Tag Archives: fly fishing

Port Aransas City Council Votes New Harbor Island Ordinance

This evening, with almost a full house, the Port Aransas City Council voted 6/1 to adopt the new ordinance for zoning on Harbor Island. Two more readings of the proposed ordinance changes will be needed before the changes are final, so we are not out of the woods yet.

It should also be noted that even with the proposed changes to the ordinance, we as stewards should be careful to not fall asleep on this issue and remain vigilant in managing our lands and how it can be used. There are still some proposed industries for this land that could have adverse effects on the surrounding environment but for now we do not seem to have to worry about a refinery getting built.

Harbor Island Planning Zoning Commission

Great Step by Planning Zoning Commission today, and more great steps needed by the Port Aransas City Council at 5pm.

port of cc, port aransas, planning, zoning, commission, harbor island, rezoning

Port Aransas Planning & Zoning Commissioners hearing from Port of Corpus Christi member Al Jones

The Port Aransas Planning & Zoning Commission met this afternoon at Port Aransas City Hall and after hearing open comment from its citizens decided to vote for approved and disapproved land uses. In all, approximately 50 people were in attendance, including local news station Kiii-TV 3 as well as a journalist from the Caller Times.

James King, who helped the Texas Land Conservancy acquire Shamrock Island, commented on behalf of all nature lovers out there and it was good to see another long time citizen of this area continuing their efforts to keep Port Aransas’ natural resources alive & beautiful. I hope to speak with him further to see what we can do about getting more sea grass areas designated as Walk, Push, Pole, or Troll areas. We need more of these too!

Back on track, two commentators in attendance are Port of Corpus Christi members and both expressed that they do not want a fractionator installed on Harbor Island either. They DID suggest that negotiations be made between Port Aransas, Port of CC, and Martin Midstream in order to find an agreeable solution and while this is certainly a compromise for the Port of CC, it seems to be only a small offer laid on the table as I am fairly certain the Martin Midstream isn’t in the business of building recreational and eco-tourism sites. Although, that wouldn’t be a bad way for a petroleum conglomerate to give back to nature in a way what it has taken from it.

So, I’ll leave it at that. A counter offer from a Port Aransas citizen to Martin Midstream. Make Harbor Island The Premier Eco-Tourism Center of Texas. Please.

Keep the hooks sharp, Captain Ken Jones 361-500-2552

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Fly Fishers!

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!

fly fishing, texas, gulf, coast, port aransas,

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!

Keeping the hooks sharp,Captain Ken Jones

Harbor Island Town Meeting

Harbor Island Update as of November 21st, 2013

The city council meeting went well, and I was impressed with the showing of local citizens to make comment on the Harbor Island Refinery situation. The parking lot was full and last minute guests had to park a block away.

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City Hall meets re: Harbor Island

In a unanimous decision and a smart move towards better land use designation for Harbor Island, the city put a moratorium on issuing permits for this property which prevents the landowners from building anything. It’s the best move they could make at this time. The next step is for the city to go through the re-zoning process which can take 60-90 days normally with public notice given 3 times. But they also have to decide what type of land use the property will be re-zoned for such as tourist & recreational use, or residential use, etc… One citizen suggested using the property as a cruise ship terminal. My vote is for the land to be designated for tourist and recreational use which a lot of it is used for those reasons currently.

port aransas, texas, gulf, city hall, harbor island, meeting

Packed outside and inside

With the cruise ship idea I admit that I am not fond of the thought. Mostly because of the sizes of the ships, and imagine that in addition to the recent increase in oil industry marine traffic, it could be a catastrophic situation as well. Port Aransas is only a medium sized pass from the Gulf. It would be a tight fit to say the least.

Bigger underlying negative effects of such large ships (and its happening now) is that these massive ships cause an enormous amount of water displacement. In our area, tides are moderate but a single passing tanker ship can change the direction of the tides. It disrupts the natural ebbs and flows of the tides and the water exchange process is certainly influenced. These extreme underwater effects can cause natural vegetation to be uprooted, and even in specific places shoreline erosion is extreme and has to be abated by the installation of new bulkheads, rip-raps and other modern methods to prevent excessive erosion.

Charlie’s Pasture already takes a beating from big commercial ships. This is a sinkhole that has formed behind the bulkhead.

Of course erosion naturally occurs but normally at a much slower pace, and as the habitat changes, the animals that live in it also adapt. If the change in habitat is too fast, then the animals that live there cannot adapt fast enough and they will either leave, or in some cases if they cannot leave the area quickly enough, the organisms can perish.

So we don’t necessarily want cruise ships in here too, We have already started to have more large commercial traffic now that Corpus Christi is exporting oil as well as importing oil. This move has made a noticeable increase in marine traffic in Port Aransas.

Additionally interrupted are the many runs of marine life that occurs in an inlet setting. These “runs” are where many species of baitfish and gamefish move between the nurseries, marshes, tidal wetlands and open Gulf through the Aransas Pass Jetties as a part of their natural life-cycles and feeding cycles. If any of you have observed large ships or barges running the inlets, channels or passes, you might also notice a flock of birds following the vessel.

Warning Sign
Metaphorically & Literally

They are most certainly feeding on baitfish that is dislocated along its path or wounded from the turbulence and props. While this may seem like a minor consequence, but it is also proof that a large amount of water is being stirred up, from the very bottom of the channel where depths can reach 70ft, all the way to the surface over a wide area. This extreme exchange of water tables result in extremely differences in environment variables such as oxygen, temperatures and pressure. When the environment variables so drastically swing over short periods, it disrupts the natural flow of marine life in those areas. The marine life depends on a certain amount of water exchange, but too much is also detrimental to the ecosystems.

The Port of Corpus Christi undoubtedly wants to sell the 250 acres. It is up to the City of Port Aransas to determine what it can be used for because the property is within City Limits. Hopefully it will focus potential buyers from a better more eco-friendly industry such as tourism or maybe even the State of Texas will find good use for it as a park.

South Bay Lakes & sloughs with matted floating widgeon grass where redfish were prowling.

Our city’s leaders are still faced with practicing good stewardship and principals of the resources here, and will determine the outcome and future for the Town of Port Aransas and its culture and community. Quite everything that Port Aransas currently has to offer to the people who live here and visit here is hanging in the balance of the re-zoning proposal.

Ideally, seeing this valuable land become an eco-park or similar would be certain reprieve from how the land has been treated and abused over the past history by other heavy industries. In the meantime lets enjoy our time fishing and digging shells around what we currently know as Harbor Island and hopefully one day we will see “Welcome” signs instead of “Keep OUT – DANGEROUS” signs.

Keeping the hooks sharp,Captain Ken Jones
Kenjo Fly Fishing Charters
Port Aransas, Texas

Harbor Island Crude Refinery

There has been a lot of talks about the sale of Harbor Island, not more than a hop skip and a jump across the Corpus Christi Ship Channel from the city of Port Aransas, which has a population of 3,400 wonderful people. Approximately 250 acres of land has been up for sale and Martin Midstream seemed to have won the bid. Until now…

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November 13, 2013 Caller Times newspaper article

It didn’t take long and a petition was started on Change.org . A website where not only locals can petition our officials but also gives the opportunity for the tourists who frequent Port Aransas to join the petition. This web petition was started in order to request a change of the zoning for this area to a lighter zoning. It is currently zoned as “heavy industrial” and this designation opens the doors to many types of industries which are all known to cause serious harm to the environment.

Now, it is looks like the Port Commission backed out of the sale to turn Harbor Island into a crude oil refinery. That’s great news but the reasons cited for the Port backing out of the deal was because not everyone had a fair opportunity to bid on the sale of the ~250 acres. The City acquired the island some time ago from Exxon/Fina who used it as an oil tank farm and began a cleanup of the island. Don’t let this fool you, more action is needed.

TPWD Lighthouse Lakes Paddling Trail Webpage

Now, facing even heavier industrialization, Harbor Island is relatively clean to the spectators who drive the highway as they come to visit its many access points for recreational activities such as kayaking, birding, fishing, camping, and sea shell hunting. Texas’ first Kayaking Trail was established here, the Lighthouse Lakes Paddling Trails.

Instead of turning it into an even bigger wasteland (and surrounding areas). Wouldn’t it would be nice if we could convince the city not only to eliminate the heavy industrial zoning but to also designate Harbor Island as an environmentally protected recreation area?

Lighthouse Lake #5 Less than 2 miles from Harbor Island

Main feeding populations of fish reaching hundreds of thousands of fish, if not millions if species were combined, including bull redfish pushing 40″, use the surrounding waterways as feeding zones and congregating places. Thousands of highly migratory birds also roost in the many mangrove cays that make up the island and its surroundings. And that’s just a smidgeon of all the species of animals and plants that call Harbor Island home. Many species of crabs and other crustaceans also call these marine estuaries home. And, to top it all off, these estuaries serve as a nursery for many species of animals, where bait which spawn offshore come into these estuaries and use them from the time they are babies as a sanctuary in order to survive and grow.

A crude oil refinery would certainly ruin this place on land and in the water for at least a 20 mile radius not only from the smell but also from the increase in average water temperatures due to the refinery using the water to cool the plants engines. I wont go into details about what kind of pollutants this will add to the ground water (well water) and especially the saltwater. This would could entirely eliminate the great revenue that tourism in this area produces. That would be a waste of another, and in an already thriving industry, Tourism. Our local tourism industry had record numbers this year and is better to visit with all the wonderful people that come to visit, than to see another city of amber lights billowing harmful pollutants into the very air we breathe.

If you asked what brings these kinds of levels of tourism, the number one answer is that Nature is drawing them. From the clean, oil and tar ball free beaches, to the jetties, piers, inlets, marinas and mangrove cays which provide these tourists the out of doors experience they are all seeking. Maybe its a break from the normalcy of living in the city, where grass and sand and in most cities, tree do not exist. Where there are few “wild things”, living, breathing, eating, just like you and I. There is always an aura about any small fishing village on an island, and that is usually one of peace, tranquility, and relaxation. That would be the true losses this place would suffer if heavy industry is allowed to build on Harbor Island. The longstanding Culture of Port Aransas would also suffer in my opinion, and it was the culture in the community along with the fabulous ecology of this area that brought us here in the first place. It would be difficult for me to continue living in this place with heavy industry pounding on my front door, on the fabulous Harbor Island.

As indicated on the Change.org petition site, the city of Port Aransas will be meeting at the end of this month regarding the zoning and will discuss it then. It is a good thing that the sale to Martin Midstream fell through as this shows that our officials may be hearing our voices.

With enough public reach through the petition and through the normal government channels provided, this treasure trove of an island can remain as the serene and ecological playground we all work so hard to enjoy whether you are a year-round resident or a visitor which calls this place their home away from home.

Youthfully optimistic, Capt Kenjo
Kenjo Fly Fishing Charters
Port Aransas, Texas

Fly Fishing after-hours Tarpon

A few hours before sunset the crew of 3 jumped out of the truck onto the hot sand and grabbing their gear suited up for some after-hours tarpon fly-fishing.

bait ballz!

The usual sound of carbide tipped cleats scraping against the familiar yet awkward steps began to sing as we headed out onto the mass where so many animals live and call the underwater structures home.

“What fly to choose?” one of the fly fisherman asks himself out loud. He decides to limit himself to 5 casts per fly then change and repeat until something eats.

Intense anticipation builds as the flymen begin to search the depths, the action begins with the sights and sounds of a large tarpon breaching the water in an explosive manner and crashing back down into the darkening watery lair.

tarpon roll texas gulf mexico fly fishing guide

40-lb tarpon arent long but they are thick even in the tail

The excitement increases exponentially as we realize that one of us is connected to that fish which must have been 50+ inches.

We landed the fish and quickly released it for posterity (like the rest) but a quick scale sample was taken to give to the Marine Science Institute for age identification and year classification.

Over the next 4 hours, in the dark but under full moon, and with much surprise, we continue to hook, jump and release many highly respectable tarpon. On one occasion the three of us are connected to 3 healthy tarpon, a triple hookup!

fly fishing tarpon night texas gulf mexico

13wt getting bendo on an est. 60-lb tarpon.

During the melee, we had to jump over and crawl under each other several times to keep the fly lines tangle free and luckily all three tarpon were landed and released. One went 40 lbs, the other approximately 60 lbs and the third tarpon pushed close to 80lbs and over 5 feet. Very little time was spent to measure the fish’s length or even photograph the fish in order to reduce risk of mortality.

Another fish escaped when he cleared 80 feet of fly line and onto the reel in only 3 seconds when I realized the line was around my foot because these things happen at night too. I tried to clear the fly line but this massive 5-6 foot tarpon jumped for the third time and parted our way.

The final tally was 6 released between 40-80 pounds, and 20 others jumped with the largest being 100-lbs. At one moment, violent strikes from these hungry tarpon came on every 3rd cast. Now this is my kind of tarpon rodeo!

While it is exhilarating to jump any tarpon of any size during the daytime, it is absolutely thrilling to fish for big game species like the tarpon at night with minimal lighting. It is a spectacular experience and allows for the fisherman’s imagination to run wild, much like the tarpon who also swim wildly. It is also a crash course in honing one’s fly fishing senses.

silver king tarpon fly fishing texas night

Silver King on fly at night

The thrill is in the hunt, where a wide array of emotions are experienced. The satisfaction is in having a sense of relief once the fight is over and the fish swims away freely.

-Capt Ken

Gulf of Mexico Tarpon

REPORT: Fly Fishing for Texas Tarpon Heats Up

fly fishing, bull, redfish, gulf, mexico, texas, coast, guide

12 wt getting BENT

The early morning was rainy and achy on the Gulf of Mexico near Port Aransas but on my second attempt to get out of the truck I was able to buckle my Korkers to my feet thanks to a seriously strong coffee brew. Within an hour or so, I hooked two tarpon and lost them both, landed a 32incher, jumped a fourth (about 4ft long) and as it flew 8 feet in the air it threw the hook.

Jetty, texas, gulf, mexico, fly fishing, tarpon, flies, guide

Fly caught 32″ Tarpon successfully released.

Then another schoolie tarpon eats my fly, jumps and is also free.

fly fishing, bull, red fish, texas, gulf of mexico, port aransas

41 inches on this 12wt fly rod! The Hatch Reel stopped this fish within 121 feet.

Huge Bull Redfish and mini jack crevalle were literally blitzing on menhaden balls and I managed to land a 41inch redfish out of the melee. Then of course, I turned my back on the bulls to try to hook another tarpon.

Dates are open for charters if anyone wants to fling some flies and take a shot at any of these fish plus more! -Kenjo 361-500-2552

jack crevalle, fly fishing, texas, gulf, mexico

Hungry Hungry Jack

Fishing Port Aransas Flats & Nearshore

Fly fishing the Gulf of Mexico

It has been “one of those times” …when you don’t get on the water as much as you want, and you know it would never be enough even if you did…

Big Bluefish for being this far South in the Gulf of Mexico

When this struggle begins, and its not all under your control, it is easy to be satisfied by using whatever kind of equipment falls into your hands for more than 15 minutes. There is great satisfaction in the simple action of merely catching a fish (alive), admiring how extremely vivid its coloration is, morally respecting the fish’s willingness to fight for its own existence, then releasing it (still alive) back to the water so it can continue its own adventurous life throughout the mighty seas that this brave fish calls home.

redfish, fly fishing, Corpus Christi, flats, saltwarer, poppers

The BIG one got away

A recent saltwater flats trip with a solo fly angler proved that there are some bigger than usual redfish in the 30inch class making good game in areas where only the skinny flats skiffs can reach them.

It is mandatory though that the fly be placed carefully near and in front of the fish.

No need to start a retrieve as these fish have been eating the fly instantly when it hits the water and certainly before you can recover the slack from overshooting the line. Any 10 minutes in your yard spent practice casting to improve efficiency, accuracy and stealth will prove to be more than worth the effort when a 30 inch redfish eats your fly at 30 feet faster than you can set the hook. When sight casting these fish it is best to only use 1 false cast and lay down a straight leader, and prepare for the strip strike just as the fly hits the water.

kingfish, mackerel, gulf of mexico, live bait

Birthday Girl gets a King as a Grand Prize!

Nearshore fishing has also been dependable with King Mackerel action taking the lead. Ling are still present and are suckers for live menhadden. Red snapper in the inshore state waters are present as well with some keepers in the mix. The False albacore (a.k.a. bonito) are also around with the spanish mackerel and if you haven’t caught a false albacore on fly you can’t appreciate the absolute speed these fish posses.

DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED TALKING TARPON! Arghhhh!

These fish are here right outside my backdoor right now. The most commonly sighted tarpon are in the 10-40lbs class, BUT the larger fish are here too. The big ones just are not around the same habitat as the smaller ones. Only the most serious of fisherman posses the desire and patience required to spend an entire day scouting for that one fish that breaks their last personal best record. Find the bait and you will find the fish. I don’t know about you but I am certainly ready to put in several very long and consecutive days of hunting the Gulf’s monstrous Silver King.

Shoot me a message if you want to join in. Tight lines and keep your hooks sharp!

Captain Ken Jones ([email protected])

Donkey Jack Crevalle on the Fly

Please allow me to introduce you to one of the most powerful saltwater fly fishing gamefish of all time: DONKEY Jack Crevalle!

jacks, fly rod, saltwater, gamefish, port aransas, texas, fly fishing

DONKEY!!!

While drifting over massive underwater structures, it can be difficult to determine which fish you have hooked into initially. Mullet and menhaden fly patterns produced large jacks today and can even draw strikes from Ling (a.k.a cobia). Unfortunately, no Ling were sighted today. The tides were slightly outgoing early this morning and had the water cloudy near the normal structures where we find these monster fish. Nonetheless, I was extremely happy to have had this Beulah Bluewater 13/15wt paired with Hatch Outdoors 9+ in my hands when this donkey sized jack crevalle ate my fly today because upon the hookset this fish took off like a rocket and headed for Mexico!

While prospecting another area I caught a blacktip shark on conventional tackle, but 80-lb flourocarbon leaders are definitely not sufficient.

sharks, fly fishing, blacktip, conventional, tackle

Blacktip on conventional gear… going for them on fly rod next

Tonight I will be adding some hay-wire twists to the boat bag (and maybe even a chum bag to ride)…

Call me ASAP at 361-500-2552 to book a charter if you want to test your endurance and get your knuckles busted.

Keep your hooks sharp,

Captain Ken Jones

Kenjo Fly Charters

361-500-2552

[email protected]

Redfish Action

It was the day before a scheduled fly charter which had already been rescheduled once due to bad weather. I decided to call the client mid-day Sunday and let her know that Monday’s weather was going to be absolutely perfect. A long shot for someone like me who watches weather reports more than most sports fanatics watch their favorite teams’ stats. “OK, lets do it!” she says and we set the pickup time for 7am.

The next morning I jump out of bed early to prep the skiff, checked the weather again, and luckily things were lining up nicely. After splashing the skiff I head over to the dock to pickup Mary in style and we are up and running after a quick safety briefing.

Soon we are on the flat after a short run, up on the bow she goes, trusty fly rod in hand with a freshly tied popping shrimp attached. “Ok Mary, lets pole over this direction and see if the fish will show themselves.” I say and sure enough once we got into an area where the water depth was right for the fish to show their tails, that is exactly what we saw up ahead. Quietly I whisper to Mary that there are two fish at the 11 o’clock position, one closer than the other and to cast to the closest fish. Once we are within casting range she fires off a gentle and precise cast with a beautiful loop and the fly lands 1.5 feet ahead and just to the right of the redfish. “Strip… strip… strip” I say to start the cadence, and the fish turns in pursuit of the fly then charges! “Keep stripping, don’t stop Mary!” The fish eats, and Mary sets the hook into a fine redfish, measuring in at 21 inches. In all the excitement I manage to stutter the word “Bravo!” as this was a fantastic and exciting event that had just unfolded before our eyes.

redfish, sunrise, fly fishing, texas, coastal bend, port aransas

Early morning delights

These are the times that every fly angler dreams about, the stuff you read about in books, in some calm and serene setting where red-headed egrets, tri-color herons and roseate spoonbills line the shoreline almost as spectators and seemingly fans of one of the most honest games known to man. Fly-fishing.

popping shrimp fly, redfish, flats, texas, fly fishing, coastal bend

Howdy Mrs. Redfish!