Tag Archives: texas

Texas Fall Fly Fishing

Fly Fishing the Texas Coast in the Fall is an amazing time. Recent offshore rains have really gotten the fish in the bays feeding aggressively. We are experiencing some of the most awesome eats from redfish in the shallows now, thanks to the cooling effect of the rain!

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12yo Ella getting to play tug o’ war with some Texas redfish

Olive green crabs in size 2 and 4 are working well and small 2inch shrimp patterns in black/chartreuse or copper/tan color combos also working well. During low light conditions, we put on our Smith Optics Igniter Lenses to really turn the lights on.

In the low light conditions

We will adapt our strategies in the low light conditions by shortening the leader to 6ft. And use a larger 1/0 unweighted fly like crab or mullet imitations. These flies will usually have brighter colors like chartreuse green or red/white. This is so that the angler can see the fly better and the fish can also see the flies from a greater distance. Keeping our casts short and precise can make all the difference in the game. Topwater bites are also on the rise. During early morning hours and continue into the day if cloud cover and wind persist.

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Creepin the skiff through dead mangrove sloughs in low light conditions. You can bet we used Smith’s low light Igniter lenses!

On random days in the fall the wind may persist. And so we need to stay prepared to adapt our strategies even more and hop out of the boat for a quick wade in the “Longest Mile”.

September dates are available NOW! Use the Book Now button to view availability. More and more red drum, speckled trout, and black drum are going to be pushing up into the shallows. You should be there to get in the action!

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Marks first over-slot red

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Slow down and smell the fish

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Wade fishing Texas middle coast can make this drum your 4th fish in your Grand Slam (redfish, trout, flounder to round it out)

We got to slow down and smell the fish recently. This day did not disappoint. We had a lot of shots at fish like this surprisingly and we caught one each…

This big black drum was one that got the hook. It is quite a cumbersome ordeal to wrangle these big lethargic drum to hand. Oftentimes though, I too have to remind myself to slow down and smell the fish. Unfortunately these fish don’t smell like roses but the principal goes further than just enjoying the moment as the saying implies.

Wade fish the Texas Marsh to Slow down

It has its merits, and during the right time of year you could even land a grand slam of redfish, black drum, flounder, and trout on the fly or spinning tackle. Slow down and smell the fish is not all that bad of an idea if you’re a keen outdoorsman.

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Texas Coast wade fishing provides the low and slow angles needed to put flounder in hand

Certain bait species produce slicks and or oily residue on the surface of the water which can unique scents. When mullet are concentrated and being fed heavily upon, the wind will waft the odors of the mullet downwind and if you have a sharp nose, you can pickup on some of these locations. The menhaden and speckled trout are also two of the sweeter smelling odors. Some even say the trout slicks will smell like watermelon! Have you ever experienced the watermelon smells on the water?

Dates available for September, October and November!

You can book a trip now by calling Capt Kenjo direct at 361-500-2552, or shoot him a text message with your name and preferred fishing date and/or send an email ASAP…

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Fly fishing for redfish near Rockport Texas

OR… simply use the blue button below for express and convenient booking! Then don’t forget to slow down and smell the fish!

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Jacks in Town

Jack is back in town and these busters will test your angling skills. May dates are available NOW! With jacks in town, the excitement grows!

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We got a nice day out front and went on a scouting mission. Within just a few hours we had raised 3 from the deep and one managed to swipe the half-and-half fly aggressively from below the surface. Within 10 minutes later the jack crevelle succumbed to our game of tug and war.

Take note of the “down and dirty” fighting technique with the 11wt fly rod.

The extremely low rod angles fight the fish with the butt section of the rod which applies maximum pressure to these brutal jack fish. You’ve got to put the hurting on the jacks in town, or they will certainly put one on you!

Jack Trip Exceptions: when the weather is too rough to search open water comfortably, we may default to the flats and do some wade fishing for redfish and black drum. These are great backup plans for a day. Often times though even a standard redfish trip gets interrupted by these jackfish! So either way, book a trip anytime this summer and Capt Kenjo will be certain to put you on some fish. And with emphasis on the fish of your dreams! There are also chances to locate and target big bull redfish but please note that these big redfish are not males (as the name Bull implies). The large redfish are actually most likely females as the male red drum do not grow as big.

Adults redfish mature by 3 – 5 years of age; approximate length at maturity: males – 28 inches, females – 33 inches. Red Drum can also grow to incredible sizes. At least historically they have. The largest redfish ever recorded was caught in the waters around Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. That redfish weighed an amazing 94 pounds and 2 ounces.

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Deep Sea Smiles

Wading for Spring

It is springtime now in Port Aransas, the tides are finally returning to the bay. And now the spring classic weather patterns are well established. We can experience fog, wind, light clouds, or fully overcast days, and plenty of bluebird days mixed in there too. What is difficult is predicting the weather. But, if you are prepared when wading for spring then you know what makes wade fishing the perfect method for catching more fish on the fly.

SPECIAL OFFER for dates remaining in April when wading for Spring Redfish

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wade fishing redfish on the fly

Get 15% off a full day of wade-fishing (single angler only) when you book a trip for any available date remaining in this month of APRIL 2022!!!

Call NOW or BOOK ONLINE ASAP!

Capt Kenjo 361-500-2552

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To get in the water with the fish changes the Angler’s experience entirely. In my experience, wading the marsh is more productive these days than poling it in the skiff. This lets us slow down and give the redfish and black drum a chance to come to us. Wading for Spring in the Texas Marsh can be exhilarating and if you have done it before you know it can be awesome sight fishing!

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wet wading for redfish

Wade fishing is an up close and personal experience with a redfish in the Texas Marsh. Observing the red drum do what they do best can be enthralling. Last year saw 5 months of cloud cover from February to June and we wade fished the whole time and caught lots of redfish and drum on foot. Wade fishing the marsh is a highly effective and excellent method for dealing with less than ideal conditions such as wind and low light. So get ready to do some wading (Get your Simms Zipits here) for Spring-time redfish & black drum! They are here and the feedbag is getting going good!

Gentle Casts

How to fly cast gently.

One fly casting technique that proves itself very valuable in the saltwater world is learning how to lay down the fly and line gently. Producing gentle casts can mean great catching and less spooking of the fish you are stalking.

The real challenge though is performing these gentle casts while your eyeballs are popping out of your own head in your excitement! Staying calm and not rushing the cast produces more hookups than trying to rush and hitting the fish too hard.

Here in this clip you can see David does a great job maintaining his composure. This pod of redfish are tailing along the spartina grass edges. You can hear us whispering to each other as he makes 3 casts in order to get the crab fly in the right spot.

On such a calm day you can be sure those fish would have spooked had the fly been too heavy or if he had cast “down” at the fish. Communication on the skiff in the moment is also key to our success.

Landing the fly softly is achieved by aiming your casting loop about eye level above the fish. When presenting the fly, be a little more gentle on the final forward stroke.

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David learned to keep his feet quite and got to work with several schools of healthy reds

To do this, stop the rod tip early in your forward cast. Leave it up a bit longer than usual as you let the weight of the fly line gently pull the rod down. It would go from the 1 or 2 o’clock position down in front to the horizontal position.

With a little routine practice, you can use your line hand to feather it all down slowly. This will help the fly line lay out straight and gentle. That way the fly lands right and softly. For those redfish, you want to be able to move the fly on the first strip. Then you will be able to set the hook properly. And that hungry redfish will then gulp down your crab fly. Fish on!

Book your fly casting lesson (off water) and then lets take it to the fish and put what you learned to the test!

Book NOW with Capt Kenjo! Great weather is in the forecast!

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Whether the Weather

The weather forecast looks amazing! Come on down and get in on the prime winter days before they elapse! Call Capt Kenjo NOW to get on board.

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Guest Photo: A Texas red drum glistens in the backlit winter sunshine

Whether the weather, or not, winter-time is some of the best sight-fishing of the year.

Once the skies go bluebird after a cold front passes through, high pressures kill the wind and warm the shallow waters. Now is the time to strike! The fish wont be everywhere but usually this time of year you will find greater quantities of fish in an area and often times, greater quality of redfish as well.

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Focus on niche areas in these seasons as extreme weather ebbs and floods and learn why fish are where they are when they are there.

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Best fishing trip of the year? Yes, we got it done in 40 mph gusting winds and caught a lot of quality redfish, on foot.

All the different bottom types such as sand, grass beds, bars, mud, shell, back waters, and main shorelines all have potential to have fish at different times. The tide levels and weather patterns all dictate how and where we find the fish. It can be a slow feed on the fish’s part because when they are cold. Just don’t make them chase the fly down too far or too fast otherwise they will turn off.

Nonetheless, a slow feed does not mean the fish are not hungry because they certainly are. Miniscule strips timed perfectly with well placed and gently laid out casts will most likely get those cold but hungry redfish to eat the fly for you. Just think, this time of year, they cannot afford to pass up a meal either. Sight fishing is exceptional on the Texas Coast during the Winter months. Go outside and look up at the sky if you are nearby. Then call me ASAP to get on flats and catch some winter time redfish! Capt Kenjo can be reached directly at 361-500-2552.

Pulling on Hard Fish

We got lucky a few times recently and got to search offshore for tarpon and sharks on the beaches recently. Pulling on hard fish is one thing but not pulling too hard is another. On one occasion we got to take a few shots at some 4-5ft Texas Tarpon and Blacktip Sharks! We managed to hook into one and break it off right away and the sharks gave us a damn good run as well. Just look at the size of the hole in the water.

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The Winston Alpha Plus Super Bend! The camera played a bit of a trick while filming the fight with a 5ft blacktip shark. This is the moment in which I am in the process of “letting go” of everything!

The @winstonrods Alpha 9wt is in this shot, and as you can see, it was taking a beating! I’m not intentionally holding onto the rod but this shot was a screen grab of film and the fish surged so fast and hard while I was leadering the 5footer, the beast pulled the rod through my hands “as” I was letting go of the leader. Note: the rod did not break under this strain!

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Working with sharks can be exciting!

SIDE NOTES: If you want to book an offshore trip for September, October or November let’s go catch’em up! Do it, get on the books. The weather window is hard to predict but there is pretty good hope this time of year for very calm seas. It is my preference that you fish as a single angler because the boat can get quite crowded when we are working out front with more than one angler. Having a strong double haul in your cast also helps incredibly well. We hope to find bonita out there soon too along with tarpon, sharks ladyfish redfish and sometimes trout. If the seas are tooo rough we will stay in the bay and fish the flats for redfish drum and trout.

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Texas Coastal Fresh Water Rinse Down

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Determined anglers catch fish!

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Fly Fishing the Texas Coast

Fly Fishing the Texas Coast in September, October and November is some of the best times to fly fish the Texas Coast. We will likely see larger than average redfish cruising the fats, and in between we expect to find schools of redfish and drum too. Dates are available! Book Online Now or call Capt Kenjo direct for prime dates.

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Bobby got his redfish on the Redington Minnow Rod

Summer Summary: The summer months on the Texas Coast this year was exceptional again. In regards to the weather, well, lets just say we got wet like the fish and we hunkered down every now and then to wait out a fast moving isolated storm, or two… or three. Before I move on with the Summer Summary, my heart goes out to those in the wake of Hurricane Ida. Help them out any way you feel you can help.

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We picked two red drum out of a single school in the thunderstorm. The multi-spotted redfish was Sam’s 1st on the fly.
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We won 1st and 2nd place in the Fly Fishing Division

In and around Port Aransas, fly fishing through June and July was productive but difficult in a few ways. Low light, heavy rainfall quite amounting to 3 years work of annual rainfall caused the water to turn off the fish for a short period. There were times when the water looked like someone had mixed cranberry juice with coffee and there were also small and isolated pockets of better water. Nonetheless, we got it done and found fish every time. A short time later the water returned to normal and began producing the fish we all desired. I use Wunderground and FishWeather apps for my weather forecasts.

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The Winston Alpha Plus Super Bend! The camera played a bit of a trick while filming the fight with a 5ft blacktip shark. This is the moment in which I was in the process of “letting go” of everything! The surge of that blacktip was awesome fast!
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Working with sharks can be exciting!

Fly Fishing the Texas Coast in August was also great when some stability in the weather arrived. The fishing accelerated then and the numbers of redfish schools are growing daily. We also got offshore and chased tarpon and shark in the surf zone on the fairest of days. We managed to hook one tarpon right away and break it off immediately but later we had another 4-5 foot tarpon take a swipe at our shark fly but did not commit.

September fish activity will continue to improve and remain very consistent through November. You can find an available date by using the Book Now button, choose the type of trip you are looking for and the calendar will be displayed for you to select a date that works best for you.

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There are many more pics and stories to share so we will save those for another time. Get on the books to experience fly fishing the Texas Coast and lets ramp up the fall run early while the waters and weather is fairly quite again!

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I love sight fishing black skies!

Coastal Texas Spring Rains

Fresh [rain] water is the Elixir of Life to a marine ecosystem.

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Wade fishing Texas Reds during Spring Rains

Texas fly fishing for reds & drum is solid right now. As the Coastal Texas Spring Rains return, quite a few fish have returned to the marsh as well. And as expected, the marine life has shaped up nicely although it took a little time to balance. The fish are showing themselves up in the shallows now where there is an abundance of crabs and shrimp and a plethora of tiny fish. There are a few remaining dates open in June and July! Hit the button below to choose your next saltwater fly fishing trip!

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Tailing Black Drum and Backing Redfish are both prevalent in select wading areas surrounding Port Aransas TX.

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Congrats Bill on your first black drum on fly!

And in rainy conditions like this, the best way to deal with these variables in my opinion is to wade fish. This allows the fish to reveal themselves to us without detecting us as easily and we can take more shots at more fish without dislocating the majority of fish in the area.

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This storm passed quick and we found the redfish backing in the grass and black drum tailing in the mud right after

In regards to rain systems like this one shown on Weather Underground Radar and Maps, Coastal Texas Spring Rains usually move in fast sweeping systems and in only a couple hours this one had passed and the winds laid down. Soon enough we found ourselves on the flat in calm conditions casting practically non-stop at backing redfish and tailing black drum with our fly fishing gear. So there are times when we might have a rain delay and occasionally a reschedule, but more importantly, you may miss out on some great fishing! My favorite part about the great outdoors is that it is not climate controlled.

We will adapt to our conditions and get on the fish despite the average weather. The fresh water that the rain introduces to our system is critical for healthy marine habitat and abundance of food for the fishes with target! Good news everyone!

Wade Fishing the Texas Marsh

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Chasing them around the block

Granted, wading the Texas Marsh is not for everyone. It is highly recommended you be in decent physical shape. With sharp eyes and a good clean quiet cast you can also raise your odds of hooking up! Because it will most likely forever become known as the Longest Mile you’ve ever walked. Frankly, it can require someone with a strong spirit and will power, to not stop or give up. Fine tuning yourself into a fish stalking son of a gun isn’t the worst goal you could have! Rudy never gave up and in very tough conditions got to work on a handful of foraging redfish. Because of this, our catches are very rewarding in mind and spirit.

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Wet wading Tailing Texas Redfish
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Texas Redfish on the Fly
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Bonus Sheepshead on the Fly