Tag Archives: redfish

Spring Fever Sprung

Schools of black drum and redfish all day in one spot. Only reason to change spots is to give the school you’ve been whacking a break.

Single and doubled up reds cruising the open sand flats midday on a slack tide crushing crabs.

Slurped a top water crab fly

Redfish working an isolated turtle grass bed nailing grass shrimp, crabs, AND silversides.

Gangs of redfish in the mud creeks racing the grassy banks busting shrimp. Their crushers doing major damage to the blue crabs.

78 degree, calf deep water.Tails up for hours and well past sunset.

fly fishing, texas, coast, black drum, fly fishing

Mugshot

Sight casting to tailing fish no more than 30 feet away every 3 mintues. Nailing a fish 8 ft from your tippy toes after 6pm. That’s not easy with a 9ft rod. It’s always good idea to work on your short game!

These are just a few highlights of how great the fishing has been lately.

Some exciting new stuff is cooking for 2016! Book your next Texas Coast Fly Fishing trip today!

Capt Ken 361-500-2552 [email protected]

Fly Fishing Texas Gulf Coast

redfish, tailing, port aransas, corpus christi, rockport, guide

Tailing Redfish can be found this time of year!

The 2016 Fly Fishing Season is officially underway and the last month has been fantastic and should continue if our weather patterns hold. Give me a call ASAP to book your next saltwater guided fly fishing trip. Don’t let February pass us by without going fishing! We will dodge the cold fronts and the fishing can be exceptional this time of year! Schooling fish and tailing fish can be found and these fish are hungry and willing to eat!

crab fly, black drum, fly fishing, port aransas

Good fun on the fly!

Back in January I spent a week, or maybe it was two, chasing some trophy trout that were quite the size of my leg! I don’t particularly focus on these fish but this year I found so many giant trout in one general area that I continued to target them for a bit. It was a tough bite and was only able to get a handful of shots over the course of the week and finally I didn’t catch one of those tree trunks.

black drum, texas, coast, fly fishing, guide

Monster Black Drum

Those chances are not entirely past either though as the possibility of finding more trout in the trophy class should last into March!

fly fishing, peanuts, black drum, guide, rockport, corpus christi

peanuts catch big fish!

In the meantime we continued to clean up on redfish in less than a foot of water and the sight casting opportunities just kept coming. Then the schools of redfish and black drum came.

They are schooling up thick and while they were picky I did manage to find out what they can not resist!

black drum, big ugly, fly fishing, port aransas, corpus, rockport

Giant Black Drum

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

Post No Bills

Got out today with new client Tom after tropical storm Bill’s wrath had passed. The joke is that we got more wind/rain back in the month of May.

Return customer John had another good time before the storm with me chasing a few tailing/schooled up redfish on a super skinny tide.

fly fishing, sight, casting, redfish, texas, port aransas,

Sight casted in 6″ of water!

Today’s long story written quickly is that Tom got his first redfish and flounder on the fly today and congrats to him for putting in such great effort! Never giving up always brings the reward and the highlight was when Tom ALMOST caught a 20-lb jack crevalle on a white crease fly!

Tom first Redfish on the fly

We were running between spots and a surface disturbance caught my eye off in the distance. I decided to swing wide and go in for a closer look and found out that a wolf-pack of jacks were finning the surface, their entire dorsal fins were sticking straight up above the water and about 20 of them were just cruising on the surface. Tom got the fly in front of one and it crushed the fly and had him so surprised we didn’t get a good hookset. Then Tom did it again and got the fly out front and this time we were sure to get a good hookset! The fish took off for the horizon and took close to 100yds of backing with him and the entire school too. But while the spool was spinning feverishly in reverse I heard a clanking on the deck. I look down and see something shiny and when I pick it up I realive it was spool knob! Dang! we yelle! This fight just got alot tougher with no way to reel in all that line with a big jack on the other end! So we used the boat motor to chase down the fish with Tom manually stripping in all the backing the fish made a hard run before we could get close and ended up popping the 15-lb tippet. All in all it was another gorgeous day on the flats with a big jack on the Hatch surprise!

hatch reels, fly fishing, port aransas, texas, coast

Something is missing in this photo

Winds and weather are steadily improving and the fish are beginning their staging patterns again to get back up skinny. Give me a call to book, I have a few week days open.

-Capt Kenjo 361-500-2552

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!

Changes in the Seasons

redfish, fly fishing, texas, coast, flats, guide

Come to Poppa!

Old Man Winter threw us a fastball this year and it delivered several North Blows that have lasted 4-6 days long. I normally prefer a more moderate change in seasons but each year is different. This year our weather patterns have shifted to prevailing northerlies a little early and when there is a battle between frontal systems (warm vs. cold) the nice weather only gets to hang around one day maybe two. On each flip between systems, we are getting some very nice blue bird days with light winds allowing us to stalk some red in the shallows.

With the north winds prevailing the schools of redfish that were way up on the flats that I was seeing in the last month have moved into deeper holes near the edges of the flats. Up in the shallows we are still seeing lots of single redfish laid up or cruising for some shrimp, and it has been fun to watch the single fish cruising around and suddenly run into another fish making a pair.

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

Chris nailed this one right at the boat!

This past weekend was fun with returning angler Chris, who is quickly becoming a sharp saltwater fly fisherman. Chris has done very well taking shot after shot at these reds and has been rewarded with some very nice fish. He is beginning to understand well the challenges of sight casting to redfish in crystal clear water. Learning how to look into the grass underwater and find that redfish that is hiding so well lying motionless hovering only half an inch over the top of the grass. Their colors shimmering in the light, each scale sends out hues of gold, copper, amber, and bronze to make it blend into their surroundings. These fish are definitely very colorful this time of year. When the winds have been low and the skies clear, sight casting opportunities exist in good numbers and following the lines on the flats will help you locate fish to which you can sight cast.

redfishing, catch, release, fly fishing, texas, gulf, coast, guide

Let’em Go Dammit!

Move slow so as to not spook the fish in the distance and move even slower to give yourself more time to methodically scan a short radius around you in search of that glimmering tail passing by. For those times when the wind has kicked up a slight chop on the flat, try putting the sun and wind to your back and look through the backsides of the waves to get a clear view of what is lurking below the surface.

As we move into the winter fishing patterns, not all winter hotspots are holding fish yet. Alot of fish are staging between their summer/fall haunts slowly making their way to deep water flats and troughs where dragging the bottom with big ugly flies produces consistent fishing of quality sized reds. These redfish schools will surely grow larger in the coming weeks and in a month or two the giant black drum will also begin to appear offering multiple sight casting opportunities each day.

Keep the hooks sharp!

Captain Ken Jones 361-500-2552

Redfish Schooling

This time of year a well rounded fly angler can find themselves in quite the predicament. To fish inside the bay or to hit the beaches or jetties? That is the question.

The question for you now is what “fly fishing goal” do you want to accomplish today? You pretty much cant go wrong with either decision. You have to go to know. Fishing is still fishing and sometimes its hot, sometimes not. But our imaginations of that hot bite happens all the time, even while we are fishing and we usually think it is just over there, only 10ft further than your maximum cast or on that jetty, not this one. And that is another reason why we fly fish. To be in such a happy place that we feel like we are living our dreams. And in a reality of sorts, we are living our dreams every time we go fishing.

redfish, slot limit, fly fishing, port aransas, guide, corpus christi

Nice redfish just over slot

On the super skinny crystal clear grass flats you can stalk upper slot redfish and have quite a few legit shots at over slot redfish. It can be tense and intimidating for anyone.

Rest assured this time of year it is very likely that you will get many more shots at redfish throughout the day and that is what makes it so much fun. Observing the fish behavior in the clear waters of Port Aransas makes fly fishing for redfish here such a visually stimulating activity. It is thriller to be able to see every last detail of the fish’s scales and every blade of grass hanging from your fly just when that big ‘ole redfish snubs his nose at your fly. To see the fish turn on your fly, or casually glide up to your fly seeming to inspect every last hair for imperfections and then if you do everything right, the Redfish EATS!

sea grass, redfish, fly, fishing, port aransas, corpus christi

Thick grass beds are the perfect hunting grounds for fall redfish

Light tippets are most important this time of the year, and a tapered leader is very useful to avoid the floating widgeon grass. Weedless is a misnomer too, the word simply means “less” grass on the fly, it certainly doesn’t mean “grass proof”! This is why getting locked and loaded and staying on point scanning the water while ready to cast to a fish once spotted is the way to go. Keep 10′ of fly line out past the rod tip and hold the fly by the tail in your free hand. Keep the rod low but pointing away from the direction you are fishing so not to spook a fish before you get a chance to see it when a 10 second burst of sunlight illuminates the flat for you briefly. And when the sunlight bursts through the clouds that is when you need to search frantically for your fish. Take that opportunity to locate a fish nearby if you are not chasing one down already.

While scanning for laid up or cruising fish try and you think you see what might be a redfish wait to cast until you can get a positive identification so not to make a cast to a horse mullet and risk the chance of spooking a redfish nearby. Stay vigilant in keeping an eye on the distance as well, Schools of tailing redfish can often be seen a ways away.

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

Tails UP!

Lately the redfish schools have been pushing the 30″ mark with the bigger fish tailing and smaller fish working the edges of the school. Be careful of your cast though because on the outside edges of the tailing school there are other redfish that are not tailing. Make your first cast to a school of redfish 5-10 feet from the edge. Its almost a guarantee that one will peel off from the pack to nail your fly. And if one doesn’t, you haven’t spooked the school with your line and you can make another cast to get a little closer.

So get out on the water. Don’t be discouraged by rain. Our weather patterns change faster than the forecasts can be updated and sometimes it doesn’t hurt to have a little cloud cover or wind chop on the water. Those things can help conceal your presence on the flat and can also give the fish some added security.

redfish, fall, season, fly fishing, port aransas, corpus christi

Fall Colors

There are secret ways of spotting a redfish on the flat that is also full of big mullet. Learn to distinguish between the disturbances on the surface that a mullet make and the disturbances that redfish make.

Move along the flat slower than cold molasses and it will help you learn these things and ultimately help you locate more redfish. Remember to read the water and move into position to take the shot and you will be rewarded with a nice fish.

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

Texas Tarpon Rodeo

TARPON!

Perma-Grins after 3 days of Fly Fishing for Tarpon

…the word alone sends chills down most people’s spine and makes the hair on their neck stand at attention. For me, a wide range of emotions flood me like an Autumn tide at just the thought of tarpon all the way from excitement to anxiety.

This is one fish that can make people weak in the knees, jump for joy and cringe in fear all in the same day. Knowing the odds are not in your favor when fly fishing for these beasts is textbook and is certainly the wide range of emotions you experience that keeps one coming back for more and more.

Most humans strive daily to find a sense of accomplishment, but the mighty tarpon always feels accomplished. Standard units of measure seem not apply to this fish, as it is constantly exceeding expectations and absolutely fascinating its audience simply upon appearance.

Lady luck doesn’t discriminate either, and oftentimes her attraction is not always towards the experienced but she is certainly attracted to skill. And this is where last week’s client, Adrian, enters the scene stage left on a referral from a trusted fly fishing contact in Dallas. Adrian and I talk extensively for months leading up to the trip and I tell Adrian how to prepare himself physically and mentally and he booked without hesitation a multi-day trip tarpon trip with me hoping to scratch this species off his bucket-list.

Hooked Up

One day just isn’t enough when fishing for tarpon and even with Lady Luck in your shirt pocket you might only need one day, but come on, this is Monsieur Tarpon we are talking about here! Multiple days is not only what it takes, but it is what you need even if you succeed to land your first tarpon the first day, there is no doubt you are going to twitch uncontrollably until you get another. And, Adrian did just that. Coming from the West Coast and being used to casting heavily forward weighted shooting heads Adrian was comfortable with my 11wt Beulah Fly Rod in hand and I instantly knew after his first cast that he had good chances of hooking his first tarpon with acceptable odds of landing it.

We spent the morning warming up the brain and getting into position we stop in a few likely spots, nail some fun lady fish and by the afternoon we were strapped into our Korker’s CastTrax. Sure-footed we ventured out on the rocks really warmed up and ready to put a hurtin’ on some fish. At one point standing on the highest rock I can find to get a good view far out into the water I notice a large sandy brown spot the size of a pickup truck and it appears to be moving left to right.

First redfish on fly for Adrian and its a beauty!

I holler down to Adrian who is lower to the water that there is a big school of redfish out there and have him cast straight out as far as he can. His fly lands 5-feet short and just behind the leading fish when suddenly one peels off from the school and snatches his fly. “SET SET SET” I shout and instinctively Adrian does, coming tight to a nice 29-30 inch redfish.

Having knocked this one off his list we move farther out into the macro-chasm of granite and begin scouting intently straining our eyes to see rolling tarpon that might not even be there.

Then it happened. That magic witching hour fell upon us and tarpon began to appear in a place where the moderately stiff wind direction was not exactly in our favor but the tide had just turned and the presence of bait was right. So, this is where skill came into play, and Adrian adapted to the wind angles nicely, adjusting his stance and casting stroke to make it safe to cast a 3/0 tarpon fly. Before long he had his first strike, just below the water’s surface but shallow enough to see 3 feet of flashy silver flanks. “Oooohhh! What was that?” Adrian asks… “Tarpon!!!” I exclaim. Another cast goes out, and in just a few strips of the fly Adrian grunts and instantly a 10 pound tarpon leaps into the air cartwheeling and back flipping multiple times.

silver, king, tarpon, texas, gulf, coast, fly, fishing

20-25lb Silver King

He hoots and holler’s aloud and I have Adrian move into a good landing position so I can avoid the 2ft surf washing against the rocks so the fish doesnt get injured so much and where I can leader and unhook the fish returning its freedom without hesitation.

Night falls quickly when you’re having fun jumping tarpon and we continue to fish. Tensions build as our eyes adjust to the last of sunlight and then Adrian hooks another fish. This time it is a 4 foot tarpon close to 60-pounds and only 20 feet from the rod tip. Instantly it leaps directly away from us with lightning fast reflexes on the hook-set. Unfortunately this fish comes unbuttoned and back to casting we go still hootin’ and hollerin and throwing out high-fives with glee. A little while later and as the tide peaks we move around to the other side and Adrian sets the hook on another tarpon, a respectable 3 footer which we land and take a quick photo.

Then as the tides change again the bite dies off, we decide to retire for the night and hit it again in the morning hoping the tide will turn’em on again but this time the tide wasn’t exactly the same. So we spent the 2nd morning casting blind in all the likely spots but the tarpon were just not there and probably had moved farther out with the falling tide. This is “fishing” of course, so we turn our sights to other species and continue fishing hoping to tie into a redfish or another species.

snook, texas, fly, fishing, gulf, mexico,

South Texas Snook on Fly

As Adrian is working a productive hole, he gets a massive strike from a fish we cannot see, and it pulls down the 11wt rod with a considerable bend but there is no jumping from the fish. As Adrian fights to keep the fish out of the rocks, the creature surfaces and we see right away that it is a snook! Now that’s a nice and rare fish and another species stricken from his bucket list. We spend the afternoon changing locations and resting up and refueling our bodies, we talk about the final day’s plans.

On the morning of the 3rd day, I call Adrian an hour early and tell him that our plans to fish for redfish on the flats have changed and that we need to scramble to get in on another tarpon bite going off. Having literally 200+ tarpon flies in the box, there only seemed to be one or two tarpon fly patterns that the silver king wanted to eat that week and after two days of hardcore fly fishing I had run out of copies losing them to the unforgiving rocks and tearing them up to hungry fish.

fly tying, tarpon, flies, fishing, texas, gulf, coast, guide

20 minutes to GO TIME!!!

Luckily I tie all my own flies and I had tied a few more copies of the pattern at 5am earlier that morning to make sure we had what we needed to get the job done on the final day. Again, and without hesitation, Adrian said “Hell yeah! Let’s go!” and we geared up with red bull and donuts heading to the next tarpon spot with our tackle and enough food and water to get us through a potential 12-hour day. As we arrive on the scene, our eyes turn to the water, scanning to-and-fro looking for the tell-tale sign of Poon-anny.

Not seeing much at first, I explain to Adrian that tarpon do not have to “roll or gulp air” and that they certainly do this in areas with low oxygen levels but that they may also roll just for fun, or to look for humans to torture above the water’s surface. Additionally, some of their rolls are aggressive and obviously intended to kill their food. I continue to give hope and explain that even though we may not see any tarpon, there is good chance that they are there and it is only a matter of time before we get bitten. As the sun finishes freeing itself of the cloudy horizon we begin to see some tarpon roll. Occasionally we see a tarpon make an aggressive roll and this jump-starts the twitch in us again and we make a short move down and to the side where I can see another pod of fish rolling. Adrian begins casting and retrieving with faith the special fly that had worked so well over the previous two days.

By the time Adrian had made his 5th cast in this other spot, Adrian yells “FISH ON!!!” and BOOOM!!! the line goes tight while an absolute beast emerges from the water shaking his head back and forth so violently that water is spraying 30 feet out to the sides.

fly, fishing, guide, texas, coast, tarpon, leader, port aransas

Guess I need to beef it up to 50-lb leader with 30-turn bimini twist and a 100-lb bite tippet!!!

The creature’s massive mouth was agape and big enough to fit a 5-gallon bucket. I could see the freshly tied fly firmly planted in the top right lip near the corner. In the same nano-second the fish ejects its entire body from the water and flies through the air in the direction of the horizon, Adrian holds on tight and does a phenomenal job of clearing the fly line to get the fish on the Hatch 9+ reel and then clearing his hands from the blazing fast 50-lb backing as it peels off the reel faster than a super sonic jet! The lassoed GIANT Tarpon leaps 3 more times as it covers one hundred yards in the blink of an eye with our line in tow and on the 3rd jump she lands on the leader and shreds the 30-lb bimini twisted tippet separating our connection. Having just witnessed this and getting several good looks at it, I conservatively estimated this fish at 6+ feet and over 150-lbs and actually closer to 7-feet and weighing nearly 200-lbs.

Reeling in the slack line we exchanged several high-fives, handshakes and even a hug or two with enormous memories flooding our mind’s eye as the adrenaline continued to course through our veins. Under my breath I think to myself… “Well!!! That is it! Certainly this fish cannot be topped today!. Yet, with shaking hands and knees, we continue to fish non-stop for another 4 hours in an attempt to connect with another tarpon but in fact, this gigantic fish had taken the very last copy of that magic fly which had worked so well. The Airflo Tropical Tarpon Lines performed flawlessly and gave solid hooksets on every fish!

hatch, outdoors, fly, fishing, reels, texas, gulf, coast, mexico

Hatch Reels withstand all the abuse you can dish out

Retiring for the late afternoon, Adrian and I visit a local watering hole to have a really ice cold beer and reminisce about the last 3-days of fishing. I congratulate Adrian on a job well done and that he is a seriously lucky fisherman for having hooked such as massive tarpon on his 3rd and final day of fishing with me.

Immensely proud of Adrian, it is a true privilege to be able to work as a professional fly fishing guide who not only gets to take people fishing but that I am able to witness so many “firsts” for my clients such as their first redfish, first tarpon, first snook, and first GIANT Tarpon. To experience the rarest of rare moments with them is pure ecstasy and sharing in their enthusiasm, joy and excitement gives me the sense of accomplishment that I spent so long to find.

Thank You Adrian for being such a great fisherman and fantastic guest and a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to you for all of your exceptional catches while fishing with me! I cannot wait to see you again next year for the next Fall Migration of our Gulf of Mexico Tarpon!!!

P.S. Everyone… The first week of November is available for another multi-day tarpon trip. Call me ASAP to get in on this action before the run is over!!!