Tag Archives: red

Winter Low Tides

Winter doesn’t really settle into the Texas Coast until around February. But Tom from Colorado knows all too well that he can come down to Port Aransas for some great fly fishing action during the winter low tides.

Texas, fly fishing, sight cast, redfish, black drum, speckled trout, flounder, Aransas, winter, low, tides, Port Aransas, marsh, fly, guide, flats ,red, Rockport, Laguna Madre, upper, outfitters, mud, oyster, Corpus, Christi, Texas coast, sea trout, tailing, school, bull, trouthunter, henrys fork, idaho, beavertail, skiff, saltwater, winston, rods, RL, airflo, fly line, conservation, flatsworthy
Tom caught his second personal best record breaking Texas redfish measuring 30 3/8″ on the fly with KenjoFly Fishing

On this particular day of winter low tides, the fishing was great!

We had multiple schools of cruising redfish to chase for hours. They were swimming in formation, evenly spaced like fighter jets. Tom connected with several quality redfish in the marsh. Managing to set his own personal best redfish record on the fly twice was icing on the cake.

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Tom admires his first personal best redfish for the day with Capt Kenjo measuring 29 inches.

Kissing a fish makes a lot of people feel disgusted, but every true fly fishing angler with good sportsmanship knows that kissing the fish before letting it go brings good karma!

Texas, fly fishing, sight cast, redfish, black drum, speckled trout, flounder, Aransas, Port Aransas, marsh, fly, guide, flats ,red, Rockport, Laguna Madre, upper, outfitters, mud, oyster, Corpus, Christi, Texas coast, sea trout, tailing, school, bull, trouthunter, henrys fork, idaho, beavertail, skiff, saltwater, winston, rods, RL, airflo, fly line
Tom kisses another Texas Redfish before releasing it back into Aransas bay

Some also say that a fish with a big tail shows great potential in their DNA, somewhat like a child growing big feet early on in life… Do you ever wonder though where the blue sheen in a redfish’s tail comes from?

Texas, fly fishing, sight cast, redfish, black drum, speckled trout, flounder, Aransas, Port Aransas, marsh, fly, guide, flats ,red, Rockport, Laguna Madre, upper, outfitters, mud, oyster, Corpus, Christi, Texas coast, sea trout, tailing, school, bull, trouthunter, henrys fork, idaho, beavertail, skiff, saltwater, winston, rods, RL, airflo, fly line, conservation, fishpond, net,
The blue in the tail of a redfish comes from the blue green algae that the food of the redfish eat. Crabs, shrimp and mullet all eat blue green algae and it is passed onto the redfish and is revealed in their tail fins.
Texas, fly fishing, sight cast, redfish, black drum, speckled trout, flounder, Aransas, Port Aransas, marsh, fly, guide, flats ,red, Rockport, Laguna Madre, upper, outfitters, mud, oyster, Corpus, Christi, Texas coast, sea trout, tailing, school, bull, trouthunter, henrys fork, idaho, beavertail, skiff, saltwater, winston, rods, RL, airflo, fly line
Tom racked up the numbers sight fishing Texas redfish on the fly.

Additionally, with the winter low tides, April and May are already showing great promise with loads of baitfish moving into the bays and marsh areas to feed, and the redfish, trout and drum and feeding on them heartily as we breathe. Get on your calendars folks and book a fly fishing trip in Port Aransas with Capt Kenjo! The jack crevelle are right around the corner and hungry to put on the feed bags for ya’ll!!!

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A True Texas Grand Slam

Its baseball season! Both my wonderful children are in Little League too! Grand Slams are rare in Little League baseball and the grand slam consists of 4 runs batted in. And while baseball is my favorite sport of all, fly fishing by sight is my absolute favorite method of fishing! To catch a True Texas Grand Slam (4 species, not 3) fly fishing saltwater, it is a very cherished moment!

Texas, fly fishing, sight cast, redfish, black drum, speckled trout, flounder, Aransas, Port Aransas, marsh, fly, guide, flats ,red, Rockport, Laguna Madre, upper, outfitters, mud, oyster, Corpus, Christi, Texas coast, sea trout, tailing, school, bull, trouthunter, henrys fork, idaho, beavertail, skiff, saltwater, winston, rods, RL, airflo, fly line
Guest Angler Evan from Colorado caught 4 species today completing his True Saltwater Grand Slam!

Additionally, Evan came down from the mountains of Colorado recently for his first fly fishing trip in the saltwater. Little did we know that the super duper low tides would set us up. For him to catch a true Texas grand slam. Four species are needed (in my book) before an angler can claim he caught a grand slam. And Evan did just that! We caught top slot redfish, several black drum, couple speckled trout and a bonus flounder (while casting to redfish).

Texas, fly fishing, sight cast, redfish, black drum, speckled trout, flounder, Aransas, Port Aransas, marsh, fly, guide, flats ,red, Rockport, Laguna Madre, upper, outfitters, mud, oyster, Corpus, Christi, Texas coast, sea trout, tailing, school, bull, trouthunter, henrys fork, idaho, beavertail, skiff, saltwater, winston, rods, RL, airflo, fly line
Guest Angler Evan from Colorado caught 4 species today completing his Grand Slam!

His previous experience with streamer fishing in the mountains had his cast working darn great for him! A True Texas Grand Slam

Texas, fly fishing, sight cast, redfish, black drum, speckled trout, flounder, Aransas, Port Aransas, marsh, fly, guide, flats ,red, Rockport, Laguna Madre, upper, outfitters, mud, oyster, Corpus, Christi, Texas coast, sea trout, tailing, school, bull, trouthunter, henrys fork, idaho, beavertail, skiff, saltwater, winston, rods, RL, airflo, fly line, grand, slam,
Guest Angler Evan from Colorado caught his 4th species today completing his Grand Slam!

However, congratulations to Evan with his catches that day! And Hooray for completing a True Texas Grand Slam on your first saltwater trip! Let’s get back out there again soon! I’d like to see if we can get into some jack crevelle and other species! This is a great year to rack up the list even more! Kudos, my friend!

Texas, fly fishing, sight cast, redfish, black drum, speckled trout, flounder, Aransas, Port Aransas, marsh, fly, guide, flats ,red, Rockport, Laguna Madre, upper, outfitters, mud, oyster, Corpus, Christi, Texas coast, sea trout, tailing, school, bull, trouthunter, henrys fork, idaho, beavertail, skiff, saltwater, winston, rods, RL, airflo, fly line
Guest Angler Evan from Colorado caught 4 species today completing his Texas Saltwater Grand Slam!

Finally, dates in April & May are available! The redfish are schooling up in tailing pods keeping every angler super satisfied fly fishing Port Aransas Texas. Additionally, each day we will be spending a little time searching for jack crevelle in the bay.

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Captains Annual Fishing Update

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Blind in one Eye?

Ladies and Gents! To any and all with whom I haven’t spoken in a while, I want to wish you all a Happy New Years, Merry Christmas and HappyThanksgiving! I pray that all has been well with you and yours! It has been quite some time having posted anything so it is certainly time to give everyone a Captains Annual Fishing Update!

Fishing the Fall Run of ’23

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Last minute trips can prove to be productive too

 

The fishing during the fall run of 2023 was pretty great. There were plenty of days to struggle finding fish, but there were quite a few days when we were astonished at having seen so many in one place. The key was finding the niche places that the numbers tend to hold this time of year. Not as many places held decent populations of fish but we pressed on each time, locating fish, getting shots and making catches. That’s just the name of the game in sight fishing with a fly in the salt..

Personal Update from Capt Kenjo

Some of you are aware that I have been planning to take some time off from guiding in order to have some surgeries. Unfortunately these plans have now changed no thanks to some failed handshakes in the healthcare industry. So, back to square 1 in regards to starting this process all over again. If any of you readers have a great spine surgeon referral in Texas please don’t hesitate to share!

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The Most Excellent News

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Glass on Glass

As this news goes, the most excellent news is that I get to keep guiding this year! Or at least until I can find another surgeon. Spring is approaching fast. But don’t forget! The captains annual fishing update says, “We are not done with our winter fishing yet!” Next week forecast looks rained out but the last few days of January forecast can been great! And February still has promise too! What is certain right now is that the fish are hungry after this cold front and if we can get out there to hunt them, we will have a good chance trying to feed them if we can adapt!

Last Minute Trips

We all now how it goes, we wake up one morning with no plans to go fishing, look outside, see the blue skies with no wind and say, “Dang it! I should have gone fishing today!” Well, stop right there and give me a call at 7am if you want to hop on the boat for last minute trips typically starting at 9am this time of year! Half day trips are $600 this year. Please note: Payment in full is required for last minute trips and for late night calls! -Capt Kenjo 361-500-2552

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Prevailing Optimism

Prevailing

The Summer of ’23 is certainly one to remember, with loads of sunshine and fair winds. With prevailing optimism we managed to find redfish many days as well as some individual slot fish cruising around, backing and mudding, floating and crab crushing on the mangrove roots. One lucky angler witnessed a possible world-record speckled trout swim away from us rather calmly. You can ask me on the boat soon about that story!

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This guy just wont smile :-)

Some guests got to see some well above average fish too. We even had some blacktip and bull shark action in the flats where many like to wade.

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Flounder are best to taste!

One 5ft Bull Shark in particular demonstrated prevailing optimism. While in only 2ft of water it gave us time to change rods (from redfish to jack rod) and as we polled alongside, the Angler hit it on the head 10x with the fly at least. Finally! It ate the fly as it landed across its head right next to its mouth. That shark rolled on it’s side and engulfed the 6/0 jack popper. HA! Perfect hook placement too, even though 50-lb flouro does not stand a chance. The angler was so surprised though that he never set the hook. That is good enough of a game for me! Our optimism is prevailing again!

Optimism

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First Timer Joe Sight casting Texas Redfish on Light Tackle

September and October are perfect times to sight fish because we tend to see larger than average redfish on the flats because the spawning age fish begin to move to the inlets to reproduce. We are already seeing a handful of over slot redfish each day when we are working the right areas. Tailing schools of smaller redfish are showing up again too as our tides come up a little. Soon the fall tides will have the fish crawling the edges like crazy! I expect to see a good run of bigger than normal fish this Fall Season! d

Hopefulness

Therefore, have hopefulness! Come get your next fly fishing experience with Kenjo Fly on the saltwater flats of Port Aransas, fly fishing & sight casting Mustang and St Joe islands! Maybe we will even run into schooling bulls, blitzing jacks, blood thirsty sharks, or prehistoric tarpon in the Wild Blue Yonder!

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Redfish on foot defeats the wind and wins the prize

Sharpen Ye Hooks & Call NOW!!! 361-500-2552

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light tackle redfish on the fly port aransas corpus christi bay aransas rockport texas salt water flyfishing fly fishing things to do charters trips padre laguna madre ingleside portland sight fishing casting spot stalk
Glamorous Ladyfish Skipjack on the Fly

Drain Games – The Texas Fall Redfish Run

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STAR DATE: October 31, 2019 PLANET: Earth COORDINATES: 27.8339° N, 97.0611° W

FIELD NOTES: The redfish are displaying the following characteristics and behaviors; Crawling, mudding, tailing, schooling, popping, whopping, backing, crushing, pouncing, hounding. Its GO Time in Port Aransas! Lock and Load! Load and Go! (pics below)

Some of the most heart pounding sight-casting to red drum on the fly will be happening over the course of the next few weeks/month! The apex of the fall season is hitting us Now in full swing and underway making way! Sure as frozen fire, the tidal drain-game begins again as Texas redfish, trout, flounder and black drum turn face first into the winds and outpouring of bay water moving “en masse” to feed shallower and shallower. As the migration of shrimp, crabs and baitfish flush out of the estuaries the fish are there and feeding heavily in preparation for the onset of winter. As the fourth significant cold front of the year hits the Coastal Bend right now, strong windy conditions will prevail for the next 24 hours as the dry cool air sweeps across the countryside colliding with the warm moist air of the coastal areas along the Gulf of Mexico the the the winds become more tame and best for fishing!

The redfish have already shown up in very strong numbers up to 30 inches after the previous cold front and it is likely that the next few weeks will see some of the best Texas sight casting to have been done all year. Game on! These next 2-3 weeks may just become noted as “Peak Weeks” for the Fall Run. Time will tell. Needless to say the fly fishing is excellent NOW. Get in touch with your local preferred guide to coordinate ASAP!

My immediate forthcoming availability is THIS WEEKEND starting Sunday as well as Monday Tuesday and Thursday (Nov 3-5 & 7th)…

Call Captain Ken today (while I am prepping for the next 2 weeks of hardcore redfishing) or plan your next trip online at your convenience! Call 361-500-2552

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Summer Summaries

fly, fishing, jack, crevelle, hatch, outdoors, nature, eco, tour, airflo, beavertail, skiffs, flyfishing, guide, charters, redfish, bay, texas, coast, gulf
Double Jacks on the fly on the Texas Coast
redfish, fly, fishing, guide, charter, beavertail, simms, hatch, outdoors, airflo, skiffs, flats, saltwater, winston, rods, fly, line, company, sage, flies, red, drum, black drum, trout, speckled, sea, port, aransas, texas, corpus, christi, marsh, spartina, grass, protected, whooping cranes, sandhill, birds, tour, eco, laguna, madre, poc, conner, airflo, tropical, punch, sage, rod, abel, reel, drum, guide, charters, trout, sea, speck, speckled, red, black, trip, things to do, adventure, multi-day, tail, tailing, tailers, pods, school, sage, fly, rod, beavertail, skiff, flats, saltwater, fishing, tailwaters
Matt enjoying some tailing redfish pods

The Summer fly fishing program on the Texas Coast has been reliable to say the least. Early summer saw many pods of tailing redfish early morning with many shots at pods of jack crevalle averaging 30lbs.

Once the water in the bay got too warm the bait flushed and the jacks moved with them to the deeper cooler channels.

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On John’s Birthday Trip he joined the 30 Inch Club
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Post No Bills Redfish

Quite a few fish came to hand this season and once we were in full swing we were finding them every day. Pods of redfish were targeted and single cruising fish were also welcomed targets.

Some cool fish also moved into the neighborhood, and some had the pleasure to observe a 4ft Bullshark in the bay as well as some 3-5 foot Alligator gar. Even saw another 4 foot alligator gar yesterday.

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Ryker can cast. Ryker can catch FISH!

Some even got to take shots at some very large redfish but for some people, the pressure is insurmountable in those moments and things dont always go as imagined or planned and some lucky others also caught some fine specimens. This is how experience is gained and this is how it is earned as an angler.

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Drum Whisperer

It is how, eventually, you become able to “in the heat of the moment” to be still, move slowly and calmly make a deliberately well-presented cast to the fish of your dreams.

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Father and Son enjoying Texas Redfish Challenges on the fly

For others, until you have dropped your pants on accident enough times, Murphy seems to be there, even when your guide can remain calm. Jimi Hendrix didnt write “Are you educated”, he wrote, “Are you Experienced”.

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Recent Graduate Ryker Lands Marvelously Colored Redfish

Many thanks to all who fished with me this summer! You all make experiencing my dreams a reality. Stay ready though, the fall run is right around the corner and should be even better than last year!

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Kasey got in on some nice Tailing Redfish Action

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Adam nailed this redfish on a olive fighting crab fly

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Emerald Summers and Endless Sunrises

Port Aransas Texas, fly fishing, rockport, corpus christi, red, drum, redfish, sight casting, guide, charters, adventure, things to do in, flats, hatch outdoors, airflo, fly lines, beavertail skiffs, bull, red, record

Oooooo-OUI!

Emerald green waters from offshore in the Gulf of Mexico are moving against the beaches now pushing new life into the bays and large predator fish follow suit. The bay is absolutely teeming with wildlife, with false albacore making an appearance in the channels and wolf packs of jacks in the wide open bays. The weather has been phenomenal this last month and provided us some opportunities to work the deeper edges of the flat and has been producing some nice fat trout and even a few big bull redfish have been caught. This 38 inch redfish is currently holding the new all-time boat record, with a 32 inch red drum to hand just the day before. Yesterday’s jack may also hold the boat record for its species although we have broken off bigger crevelle in some sickening fights on the 11wt already.

Port Aransas Texas, fly fishing, rockport, corpus christi, red, drum, redfish, sight casting, guide, charters, adventure, things to do in, flats, hatch outdoors, airflo, fly lines, beavertail skiffs

“Stay Tight Charlie!!!”

Port Aransas Texas, fly fishing, rockport, corpus christi, red, drum, redfish, sight casting, guide, charters, adventure, things to do in, flats, hatch outdoors, airflo, fly lines, beavertail skiffs

Rhett & Kathleen love fly fishing the saltwater flats of the Texas Coast

At sunrise, way back in the saltwater lakes of the marsh many pods of tailing redfish are chowing down on crabs and shrimp and are willing eaters for everyone who remains quiet and stealthy.

Shhhhh! Just listen to the sounds of nature surrounding you. Be Here NOW. (TURN UP THE VOLUME)

 

Port Aransas Texas, fly fishing, rockport, corpus christi, red, drum, redfish, sight casting, guide, charters, adventure, things to do in, flats, hatch outdoors, airflo, fly lines, beavertail skiffs

26 inch Red Drum on the fly

Bright skies and a patiently determined fly fisherman can put some nice fish in the boat!

Sunrise and Sunset trips are also available NOW! Don’t hesitate! Give me a call to book your next saltwater fly fishing adventure in Port Aransas Texas. Capt Kenjo 361-500-2552

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See ya tomorrow!

Good Times Fly Fishing

Tomjo at 2 months!

Tomjo at 2 months!

Things have been shakin and bakin ’round the Jones’ house lately and especially with the addition of our newborn son, Thomas. He is already growing so fast this little man will be double-haulin a fly soon enough. Sarah and I could not be more excited to have him in our lives! With all that has been going on around the domicile, I haven’t gotten out on the water much at all except for a short hour here and there and in between diaper changes and all the jazz that comes with that! Just like now, putting this blog together at 11:52pm… Thankfully the boy went to sleep!

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

‘Ole Clouser getting it done on a 22inch sea trout

Two day ago when I arrived at a favorite Port Aransas spot that usually produces a nice table fish (such as grouper, trout or flounder), the water looked great but when I checked off in the distance I couldn’t help but notice a large tanker ship bearing down on the inlet getting ready to head into Corpus Christi Bay to do its dirty deeds. I thought to myself, well, there goes the fishing, and sure enough, as the ship passed the water muddied up nicely against the rocks. But I persisted, and methodically worked the fly from up current letting it swing to and fro… Finally I got the bite I had hoped for, and without even knowing what kind of fish had hit the fly, a large smile crossed my face as if I hadn’t caught any fish in a long time. Then something large appeared under my fish as it came to the surface, instantly thinking to myself, SHARK! But then, a 30-lb jack crevalle came busting out of the water hot on the tail of my trout, and I had to take evasive maneuvers to keep the fish from eating my catch! Definitely a fun experience to observe, but I told Mr. Jack “Not this time!” and quickly plucked my catch from its reach.

There are some dates open in September for sight-casting to redfish on the flats and I expect to see some big bull reds there too. I also have a few days available in October for Prime-time tarpon fishing. Give me a call directly asap to get on the books and make sure to leave a message if I don’t answer! The phone stays on vibrate most of the day to keep from waking the family!

Keeping the hooks sharp,
Captain Ken Jones
361-500-2552
Port Aransas, TX
USCG Licensed
Certified Tourism Ambassador
Certified Wildlife Guide

 

 

 

Redfish going strong in Port Aransas

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Bowed-up redfish

Got out yesterday for a quick 1 hour reconnaissance trip, and with the ulterior motive of setting a couple crab traps to soak… So after the dirty deeds of baiting the traps was complete I picked up my 8wt paired with my new Hatch 5+ Finatic for a chance to break it in for the first time. Turning the tiller to the nearest flat where i could get a good 30 minute drift along a narrow portion within minutes I was setup to drift across the flat and sure enough, there the redfish were. Cruising against the wind in only 7inches of water the redfish were going across or heading straight at me and I took a few shots at them and got one to eat almost right away. The casts where i didn’t get a bite were the ones where the fly landed too far away from the fish. One very large spotted trout even cruised into casting range but my fly landed right on its shoulders and what did it do? Exactly what most anyone would do if you dropped a bug on their shoulders… SPOOK!  And that’s just why I keep coming back for more! Getting multiple chances to place the fly in the “perfect zone” and the continuous opportunities to make it happen all over again is why!

Feel free to give me a call to book your next chance at some skinny water redfish!

Keeping the hooks sharp,
Captain Ken Jones
361-500-2552
Port Aransas, TX
USCG Licensed
Certified Tourism Ambassador
Certified Wildlife Guide

Ken Jones

Redfish Numbers on the Rise

“Look there! 12 O’clock, 200 yds!” What’s that? Oh man! Its a coyote!” We watched in amazement as a coyote seemed to be swimming towards a short oyster reef, which was on the edge of the middle of nowhere… He must has swum quite a long distance to reach that reef. The squawking shorebirds of several varieties protested the coyote while coming ashore but it seemed unfazed by their annoying calls and cries intent on reaching drier land.  How cool it is to be on the flats and observe wildlife roaming free, unhindered, and most of the time… uninterrupted? Pretty damned cool if you ask me.

The last few days was great for fishing the flats and with persistence and a sharp eye there were plenty of fun shots at slot-sized redfish. A 36 inch redfish graced us with its presence on Tuesday and young angler Cole from Ft. Worth took quite a few heroic shots at that bull red but it showed no interest in the fly we had been using to sight fish the pocket water. On top of that we tracked along with that fish only 15 feet off the port side  for a few minutes and Cole didn’t flinch and stayed cool the whole time!

redfish, fly fishing, charters, port aransas, texas, gulf, guide, flats

nice under slot size redfish specimen safely released

As the week progressed the skies and winds improved and for the last couple days the small and scattered clouds eased over us, sending shadows over the flat but the clouds would pass by after only 30 seconds and the sunshine would illuminate the flat again well enough to see good numbers of fish over the course of the day. Matter of fact, my guest today landed his first keeper redfish of the day within 15 minutes of working the flat with me on the platform… On a popper too no less. Then the second fish came on a shrimp/crab hybrid fly and it too was also a nice slot fish. The third fish was big enough to be in the upper end of the slot but popped off when some tippets go tight and possibly brush against an oyster shell.

Here is a shot of a wild sea creature we encountered today. Who can guess the species?

DSCN3131 copyright-sea-cucumberThe fish are filing onto the flats when the tides allow, and each day it seems like more and more redfish are slipping up out of the deeper waters and even holding on the flat longer as the tides fall. The sea grasses are looking nice, plush and green now too. Quite possibly it is this weekend’s full moon that is turning on the fish. It has certainly caused an interesting tide cycle this past week. Nonetheless, as I sit here and type this tall tail I ask if you would imagine a pair of tailing upper slot redfish in 8inches of water. And while at least the thought wont escape me, I am debating within myself whether or not I should hunt for tarpon tomorrow morning 4am to sunrise… Sounds crazy I know… But that is just how I like it.

I’ve got a few dates left in June for flats charters and a few dates towards the end of July. Weekdays are highly recommended. Call for details. 361-500-2552

Also here is a short clip I took a while back with notable Outdoor Writer, Phil Shook, of some cool dolphin laying down tricks in the wake of a tanker ship at Charlies Pasture.

-Keeping the hooks sharp, Capt Ken Jones