Tag Archives: fly fishing

Full Swing Fall

Dredge yer Reds!

Fall is in full swing and the tides are favorable right now. The skies have been interesting to work with playing with our eyes as the light dances between the thick and thin clouds. Nonetheless, the sight fishing has been good at times and more surprisingly the muddin redfish schools we found on a super windy day was a blast with double hook-ups on both fly and spin occurring 3 times.

Rusty got’em!

When we are able to stalk the flats slowly with good sun and skies the redfish haven’t been far apart and are willing to eat just about any crab or shrimp fly when presented well to an unsuspecting redfish.

Looking at fish looking at bait.

There are still hoards of bait like crabs, shrimp and finger mullet way up in the marsh in the super shallow water and as our tides continue to fall so will the bait and this will draw even more redfish and trout up shallow to feed heavily. Alot of the grass is still flooded and the crabs will be needing to make a big move soon as the air temperatures drop.

1st Time Sight-Casted Redfish

This trend should continue for a while more and November and December can see some awesome sight fishing days as the weather usually mellows-out a bit during this time. The fish are responding to the continued drop in average water levels and temps putting on the feedbag to regain their strength after spawning and to prepare for the onset of winter. Just ask me why winter is my favorite time!

Doubled up Mud Reds on fly and spin in windy conditions!

Today the water temps in knee deep soft bottom flat read 76 degrees in one dead-end slough and not far away in another marsh drain it read 81 degrees… Granted these two areas are completely different which is indicative of the dramatic difference in water temps.

By making these observations it became apparent that the fish in the cooler location seemed to be sulking on the bottom over soft sand, not moving and just deep enough we couldn’t see them. These fish should be worked extremely slow, like crazy slow and from a distance.

Orange and Blue Fall Colors on display

Park off to the side, best to have some grass as cover, then make a long cast and dredge the bottom with the fly, long and slow with a little twitch at the end… The fish will hit on the twitch. This is a surefire method for fishing a 2-3 foot deep flat when you cannot sight the fish yet you know they are there from other signs.

In the warmer water the fish were certainly more active and were a little more visible because they were cruising or crawling instead of laid-up. These fish can be stalked one by one as your guide poles you through the maze of channels in the grassy marsh.

There are dates open in November and only a few remaining in December. Give me a call to book even if you decide to race down here on a whim last minute. We are locked and loaded and ready to float! Keep the hooks sharp, Capt Kenjo 361-500-2552. Also now taking reservations for Winter!

October Marsh Landscape

The ditch less travelled

Fly fishing Port Aransas Rockport redfish guide

Hard earned but… Oh! How sweet it is!

When the (super high) tides throw you a curve ball simply bob n’ weave and with a little luck your fly line floats like a butterfly and your hook stings like a bee…. just not in your bare foot or in the cover, but in the mouth of a worthily scaled foe. Enter Mr. Redfish, stage right, or maybe left, but most usually, behind you. There! 2 o’clock! 25ft and closing!

Brent and Mike did just that, stalking sly red drum way back in the back of the furtherest back lake where the ditch less travelled is half the width of the boat. It took some hard earned team work but Brent and Mike earned their Level 1 salt badge.

Brent’s first redfish with heart shaped spot

The clouds made a real challenge for their eyes and eventually they were rewarded with their first redfish. Patience, endurance, good humor and attitude paired with an ability to climb a steep learning curve is what made their trip a great experience and ultimately successful.

I have a couple dates open this week. Give me a call to get on board. There are plenty more redfish out there and we are still seeing a handful of 30+ inch bull reds up in the skinny!

-Capt Ken 361-500-2552

Mangrove Lake Redfish

Going thru some client emails I found a sweet little video that a client put together very nicely of a fantastic day in May sight casting redfish about my old skiff, the 16ft Ankona Shadowcast. Matt had a quick learning curve and within short order was nailing fish left and right. I believe we got 9 fish to hand that day and missed at least 5 others. The big ones escaped without much damage from us but beware, we’ve got our eyes on you again now during the FALL RUN GOING ON NOW!!!

https://vimeo.com/164157445

Fall Run is ON!

Bull red in the Texas Marsh. Port Aransas Texas Fall Run

We just started tracking down some massive sized schools of bull redfish (top slot and overs) on the flats and the tides are perfect for working the marshes during the day. The weather is excellent right now and we have had some 10 fish days lately.

Bull redfish on the flats pulled out of a school of 200 fish strong!

There are also plenty of black drum around too. I have dates open this Thursday the 15th and again Sunday and Monday. Give me a call ASAP to get in on some of the best redfishing of the year!

Capt Kenjo

361-500-2552

Fall Run

Black drum, port aransas, texas, coast, fly fishing,

Big red trying to steal the fly from a smaller redfish

The finger mullet and pretty much all other bait species are thick this year and the fall run has only begun! Let’s hit’em hard! Give me a call to get on board for a buffet of species to target now! The fishing is good and continues to get better. On the right weather days we can fish around the jetties and hunt for big game. We are still seeing a few really big redfish over 30inches in the skinny water along with a good number of slot redfish.

Black drum

The black drum are also prevalent and although the black drum can be tough to feed with a fly, the right retrieve can get’em hooked up.

Give me a call if you want to get in on some of the most consistent action of the year!

-Capt Kenjo 361-500-2552

Redfish school & jack attacks

August is prime time for best chances at a big redfish in shallow water. I have some weekdays available. Simply give me a call asap!

We have already worked one area that had a 20lber in there and today ran across some schools of top slot redfish.

Adam did well and nailed this 22.5inch redfish at a close range of 5ft.

Below is some short clips of the surprise Jack attack. Straightened 4 hooks, broke off a big monster Jack on 30lb leader and pulled the hooks on quite a few others. We chased them for 2hrs over 2 miles distance.

AND again!

Red Summers

Sunrise Tailing Redfish

Hot hot hot! Thats the easiest way to describe dead of summer-time along the Texas Coast… If you are fishing gentlemen’s hours this time of year chances are you are seeing double from the potential heat-stroke, but now is when the old saying “early bird gets the worm” hold the most truth.

We have been pounding on some fine redfish early in the mornings with their tails up, and they are eating just about anything you throw at them so long as you don’t bomb the cast.

redfish tail fly fishing port aransas corpus christi rockport coast gulf mexico

Do you see it too?

Delicate presentations are key, as most shots are coming at close range. By 9am though most of the tailing has stopped but then the sun is high enough to spot these fish in the water.

redfish trout topwater port aransas texas gulf coast

Topwater Redfish at Sunrise

I have been telling everyone lately, I have found 3 situations where it is imperative that we wade fish and will list them for you hear. These are also 3 excuses to buy a good pair of wading boots!

The fish are in such skinny water that the boat might bump or drag the bottom occasionally, and the sound that makes will scare the fish, even if it doesn’t send them bolting away it can give them lockjaw.
Windy Fishy
The winds are honking (usually any winds over 15mph). This makes it difficult to fish slow enough. If the boat is moving too fast along the flat then there isn’t enough time to spot the fish and the fish doesn’t have much time to reveal themselves to us, which limits the number of shots you get at each fish. In the afternoons I prefer to work into the wind with the sun to our backs that way we can move super slow along the flat and that gives us more time to find that well camouflaged fish in the grass.
This is the big one… when there are so many fish in one tight area, the boat itself can spook the group of fish, interrupting their feeding pattern and behavior. Stopping the boat simply isn’t an option because the boat creates noise and sometimes this cannot be helped. It is then best to park the boat off to the side, preferably behind some cover like cord grass to obscure it and then wade into the fishy area like a ninja, moving painfully slow.
Cord Grass Galore

August is a very good month for chances at BIG redfish in our area as those larger redfish are moving into the shallows to gorge themselves to get ready for the spawn. The boat records have been both set and broken during this month so I encourage you, if you want your chance at a sight-casted redfish over 30inches in super clear shallow water, this is the time to get on the books. Give me a call ASAP to secure your reservation! Keep your hooks sharp, Capt Ken 361-500-2552

Black Drum Float

Black drum

Let the redfish alone today and spent some time working over some nice black drum.

Live Blue Crab

These little guys are everywhere and the fish are responding well!

Barefoot and afraid

Redfish in the sticks

Afriad of the tides changing. Afriad of breaking off all these fish in the sticks. We switched up to 25lb tippet and went barefoot wading today while out scouting for the next group of charters. Got on some sick action with countless shots at countless fish, none of them under 23 inches and all of them in 16 inches of water or less.

Tomorrow is open if anyone wants to get in on board last minute. Just give me a call and leave a message and I will return your call after 8pm tonight.

Moving targets

Fly fishing port aransas redfish flats saltwater corpus christi guide

Twenty-eight point five inches

Today was filled with many moving targets and most of them were willing participants in this little game called fly fishing. Best fish measured 28.5 inches and kept David on his toes running in and out of the grass and mangroves that peppered thw salt flats of Mustang Island.

Fly fishing port aransas redfish guide saltwater flats corpus christi

Hooked up again with a spare redfish on the sideloop

The tides are good and has steadily kept the fish moving up shallow and they are eating heartily. David learned the various techniques to entice those skinny water redfish quickly and displayed good form in waiting for those reds to set themselves up for the best shots. We fished only one area all day, never having to fire up the outboard engine until time to head home.

Nonstop action

All in all it was a fine day on the saltwater flats of the Texas Coast and much to be remembered.

Some dates in June are still available if you want to get on board and take your own shots at some of these fun filled redfish. Give me a call ASAP to get your preferred dates booked!