Tag Archives: fly

Big Moon Rising

…Jacks attack. In Wolfe Packs. And they’re HAULING ASS! With Port Aransas behind them and Aransas Pass on their right, the Pack of jacks keep moving with their fins exposed on the surface of the water…

jack, crevelle, fly fishing, port aransas, texas, gulf, coast, guide, charters, beavertail skiff, airflo, fly lines, popper, topwater, flies, saltwater, rockport, corpus christi

Teamwork Wins

“HOLD ON!!!” The water is frothy from the giant group of marauding jack crevelle but their presence is still overshadowing by the howling winds, open bay and huge whitecaps.

As we approach at charging speeds you begin to think… Can we get that fly in the water fast enough? Can I keep the line tight to make the oversized foam head POP!?!?!?!? Yes!?!? NO!!!! Wait a second… “FISH ON!!!!!”

In this short moment of the feed and hookup, serious thoughts parse our minds of everyday mundane worries and we think clearly, knowing the answers, yet still so much unknown… Confident yet humble…

The Angler wonders silently while being sprayed by the massive thrashing beast in the water… “Will the leader chaffe? What test is it? “Wait, What hook are we using?” So many things can go wrong in a split second its not funny, except it is, considering all that we try to do, sometimes 1 star may not be in alignment and the leader breaks, or the hook straightens… Or the hook pulls through flesh, sometimes the fish’s, sometimes ours.

After 2 blistering runs over a quarter mile of chase, the hefty jack crevelle succumbs to tension and decides to hang under the boat into a strong current, heading upwind towards Corpus Christi Bay… For 15 minutes… “Steady now, keep pressure!” You hear the captain speak calmly… Thats it, she dont like the boat but we’re gonna land this one guys!

Jack on Deck

Two wraps on the leader and Chris knows he’s got 8ft to go and with a nearly 4ft Jack at the other end it is only a matter of reaching for the tail in depths unknown and feel for contact… “You got it NOW, PULL!!!!! HAUL that fish into the cockpit! ” Yee-haw’s and Ooooh-OUI’s are exchanged. Hugs are generously given to and from everyone on the boat, just as the fish gave to you in your experience. Revive it, let it go, and the hunt can resume.

Call Captain Kenjo for prime dates and availability. June has a few dates open and July as well. Get on board NOW 361-500-2552 or email: ken@kenjofly.com

Wading – Time To Get Wet

black drum, texas, coast, fly fishing, guide

Monster Black Drum a.k.a. big uglies

NOW MUST BE ABSOLUTELY MY FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR! Wet-wading the hard sand flats, crispy air temps, cool wet feet and warming water while being surrounded by countless numbers of redfish with chances at BIG Bonus Trout…. need I say more??? Dinosaur Black Drum? Hummm?

It is happening now. The water temps are perfect for wadefishing and for redfish crushing large baits and wading is the absolute best technique for windy situations. Last couple days have been sick sight fishing and we are getting crushed. Rumor on the street is that the fish are hard to find and I couldn’t agree more. There is a recipe of environment variables that are crucial this time of year. Being in the right spot and AT THE RIGHT TIME will surely make a story to tell!

reddrum, fly fishing, port aransas, texas, coast, wade, wading,

28 inches of fun

“The fleet of large black submarine redfish rise from the depths in formation, combing the shallows as they reach a comfortable hunting level, their food tightens formation as well and then absolute and utter mayhem ensue..”

I have a few dates left in February and March has more dates available.

redfish, texas, coast, port aransas, fly fishing, guide

Low-Light Stalking

We will be working this pattern as hard as we can, but its time to get your feet wet and get the numbers UP ASAP! I cant say how long this pattern will last!

Call me IMMEDIATELY for available dates and to get on board! Capt Kenjo 361-500-2552

Fly Fishing Summer Redfish

redfish, drum, fly fishing, port aransas, texas, coast, guide, saltwater, charter, airflo, sims, hatch, beavertail, marsh, spartina, grass, sunrise, mullet, crab, shrimp, fly only, catch and release, trout, speckled, speck, snaggletooth, sock, deep, water, skinny, culture, wade, fishing

29inch redfish in sock deep water

“There she is! 12 O’clock! 30ft and closing fast!” your guide says as you see him quickly drop to his knees in 8 inches of water pointing with the spare rod straight at the fish he just spotted. He secretly hopes you heard him and saw him go on point like a full-bred Setter. Your ears are in tune to his voice though, thanks to spending quite a few days together combing the flats on foot and fortunately, you hear him over the howling wind. A lone but large 30-inch redfish is barreling straight towards you out of the sparsely grown grass line and you barely have just enough time to make the cast. The fly lands right in front of the fish only 15 ft away from the rod-tip and she eats the little purple fly heartily.

Dates in June are still available. I have Friday/Saturday June 9 & 10 available immediately. Call ASAP to reserve your fun-filled day with target-rich environments, sight-casting to South Texas Coastal Redfish, Trout, Black Drum and Sheepshead.

Noah’s First Redfish

The weather has been excellent for tailing redfish as well. With below average winds right now we can fish from the skiff or on foot.

If you have the time in your day, extended day trips (12+ hours) are also available where we will make long runs to very isolated areas where almost every fish will try to eat your fly. Call Capt Ken direct for more details. 361-500-2552

Texas Coast Saltwater Fly Fishing School

Peek-A-Boo!

Have you been thinking about fly fishing the Texas Coast? Do you have a desire to learn at an accelerated pace all the aspects of saltwater fly fishing? What are you waiting for? Are you wanting to go to some fly fishing school to learn more about saltwater fly fishing? NO NEED! You can do it right here with Capt Kenjo.

redfish, drum, fly fishing, port aransas, texas, coast, guide, saltwater, charter, airflo, sims, hatch, beavertail, marsh, spartina, cord, grass

This one almost got away!

Come fly fishing with Kenjo Fly Charters now to sharpen your sight-casting skills. Working with the typically strong winds which are common in saltwater environments Capt Ken will work with you one-on-one to up your game.

With experience comes knowledge. That is, if you pay attention and apply the tips that your guide gives you play by play. to be clear, I am not running a formal school with “programs, curriculum, and classes”. Time on the water provides real-time experience and with Capt Kenjo as your personal teacher, he can help you speed through your learning curve with patience and sound advice. Consistently keeping you in front of fish having many opportunities throughout the day makes for good practice, and well… Practice makes perfect.

31 inch Bull Redfish, On The Fly, In Da Skinny, Flat Got Burned Moments Later Arghhh!

There are a few dates left in May (CALL ME ASAP FOR THOSE) and June is looking golden with good availability. Simply call me direct at 361-500-2552 to pick your date and place a deposit.

DON’T MISS THE BOAT! Get on board for a fun-filled saltwater fly fishing experience that will not only make you a better angler but also one that is quickly adaptable to the conditions and fish behavior as they change throughout the day.

Multi-day trips are available as well and are highly recommended for the serious angler who really wants to learn the fundamentals of saltwater fly casting and fishing. Time well spent on the water with an experienced guide and plenty of fish is what will make you a strong fisherman, and teach you the subtle tweaks and tricks that will put more species in your hands. Quite a few of my Guests come fish with me here on Texas Coast prior to their planned trips to more tropical latitudes to sharpen their skills. The conditions that the Texas Coast dish out will certainly challenge you and are very similar to anything you might face in more remote regions.

I look forward to being your preferred fly guide along the Texas Coast and who knows what awesome situation will present itself next! -Capt Kenjo

Dancing Sandhill Cranes

These sandhill cranes put on quite a show!

5wt Redfish

redfish, skinny, flats, guide, fishing, fly, saltwater, coast, texas, port aransas

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!

Fall Run Update

“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!

Running of the bulls

Bull, redfish, fly fishing, texas, gulf, coast

Bull redfish caught in 8inches of water.

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, fly fishing, port aransas, rockport, flats, saltwater, guide

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!

black drum, gasper goo, texas, fly fishing, guide, port aransas

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

slough, creek, redfish, texas, port aransas

Big fish like to run these gauntlets right after the hookup

Spring Rains & The Big 3 That Got Away

Bright and sunny this fish was right where we thought she would be!

Hooked up to a redfish on fly and West Coast Mike hangin on!

Summer Availability: Last summer the winds died out July 1st and the bay went flat as glass and you could see tails to the horizon. And so it begins, we switch to super small patterns with short stealthy casts to target tailing redfish. Multiple fish days exist in July and August and the tailing redfish action is red hot just like the sunshine! Give me a call now to reserve your spot on the bow of the boat! Capt Ken 361-500-2552

Spring Report: This year has been incredible including last winter. Many fish on the flats and then up super shallow early. There were some very nice sized ones to boot. All the rains we have been getting this year (seems they really started way back in January) are producing some great fly fishing action. In between the cloudy and windy days are bursts of sunshine, usually with a T-head looming somewhere on the horizon. The fishing under overcast skies and stiff breezes is also decent and 2 recent clients, both named Mike, hooked fish that got the best of them. West Coast Mike stuck out 3 days of grueling winds and while we had trouble finding good numbers of fish the first day he just wouldn’t quit. On the first day we got well adjusted and felt a tight team had been formed between angler and guide. Calling the shots from the platform is no easy task, especially for the angler when truckloads of mullets to 3 lbs are rampaging the flats scarfing up the freshly grown green algae and grasses. Day two with W Coaster Mike was a bit more mellow and the twitches began to subside, partially from casting fatigue, and also from getting a good grade on Day 1. One shot is all we got on each school of reds that we found. If they spooked the school would split and then scatter. Then we found a huge tailer along a reef with its broad fat tail flopping size to side as the fish was cruising up onto the top of the reef with the extremely high tides.

Sweet Serenity in rough conditions!

Mike made the perfect cast and when the fish ate I felt the boat jump as West Coast Mike drove the permeable Tiemco hook deep into the fish’s tough maw. But that fish was smart, and got down in dirty and cut-off Mike on the oysters. A quick retie of the trusted chartreuse mullet fly and wouldn’t you know on the other side of the reef was another big fish with its tail up and getting busy! Mike hooked up to this fish too but with the powerful hookset the fish shook its massive head violently and parted the 15-lb tippet. Back to back, and all in two casts.

Bonus Species, mark that one off the bucket list!

“Sight casting” can be done in cloudy weather too! Its just a little harder!

Not long after Mike nails a respectable southern flounder out of a pothole then later took a shot at a bull-rushing redfish and intercepted the fish with a well placed 70′ cast at which point it nailed the fly and ran upwind!

This one we landed and the sense of accomplishment and pride was almost overwhelming us both!

And so on for several more days we find a few fish that eat, but any mistakes are taken advantage of by the fish. East Coast Mike will attest to that, his only goal was to catch 1 fish but that make for a tough order sometimes!

All in all it was a thrill fishing with both of these fellas and while the sunshine is unpredictable and is good for sight fishing, fly fishing under less than gorgeous conditions can also be fun and rewarding!

Red Hot Winters

On the island town of Port Aransas in South Texas, winter-time is frowned upon by the locals except for a few reasons. We prefer board shorts and flip flops but hey, who doesn’t?

Despite the blistering cold north winds that prevail this time of year there are a several things that continue to give me the warm and fuzzies… If you suffer from chronic cabin fever like me, now is a great time to call up your favorite guide and go nail some blue-tailed redfish!

For one, the redfish this time of year are schooled up thick and I can assure you they have put on their feed bags! Recent examination of the stomach contents of a few redfish have revealed hefty amounts of thumbnail size crabs of various types as well as lady-finger shrimp… While the cast and retrieve are typically run at a much slower pace, the bites from these redfish are very consistent and extremely predictable. Finding these schooled up fish can be tricky and that’s why hiring your favorite fly guide can mean the difference between searching miles and miles of empty flats versus working the same mini flat all day putting numerous redfish in the boat.

Secondly, the “summer tourista” boat traffic is long gone, and only a fraction of the boaters remain. While most guys have stowed their fishin gear in exchange for camo underwear and shotguns, that (duck) season closes Jan25 and then, only the brave will thrive. This translates into large groups of redfish that are no longer spooked by the sound of some yahoo running his shallow water skiff across the flat only 50yds from you as if you weren’t there. And overcast skies and moderate winds provide camouflage for us. It makes it harder for us to see the fish but the better point is that it makes it harder for the fish to see us!

Sight casting opportunities can feel non-existent in the winter due to heavily overcast skies, and trying to coordinate your schedule to nail a clear blue bird day will make everyone loose their hair. Nonetheless, we do get those days and if that is what you want, put down a deposit to get on the books and your guide will certainly call you the day before all goes bluebird! Being ready to strike on short notice can make for a glorious day of sight casting in skinny water during the winter as the sunshine will draw the fish into the shallows to warm up and get some fresh grub in their guts.

Even in cloudy weather though, these redfish are hungry and provide exciting action on the water with no-one in sight. Fortunately there are so many different places to launch that it is easy to avoid the worst of the strong winds and rough seas. This means we can get to these hotspots without having to cross the open bays where things are much more dicey.

Staying dry is the secret to staying warm. By putting some thought and maybe a little cash into the clothes you wear a cold day on the water will be far from miserable. STAY AWAY from cotton fabrics!!! Synthetic materials are the way to go this time of year… not only are they lightweight but it will help keep you dry and comfortable. Cotton will absorb moisture and will have you chilled like a peel-n-eat shrimp within an hour. Personally I wear a double layer of under armor leggings and tops, and then at least one layer of fleece (top and bottom)… Next to go on is an essential wind jacket followed by my favorite Patagonia outer shell (jacket and pants). This shell will keep the wind and rain from reaching the core layers… The synthetic materials will help evaporate any sweat away from your body too. Multiple layers of wool socks, each layer being thicker than the one before is critical. Your hands and feet will get the brunt of the cold no doubt and to combat the stinging pain in the hands I wear Alpaca fingerless gloves. I chose alpaca wool because it is well known for being warmer than regular wool especially when wet. I’ve used sheep’s wool for years but once I experienced the true benefits of alpaca it has become a necessity that is worth every penny.

So, if you haven’t already called your fly guide and booked your next winter rendezvous with a redfish you might also want to know that winter time also means excellent chances at Gator Trout! The speckled trout are harder to locate and getting them to eat can be tough but don’t be surprised when you hook into another lousy redfish only to find out it is a Big ‘Ole TROUT!!! For all these reasons… this is why I love winter-time fly fishing! Keep your hooks sharp and your retrieves slow. Call Captain Kenjo! It’s a great bite this time of year!

Kenjo Fly Fishing Charters

Texas Saltwater Flats Fishing Charters