month of the year. Thank you to all my clients who fished with me during a crazy month and through some wild weather patterns!
Cat and mouse was played with the weather (and fish) all season, some of us got out there on some fantastic days and others persevered through cloudy days. A few others have had to reschedule.
The fish are still very prevalent and I am seeing schools of fish again mostly black drum and redfish mix throughout the day. The most consistent and persistent casters on cloudy days are seeing good action with speckled trout.
The redfish have been upper slot fish and I am seeing at least one over slot red per day. There are plenty of ham sized black drum around as well. It is beginning to look like the weather trend is 4-5 days between cold fronts with the day or two after the front subsiding being the best weather days… the day or two before the next front are trending to be cloudy but we’ll see if this farmer’s forecast pans out!
I’ve got a few days in November available, particularly before and after the holiday. Give me a call to take your chance to roll the dice!
Lastly, here are some of the photos that actually developed into halfway decent shots
Redfish Head First
Hooked up again!
I sight cast to this 40-inch heifer from the rock with a crab fly! Thanks to Bob for leadering the fish and shooting this photo!
Tom & Jerry
Rich Waldner’s Spoon fly tricked this 29-incher with Outdoor Journalist Phil Shook on the long rod and with the fly of choice!
David worked tirelessly on some of the toughest fish I have encountered this year!
Port Aransas has a good bull redfish run but most notably in the deep channels, inlets and passes. Nonetheless, they do come up onto the flats at certain times (like NOW)! Sight casting opportunities have really kicked up lately thanks to a lack of clouds and the winds are more favorable in the morning making it possible to hunt for these bigger redfish.
Redfish HOG
If you want to get on board and take your shots a these big redfish give me a call! I’ve got a feeling August is going to be great!
Peek-a-boo Black Drum
September has some dates open also and October is mostly booked but I do still have a few dates open at that time too. Remember if you come down, plan your lodging far in advance as vacancy in town can be difficult.
Super stealth is key and having a boat that can take you way way back in the back is a must! It takes a bit of work polling into places like this but it is worth every ounce of the energy and time it takes to get in and out. Beulah’s new Opal Fly Rod (newest saltwater line up) delivers the fly well to these fish even in tight quarters. And if you need to take a long shot at a trailer or put some extra pressure on a bruiser, this rod has the backbone and finesse to get the job done. With a bit of care one can even manage to take multiple shots at fish and with proper presentation these fish are eating! Along with those hefty redfish in the super skinny water are also good numbers of schooled up black drum. They aren’t puppies and put up a good fight too.
Give me a call and lets go fishing! Capt Kenjo 361-500-2552
Big fish like to run these gauntlets right after the hookup
Things have been shakin and bakin ’round the Jones’ house lately and especially with the addition of our newborn son, Thomas. He is already growing so fast this little man will be double-haulin a fly soon enough. Sarah and I could not be more excited to have him in our lives! With all that has been going on around the domicile, I haven’t gotten out on the water much at all except for a short hour here and there and in between diaper changes and all the jazz that comes with that! Just like now, putting this blog together at 11:52pm… Thankfully the boy went to sleep!
‘Ole Clouser getting it done on a 22inch sea trout
Two day ago when I arrived at a favorite Port Aransas spot that usually produces a nice table fish (such as grouper, trout or flounder), the water looked great but when I checked off in the distance I couldn’t help but notice a large tanker ship bearing down on the inlet getting ready to head into Corpus Christi Bay to do its dirty deeds. I thought to myself, well, there goes the fishing, and sure enough, as the ship passed the water muddied up nicely against the rocks. But I persisted, and methodically worked the fly from up current letting it swing to and fro… Finally I got the bite I had hoped for, and without even knowing what kind of fish had hit the fly, a large smile crossed my face as if I hadn’t caught any fish in a long time. Then something large appeared under my fish as it came to the surface, instantly thinking to myself, SHARK! But then, a 30-lb jack crevalle came busting out of the water hot on the tail of my trout, and I had to take evasive maneuvers to keep the fish from eating my catch! Definitely a fun experience to observe, but I told Mr. Jack “Not this time!” and quickly plucked my catch from its reach.
There are some dates open in September for sight-casting to redfish on the flats and I expect to see some big bull reds there too. I also have a few days available in October for Prime-time tarpon fishing. Give me a call directly asap to get on the books and make sure to leave a message if I don’t answer! The phone stays on vibrate most of the day to keep from waking the family!
Keeping the hooks sharp,
Captain Ken Jones
361-500-2552
Port Aransas, TX
USCG Licensed
Certified Tourism Ambassador
Certified Wildlife Guide
“Boy am I going to miss that fly!” I thought to myself seconds after that big boy jack crevalle finally found the rock that would part the 20-lb leader. This came after a 10 minute dog fight where the brute nailed the red/white fly on the swing and instantly headed for the bottom of the channel. Into the backing, but only barely. I cant imagine who doesn’t love the stopping power of a Hatch Reel.
Fish pumping hard against the Beulah Bluewater 11wt rod, I cleared fly line and then suddenly watched the splice between fly line and backing smoothly exit the rod guides but the fish stopped short by the infamous 9+ Pulse Reel. Its no wonder though, all 9 of it’s bad-ass discs were working perfectly in unison and applied maximum force against the beast.
Back and forth, from one side of the jetty to another, down deep. I wasn’t worried about the fish finding that one rock that sticks out further than all the others until I saw my leader and some flashy white coffee table sized fish below it. Hues of green, blue and silver radiated up from 6 feet below the water’s glistening surface, and then, just as I felt the line begin to scrape against that invisible rock, the drag was backed off and very little pressure was applied to the rod in an attempt to let Max Jack swim out but the fish was straight down, tail still thumping. Trying different angles, and reaching out over the water failed to free the line from it’s snare, suddenly I felt a little pop just as the line went slack. Raising my rod tip I found a keenly abraded tag end to the leader, roughed up but severed in two.
Goodbye Mr. Crevalle. I shall call you Max Jack from now on.
As the excitement subsided, I realized that fly worked like magic, but I had just lost my only one in that pattern. So, I headed to the truck and drove home to fashion two more while the tying recipe was still fresh in my mind.
Within an hour, a turkey sandwich fell victim along with a few handfuls of Fritos corn chips, I was back on the rocks with two new freshly tied red/white flies in my shirt pocket.
As I walked along the stony path, the sea conditions were not as favorable as I had hoped for but as I continued, I decided that the exercise was worth the walk even if I didn’t make a cast. Then sure enough, I noticed cleaner water on one side of the jetty than the other. Taking plenty of time to study the wave patterns, the easterly swell proved that while the waves sets looked small, the sea retained its powerful rhythms. So, I found a familiar perch, and stripped out a lot of line onto the rock, then fed it back into my stripping basket to prepare for the first cast.
One cast… a little short based on my idea of the where is the strike zone.
Strip off a bit more line… recast for #2… Agh, but the wind caught the line as it descended on the water and put a big bend in the belly.
Recast again, looks good, and fly is in the zone… letting the line and fly sink a bit I worked the fly within a depth where the fly remained barely visible… Waves continue crushing the line of rocks as I setup for cast #3…
Good distance made here, the line zipped out of the casting basket during a brief lull in the wind and laid out nicely in front of me. Counting to 5 (one 1 thousand, two 1 thousand, three 1 thousand ect…) I began the retrieve…
Extreme Angles with a King on a Leash
Then it struck like lightning! 50 feet of line in the water, and 30 feet of line in the stripping basket, I pulled tight to set the hook with Airflo’s low stretch Tropical Intermediate line and on the second strip-set the fish’s adrenaline demanded even more line clearing all slack in the basket in half a heartbeat. I cheered for my fluorocarbon leader, as if encouraging the 30-lb tippet to hold fast, I checked the drag and found it nice and tight yet smooth as butter on Texas Toast.
She headed for the end, where I knew my odds of even seeing the fish were minus five to one, I jumped from my perch to the next, gaining as much line as possible and recovering the 30 feet of backing as well as some fly line that it had taken before the fly reel forced the fish to turn on its initial run. It turned sharply, and ran to the right, parallel to the rocks but still 40 feet out of sight. Jumping between perches, constantly changing angles and pulling low and hard to the sides, the fish finally succumbed to the relentless pressure that this fly gear was meant to serve to its opponents.
Surf’s Up for King Mack!
And then, as if time was standing still, the waves sets calmed and aligned with my attempts to land the fish in a safety zone. One the second wave, I coerced the fish up onto a kind rock relatively safe from escape. This fish weighed in on certified scales at 21.8lbs and measured 50″ total length. 30-lb leader was used with 50-lb bite tippet.
GUITAR SOLO!!!!
Reflect on a few things here with me if you will…
Your equipment must be in perfect working condition. Inspecting your setup frequently helps identify flaws in the system. Your rod should match the quarry you seek. Your reel must have super smooth drags and your leaders tied with properly formed knots.
Your level of preparedness dictates your success. And… the best way to gain confidence in a fly pattern is to fish the hell out of it.
IT IS ON FOLKS! Sharpen your skills as well as your hooks. Practice makes perfect. That’s why I fish in even the terrible conditions. Even if I don’t catch something I will have at least practiced the art of fly fishing. And that my friends, is what makes it all worthwhile. Train yourself in tough conditions, and you’ll be more than ready in excellent conditions. Every athlete knows this routine all too well.
Custom jetty trips can be arranged and dates in June on the flats for redfish are filling fast.
-Kenjo (361) 500-2552
Maximum tension and a quick hook-set kept this mouthful of razors from slicing the 50-lb bite tippet.
While the South winds are very welcome this time of year and are a promising sign of warmer weather, they were a tab-bit strong today and required some interesting adaptation to techniques in order to find the fish that would eat willingly. But, in the right place and at the right time, the redfish ate eagerly.
Dead Drifting Crab Flies Deadly on Redfish
Working an area thoroughly and methodically, since the choppy water had visibility low, the incoming tide was creating a nice flow of current and the small size 4 crab fly produced all the strikes today when cast quartering up current. Allowing the crab fly to bounce along the bottom in the current was the ticket, proving that even on the toughest of days when conditions seemed to be unfavorable, the right presentation, approach and working with the wind can still produce great results.
We chased hundreds of black drum and redfish today while the weather conditions shifted from a hard North blow at 15kts to less than 5kts in the afternoon with flat seas. The tides also turned’em on good for us and proved good numbers of fish are here! A few charter dates are open over the next 5 days and with the weather forecast looking good, now is a good time to hop on board and take the countless shots at all these black drum and redfish that we are getting. Call me direct ASAP while the fishing is hot and before another Norther shuts it down! Hundreds of fish were spotted in small to medium sized schools and they just kept on coming. Tim did a great job sticking it out with artificial lures and his determination brought him the best fish of the day, a fat 32.5-inch redfish safely released after this quick photo op with the full moon in the background!
Tim pauses to admire this fine 32.5 inch redfish before releasing it to swim again!
And, now that the weather has changed for the better, the fish will get back into their normal feeding routine and many more fish are expected to come to hand with both fly rods and spinning gear over the next few days!
First one to hand and ate well even before the sun came out to warm us.
While the winter cold fronts blow through in between these fronts the fishing can be very good in Port Aransas.
Yesterday saw temps in the low 40’s but the sun came out around noon, the winds calmed just enough, and with temps reaching 65F we took the opportunity to go hunt some redfish. We found several large schools of fish and the redfish were eating both flies and soft plastics with reckless abandon. Early tide changes helped keep the action going through most of the day.
Pulled this nice redfish from a school of 100+ fish!
Many quality redfish came to the boat today with most of them 20-28 inches.
The next few days are open for charters if anyone wants to take advantage of the hot fishing and moderate winds. Give me a call asap to get on board!
Sitting here this evening I am reminiscent of all the fishing adventures throughout the seasons and know that none of it would have been possible without each of you. In the last 20 years of using the fly rod, I am thankful for the many comrades and mentors who have fished with me. I’ve learned many great things from all of you over the years and look forward to making more fishy memories and continuing to learn much more!
2013 Thanksgiving Sheepshead on fly
The Fall season seems to have skipped us almost entirely, and after this last five day cold front it seems we are jumping head first into winter this year. There are still plenty of redfish to be caught. Flounder are making a showing and the trout can be found. And wouldn’t you know it? The sheepshead are beginning to return to the flats. These sticklers present an even greater challenge with the long rod. Surprisingly, this fine fish ate in muddy water with the Cottontail Crab dragged at an inching slow pace.
Don’t pack the gear away yet though! There are plenty more bluebird days out there to stalk redfish, and they will be tailing again soon now that the last norther has blown alot of the flood tides out of the bay. This will certainly help fish get into a feeding pattern. Fly fishing for redfish, trout, flounder and sheepshead really picks up this time of year and a careful watch on the weather will keep you poised to strike on short notice! Look for me on Facebook where I will be posting last minute openings to fish prime times!
