Tag Archives: redfish

Hot Tail Continues

tailing, redfish, fly. fishing, saltwater, guide, port aransas, texas, gulf, coast,

There were too many of these to count!

The redfish has been more than cooperative and even with the extreme dead low tides we are still able to get into the skinny water with my skiff and put a hurtin’ on the large numbers of tailing red fish.

Justin fished with me recently and we absolutely had a blast trying to get him his first redfish on the fly! Not surprisingly the degree of difficulty in taking shots at these fish can be compared the technical difficulty found when bonefishing.

refish on fly, red, fish, fly, fishing, texas, gulf, coast, port aransas, guide

Optical Illusion! A 24inch redfish looks like 19inches up against Justin’s stature!

Undaunted and full of energy, Justin stuck it out and adapted well. His initiative that he took a week in advance to practice his casting accuracy by taking shots at paper plates in the yard at random distances certainly gave him he edge he needed to get the job done when taking shots at tailing redfish in only 8 inches of water! His exercise in patience paid off as well and for the first time he was able to sight-cast, hookup, and land this nice slot redfish. Of course he let it swim away, as it is only right and good karma to set free the first fish!

The weather has been more than cooperative, and the few passing clouds are nice and offer great reprieve from the scorching sunshine! I have some lat minute dates available and early August and late August are also open!

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

Hot Tailing Reds on the Fly

fly fishing, redfish, texas, gulf, coast

Waiting for the fish to come to us… Staying on point with fly in hand.

Well it seems like we have been waiting all year for it to happen and I am happy to say that the last few weeks has been HOT for redfish on the fly on the flats near Port Aransas. While the fishing was good earlier in the year, the colder than normal winter kept the fish from moving up super skinny for quiet a bit longer than we all hoped for. And while there were decent numbers of redfish on the flats in May and June, they just were not in the mood to put their tails up. Now it’s just head down and ass up for them all and I am finding excellent numbers of redfish in every direction and there are several times a day when we encounter schools of 5-10 tailers in 6-8inches of water. This allows for plenty of shots at fish and as long as you can place the fly gently within 1 foot of the fish’s business end (the mouth) they are willing to eat and will blow a hole in the water when hooked taking you to the backing in short order. Additionally there are still some big broom-tailed redfish that I am seeing each time I got out, Its only a matter of time before one of those tails pops up within a decent distance and someone will get to take their shot at a 30+ inch bull red.

On short notice Dylan came down from Austin for a quickie this past weekend and even though the boat ramp was busy we only shared the huge flat with one other skiff. Dylan was able to take tons of shots at cruising and tailing fish and the times that he got the fly right where it needed to be, it got eaten.

redfish, port aransas, guide, fly fishing

Patience and Persistence brought this fine redfish to hand

If you are planning to come down to fly fish for these redfish in this super skinny water I strongly suggest spending some time in the yard doing some target practice at distances between 30-50feet. Tie a piece of yarn on the end of the tippet and take 4 or 5 paper plates out onto the lawn and spread them out at various angles and distances. Then stand back and take shots at each plate without rocking your body and making a few false casts as possible. Placing the plates at random distances and staggering them off to one side and the other will hone your targeting skills as you hit each plate and instantly move onto the next target. Keeping your false casts to a minimum is important because a single false cast in the air over the top of a redfish will most certainly spook the fish from the noise the line makes as it travels through the air. Spend 15-30 minutes a day casting at these paper plates and with a little time on the lawn you will find your targeting skills will become more accurate and each cast will have a better chance at getting an eat from the fish.

I have only a few days available left in July for guided trips. Give me a call ASAP to get in on this action with a fly rod!

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

Learn to Fish Eat more Fish

On how the Hastings Bill could throw a wrench in the re-authorization of the Magnuson Stevens Act…

“We have to remember that what really matters is [TOTAL] mortality, which is the sum of all mortality, whether or not fishing-related.” – John McMurray.

red white fly grouper texas coast

Dinner Sized Comb Grouper on the Fly

When I read this, I stopped… grabbed at the stubble on my chin and thought to myself…

“Precisely! This signifies what we should do when factors “outside our jurisdiction” cause a [calculable] negative impact on fish species populations.”

Maybe there is some rough factor in the equations already that account for this, but I bet not everything is taken into account. I’d like to see a list but I am no expert in those things. It seems though the obvious proactive measure would be to reduce quotas across the board in order not disrupt the natural ebbs and flows of a balanced fish population.  Human impact factors are the greatest of all in the list of measurable conditions which negatively effect a fishery. There is endless amounts of data for that! avoiding the use of plastics every moment you have is one example of a counter measure to pollution.

I’ve been known to say, “If you want to eat ( the freshest of) fish, learn to catch it yourself!”

Not only will it taste better than any fish you have ever eaten, the sense of accomplishment when serving your meal will be absolutely amazing.

redfish, fly fishing,

Not dinner to go? Let it go!

My philosophy when fishing for the table is to simply realize that I do not need to take a “limit” of fish. Nor do I need to kill the most fish and the biggest of fish that the law allows. Especially if just because it is allowed.

Compare the amount of fish on your plate at a restaurant to the size of the fish on your plate at home. As a frame of reference, restaurants only serve 6-8oz portions and most of the time its in the 6oz size. A 20.5 inch redfish will feed two people nicely with some rice pilaf and grilled asparagus. That’s full enough for me. Thank you. Maybe on a hungry day I throw in some GMO korn.

On the occasions when I want to take a fish home for dinner, and especially when the fridge is bare except for a few vegetables I routinely don’t catch a keeper. The idea though if you do get into boatloads of fish is that you can carefully select the fish that is appropriately sized for your dinner that night without even risking swamping your boat because you killed limits of fish. Nonetheless, certainly respect the current laws in place. If these laws didn’t exist we wouldn’t have any fish for which to go fishing. This practice also helps reduce waste of fish after it has been taken for the table.

Only taking species which have a stable population is a good practice, and letting go all the ones that are big fish because they produce the largest reproductive biomass and especially those that are currently reproducing. And hell, if you caught tons of fish, after a long exhausting day you might pass out and forget to clean the fish. Doh! The gills should be red when you go to clean them. If the are dead too long or if they get hot too fast, the gill color fades considerably. That is exactly what Granddaddy taught me as a kid. Red gills are a sign that the fish is fresh. Any other color gills was a a waste of that fish’s life. Grandaddy was right. Make sure your fish has gills, then put it to your own taste test!

happy camping redfish texas coast

Vic with his keeper redfish that fed 4 people well.

If you know me, cleaning a tons of fish for a few hours is not my favorite thing to do. When only taking one or two fish for a single meal you will usually have a few cold pieces of fried fish leftover from the night before to snack on for breakfast!! Just dash on a little powdered cayenne pepper and hit the door to go catch some more!

Keeping the hooks sharp
Captain Ken Jones

 

 

Quality Redfishing Continues

While the South winds are very welcome this time of year and are a promising sign of warmer weather, they were a tab-bit strong today and required some interesting adaptation to techniques in order to find the fish that would eat willingly. But, in the right place and at the right time, the redfish ate eagerly.

saltwater, fly fishing, texas, coast, guide

Dead Drifting Crab Flies Deadly on Redfish

Working an area thoroughly and methodically, since the choppy water had visibility low, the incoming tide was creating a nice flow of current and the small size 4 crab fly produced all the strikes today when cast quartering up current. Allowing the crab fly to bounce along the bottom in the current was the ticket, proving that even on the toughest of days when conditions seemed to be unfavorable, the right presentation, approach and working with the wind can still produce great results.

Massive Black Drum on the Loose

Just how BIG is a black drum when he is tailing in 3 feet of water? You can be sure to call them all THE BEAST!

We came around the point and began working a secondary grassy edge and from 100 yards away we saw it clearly. “Oh my gawd! Do you see that? NOW THAT’S a Hooge Foosh!!!”

Carefully approaching with the boat and working hard to keep the boat upwind and the fish down from us with the sun at our backs, the sun light began to shine bright lighting up the creatures colors and we let the skiff glide into position. On the approach, nerves grew tense but the angler was prepared and got off 4 excellent casts, landing the fly just two feet ahead of the fish each time. Somehow though the massive 4 foot black drum did not show any interest in this particular fly so we let the wind slip us off of the flat away from the giant as the brute glided himself into deeper more secure water. Knowing that this beast was grazing like a water buffalo we circled back upwind ahead of where we spotted the giant tailing and made sure to give the area wide berth and allow enough time for the massive fish to move back onto the narrow grass flat and resume the feeding ritual. While repositioning the boat I spoke of courage, and the need for a change of flies. Sure enough, the angler produced a good looker, and I assured him it would get him some attention.

black drum, fly fishing, saltwater, guides, charters

Little Beast Sliding By…

In short order the skiff slid into position again and slightly further down the grassy point, the white back and dorsal fins of the trophy black drum glowed white against the bottom and we saw it turn on its side while it worked the sea floor for some grub. Then as if on command, a large skillet-sized tail flared up and out of the water, waving like wet cellophane reflecting the now shining sunlight and I slowed the boat to a crawl despite the moderately stiff breeze.

“There! 11 o’clock, 60 feet and closing,..” I say with certainty. “Wait for it! Wait… wait…” I whisper, “50 feet now, then 40 feet. Go! Cast! He’s looking away and left and distance is closing!”

I see the fly land perfectly in front of the fish, we count for a few  seconds under our breaths for the fly to drop and then call out the cadence, “strip, pause, strip, pause, strip again, OH!!!! He’s looking!!!! Let it lie!” But then the next strip ends up moving the fly too far from the fish and the trophy black drum lost track and turned away.

As we watch the beast glide away, I heard a little sigh let out by the bravest of anglers. The sound of that sigh seemed to have several emotions behind it, including the one of relief that the pressure was finally off. We laugh out loud, already in a state of reminiscence, and protest that the excitement was enough for now, we felt as successful as if we had actually hooked it and landed it because in fact, we moved that fish a good distance by changing our fly, making a good presentation and repeating the steps we took to get off more than one excellent shot at this monster of a fish. That was success enough for sure and not even a minute later as the salt water buffalo disappeared, we saw a dolphin surface in extreme close proximity and as it begin working the same area as us we knew that our chances had ended for the day and agreed to head to the marina.

All in all, we stalked 9 individual black drum all averaging 25-40 pounds, (with half of them easily breaking the 30-lb mark and all were at least between 3 and 4 feet long, maybe the biggest of them were more than 4 feet. Of the 9 fish we stalked, the Angler of the Day managed to produce eight fantastic casts at these fish with perfect fly placement. These monster saltwater brutes are well known for their tenacity and sluggishness in feeding, and the degree of difficulty of even hooking a fish of this caliber on the fly is enormous not to mention how difficult it is to even get them to show interest in a fly! Great respect is deserving for the angler today for his endurance and great exercise of patience while searching for and tracking the massive beasts that prove to even the best angler to be a fair match.

black drum, fly fishing, guides, charters, texas, coast

This one not even a fraction of the size of the monster’s we were actually targeting today.

Fortunately, tomorrow is another day to fish, and another day to even the scores, or at least the chance to take at least one more shot at the gregarious beasts.

There are still a few dates open for guided trips to hunt these massive black drum although the weather window may be closing fast with a strong south blow in the lineup.

Call now for your shot at a monster black drum on the fly with Captain Kenjo 361-500-2552

 

 

Redfish and Black Drum on the Texas Coast

redfish, fly fishing, spinning, tackle, charter, guide, saltwater, port aransas, corpus christi

Last catch of the day

We chased hundreds of black drum and redfish today while the weather conditions shifted from a hard North blow at 15kts to less than 5kts in the afternoon with flat seas. The tides also turned’em on good for us and proved good numbers of fish are here! A few charter dates are open over the next 5 days and with the weather forecast looking good, now is a good time to hop on board and take the countless shots at all these black drum and redfish that we are getting. Call me direct ASAP while the fishing is hot and before another Norther shuts it down! Hundreds of fish were spotted in small to medium sized schools and they just kept on coming. Tim did a great job sticking it out with artificial lures and his determination brought him the best fish of the day, a fat 32.5-inch redfish safely released after this quick photo op with the full moon in the background!

catch & release, redfish, fishing, port aransas, Texas, Coast, Gulf of Mexico

Tim pauses to admire this fine 32.5 inch redfish before releasing it to swim again!

And, now that the weather has changed for the better, the fish will get back into their normal feeding routine and many more fish are expected to come to hand with both fly rods and spinning gear over the next few days!

Keeping the Hooks Sharp,
Capt KenJo
361-500-2552

Schooling Redfish

redfish, on, fly, port aransas, guide, flyfishing, saltwater

First one to hand and ate well even before the sun came out to warm us.

While the winter cold fronts blow through in between these fronts the fishing can be very good in Port Aransas.

Yesterday saw temps in the low 40’s but the sun came out around noon, the winds calmed just enough, and with temps reaching 65F we took the opportunity to go hunt some redfish. We found several large schools of fish and the redfish were eating both flies and soft plastics with reckless abandon. Early tide changes helped keep the action going through most of the day.

redfish, fly fishing, port aransas, corpus christi, saltwater, flats

Pulled this nice redfish from a school of 100+ fish!

Many quality redfish came to the boat today with most of them 20-28 inches.

The next few days are open for charters if anyone wants to take advantage of the hot fishing and moderate winds. Give me a call asap to get on board!

Capt Kenjo (361)500-2552

 

fly fishing, redfish, flies, saltwater

Articulated Bunnies – Redfish Love’em

Harbor Island Crude Refinery

There has been a lot of talks about the sale of Harbor Island, not more than a hop skip and a jump across the Corpus Christi Ship Channel from the city of Port Aransas, which has a population of 3,400 wonderful people. Approximately 250 acres of land has been up for sale and Martin Midstream seemed to have won the bid. Until now…

refinery, environment, port aransas, corpus christi, harbor island, zoning, petition, caller times

November 13, 2013 Caller Times newspaper article

It didn’t take long and a petition was started on Change.org . A website where not only locals can petition our officials but also gives the opportunity for the tourists who frequent Port Aransas  to join the petition. This web petition was started in order to request a change of the zoning for this area to a lighter zoning. It is currently zoned as “heavy industrial” and this designation opens the doors to many types of industries which are all known to cause serious harm to the environment.

Now, it is looks like the Port Commission backed out of the sale to turn Harbor Island into a crude oil refinery. That’s great news but the reasons cited for the Port backing out of the deal was because not everyone had a fair opportunity to bid on the sale of the ~250 acres. The City acquired the island some time ago from Exxon/Fina who used it as an oil tank farm and began a cleanup of the island. Don’t let this fool you, more action is needed.

TPWD Lighthouse Lakes Paddling Trail Webpage

TPWD Lighthouse Lakes Paddling Trail Webpage

Now, facing even heavier industrialization, Harbor Island is relatively clean to the spectators who drive the highway as they come to visit its many access points for recreational activities such as kayaking, birding, fishing, camping, and sea shell hunting. Texas’ first Kayaking Trail was established here, the Lighthouse Lakes Paddling Trails.

Instead of turning it into an even bigger wasteland (and surrounding areas). Wouldn’t it would be nice if we could convince the city not only to eliminate the heavy industrial zoning but to also designate Harbor Island as an environmentally protected recreation area?

lighthouse, lakes, paddling, kayaking, trail, fly fishing, charter, guide

Lighthouse Lake #5 Less than 2 miles from Harbor Island

Main feeding populations of fish reaching hundreds of thousands of fish, if not millions if species were combined, including bull redfish pushing 40″, use the surrounding waterways as feeding zones and congregating places. Thousands of highly migratory birds also roost in the many mangrove cays that make up the island and its surroundings. And that’s just a smidgeon of all the species of animals and plants that call Harbor Island home. Many species of crabs and other crustaceans also call these marine estuaries home. And, to top it all off, these estuaries serve as a nursery for many species of animals, where bait which spawn offshore come into these estuaries and use them from the time they are babies as a sanctuary in order to survive and grow.

A crude oil refinery would certainly ruin this place on land and in the water for at least a 20 mile radius not only from the smell but also from the increase in average water temperatures due to the refinery using the water to cool the plants engines. I wont go into details about what kind of pollutants this will add to the ground water (well water) and especially the saltwater. This would could entirely eliminate the great revenue that tourism in this area produces. That would be a waste of another, and in an already thriving industry, Tourism. Our local tourism industry had record numbers this year and is better to visit with all the wonderful people that come to visit, than to see  another city of amber lights billowing harmful pollutants into the very air we breathe.

If you asked what brings these kinds of levels of tourism, the number one answer is that Nature is drawing them. From the clean, oil and tar ball free beaches, to the jetties, piers, inlets, marinas and mangrove cays which provide these tourists the out of doors experience they are all seeking. Maybe its a break from the normalcy of living in the city, where grass and sand and in most cities, tree do not exist. Where there are few “wild things”, living, breathing, eating, just like you and I. There is always an aura about any small fishing village on an island, and that is usually one of peace, tranquility, and relaxation. That would be the true losses this place would suffer if heavy industry is allowed to build on Harbor Island. The longstanding Culture of Port Aransas would also suffer in my opinion, and it was the culture in the community along with the fabulous ecology of this area that brought us here in the first place. It would be difficult for me to continue living in this place with heavy industry pounding on my front door, on the fabulous Harbor Island.

As indicated on the Change.org petition site, the city of Port Aransas will be meeting at the end of this month regarding the zoning and will discuss it then. It is a good thing that the sale to Martin Midstream fell through as this shows that our officials may be hearing our voices.

With enough public reach through the petition and through the normal government channels provided, this treasure trove of an island can remain as the serene and ecological playground we all work so hard to enjoy whether you are a year-round resident or a visitor which calls this place their home away from home.

Youthfully optimistic, Capt Kenjo
Kenjo Fly Fishing Charters
Port Aransas, Texas

Prone Stones

calm, seas, gulf, mexico, fly, fishing, tarpon, scouting,

Calm Seas in the Gulf of Mexico

The jetty is his treadmill

Fly rod a tool fore & aft the heel

Rock show many scars.

Of carbide laced treads.

For the Gilled One he leaps.

It is the silver king which he seeks.

oil tanker, inlet, port aransas, gulf, mexico, texas, fly, fishing

bay, anchovy, minnows, terns, gulls, fly, fishing, guide, charters, Port Aransas, Texas
Gulls and Terns worked steadily for easy pickins of glass minnows and bay anchovies