Tag Archives: skiff

Change of Seasons

red drum, fly fishing, port aransas, corpus christi, beavertail, skiff, flats, guide, saltwater, corpus christi, rockport, laguna madre, airflo, flyline, wind, coast, hatch outdoors, redfish, drum, low tide, trouthunter, leader, tippet, charter, texas

Low Tide Pig

It can be hard to explain and even harder to forecast because the weather dictates fish behavior and creates or breaks patterns. So many variables come into play, it can be difficult to determine exactly which variables are the most influential at any given time. It is certain though that the changes in seasons overlap each other, as one weather pattern rescinds another one take over… slowly but surely.

The last few weeks had a few hard short-lived Northers with light winds remaining from the north signaling the redfish to move onto the edges of the flats and feed very heavily with the strong falling tides. Their bellies were full to the brim, and got those fish fat and looking like their bellies would explode if they took another bite.

red drum, fly fishing, port aransas, corpus christi, beavertail, skiff, flats, guide, saltwater, corpus christi, rockport, laguna madre, airflo, flyline, wind, coast, hatch outdoors, redfish, drum, low tide, trouthunter, leader, tippet, charter, texas

31 inch Texas Bull Redfish

Then, that 2 week long “light early winter pattern” ended and the SE winds and partly cloudy skies took over again and have dominated the forecast for what will end of being about a 2-week period. This changed the fish pattern once again and we zigged when we needed too. Coupled with the full moon pulling out most of the tide before sunrise we jumped back to some of our late summertime patterns and continued to work over the fish despite some moderate winds.

Fast forward a few days from now and we should find ourselves back in an “early winter” pattern and we will zag then to stay on the best fishing we can find. This flip-flop of weather patterns will continue through December with each passing cold front lasting a little longer than the last.

red drum, fly fishing, port aransas, corpus christi, beavertail, skiff, flats, guide, saltwater, corpus christi, rockport, laguna madre, airflo, flyline, wind, coast, hatch outdoors, redfish, drum, low tide, trouthunter, leader, tippet, charter, texas

This flood tide redfish was loving crabs in the succulents

Eventually the summer patterns will fizzle out and we will soon be into a deep winter pattern by January/February with the exception of those bluebird days when the sunshine warms up key flats and allows us to sight cast again. On those duck weather days though we will strategically fish deep water flats and structures to pull good numbers of fish even though the aren’t up shallow.

red drum, fly fishing, port aransas, corpus christi, beavertail, skiff, flats, guide, saltwater, corpus christi, rockport, laguna madre, airflo, flyline, wind, coast, hatch outdoors, redfish, drum, low tide, trouthunter, leader, tippet, charter, texas

There is a “first” for everything!

Michael and Marjorie decided to come down and give me the opportunity to put them on their first sight-casted redfish (on the fly)… Their determination was proven and learned quite quickly that the sight fishing game changes everything and since last Saturday have already booked another date in December!

Schools of fish are appearing now with larger sized fish and schools appearing along the outer edges of the flats coming up out of the deep and small to medium sized school fish are popping shrimp up and down the shorelines regardless of wind direction. And now, tonight in the wee hours while the rooster sleeps, another Norther is expected to descend on the Coastal Bend and with that will signal the fish to “put on the feed bag” again!

red drum, fly fishing, port aransas, corpus christi, beavertail, skiff, flats, guide, saltwater, corpus christi, rockport, laguna madre, airflo, flyline, wind, coast, hatch outdoors, redfish, drum, low tide, trouthunter, leader, tippet, charter, texas

In the skinny on the fly

With all that said, the next week or two should see traditionally amazing “winter pattern” redfishing and I look forward to showing all of you as much of the action as I can!

Contact me ASAP by phone or email for available dates! 361-500-2552 If I don’t answer I am probably wrestling some REDFISH!!! Not to worry Ill call you back soon as the sun sets!

Below are a few pics from guests that I had the pleasure of guiding during the summer months and it was a unique experience where they made spectacular catches! These are my favorite pics and the experiences leading up to them are always great!

 

red drum, fly fishing, port aransas, corpus christi, beavertail, skiff, flats, guide, saltwater, corpus christi, rockport, laguna madre, airflo, flyline, wind, coast, hatch outdoors, redfish, drum, low tide, trouthunter, leader, tippet, charter, texas

Sunset Bull Redfish

red drum, fly fishing, port aransas, corpus christi, beavertail, skiff, flats, guide, saltwater, corpus christi, rockport, laguna madre, airflo, flyline, wind, coast, hatch outdoors, redfish, drum, low tide, trouthunter, leader, tippet, charter, texas

Never Give UP!!!

red drum, fly fishing, port aransas, corpus christi, beavertail, skiff, flats, guide, saltwater, corpus christi, rockport, laguna madre, airflo, flyline, wind, coast, hatch outdoors, redfish, drum, low tide, trouthunter, leader, tippet, charter, texas

Windy Day Redfish on Spin and Voodoo Shrimp!

red drum, fly fishing, port aransas, corpus christi, beavertail, skiff, flats, guide, saltwater, corpus christi, rockport, laguna madre, airflo, flyline, wind, coast, hatch outdoors, redfish, drum, low tide, trouthunter, leader, tippet, charter, texas

This redfish was hard work in the end but completed Johnny’s first South Texas Grand Slam (sheepshead, trout, ladyfish and red drum)!

red drum, fly fishing, port aransas, corpus christi, beavertail, skiff, flats, guide, saltwater, corpus christi, rockport, laguna madre, airflo, flyline, wind, coast, hatch outdoors, redfish, drum, low tide, trouthunter, leader, tippet, charter, texas

Jose caught this Houndfish in Aransas Bay

red drum, fly fishing, port aransas, corpus christi, beavertail, skiff, flats, guide, saltwater, corpus christi, rockport, laguna madre, airflo, flyline, wind, coast, hatch outdoors, redfish, drum, low tide, trouthunter, leader, tippet, charter, texas

Wind Driven Cow Patties! Or the redfish been messing around! We caught redfish over the tops of these the week before when the tide flooded normally bone dry habitat! We EVEN caught redfish in the cattle trails too!

Fly Fishing Summer Redfish

redfish, drum, fly fishing, port aransas, texas, coast, guide, saltwater, charter, airflo, sims, hatch, beavertail, marsh, spartina, grass, sunrise, mullet, crab, shrimp, fly only, catch and release, trout, speckled, speck, snaggletooth, sock, deep, water, skinny, culture, wade, fishing

29inch redfish in sock deep water

“There she is! 12 O’clock! 30ft and closing fast!” your guide says as you see him quickly drop to his knees in 8 inches of water pointing with the spare rod straight at the fish he just spotted. He secretly hopes you heard him and saw him go on point like a full-bred Setter. Your ears are in tune to his voice though, thanks to spending quite a few days together combing the flats on foot and fortunately, you hear him over the howling wind. A lone but large 30-inch redfish is barreling straight towards you out of the sparsely grown grass line and you barely have just enough time to make the cast. The fly lands right in front of the fish only 15 ft away from the rod-tip and she eats the little purple fly heartily.

Dates in June are still available. I have Friday/Saturday June 9 & 10 available immediately. Call ASAP to reserve your fun-filled day with target-rich environments, sight-casting to South Texas Coastal Redfish, Trout, Black Drum and Sheepshead.

Noah’s First Redfish

The weather has been excellent for tailing redfish as well. With below average winds right now we can fish from the skiff or on foot.

If you have the time in your day, extended day trips (12+ hours) are also available where we will make long runs to very isolated areas where almost every fish will try to eat your fly. Call Capt Ken direct for more details. 361-500-2552

 

Texas Coast Saltwater Fly Fishing School

redfish, drum, fly fishing, port aransas, texas, coast, guide, saltwater, charter, airflo, sims, hatch, beavertail, marsh, spartina, grass, sunrise, mullet, crab, shrimp, fly only, catch and release, trout, speckled, speck, snaggletooth,

Peek-A-Boo!

Have you been thinking about fly fishing the Texas Coast? Do you have a desire to learn at an accelerated pace all the aspects of saltwater fly fishing? What are you waiting for? Are you wanting to go to some fly fishing school to learn more about saltwater fly fishing? NO NEED! You can do it right here with Capt Kenjo.

redfish, drum, fly fishing, port aransas, texas, coast, guide, saltwater, charter, airflo, sims, hatch, beavertail, marsh, spartina, cord, grass

This one almost got away!

 

Come fly fishing with Kenjo Fly Charters now to sharpen your sight-casting skills. Working with the typically strong winds which are common in saltwater environments Capt Ken will work with you one-on-one to up your game.

With experience comes knowledge. That is, if you pay attention and apply the tips that your guide gives you play by play. to be clear, I am not running a formal school with “programs, curriculum, and classes”. Time on the water provides real-time experience and with Capt Kenjo as your personal teacher, he can help you speed through your learning curve with patience and sound advice.  Consistently keeping you in front of fish having many opportunities throughout the day makes for good practice, and well… Practice makes perfect.

redfish, drum, fly fishing, port aransas, texas, coast, guide, saltwater, charter, airflo, sims, hatch, beavertail, marsh, spartina, grass, sunrise, mullet, crab, shrimp, fly only, catch and release, no motor zone

31 inch Bull Redfish, On The Fly, In Da Skinny, Flat Got Burned Moments Later Arghhh!

There are a few dates left in May (CALL ME ASAP FOR THOSE)  and June is looking golden with good availability. Simply call me direct at 361-500-2552 to pick your date and place a deposit.

DON’T MISS THE BOAT! Get on board for a fun-filled saltwater fly fishing experience that will not only make you a better angler but also one that is quickly adaptable to the conditions and fish behavior as they change throughout the day.

Multi-day trips are available as well and are highly recommended for the serious angler who really wants to learn the fundamentals of saltwater fly casting and fishing. Time well spent on the water with an experienced guide and plenty of fish is what will make you a strong fisherman, and teach you the subtle tweaks and tricks that will put more species in your hands. Quite a few of my Guests come fish with me here on Texas Coast prior to their planned trips to more tropical latitudes to sharpen their skills. The conditions that the Texas Coast dish out will certainly challenge you and are very similar to anything you might face in more remote regions.

I look forward to being your preferred fly guide along the Texas Coast and who knows what awesome situation will present itself next! -Capt Kenjo

Redfish Action

It was the day before a scheduled fly charter which had already been rescheduled once due to bad weather. I decided to call the client mid-day Sunday and let her know that Monday’s weather was going to be absolutely perfect. A long shot for someone like me who watches weather reports more than most sports fanatics watch their favorite teams’ stats. “OK, lets do it!” she says and we set the pickup time for 7am.

The next morning I jump out of bed early to prep the skiff, checked the weather again, and luckily things were lining up nicely. After splashing the skiff I head over to the dock to pickup Mary in style and we are up and running after a quick safety briefing.

Soon we are on the flat after a short run, up on the bow she goes, trusty fly rod in hand with a freshly tied popping shrimp attached. “Ok Mary, lets pole over this direction and see if the fish will show themselves.” I say and sure enough once we got into an area where the water depth was right for the fish to show their tails, that is exactly what we saw up ahead. Quietly I whisper to Mary that there are two fish at the 11 o’clock position, one closer than the other and to cast to the closest fish. Once we are within casting range she fires off a gentle and precise cast with a beautiful loop and the fly lands 1.5 feet ahead and just to the right of the redfish. “Strip… strip… strip” I say to start the cadence, and the fish turns in pursuit of the fly then charges! “Keep stripping, don’t stop Mary!” The fish eats, and Mary sets the hook into a fine redfish, measuring in at 21 inches. In all the excitement I manage to stutter the word “Bravo!” as this was a fantastic and exciting event that had just unfolded before our eyes.

redfish, sunrise, fly fishing, texas, coastal bend, port aransas

Early morning delights

These are the times that every fly angler dreams about, the stuff you read about in books, in some calm and serene setting where red-headed egrets, tri-color herons and roseate spoonbills line the shoreline almost as spectators and seemingly fans of one of the most honest games known to man. Fly-fishing.

popping shrimp fly, redfish, flats, texas, fly fishing, coastal bend

Howdy Mrs. Redfish!