Tag Archives: marsh

Wading for Spring

It is springtime now in Port Aransas, the tides are finally returning to the bay. And now the spring classic weather patterns are well established. We can experience fog, wind, light clouds, or fully overcast days, and plenty of bluebird days mixed in there too. What is difficult is predicting the weather. But, if you are prepared when wading for spring then you know what makes wade fishing the perfect method for catching more fish on the fly.

SPECIAL OFFER for dates remaining in April when wading for Spring Redfish

wading, spring, fishing, redfish, drum, red, black, fly fish, port, aransas, bay, flats, sight fishing, hatch outdoors, reel, winston, fly rod, simms zipits, airflo, rockport, fly, fish, corpus christi, — wade fishing redfish on the fly

Get 15% off a full day of wade-fishing (single angler only) when you book a trip for any available date remaining in this month of APRIL 2022!!!

Call NOW or BOOK ONLINE ASAP!

Capt Kenjo 361-500-2552

BOOK NOW

To get in the water with the fish changes the Angler’s experience entirely. In my experience, wading the marsh is more productive these days than poling it in the skiff. This lets us slow down and give the redfish and black drum a chance to come to us. Wading for Spring in the Texas Marsh can be exhilarating and if you have done it before you know it can be awesome sight fishing!

Wade fishing is an up close and personal experience with a redfish in the Texas Marsh. Observing the red drum do what they do best can be enthralling. Last year saw 5 months of cloud cover from February to June and we wade fished the whole time and caught lots of redfish and drum on foot. Wade fishing the marsh is a highly effective and excellent method for dealing with less than ideal conditions such as wind and low light. So get ready to do some wading (Get your Simms Zipits here) for Spring-time redfish & black drum! They are here and the feedbag is getting going good!

Spring has sprung

redfish, fly, fishing, port, aransas, texas, corpus, christi, marsh, spartina, grass, protected, whooping cranes, sandhill, birds, tour, eco, laguna, madre, poc, conner, abaco lodge, airflo, tropical, punch, sage, rod, everglades, reel — Wade fishing Toads

Forget the forecast! Don’t jinx yourselves by looking at it 10 thousand times! We will make adjustments as necessary and ON THE FLY!

The redfish are doing what they do best! Eating, tailing at the right times and bustin up schools of bait even. We snuck into an isolated pond on foot to see what was going on there and we were able to stalk this fine top-slot red drum in sock deep water. The trout are also showing up in more places and we even lost a giant trout last week boatside. We were crushed (I am still aching from it and currently sourcing a proper net for future chances) but hey, we got a big fish story of the “one” that got away! The angler fought her well and I was able to leader the fish 3 times at the gunnels but she had made a surge under and behind the boat and it seems like she got a nick on the leader and that massive trout broke off! We went on to land some smaller trout but oulala, that one I wont even try to give a size estimate, no-one would believe it anyways. Those that do know me, know that I don’t mis-estimate fish sizes… I am usually always within an inch, plus or minus.

SO…. Get your game on! Give me a call ASAP and book your Spring Sunrise Fly Fishing trip. today! Solo anglers allows for wet wade fishing opportunities to stalk tailing redfish on foot.

Book Now

Capt Ken Jones , Port Aransas Texas , 361-500-2552

Formative Submarines

As we gaze downwind on a low tide deep edge of the flat the light is just right enough to see a daisy chain of potholes that goes for a mile. Each sandy hole varies in size and shape and connects with a tiny artery of sand, breaking the grass patches into large chunks… We park at the head of this “run” (a river term) staring far and deep into the water beyond where good definition can be seen… And then, as if it was a clock striking a bell, the huge fleet of dark submarine redfish approach in formation. Evenly spaced 2 ft apart, shoulder to shoulder and head to tail, their encroachment on our position forced time to stand still… We wait patiently and time our casts well, allowing them to get within comfortable casting range and we lob out our heavily weighted crab flies, touch bottom and come tight on the first long strip… Over and over, for several hours, these waves of classy redfish continue to push past us at regular intervals and we nail them on each wave.

fly fishing, texas, port aransas, redfish, drum, corpus christi, beavertail skiffs, simms fishing, hatch outdoors, tfo fly rods, winter, power pole, guide, charters, — Big Crab Eatin Redfish

This is the time of year when we find long continuous daisy chains of redfish and drum from a fixed position. In key locations at specific times, these strings of fish can stroll past us for hours on end. It is some of my favorite fishing of all the year!

Around the same time, we got to shoot a redfish while a whooping crane feeds in the background ahead of us. Don spotted a redfish at practically point blank range and lays out a perfect cast, retrieve and hookup. Watch the video below. Please excuse the lack of editing and the video’s rotation…

Fall Run is beginning

port aransas, tailing, redfish, texas, fly fishing, guide, charter, beavertail, hatch outdoors, beulah, airflo, fall run, bull, school, trout, speck, rockport, corpus, christi, laguna madre

Baby Bull Released!

The weather has been a little stiff since early September when we got more than our annual amount of rainfall in about a 2 week period. This flooded the salt flats tremendously bringing life and nourishment to the little crabs and shrimps and called the fish that werent breeding into the lakes and ponds to munch on these tasty marine critters. Because the higher water levels were a little later in the year, not a ton of fish moved up into the way back lakes but we found’em in the skinny succulents as well as on the main edges.

This week’s Nor’wester is what we all have been waiting for and it has the water levels dropping rapidly and bait is seriously on the move now! Forget the forecast because the redfish party is starting! You dont want to miss the fall run this year, I expect to see quite a few HEFTY fish in the coming weeks and months!!!

Endless Possibilities

Even in the hardest conditions this cold front dished out, we found tailing redfish and some even had their backs out of the water. Just yesterday we wade-fished and had more tailing and backing reds, and every fish ate the fly when presented well.

Fortunately for us, there is a ton of freshwater heading south towards the coast from the mainland of Texas and this should help keep our water levels manageable and prolong the fall run through November at least. I also expect December to produce many great days of sight casting. Let go of your misconceptions that you cant see redfish without the sun, there are many techniques to apply to the day in order to “find” the fish when light is low or when the winds are blowing! And believe me, Capt Kenjo knows, because he goes fishing any day there isn’t a hurricane!

Another windy tailing redfish in hand!

So get your ducks in a row and Book NOW to view available dates for some awesome sight casting on the fly for Texas Redfish, they should be schooling up more and more as each day passes! Port Aransas has plenty of places to stay and their finest restaurants are open as well!

Bending the Bender

There are plenty more fish to be caught and the bigger ones should be moving up to the edges again soon. Just the other day I spotted a huge pig as she came up on the surface to slurp a big ole crab down the hatch! Call direct if you have any questions! – Capt Kenjo 361-500-2552

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

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

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