Tag Archives: fly fishing

Fly Fishing Texas Forever

I will be Fly Fishing Texas Forever… It is January and water temps are 50F. Chums has commissioned us to endure filming during a frigid Texas Winter. The water is muddy but that is just from how many redfish are stirring it up. The calm morning is welcome with full sun but strong wind gusts kick up before noon. Tides are so low that TxDOT wouldn’t let us on the ferry with the skiff… This is what fly fishing the Texas coast in Winter can deliver. This is why. We fished in 3 locations and filmed in 4 locations over 2 very long days. Was it worth all the numb hands, noses and toes? Was it worth the physical pain and psychological angst to bring this all together? You bet your ass it was!

The camaraderie of guiding great sportsmen and anglers is what makes it all priceless to me. That is how and why this film was named “Texas Forever“. Thank you Chums for seeing my passion and choosing me to share it through your products which are also just as passionate.

fly fishing, texas, forever, winter, foot warmers, redfish, guide, charters, trip, port, aransas, texas, red drum, beavertail, duck camp, lone star, beer — One way to keep your bare feet warm in a Texas winter.

Its not about the money. God knows fly fishing guides don’t make enough of that for a vacation. Do what you love. Period. Nothing else matters. We live in our own version of paradise already, working our asses off to help you reach your fly fishing goals. Our true reward is the smile on your faces, the aura of relaxation as you finally catch your first sight-cast redfish. Helping you achieve your personal best, or your first, “on the fly”. That is where a fly fishing guides sense of accomplishment stems from. Its not about getting rich. It is about helping people see the true beauty and art of nature through the many fly fishing challenges of the saltwater environment. Fly Fishing Texas Forever is for me and for you too if you want it bad enough. Creating success in the face of constant adversity.

duck camp, fly fishing, film, tour, beavertail, port aransas, guide, charters, trip, winter, production, — Texas Redfish make muddy waters

There are many hardships an angler must endure in fly fishing the Texas Coast. Wind is probably the most prevalent. That will require skill and determination. Extreme temps of the water and air are also a big swing between winter and summer patterns. You would be surprised though how much you can observe and how many fish you can see even under poor visibility and cloudy conditions. You just have to know how to observe and not just look.

Additionally, any fly fishing angler on the Texas Coast worth his weight in salt has learned how to overcome the difficult casts required when it is windy, and the super stealthy casts demanded by intelligent redfish when it is dead calm. Overcast skies present another sight challenge. Fishing through all of these ever changing conditions will certainly make you become a better angler and fly fisherman. Many have said after sight casting the Texas Coast on the fly, that if you can do it here successfully, you can fly fish just about anywhere.

Fly Fishing Texas Redfish

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Redfish colors are just golden! — October Gold with 7 spots (2 on the other side)

Fly fishing Texas Redfish is spectacular during the Fall Run in Port Aransas. You can imagine witnessing a school of redfish hump it down the shoreline whopping mullet. Redfish will be schooling throwing wakes and tailing as the falling tides move crabs shrimp and mullet out of the grass. As they do, redfish explode viscously on mullet and shrimp. Because of this classic behavior, this is a perfect time to utilize top-water flies.

My favorite months for sight fishing redfish on the fly is in September October November and even December. As the water cools it thins out the seagrass from its thick summer haircut and signals the bait to begin leaving the marsh areas because winter is coming. Click the link to read more about Fall Fly Fishing Trips.

black, drum, fly, fishing, port, aransas, texas, coast, corpus, christi, beavertail, skiff, flies, skinny, water, saltwater, guide, charter, trip, hatch, outdoors, covid, open, redfish, red, trout, speck, speckled, seatrout, tx, PA, surf, marsh, wade, spot, stalk, sight, cast, school, crab, shrimp, mullet, topwater, popper, winston, airflo, lines, reel, crack, pattern, bull, fiberglass, moonlit, hurricane, laura, hanna, surge, storm, jack, crevalle, tailing, rockport, baffin, laguna, madre, conner, poc — Wade Fishing the Longest Mile

As a result of the falling tides the next few months is the best time for fly fishing Texas Redfish. Give me a call to inquire about wade fishing trips on the fly. Most of the time only a good comfortable set of flats boots are needed to protect your feet. I use the Simms Zipit Flats Booties in one size bigger and replace the insoles with some that have great arch support for additional comfort. Waders are not needed most of the time.

We recommend wade fishing in strong winds. The Fall tides provide excellent sight-fishing with a fly guide. Excellent numbers of redfish will come out of the woodwork. You do not want to miss your chance to experience the classic Fall Run along the Texas Gulf Coast

You want to be in Port Aransas during the Fall Run to catch your next personal best sight casted Texas red drum on the fly. Call Captain Kenjo direct ASAP 361-500-2552 or BOOK NOW online!

Back to Redfish School

Now is a great time to book your sight casting on the fly trip for September, October and November 2020 as dates are filling up fast! Click the BOOK NOW button below to see calendar availability… Sept 9, 10, 11 are open for immediate booking!

Look here for additional Prime dates

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The Texas Summer has been hot that is for sure. Water temperatures were a bit above average this year. But lately the weather has helped it begin to drop. The fishing has been hot as well! The black drum and redfish have been plentiful and in schools, tailing most times and eating flies for just about everyone! The action in September should continue to increase, with larger than average fish showing up soon!

When Mark and his son Joe got on a butt-load of hefty black drum, they took advantage of the pirate’s bounty on their half-day trip with their new fly rods. Needless to say, that gear is now well-christened, salty, and feeling lucky. Shouldn’t we all feel lucky to have and keep such a grand and diverse fishery in our backyards!?!?!? Its worthwhile to slow down. Try turning off the engine for more than 30 minutes. Let the fish be the ones to break your silence.

Gail got to play with her first ever Texas Redfish on the fly and was in wonder at the magnificence of such an amazing aquatic creature. Even with partly cloudy skies and hurricane tides the fish gave them a good show too!

Corbin’s casting skills paid off on a multi-day trip. His relentlessness helped him catch multiple species of fish during a tough few days. Everything seemed to disappear and transition out of the shallows when he arrived but it didnt stop us from having a great time. He’s one hell of a skiff-mate and rode the horse like nobody’s business! Bombing casts to the end of his fly line helped alot. We had also gotten to sight cast to some spectacularly sized trout. Trophies by anyone’s standard. Others got good looks but that lucky angler has yet to break the 25 inch mark. Hooking a big sighted trout is the hardest part. Could this be you? Can you keep your cool when that big ‘ole gator trout appears out of nowhere? Lets give it a try and see what happens!

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Get on board this Texas Skiff and wander about the middle coast to take your shots in a target-rich environment for Redfish, Black drum and Speckled Trout. You never know if and when we will get those perfect seas when we can sneak out front of the jetties and fish the surf zone for tarpon, jacks, bonita or more!!!

Hannah Storm Effect

Hurricane Hanna Port Aransas Corpus Rockport Fly Fishing texas coast gulf flood wind speed redfish drum black sea trout madre laguna — Radar Image

Hurricane Hannah (Cat 1) is making its way onshore now. From August 24 2017 to today’s date, July 25 2020, its been 3 years and 1 day between Hurricane Harvey and now this storm, Hurricane Hanna. Looking at it on a map overlay is always impressive. Its breadth is classic for Gulf Storms, broad and widespread. Its good to finally get some rain down this way too!

Post Hurricane Harvey Redfish Shrimp Fly Port Aransas Corpus Rockport Fly Fishing texas coast gulf flood wind speed redfish drum black sea trout madre laguna — Post Harvey Red Drum

In Port Aransas so far, in my observations using the Aransas Tower (weather station), gusts up to 45kts have been measured and water levels are almost at 4ft over sea sevel… Our coastal area ecologically will benefit from a natural event like this. It will in effect, give our bay and coastlines a nice refresh and possibly help restore some seagrass beds in the lower portions of the coast. Nonetheless, for all our area, once the weather stabilizes again for a few days or up to a week or two, the fishing should be outstanding like after Hurricane Harvey was. It did take some time then but it wasn’t all that long and the fish were chewing on everything!

fiddler crabs, flies, slatwater, texas, port, aransas, corpus, christi, rockport, laguna madre, real, fly fishing, — In Living Color – Fiddler crabs display pastel colors

The was some insanely great fly fishing done after Harvey. Once they finally turned on it was non-stop action. The redfish were absolutely gluttonous after the weather finally settled and ate voraciously on every cast for quite a while! These fish showed obvious signs of gorging themselves. Their bellies were so full! Even the scales on their bellies showed obvious sign of stretching! I can hardly wait to get back on the water, but now is the time to prep for the next few weeks/months of heavy fishing!

Ya’ll get on the books now for August and pick some more dates in September October and November too while your at it! Jacks and Tarpon are still on the list, we just need very special conditions to chase them. If we cant hunt them where they live because its too rough, we will default to the bay where we can sight-fish redfish black drum and speckled trout. The next few months should prove to be a whole lot of excellent sight fishing to be done in the coming months! Call Capt Kenjo direct at 361-500-2552 or just hit the Book Now button in the top right corner of the page!

Early Season Redfish on the Texas Coast

red, drum, fly, fishing, texas, coast, gulf, mexico, dark, stormy, guide, trips, charters, beavertail, skiff, rl winston, rods, airflo, simms, hatch, outdoors, conservation, protect, port, aransas, pa, boron, plus, smith, optics, — Tailing Redfish in February

Winter hardly slows down these redfish and now that duck season is over and February is upon us the water temps are rising steadily again. There is great potential this time of year to see loads of redfish, drum and even some BIG trout in the shallows. They could be daisy-chaining along main shorelines or in lard wide schools whoppin’ and poppin’! Usually a day or two after a cold front the water and fish are back in action and even on cloudy days many redfish can be caught on the fly using sight casting and stalking techniques on foot as well as from the skiff.

simms, zipit, flats, booties, fly, fishing, beavertail, skiff, texas, gulf, coast, mexico, port, aransas, hatch, outdoors, airflo, lines, rl, winston, rod — Ready to Wet Wade the Texas Coast

red, drum, fly, fishing, saltwater, flats, texas, gulf, coast, mexico, guide, charters, skiff, boat, hatch, outdoors, airflo, tropical punch, winston, rod, company, lines, alpha, plus, r.l., beavertail, yamaha, f70, winston, fly, fishing, trips — 7 spot redfish

The forthcoming weeks of February (including March) are going to see some of the best fly fishing action the coast can offer. Tailing and cruising redfish can be expected and there are good chances to see redfish schools that rival the summer groups. We wet wade often times this time of year in 65-75F water temps to deal with a little bit of wind and or grey skies. This lets us get so very close to the fish that you cant miss them feeding right at your feet! Call Capt Kenjo direct @ 361-500-2552 or simply Book Online at your leisure! It is sure we will have a good time, you will learn many new things and become a better fly angler overall, and if you are nice to the fish, many of them will come out to play! We are still seeing lots of Whooping Cranes and Sandhill Cranes for those who love all types of wildlife.

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whooping, cranes, fly, fishing, port, aransas, st, josephs, beavertail, texas, gulf, coast, mexico, island, skiff, hatch, outdoors, airflo, lines, smith, optics, rl, winston, — A pair of Whooping Cranes feed along the shores of the barrier islands along the great Texas Coast.

Drain Games – The Texas Fall Redfish Run

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STAR DATE: October 31, 2019 PLANET: Earth COORDINATES: 27.8339° N, 97.0611° W

FIELD NOTES: The redfish are displaying the following characteristics and behaviors; Crawling, mudding, tailing, schooling, popping, whopping, backing, crushing, pouncing, hounding. Its GO Time in Port Aransas! Lock and Load! Load and Go! (pics below)

Some of the most heart pounding sight-casting to red drum on the fly will be happening over the course of the next few weeks/month! The apex of the fall season is hitting us Now in full swing and underway making way! Sure as frozen fire, the tidal drain-game begins again as Texas redfish, trout, flounder and black drum turn face first into the winds and outpouring of bay water moving “en masse” to feed shallower and shallower. As the migration of shrimp, crabs and baitfish flush out of the estuaries the fish are there and feeding heavily in preparation for the onset of winter. As the fourth significant cold front of the year hits the Coastal Bend right now, strong windy conditions will prevail for the next 24 hours as the dry cool air sweeps across the countryside colliding with the warm moist air of the coastal areas along the Gulf of Mexico the the the winds become more tame and best for fishing!

The redfish have already shown up in very strong numbers up to 30 inches after the previous cold front and it is likely that the next few weeks will see some of the best Texas sight casting to have been done all year. Game on! These next 2-3 weeks may just become noted as “Peak Weeks” for the Fall Run. Time will tell. Needless to say the fly fishing is excellent NOW. Get in touch with your local preferred guide to coordinate ASAP!

My immediate forthcoming availability is THIS WEEKEND starting Sunday as well as Monday Tuesday and Thursday (Nov 3-5 & 7th)…

Call Captain Ken today (while I am prepping for the next 2 weeks of hardcore redfishing) or plan your next trip online at your convenience! Call 361-500-2552

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Summer Summaries

fly, fishing, jack, crevelle, hatch, outdoors, nature, eco, tour, airflo, beavertail, skiffs, flyfishing, guide, charters, redfish, bay, texas, coast, gulf — Double Jacks on the fly on the Texas Coast

redfish, fly, fishing, guide, charter, beavertail, simms, hatch, outdoors, airflo, skiffs, flats, saltwater, winston, rods, fly, line, company, sage, flies, red, drum, black drum, trout, speckled, sea, port, aransas, texas, corpus, christi, marsh, spartina, grass, protected, whooping cranes, sandhill, birds, tour, eco, laguna, madre, poc, conner, airflo, tropical, punch, sage, rod, abel, reel, drum, guide, charters, trout, sea, speck, speckled, red, black, trip, things to do, adventure, multi-day, tail, tailing, tailers, pods, school, sage, fly, rod, beavertail, skiff, flats, saltwater, fishing, tailwaters — Matt enjoying some tailing redfish pods

The Summer fly fishing program on the Texas Coast has been reliable to say the least. Early summer saw many pods of tailing redfish early morning with many shots at pods of jack crevalle averaging 30lbs.

Once the water in the bay got too warm the bait flushed and the jacks moved with them to the deeper cooler channels.

Quite a few fish came to hand this season and once we were in full swing we were finding them every day. Pods of redfish were targeted and single cruising fish were also welcomed targets.

Some cool fish also moved into the neighborhood, and some had the pleasure to observe a 4ft Bullshark in the bay as well as some 3-5 foot Alligator gar. Even saw another 4 foot alligator gar yesterday.

Some even got to take shots at some very large redfish but for some people, the pressure is insurmountable in those moments and things dont always go as imagined or planned and some lucky others also caught some fine specimens. This is how experience is gained and this is how it is earned as an angler.

It is how, eventually, you become able to “in the heat of the moment” to be still, move slowly and calmly make a deliberately well-presented cast to the fish of your dreams.

For others, until you have dropped your pants on accident enough times, Murphy seems to be there, even when your guide can remain calm. Jimi Hendrix didnt write “Are you educated”, he wrote, “Are you Experienced”.

Many thanks to all who fished with me this summer! You all make experiencing my dreams a reality. Stay ready though, the fall run is right around the corner and should be even better than last year!

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Summer Jacks Explode

Port Aransas Texas – The fly fishing cauldron of Texas Coast Summer is boiling hot now and the Jack Crevelle are dishing out whoop-ass left and right! We are fishing the witching hours (non daylight) with good success on trout and ladyfish then at sunrise we are stalking tailing redfish pods on the flat and ending the morning chasing jack crevelle in the bay as are our primary targets.

By around 0900 when the rest of the crowds arrive to sweat it out on the flats, we are already finished working the tailing redfish pods and are pulling off into deep water to cool off and target wolf packs of marauding Jack Crevelle. Come test your skills and see if you have what it takes to battle these mighty fighters on the fly!

Call Capt Kenjo ASAP to book your July trips! Multiple days are highly recommended for all the fun you will be having! Don’t miss out!

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Texas Redfish Tails

The redfish have been feeding well and in tight pods, despite most average skies and winds. Next weeks forecast looks fabulous and I have open Tuesday May 14th and Saturday May 18th if anyone is interested in stalking some more redfish out of Port Aransas Texas! Wade and Boat trips available! FYI there are only a few dates for jack crevelle and redfish still available in June and July!

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Hefty Redfish
Dallas does not disappoint!
Tailing Spring Redfish Pods
Dude CRUSHED it!

The studious and patient angler with a keen eye can pull fish under many different conditions and all these folks from the last 2 weeks of charters have done very well! We don’t always need sunshine, we don’t always need moderate winds, we don’t always need “the perfect day” because EVERY DAY spent fishing is “the perfect day”! There are tricks of the trade for working under clouds, rainy skies or windy afternoon in your face conditions… There are secrets for seeing fish when the glare is killing everyone else. And it is most fun to see how the sight of a tailing redfish pods affects our Anglers of the Day! For some, they can pick it, stick it and release it without hardly LOL’ing. For others though it makes their knees shake. A select group of anglers just freeze in amazement and some tremble, fumble and stumble with excitement of what their eyes are seeing! With experience though, everyone learns to remain calm and take it all easy, make a slow smooth deliberate cast when the time is right and the red fish respond accordingly. Its what keeps us fishing time over time. Going back again the next day to see what may have changed, and sticking it out through the thick and the thin. A day of dedication and persistence can make even the smallest fish feel big and that’s why we love fly fishing!

Fly Fishing Texas Winters

redfish, marsh, fly fishing, red, drum, crab, texas, coast, guide, charters, fly, fishing, port aransas, catch & release, hatch, outdoors, beavertail, corpus, christi, skiff, life, aransas, pass, rockport, airflo, lines,

Personal Best Redfish for Mrs. Amy!

As fall leads us into winter, the redfish along the Texas Middle Coast have responded rather well. Dates in early December are still open and there are plenty more blue bird days to come! Book NOW! Call Capt Kenjo @ 361-500-2552 or email: [email protected]

Now also accepting bookings for early 2019 (January/February/March) so if you have some bearings on your plans get on the horn and give me a shout! There are loads of fish in the mud through the winter and they tend to run on the larger than average size scale.

Bruce is 6’5″ tall… Makes this 29.25 inch redfish look small… No Justice!

If you live within reasonable striking distance, this is your time of year to just watch for weather windows and be ready to Strike! The days with bluebird skies tend to string together and usually by the second day of clear skies the fish are going nuts eating everything in sight! Those days will book up quick so I added a 10-day forecast link at the bottom of this page and one the homepage.

wadefishing, redfish, marsh, fly fishing, red, drum, crab, texas, coast, guide, charters, fly, fishing, port aransas, catch & release, hatch, outdoors, beavertail, corpus, christi, aransas, pass, rockport, airflo, lines,

Had to take a walk into that back-pond to retrieve this redfish for Ms. Willa

There have been many days of excellent numbers of redfish to work with and a few days where we had to look harder.

Blind Casted 25inch Red Drum

But we pretty much always find the fish even in overcast conditions! One day in particular we were covered up with big trout and we could see them good, if you know what you were looking for…

27.25 inches and still growing!

We had to work through shit-tons of kinks, then, just let it fly and John got a decent speck to hand before the bite was all over.

Other days we caught them over flooded cow paddies and ambushed them in the cattle trails. The falling tides from early fall drained rather quickly and during that time the fish were everywhere.

Happy Fish

Then we found them working in the back mud lakes around loads of shell. You have to time the tides right and know your water pockets very thoroughly or you didnt see any fish.

Bounty of Colors

Other days we caught alot of pumpkins, some floating and others cruising. On those early fall calm days the fish might have seemed spooky but really they just wanted super light-weight shrimp flies and dry fly casts and presentations. If you loose your zen while casting it was sure the fish was gone. Surprisingly a lot of fish settled down only a few feet away and let you get another chance at fooling them

Bruce is 6’5″ tall… Makes this 29.25 inch redfish look small… No Justice!

There are always moments when fishing from a skiff that fish pop-up in close ranges and sometimes even underneath your feet or opn the right side of the boat but with proper technique going from a locked and loaded position, many folks have been able

Best SLOW-MO eat from a redfish ever!

to catch those redfish only 5 ft away with a 9ft rod and 9ft leader! And I gotta say, I truly love the quick draw redfish bites! Those moments are excellent trainers for keeping your shit together!

On the days with the coldest water temps the fish were biting flies but you had to feed them seriously slow.

Holding Red

This guy ALWAYS gets his Redfish!

And these guys are sure to have had a good time, they can fish in the thick and thin, dark and stormy skies or calm bluebirds. If the winds are howling they just howl louder and then punch out a 60ft cast to put it in front of a voracious redfish!

Sunrise School

CALL NOW< BOOK ONLINE< GOOD WEATHER IS IN THE FORECAST!!!

Capt Kenjo 361-500-2552

Kenjo Fly Fishing Charters

Texas Saltwater Flats Fishing Charters

Tag Archives: fly fishing

Fly Fishing Texas Forever

Fly Fishing Texas Redfish

Back to Redfish School

Now is a great time to book your sight casting on the fly trip for September, October and November 2020 as dates are filling up fast! Click the BOOK NOW button below to see calendar availability… Sept 9, 10, 11 are open for immediate booking!

Look here for additional Prime dates

Hannah Storm Effect

Early Season Redfish on the Texas Coast

Drain Games – The Texas Fall Redfish Run

Summer Summaries

Summer Jacks Explode

Texas Redfish Tails

Fly Fishing Texas Winters