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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 ball fly fishing texas gulf coast

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

Nearshore Fly Fishing the Texas Gulf

fly fishing, jacks, port aransas, texas, gulf, mexico, guide

Feisty jack crevalle on fly

On the third day of a successful Texas Tarpon Hunt with a score of 1/6, the poon eluded me the 3rd day and just before a strong warm front hit. The full moon certainly have the seas roiled up and will be so for the next few days. Looks like the break from the winds will come Thursday and I am looking forward to getting back on the water.

jack crevalle, fly fishing, charter

Doubled up with jack crevalle blitz

Saturday afternoon’s clients absolutely tore up the jack crevalle fly fishing with top water popping flies and glass minnow or bay anchovy flies. The action was nonstop with many double hookups on these little young of year jacks. I absolutely lost count of how many fish we caught. Kudos to Eric and Dakota for not letting the wind get the best of them and holding fire until the boat was in good position! Their quick and short casts with few false casts had these guys hooked up constantly. It was great unhooking one fish from the port side then having another one to unhook already boat side on the starboard.

A few days prior the tarpon were feeding well, and 2 have been jumped while blind casting. Don’t hesitate to methodically and thoroughly work a likely area. You never know, a 4-footer might just surprise you! Also remember to check every hook for sharpness when you tie it onto your leader and check it frequently while fishing. Lost fish shouldn’t come from dull hooks!

Some dates are available for charters on the flats for big redfish with a single angler, or near shore trips up to 2 anglers using fly and spin gear as provided. Feel free to give me a call (361-500-2552) or email (ken@kenjofly.com) for more information.

fly, fishing, texas, gulf, mexico, coast, saltwater, jack crevalle

Jack Crevalle Blitzing  near shore the Texas Gulf Coast

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

Fly Tying – Texas Poppin Shrimp

Fly Tying Steps for the Redfish Popping Shrimp

This Texas shrimp pattern is inspired by several flies and I bet you can name a few that are similar. It is easy to admit that I am not a hermit, therefore in my 20 years of fly fishing and fly tying experience, I have laid my eyes upon thousands and thousands of fly patterns. I don’t particularly consider any fly tied to be original, although if the hook is the canvas, and materials are the paint, and having applied it in any number of ways, then each fly is a work of art and unique in its own right.

redfish flies, trout flies, fly fishing, texas, guide, recipe,

Texas Poppin Shrimp Fly

What initiated the development of this pattern you ask? I was stalking fish on a nearby flat late one evening and loosing sunlight fast and worried out of my mind that the numerous stingrays that I had previously passed on the way out were lying in wait for my dark and sightless return. Then, suddenly a school of broad shouldered fish began chasing bait completely out of the water and pushing wakes that traveled for 50 yards across the flat. I moved closer and determined that small grass shrimp were on the menu. Problem was that these shrimp were buried in loose and deep piles of widgeon grass which was beginning to float to the surface the more the fish worked the shrimp.Needless to say many flies were thrown at these fish drawing only one strike which failed to hook the fish.

From this experience, I wanted to develop a topwater shrimp pattern that doesn’t require a weedguard but is weedless. So I decided to use the bushy hackle and rubber legs combination, tied a little long which seem to suffice when pulling over the subtle widgeon grass and other floating debris. The tail of the fly is what intrigues me, it has some attractive facets that I cant wrap my mind around, but the fish LOVE it when tied with this material and secured in this manner. Many thanks to my comrade Austin for letting me toy with the method. One could have used many different threads/wires for this technique but I like the copper wire because it causes the tail to hang at a slight downward angle. I hope that you find the tying steps below useful, feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. -Capt Ken (ken@kenjofly.com)

Step 1: Apply thread base to Gamakatsu SC15 sz 2

Fly Tying Step 1 - Thread Base

Fly Tying Step 1 – Thread Base

 Step 2: Take 20-30 strands of superhair, fold and cut in half. Keep halves separate, as each half length will tie 1 fly. Tie onto hook as shown in picture.

Fly Tying Step 2 - Brown Super Hair

Fly Tying Step 2 – Brown Super Hair

 Step 3: Fold superhair back and secure

Fly Tying Step 3 - Fold back super hair

Fly Tying Step 3 – Fold back super hair

 Step 4: Apply small amount of dubbing to cover thread wraps securing the superhair.

Fly Tying Step 4 - add golden brown dubbing

Fly Tying Step 4 – add golden brown dubbing

Step 5: Tie in hackle by the tip. Be sure that hackle fibers are 1-2 times the length of the hook gap.

Fly Tying Step 5 - add hackle tie in at tip

Fly Tying Step 5 – add hackle tie in at tip

 Step 6: Take 3 strands of rubber legs and tie in middle facing forward and back on bottom of the shank of the hook. The rubber legs should be 2 times the length of the hook gap, slightly longer than the hackle fibers.

Fly Tying Step 6 - add 3 sili legs to underside of hook shank

Fly Tying Step 6 – add 3 rubber legs to underside of hook shank

 Step 7: Apply more dubbing behind, in between, and in front of legs.

Fly Tying Step 7 - dub behind, between and in front of legs

Fly Tying Step 7 – dub behind, between and in front of legs

 Step 8: Palmer hackle behind, in between, and in front of legs. Trim tips of hackle from top of the shank. Leave enough room behind the eye to secure the foam later shown in next step.

Fly Tying Step 8 - palmer hackle forward, behind, between and in front of legs

Fly Tying Step 8 – palmer hackle forward, behind, between and in front of legs

 Step 9: Secure foam in front as shown in the picture.

Fly Tying Step 9 - add foam, tie in front

Fly Tying Step 9 – add foam, tie in front

 Step 10: Secure foam in back as shown in the picture.

Fly Tying Step 10 - tie down foam in back

Fly Tying Step 10 – tie down foam in back

 Step 11: Finally, apply 3 wraps of copper wire to tail to secure superhair. Use a small drop of glue to keep the wire from sliding off the end of the tail. A small drop can also be applied to both tie in points on the foam. I prefer using softex or similar so that the superhair and foam doesn’t turn white when it dries.

Fly Tying Step 11 - add 3 wraps of copper wire

Fly Tying Step 11 – add 3 wraps of copper wire

TIP: I do use a smidgeon of zap-a-gap (it dries fast and bonds with EVA foam well. Apply a small amount on the underside of the back of the foam (pointy end) and press against the superhair tail while holding straight.

This serves two purposes; 1. to keep the superhair from fouling around the hook bend when casting and popping, and 2. it keeps the foam flat across the back because it wants to stick up when the thread is used to secure the foam to the shank of the hook.

Remember to keep your hooks sharp!   -Captain Ken Jones

Salmonella wastes over 600,000 pounds of Yellowfin Tuna

This is all the more reason to eat locally sourced and seasonally appropriate fish! Commercial catching and processing of fish is a major breeding ground for dangerous food-borne illnesses. Catch what you eat, eat what you catch!

Fall Bluefin Tuna less than 1 hour from the dock

Salmonella FREE!!!

From the CDC website:

…State and local public health and regulatory officials are working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct a traceback of tuna. FDA has selected 4 of the clusters, which are located in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Texas, and Wisconsin, as the focus of the initial investigation. Information to date indicates that all 4 received the same imported frozen raw Nakaochi Scrape tuna product from a single tuna processing facility in India. Most common cause is ingestion of ground tuna meat, commonly used in

This investigation is ongoing. CDC and state and local public health partners are continuing surveillance to identify new cases. Further investigation is ongoing to identify possible sources of contamination and whether any other tuna products are linked with illness. CDC will update the public on the progress of this investigation as information becomes available…