Tag Archives: drum

Fall Fishing South Texas Saltwater

double rainbow, port aransas, texas, gulf, coast, saltwater, fly fishing

Port Aransas Double Rainbow over Harbor Island

While it has been awhile since I have posted any reports or stories, I can assure you I have been busy chasing the local tail. While on the water very little attention has been given to the camera, and more time has been spent with rods in hand and tighter lines. As with any fishing experience, there have been some great days for catching, and some great days for fishing. That being said, it goes without saying that there is no such thing as a bad day of fishing!

A perfect example of what some might argue as a bad day of fishing versus an epic night of fishing is when you get spooled 4 times in one night of hunting tarpon.

tarpon, silver king, fly fishing, spin fishing, full moon, jetty

This little silver king graced us with its presence and allowed us this quick opportunity for a photo.

Somehow though I still felt the need to apologize to my crew for finding tarpon that were too big to catch with the equipment we had to use. Never in my life did I anticipate apologizing for this reason, especially because of the epicness of the tarpon hunt. But, because of the beating we all took during that trip, it was worth cracking my apology as the joke of the year. Hell, before the trip even started when picking up the crew from the airport I felt my own nervousness showing through, something inside me knew that it was going to be the sickest fishing trip that any of the 8 of us had ever experienced in a total of 120 years of combined fishing experience.

phil shook, lydia ann lighthouse, red fish, texas, saltwater, fly fishing

A scrappy young of year redfish comes to hand near the Lydia Ann Lighthouse with author Phil Shook.

Redfish and trout are still in the bay and reports of big black drum are starting to trickle in steadily from local sources.

With the cool Norther that we are getting right now as I write this article, the fish should respond well to the dramatic change in weather patterns are start putting on the feed bag in order to fatten up for the impending winter season.

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Lest we not forget, seagrasses are protected. This sign is posted at the Southwest entrance to Brown and Root Flats

Next weeks weather patterns are looking excellent, with a little bit of rain later on in the week (fish are already wet and don’t care if it rains). We should have calm seas with moderate winds early in the week and should make stalking redfish and trout pretty exciting.

A sad thing I have noticed alot of people doing recently is that they are running their motors across the flats. For those of you with your own shallow running boats, take the time to respect the law, and more importantly, the environment from which we take so much pleasure.

Stop your outboard motors at the edge of the flats and either get out and push, or use a push pole or trolling motor to get your boats onto and off of the flats. With a little research of the maps and some forethought, you will find short routes on and off the flats for quick trip, or longer routes if you have more time. Use the wind to your advantage to help push your skiff onto the flat, and if you plan your route correctly, the wind and tides will help you move your boat off of the flat just as easily so that you do not exhaust yourself.

Please be mindful of all the plants and animals on which we tread. I am certain that if a redfish could, it would be waving the “Dont tread on me” flag as well.

If you are interested in booking a fly or spin charter for redfish, trout, drum or flounder, I have This Sunday November 10th available and Wednesday the 13th of November. Give me a call or email to get in on the action.

Keeping the hooks sharp,
Capt Ken Jones ([email protected])
361-500-2552 – Port Aransas, Texas – Certified Wildlife Guide

The calm before the storm

Waking up this morning, Austin of Salt396 and I start to chat and scratch our heads wondering what to do today. We’ve got 4 hours before punishing winds start gusting from the north… Its now or never… Well, at least for the next day or two until this short Norther passes through. OK, back on track, the clock is ticking. Tick, tock, tick, tock… The boat is loaded with safety gear in a heartbeat. Now, what fly rods to bring? Well, we’ve only got 4 hours, so we’ll keep the arsenal down to 2 rods. Hooked up boat and trailer to the truck and within 8 minutes we are fueled up and the boat is dockside while the truck and trailer are being parked.

Within another 5 minutes, we are outside of Port Aransas Harbor and up on plane heading towards an infamous spot where jack crevalle are known to frequent. On the second drift the fish appear crushing large baitfish on the surface at speeds upwards of what seems to be a racing 10kts spraying baitfish in all directions.

Hmmm, no strikes from these fish! Suddenly, we back out of the drift into safer waters where a fly change can be made with less stress, circle back and start another drift through the area. There! Cast! Cast! Cast! Oh damn! Why didn’t they eat?

saltwater fly fishing, jacks, texas, coastal bend

There! 9 O’Clock! Cast! Cast! Cast!

We switch to a topwater popper, make another drift and again, the jack crevalle don’t seem interested in our offerings. We switch flies again, to a prototype which is yet to be named and has evolved several times in the last week, the tail secret of this fly is what has me confident that our next drift will finally produce the jack fish we have been seeking. With the off-color water and sea grasses stirred up, I mention that we are going to start the drift a little further up-current in hopes to intercept a cruising jack, one that isn’t in an ambush mode and more likely to feed at anything that passes nearby. Sure enough, with a well placed cast, the line goes tight as if the fly were hung on a rock that moves. I throw the boat in reverse to help clear the line from the deck and to prevent the current from pushing us into the rocks, we get tight on the reel with the fish while jack runs circles deep below the skiff. Keeping the rod tip in the water, never bringing the butt section above the horizontal plane, intense pressure is put on the fish.

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That’s a dandy!

Within a few more minutes, the dandy jack surfaces and is boated quickly for a photo shoot and then safe release. It is a Dandy Fish! INDEED.

With only 1.5 hours remaining before the horrific & frigid North winds blow upwards of 30mph, we race off to nearby flats, slide into polling position and start scanning the water’s edge for signs of redfish. Within a few minutes, a tail is spotted and Kenjo Fly slips into casting position. One. Two. Three, the ginger-pop flies into a hole and instantly gets a strong follow.

redfish, red drum, fly fishing, texas, port aransas

And the Release!

Cast again I say, there is another fish in there, and once again, the fly gets attention from an even heftier fish and slurps the ginger-pop down. A short tug-o-war ensues, and a colorful redfish is slid back into its watery home, just in time to seek shelter before the looming storm loosens its fury on the air stricken world.

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Capt Ken at the helm

Turning tail, we jump the skiff up on top and under full power we haul ass off the flat sliding back into the channel, then into the safe harbor of Port Aransas Marina. Safe and sound and only a little wet from the wild ride in, we load up the boat and head to the house to dry off and go get the meal we had waited for all morning. Its chow time for the humans and hard earned nonetheless!