Big red trying to steal the fly from a smaller redfish
The finger mullet and pretty much all other bait species are thick this year and the fall run has only begun! Let’s hit’em hard! Give me a call to get on board for a buffet of species to target now! The fishing is good and continues to get better. On the right weather days we can fish around the jetties and hunt for big game. We are still seeing a few really big redfish over 30inches in the skinny water along with a good number of slot redfish.
Black drum
The black drum are also prevalent and although the black drum can be tough to feed with a fly, the right retrieve can get’em hooked up.
Give me a call if you want to get in on some of the most consistent action of the year!
Hot hot hot! Thats the easiest way to describe dead of summer-time along the Texas Coast… If you are fishing gentlemen’s hours this time of year chances are you are seeing double from the potential heat-stroke, but now is when the old saying “early bird gets the worm” hold the most truth.
We have been pounding on some fine redfish early in the mornings with their tails up, and they are eating just about anything you throw at them so long as you don’t bomb the cast.
Do you see it too?
Delicate presentations are key, as most shots are coming at close range. By 9am though most of the tailing has stopped but then the sun is high enough to spot these fish in the water.
Topwater Redfish at Sunrise
I have been telling everyone lately, I have found 3 situations where it is imperative that we wade fish and will list them for you hear. These are also 3 excuses to buy a good pair of wading boots!
The fish are in such skinny water that the boat might bump or drag the bottom occasionally, and the sound that makes will scare the fish, even if it doesn’t send them bolting away it can give them lockjaw.
Windy Fishy
The winds are honking (usually any winds over 15mph). This makes it difficult to fish slow enough. If the boat is moving too fast along the flat then there isn’t enough time to spot the fish and the fish doesn’t have much time to reveal themselves to us, which limits the number of shots you get at each fish. In the afternoons I prefer to work into the wind with the sun to our backs that way we can move super slow along the flat and that gives us more time to find that well camouflaged fish in the grass.
This is the big one… when there are so many fish in one tight area, the boat itself can spook the group of fish, interrupting their feeding pattern and behavior. Stopping the boat simply isn’t an option because the boat creates noise and sometimes this cannot be helped. It is then best to park the boat off to the side, preferably behind some cover like cord grass to obscure it and then wade into the fishy area like a ninja, moving painfully slow.
Cord Grass Galore
August is a very good month for chances at BIG redfish in our area as those larger redfish are moving into the shallows to gorge themselves to get ready for the spawn. The boat records have been both set and broken during this month so I encourage you, if you want your chance at a sight-casted redfish over 30inches in super clear shallow water, this is the time to get on the books. Give me a call ASAP to secure your reservation! Keep your hooks sharp, Capt Ken 361-500-2552
Afriad of the tides changing. Afriad of breaking off all these fish in the sticks. We switched up to 25lb tippet and went barefoot wading today while out scouting for the next group of charters. Got on some sick action with countless shots at countless fish, none of them under 23 inches and all of them in 16 inches of water or less.
Tomorrow is open if anyone wants to get in on board last minute. Just give me a call and leave a message and I will return your call after 8pm tonight.
Some redfish have been visiting the shallows and these fish are up skinny on the feed. No nonsense, with a good cast these fish are pouncing the fly like a cat on a mouse.
Pothole redfish
When visibility is limited working the potholes strategically can also produce some decent fish.
I even tried taking a little video of the redfish feeding up shallow. Gotta watch the top of the frame to see it, and I don’t know if the quality is good enough.
Back at it tomorrow. I have some dates available this summer. Just give me a call and leave me a message. I’ll gladly return your call once I get off the water!
I am beginning to love the effects El Nino is having on our fishing! The abundance of fresh water from the heavens last year has made for a super abundance of food for the fishes! The fishing has been way above average lately not counting against what madness went down in February.
Considering the quality and quantity of fish that I am finding… take your pick! Do you want shots at good numbers of fish or a few good shots at quality fish of several species? And even despite inclement weather, some fabulous fishing is occurring for dedicated anglers.
Gator trout pre-release
Fortunately, the new Beavertail Skiff is the driest ride I have ever had on a flats skiff and even in rough conditions this boat performs very well.
By any measure this new boat goes everywhere the old boat could get. That’s the most thrilling part! Or, well, maybe seeing more than a dozen trophy trout in one day is a little more thrilling but nailing a 28-inch below average trout really got the blood pumping. Our imaginations have soared for the week following and still continues to grow and call us back to the water.
I have been running into a real mecca of giant trout and even on the days we couldn’t sight cast we got them dialed in on topwater flies. Some glorious fish have been revealing themselves putting on the feed-bag, and even sometimes when the angler least expects it. Lessons are learned by all in situations like that… “Never take your eye off the fly!”
chartreuse and black fly
The redfish are also hungry and some 20+ fish schools of oversized redfish are begging to be caught. Chartreuse shrimp and mullet flies are my go to color and choice flies of all time regardless of light conditions. Then I go to blue crab flies (bigger is better if you ask me) and don’t forget to have some plain white topwater flies ready to zing! The majority of the black drum have been a little scarce from my normal operating areas the last week but those that I did find were close to 10lbs and have even found at least 1 drum per trip between 25-40lbs. Ya Ya!
Here also is a little video of my good buddy Bob playing tug-o-war with a very respectable trout on a fine day last week while breaking-in the new skiff. Give me a call directly to book your next Texas Fly Fishing Adventure! Capt Kenjo 361-500-2552
“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!
