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EDITOR AND PUBLISHER

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Everett Johnson Everett@tsfmag.com VICE PRESIDENT

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Pam Johnson

08 Data We Can Believe In 12Â Dead-end Guts Defined and Analyzed 16 Â â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yeah, I Read It But I Just Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Care.â&#x20AC;?

18 Necrotizing Fasciitis 20 Â The Trip and the Trip Home 22 Snook â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Lower Lagunaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Other...

30 Combat Marines Go Fishing 26 Country Went to Town                Â

Mike McBride Kevin Cochran Billy Sandifer C. D. Anderson Martin Strarup Everett Johnson Stan Young Chuck UzzleÂ

Coastal Birding Science and the Sea Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ask The Pro Fly Fishing Bluewater Journal TPWD Field Notes Conservation Kayak Fishing According to Scott Youth Fishing Texas Nearshore and Offshore

;,%8 396 +9-()7 ,%:) 83 7%=

Dickie Colburn Mickey Eastman Bill Pustejovsky Shellie Gray David Rowsey Capt. Tricia Ernest Cisneros

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PRINTED IN THE USA. Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine (ISSN 1935-9586) is published monthly by Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine, Inc., 58 Fishermanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lane, Seadrift, Texas 77983 l P. O. Box 429, Seadrift, TX 77983 Š Copyright 1990 All rights reserved. Positively nothing in this publication may be reprinted or reproduced. *Views expressed by Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine contributors do not necessarily express the views of Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine.

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4 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

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06 Editorial 54 New Tackle & Gear  70 Fishing Reports and Forecasts  72, 74 Catch of the Month Photo Gallery 76 Gulf Coast Kitchen 80 Index of Advertisers

Brent Scheps is our September cover angler, showing off his first Texas snook. Brent was fishing with Capt. Ernest Cisneros at Port Isabel.

Story on page 22.

Office: 361-785-3420 Cell: 361-550-9918

BUSINESS / ACCOUNTING MANAGER

Billy Sandifer UT-Marine Science Institute Jay Watkins  Casey Smartt    Bobby Byrd/John Cochrane Jeff Long CCA Texas Scott Null Scott Sommerlatte Jake Haddock Mike Jennings

56 Dickie Colburnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sabine Scene 58 Mickey on Galveston 60 Capt. Billâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fish Talk 62 Mid-Coast Bays with the Grays 64 Hooked up with Rowsey 66 Capt. Triciaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Port Mansfield Report 68 South Padre Fishing Scene          Â

Pam@tsfmag.com

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Texas Saltwater Fishing

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine, Inc., P. O. Box 429, Seadrift, TX 77983.

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

8MQI XS *SVQYPEXI 8 MQI XS *SVQYPEXI E 2I[ 4PER E 2I[ 4PER As editor of this magazine I receive tons of fishing reports. Some are encouraging and would lead one to believe our bays are full of spotted seatrout of desirable size while others are dismal and disappointing. It is necessary, of course, to sort and examine this feedback as seasons and general water conditions have great impact upon angling success. It is likewise necessary to glean experience and skill level, fishing method, along with bait/lure selection to avoid the trap of inaccurate conclusion.

In addition to the emails, calls and letters, I also fish. I worked as a year around fishing guide in the Port O’Connor-Seadrift region for nine years between 2000-2009 in addition to writing and publishing, running as many as 100 charter days some years. Lately my fishing has been more for recreation and publishing related than guide work. I get to visit places along the coast I rarely or never had opportunity to fish when I was working on the water. In my travels I am able to measure my own success against reports and in many ways substantiate or question that which I receive. I would like to think I am fairly well informed.

All too frequently the reports and my own experience lead me to conclude that our spotted seatrout fishery is being depleted and this can be backed by TPWD’s spring gill net surveys. Each year Coastal Fisheries staff conducts population surveys during a ten week period in the spring and again in fall. The spring results, they say, are the better indicator of the two for spotted seatrout although both provide vital information.

The results of the 2010 spring gill net survey have been released and what I see deepens my concern. One could almost correctly assume that since our coast has escaped wide-spread killing freezes and red tides for twenty years, natural events that can all but wipe out a fishery in the span of a few days, spotted seatrout numbers would be at all-time highs in all bays. But alas, this is not the case.

In the 2010 spring gill net data, only Sabine Lake and West Matagorda show increases, and these following three straight years of decline on Sabine and five on West Matagorda. Galveston bays have been in general decline since 2002 with only a brief upward spike in 2008. East Matagorda is in a three year slump. San Antonio Bay has been in general decline for twelve years and Aransas for six. Corpus Christi Bay and the Upper Laguna Madre populations are trending below the levels recorded between 2002 and 2006. Surprisingly, the Lower Laguna shows a third year of decline, even with the five fish limit enacted in September 2007. It is important to note however – fishing reports and creel surveys point to larger fish being landed more consistently since the regs took effect down there.

Seasoned anglers and guides say we have plenty of small fish and that culling a dozen or twenty to find a fifteen inch keeper is becoming increasingly common. Some biologists say the trademark of overfishing in the marine environment is a population comprised mostly of young fish, too small to keep. Given that we’ve experienced no natural die-off of any magnitude, I conclude we are overfishing the resource and the current seatrout management plan is no longer working.

6 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

1HZ %D\ .DW 6SHFLÀ FDWLRQV Length.............................................. 21’7” Beam................................................... 94” Persons...................................................6 Capacity .....................................1750 lbs.

Horsepower ........................................225 Displacement .............................1700 lbs.

)HDWXUHV • Self Bailing Deck • Rear Casting Deck • Aluminum Burn Bar • 45 Gallon Fuel Tank • In-Deck Front Storage • (1) S.S. Pop Up Cleat • Front & Rear Baitwells • (1) Large Rear Storage Box • Console w/Front Site Casting Platform • Aluminum Leaning Post w/94 qt. cooler

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Texas Saltwater Fishing

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 7

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Apart from largemouth bass, there may be no finned species that has fueled more theory and so-called expert opinion than our own topwater crashing, Corky-eating speckled trout. We all crave information and continually search for every tidbit that might lead us to bigger and better catches. Yet, unfortunately, I doubt seriously whether the fish would agree with a lot of the stuff that has been peddled as gospel over the years. Much of what we think we know can be classified as either old school myth, media hype designed to encourage retail sales, or perhaps colorfully embellished (but highly entertaining) guide talk. We have never really had much in the way of hard data to work with. But never fear; Dr. Greg Stunz and crew are here to finally set a few things straight.

As I mentioned in the February 2010 issue of TSFM, Dr. Stunz and team from TAMU Corpus Christi are committed to unraveling Laura and Megan plugging some of the mystery. They have help from the Harte Research for information.

Institute, CCA Texas, and the Rotary Club of Corpus Christi (Harvey Weil Sportsman Conservationist Award). Their main goal for now is additional trout for tissue analysis research, and more importantly, to to either confirm or disprove the tide runner theory, one of the most retrieve data from electronic transceivers placed in Port Mansfield’s debated issues concerning spotted seatrout movement and migration East Cut back in February. To recap briefly, a number of trout have ever put forth. been fitted with transmitters to track movement. When a tagged fish Basically, just about everybody, except the scientific community, swims within range of a transceiver, data is recorded including the believes that a large population of trout migrate from the Gulf of fish’s ID, time and date stamp, along with other valuable information.

Mexico to the bays each spring and then retreat back as winter Movements can now be tracked without question. So with no further approaches. This new endeavor is actually the work of Masters student, ado, here is some of the information received to date, surely to change Laura Bivins. Her thesis is officially titled: Large-scale movement patterns some of the older thought we have relied on. of spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) among South Texas estuaries Number one – the rate of data return is already well off the chart and the Gulf of Mexico. Besides Stunz, Laura is also well-assisted by of expectation. In a traditional tagging program (where dart tags or topwater chunking Fisheries Research Coordinator, Megan Robillard. similar devices are used), a modest 4-6% information return is normally Although the study is still quite young, the data received thus far has expected. Laura explained that results in this type of study are heavily been very revealing. I recently got to go back into the water with this dependent on angler success and reports to verify recapture. However, bunch and fascinating would be a weak description. with the new sender/transceiver technology, an astonishing 65% of We had a great day on the water with the goal of obtaining the electronically tagged fish have already reported back. This is stunning; especially when we might fully consider the abuse and stress some of these fish have endured.

Downloading data From a total population of sixty-two fish carrying surgically from transceivers. implanted sending units, twenty were obtained from the Baffin Bash live-weigh and release fishing tournaments earlier this year. Incredibly, of that twenty, thirteen are still talking to us.

These fish were initially caught by tourney anglers, kept alive and transported to the weigh-in in livewells, weighed, underwent surgery to implant a transmitter the size of a small topwater, and then transported again to a release point near Pita Island outside Flour Bluff. We have all repeatedly heard speculation that releasing a trout is silly and for naught, as the stress of capture and handling alone will surely kill them. So much for anecdotal theory. We are now clearly seeing that post-capture survival is far greater than many would have had us believe, at least in colder water.

Of these tournament trout, some of the movement tracks they have left have been off the chart as well. One fish was shown to 8 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Masters student Laura Bivins has a passion for the spotted seatrout resource, and fishing too!

have moved fifty-six miles in a fourteen week period, and yet another traveled an astonishing sixtynine miles in just a little over nine weeks.

Another moved thirty-five miles in just two weeks. This is huge considering that most, if not all previous scientific studies, have concluded that the majority of trout live and die within five

miles of the spawning site.

Here are a few more detailed descriptions of individual fish trackings. (If we routinely chase trout believing weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re on â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;em for tomorrow; we may need to think again!) One fish in particular, released near Pita Island, hung around for a while, swam nine miles south, only to return to Pita Island in just nine short hours. It later moved all the way into Corpus Christi Bay, and then returned once again to Pita! This fish moved at least thirty-five miles between April 6 and April 22, with the last electronic detection being recorded thirteen miles from the tagging location. It was ultimately recaptured on June 19 within a mile

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

and a half of the original capture location. In a typical dart tagging study, the likely conclusion would have been that this fish had barely moved at all. Now we know the rest of the story.

Another tournament fish eased herself from Pita Island down to Compuerta Pass over a ten week period, hung around there for a few days, then slipped over to Yarborough Pass for a while, and ultimately went right back to Compuerta Pass. It is fully twenty miles from Pita to Compuerta Pass as the crow flies.

Of the non-tournament fish tagged with transmitters, (forty-two total), an almost unbelievable number of thirty have reported back; an incredible 76% survival rate just from the data received so far.

On a sad note, nine of the electronically tagged fish have shown up at cleaning tables. At least the anglers had the good sense to report

The crew at work gathering spotted seatrout for tissue analysis.

Texas Saltwater Fishing

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 9

10 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

We have also learned that trout don’t always just stick around their original home place, and for whatever reason, can and will move more than normally imagined. We will eventually learn more, but in the meantime, we can certainly enjoy what we are already seeing thanks to this team of dedicated scientists who are also passionate fishermen.

Technology is a wonderful thing when used correctly, so let’s help these folks as they strive to improve the future of our fishery. Big kudos go out to Thomas Petroleum-Speedy Stop Stores for continuing the Baffin Bash format. When the late Tom Nix first announced a live-weigh trout tournament the masses scoffed, called it nuts and a total joke.

Now it is paying off with data we can believe in, and I sure wish he could be here to see it.

Mike Mcbride Mike McBride is a full time fishing guide based in Port Mansfield, TX, specializing in wadefishing with artificial lures.

Contact

them. Still it amazes me that anybody could fail to notice the bright green dart streamer in the dorsal fin carrying the message – Internal Tag, Please Release. Not only are these transmitters expensive; the information they will ultimately provide is priceless. If you happen to catch one of these study fish, please release it and call the number on the tag to report it. Laura and crew will send you a very nice care package, promise, and you can also be proud to have been part of this historic scientific effort.

Yes, data is also being received for the original purpose of the study, showing movement from surf to bay. Ten of twelve fish tagged in the surf moved inshore through two passes, and this at least proves in part that some amount of exchange does exist between the Gulf of Mexico and bay waters. Time will eventually tell more, which is certain to benefit all of us.

What we have learned so far is that trout are much heartier than many might have suspected. Perhaps that “one over 25-inches” regulation is not as silly as many thought when it was implemented.

Laura fighting strong East Cut current to retrieve transceivers.

Texas Saltwater Fishing

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Email McTrout@Granderiver.net Website Skinnywateradventures.com/ Three_MudSkateers.wmv

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

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www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 11

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Dead-end guts and channels are some of the most consistent fishholding features in Texas bays. Probably the most important aspect of these features is that fish use them as routes for moving back and forth between deep water areas and shallow, adjacent flats.

The words deep and shallow are relative, of course, as are the size and scope of the guts themselves.

Entire bay systems which connect directly with the Gulf of Mexico through coastal passes, especially those protected by jetty systems, might be considered dead-end guts on the largest scale. Estuaries like Trinity Bay and Sabine Lake come instantly to mind. Fish and other organisms from the open ocean can access the upper reaches of those bodies of water without crossing over shallow structures. In this way, the deep water in the “gut” is like a

12 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

highway, providing easy passage back and forth from the depths of the sea to the shallows around the river deltas.

For fishermen, though, smaller scale dead-end guts are more relevant. Many of our bays have long, winding depressions running from their mid-portions into coves and lakes along their shorelines. Bays like West Galveston, both Matagorda Bays and most of the Coastal Bend estuaries have numerous features like this. Fish can and will use these depressions to move back and forth between the basins of the bays into the shallower confines of the coves. In the remotest reaches of the lakes and coves, the guts which connect them to outer waters become extremely shallow, but even the subtlest ditches extending into the marsh can be great places to target fish.

During warm periods in winter, when onshore winds typically push water into the bays and fill the coves, fish will ride rising tides into the shallow areas and may be caught along the fringes of the marsh adjacent to areas where the dead-end guts fizzle out. Conversely, when strong frontal winds drain these same areas of most of their water, fish will retreat back to deeper water. This often happens after a short-lived frenzy of activity stirred by a brief rise in water level associated with postBoth man-made and front winds blowing natural dead-end into south shoreline guts are abundant in coves. the portion of Corpus The naturally Christi Bay shown in this satellite image. occurring trenches which funnel water in and out of the

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

This long trout was caught and released in sizzling summer weather on grass beds which border a gut that runs from the ICW onto a shallow, sandy spoil bank.

coves have been etched by the cumulative effects of centuries of winds and currents.

Most bay systems in the Lone Star State also have scores of man-made dead-end guts in addition to their natural ones.

These artificially dredged channels were mostly made for one of two reasons, either to provide access into shallow areas for oil-field related equipment, or to create neighborhoods for human habitation along bay shorelines.

All coastal developments with canals are examples of elaborate man-made deadend gut systems. The negative impacts of such developments on coastal estuarine environments have been documented, but they do provide fish temporary safe havens during periods of extreme cold.

Mullet, trout, redfish and other species will crowd into these canal systems when water temperatures drop below about 50° F, making their way naturally to the places where the guts come to abrupt ends, where Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

current speeds are minimal.

During the dramatic cold spell which settled over Texas in the first half of January, 2010, I found the canals in the subdivision where I live on North Padre Island to be crammed full of desperate trout.

Most of the fish were hanging around the dropoffs in the middle of our channels, where depths fall from around eight or nine feet down to about fifteen feet. The surface temperatures in the wind-sheltered canals barely dipped below 50° F during the big chill, though readings just outside the neighborhood plummeted into

the low forties.

The other type of artificial channels, those made specifically for giving oil companies and their gear access to shallow areas, will hold fish in extremely cold or hot weather and when tides become unusually low. Old oil field channels which intersect other channel systems like the ICW or any of the major ship channels along the coast offer the best potential in extreme weather, while ones which run out of open bay areas into vast flats can be productive in milder seasons.

Other types of “dead-end guts” exist too, some of which are much harder to locate than the obvious ones listed above.

These lesser recognized (but often equally productive) features occur naturally within reef systems, sand bars and grass meadows.

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www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 13

as bright spots on the bottom, might be mere inches more than what lies atop the surrounding grassy areas, but in a shallow bay like the Laguna Madre, that can be significant.

Even in areas which are far from access to deeper water, slight depressions lying in a line amongst shallower grass can and will hold more fish at times when compared with the relatively uniform areas around them. Catching fish around such isolated depressions often means making lots of casts along their fringes, where fingers of bright bottom branch out from the main potholes into the surrounding grass, especially at both ends of the line.

Some of the time, effectively fishing dead-end guts means working the dropoffs along the sides of the channel or depression, or the hole at the end of the gut. At other times, more fish will be caught on flats adjacent to the gut, rather than actually in it, when fish have abandoned their access route after using it to enter a cove, or to move among a reef, bar system or grass meadow. Either way,

fishing in and around dead-end guts is often a clear pathway to success in catching fish of various species.

Kevin Cochran

Contact

shallower water, surrounded by grass, shell or sand bars. All such places are potential fish-holding sweet spots, and they function like miniature versions of the bays as a whole.

Reefs, sand bars and meadows have subtle dead-end guts which meander through and among them. These depressions provide resident fish the opportunity to move into the shallowest parts of reefs and bars without swimming with their backs out of the water; they also define ambush points and places where prey can be corralled.

Additionally, these features can significantly alter currents, predictably funneling food to predators. Studying reefs and bars closely when light and water conditions allow will often reveal subtle dead-end guts or depressions, which can be the most productive places for catching fish around these structures.

When speaking of grassy meadows, sometimes the dead-end gut is merely a set of potholes lying in a line. The depth of the water in the potholes, which appear

Kevin Cochran is a full-time fishing guide at Corpus Christi (Padre Island), TX. Kevin is a speckled trout fanatic and has authored two books on the subject. Kevinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home waters stretch from Corpus Christi Bay to the Land Cut. Trout Tracker Guide Service Telephone 361-688-3714 Email KCochran@stx.rr.com Website www.FishBaffinBay.com

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Texas Saltwater Fishing

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Texas Saltwater Fishing

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 15

7XSV] F] &MPP] 7ERHMJIV

± =IEL - 6IEH -X &YX .978 (32´8 '%6) ² The past eighteen months have been some of the poorest fishing I have ever experienced and likewise it has been the toughest going I have ever encountered as a fishing guide. Interestingly enough, in my case, too few charters has not been a result of the sluggish economy as it has been with many other guides. High winds and seas, sargassum, and tides to the dunes, have cost me two-thirds of my scheduled charters. For the past two weeks I have been working for the National Park Service at PINS as a biological science technician with the Natural Resources Division. I’d like to share some personal insights.

Picture this if you can. I am several miles down island parked off the main track and standing alongside a white four wheel drive NPS pickup complete with

Padre Island National Seashore decals, in full NPS uniform, conducting a survey of bird species present. A number of late model SUVs approached from the north at speeds exceeding 50 mph. Without slowing, they passed within ten feet of me as if I wasn’t there. Before the afternoon was over this scene was repeated several times. I kept milling this situation over in my mind; wondering why this has become so commonplace. It is not nor has it ever been acceptable to drive by parked vehicles or camps at high speeds. This is not only the official law of the NPS but also a part of the commonsense code of beach ethics established by the regular beach fishermen before I ever showed up down there fifty years ago. I noticed the great majority of these vehicles lacked normal beach fishing

Unending sargassum has led me to installing a roof rack on my truck. Placing rods up high allows much of the weed to pass underneath the lines; allows fishing when it would be impossible otherwise.

16 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

Texas Saltwater Fishing

accessories such as front bumper rod racks, lift kits, and oversized tires. No fishing equipment was visible in many that passed.

For many years the fact that nobody had injured or killed a sea turtle with an automobile on PINS has contributed greatly to our continued opportunity to drive the beach. That all changed on 21 July 2010 when a beach driver ran over a stranded juvenile green sea turtle. The turtle was still alive when discovered by NPS personnel and was taken to Tony Amos’s rehab center in Port Aransas. It appeared to have suffered spinal injury.

PINS regulations state that northbound vehicles have the right-of-way; no ifs, ands, or buts. Recently a southbound driver who refused to yield nearly caused a head-on with a friend of mine. My friend stopped him and asked if he had read the signs regarding northbound right-of-way.

The guy replied, “Yeah, I read it but I just don’t care.” Are we beginning to see a trend here?

On Saturday, 17 July, I drove by a shark fisherman’s camp and observed a four foot bull shark rotting in the sun.

The guy never took the meat or even removed the jaws; just caught it and left it on the beach to rot. A similar incident of Sunday, 18 July, was reported to me. It seems several lesser black-tipped sharks of 5-6 foot length with jaws removed were found in a pile down in the 40s. Both are illegal, but of greater importance to me is that they are wasteful and morally wrong – more from the “I just don’t Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

care” clan. I inquired whether photos had been made that might reveal the identity of the miscreants, license plates etc., that could be given to NPS or TPWD. He replied that a large group of people were present and he felt uncomfortable to do so. We MUST be willing to take action and report violators for the continued well-being of our fisheries. If nothing else; call when you come off the beach. PINS enforcement division phone number is 361-949-9238 and TPWD’s Operation Game Thief is 800-792-4263.

Lately I’ve been noticing large camps of people parking their vehicles in lines to intentionally block an entire beach, leaving only a narrow passage near the dunes where there’s danger of tire damage. A friend encountered such a group recently and told one of the campers that it was illegal as well as inconvenient and dangerous to block the beach in this manner. The drunken reply was, “What I should do is get my gun and blow you away,” before he staggered off.

Give me a break. I’ve come to think of this as the “I’m important and you’re nobody to me” syndrome and it is the very type of behavior I lived down island for eighteen months many years ago to escape. Now it is as commonplace down island as it is anywhere else in society and that is a true tragedy.

I rarely charter in the bays anymore because Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

I am intolerant of rudeness. I refer inquiring customers for bay trips to David Rowsey or Mike McBride because to me there is no fun left in the bays. E.J. spoke of overwhelming numbers of users in last month’s editorial and that’s all true but it is not the numbers that get me. It’s the self-centered attitude and the rudeness that I won’t tolerate. Used to we said, “Well, they probably don’t know any better,” and in many cases that may still be true. But my money says that the statement, “Yeah I know, I just don’t care” is the larger part of it. I’ll still do a bay charter with a select few customers when it’s not croaker season but have no desire to be in the bay once croaker season starts. There’s a line in a song that says, “Fishin’ is fun and fishin’ ain’t fishin’ if fishin’ ain’t fun.” On my charters fishing is fun. We all better start caring if we want to continue our outdoor activities with as few restrictions and regulations as possible.

On 21 July official notice was made that an Environmental Assessment scoping process to analyze safe beach driving speeds by the regional level of the National Park Service is in the making. By the way; the REGIONAL office decided this, it was NOT requested by NPS PINS. Many see this as the beginning of the end for driving on PINS and some of the possible actions/changes Texas Saltwater Fishing

listed in the EA are scary. This EA is not the beginning of the end of driving on PINS. It has been a gradual thing evolving for several years as the number of beach visitors increased dramatically and far too many of them “JUST DON’T CARE.” I got tickled last Saturday when a fisherman flagged me down to tell me “Jaws” had just swum past him in the first gut.

Then I received similar reports as I traveled further south.

Then at the 50 mile beach I saw an enormous manta ray feeding on the surface and realized what they were seeing. At least eight large manta rays were in the surf and fishermen were mistaking them for giant sharks. One shark fisherman had gotten a violent strike Friday night and his 9/0 reel was stripped in minutes. While kayaking the next morning his group found his float and leader over a mile offshore. The bait was untouched. My guess is that one of the manta rays fouled his line. Don’t you know the spooling of that 9/0 reel in the moonlight was quite a show. What a hoot.

If we don’t leave any there won’t be any.

-Capt. Billy L. Sandifer

Capt. Billy Sandifer

Contact

An all too familiar scene this year - high tides, rough driving, off-colored water and lots of sargassum. This too shall pass.

Billy Sandifer operates Padre Island Safaris offering surf fishing for sharks to specks and nature tours of the Padre Island National Seashore. Billy also offers bay and near-shore fishing adventures in his 25 foot Panga for many big game and gamefish species.

Telephone 361-937-8446 Website www.billysandifer.com

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 17

% XVYI PMJI EGGSYRX F] 87*1EK VIEHIV ' ( %RHIVWSR 4IEVPERH 8< Sunday afternoon, June 6, the surf was brown at Surfside Beach. I paddled my kayak out beyond the breakers to try some artificials.

Probably my first mistake was not wearing protective clothing. The edges of the foot rests of my kayak are rough. The bare skin just above my ankle rubbed on this rough plastic. Soon the epidermis, the outer layer of the skin, on the inside of my calf was abraded and saltwater was being rubbed into this exposed raw area. The area had become painful by the time I quit kayaking.

My next mistake was critical. I did not immediately and thoroughly wash and disinfect the raw, rubbed area. After putting the kayak and other stuff away, I rinsed off under the outside shower and headed home. I keep a bottle of hydrogen peroxide at the beach house to disinfect such exposures but I did not use it.

Monday morning I awoke early with a painful swollen ankle. The abraded area was hot and red. My mistake, actually blunder, number three was rubbing some triple antibiotic salve on the sore area and going off to have lunch with my son. When I got home I was not feeling well and took a nap. I awoke to increasing pain and chills.

Mistake number four was waiting; procrastination. I had a very good idea that I could have the dreaded necrotizing fasciitis, “flesh eating bacteria.” Several years ago my son’s father in law had been

infected with it and very nearly lost his leg. Much of the calf muscle of his right leg had to be surgically removed to contain the infection.

Several follow-up surgeries were required to close the wound. Why did I wait?

By six o’clock I knew I was in trouble. The swelling and the pain were increasing. I did not dare wait overnight. I went to the Pearland Texas Emergency Care Clinic and explained to the doctor, Dr. Patel, that I had probably caught the Gulf of Mexico seawater bug and I might need a shot of streptomycin. Dr. Patel immediately diagnosed the infection. With a felt tip marker he delineated the extent of the red inflammation of the infection. The lower mark was at the ankle. The upper was just below my knee. He started an intravenous (IV) antibiotic immediately. As soon as it ran through, he started another. Doctor Patel stated, in a no-nonsense way, “You are going to the hospital.” At that point I realized that this was not the time for argument.

A bed became available at Southeast Memorial Herman Hospital just as the second intravenous dose of antibiotic was completed. Dr. Patel insisted that I not drive myself to the hospital and called the Pearland EMS ambulance to transport me. The EMS technician who rode in the back with me was also a kayak paddler and we swapped kayak stories enroute to the hospital.

Doctor Patel had sent treatment instructions to the hospital. No sooner than I was in the hospital bed than the nurse started another IV dose of antibiotic, followed Procrastination only makes by two more before matters worse; note redness and daylight. That made swelling of my left calf when I five doses of heavychecked into the Pearland Clinic. duty intravenous antibiotic the first night. Throughout the night the staff came by to check my blood pressure, pulse and temperature. I realized that the medical staff was taking this infection just a whole lot more seriously than I had, and that I was really in serious trouble.

18 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

When the hospital doctor, Dr. Eisenberg, came by in the morning, I was on my sixth dose of IV antibiotic. He said they were analyzing my blood work and shrugged off any question about when I might be discharged. He said to plan on at least one more day, maybe two. Over the next forty eight hours, I had seven more IV doses of the heavy-duty antibiotic.

I asked the nurse if they saw very much of this type of infection. She replied that yes, there were several cases of it each summer. In fact, just two weeks earlier, the man who had been in the room next to the one I was in had his leg amputated.

Thursday morning, after thirteen doses of intravenous antibiotics and several bags of saline solution, the nurse said, “Good news, your white blood count is back to normal.” Then they gave me two more doses of IV antibiotic for additional insurance. A little later Dr. Eisenberg came by and discharged me with a prescription for yet more antibiotic.

Now, two weeks after being discharged, most of the swelling is gone, though the stiffness continues. The skin is discolored and has the appearance and flexibility of eel skin leather. But when I look down and count my feet, I come up with two.

I had been very foolish. Several talented medical professionals had worked three nights and two and a half days to apply fifteen doses of intravenous antibiotic to save my leg. Had I waited another night I would probably have been taken directly to the Intensive Care Unit and very possibly would have required surgery.

My subsequent research of necrotizing fasciitis bacterial infections reveals that, left untreated, these infections are nearly always fatal. Even with antibiotic treatment, aggressive surgical debridement (removal of infected tissue), is often necessary to keep the infection from spreading and amputation is necessary in one fourth of the cases.

These necrotizing fasciitis bacteria occur naturally and are present throughout all saltwater bays and estuaries. Every year several people die of this infection. Many more are hospitalized and some lose legs, arms, hands or fingers. Usually a healthy person’s immune system will control the small infections from minor scrapes, cuts, hook pricks, shrimp tail stabs or crab bites. My infection probably spread faster than most because of the very large infected area and also because the bacteria laden seawater had been rubbed into this several square inch area of raw dermal tissue. My immune system was not able to combat that large an area of infection.

Obviously most people are exposed to the saltwater environment with little concern about this infection. Their immune systems protect them and they can go fishing and use the beaches without undue concern. Those people with open wounds or cuts and those with compromised immune systems, such as advanced diabetes, should take great care when they are exposed to seawater.

You can defend yourself against these bacteria by washing and disinfecting each cut or scrape. However, if after being exposed to seawater, such a cut or scrape becomes hot, red and painful, delay can be disastrous. If you notice a small inflammation, use a felt tip pen to mark around it. If it becomes more painful and the redness of the infection expands past the mark, get to a hospital immediately.

I was fortunate. Although I waited much longer than good judgment would dictate, I did not have disastrous consequences. I still have two legs and will go wade fishing again soon. However, since I do not dare risk re-exposure, I will be using my waders and carrying hydrogen peroxide in my tackle box to disinfect any cuts and abrasions.

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

BILLY SANDIFER’S

&RDVWDO %LUGLQJ Marbled Godwit -Limosa fedoaThe marbled godwit is a large shorebird with long, bicolored, slightly upward curving bill. Cinnamon mottled with black above; barred below. Nests in grassy meadows near lakes and ponds in northern Midwest States and Canada. Present on Texas coast in varying numbers all year. Probes for food along shorelines and on mud flats.

Shape, color and size very similar to long-billed curlews.

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Length: 18 inches Wingspan: 30 inches Weight: 13 ounces

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 19

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Quite often on the way home from a fishing trip everyone in the truck gets tired and quiet and my thoughts are all about what I experienced. The sunrises Small trout like topwaters too! and sunsets, the fish that were caught and those that were not, the conversations and the “what if we’d have done this instead” comments all become a story and another chapter in my life. On long trips home those thoughts and memories all serve to keep me alert and awake and sometimes I’ll even laugh out loud at the memory of something funny that happened. Everything that left an impression will play out again and the trip will be relived such as...

The mosquitoes were horrible at the boat sling and we were all doing the slap your legs, arms, and face dance so common with those of us who hate to use mosquito repellent. I wish someone would invent a super high-speed boat sling; seriously. It would come in real handy in the pre-dawn when the bloodsuckers are so happy to see a middle-aged fat guy and would also be really nice raising the boat at the end of the day. I don’t The next morning there was heavy dew on the truck and no know a lot about the mechanics of boat slings and the one I was wind whatsoever. Surprisingly there were no mosquitoes and we using belongs to a friend who graciously allowed me the use of it were able to lower the boat with no encore of the mosquito dance (thanks Kim), maybe there already is such a thing. I have no idea. required. Likewise the trip out of Port was mosquito free and the The first evening in Port Mansfield we were headed to our first wind picked up slightly…go figure. We ran back to the same spot spot at 6:30 and it was non-stop action from the time we shut down that we had fished the evening before and I set up a drift on the until I had to turn my running lights on and head in. Phenomenal same line that we had done so well on. There was just enough wind would be a good word to describe the bite we had going on and we to move us at a nice fishing pace which is something we’re not use were all eager to at all as we usually have two drift socks out and are still moving Robert’s topwater hardhead; to see what much faster than we’d like. special skill required. the following Then the mosquitoes attacked. Evidently they were hiding in morning might every nook and cranny in the JH and when they converged they bring. The covered you. We were on fish and we didn’t want to move, so out mosquitoes with the repellent again. I felt like a complete idiot spraying that found us on stuff on my legs and arms out in the middle of the Laguna Madre our way into and also knew full well I’d be in the water later to wash it off before the harbor and the sun got up high. I hate the smell that much. A friend of mine was we couldn’t having the same problems with the bloodsuckers and had all of his stand it; we had people in the water, but even wading they were being attacked just to break out the same. While their legs were safe they were slapping constantly the repellent. to keep them off of their faces and arms. In over 40 years of fishing I Idling along, have never experienced anything like it. they swarmed The bite didn’t last, the wind quit and it got way too hot, so the boat all we headed in for some much needed air-conditioning and lunch. the way to the Somewhere along the way back to Port we lost the mosquitoes sling and made and we jokingly wondered in whose boat they had made their new filleting fish home. Looking forward to the evening trip we had a light lunch and an unpleasant a wonderful midday nap. chore.

20 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Robert preparing to release his lifetime best twenty-eight.

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

trip home in the morning.

The trip home was as I mentioned above, very pleasant; remembering everything that made the trip memorable. The mosquitoes, the boat lift, the fish, the conversation, the food, all the friends weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve made over the years in Port and seeing them again. Robert nearly knocking himself out on the ice machine â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I forgot to mention that â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and that he also caught a hardhead on a topwater.

Every little detail becomes a memory.

Some Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll remember vividly for years, some Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll likely forget until reminded, certainly some will make us all laugh again around future campfires. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to the trip and the trip home!

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Be safe. - Martin

Martin Strarup

Contact

The wind was up a little for our evening trip, it wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t blowing hard, but it was blowing enough for us to drift if we chose to. I think we caught one trout and we fished until dark-thirty. We tried several spots but nothing was there that wanted what we were offering. Oh there were a few small fish caught and a couple of awesome blow-ups on topwater baits and that was enough for us, but we never boxed a single fish...the catching was lacking.

That evening we took some trout fillets to the cafĂŠ and had them fix it for us blackened and fried and it was excellent. It was nice not having to cook and during the R&R we were able to relax and plan for the following morning. We only hoped that it would be more productive than what weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d just experienced. It was.

That morning found zero mosquitoes in the boat which was almost as good as a topwater bite! We found the pattern and we caught a lot of fish, kept what we wanted for the box and decided to do a little exploring.

My son, Sterling, had found some interesting deeper water north of town on Google Earth and it was in an area that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d never fished before. We checked it out and while we found no fish there to speak of, it holds promise and we enjoyed adding some new fishing locations to the GPS. That afternoon we headed back to the same area that had been so productive that morning. The fish were there but evidently in a different feed pattern. The bite wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t as active as it had been earlier in the day, but it was on enough to give us a productive trip.

We called ourselves lucky again.

One of our crew, Robert Fernandez landed his personal best trout on plastic, a really nice twenty-eight incher that was photographed and released.

Good job Robert!

That evening it was back to the cafĂŠ for more restaurant food and some drinks, followed by packing for the

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Martin Strarup is a lifelong saltwater enthusiast and outdoorsman.

Martin is also a collector and dealer of vintage fishing tackle and lures, especially those made in Texas.

Email Trouthunter@swbell.net

Texas Saltwater Fishing

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/RZHU /DJXQD·V 2WKHU *DPHILVK /RZHU /DJXQD·V 2WKHU *DPHILVK While great for the soul in appropriate doses; you have to be careful with your fishing habit lest you become hopelessly addicted. It’s a crying shame. Many are the tales of fine young men and women going down ruinous paths, pitifully unaware they might possess talent for more respectable pastimes such as chess, dancing, maybe even polo.

The angle of descent into fishing ruin is fueled by the quest for adventure. All too soon home water holds no candle to new places and different species. Mental images of reels screaming against leaping trophies cloud better judgment and can keep you awake

22 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

into the wee hours.

Lately I’m having that very problem with snook; Texas snook to be more exact. The blossoming snook population of South Texas offers anglers some of the finest inshore trophy opportunity this side of the Everglades.

Snook give me butterflies and what began on a lark several years ago has become an annual tradition for Pam and me. Several days before the new moon each June we pack up and drive down to Port Isabel to fish with Capt. Ernest Cisneros of Tight Line Charters. While this year’s trip had been distracting me off-andon for about a week, the butterflies arrived in clouds as we crossed the TX 186 overpass at Raymondville. Port Mansfield, you see, is normally as far south as I fish and TX 186 is where I turn east toward Port. The miles remaining to Port Isabel were filled with nervous anticipation and other snooky stuff.

Ernest always stresses stout flourocarbon leaders to resist the abrasive caress of snook and also their razor sharp gill plates so getting everybody tied up accordingly with forty pound leader on twenty pound braid was my very first order of business. Pam keeps her head about her and got us moved in and unpacked. I’m useless in that regard sometimes.

“White Skitter Walks and bone Baby Spooks are hot right now,” Ernest had counseled. Following to the tee, I tied lures like he said and made drag adjustments to each reel. Next I worked on wade boxes, stocking with every thing in every color he recommended. Ernest said he had not yet been plagued with floating grass so I opted to leave treble hooks on the lures. This, as it turned out, was a mistake. More on this later.

Brent and Melinda Scheps, Pam’s sister and brother-in-law, were our companions on this trip.

Both are seasoned anglers and their river house at Matagorda is our usual base of operation when we fish there, so we were keen for them to get a good taste of South Texas snook fishing. Brent had landed snook in Florida but never in Texas and it would be Queenie’s (my pet name for Melinda) first time for snook. Naturally, we were anxious for them.

Ernest’s reports from earlier in the week made me giddy. “We caught twenty five snook Monday with several over nine pounds and fifteen very

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

nice fish today, but we have some weather coming. I hope everything settles down and the pattern comes back together for you.” Could he have injected more drama?

Thursday morning found us at the dock at the appointed 0515 and already 20 mph wind as Ernest launched his Shallow Sport. Early starts are his trademark to take advantage of the topwater bite that quite often fades as the sun nudges above the horizon. Cutting the engine several hundred yards upwind and a quiet drift toward the first wade is another. Easing into the water, Ernest gave instruction to spread out and fan our casts across the area in front.

“Please do not get ahead of me. The snook can be stubborn and we don’t want to walk through them.” Sounds easy enough but try it sometime.

If indeed a snook can be stubborn to take a lure, Ernest is even more so in his dedication to helping you catch them. And while you pray he is right and try your best to stay in line, your feet can get real itchy.

Ten minutes into the wade Pam’s floater was smacked viciously and the resounding pop was unmistakably snook. We caught only a glimpse at the end of her long cast, enough to guess its size as it rolled, and watched as it took line like a rocket. I’m still kicking myself for not having set her up with stout single hooks on that plug.

Floating grass or not, #3 trebles were no match for such a beastly pull. The plug came back with two barbs of the front hook perfectly straight.

Ernest scored next with a good eight pounder

while Brent, Melinda and I worked on our spectator skills. Brent had two blowups that sounded like snook, Queenie was fishless, and my numbers were good but my species were all wrong. A rat red, a baby jack crevalle and a huge foul-hooked mullet that fooled me at first just weren’t cuttin’ the mustard after restless nights filled with dreams of snook.

Creeping along for nearly two hours and countless casts, Ernest announced we were approaching a sand bar, “the bait is more active up there and we really need to slow down and fish carefully.” What the heck did he think we had been doing all morning?

The swap for soft plastic had already been made and some trout and small reds had answered our calls. “The Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Texas Saltwater Fishing

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 23

snook are here, they’re just not feeding yet,” Ernest assured. So even slower, and with every ounce of focus we could muster, we heeded the words of the master. Good thing too.

My first thought was turtle grass as my slow retrieve turned into a tight line. Not wanting to miss a chance, I ripped a Bill Dance hookset that was greeted with a headshake and a ferocious explosion. Hallelujah I had a snook, and no baby either. Even with my rod tip thrust below the surface the danged thing wouldn’t stay in the water. Six thrashing leaps and she was still way out there. My heart pounded like a bass drum until I had her on the Boga. Ernest called the weight at 10.25 pounds. My best snook ever and yet another reason for a deepening addiction.

I would love to tell you that we stood our ground and landed a dozen from that school but that didn’t happen. The wind and water conditions were against us. Ernest asked if we were up to a tough challenge and relocated us to a horribly muddy place full of nasty shell that crumbled underfoot and left you mired to the knee with every step. Pam picked up a fat five pounder under a mangrove that blew up three times before eating her plug while Brent and I hooked several smaller ones. Queenie allowed as how that kind of muck took the fun out of fishing and we all soon reached the same conclusion. We finally gave up and went in search of redfish on better bottom.

Day two had Brent written all over it. First toss he tangled with a good red and followed it a few casts later with another. The tiny shell mound he was casting toward was evidently loaded as he quickly added a solid four pound trout to his stringer. Bait was everywhere in front of him and several big “swooshs” told us mullet

24 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

were on somebody’s breakfast menu. I was dying to move in and “help him” but the reef they were holding on was tiny and it was his.

The crash was spectacular as his fourth fish in thirty minutes inhaled the Skitter Walk. I knew it was a big snook and I prayed the fish gods would smile for him. Several hard runs that ended with high splashing leaps added to the experience as he played her carefully. Ernest had waded near and we watched the show as Brent finally brought her to hand. That fat eightand-a-half sure put a smile on his face and the high-fives went on for a while. We are already booked for the new moon next June and hope to bring tales of another great adventure and how Queenie finally got her snook.

Ernest teaches his anglers to handle their snook gently as each is measured, weighed and photographed. Michelle Hominga is his top angler so far this season with a 12.5 pounder, a great mark we can all aspire to beat. Even though Texas regulations allow anglers to retain one snook per day between 24 and 28 inches, Ernest stresses even greater conservation in hope that what we are seeing in the Lower Laguna is only the beginning of a growing fishery. All his snook trips are catch and release only and I say, “Kudos!” If you decide to fish with Ernest for snook; please be advised of the hazards. You could end up addicted…like me.

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Texas Saltwater Fishing

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 25

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As a kid I always loved reading about fishing and hunting all over the world. I can remember being mesmerized with Field & Stream filled articles about far-away destinations full of fish and game that I could only see in my dreams. Thoughts of places I have been and places I still want to go fill my thoughts every time I step on a plane or browse a magazine rack at the airport. It always seems that at these moments, for whatever reason, I get a reality check and put things back into perspective. For example, just recently I spent a week in Dallas coaching my son Hunter and his 14 year old baseball team at the Amateur American World Series. This has become an annual event for my family for a variety of reasons. Obviously the baseball competition is high on the list but it’s certainly not the only reason we go.

My good buddy Steve Schiele is a well-known guide on Lake Lewisville so a trip to the Dallas area always means a day in the boat with him. Summer on Lewisville means schooling sand bass and hybrids by the thousands, it’s ridiculous. Our trip was so good this year that we had a fish fry in the parking lot of our hotel and fed three baseball teams and parents. If you can close your eyes and imagine the Beverly Hillbillies in baseball cleats, that was us. The whole scene was wonderful, everybody loves a good fish fry and we had ourselves a blast.

Now the flip side to traveling and fishing with a guide is the do it yourself trip. I know most of you fall into the same category as I do on that subject, “Where am I going and how far is the closest place to fish?” Our annual baseball trip is the perfect example of this. At our hotel there is a retention or flood control pond that has been 26 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

affectionately named Lake Costco due to it’s proximity to the store.

I’m not sure which was the highlight of the week-long stay, the baseball or the week-long fishing tournament the boys had. It was hilarious to see all of them scouring this no-name body of water for anything that would bite. As you might guess, they finally figured out the secret and eventually caught some very respectable fish. I believe a four pound largemouth took big fish honors. Opportunities like these abound for anyone willing to try, it’s just a matter of getting out there and giving it a good effort.

As I write this column I sit in awe of my surroundings, the ridiculously clear water of Cozumel Mexico is all around me. In the words of Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, “We’re not in Kansas anymore.” For years my family and I have made this trip and we always look forward to it. As you would guess, fishing is a big part of the trip for me. New water and new targets are tops on my list.

The opportunity to fish with friends that live on the island is always exciting and I always come away with a new appreciation for how blessed my life has been.

My trip always starts with a visit to a tackle shop prior to my flight for a bag of goodies to bring down to the island. There are very few places on the island that sell tackle; most tackle items consumed locally arrive via mail order to individuals. The difficulty in obtaining quality fishing gear is a problem that all local anglers face so anyone who visits and brings goodies is especially welcome. Terminal tackle such as swivels, hooks, leader material, wire, and fluorocarbon leader are all top items that any resident fisherman would love to get their hands on. If you have a personal

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

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friend down here the higher-end items like reels, polarized sunglasses, and maybe some trolling plugs will earn you huge points. One year I brought several levelwind reels in the 30lb class to my best fishing buddy and you would have thought he won the lottery. Things like that really put into perspective how much we take for granted.

My mind just went blank. Hunter just made a frantic trip to my table to tell me about the stud-sized permit he saw minutes ago while snorkeling. Was I doing something important? Okay, back on track. Perhaps the most awesome do-ityourself adventure I have seen down here was a pair of guys trolling on a jet ski not 300 yards from the beach. They had developed a system where they would sit back to back, one would drive while the other trolled. I applauded their ingenuity and good fortune as they caught jack after jack and an occasional wahoo, all the while howling with laughter, taunting landlocked observers. I was envious.

It seems so funny how we complicate things, especially in the world of fishing.

I wonder at the sometimes ridiculous measures we take to become better and more successful anglers. We often take the simple pleasures out of a sport we love and turn it into a cold and calculated science. Every now and again itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good to just go fishing without all the details. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to call Jim Cantore at the Weather Channel for all the meteorological data. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to consult the internet for the latest and greatest reports. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to dress in the fishing version of my Sunday best. All I really need from time to time is to just go, just find a stretch of water and see what happens. Let your mind wander and the rest of your body relax. You would be surprised at how it makes you feel. I know every time I get on a boat down here with friends itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just that, a chance to just go. Both ends of the fishing spectrum are represented. I have the latest tackle and gear while my friends use a triple drop rig on mono so heavy you could use it in your lawn trimmer. Both catch fish and each would gladly trade for the other just to see what itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like. It seldom gets any better.

Perhaps there will be a few bonefish and maybe a tarpon in my future, who knows. I do know that whatever or wherever I fish it will be an adventure that will surely be relived in my mind and stories for a long time. The opportunity to enjoy some of the finest water in the world and have your fishing brain re-calibrated Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Texas Saltwater Fishing

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is something that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come along everyday. The adjustment in attitude is exactly what we need every now and again. I feel better already.

Contact

Chuck Uzzle

Chuck fishes Sabine and Calcasieu Lakes from his home in Orange, TX. His specialties are light tackle and fly fishing for trout, reds, and flounder.

Phone 409-697-6111 Email cuzzle@gt.rr.com Website www.chucksguideservice.net

ROYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S Bait and Tackle

7613 SPID Corpus Christi, TX 78412

www.roysbait-tackle.com

The new CORE reels are designed to be the ultimate, lightweight baitcasting reels. These reels both come with HEG, feature Shielded A-RB bearings and are designed to be as compact as possible for a comfortable, lightweight and maneuverable fishing experience.

The high performance Curado reel is ultra smooth, makes effortless casts, and is available in a 7.0:1 high speed, 5.0:1 power versions.

New 200 size is compact and lightweight with the heart and power of a large reel.

The Chronarch has

<AKHG:K<A been redesigned with all 3529(1 32:(5

Sizes from 8# to 200# Test Available Colors: Red, Yellow, Green 28 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

new features inlcuding Ultra-Lightweight A7075 Aluminum Spool Construction, Magnumlite Spool Design, S A-RB Ball Bearings and High Efficiency Gearing.

361-992-2960

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The University of Texas

Marine Science Institute

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www.ScienceAndTheSea.org The University of Texas Marine Science Institute Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

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Texas Saltwater Fishing

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 29

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*Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine salutes combat marines outdoors.

A few weeks ago I volunteered to write an article to chronicle an upcoming fishing weekend in the Port O’Connor/Seadrift area for a group of combat-wounded Marines sponsored by Combat Marine Outdoors (www.combatmarineoutdoors.org). With no experience as a writer, and with illusions of becoming the next Robert Roark or Joe Doggett, I began scripting a story in my mind using military jargon like “assault” and “coordinated attack” to narrate what would be our fishing strategy for the outing. With that mindset, I imagined writing copy describing our flotilla - “speeding toward the white structures on We always close our evenings with prayer.

Flag ceremony and presentation, final evening.

L to R- Cpl Chris Bryde, LCpl. Josh McDaniel, Cpl. Bradford, Rusty Hicks, Sgt. James Gill

sacrificed so much.

The fellowship of each outing has had a positive effect on the physical and mental healing process of these soldiers. To date, over one hundred of these brave Our entertainers putting on a show. heroes have experienced life-changing outings on Texas ranches, bays and lakes; touching the hearts of all they have met.

We fished Espiritu Santo and San Antonio Bay from Lighthouse Cove to Panther Point for two days and witnessed the youthful exuberance of young men from all parts of the country catching their first redfish or trout. As always, being on the water was a magical experience, but the real magic occurred when we were ashore.

Each evening after dinner when libations were served, the Marines, their escorts, hosts and guests would gather to relax and visit. The fire pit was a tradition I thought we might forego in the warmth of a June evening but it added ambiance and helped keep the mosquitoes at bay. The sessions began with prayer for the safety of comrades who continue to be in harm’s way, for guidance to our great country in these trying times, and requests that these brave men and the thousands like them back home from their service to America might have a bright future. Moderated by Master Gunnery Sergeant, Art Garcia, and the President of Combat Marine Outdoors, Rusty Hicks, the Marines and our group exchanged stories about family, friends, and hopes for days

Honorees and some who helped.

the horizon (Hasselman’s Bay Club), eyes alert for anything that might compromise the mission.” When the weekend came to a close, I forgot any ambition to write a fishing article and only hope I can describe the emotional effect the experience had on everyone involved.

Combat Marine Outdoors began in 2005 with visits to wounded soldiers at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. The founders recognized a need to give Marines, sailors and other service members, an opportunity to get away from the hospital into an environment of camaraderie to accelerate their recovery from traumatic combat injuries. Many of these warriors did not want to leave the hospital. Hunting and fishing became the vehicle to encourage them to step back into the society for which they have 30 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

and years to come. As the fire faded and the stars became bright, some of the Marines would tell of experiences in places I can’t spell or pronounce. Some were able Cpl. Bradford and SSgt. Sean to describe events leading Kohlmeyer on to their injuries and their the water. thoughts then and now, some could not. It was an awesome experience.

We made lunch reservations for thirty on Saturday and Sunday at Josie’s Mexican Restaurant in Port O’Connor and Barketts Seafood Restaurant in Seadrift. The Marines were greeted by owners, staff and patrons of both establishments with standing ovations, hugs, tears and encouragement. We thank Mama Josie and Forest Christy for their hospitality and generosity to comp both affairs, as well as Mustang Creek BBQ for a delicious Saturday night protein fix. David and Sarah Clark provided overflow accommodations at Shoalwater Flats and prepared a lavish lasagna dinner for all on Friday night. The Mike, Jack, Jacquelyn Campbell and Randy Boyd Band played at the ranch Saturday night. Jacquelyn Campbell, a pretty and talented A&M student distracted our young men from important fishing matters with her songs and sparkling personality. The boats and guide services were provided by Beryl Bailey, David Boyles, David Clark, Rusty Hicks, James Jurach, Forrest Vollentine, Frank Wimbish and Stan Young. Special thanks to Bob Zorich and sons Robbie and Brett for donating the trip to Combat Marine Outdoors and we also want to express thanks to the volunteers who placed American flags along the routes we traveled to and from the water.

Most important were the honored guests: Cpl Matt Bradford – IED explosion Iraq 2007 – double amputee and permanently blinded.

LCpl Chris Bryde – IED explosion Afghanistan 2008 – critical injuries to both legs, best friend and all others on HUMWV killed.

LCpl Josh McDaniel – severe burns to 58% of body 2009.

LCpl Steven May – suicide bomber on bridge – broken back – currently enrolled at Texas A&M. SSgt Steve Irvin – undisclosed injuries – four combat tours.

The crew at Josie’s Mexican Restaurant in POC. Photo 578- L to R- Matt Young, Cpl. Matthew Bradford, MGySgt Arturo Garcia

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Sgt James Gill – IED L to R- Matt Young, Cpl. Matthew explosion – lost left eye Bradford, MGySgt Arturo Garcia and right leg, partial hearing loss.

SSgt Sean Kohlmeyer – severe trauma – four combat tours.

The abilities of these men to participate in the weekend’s activities amazed us. Cpl Bradford was a victim of an IED explosion in 2007 while on foot patrol with his unit. He lost both legs above the knee, part of his left hand, was permanently blinded in both eyes and lost part of his intestinal tract. Over the past three years he has faced numerous surgeries and difficult rehabilitation.

His demeanor is always upbeat and positive. He told me he had just completed a ten mile Marine march through the Mojave Desert, saying “the hard part was when the sand became soft and deep.” He plans to run in the Marine marathon.

Matt sat on the bow of the boat and skillfully cast his lure to bait and other signs in the water as directed by his boat captain. He mastered “walking the dog” and jigging soft plastics purely by feel, again with direction from the captain. Matt displayed Marine marksmanship with a 125 year old Holland & Holland 500 Express owned by David Boyles when he shot a bull’s eye at 40 yards.

Front Row- Cpl. Matthew Bradford prepares This was accomplished to fire antique double rifle, LCpl Josh McDaniel assists with sight alignment. with the help of LCpl Josh Back Row L to R- Forrest Vollentine, David McDaniel who called the Boyles, SSgt. Steve Irvin elevation and alignment over Matt’s shoulder. These guys genuinely care for one another and take pride in the successes of their Marine brothers.

Matt has re-enlisted in the Marine Corps and will be assigned to visit wounded Marines in hospitals and rehab facilities to be an inspiration to their continuing rehabilitation. This is but one story of many that made the weekend a remarkable experience.

As you plan for summer and fall outdoor activities, offer a prayer of thanks and blessing for these young men and others like them who have sacrificed and will continue to sacrifice so much. Our liberties are not without cost. We have the right to speak out and disagree with the most powerful among us, to worship a God someone else does not believe in, to proudly vote for someone our neighbor abhors, and to reap the fruits of our labor. We have these things because men and women like these Marines gave all they could to preserve our way of life.

Texas Saltwater Fishing

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 31

JAY WATKINS

Hot! That has been the weather pattern throughout July and into early August and I doubt we’ll see much change until the last week or so of September. Quite often we get f h pushes through at that time bringing slightly a weakk front that cooler temperatures for a few days. For now however, we are stuck with 95°F with the heat index soaring to 105° and above most everyday.

My approach to the fishing day is simple this time of year. I hunt trout early and then turn to redfish for the rest of the day.

Granted, there are situations that allow focusing on one or the other all day but in general it’s trout first and reds second.

Redfish often save our day, especially in late August and September before the maturing reds make their way to the Gulf to spawn. The majority of these fish will range from 28 to 30-plus inches and most never return to the bay they have called home for the past three to four years. As with many creatures, not all reds reach sexual maturity at the same time so this explains the difference in age among the schools. Catching these larger reds is extremely exciting when you’re able to observe the entire school feeding along the shorelines. Casting into the school with just about anything is met with aggression. I prefer Bass Assassins rigged on 1/4 to 3/8 ounce jigs and 1/2 ounce weedless spoons for two reasons. The first being the ability to cast heavier lures farther.

Second, both have single hooks. These fish are very competitive and it is not uncommon for other fish to attempt to steal a lure

from one that is hooked. Multi-hook lures can suddenly have two fish attached and this normally results in a limp line and a slumpshouldered angler. It has been my observation that the mature redfish in the Rockport area school most consistently during the first two weeks of September. Schools will appear earlier but these do not normally hold as many mature fish.

This is also a prime time for sight-casting to tailing redfish. I have been fortunate to experience a couple of angler’s first taste of tailing redfish this season. Both were successful in taking fish over six pounds once they waded within casting range. I think the stalk as they closed the distance between man and fish was as enjoyable as the catch. Low Ryan Watkins, tide and light future bass pro, wind will allow with oversized red caught with you to see fish dad and Jay Ray movement in in the Charlie shallow water Robinson Redfish much easier.

Bash at Rockport.

To me, the only thing more exciting than a big red charging a perfectly placed lure would be a big trout. Never

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32 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

CONTAC T

discount the possibility that the wake behind your lure might be your trout of a lifetime. High-quality polarized eyewear is an absolute must. I currently use Costa Del Mar and have found the new 580 series lenses in amber or copper to be the best for seeing fish in shallow water. I own four pairs for different weather and light conditions but have found the amber and copper work best, most of the time. The 580 Corbina is my preferred frame style.

On the trout scene this time of year I look for moving water. Windward shorelines with moderate tidal current work best for me without a doubt. Structure, whether shallow or deep, still needs some form of water movement. Bait is always a key; without a food source trout are seldom present in any number. I also prefer structure that is near deeper water when water temperatures reach the 85° mark. My records indicate that some of my better numbers of quality trout come from structure adjacent to quick deepwater access. I would guess some are tired of my lecturing but what held true thirty years ago still holds true today.

Certain patterns for certain bays change very little when conditions are normal.

2010 has brought an end to the drought and rainfall is now above average. This is an absolutely wonderful pattern we are trending into right now and our winter fishing should reflect its effects.

I still consider the nighttime feeding pattern best for catching bigger trout. I like coves or points with abundant submerged grass near a slough that leads to a backwater area. Dog day heat can drive big trout into a totally nocturnal pattern. Big trout are close to being nocturnal feeders anyway in my opinion, but this time of year Mother Nature nudges them even closer. Trout enter shallow water feeding zones in darkness and use the grassbeds and current (when

ASK TH E PRO

Costa Del Mar; authors pick for sight-casting.

available) to setup and ambush bait. The cloak of darkness allows cooler water temperature and additional cover for trout to gain the upper hand. Big trout slip from grassbed to grassbed in search of food. The keys to catching these fish are many so I’ll stick the major ones.

Arrive early. Leave your boat at least 100-150 yards away from the area you plan to fish. Approach with caution, stopping often to look and listen. If you’re pushing mullet you’re walking too fast!

Locate the line on which bait is exiting the area. The increasing daylight and coming heat are what push the trout and bait off the feeding area to the deeper water nearby.

Stop immediately on the first bite and do not enter the area further. Lure choice is your call but I’d suggest something you can cast a good distance. If a topwater, not too loud, and clear with a slightly darker back would be my pick. The floating Corky Fat Boy would be killer if the grass does not come up too close to the surface. The 5” Bass Assassin rigged weedless-weightless has fooled many a big trout as well. I believe in letting the fish come to me; in their own time at their own pace. If you allow this to transpire your odds of catching the quality trout that reside in such areas goes way up. Some of my best big trout experiences have come in areas such as this all up and down the Texas Coast.

Sorry if a lot of what I wrote this month seems old hat but it still works for me.

Sometimes we out-think ourselves. Why stop running a dive play in football when the opposing team is not able to stop it?

May your fishing always be catching.

Guide Jay Watkins

Jay Watkins has been a full-time fishing guide at Rockport, TX, for more than 20 years. Jay specializes in wading year-round for trout and redfish with artificial lures. Jay covers the Texas coast from San Antonio Bay to Corpus Christi Bay. Phone 361-729-9596 Email Jay@jaywatkins.com Website www.jaywatkins.com

Texas Saltwater Fishing

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 33

C ASE Y SMART T

F LY F I S H I N G D E PA R T M E N T

While packing my stuff for a fly tying show recently, I methodically boxed up all the materials I thought were needed for the two day event. By the time I was done, a luggage dolly was required just to carry it all. “This is ridiculous,” I thought.

So, I sorted through the boxes and pruned them down to the bare essentials. With these dozen or so different materials I figured I could demonstrate how to tie nearly all the flies I used for saltwater fishing on the Texas Coast. Narrowing everything down turned out to be just fine and it was a reminder that you don’t have to have tons of specialized feathers and fibers to tie good flies. Here are 10 of the fly tying materials I packed, and why I think they are useful for modern saltwater fly tying. patterns. It is virtually indestructible and can be used as a winging or accent material to impart a terrific fleshy appearance to Clouser Minnows, bead chain shrimp, MOE fly patterns and many other saltwater flies.

Craft Fur

Craft fur is perhaps one of the friendliest fly tying materials on the planet. It is inexpensive, durable, and looks terrific in the water. The texture, length, and suppleness of craft fur ranges from stiff-fibered versions one might find at a department store, to long, silky “extra select” varieties offered by fly tying merchants. My personal favorite is the select craft fur distributed by Rainy’s (Hairline Dubbin sells the same stuff). This craft fur has a long tapered fiber, but it is not too thin so it holds its shape well and does not tangle or matt as easily as some of the ultra-supple varieties. I use this craft fur as a body or tail material on all sorts of shrimp and baitfish patterns, and also on small Clouser Minnows, Crazy Charlies, and MOE flies.

Super Hair Super Hair (also called “Supreme Hair”) is a long, non-tapered, stiff, translucent nylon fiber available in many different colors.

Its wrinkled texture and translucent sheen make Super Hair a versatile material. Super Hair is the material used to tie Surf Candy flies, epoxy shrimp, and a variety of other durable lifelike

34 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

Krystal Flash Krystal Flash was one of the first flash materials to hit the market many years ago. In my opinion it is still one of the best.

A slightly stiff helical (twisted) Mylar fiber, Krystal Flash has a segmented appearance that looks great on crustacean and baitfish patterns. Krystal Flash is available in many different colors, including metallic, pearlescent, and fluorescent shades. It also comes in several different sizes and textures to accommodate both large and small flies. Honestly, I don’t think any saltwater fly tying bag is complete without a bundle or two of Krystal Flash.

Estaz Estaz (also known as “Cactus Chenille” or “Crystal Chenille”) is a pearlescent chenille product that is perfect for building crustacean bodies and small baitfish bodies. Estaz is

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

tough, it blends in with underlying materials, and it disappears when you apply lacquer or epoxy over it- no more trying to match the thread color to the fly. These features make clear nylon mono a good choice for a variety of saltwater patterns.

Permanent Markers Permanent markers are a terrific way to add colors, banding, and shading to flies. Both Prismacolor and Sharpie brand permanent markers work fine. I most often use permanent markers to create a segmented appearance on the tail fibers of shrimp patterns, or to shade the back fibers on baitfish patterns. A few colored permanent markers will greatly expand what you can create at the vise.

FLY FIS H I N G D E PAR TM E NT

inexpensive and wraps (palmers) easily around the hook shank.

Estaz is a key material used on many different flies, including the Cactus Shrimp.

Sally Hansen’s Hard as Nails I have yet to find a better head lacquer than Sally Hansen’s Hardas-nails nail polish. It is inexpensive, widely available, and it works great. Two coats of Sally Hansen’s will seal and secure virtually any thread-wrapping job. It also works great as a clear coat over painted fly bodies and parts.

Mason Hard Mono Mason Hard Mono is a stiff monofilament line that was designed to make leaders. But it can also be used for making weed guards and melted mono eyes on flies. For single or double weed guards, select either a 12 lb or 16 lb Mason Hard Mono. To make crustacean eyes, use 16 lb Mason Hard Mono and burn the ends slightly to form a round black pupil.

Clear Nylon Mono Thread One of the most versatile threads available is clear nylon mono. I use it on almost all my flies. Clear nylon mono is

VIDE

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Mustad 34007 hooks Mustad 34007 stainless steel hooks have been fly tying workhorses for many years. Most saltwater fly fishermen probably tied their first fly on one of these hooks and many still use them. The reliable 34007 is the perfect shape and weight for all sorts of baitfish and shrimp patterns. Although the 34007 needs sharpening out of the box, it is a tough hook that seldom fails. Recently, Mustad introduced a “Z” version which is stiffer and sharper than the old 34007. The new “Z” hook is also plated in a corrosion resistant compound. There have been rumors that Mustad is perhaps discontinuing the old-style 34007 for the new coated “Z” version. I hope they don’t. The 34007 is fine just the way it is.

CONTAC T

Bead Chain I don’t know who first used plumber’s bead chain to create a make-do pair of weighted eyes on a fly, but they knocked it out of the park with that idea. Available in painted, nickel plated, and stainless steel, bead chain is an ideal material to weight flies like Clouser Minnows, Whistlers, Crazy Charlies, shrimp flies, and crab patterns. These are sinking flies designed to ride with the hook inverted in a weedless “point up” position. In addition to ballast, bead chain adds a finish and shape to a fly that fish seem to find irresistible. I prefer to tie with stainless steel bead chain because it is heavier and more resistant to corrosion than either painted or nickel plated bead chain.

Casey Smartt has been fly fishing and tying flies for 30 years. When he cannot make it to the coast he is happy chasing fish on Texas inland lakes and rivers.

Phone Email Website

830-237-6886 caseysmartt@att.net www.caseysmartt.com

Check out Casey’s Fly Fishing Video Library at www.TSFMag.com

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Texas Saltwater Fishing

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 35

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BOBBY BYRD & C APT. JOHN COCHR ANE

:KLWH PDUOLQ GRPLQDWH 7H[DV /HJHQGV The 5th Annual Texas Legends Billfish Tournament was a big success this year in more ways than one. The field of sixtyseven boats and boat pools worth over $729,000 was a great start. The weather was very cooperative with calm seas and clear skies. However, the real success was the fishing, in particular, the arrival of a large number of white marlin and sailfish along our coast. This year white marlin dominated the billfish released, followed closely by sailfish. The total catch was 52 billfish, including 8 blue marlin, 23 white marlin, 21 sailfish and 1 swordfish. Blue Marlin were hard to come by, but the largest blue marlin ever weighed in the history of the tournament came in the first day. Tom Shumate’s 67 ft. custom sportfisherman Patron boated a 545 lb. ɰɉȐɑȨȐȽȃȐ ɜȣȐ ɰɜɑǸɄɑȇȨȽǸɑɴ

A real find on the Sea of Cortez, Serena Residences is a world-class experience with its private marina, its championship golf course and its elegant residences. Still, what makes Serena extraordinary, is its unsurpassed hospitality.

All inclusive package from

$ 725* 4 nights at a luxury residence 3 days saltwater fishing All meals, airport transportation, fresh bait, tackle, fishing licenses and taxes included

www.serenaresidences.com For more information and group specials: (310) 995-9283 jeff@serenaresidences.com * Rate per person, based on quadruple occupancy. Airfare not included.

36 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

CONTAC T

blue marlin early Friday morning and it was enough to earn them first place and the perpetual Bob Byrd Memorial Championship Trophy to keep for one year. The Patron also received the Alfred Glassell Memorial Trophy for the largest fish caught in the tournament.

Contestants battled off-color water and high sea surface temperatures on the upper coast, but along the middle and lower coast, fishing was red hot! Large numbers of white marlin showed up with plenty of sailfish to keep anglers busy and crews working hard to build up video release points. The number of white marlin released compared to an average year was astounding. Many boats released multiple whites and had strikes from plenty more. Port Aransas /Rockport based boats swept the field to win all four places this year. Gary Edward’s Let It Ride came in a close second with three white marlin and three sailfish released. Third place was Dennis Wilkerson’s Tico Time, edging out Bert Steindorf’s Bandit which came in fourth place. Both boats caught a blue marlin, white marlin and sailfish, but the

O FFSH O R E

Tico Time released all of their fish before Bandit, thus winning on earlier release time.

In the fish pools, the largest yellowfin tuna was a 163 lb. beast caught on the Happy Hour. Mo Azul weighed a 125 lb. and Sea Mixer a 107 lb. yellowfin. The largest wahoo, caught aboard the She Bangz weighed 57 lbs. and was followed by a 48 lb. on the Double Trouble. In the dorado pools, the largest fish was 38 lbs. caught aboard the Reel Attitude. The Rhumba weighed a 36 lb. followed by the Incognito with a 35 lb. fish. The Bandit scored again in the swordfish pool winning with a 106 lb. swordie, the only one brought to the scales! Another notable catch included a 345 lb. blue marlin, caught aboard the Uno Mas, which got tail-wrapped and came up dead. It met the length requirements for federal law, but did not meet the tournament’s minimum 102” LJFT short length. It was unfortunate, but still a very nice fish.

The large numbers of white marlin being seen this year are a good sign that these fish may be in better shape as a population than previously thought.

Recently, they were actually considered for the endangered species list. So please don’t kill whitey!

For that matter, it’s a good idea to let all billfish go unless you are fishing a tournament or they are large enough to be a potential record. Before the summer is over, get your ballyhoos out there and take advantage of the bite!

White marlin and sailfish are a lot of fun to catch on lighter tackle, so keep it light, use light leaders, circle hooks, fresh bait and have a blast! Please practice releasing these fish quickly and with the least amount of trauma. Also, remember, Federal Law prohibits removing a billfish from the water if it is intended to be released. To find out more about big game fishing in Texas, visit us at our Fox Yacht Sales Seabrook office at Tops-N-Towers. At Fox we have an extensive inventory of brokerage boats and we are the exclusive Texas dealer for Jupiter and CABO Yachts.

Capt. John Cochrane has been a professional captain for over 25 years and is now a yacht broker for Fox Yacht Sales.

He concentrates his fishing efforts in the Gulf of Mexico, promoting big game fishing and billfish research.

A native Texan, Bobby Byrd has fished the Gulf of Mexico since he was eight. In 1995, Bobby combined his love of fishing and boating into a business when he opened Tops-N-Towers in Seabrook, Texas.

Contact Fox Yacht Sales / Seabrook 281-291-0656 Tops-N-Towers 281-474-4000 Capt. John Cochrane 409-739-4817 Websites www.byrd-cochrane.com www.topsntowers.com www.foxyachtsales.com

Texas Saltwater Fishing

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 37

FI ELD

N OT ES

By Jeff Long | Summer Intern (Technician) Coastal Fisheries Division | Marine Development Center | Corpus Christi, Texas

I started my Texas adventure in the fall 2008 by enrolling in the mariculture graduate studies program at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC). I am nearing the end of my academic journey having completed most of my required 36 hours of coursework. Prior to attending graduate school, I was employed as a laboratory coordinator at Arizona State University, Civil Environmental Engineering Department. It was one of the best jobs I ever held, but I had a desire to live along the Texas coast and study marine fishes.

This summer I have been very fortunate to serve as one of six Coastal Conservation Association

CCA/AEP Marine Development Center summer intern Jeff Long.

Texas (CCA) summer interns. Because of CCAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s generous funding support, I have been able to complete the field portion of my research and I am currently analyzing data. My thesis research, entitled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dynamics of Water Quality and Biotic Production in Plastic-Lined Mariculture Ponds,â&#x20AC;? focuses on ways to improve fish production in saltwater hatchery outdoor rearing ponds. It focuses on trying to better understand the food web relationships between seawater, algae, zooplankton, and larval fish in rearing ponds.

To complement my graduate studies, I have worked at the Texas Parks & Wildlife Departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

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www.fishingtackleunlimited.com 38 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Texas Saltwater Fishing

FIE LD N OTES

CCA/AEP Marine rounds feeding the Development hatchery red drum Center in Flour Bluff broodfish. I soon performing a wide discovered that the range of fish hatchery fish were accustomed duties. During my to feeding. Sometimes internship, I have while tossing the feed received awesome into the tanks, I would support from hatchery receive in return a face staff. My duties have full of saltwater from Night harvest of red included feeding the hatcheryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the fish splashing.

They would drum fingerlings from red drum and spotted seatrout really be excited about feeding a hatchery pond. broodfish. Hatchery staff time. The seatrout were more maintains some really large fish in their easily spooked and their feeding behavior spawning tanks. I would not be surprised if was more reserved. I wonder if these some of those fishes are of state record size. behaviors translate back to catching these Three times a week I helped prepare beef fishes in the bays with the seatrout requiring liver, shrimp, squid, and mackerel as food more patience and a quieter approach from for broodfish. This seems anglers. to be a tasty and healthy One thing about working food concoction and the fish in a fish hatchery is you never really enjoyed it. Prior to know what tasks you will be this time, I had never seen a asked to perform when you whole beef liver. I was really arrive to work. Fixing and impressed with its full size. cleaning are main orders of To my satisfaction I was able the day at fish hatcheries. I to recognize some of the worked closely with staff to vital parts of this important get all duties done quickly. organ that I had learned in my The results from my research biology classes. That hands study were very encouraging CCA intern Jeff Long on experience was great, and I can feeding a tank full of despite the threat of Hurricane tell you that I will never look at a Alex. My study yielded almost hatchery broodfish. piece of liver in the same way. Then 400,000 red drum fingerlings there was the shrimp - lots of it! I often felt that were released into Corpus Christi like making a fresh salad for lunch. Squid Bay. This was quite an accomplishment was of particular interest to me because of considering the summer heat and high their messy purple ink sac that stained my salinity conditions present at the hatchery. hands. I observed that their mouth was Hopefully, my research will have practical equipped with a sharp horny beak which is implications that will improve hatchery fish used to kill and tear prey into manageable production for years to come. pieces. Each squid has three hearts, two of I know my experience at the hatchery which pump oxygenated blood to its gills, will be remembered for many years to come. and the third heart pumps blood around Because of collaborative efforts of CCA the body. I gained a new appreciation for Texas, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, this amazing sea creature. While slicing and TAMU-CC, many students such as me up chucks of mackerel I learned why this have been able to pursue college degree family of fishes is prized for their meat but programs that will prepare us for life-long I also learned that they are very oily. The careers in natural resources conservation. I mackerel are very high in omega 3 fatty am blessed to have been able to work with acids, containing nearly twice as much per all these organizations and fine people. unit weight as do salmon. Hatchery related Check the TPWD Outdoor Annual, research has shown that mackerel in the diet improves the quality of eggs produced by your local TPWD Law Enforcement hatchery broodfish. office, or www.tpwd.state.tx.us After weighing out the proper portions for more information. of feed for each brood tank, I went on my

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 39

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&RDVWDO &RQVHUYDWLRQ $VVRFLDWLRQ LQ 5HYLHZ The year was 1977 and a small group of recreational fishermen made by CCA and its state chapters are volunteer driven and each were tired, tired of seeing the continual decline of redfish and state has a volunteer board of directors that represent all of the speckled trout. Redfish and speckled trout populations were state’s local chapters. These local, state and national volunteer being decimated by commercial overfishing up and down the boards, create a three-tiered organization that affects issues on Texas coast and it was time for the local, state and national levels. someone, some group, to step up CCA is involved in many areas and take charge. That group was relating to marine conservation. a group of fourteen individuals In Texas these areas include the who met and evolved into the Gulf initiation/funding of scientific Coast Conservation Association; studies such as the catch and release their project, “Save the Redfish”. This mortality of speckled trout study campaign marked the beginning of

by Dr. Greg Stunz; working to pass one of the most successful, widely pro-resource legislation such as the respected and largest marine recently passed flounder regulations; conservation groups of its kind. The funding of five marine science Ricky Howard of El Campo snagged the first of five “Save the Redfish” campaign was the scholarships for graduate students; truck-boat-motor-trailer packages in the 2011 CCA Texas catalyst that eventually led to the funding state of the art hatcheries S.T.A.R summer long fishing tournament. sportfish designation for redfish and in Texas; continuous fighting for speckled trout and ultimately the banishment of destructive gill quality and quantity of freshwater inflows for coastal bays and nets in Texas state waters. estuaries; support of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) The success of the “Save the Redfish” campaign spread Game Wardens and Coastal fisheries by providing needed across the entire Gulf Coast and by 1985 Gulf-state chapters equipment; and through the establishment of Habitat Today for had formed from Texas to Florida. By Fish Tomorrow (HTFT), CCA Texas’s habitat the decade’s end chapters were founded initiative put in place to restore and Recruiting young anglers and imparting conservation ethic will be the key to maintaining through the mid-Atlantic region, and by provide critical marine habitat for Texas’s healthy fisheries for future generations to enjoy. the early ‘90’s, development of the New coastal waters.

England state chapters was completed.

Volunteers are the lifeline of CCA. As individual state chapters continued to Local chapters are volunteer driven and grow and fisheries issues began to cross are in place to raise needed funds for state lines, it was apparent that a central local state projects, promote the mission voice was needed in Washington for and goals of the organization and to national fisheries issues that affected all recruit new members to the organization. states. In 1997, all state chapters became Local chapters are run by enthusiastic part of the national organization, Coastal members that share the common goal of Conservation Association (CCA). In 2007, Washington and conserving our coastal marine resources for future generations.

Oregon opened CCA Chapters.

This passion at the local level is carried up to all levels of the CCA has now grown into an organization with 17 state organization and is what has made the organization so successful. chapters, and approximately 100,000 members. CCA Texas is Local chapters are an excellent opportunity for conservationists to the original and largest state chapter with a membership of get involved and to place their mark on the conservation of these approximately 51,000 members and 57 local chapters stretching critical marine resources. from Beaumont to Houston, the Rio Grande Valley, Midland, San As CCA moves forward into the next decade, fisheries issues Antonio, Austin, and Dallas / Ft. Worth and back to Beaumont and will become more complicated, habitat restoration and creation new chapters are currently being started in South Padre island will be more critical, and each and every fisherman will have and a Houston area Oilman’s chapter, an industry based chapter. an individual responsibility to make their contribution to the What is CCA? CCA is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) marine successful conservation of coastal resources throughout the conservation organization. The organization combines a United States. Take your turn and step up to the plate and grassroots network and unique combination of membership, volunteer your time or resources to help CCA Texas and CCA make fundraising and advocacy to enact positive change on all levels their missions and goals reality. of coastal marine conservation and management. When called For more information about CCA, be sure to visit www.joincca. into action, this grassroots machine is unparalleled. All decisions org and for CCA Texas visit www.ccatexas.org.

40 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

K AYAK

FISH I N G

C APT. SCOT T NULL

2I :HDWKHU 2IIVKRUH $GYHQWXUH Offshore fishing from a kayak requires the perfect set of conditions in order to be safe and comfortable.

Late summer and early fall on the Texas coast provide the best shot at making it happen. It is one of my favorite trips and something I look forward to every year, but the windows of opportunity can be scarce.

There is something magical about leaving the beach at dawn headed into a glassy Gulf of Mexico in search of large predators. And as soon as you latch on to your first kingfish from a kayak you’ll be hooked.

This past week was lining up perfectly. There was a stable high-pressure system sitting over the upper coast making for almost no wind and little to no chance of pesky thunderstorms. Day after day the surf cameras on the Galveston Seawall were showing tantalizing conditions, but my buddy couldn’t get free until Friday and this is definitely not the kind of trip you do without an experienced partner you can rely on. That was alright though; the forecast was promising to hold through the weekend.

42 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

The waiting was killing me. I just knew the kings had moved in close and as I read through the fishing reports I got multiple confirmations. On top of that I had two brand new kayaks sitting on a trailer in the driveway that were going to be the perfect medicine. The local sales rep for Ocean Kayaks had loaned a pair of their new Torque models for me to try out. Several kayak companies have jumped on board recently with models designed for electric motors. The Torque is Ocean Kayak’s version outfitted with a 36 pound thrust Minn Kota.

They used the Trident 13 sit-on-top as the platform for the new boat. At 13’10” in length and 29” in width, this is a proven craft among kayak fishermen. It has a good combination of speed and stability.

The motor consists of a standard Minn Kota lower unit attached to a heavy duty plastic base which mounts to the kayak through a slot in the hull at the rear of the tankwell.

There is a plug on the rear wall of the tankwell wired through the hull to a control switch on the center console in the cockpit.

A large battery storage area is molded into the middle of the cockpit and will accommodate a full-size trolling motor battery.

Steering is accomplished by a standard foot-controlled rudder system. They have more than doubled the size of the rudder blade to provide for better steering response when under power. On days when you decide not to use the trolling motor, a plastic plug with a skeg is provided and can be inserted into the slot.

Thursday afternoon I was fiddling with tackle, checking gear, checking batteries – not that I hadn’t already checked everything several times. The anticipation had built up and it

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

looked alright and the palm trees along 61st Street were agreeing with the flags. Yep, Mickey was working with faulty information from a rouge wind gauge.

Then we hit the seawall and knew instantly that our plans were about to make a drastic change. We stood in the dark at the west end of the seawall watching the surf crash into the rocks. I didn’t need daylight to tell me the water was turning to a muddy mess.

When you’re gear up for chasing kingfish it is mighty hard to concoct an alternate plan for protected water. Luckily we had each brought a lighter rod and a few smaller lures for Spanish mackerel. They weren’t ideal for reds and trout, but it would have to do.

The drive back over the causeway was disappointing, as was the fishing at our alternate spot. No fish pictures for the article and no fresh fish for dinner, but it was still a day on the water and away from the daily grind. I guess Mother Nature has to show us who is boss every so often just to keep our egos in check.

Shell Holster Claw Cla aw Skinning Tool

K AYAK FISHING

was finally time. The weather was holding; the forecast was still good and as the sun went down I took one last look at the surf camera showing a tantalizingly flat Gulf. Sleep was not going to come easy.

I was up before the alarm and headed to my buddy’s house way before our scheduled departure. I had to laugh as I pulled up and saw the garage door open with a pile of gear stacked out front.

Guess he was up early too. We loaded the gear and pointed the truck south. On the ride down we had Capt Mickey’s 610AM Outdoor Show on the radio as usual.

Listening to the reports of the last few days served to further boost our confidence. Then Mickey read off the current conditions...what the hell happened…southwest wind at 16 mph? Surely that was a mistake. We had been watching the flags all along the Gulf Freeway and all were in agreement that there was not enough wind to bother fluttering. We forged ahead, optimism is a powerful drug. Crossing the causeway the bay

SERIES N E INW 20 10

Tail Gate Feeder

Hunting Belt

Snake S nak k www.For re everlas st t.com Shields Shi ie Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Texas Saltwater Fishing

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 43

44 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

Texas Saltwater Fishing

prowling the brackish bayous are obvious choices. It would also be perfect for accessing those areas you tend to dismiss due to the long paddle involved. I know of some really good marshes that are just outside the range of reasonable paddling distance. And even though they are typically super shallow, it would be great to power over there, stow the motor and then use the paddle to sneak up on reds that rarely see a kayaker.

All of those things would be fine, but what I really want to do is set the speed control and pull a lure through a huge baitball, waiting for the first drag-screaming run of a smoker king. Maybe next time the weatherman will allow.

CONTAC T

On the plus side, the new boats performed very well. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been a paddler for a long time and really enjoy the exercise, but having the ability to cruise the shorelines and control the kayak without putting down the rod was nice. The infinitely variable speed control allows you to ease along at a nice pace to thoroughly work a shoreline or quickly move into position when you see some bait getting worked. The oversized rudder really

makes a difference in maneuvering through tight places or when battling crosswind.

The only real downsides were the weight of the boat with the battery and motor installed and the need to stay in at least eighteen inches of water.

Both issues are easily overcome given the ease of installing or removing the motor unit. If the weight is too much to handle you can easily install the battery and motor once you have the boat in the water. We opted for the two man carry which was doable, but not ideal given the rough terrain where we launched.

On the ride home we came up with several situations where this rig would really come in handy; working reefs in open bay water, chasing birds, and

Capt. Scott Null is a devout shallow water fisherman offering guided adventues via kayak, poled skiff, and wading.

Phone 281-450-2206 Website www.letsgofishing.net

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Daniel Holt is a native of Corpus Christi and grew up fishing the nearby beach and bays. As a young boy his fishing skill earned him recognition at summer camps where other boys with no such background were receiving their initiation to the pastime. His love of surfing was born on those beaches too. Daniel attended Del Mar College at Corpus Christi until his love of surfing drew him to California where he continued his education at San Diego State. Surfing can be dangerous and Daniel suffered a knee injury that required several months of recuperation. It was during this “downtime” that he acquired a watercolor kit and discovered his artistic talent.

Dabbling at first, Daniel soon began to paint more seriously. He framed a few of his works and, to his surprise; they sold quickly.

Over the next two years he lived in California and Hawaii, surfing of

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

course, and further developing his talent for painting. His paintings were receiving good reviews at various showings and although Hawaii was beautiful; like many native sons, Texas still tugged at his heart. Returning to Texas he located to Port Aransas and worked as the manager of the Tarpon Inn, exhibiting his work there, and eventually opened a surf shop, coastal clothing, and art supplies business – all the while continuing his painting.

The flagging economy of the early 1980s brought hard times for many coastal enterprises. Daniel had to find a new way to earn a living and took a job with Continental Airlines to avoid the risk of becoming a starving artist. As always though, he continued to paint as much as he could and continued showing his work.

Daniel has been painting as a fulltime professional for ten years now and his work is shown regularly in many venues across Texas.

His predominant themes are wildlife, mostly fish and birds, marine scenes and murals. He also does portrait work. Daniel’s pieces can often be seen at Coastal Conservation Association fundraisers and Ducks Unlimited events.

Commissioned pieces comprise about half of Daniel’s output nowadays and he can work from customer-supplied photographs although he prefers to accompany his subjects and shoot his own images whenever possible. This, he says, allows an artist greater opportunity to sense the mood and gather a more thorough concept of how the painting should be made.

We met Daniel at the Corpus Christi International Boat Show this past April and Pam fell in love with his fish art. We took delivery of a wonderful redfish scene Daniel painted for us just two weeks ago and it now hangs in our home along with a collection of works from other artists. Coastal fishing enthusiasts always seem to enjoy variety of styles and impressions in the artwork they collect and Daniel’s redfish painting makes a great addition to ours.

The holidays are just around the corner and artwork always makes a fine gift for special friends and family. We encourage readers to learn more at Daniel’s website www. danielholtartist.com.

Texas Saltwater Fishing

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 45

C APT. SCOT T SOMMERL AT TE

ACCORDING TO SCOT T

It is crazy where some of my ideas for this piece come from. For example, I am sitting on the balcony of Capt. Dale Fridy’s Redfish Inn down at South Padre Island and I have to say- life is pretty good right now as I look out over the Laguna Madre with an adult beverage in my hand. Yep, it does not get any better.

Well actually it does. While I am sitting here trying to write this… I am distracted not only by the view and ambiance but also by listening to the other guests talk about boats, skiffs and fly fishing. But hey, that is my life. I have to say that I am truly blessed in that I am able to travel to other places and everywhere I go, there are like-minded folks.

I would say one of the best parts of my job is getting to meet all the wonderful people that are part of the world of fly fishing. Honestly, there are very few fly fishermen or women that I have met that are not just the absolute best of people.

There are of course exceptions, but honestly, they are few and far between.

46 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

While down south I have had the opportunity to spend time with old and not so old friends as well has had the chance to get to know a couple of people that I just met. While sitting here I am listening to Eric Glass, a friend of fifteen years and one hell of a skiff guide, and his friend Bob Sharron talking to John and Nick Rizopoulos and Chris White, other guests of Dale’s talk about all the things that I love so much. In fact, I am so enthralled with the conversation I actually am going to quit writing now and pick this back up tomorrow.

Now here it is the following day, EJ is hacked at me as normal for being late with my story but, we all made it another day and it is just as beautiful down here on the Mother Lagoon as is it was yesterday. So where was I? Really though, it is truly great to sit down and talk fishing with other people that share the passion. And, always, if I am able to keep my mouth shut and listen (which is tough for me) I always learn new things about everything. In fact, I will have to say that I have picked up so much on this trip that it is like

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

CONTAC T

fishing destinations of all time. To hear these guys talk fishing and experiences is one of the coolest things. Even better yet, for every fishing experience they share, they have a visual aid.

Of that trip, the best part was the night we all got together at Willy’s house for a barbecue. There were like eight or nine skiff guides sitting around five different Hell’s Bay skiffs and we were all sharing our thoughts, ideas, likes and dislike about these boats. There was a lot to share and even more to learn.

Again though, this is an everyday thing for me. All of my closest friends share the passion and all we do is talk fishing and boats. But the best part of it, even in the absence of my closest friends, my work and my passion allow me the privilege of meeting great people on a daily basis. I do not know what could be better.

Until next month - be good and stuff like that!

ACCO R D I N G TO SCOT T

sensory overload. While, listening to Eric and Dale talk guiding and Nick and his father talk about the trials and tribulations of the refurbishing of their 28’ Mako, I was amazed at how much I was able to pick up. For example, just a few minutes ago, I listened to John and Nick talk about a product called Tef-Gel that is utilized to protect against corrosion where stainless steel and aluminum meet (a bad combination in the saltwater environment that we all love). They utilize the agent on everything from fishing reels to the aluminum work on their boat. I am thinking that I will definitely have to check this stuff out.

Now, turning the clock back a couple of weeks, I had a similar experience down in the lower Florida Keys as I got together with the World Angling crew to work on a photo shoot for Hell’s Bay Boatworks. Now, for those of you who have not heard of World Angling, it is a media company that was started by Dave Teper and Will Benson (one of the top Keys skiff guides). These guys started documenting their passion and along the way recruited friends (the crew) to help and together. . . well, they have created some of the most exciting saltwater fly fishing videos of all times.

Down there I had the chance to meet all kinds of people. Of course Dave and Willy but also characters like Everglades guides Kevin Mihailoff and Jeff Legutki and another south Florida guide by the name of Brian Esposito who also builds one hell of a skiff in his garage. Add to that meeting Alex Ducro who not only has eyes like an osprey, but is also the only fishing guide on the tiny Caribbean island of Guadalupe. A place that I hear from several friends that have been, is one of the most spectacular flats

Capt. Scott Sommerlatte is a full time fly fishing and light tackle guide, freelance writer and photographer.

Telephone 979-415-4379 Email vssommerlatte@hotmail.com Website www.scottsommerlatte.com

Texas Saltwater Fishing

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 47

YOU T H

FISH I N G

JAKE HADDOCK

8)<%7 7%08;%8)6 I can’t think of anything I enjoy more than watching a big redfish crush a topwater. When you watch a redfish hit a topwater, it’s as if time stands still for a few seconds. The next best thing is the hook set. You could compare it to setting the hook on a bass with a crankbait, because if you don’t feel the fish first, then the fish doesn’t have the lure. When you see the fish blow-up on your topwater your first reaction might be to set the hook immediately, but this is wrong. Let the fish take it for a few seconds, wait to feel the fish, and reel in any slack in your line. Now, slightly set the hook.

Let’s talk about some of the tackle that is necessary for chasing fish with topwaters. The first and most important to me is monofilament line, which is a key component of setting the hook on and fighting a fish. A braided line would just rip the hook out of the fish’s mouth if the drag is set very tight.

Monofilament, also known as mono, stretches, allowing the treble hooks to bury themselves and remain there. During the fight, the line will have a rubber band action and will not permit the hooks to rip out. Another important aspect is the rod you are using. In my opinion, a rod between 6’6 and 7’0 ft. in a medium-fast action is the best combination. Many people swear by a 6’6 rod, but I have used a 7 foot rod for many years without a problem; it’s a personal opinion I guess. Additionally, a high quality reel like a Shimano doesn’t hurt either. The main reason I say Shimano is their production of Super Free bearings and the

braking or casting control system they have, which are those little green or red friction sleeves that sit on the outer edge of the spool. The best all around setting for me is to pull two out for most situations; one directly across from the other. Lastly, you need to either use a snap or a loop knot to connect the line to the lure, as this allows maximum action of your topwater.

On days when the fish are finicky, you can fan cast a topwater until you get a few blow-ups, then go back to that area with a soft plastic or Corky. This is a great way to put numbers on the board when other people may be passing fish up. Just like everything else, you’ve got to know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em. For example, if you are in a foot of water and you’re seeing fish swim by, but they are scared of your big topwater and swimming away from it, that is when you cut it off and put it back in the wading box. At that point, you should pull out something like a Hogie shad-tail and reel it in front of their face. More times than not, they will eat it.

Now that you know when not to throw topwater, here are a few hints for when you do. First off, use it early in the morning, and it doesn’t really matter where either, because every spot can be a topwater spot early in the morning. Another great place is when you’re on a shoreline that has a quick drop off, or if it has deep potholes or guts, such as the guts between sand bars in the surf. My favorite of all is when I am in a back pond or on a flat that has scattered depressions or potholes. All you

Learning topwaters is a great way to add excitement to your fishing.

48 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

Texas Saltwater Fishing

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have to do is slowly work your topwater over the potholes and it’s just a matter of time before a hungry redfish inhales your lure.

Selection of your topwater is all about trial and error. Some days the fish will want a big, loud, chartreuse-colored topwater, and other days they may want a small white one. Therefore, it

Early morning topwater wade.

always helps to have a variety of topwaters on the boat or in your wading box. Also, a lot of topwaters aren’t made for fishing in saltwater. They come equipped with small split rings and weak hooks that are intended for freshwater panfish. This is a problem when you get around big redfish because they will break the hook or split ring in half. The solution is to replace them. Most stores that carry fishing tackle should have thicker stainless steel split rings and corrosion resistant hooks that should say extra strong on the box. Also, you may want to consider going up a size larger with the new hooks than what the lure came with. This should get you a higher hook-up percentage and less grass accumulation on your hooks. Now you’re ready for big redfish.

Learning how to effectively use a topwater is one of the most important skills that you will ever learn while fishing the Texas coast. The best way to learn how to work a topwater is to go out to a local pond and practice. One very helpful thing to remember while working a topwater is that it’s all in your rhythm. So next time you’re out fishing, throw a topwater and don’t be surprised if you have the best fishing day of your life.

YOUTH FISHING

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MIKE JENNINGS

TEX AS NEARSHORE AND OFFSHORE

With what many see as obviously flawed management programs and constantly changing regulations in the offshore fishery, along with the lack of what some feel is fair and equitable treatment of recreational anglers, I can’t help but wonder what lies in store for us as the 2011 deadline approaches to end all overfishing. This deadline was set by congress in the 2006 reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Act. As the peak of this year’s offshore season passes, I consider what we as recreational anglers can do to lessen the strain on some species that are designated as being currently overfished or in danger of being overfished.

Words like conservation and sustainability are at the fore of every fishing-related organization’s media messages. Being good stewards of our resources is something that I believe every good sportsman can understand and this is evident from the sheer number of people that join and volunteer their time to fundraising for various causes, cleaning beaches, dune projects, fisheries management and an unending array of worthwhile projects to benefit our coastal habitat and fisheries. With that in mind, what does this mean to the average

50 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

recreational fisherman? How can we do our part to conserve the resource for future generations?

I recently received a call from a gentleman that set me to asking myself these very questions. It was a typical call that began with pricing and availability.

As the conversation Father’s Day trip turned to with my dad; good workout! what he wanted to target or

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expected out of the day, he named off about eight species that he expected to catch in a single outing, ending with, “I’m looking for a major meathaul.” While that in itself may sound reasonable to a point, it made me wonder about how we as recreational fishermen approach our fishery and to ask myself just when

is enough, enough?

Typically we judge the success of fishing trips by how many fish we can pack on ice, or whether we can claim largest fish bragging rights. Rarely do we consider what these so-called daily meathauls may be doing to the general health and sustainability of a given species, sadly missing out on the real joy of the overall fishing experience.

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I have to admit that I have been just as guilty of this as any fishing guide, determined to consistently lay more fish on the dock than the next guy. The gawking bystanders as you unload a box full of fish and half a dozen people snapping pictures of your daily spoils would make just about anyone feel as if they had truly earned their paycheck.

Many of us have heard or been involved in boating blackfin until we ran out of box room, counting beeliners at the dock and breaking one hundred, or landing several kingfish for a tournament knowing we have no intention of eating them. If we can be honest, how many of us have allowed a portion of this success go to waste in our freezers? Or in the case of tuna, watch a portion of it nearly spoil during our attempt to give it We were on away fresh rather great snapper action as the than frozen. season ended.

It seems as I grow older, I just don’t find myself as mad at the fish as I used to be.

I can’t help but think that while we as sportsmen can volunteer our time and efforts for many

Texas Saltwater Fishing

TE X A S N E AR S H O R E & O FFSH O R E

Nice dorado for a young angler.

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 51

52 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

the answers to. I have long been an advocate of allowing an angler to fish for, catch, and possess a limit of fish within the scope of applicable regulations and I always will be. I feel that a red-blooded American angler should be able to possess whatever he wants within the law without question. But as in all walks of life and every indulgence, a little self-restraint or self-imposed moderation can and does pay huge dividends.

This is the very reason that many of my customers have heard me say, “We probably have enough of these, let’s go fish for something else.”

I really do enjoy stepping out of the boat in the afternoon talking about the limits of fish we caught, but to me there is just as much pleasure in saying, “No we didn’t catch a limit, but we left them biting!”

CONTAC T

worthwhile causes, we still have some work to do in cleaning up our own daily practices.

Two of the most frequently asked questions aboard my boat are; What is the limit? And can we keep it?

While I have no problem with either question and happily answer them daily, I can’t help but wonder how all of these fish could possibly be eaten by so few people.

Now you may ask yourself; just what is he driving at? Well, I’m really not driving at anything specific. This is only food for thought, and just a few of the questions that I truly don’t have all Solid amberjack.

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Captain Mike Jennings is a professional charter captain with more than 25 years offshore experience. Mike is the owner/ operator of Cowboy Charters in Freeport TX and is known locally for running further and fishing harder for his clients.

Telephone 979-864-9439 Email texassportfishing@gmail.com Website www.cowboycharters.com

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2); 8EGOPI +IEV www.abugarcia.com

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Bass King is a unique new lifestyle brand built around the needs of the modern bass fishing enthusiast.

The company offers a wide range of clothing and accessories that combine high quality materials and heavyduty construction, along with cutting-edge styling.

One of the company’s hottest new products, the “Lunker Boardshort” is the first short in the world to feature a custom bass-skin design that looks just like the real deal – and it performs even better.

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by Bass King is the “Bass Tech” performance line of sun protection shirts.

Made from a high tech ultra lightweight and breathable fabric, these shirts keep you cool, dry, and comfortable all day long.

Anglers take no guff from tough inshore gamefish with Abu Garcia® Vendetta™ rods, designed to balance perfectly with the Abu Garcia Soron™ spinning and Revo® baitcasting reels. A balanced combo creates better sensitivity, performance and comfort.

The Vendetta one-piece rods start with a graphite rod blank, Pac Bay DPL and APL guides with SiC inserts and Fuji Soft-Touch ACS and VSS reel seats. The split-grip handle is made from high density EVA with a one-piece machined, anodized aluminum lockdown for the most secure rod to reel management.

Seven spinning models are available ranging from a 6’3” medium action model to a 7’4” medium action rod. There are ten baitcast rods in the Vendetta series from a 6’3” medium to a 7’6” medium heavy rod.

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clicking rattle chamber to mimic that legendary shrimp tail pop. Designed for light tackle or specifically to be fished under the PARADISE POPPER X-TREME, the LIFE-LIKE SHRIMP is 3 ½–inches long, comes in six color phases and is standard equipped with a strong single hook to turn the fish back your way.

Rounding out the line, Bass King offers a great selection of tee shirts and hats…

Look for these products and more at your favorite tackle shop, or visit the company’s Web site at: www.BassKingClothing.com.

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design of the G2 system of belts allows for the hunter to customize accessories from the removeable back support system to the shell holster which holds a full box of shells. This belt system is an innovation to the industry and will soon replace the vest system of the past Basic belt system comes complete with G2 pro belt, removeable back support system, shell holster, drink holster, and bird bag/ accessory pouch. G2 Shell holster will be sold with the belt kit and in a twin pack individually to fit any belt.

Belt Kit MSRP $44.95 Shell Holster Twin Pack $19.95 “We Live Hunting & Fishing”

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Hells Bay Boatworks has gained renown for building extremely lightweight technical poling skiffs that require very little horsepower. Many guides and the most discriminating anglers swear by them. Hells Bay has taken a new approach with the Neptune model. It is 18 feet like many of the other Hell’s Bay models, but unlike the boats that use minimal power, the Neptune has been rated for up to 150 hp. The larger engine gives the Neptune the ability to reach speeds of nearly 70 mph. With bigger, faster engines and a 40 gallon fuel tank, it makes the long runs to find fish an easy task.

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3RHY7TSSR The SEBILE Onduspoon is a combination of modern baits and traditional spoons.

Its thick shape allows for roomy compartments to hold noise beads and weights. This slow-sinking lure can be counted down to preferred depths, from one to 20 feet, and kept there during the retrieve.

Ultra-noisy and designed for great castability, the Onduspoon is a troublemaker for a wide variety of gamefish. Twitch it, jerk it, walk it, reel it or troll it…this bait is right at home for northern pike, stripers, salmon and many other species that think a big profile means a big meal.

Phone: 325.437.8103 (USA) Email: info@Sebile.com Website: www.SebileUSA.com

Texas Saltwater Fishing

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 55

DICKIE COLBURNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S

7EFMRI 7GIRI The fishing on Sabine has been very good for those anglers unfazed by lengthy stops at the gas station at the end of the DICKIE COLBURN day. I have never fished more Dickie Colburn is a full time guide consecutive days than I have out of Orange, Texas. Dickie has over the past two months, yet I 37 years experience guiding on am continually on the move in Sabine and Calcasieu Lakes. an effort to keep up with the fish.

Even as good as the catching Telephone has been and continues to be, 409-883-0723 the pressure has been incredibly Website light on the lake for no obvious www.sabineconnection.com reason. I can only attribute that blessing as far as guiding is concerned to the fact that we have run the gamut on weather conditions. The wind and lightning laced thunderstorms are show stoppers, but the heat is unmerciful with no breeze at all.

Even the incredibly good bite that we have centered most trips around has not necessarily been user friendly. At some point, somewhere on the lake, the redfish and trout are just going to go nuts every day. If you are there when it happens it is a slam dunk, but if you

are not you return home wondering what all the hoopla is about!

This bite is not even relegated to any one particular section of the lake. I still start out each morning in the area I left the day before, but that does not mean the fish will show up again. It has been so iffy that when I have guides helping me with larger parties we will run opposite directions for fear of missing the bite.

Throughout the months of July and August, the hottest area continuously changed because it was a bite driven by redfish herding massive schools of shad. Once we begin to see more shrimp moving into the lake, the fish will not be as quick to scatter, but letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assume for right now that the current program continues into September.

The key for us has been to locate ladyfish banging away at the shad. The gulls and terns are helpful, but more often than not we are finding these fish without their help. Do not be concerned that you do not see reds or trout on the surface as wellâ&#x20AC;Śthey are nearby!

The â&#x20AC;&#x153;go-toâ&#x20AC;? combination that keeps us in the hunt for trout as well is a MirrOlure glow-chartreuse soft shad or Texas Roach Sea Shad fished on 2-feet of mono under an Assassin Kwik Cork. Other versions of this rig will work and other colors like bone diamond, hot chicken and chicken on a chain also work, but the first two colors are all but guaranteed right now.

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Texas Saltwater Fishing

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SABIN E Once you have caught more redfish than you thought possible switch to a topwater, smaller has been better on these fish, and enjoy some bodacious surface explosions. The Top Pup and Spook Jr. in both bone and chrome patterns are excellent choices.

The preferred method for fishing these smaller topwaters for us is to allow the lure to rest after a couple of short twitches. The ladyfish and smaller trout will peck away at it, but you just have to endure these pests. The fish that you are looking for is only a few feet away and she will demolish it once she is convinced it is the real deal.

The biggest mistake you can make is leaving the area should the bite slow down. The fish simply are not everywhere right now and you have to believe that you have narrowed the playing field. Until it picks back up, continue to drift with the cork rig, fan cast with a swimbait, or bounce a jig off the bottom, but do not leave for greener pastures.

I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t recall ever beating a single

pattern to death like this, but I know of nothing else that has been so consistent and I want this column to b be off some value to you. The other bite that I look to improve as we put another summer to rest will be wading the flats on the north end of the lake.

Each cool front will extend that action later into the day and there is no doubt that the average trout will be larger. You will still have to deal with the redfish, but if the mullet are in there on the tide Cal Zackary with proof that changes so are the kind of trout that will there are some slam a She Dog or Super Spook. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t nice trout to leave your Corkys or Catch Vâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in the be had as well. boat either.

If we can continue to elude the brunt of any major storms the fall fishing should be crazy good around here. Take a kid fishing and never leave good manners at the dock!

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www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 57

MICKEY I am happy to report that the Galveston Bay Complex is alive and well. There is a lot going on, and almost all of it is good.

Mickey Eastman is a full-time Since pretty much everywhere fishing guide out of Baytown, is loaded, we are catching a TX. Mickey has 26 years guiding lot of fish. Even Trinity Bay is experience on the Galveston starting to fill up with fish as the area bays and is the founder freshwater inundation subsides of Gulf Coast Troutmasters, and the salinity returns to more the largest speckled trout tournament series of all time normal levels.

Trinity Bay Redfish have been the bonus Contact fish all year as trout were slim Mickey Eastman’s Guide Service due to the frequent freezes and Telephone big floods last winter and spring.

281-383-2032 That weather cooled the water down and shoved a lot of those fish south of us. Now, they are finally starting to return, and we have birds working in eight to ten feet of water all through the middle of the bay. Good size trout are coming out of those flocks, up to four pounds, and most of them are keepers, good solid fish.

58 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

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Water clarity is good all throughout the entire bay system. Some shoreline action is going on as the trout are still spawning on the shallow flats. The best plan here is an early morning topwater wade.

Usually by about eight o’clock, the shallow action is pretty much over as these fish slide out and settle down off the deep ledges. Then you have to move out with them, fish out of the boat using trolling motor to work slicks, mud boils, and birds. There’s also a little bit of well fishing still going on. Several of the yellow separator wells and some of the Exxon C Lease and A Lease wells are holding decent numbers of fish. The live baiters with popping corks are having the best luck by fishing about four or five feet deep under the cork around those well pads.

As for wading, drifting, and working slicks, my favorite ways to fish, we are using Big Nasty soft plastic jerk baits in colors such as black, red, and sometimes a little limetruese sprinkled in on the windier days when the water is a little off color. For the most part, dark colors are working the best on the better fish. White seems to catch more, but smaller, fish. When we are using swimbaits in mud boils and slicks, we stick with Yum Fat Money Minnows and the regular Money Minnows, the smaller one. Both of those are working good on 3/8 ounce jig heads, but most of the trout are coming off 1/4 ounce jig heads. The redfish are holding near the bottom, that kind of thing.

Texas Saltwater Fishing

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GALVESTO ON East Bay East Bay action is a repeat of Trinity. All the mid-bay shell reefs are prime fishing spots. These big concentrations of fish, what we call herds, are holding in the mud just off the shell reefs. I think a lot of that has to do with weekday trot lining. The commercial drum fishermen are working these reefs real hard right now and some of the better reefs are just covered with their lines. I believe this pretty much runs the trout and redfish off the reef which is quite a disappointment for us. We then have to get out in the mud, work slicks, and key in on bait, tide lines, birds, diving gulls, etc. The whole nine yards.

West Bay West Bay is still holding fish throughout the middle over all the shell, from north and south Deer Islands down to Carancahua Reef. Behind the pass has been a little spotty this year. The shallow bays such as Christmas, Bastrop, and Chocolate have not had the normally good fishing we are used to seeing this time of year. Most of the trout being caught in the Tri-Bay area, a lot of smaller school-size fish, anywhere from fourteen to eighteen inches, have been coming out of Bastrop Bay. A popping cork and live shrimp are naturally the best catching method to get these fish. Other good methods are some of the spoons, soft plastics, that kind of deal. Overall fishing is good. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate it about an 8.5.

Beach and Surf Good days have been few and far between. We just havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t been

able to get on the wind pattern that will hold for enough days in a row to keep the beachfront clean and allow those good green tides to roll all the way nerators to the beach. However, the guys using generators l tearing i and setting up lights at night are just really them up. Even in the off-color water, they are getting easy limits of trout (school size, maybe up to four pounds at best) on real small soft plastic baits such as the Little Fishie or any type of minnow imitation bait that is one to two inches long on 1/8 ounce jig heads.

There are a lot of rat reds mixed in with them. Bull redfish action has not seemed to kick off just yet. Most of the bull reds we have been seeing and catching, 42 to 48 inches, have been in Trinity Bay, which is kind of a weird scenario. The beachfront is producing big gafftop under the lights at night. Catches ranging up to five and even a few at seven pounds are definitely plentiful and being caught on live piggy perch and dead shrimp. I am not much for gafftop but there are lots of folks who enjoy catching them and say they are way better than freshwater cats fried.

Overall, the Galveston Bay System looks good; tides are back to normal after the tropical storms. We did get some much-needed rain, about four inches of it. August and September look real good, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just going to be hot. Get â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;em early, getâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; em quick, and get out of the heat!

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www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 59

CAPT. BILL’S *MWL 8EPO With the dog days of summer soon to be behind us, September arrives hot as a firecracker but with the promise of cooler evenings and mornings as the days Bill Pustejovsky is a full-time slide by. The opening of dove guide at Matagorda, TX. season across the north and Bill fishes year-round for south zones will put many trout and redfish in all the Matagorda Bays. Wading and outdoorsmen on the road to drifting for trophy trout and their deer camps to harvest a reds are his specialty. few of the feathered delicacies and tidy things up in prepare Telephone 979-863-7353 for the coming season. Teal Email and hummingbirds will be CaptBill@GoldTipGuideService.com numerous on their migrations, Website adding to the magnificence www.goldtipguideservice.com of the beginning of the fall season. There will be markedly fewer boats lining up at the launch ramps each morning and diehard saltwater anglers will be able to relax and enjoy less crowded fishing they haven’t seen since way last spring.

Rainfall levels have pretty much returned to normal following last year’s horrible drought and this generally indicates good fishing and

hunting will be headed our way this fall and winter. September has always stuck in my memory as a great fishing month, provided of course we have no hurricanes and the summer heat does not linger too long. If September brings in some particularly cool days, fishing prospects will rise as our shrimp will begin to move again and bird activity will again point the way to solid catches. We normally expect bird activity during October and much of November but I have seen it very good as early as 20 September.

East Matagorda Bay September will find me hustling all over East Matagorda Bay. Wading should be very productive along both the north and south shorelines and also some of the shallower mid-bay reefs. Drifting the deeper reefs and areas known to

Carol Brueggen with a large redfish caught in East Matagorda Bay drifting back lakes.

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M ATAG O R DA hold scattered shell, along with keeping an eye out for slicks and a few birds picking up shrimp every time the trout push them to the David Niles caught and released this 28” surface will be trout while drifting scattered shell in East Matagorda Bay – hot chicken Bass Assassin. my game plans.

When baitfish and shrimp begin to move, you can expect your gamefish are going to follow. Just because you found them in a certain place yesterday or last week does not mean they will be there in the morning. You have to keep both eyes open for all the signals and be prepared to make adjustments to your game plan if you want to stay on the fish.

Signs will be everywhere and some will be subtle such as gulls or pelicans simply resting on Capt. Bill with a 27-5/8” redfish that weighed 9 lb 12 oz. the surface (not actively feeding) in the middle of the bay or gulls and terns hovering over shallow water where a school of reds and sometimes trout will herd bait right up against the shore. One thing is certain, if we get good early fall fishing weather, East Matagorda can deliver some mighty exciting fishing.

West Matagorda Bay Bird activity will also be a possibility over in West Bay. I often make the run to Oyster Lake for reds and a few trout but places like Shell Island and Twin Island might also be good choices. Check out the south shoreline from Cullen Ranch House all the way back to the Diversion Channel keying on active mullet and shrimp as you wade

the bayous, guts, and points. If the Colorado River goes on a big rise Oyster Lake will be the best bet. Over the years I have witnessed incredible bird activity in the eason when Diversion Channel during the early fall season everything comes together.

As far as baits, I will be throwing my favorite She Pups and She Dogs, as well as lots of Bass Assassins. Additionally, the early fall season is when I start to break out the Corkys, now produced by MirrOlure. Many fishermen believe these lures aren’t effective until the winter months but I beg to differ with that theory. You could be missing out on some great opportunity by not throwing these baits in September. The pearl chartreuse and chartreuse with gold sides are my personal favorites.

To sum it all up, when the wind wasn’t blowing 30+ we enjoyed good catches through late July and thus far in August. Live bait fishermen out-produced those of us chunking lures but that’s standard stuff for summertime. Surf activity has been fair to good with the exception of a few shark encounters but we have managed to work around them.

Myself, I’m just waiting for cooler weather with hopes for some good fall fishin.

Until next time; Good fishin and God Bless - Capt. Bill

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Fishing here in the Seadrift/ notice when fishing these drop-offs that most bites happen as you Port Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor area has really work the lure low in the water column, just barely bouncing across CAPT. SHELLIE GRAY been good of late. The water the shell. So be sure to allow your offering to sink down all the way Captain Gary and Captain Shellie quality has been very good with each twitch of the bait.

Gray fish year-round for trout thanks to all the rainfall we Espiritu Santo Bay has also been a hot spot along the north and and redfish in the Port Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor/ received in July.

San south shorelines.

Seadrift area. Gary started his Bay Antonio Bay is in Fishing over grass Rat Guide Service 20 years ago.

Tyler Merritt and grandfather The Grays specialize in wade and the best condition beds and casting Ron Merritt strike a happy drift fishing with artificial lures. pose with Tylerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s red. that it has been in to open sand Gary and Shellie also team up to for the last few years pockets have fish many tournaments. and with the calmer been the ticket winds I have been when fishing early able to venture out in the morning.

Telephone there on an almost Nice sized trout 361-785-6708 daily basis. As with and redfish use Email Gary@BayRat.com most areas along the the grass as cover Website Texas coast, this time ambushing bait www.bayratguideservice.com of year, most of the that happens to trout we have been cross into the catching have been coming from four to six foot depths. pockets. Gulp Jerk And while this means many wading trips have been neckShad in the smelt deep affairs as compared to more comfortable shoreline color rigged on wading, this deeper pattern will continue until we start to a Texas weedless see cooler temperatures. setup have Panther, Little Bird and some of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;no nameâ&#x20AC;? reefs on been my most the west shoreline of San Antonio Bay have been producing productive lures the best action. Redfish have been taking smaller topwaters when fishing this very readily. Plugs such as the Super Spook Jr. in clear and pattern. I usually bleeding shiner colors and also the Top Dog Jr. in the 808 like to start my color have been especially productive baits when worked wades close to alongside the crown of the reef first thing in the morning. openings of one As the sun rises most of bites come from fishing the drop-offs where of the many back lakes. These shorelines have been most productive the water is 3 feet and deeper. This is when I elect to start throwing during the weekdays and tend to slow down quite a bit when soft plastics and the new Salt Water Assassin 5â&#x20AC;? Shad in hot chicken weekend boat traffic starts to hit on Fridays. and pumpkinseed/chartreuse have been my go to colors. You will Back lakes are still producing some impressive catches of redfish

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62 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

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P O R T O â&#x20AC;&#x2122;CO N N O R / SE AD R I F T

Dale Spencer and Kimberly caught these beautiful reds using Texas rigged Gulp Jerk Shad and Bass Assassinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new color, hot chicken, Saltwater Shad.

but lack of wind can make drifting these flats almost impossible without the aid of a trolling motor or push pole. On calm days the fish in back lakes tend to be spookier than on windier days so be sure to use a lure that has a softer entry into the water. Opt for lures like the Bass Assassin rigged weedless/weightless or a 1/4 or 1/2 ounce

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weedless gold spoon. Both of these lures can be fished in grassyy areas and are not obnoxious and loud like your bigger topwaters. Tailing h ll redfish will be easy to spot in the shallower lakes and should be approached as quietly as possible. When casting to a pod or school, make sure you cast to the edge and not dead center. Hitting them dead center using means spooking the whole bunch without a hookup.

West Matagorda Bay has also been yielding plenty of trout action when fishing over grass beds and sand. When fishing this bay system I pay closer attention to tide movements than when I fish San Antonio Bay. Fishing success here is what we call tide dependent; meaning that the fish in this bay have become tide oriented and will feed best when the tidal current is moving strongly through the Matagorda Ship Channel and Pass Cavallo. As the tide moves in and out it pushes and pulls the bait to the predator fish and when the tide is slack the bite tapers off. So be sure to check your tide charts when you plan on fishing this bay system and also the surf.

Remember to always be courteous on the water. Give all anglers wide berth and a bent rod is never permission to move in on ANY angler no matter what type of fishing you are doing.

Texas Saltwater Fishing

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 63

HOOKED UP WITH 6S[WI] A record hot summer finds us coming into September and looking forward to fall and some cooler mornings.

Personally, I look forward to DAVID ROWSEY going bird hunting as much as I like chasing down the largest David Rowsey has 20 years of trout. Peering through experience in the Laguna/Baffin my mind’s eye, the smell of region; trophy trout with artificial gunpowder and a new pup lures is his specialty. David has a great passion for conservation going after his first birds is and encourages catch and enough to carry me through release of trophy fish. the heat this summer has given us. Unlike last summer, Telephone we have been blessed with 361-960-0340 good rains and all is green in Website South Texas. The deer and www.DavidRowsey.com quail hunters, myself included, should really benefit from the moisture and green flora that is so apparent as we blaze back and forth to Baffin. Wait a second…this is supposed to be a fishing article.

After the rain from tropical storms and the runoff associated with them, our bays are in great condition. Water clarity in parts of the bays are as clear as what you expect on cold winter mornings. Knock

on wood – the brown tide seems to be staying away. Parts of Alazan and the south shoreline have areas that are off-color but in the big picture they are still good.

Trout fishing has continued to produce lots of numbers although the typical size is under fifteen inches. It is not uncommon for my boat to catch 100-200 trout per day but the average size is way down.

I would say one out of twenty is of keeper size. For every hundred fish we catch, there is usually one to two large trout landed (over twenty seven).

Time for a vent...I just read an article by Shannon Tompkins in The San Antonio Express News where he quoted Mark Fisher, Science Director for TPWD Coastal Fisheries Division: “The total number of finfish (caught during the gill net sampling) was up,” Fisher said. “But the diversity was up, too. We saw more kinds of fish per net than in the past.”

Part of that increased diversity might be a result of anglers concentrating their efforts on speckled trout and redfish.

“Creel surveys show Texas anglers heavily target those two (trout and reds), making them an increasing percentage of the total fish harvested by anglers. The percentage of species such as black drum and sand trout in the harvest has declined despite their showing marked improvement in their populations,” Fisher said.

With a higher percentage of anglers targeting and taking specks and reds and fewer taking black drum and sand trout, those nonharvested “small-game” species might be filling the biological vacancy left by trout and reds. A bay can support a certain amount of biomass; it doesn’t necessarily care whether it’s redfish, black drum, speckled trout or sand trout.

I find several statements in Shannon’s article very alarming and I underlined them. The bay system may not care which fish species is making up its biomass but, TPWD should. The vast majority of sportsmen are not buying fishing licenses (which benefits TPWD directly), $50,000 boats, high-end rods and reels and lures, hotel rooms, restaurant meals, etc., to catch black drum and sand trout. If the harvest is leaving such a gap between speckled trout and drum, how about raising the drum limit from five per day to fifteen and reducing the trout limit from ten to five?

Speckled trout and redfish are the money fish on the Texas coast and, frankly, something needs to be done to improve the quality of

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Texas Saltwater Fishing

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UPPE R L AGUNA / BAFFI N Back to fishingâ&#x20AC;Ś

Twelve year-old Brady Childress with a Baffin trout that pushed 29â&#x20AC;? - Bass Assassin â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Released!

that fourteen inch speck currently on the end of our line. As recent as ten years ago we would catch a hundred trout that would average better than three pounds (twenty one inches) with more than a couple of giants mixed in. I sure wish it was still the case. Luckily for Lower Laguna Madre anglers, the five fish limit down there is succeeding in restoring that quality.

Trout and reds are holding deep just now. September is a favorite redfish dfish e spotted in month for me. Large schools will be the Upper Laguna, Yarborough, Rocky Slough, and further west, deep into Baffin. The majority of these schools will be in 5-7â&#x20AC;&#x2122; of water, and are generally easy to spot. It is not uncommon to pop a big trout while fishing these schools, so always be prepared with a camera for a photo op before releasing.

I am fishing with soft plastics almost exclusively this time of year, unless we get a lucky, and early front in September. The 5â&#x20AC;? Bass Assassin in natural colors is still my top choice for trout (including the big ones). The 4â&#x20AC;? Sea Shad by Bass Assassin has been excellent on reds and flounder. MirrOlure has a new lure called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lil Johnâ&#x20AC;? that is about 3â&#x20AC;? long and scented. It has been good on all species, but I have found it to be exceptional on flounder. When a couple of fronts roll in and start cooling off the surface temperature of the bay, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be shifting more to topwaters and suspending type lures. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My biggest worry is that my wife, when Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m dead, will sell my fishing gear for what I said I paid for it.â&#x20AC;? Koos Brandt Set â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;em loose. Capt. David Rowsey

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www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 65

TRICIAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S 1ERWĂ IPH 6ITSVX As of this writing, water levels at Port Mansfield remain about 18 inches above normal.

Runoff from the Rio Grande continues to pour in at an historic rate. Even so, fishing Capt. Triciaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Skinny Water has been about as good as it Adventures operates out of gets and September should Port Mansfield, specializing in bring more of the same. wadefishing with artificial lures.

There are about as many trout in our part of the Laguna Telephone as youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d ever want to catch.

956-642-7298 Unfortunately, many wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Email make the minimum mark, but shell@granderiver.net just stay busy going through Website www.SkinnyWaterAdventures.com them as there are some great fish swimming amongst those little guys. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s try to be careful with the babies though, and bending some barbs back these days is often a good idea.

Just about every depth and type of structure has been holding fish lately, from shallow sand early in the morning to deeper

September will bring lots of opportunity to sightcast shallow reds.

potholes and grass beds later in the day. This can be found from east to west and north to south. Soft plastics have been the best producing lures and simple colors like the good old pumpkinseed-chartreuse and red-white have been as effective as anything. The whole system is extremely healthy so just look for a little bait and perhaps a few birds near color changes and get out there and get busy. The topwater bite is improving and larger plugs such as Skitter Walk and She Dog have been getting clobbered when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on. The bone color is doing very well and when the floating grass becomes too thick we simply switch over to single hooks and keep plugging.

Concentrations of redfish, conspicuously scarce the past couple of months, finally started to make

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Texas Saltwater Fishing

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POR T MANSFI E LD their move to within wading depths. The Laguna is also loaded with shrimp and we are finally seeing good pods of fish swimming head to head and rooting them out of the grass. I am predicting large schools to begin working sand-grass edges more consistently during September and October.

What is going to be very different this fall will be the lingering effects of the extreme amount of freshwater still flowing into the Laguna from earlier tropical events. The massive International Floodway, which directs floodwaters from the Rio Grande to the Arroyo Colorado and also through the El Sauz Ranch south of Port Mansfield, has been running levee to levee for well over a month now. The bay water, at least on the surface, has been fresh from the Arroyo to the East Cut at a minimum, sometimes extending farther.

Who knows what the aftermath will be, but we do know what happened to the Laguna after the Hurricane Dolly flood in 2008.

After Dolly dumped 25 inches of rain on the local watershed, it seemed that large populations of fish were driven towards saltier waters nearer to the East Cut. As early as mid-September we started seeing an unusual amount of large trout stacking up over shallow grass beds. Overall fishing continued to improve well into the spring of 2009, and we ended up with the best big trout year anyone could remember. There were many days during that waderwearing season when we caught twenty, thirty, and sometimes even more trout over 5.5 lbs per trip, which in this day and age

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is virtually unheard of except for a very few rare occasions. This current freshwater event now far exceeds ing whatever Dolly had to offer, so it’s exciting ming fall to say the least to find out what the coming and winter seasons will bring us.

As mentioned, our tides are still running quite high here.

According to the Division of NearshoreResearch (http://lighthouse. tamucc.edu) where we can pull up current water levels and future projections, we are supposed to be experiencing low tides instead and with an increase expected through the end of October. Who knows how that will play out, but suffice to say that many areas we might like to work have just been too deep to wade lately. The good part is that this means there is a lot of new water to explore and more room for the ever-increasing crowds we have been seeing.

We heard a rumor that some folks don’t think the five fish limit is working down here. If that is so, why do we suddenly have more boats down here than ever and with better fish to boot?

At any rate, fishing should be quite interesting this fall, and with any luck, better than we’ve seen for quite a while. When you fish as much as we do there is little left to get you excited. Let’s just say that I am very excited these days, as every day on the water just keeps getting better and better. It may be time to call in sick.

Texas Saltwater Fishing

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 67

SOUTH PADRE *MWLMRK 7GIRI Here we are already headed were gone the next. There have been some great days of fishing, but into the month of September, many really slow ones too. Overall, the fish have been quite hard to a month which will bring us pattern consistently. Far from all bad, the high waters did give us a a bit of transition, in hours of chance to explore areas that are normally inaccessible because they daylight at least. Compared are too shallow or even completely dry, and we found some really A Brownsville-area native, to the longer days of summer, neat areas that produced some nice fish.

Capt. Ernest Cisneros fishes these will be shorter days The conditions have been generally calm for several weeks and the Lower Laguna Madre from indeed.

We have had a this has allowed lots of Port Mansfield to Port Isabel. wet summer and long sight-fishing opportunity Ernest specializes in wading Michelle Hominga term weather statistics in shallow coves and and poled skiff adventures for landed and released this beautiful 12.5 snook, trout, and redfish. tell us we should back lakes. The reds have pound snook fishing expect additional been staging in these with the author; our Cell rainfall in September areas due to the unusual heaviest so far this year.

956-266-6454 which will add to the supply of shrimp and Website substantial amount crabs. Being cautious, www.tightlinescharters.com of freshwater that the alert, and very quiet has Lower Laguna currently contains. Thanks to June’s Hurricane been the key in getting Alex and July’s tropical depression, salinity levels were on these fish. We have considerably lower than normal during much of summer. been throwing the Super The Laguna salinity has been recovering although there Spook Jr. and when is still plenty of freshwater being pumped into our bay the fish have been real system by the Rio Grande River. The Rio Grande empties spooky a bone-colored into the Gulf and finds its way through the pass and also Zara Pup has usually feeds freshwater into the Laguna Madre through the Arroyo tricked them into biting.

Colorado just south of Port Mansfield. All this freshwater has If you enjoy stalking reds caused a brackish stain in some areas, especially near the in calf-deep water as mouth of the Arroyo, and along the ICW. Don’t let the color they cruise shorelines, of the water fool you, though. The fish are still there! this method is usually If I had to use only one word to describe fishing in productive ‘til about mid the Lower Laguna over the past month or so it would be, morning. Then it’s time inconsistent. Until recently our water level was very high, giving the to head out to waist-deep water where trout fishing has been best. fish plenty of room to roam and hide from us. Just when you thought If you notice only slight or sporadic surface activity, soft plastics you had them figured out with a couple of good days in a row; they on 1/8 ounce jigs worked near the bottom will usually do the job.

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AR ROYO CO LO R AD O TO P O R T I SABE EL Lately, trout have been easier to pattern as the redfish have been scattered on the flats although schools of redfish can occasionally be found by their wakes when the water is slick. Big trout are still being caught in deep potholes, and the sizes of some are impressive for this time of year. Despite Nick Villarreal (left) and an overall inconsistency Lee Reed (right) were in the fishing the last proud winners in the 71st TIFT Tournament. few months, we have experienced a fair share of anglers with their personal best on trout, reds, and snook.

I expect water levels will rise above normal again in September.

Look for trout to hang around grass beds and sandy potholes in three to four foot depths.

Continue searching for shallow reds in the back lakes; the tailing action should improve. Also, watch for large congregations of redfish in the deeper flats. In my honest experience, September has always been the toughest month

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for finding clear-cut patterns, but because of all the freshwater we’ve had, the bait population is in great shape!

Remember, sometimes it pays to match the ay attention hatch. Pay to the signs around you.

In closing, I would like to thank Brownsville’s IBC Bank for sponsoring and putting on a good showing in the 71st TIFT Tournament. IBC’s own Lee Reed placed second in the men’s bay division, and Nick Villarreal bettered last year’s results by placing second in the youth division. Also, I attended ICAST in July and saw first hand some of the new products coming out in 2011. I was impressed by the new Suffix braided line and the new 580P Costa del Mar glasses that are extremely lightweight, impact-resistant, and durable (thanks to their new lens coatings.)

Don’t let the freshwater and high tide levels keep you off the water. Fish hard and look for the signs that will bring you success.

Texas Saltwater Fishing

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 69

*MWLMRK 6ITSVXW ERH *SVIGEWXW JVSQ &MK 0EOI XS &SGE 'LMGE Lake Calcasieu Louisiana Jeff and Mary Poe - Big Lake Guide Service - 337 598 3268 Calcasieu Lake will continue to produce good numbers of both trout and redfish in and along the ship channel throughout September. The deeper, cooler water draws these fish from the shallower, warmer waters of the lake. Fish will be found from the I-10 bridge in Lake Charles all the way south to the Gulf. Since water temperatures are extremely hot at this time of the year, your best bite may be early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Best baits in soft plastics will be MirrOlure minnows, H & H beetles and Norton sand eels. If the heat continues and the fish become finicky, you may want to try finger mullet, pogies or live shrimp. Usually in September, we get our first cold front, which will normally push the shrimp into the lake and get the birds working. The close rigs, beach, and Cameron jetties will continue to produce good numbers and quality fish for the first half of the month, but the action in those locales will start to wind down by the middle of the month and will be about over by the beginning of October.

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays Randall Groves - Groves Guide Service - 979 849 7019 - 979 864 9323 Fishing has been a little off and on since the heat wave settled in good, Randall reports. “It’s been like a mill pond lately, and with the lack of wind and outgoing tides during the day, it’s been a little slow. Best fishing has been in the surf. Topwater bite out there has been fair to good. We’ve been catching trout on pink Skitterwalks and bone Spooks. Also having good luck on opening night Sand Eels. We should see a turnaround in the bite next month (September), when the tide cycles will include more morning incoming tides. The fish bite best around here when it’s hot if there’s incoming tide in the a.m..” On a different note, he says the offshore fishing has been good. “I’ve been running offshore some and catching some nice fish of a variety of species. We won some prizes this weekend with ling and tuna. I’d like to thank the guys at Sport Marine for taking care of me, my boat and my motor. When you’re ninety six miles offshore, it’s good to know your equipment is in tip top shape. Those guys help me that way.”

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay - James Plaag Silver King Adventures - www.silverkingadventures.com - 409 935 7242 “Trout fishing is good lately, and the tarpon fishing is set to bust out any time now,” James says. “We were casting at tarpon all day today, probably saw a couple thousand fish. The numbers are there this year.

Bite has been slow so far, but typically September is the best month to catch ‘em. As long as we don’t get a storm messing it up or some early fronts, we should be able to have a good month on the silver kings.

The trout fishing is pretty easy for this time of year in several places.

The lower ship channel is still on as of now, but it will likely play out in September. East and Trinity Bays should both still be rocking throughout the month though. The birds are already working in Trinity. Some are over good schools of trout, others have a bunch of skipjacks. In East Bay, it’s more of a slick hopping thing, focusing on deep water around the reefs where the slicks are popping. We’ve been having the best luck on the trout with four inch Bass Assassin Sea Shads, either glow/chartreuse or the hot chicken color.”

Matagorda - Charlie Paradoski Bay Guide Service - 713 725 2401 Several good options exist for fishermen in the Matagorda area in the first fall month. “If conditions are right and the water gets green to the beach around the strong moons, I’ll be looking to get in the surf. Some years, the surf is at its best this month. Good catching will only come if there’s tide movement when the water clarity is right though. September is a great month to target pods of tailing and schooling reds. Both East and West Bays offer opportunities there, with West Bay the slightly better bet on average. Over there, it’s often possible to catch plenty of reds and throw in limits of school trout too. The reds in East Bay tend to show in some areas where bigger trout hang out. It boils down to weather. If the winds are light in the morning, I usually head to East Bay. If it’s windier, I head west. Those light wind days make for excellent catching around the shell humps in the middle of East Bay. We often catch some pretty big trout on topwaters and slow sinking twitch baits on the reefs this month.”

Jimmy West - Bolivar Guide Service - 409 996 3054 “Dove hunting starts September 1st in the Central Zone. I still have some availability left and the season appears to have excellent potential. As far as fishing goes, I’ve been doing a lot, fished six days in a row before giving this report. Not catching limits every day, but the numbers are pretty good, and the average size of the trout isn’t bad either. We’re catching plenty of pound and a half to three pound fish and mixing in the occasional five or six pounder. There are plenty of reds schooled up in East Bay right now too. The key to locating those is finding the mud boils and slicks together. Slicks are leading us to the trout too. They are hanging out deep, in five to eight feet of water, sometimes on shell, sometimes not.

These patterns should hold right through September. Wading has been good for brief periods, when the tropical systems push the tide in and the water fills in nicely right up to the shoreline grass. That might happen more in September, and if it does, it will pay to take the topwaters and Catch 2000s and get out of the boat.”

Palacios - Capt. Aaron Wollam www.palaciosguideservice.com - 979 240 8204 The surf finally opened up here last week. We had several charters on the beach where we caught near limits of trout up to twenty three inches, and almost all were caught on topwaters. The green/chrome and pearl Skitterwalks have by far been the best producers. We’re fishing the first bar at first light and moving out to the second and third guts as the bait moves off the beach. Our redfish bite has been very solid as of late also. We are starting to see small pods of reds (usually five to ten per pod) working area grass edges and pushing bait against the shoreline and gorging themselves. Small gold spoons and small paddletails in pearl/chartreuse, salt/pepper, and pumpkinseed/chartreuse have been the best lures for the schooling reds. I look forward to September because there are so many productive options: running the surf on calm days, fishing the wells on hot days, working birds for school trout, and stalking tailing reds on the flats.

With all those possibilities, it don’t get much better than that!

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Port O’Connor - Lynn Smith - Back Bay Guide Service - 361 983 4434 September is a great month for fishing the surf and the pass Cavallo area, Lynn says. “When winds allow, we’ll be heading out in the surf. Topwaters work great out there, especially early in the morning close to the beach. If it’s not possible to get in the surf, we’ll stick to grassy flats close to deep water around the jetties and the pass area. I like to throw topwaters when fishing that pattern too, mostly early, then switching over to soft plastics once the sun heats up the flats. Good colors lately have been chicken on a chain, red flash and the old standby, pumpkinseed/chartreuse. The key, especially if it stays super hot like it’s been, will be to stay close to the deep water. There are good grassy flats in West Matagorda Bay that fit that description. Watch for schooling reds to be on the flats this time of year.

They migrate to the pass areas in anticipation of their spawn. It’s often possible to sightcast them if it’s sunny. Soft plastics seem to work best to make them bite when you see them first.”

Rockport - Blake Muirhead Gator Trout Guide Service - 361 790 5203 - 361 441 3894 An abundance of fall options present themselves for Blake in September.

“The dove hunting looks like it will be outstanding this year, so I’ll be looking to get in on that. Teal season also falls in this month. The potential for that is a little harder to gauge, but most years it’s pretty good around here. On the fishing side, we are catching lots of schooling reds lately, mostly in bays like Aransas and Redfish, areas close to the entrance of the pass. That action should heat up even more before it plays out. I’ll definitely be running some charters which focus on finding the schools and limiting on reds. Trout fishing will likely become a little easier in September than it has been in this August heat. Lately, we’ve been doing best on trout with live bait. Also catching some on Sand Eels, especially the pumpkinseed/chartreuse ones. It should get easier with lures as the water cools off a little. I’ll be looking for the trout in the northern parts of my area mostly, keying on grassy, sandy shorelines, making lots of casts around the potholes in the grass.”

Padre Island National Seashore Billy Sandifer - Padre Island Safaris - 361 937 8446 If money is short and you’ve been waiting for the best possible fishing opportunity, September and October are the time to go. Year after year we see the best fishing for greatest numbers and most species present in the PINS surf during the last twenty days of September. Various shark species, large schools of big jack crevalle, unbelievable numbers of skipjack (ladyfish), large numbers of slot redfish, tarpon and Spanish mackerel are all possible. The first cold fronts will start moving the finger mullet out of the bay systems and the reds will follow them. Some speckled trout will be available. Large shoals of dusky and bay anchovies frequent the surf and these shoals are the areas to target. All types of fish species are commonly observed feeding on the anchovies. When targeting jack crevalle watch for groups of diving brown pelicans and sight cast the jacks which will typically run at the surf’s edge. A wide range artificials will work on all of the above species as will live or dead finger mullet.

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut Robert Zapata – rz1528@grandecom.net - 563 1160 What a great summer we are having! And the fishing isn’t bad either. I am still finding schools of redfish in the northern end of the Laguna.

Many of the reds are oversized, but no one seems to mind catching and releasing them. Early in the mornings, while the winds are dead calm, is the best and easiest time to find the schools. Keeping up with them using the trolling motor can lead to hours of catching and releasing reds.

I like to cast light-colored Bass Assassins rigged on eighth ounce jigheads Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

or gold weedless spoons if there is abundant floating grass. I have also been catching good numbers of trout on croakers. With the higher water temperatures I am casting the croakers along grass lines, potholes and drop-offs in three to four feet of water. I’m also looking for good concentrations of bait and/or fish slicks to identify areas to fish with the croakers. Shallow flats with small amounts or no grass on the bottom are also holding reds and black drum that we are sightcasting with Berkley Gulp shrimp rigged on sixteenth ounce jigheads.

Joe Mendez – www.sightcast1.com - 361 937 5961 Excellent water clarity continues to make for productive fishing in the Upper Laguna Madre/Baffin Bay area. “The water is gorgeous, crystal clear most of the time. The schools of redfish are easy to locate on most days, especially when it’s calm in the morning. Once you find the schools, if you can stay with them, it’s often easiest to sightcast them in the middle of the day, once the sun gets bright and higher overhead. A light to moderate breeze makes it really easy to see the fish. We are catching them on soft plastics rigged on light jigheads so we can swim them close in front of the fish once we find them. Trout fishing has been a little tougher. When targeting trout, I like to focus on dropoffs to deep water when it’s hot like this. You can catch plenty of fish on most days, but the average size is pretty small and it’s difficult to box a bunch of keepers. September lays out much the same. We’ll still have lots of schooling reds around the JFK Causeway on both the north and south sides of the bridge, so I’ll be chasing them.”

Port Mansfield – Terry Neal – www.terrynealcharters.com – (956) 944 2559 Well if you haven’t heard, South Texas and Northern Mexico have been receiving record rainfall this summer. It seems that we’ve had some kind of storm every other weekend. For weeks now the Arroyo Colorado and the North floodway have been running at capacity with water diverted from the Rio Grande and we’re expecting this scenario to continue for a while.

Thousands of acres of freshwater is being pushed into the Lower Laguna Madre. There is no way to predict what effects this much freshwater will have on the Lower Laguna as this is the first time in many years that this much water has been released. Fishing has been good regardless of all the freshwater inflow. Locate the bait and you’ll find lots of good fish. Offshore fishing will be peaking with the bait migration. The water line where fresh meets salt should be excellent. Lots of tarpon are taking advantage of the bait being pushed ahead of the freshwater. Schools of redfish should also be working the schools of bait fish. Keep only what you can eat…release the rest.

Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel Janie and Fred Petty – www.fishingwithpettys.com – (956) 943 2747 We’re still in a one week good, one week bad tide pattern, however when everything comes together, the trout fishing is outstanding. One memorable trip produced three 28 inch trout boated in succession, which is an all time high for summer fishing. We’re tagging oversized reds and limiting on slot fish when the tides are outgoing in the morning. We’ve had the best results throwing the Cajun Thunder cigar corks with a fifteen inch leader and a quarter ounce jighead with a Berkley Gulp shrimp in glow or new penny. The LLM is inundated with the fresh water, which is keeping bay waters brackish and dark. Freddy says, “They’re still out there, you just have to fish in deeper water because they’re hanging out in the heavier saltwater which is beneath the freshwater column that is lighter.” Even though the water does not have that gin clear look that is iconic to this area, we’re seeing a lot of activity on the surface and freshly netted trout are spraying the deck with a couple of different colored shrimp species.

Texas Saltwater Fishing

www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 71

'EXGL SJ XLI 1SRXL

All upcoming Photo Galleries are now online! Check out when your photo will appear in the magazine.

Madyson Gregory Port Aransas - 41” bull red

Felicia Guevara Packery Channel - 22.5” drum

Kelly Wheat Nicole Gavlik Panther Lake - 28” first redfish!

Matagorda Surf - first keeper redfish!

Lance Knox Matagorda Bay - 27” trout

Rachel Jones Baffin Bay - 27” trout David Mcleod Portland - 43” redfish

Jesus Perez & Isacc Barba Galveston - 36” redfish

Mike Jones Baffin Bay - 30” trout

Michale Neisig Federal Waters - 47” red snapper 72 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

Josh & Brooke Port O’Connor - bull red

Brad Taylor & Cory McGuire Galveston - 36” first redfish!

Justus Parker Port Aransas - 37” redfish

Gladwin Kruegar Port Aransas - 37.5” bull red

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Chris Rushalauv redfish

Shanna Pillow Pier 19 - 45” red drum

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Bruce Sulik Port Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor - 23â&#x20AC;? redfish

Nick Triola Corpus Christi - 39â&#x20AC;? 25lbs bull red

Corby Weiss Bastrop - 39â&#x20AC;? redfish

Lloyd Wells & Randy Read Galveston Jetty - 30-45â&#x20AC;?

25+lbs first bull reds!

Kurt Zachmann Port Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor - 30+lbs jack Wade Wheatley Port Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor - 23.5â&#x20AC;? redfish

Nicholas Zequeira ULM - 22â&#x20AC;? trout

Kyle Whitted San Luis Pass - 27â&#x20AC;? redfish

Emily Elledge East Matty - 26â&#x20AC;? redfish

Danny & Brodie Daniel Port Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor - 16# redfish C&R

Jason Elledge East Matty - 27â&#x20AC;? redfish

Kevin Cox East Matty - 25â&#x20AC;? trout

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Dan Gray Matagorda Bay - 21â&#x20AC;? flounder Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Martha Gutierrez Trinity Bay - 22.5â&#x20AC;? speckled trout Texas Saltwater Fishing

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www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 73

'EXGL SJ XLI 1SRXL

Jerry Watkins Packery Channel - 47 lb amberjack Eugene Uribe Laguna Madre - 22” flounder

Kevin Korenek Matagorda - first 30” red!

Veronica Jimenez Baffin Bay - 30” 8.5 lb trout CPR

Johnson Ngo POC - 26.5” 12 lb red snapper 74 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

John Johnson Baffin Bay - 29” trout CPR

Kody Myers & Dad 36” first black drum!

Natalia Salinas Copano Bay - 22” first trout!

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Lisa Cheney East Bay - 28” trout

Nestor Martinez Arroyo City - 26” trout

Oscar Tamez II Arroyo City - 27.5” red

Joel Verdin 36” black drum

Gustavo Hernandez Galveston Bay - redfish

Celina Naranjo 25.75” trout, personal best!

Jonathan Burkett Seabrook - 40” red

Brendan & Daniella Gonzalez Point Comfort - drum

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Karl Keul Middle Keys, FL - 8-10lb permit

Rodney Fernandez & Eric Hull Anahuac - 37â&#x20AC;? & 40â&#x20AC;? redfish

Kelly Gunn Bridge City - 26â&#x20AC;? 6lb redfish

Amanda Benavidez Baffin Bay - 29.5â&#x20AC;? trout

David Ramirez Port Aransas - 27â&#x20AC;? trout

Amanda Nugent Chocolate Bayou -28â&#x20AC;? red

Mark Burden Freeport - redfish

Daniel Craig Rockport - 45lb black drum

Kip 8 Mile Rock - red snapper

Nashmia Gonzalez Point Comfort - 24â&#x20AC;? redfish

Ardy Bare Freeport - 41.5â&#x20AC;? redfish

Carolyn Mertz Dagger Island - 23â&#x20AC;? red

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Brandon Auer bull red C&R

Danielle Auer West Galveston Bay - 28+â&#x20AC;? bull red C&R

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

Texas Saltwater Fishing

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www.TSFMAG.com / September 2010 75

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'ETX &MPP¸W 3RMSR &PSWWSQ &EOIH *MPPIXW PAM JOHNSON Got ideas, hints or recipes youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to share?

Email them to pam@tsfmag.com or send by fax: 361-785-2844

Capt. Bill Pustejovsky says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;This recipe is as easy as a bowl of cold cereal and tastes so good youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll wonder how you lived so long without it.â&#x20AC;? And you know a fisherman never tells a lie. You can use any fillets you like; trout, redfish, drum, flounder, snapper, sheepshead â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I think even a hardhead might taste pretty good with this recipe. ,QJUHGLHQWV Ă&#x192;+DOI SRXQG RI Ă&#x20AC;OOHWV IRU HDFK GLQQHU JXHVW Ă&#x192;+DOI VWLFN UHDO EXWWHU Ă&#x192;)DYRULWH VHDIRRG VHDVRQLQJ Ă&#x192;5REHUWŇ&#x2039;V 5HVHUYH 2QLRQ %ORVVRP +RUVHUDGLVK 'LS Ă&#x20AC;QG LW DW +(% 3OXV 6WRUHV

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76 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

Texas Saltwater Fishing

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Texas Saltwater Fishing

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Texas Saltwater Fishing

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I N D E X O F A DV E R TI S E R S For more information about these advertisers visit: http://www.texassaltwaterfishingmagazine.com/contact_advertisers_product.html

APPAREL

Specialty Shutters Systems . . . . . . . . . . 60

Capt. J.C. Algueseva . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Capt. Billie Kocian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Peligac Offshore Gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

FISHING PRODUCTS (RODS, REELS, ETC.)

Capt. Chad Verburgt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

American Rodsmiths 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Capt. Jay Nichols. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

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Bimini Bay Outfitters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

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Bomber Saltwater Grade . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

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Coveralls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Brown Lures-JB Outdoors . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Capt. Glenn Hammond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Fibertex & Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Costa Del Mar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

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Gulf Coast Trolling Motor . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

EZ Drainer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

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House of Fiberglass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Fins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Capt. Brandon Banta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

McClain Trailers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Fishing Tackle Unlimited Green Rod . 38

Capt. Ruben Garza Jr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Safe Floor Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

ForEverlast Hunting/Fishing Products 43

Capt. Jack Campbell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

South Texas Trolling Motors . . . . . . . . . 69

Goyen Electric Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Specialty Aluminum Works . . . . . . . . . . 2

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Pier 30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

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Anchor Marine of Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover, 1

Rods by Pepper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Bernie’s Boats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

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Busha Boat Works. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

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Coastal Backwater Marine . . . . . . . . . . . 63

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Bluff’s Landing Marina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Coastline Marine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover, 1

Stunt Grunt Lures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Capt. Carl Bauer / Liar Lagoon . . . . . . . 79

Flatstalker Boat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Texas Tackle Factory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Bentley’s ICW House Rental . . . . . . . . . . 79

Gulf Coast Boats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Third Stone Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Solunar

Floating Cabin Rentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Gulf Coast Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover, 1, 6

Wade Aid Enterprises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Serena Residences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 36

Hell’s Bay Boatworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Waterloo Rods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

The Inn At Clarks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Hobie Cat Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

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Majek Boats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Academy Sports + Outdoors . Inside Back Cover

The Oaks at Bentwater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Mt. Houston Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Fishing Tackle Unlimited . . . . . . . . . . Back Cover

Rockport Marine, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

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Sail & Ski Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

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Kevin Severance Insurance . . . . . . . . . . 53

Shallow Sport Boats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover, 1

Speedy Stop Solunar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Solunar

TOURNAMENTS/EVENTS

Texas Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 The Sportsman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cover, 1

GUIDES

South Padre Island Music Festival . . . . 5

Trans Fiberglass Boat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Capt. C.T. Siems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Texas International Boat Show . . . . . . . 3

Capt. Jesse Eureste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Texas International Boat Show:TIBS- Photo

BUILDER & BUILDER PRODUCTS

Capt. Mark Huse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Gallery Sponsorship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Building Products Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Capt. Shelly & Gary Gray . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Texas Music Throw Down . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Eco Vantage Wood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Capt. Steve Hillman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Legacy Lifts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Quinlan Outdoor Adventures . . . . . . . . 59

80 September 2010 / www.TSFMAG.com

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Please use our Texas spotted seatrout resource wisely!

SHIMANO CAENAN 100 BAITCAST REEL s (IGH SPEED RETRIEVE s !LUMINUM ,O -ASS ® SPOOL SYSTEM s 3IX SHIELDED STAINLESS STEEL BALL BEARINGS

Want to see Shimano’s Award Winning Line up for 2011?

Best Saltwater Reel

Best Freshwater Reel

Trinidad A Star-Drag Saltwater Reel

Stella FE Spinning Reels

Available in 10A, 12A, 14A, 16A, 16NA, 20A and 30A $ $

Available in 1000, 2500, 3000 $ $

699.99 - 729.99

399.99 - 499.99

Available late August 2010

TN16A - TN30A Available late August 2010 TN10A - TN14A Available late September 2010

Best Saltwater Rod

Best Hard Bait Waxwing Sub-Surface Swimming Jigs Available in 2 sizes , 14 colors Inshore - 088g (3.10oz) $17.99 Offshore - 118g (4.16oz) $19.99 Available late August 2010

Terez Saltwater Rods Available in 5 colors and several different actions. There’s a rod to match you and your Boat! $ $

249.99Available - 279.99 October 2010

More Great New products from

Trevala S Spinning Rod NOW available in 5’8” XXH 2 pc $

169.99

Available late August 2010

Curado 50E & 51E Caenan Available in 100 & 101 $

89.99

Availability dates are determined by manufacturer and are subject to change without notice. Quanitities will be limited on intial shipments of most new products.

12800 Gulf Freeway @ Fuqua Houston, Texas 77034 281-481-6838

CAE100 Available late August 2010 CAE101 Available in October 2010

The ever reliable Curado now available in a smaller size. $

199.99

CU50E Available late August 2010 CU51E Available late Sept 2010

ICAST Award winners are chosen by Retailers and Media attending the Annual ICAST Show.

Now Available!! Shop with us online at

www.fishingtackleunlimited.com Lay-A-Way and Gift Certificates Available

8933 Katy Freeway Houston, Texas 77024 713-827-7762

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GALVESTON TIDES & SOLUNAR TABLE Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine SEPTEMBER 2010

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