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April 2008

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contents a pr il 2008 Volume 17 No. 12

features

22

10 Yes, Size Does Matter!

Mike McBride

16 Working the Progression

Kevin Cochran

22 The Right Side of the Ledger

Martin Strarup

26 Odds and Ends and Helpful Tips

Billy Sandifer

30 Things that go BUMP in the mud

Chuck Uzzle

departments 46

60

84

98

27 Coastal Birding

Billy Sandifer

34 Let’s Ask The Pro

Jay Watkins

38 Fly Fishing

Casey Smartt

42 Tournament Trails

Brandon Jenewein

46 Offshore

Bobby Byrd/John Cochrane

50 Conservation

CCA Texas

54 Science and the Sea

UT-Marine Science Institute

56 TPWD Field Notes

Britt Bumguardner/Bill Karel

60 Kayak Fishing

Scott Null

64 According To Scott

Scott Sommerlatte

68 Youth Fishing

Aaron Cisneros

72 Tech Tips

Kevin Shaw/Daniel Freer

77 Tech Tips

Everett Johnson

78 Fishing products that pass the test

Everett and Pam Johnson

79 Big Shell Beach Clean-Up Report

Billy Sandifer

what our guides have to say…

80 Dickie Colburn’s Sabine Scene

Dickie Colburn

82 Mickey on Galveston

Mickey Eastman

84 Capt. Bill’s Fish Talk

Bill Pustejovsky

86 Mid-Coast Bays with the Grays

Gary Gray

88 Catching up with Cliff

Cliff Webb

90 Capt. Tricia’s Port Mansfield Report

Capt. Tricia

92 South Padre Fishing Scene

Ernest Cisneros

regulars 6

Editorial

75 New Tackle & Gear 94 Fishing Reports and Forecasts 96 Photo Gallery–Catch of the Month 98 Gulf Coast Kitchen

103 Index of Advertisers

aBout the cover This month’s cover angler is Stacy Nipper with her first fly-caught red. But there’s more to the story. If you’d like to be included in leaking a really cool secret, go to page-6 and read this month’s editorial. www.TSFMAG.com

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Being the editor and puBlisher of this magazine can Be Both challenging and fun. Lucky for me, every time I’m about to drown in challenges something really cool comes along and that’s when you remember why you love what you do. Sometimes it’s an email from a fisherman looking to get his kids hooked and sometimes it’s a letter proclaiming a victory on an important conservation front. Sometimes it’s a few kind words from a reader letting you know how much they appreciate the magazine. And then there’s the letter I’m including below. I wasn’t sure how to handle it at first, but through a couple of emails back and forth, we devised a plan. I hope everybody reading this finds as much joy as it has brought me. And you know — you gotta love a guy this creative. What better way to embark on the most important mission a man is ever likely to take?

Mr. Johnson, I just wanted to say thank you for publishing an excellent magazine about our great sport and I’d also like to ask a favor. Your diligent promotion of conservation influences many people. I believe your magazine and opinions (and those of your writers) have made significant and positive impacts on the quality of our sport and will surely benefit the fishing that generations to come will experience. I wish you the best in the future and keep up the great work.

Attached is a picture of my girlfriend’s first red taken on a fly rod in the Freeport area; it came in at 27 ½” after a good 10 minute fight.

So the favor, I read your magazine cover to cover and she always gives me a hard time about how obsessed I am (most of my free time is spent fishing on the TX coast), but I catch her reading through it as well. So if you could somehow arrange her picture to make it to the “Catch of the Month” section with the phrase “Stacy, your guide wants to marry you” on it, that would be awesome! If you’d like, you can put it on the cover, I’m not trying to be discrete here. In any case, your help with this would be much appreciated.

Sincerely, Blayne Mozisek College Station, TX 6

April 2008

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The MirrOdine in just pure silver flash has excelled recently.

t’s april, so get out there with the Biggest topwater you can find for those big

is often decisively more. One of the first lessons

trophy trout!”

those guys who will just flat get on your stuff

Well yes… and then again maybe no. We hear

I didn’t learn for a long time came courtesy of a potlicking co-worker. You know him, one of after you make the fatal mistake of taking him

and read that same old spew every spring, and

there, and then ten years of bloody trial and error

unfortunately many of us simply stop our brains

are instantly evaporated unto the masses. I had

right there. Sure, there is little that can compare

waded out to a sacred little reef only to find, you

with the third dimensional experience of “trophy”

guessed it, a big potlicking grin taunting me.

topwater fishing. Not only do we get to feel that

He hoisted a full limit of trout that I’d dare say

head-shaking power, we also get to see and hear

averaged twenty-three inches, including a couple

the strike. However, despite the enchantment,

of heavy kickers.

banging a big topwater around all day isn’t always

“Hey, it’s good man, caught ‘em all on this.” He

our highest percentage approach. When targeting

showed me a stupid little twin-tailed freshwater

the best Nature has to offer, we might consider

sparkle beetle, clear plastic body with a red dot

dialing in our presentations a little tighter to the

and a bit of glitter. Why he chose that I’ll never

conditions. It might be called being a tuned-in

know; my guess is he was too cheap to step

fisherman instead of just a semi-conscious rod-

out of his already stocked bass box. The results

whacking surface beggar. We can do better.

were painfully obvious while my MirrOlures and

Despite the feverish “big bang” theory, less

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April 2008

topwaters couldn’t even snag a mullet. I refused to

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Fifteen pound mud mule on a little lure.

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Perry George hoists a heavyweight, note the water depth and color.

A shallow 3O release, clear Corky Devil.

acknowledge the catch for years discounting it as

it. Throwing a topwater as far as we can straight

that little bait was a real “get bit” number, now we

a fluke, but eventually the thinking process began

downwind and just jack-hammering it home does

know that it’s a big-fish bait when they are down

to mature. Bigger fish, as we all know, and for a

not display a lot of cerebral mass. On the other

and discriminating.

lack of a better term, can get very picky at times.

hand, it’s way cool to slow down, drop down

And they can get especially picky during spring

and be delicate; making multiple casts with high

qualify for probing big trout haunts, but never

given the abundance of juvenile forage.

anticipation into those small holes where we just

look beyond a simple soft plastic for big bites.

know a big fish has to be. THAT… is angling.

Many top-end trout have fallen to plastics wielded

We are very fortunate to fish a lot of clear water in the Laguna. Not only do we often get to

Last week we were in knee deep and less

There are many non-threatening lures that

precisely by good fisherman. I once watched Capt.

see fish eat, but we also get to see them run away

water where we knew big, finicky trout were milling

Tricia pull three twenty-eights out of a little bitty

from overbearing applications. You learn from that,

quietly amongst big reds. There was no feed, and

shoreline trough that I had just saturated with both

and yes it all still applies in waters not so pristine.

it was one of those mid-day spooky situations

topwater and Corky. She did it by standing still and

There is often a fine line between fooling fish and

where if you walked too fast you could see wakes

carefully dragging a little paddle tail over every

freaking them out. Last month Jay Watkins wrote

of big fish kicking off well in front of you. Larger

inch of it.

about presenting a bait at angles so it didn’t look

baits were not only refused but they ran from

like it was attacking from the rear. If you absorbed

them. Something small and non-invasive made

new MirrOdine has been excitingly productive.

anything from that magazine… take Jay’s lesson

sense. I had just caught a seven pounder on a

Interestingly enough, the one with no color, just

in real deep.

little Devil Eye, then Davis Baker slid up with one

pure silver flash, has excelled. Short twitches

of those Corky Jr baits with a spinner on the tail. A

make it blink like a beacon. It suspends where you

mature ten and a half jumped all over it. We knew

stop it and can be fished very shallow in delicate

It’s the same principle here, where we present a bait that entices a fish instead of threatening

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For the pluggers in us, MirrOlure’s relatively

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situations. It also lends itself to single hooks such

to know its there and enjoy what you may have

as the 1/O Gamakatsu Live Bait hooks shown.

been missing.

Pictured is Judy Airhart who put on a clinic with this little plug.

Size DOES matter in just about everything we do in life. Big trucks, big boats, even our

Downgrading a presentation doesn’t always

women train us that bigger is better… diamonds

have to mean size. Color and noise reduction

and such, you know. However, when it comes

works too. For example, there is a huge profile

to fooling great fish on a lure, even though the

difference between say a pearl/chartreuse Corky

stigma of big bait = big fish is hard to overcome,

and a translucent one such as the hologram.

consider being more of a calculated angler.

Some baits, even in less than ideal water, can

It works.

look ridiculously out of place, and there are the rattle.

A good example occurred during the Galveston Troutmasters back in the spring of 2OO3. I worked a shin deep sandbar in San Luis Pass with a small knee deep depression running down the middle of it. Swirling clouds of glass minnows were being swept down the small funnel with the incoming tide, and

contact

days when the fish like the old ones without

mike mcBride

some quality fish were quietly laying in wait where other predators such as porpoises couldn’t bother them. Topwaters and other high profile baits were ineffective, but by letting a clear hologram Corky with no rattle ride the current into them, it proved good enough to win the event.

Picture walking a quiet shoreline this spring. The bait is shallow next to the bank and the water is relatively clear. What are you going to throw? Although an obnoxious She Dog can certainly overcome a lack of skill at times, something like that wouldn’t be your first choice. Think about casting Judy Airhart put on a shallow water clinic with the little MirrOdine 12

April 2008

something with just enough profile for them

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poignant trip around Thanksgiving last year reinforced the legitimacy of a plan I often use for choosing lures in cold water. Just prior to that day, water temperatures had plunged more than twenty degrees, into the mid-fifties.

I started off by searching for fish where I “wanted them to be”, on shallow flats next to the King Ranch Shoreline, driving slowly along and scanning several miles of barren looking water, spotting scarce bait activity, but plenty of brown algae. Knowing that trout in the Upper Laguna Madre sometimes behave like mercury in a thermometer and drop into the depths of the Intracoastal Waterway when temperatures plummet, I pointed the bow of my Haynie eastward, to check out some of the smaller channels intersecting the main ditch.

On the way, I noted a substantial improvement in water clarity. When I got within a quarter of a mile of the ICW, I could see mullet jumping regularly along the dropoffs.

Having looked over so much ugly, lifeless water on the other side of the bay, I knew this likely meant the trout would be found among all the bait. I put the Power Pole down near a shallow ledge, jumped out and began casting across a channel, to where grass beds created a transition between firm bottom and the silted depths along an old oil-field gut.

My first lure of choice was an Exude RT Slug, rigged on an eighth ounce jighead. After only a few fruitless casts, I began to get bites steadily and catch trout, some solid keepers, others an inch or two under the line. The key was to drop the worm close to the grassy lip and flutter it slowly off the edge, then work it with short hops close to the soft bottom at the base of the ledge.

The fish seemed to be lying low, probably still shocked from the recent change in weather and water temperature. I caught nine or ten trout at that spot by snuggling my worm up to points and pockets formed by the contour line. I was catching fish steadily, getting a bite for every four or five casts, but since they weren’t the size I was looking for, I decided to move to a stretch of channel where deep water shoots straight out of the ICW and ends abruptly at a grass-bearded sand bar.

Approaching that spot, I saw lots of leaping mullet and knew I would probably catch trout easily before the first cast was made.

Once I waded into position and began working the spot, I proved what I’d suspected, catching about a half dozen trout in maybe ten casts. Given the ease

Adrian Valdez caught and released his first thirty inch trout on a floating Corky, choosing the silver hologram color pattern under relatively bright skies.

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channel, I wanted a stealthy lure I could work slowly over the grass blanketing the bottom out there. Choosing a floating Corky Fat Boy, pearl/ black, I quickly proved it was the right tool for the time.

In the gloaming, cruising trout swam up behind the slow-wobbling Fat Boy and plucked it from the surface, not really blowing up, just slurping it under and turning away. I perceived these takes as a fitting end to a memorable day; they were the extra cheese I sprinkled on the supreme pizza with which the bites were coming, I decided to

hoping to repeat the pattern of improved catching

I‘d metaphorically baked. Laughing out loud with

switch lures and see if bigger trout might want

that had accompanied each prior switch. I had

amusement, I kept catching trout until all glimmers

something more closely resembling another fish.

some new Rapala XRap SubWalks I wanted to try,

of light left the west.

I tied on a Swim’n Image and began flinging it toward the same edge along which I’d coaxed the other bites. I’d crank it down below the surface for

figuring they‘d work that day if they were going to

On the day, I caught nearly fifty fish, including an eight pound trout. Though the big one got

work at all.

I tied on a clown-colored version of the plug,

away, I really didn’t care, given the ones that stuck

a couple of feet, then twitch my rod vigorously and

pitched it out and immediately realized I could

and came to hand. Perhaps more importantly,

rhythmically, allowing the lifelike shad wannabe

make its head jump side to side under water with

I’d verified the relevance and effectiveness of a

to float up intermittently, turning the reel handle

only minimal effort, much like the Corky. Though

progression in lure changes that I often use in

super slowly, as I might when reeling up slack

the bright coloration seemed wrong for the clear

cold waters.

while walking the dog with a topwater. The bites

water, I caught a couple of quality trout on the

on it came soon and nearly as frequently as had

pinging plug right away. On maybe the fifth cast,

usually start the day fishing with a worm. Doing

the ones on the worm. In maybe an hour, I hooked

I felt one of those unmistakable, resonant thumps

so gives me the highest confidence that I can

about twelve fish, landing most of them, the

that big fish sometimes make. When I lifted my

make lethargic fish take the bait while they are

biggest stretching to about twenty inches.

rodtip and the line came tight, the fish didn’t

relatively inactive. If the bites come easily, I will

move at all; from the weight, I knew I had hooked

make a move to other lures, sometimes using the

crankbait, I made another conscious decision to

something significant, either another upper-slot

crankbait as a kind of bridge between the worm

switch lures, tying on a pink Corky, which would

or oversized red, or better yet, a trout of

and the Corky.

run a bit shallower than the floater/diver. Soon

epic proportions.

When the fishing began to seem easy on the

after I began casting along the same edges,

Eventually, the fish surrendered to my tugging

With water temperatures in the fifties, I

Once I decide that fish are more active, either because I see more bait or more movement in the

walking the dog a few inches under the surface

and came bursting through the surface. The head

bait, or because I become bored with the ease of

with the finger mullet lookalike, I felt plenty of the

that emerged in a shroud of white foam seemed to

catching fish on the crankbait, I’ll make the switch

“doinks“, thumps, ticks and taps trout make when

span eight inches or more, dark like that of a great

over to a sinking Corky or Fat Boy. Later, given a

they take a bite.

trout, but the hook pulled out before I could truly

further upgrade in the activity level of the bait and

determine if I’d located a monster of the kind I was

an even easier bite, I will make the leap all the

the soft, rattling lure, then an eight pound redfish.

hunting for. I did catch several more solid trout in

way up to either floating Corkies or conventional

With the warming of the day, the size of the fish

the twenty to twenty three inch range on the XRap

topwaters, choosing lighter, quieter ones in calm,

was improving, and I was having a sweet old time

after that.

clear water and heavier, noisier ones in choppy

I caught a couple of four pound specks on

indeed. My attitude was enhanced further when I

Then, in the silence of a windless evening,

and/or off-colored water.

The use of this progressive change in lure

pulled an eight pound trout from the fringe of grass

with the sun dipping low and a gray glare forming

bordering the hole at the very end of the channel.

on the glass-smooth shallows of the Lagoon, I

types is based on the idea that in cold water,

Realizing that I was in the midst of something

switched lures again. Because I could see fish

fish will be lethargic in the morning chill and their

making wakes in the shallows adjacent to the

aggressiveness will improve throughout the day as

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The natural appearance and enticing wobble of a pearl/black floating Fat Boy created an impression this nine and a half pound trout could not resist.

the sun warms them up. The more active the fish, the higher in the water column the lure will be worked; that’s how the theory goes.

It’s opposite in the summer, when the water is hot. That time of year, I am much more inclined to start off the day with a topwater, when light levels and temperatures are at their lowest. I will switch over during the day, sometimes working my way through the crankbaits and Corkies, but more often moving straight down to the worm when the blow ups fizzle and stop.

The idea during the hot season is that fish are most aggressive in lower light, so the progression

normal drills aren’t necessary.

But there is no substitute for a well-developed

of lure choices is inverted. Also, it seems to me that

plan of action when venturing out on a trip for the first

less aggressive fish in warm water are not easily

time in several days or weeks. Working through the

triggered by slow presentations, so I prefer the

progression of lures from bottom to top or vice versa

worms and crankbaits over Corkies, since they can

is one such proven plan. In general, more aggressive

be worked faster at greater depths. In the transitional

fish are easier to catch higher in the water column

seasons of spring and fall, the progression is more

on faster presentations than are less aggressive fish.

radically altered.

Working the progression helps one keep productive

Normally, in moderate water temperatures

lures in the paths of feeding fish more of the time.

associated with the mild seasons, I fish topwaters stay in relatively shallow water most of the time in those months, and I feel most confident in tricking them with plugs that imitate other fish. I will employ all kinds of lures within these families depending on the conditions, using everything from floating Corky Jrs. and Spit’n Images to jumbo topwaters. For the most part, the worms stay in the boat to wait for the return of more extreme water temperatures before coming

contact

and Corkies almost exclusively. Big trout seem to

kevin cochran

back into play.

None of these ideas are etched in stone, of course. I have caught big trout in every season on every kind of lure I place in my repertoire and won’t hesitate to experiment with things that defy the rules of progression I’ve set forth here. I break the rules most often because of information I’ve gotten on the previous day.

If I catch trout one morning on topwaters in fifty seven degree water, after quickly working my way up to them, I’ll likely start the next day on top, rather than run through the drill again. That’s one of the advantages of being on the water regularly. It sometimes helps one recognize those occasions when 18

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affin Bay calls to fishermen who want a chance at the trout of a lifetime.

been left out in the August sun for a few hours,

just before or just after a cold front blows through.

but I wasn’t staying in the boat. The northeast

Of course if the fronts are blowing through

wind blew the waves into our backs, it was cold,

regularly you’ll either have to contend with the

and after twenty or so casts I thought that maybe

north winds or strong south winds that precede

She flirts with you; reminding you

my first impression of this spot was right… then I

an approaching front.

that records have been broken in her

saw bait that was in a really big hurry to get away

waters and that she is capable of

from whatever was chasing it.

producing fish that will continue to break records.

In February it’s hit or miss when it comes

I cast the Brown Lures Devil Eye lure behind the mullet that were moving from left to right and felt a tap when a fish picked the lure up and set

to the weather and water conditions on Baffin

the hook on a nice 20” trout… okay so maybe I

a wind-blown shoreline and set the StakeOut-

Bay. You might get to fish between northers

was wrong about the location. But that was the

Stick deep into the bottom of the bay. He’d been

or you might have to fish while one is blowing.

only fish I caught there. We picked up a few fish

on some fish in this spot the past few days and

Unless you’re independently wealthy and can go

at this spot and then Aubrey told us to load up, we

wanted to give it a try. I wasn’t optimistic; the

whenever you like, you pick your days and you

were going to another spot.

water looked like chocolate ice cream that had

take your chances. Personally, I like to fish Baffin

Captain Aubrey Black idled the boat up to

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cast you make can result in having your name

much the taxidermy bill was going to be when I

moved to the Right Side Of The Ledger, you

took this fish in to be mounted.

know the side that holds the names of all the

My son Sterling had moved up close to me

guys who’ve landed a beast of a trout. The

and told me not to try to get the Boga Grip on

chance of landing a double digit trout is why we

the fish but to use his wading net. We watched

endure the cold water, the muddy bottom, and

the fish sort of lay over on her side as though

those wonderful rocks that can trip even the

she was giving up. As I reeled in line and

most nimble fisherman and result in waders full

brought her closer she righted herself and then

of cold saltwater.

“rolled” up my leader much like I’ve seen catfish

Cold and wet even though we wore waders and wading jackets, we shielded our faces against the cold wind as Aubrey ran the boat

do. We watched the lure come out of her mouth and the behemoth swim away.

There is no way to describe how I felt at that

to our next fishing spot. After he “stuck” the

moment and there really isn’t any way our editor

boat we all bailed out and listened as Aubrey

is going to print what I said at that particular

explained the area and where we should be

point in time. I could almost hear the Keeper Of

fishing. The water was better here and I had

The Ledger erasing my name from the right side

the “feeling.” Doug Sellers hooked up first with

of the book.

a nice 6-pound trout that he released back into

Two hours later, Doug Sellers lost what

the cold water. I really didn’t watch who was

looked like a 30-plus trout and all I could think to

catching what; I just concentrated on catching

say to him was, “welcome to my world.”

some of my own.

I tried to be a good sport about the whole

I felt some small rocks under my wading

thing and I thanked Aubrey for putting me on the

boots and was about to cast off to my right when

fish of a lifetime and we all laughed and said the

I saw what looked like a shrimp skip across the

usual things like, “well, it’s still out there maybe

water straight out in front of me. I cast the Devil

you’ll get another chance at it, and just think,

Eye to the spot where the bait had just been and

you saved some money by not having to get it

gave it a couple of twitches; as the lure settled I

mounted, blah, blah, blah.”

felt a tap but wasn’t sure if it was a fish or maybe

As I wiped the tears from my eyes, caused

I’d bumped a rock. I set the hook hard and then

by the cold wind don’t you know, I realized that

“rock” started taking line off of my reel. My son

I was indeed lucky to have hooked that fish and

and a friend were close to me when the big trout

just not lucky enough to have landed her.

came to the top and we all saw what it was that I had on the end of my line.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve lost a lot of really big trout in my lifetime. I’ve had them at hand and I’ve seen them but I’ve never

Here’s hoping that you’ll get your name placed on The Right Side Of The Ledger some day and if you do, leave a spot open for me would you? I hope to have it there some day.

Be Safe.

gotten a pair of Boga Grips on them or slid them slip and thus the reason for my name not being on the Right Side Of The Ledger… all of that was about to change or so I hoped.

The big trout took line as she ran off to my right and she came to the top again and then pulled deep. I could feel her headshakes, trying to tear the offending hook from her mouth by scraping it on the sand and rocks

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into a landing net; they’ve always given me the

martin strarup

on the bay bottom. She came back up and her tail was sticking up out of the water, which gave us another visual of how large this trout actually was… the water was waist deep where I was standing.

The fish ran farther to my right and being just under the surface and we could see her length and her girth… she was without a doubt the largest trout I’ve ever seen, either in person or in photos. At that moment I began wondering how www.TSFMAG.com

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l lthough it sure isn’t my favorite topic i want to let everyone know about a

the Panga 37 miles offshore and encountered

side of the harness. Those small of stature or

sargassum all the way. It has already impacted

with less physical strength will find these devices

the beach and it makes it even harder to see

to be of tremendous comfort and assistance

turtles while driving. Nothing is a bigger threat to

when engaged in lengthy battles with strong

very real situation that exists on the Padre Island

our beach driving privilege on PINS beaches than

saltwater gamefish.

National Seashore. Two years ago we began

someone running over a nesting sea turtle. If it

to encounter sick coyotes on the beach. Near

ever comes down to a territorial dispute between

the building of effective shark leaders and an

starvation; they couldn’t walk but crawled on their

beach driving and the world’s most endangered

accessory item for handling large sharks. The

front legs dragging their hindquarters. Their coats

marine creature; there’s no doubt we will come

suggestions I am giving here apply to either

were heavily matted and their overall appearance

out losers.

kayaked baits in the surf or boat fishing and have

was so tragic as to appear surreal. They began

Now for some tips. When fighting large

It’s the perfect time of year to address

served me well for decades. I start with 3/32

to die off and at first the thought was that they

gamefish, belly plates and harnesses have long

diameter stainless steel cable at least 12 feet

might be suffering from canine parvovirus. Then

been accepted as more of a necessity than a

long. I’m not a fan of monofilament shark leaders

it was discovered that the mosquitoes in the area

luxury. Fighting a large fish on heavy tackle

as too many get cut during the fight. Lightweight

carried some of the heaviest concentrations of

without a belly plate and having the gimbal knock

coated cable is also prone to being cut and single

canine heart worms ever encountered. At this

digging into your lower abdomen is not only

strand wire is subject to kinking when a shark

time I rarely see a coyote although I do see their

uncomfortable but likely to cause injury. There

rolls up in the leader; wire snaps easily after it has

tracks regularly. Their numbers are the lowest they

is another simple and inexpensive device on the

been kinked.

have been in many years and pet owners should

market that seems little-known and it is called

beware of this very real threat to their pets while

simply an “assist.” There are various types made

each end and another in the middle. A snap swivel

visiting PINS.

by Braid and other companies. It consists of a

runs on the upper half of the leader allowing for

short piece of woven fabric with a ring at both

attaching a weight if conditions dictate. The loops

entrance station on PINS. It records license plate

ends. Spinning reels and many medium-sized

formed at the swivel connections are intentionally

numbers and I can see where it will be an aid to

conventional reels are not equipped with lugs for

left large. The reason for the oversized loops is

law enforcement.

attaching to the harness and all the pressure of a

to allow a safety rope to be “snapped-in” at any

heavy fish during a long fight must be endured by

connection point on the leader as the situation

activities will begin in earnest in April. Please be

the angler’s arms. The Braid assist is an instant

may dictate. These “snap-in safety ropes” were

courteous and helpful to the Turtle Techs and

cure for the problem. Simply attach one ring to

in use long before I ever started shark fishing

keep an eye out for turtles. Last Sunday I took

the fighting harness snap, run the strap under the

and are the safest method of handling sharks

There is now a camera in place near the

Sea turtle nesting and the turtle patrol

rod’s foregrip or reel seat and snap the other ring into the other

The leaders I build have a very large swivel at

that I know of. Instead of having to wade out and wrestle a shark to shore by its tail or attempting to pull it in by the leader, the safety rope is snapped-in at the most appropriate point and the angler is in a much superior position to manhandle a fish with the larger diameter nylon rope. Often the ropes were cut in 30 or 40 ft. lengths and a second large snap was placed on the other end. This could be used to snap in place around a shark’s tail. Then it Left: All snapped in and ready to fight!

Right: An “assist” like this one from Braid can be very helpful when fighting heavy fish.

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Now this is a shark leader: at least 12 feet long, 3/32 stainless cable, swivel in the middle, crimped connections with large loops for attaching safety line, short length of heavy single-strand to attach hook.

TPWD Coastal Fisheries field staff Mark Kelly and Michael Hawes with a very rare thresher shark found dead in back bays on Matagorda Island circa 1990-91.

(TPWD photo.)

was under control; being tethered on both ends. The use of this rope also makes it much easier and safer to pull the shark back into the water for the release after hook removal and tagging. On a boat, the rope is affixed to a cleat and in some cases a bicycle inner tube was spliced into the rope to act as a shock absorber and not tear cleats loose from the deck or endanger the entire boat and those on board.

The hook is attached to the bottom swivel on the leader using a 3/8” shackle. Thus one leader can be used with a variety of hook sizes and numbers but I often use a short length of #12 single strand wire to form this “hook drop” and attach it directly to the swivel.

Several reasons for this; sometimes sharks will get a grip on cable with their teeth and work their jaws back and forth until they unhook themselves and at other times large-toothed individuals bite the cable in half. The slender wire slides in between their teeth and doesn’t

Bubulcus ibis Length 20" Width 36" One of

greatly minimized. The single strand wire

Nature's winners, the cattle.

also allows for quick and easy cutting with wire cutters if necessary and best of all it has a breaking strength of around 178 pounds so if you cleat it off on your boat the wire is a built in safety factor. A weak link that would very probably break before doing damage to your boat after you cleated it off.

On 26 Feb., 08’ Tony Amos found a live

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allow either to happen. IF the length of wire is kept short (18”) the chance of it kinking is

capt. Billy sandifer

Egret is one of the few birds that I have encountered everywhere I ever visited on Planet Earth. Although some are present in our area all year large flocks of them are seen migrating along the shoreline and resting there in Spring and Fall. A small, stocky, white heron with a short yellow bill and black legs. Breeding adults have orange plumes on their back, foreneck and top of the head. An Old World species which arrived in

but dying 80 pound and almost 9 foot long thresher shark on the beach of Mustang Island. This is the third such documented incident of a thresher in Texas waters. The state record for this species is 330 pounds and in 1990 or 1991 a dead thresher was found at Port O’Connor in Espiritu Santo Bay by TPWD Coastal Fisheries staffers Mark Kelly and Michael Hawes. Enjoy the spring and keep an eye on the tides and weather. Be Careful, Be Courteous, Be Kind.

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South America from Africia and then showed up in Florida 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.

in the early 1950s. By the mid-1960s they had reached California. Insect feeders, often seen around livestock in fields. Nests in large colonies.

Telephone 361-937-8446 Website www.billysandifer.com Texas Saltwater Fishing

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ere in texas there are a few things that are common from saBine to Baffin at this time of the year and everyone who calls the coast or saltwater home has an idea what those things are. Probably the biggest and most common factor is the wind associated with fishing in the spring; you just can’t escape those big gusts that seem to come around every weekend. The wind is a constant factor and most anglers eventually figure out how to deal with the uncomfortable conditions. Some seek shelter in protected waters while others just brave the waves and tough it out. Now aside from the obvious comparisons about the wind the other common factor that plagues anglers during this time of the year is muddy water.

Nothing will keep the weekend angler at home like off-colored water. The misconception about not being able to see in the dirty stuff has cost many a fisherman a good day on the water.

A good friend of mine, Mac McCune, who happens to be in the business of managing freshwater lakes, opened my eyes about so-called muddy water one day while we were fishing Sabine Lake. We were about halfway across the lake heading southeast towards an area where we had been catching some pretty respectable fish. As we approached I could see that the runoff from up north had begun to work its way down the lake and the water that only days before had been so perfect now looked like a stale Yoo-Hoo poured on a brown paper bag.

Mac could tell I wasn’t real happy about the hand we had been dealt so he asked me what was wrong as we continued to search the area. I explained about how the water clarity was terrible and no self-respecting trout would be anywhere close to this ugly water. Mac calmly reached down into the cooler, found an More proof that marsh drains attract and hold a lot of fish.

empty clear plastic water bottle, dipped it into the water, and filled it up for examination. “This water isn’t so bad when you look at it from the angle of the fish” he said as held the bottle up and peered through the sides. “It looks bad from where we are but you can actually see pretty well when you look through it instead of down into it” he added.

Sure enough, when you looked from the fish’s viewpoint you could see much better than I first thought. That was a lesson I’ve never forgotten. We proceeded to catch fish in the very water I had been Mann’s Baby 1-Minus.

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ready to give up on just minutes before.

Now muddy water has its own particular personality and certain adjustments will have to be made in order to be successful. One benefit that muddy water presents at this time of the year is that it will be warmer than clear water on average.

The suspended particles in the water will absorb the sun’s energy, and it will be warmer. This holds

and is gaining

especially true on outgoing tides where warmer

acceptance is the crankbait.

water exits marshes and shallow flats. Places

Small short-lipped models like the

where the warmer, off-colored water enters a bay

1-Minus from Mann’s Bait Company

or lake are magnets for predators as they often

are right at home in the murky stuff. The

hide on the color change or streak and ambush

wiggle and vibration team up to produce a fish

their prey. The great thing about a situation like

catching marvel, these baits really produce. Other

this is that there are tons of places where you can

proven offerings would include topwater plugs and

make this pattern work for you because every

soft plastics with paddle tails. Darker colors seem

bay system has plenty of drains where the water

to work best for me but could just be my security

moves during tide changes. These places can

blanket if you know what I mean. I believe the

produce some amazing fishing and the crazy thing

biggest factor is noise or vibration so the fish can

is that it can be so predictable.

key in on the bait when it’s tougher to actually see

One winter on Sabine we keyed in on a small stretch of shoreline that had 6 or 8 drains where

the bait.

Two of the biggest trout I ever caught came

water entered and exited the marsh. While wading,

from some of the worst looking water I ever fished

we could feel the temperature difference in the

so you can understand why I believe that you

water on the outgoing tides and that was all we

can have success even when the water color or

needed to know as we started to put the pieces of

clarity is not the best. The biggest obstacle is

the puzzle together. Soon we were in one of those

convincing yourself that you can actually catch

freak stretches where you could do no wrong and

fish in places like this and really giving the area

you felt every cast was going to produce another

a chance. Once you get over the mental hang up

big fish. It was obscene how many fish came from

associated with, “I can’t see in this water so there

such small areas as they just stacked up in the

must not be any fish here,” you will undoubtedly

mouths of these little ditches where the murky

become a better fisherman.

water met the clear. I have vivid memories of those trips and it still makes me shake my head when I think about it.

Well now that we have conquered our fear of what types of baits will best produce under these particular conditions. One lure that is gaining mass acceptance in saltwater and really shines in muddy water is a spinnerbait. The vibration from the blade is an attractor that helps fish key in on it. Varied retrieves with erratic movements will trigger vicious strikes from all species of

chuck uzzle

Don’t let poor water clarity discourage you; the fish are still there.

contact

the muddy and the murky let’s get a handle on

A proven assortment of spinner baits.

gamefish. Redfish have been targeted the most by spinnerbaits but speckled trout and flounder will crush them just as fast. The spinnerbait allows anglers a wide array of presentations as well as the opportunity to cover plenty of water in short fashion. The preferred model in muddy water would have to be one sporting a single Colorado blade and a soft plastic paddle tail for extra vibration. This combination works well under these conditions.

Another bait that also comes from freshwater

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J ay wa t k i n s

april is a month of change and there will Be plenty when it comes to fishing.

I anticipate higher water temperatures than normal this April due to an unseasonably warm winter and we’ll see an early upswing in fish activity. In the last week of February we had 70 degree water temperatures along some areas of the middle Texas coast. By April, 75 degree water and above should not be uncommon.

I wish we could hold the water temperature at 68 degrees for about 3 months. Fish and all the important forage species seem to be very active for longer periods at this temperature.

At 68 degrees shrimp and small baitfish begin showing in the shallows and this brings our wintertime patterns to a halt and opens the door to shoreline patterns.

April is the start of what I call the slicking pattern. Slicks are easy once you learn a few things. So before we get into trying to fish these slicks, there are some things we need to discuss. First and foremost, the reason we’re interested in slicks is because they are often a sign of feeding activity. When gamefish feed they often ingest too much and some of it has to come back up. Next, a slick is not a stationary thing; they move with wind and current. I see anglers, even experienced anglers, fishing the present location of the slick, not where it popped to the surface. I also see them failing to tie the slick back to the nearest piece of structure that lies directly upwind or up-current.

Large slicks that streak a great distance could be classified as less reliable than smaller, round ones. Who knows how long it has been on the surface and where it started? Big trout like to work the smallest feeding zones they can locate; a shoreline gut or swag is such a

place. Bait is easier to catch when driven into a bar or bank, so I often say shallower is better when it comes to locating and fishing a slick.

Also, the greater the number of individual slicks present is a clear indicator that more than one fish might be feeding there. All of these things are observations of yours truly and I have confidence in these interpretations.

Once you have located the area and the bottom structure where the slicks are forming, it is time to start fishing. In the March issue of this magazine I talked about casting at angles into and across the wind. In April, especially along shorelines, this can be the difference between getting big fish bites or getting no bites at all.

There will be an abundance of bait along the shorelines of San Jose and Matagorda Islands in April and the trout can get picky about their food. With the migration of menhaden back into the bays our larger trout will often boycott other types of more easily available food sources.

Menhaden are high in oil content. With the major trout spawn just around the corner, trout seem to prefer oily forage. Eggs contain oil and it makes them buoyant. I believe Mother Nature takes over here, eggs that end up dispersed over a wider area will likely hatch more successfully. Eggs that sink quickly probably become food for other organisms in that lower portion of the water column.

Menhaden have a very distinctive smell. I can actually smell them even when I cannot necessarily see them and I believe trout slick best when they are feeding on menhaden. Try sniffing the open mouth of a springtime trout to get an idea of what they are eating. If it is menhaden you’ll not mistake it for anything else once you have learned the difference.

Somehow I got wrapped up in the

Jay's weedless Assassin setup —check out the loop knot.

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Water temperatures rose early this spring — this fish came from a grass flat in early March.

menhaden thing and strayed from the importance of casting at angles. By casting at angles you are able to get the bait in front of more fish and also create more surface disturbance with your lure. And you guessed it; menhaden create a lot of disturbance, so you end up with more than one good thing working for you.

April is MirrOlure month for me. Top Dogs, She Dogs, Top Pups and the Catch 5 are excellent choices. I’ll throw the 51-MR SERIES if I get calm days to fish mid-bay reefs but the Catch 5 has become my favorite due to the ability to really cast it into and across the wind and also the general versatility of the bait. The Catch 5 can be worked just below the surface with fast rod tip twitches or it can be worked lower in the water column as a suspending bait. Heavier split rings and 3x Mustad hooks make the bait durable and long-lasting. This bait rattles loudly and creates noise that fish can hear and feel on days when the shorelines are chopped up due to high wind. April is a month when sustained winds to more than 22-mph are the norm. I believe the wind gives the knowledgeable angler a distinct advantage when working shallow grass beds. The Top Dog and She Dog baits are also very effective here.

I have included photos of my favorite lures and the knot I use; I like the loop knot. It is simple and reliable. With 20 pound mono as your leader, form an overhand hand knot about 5 inches from the end. Run the tag end of the line through the eye of the lure. Now run the tag end back through the overhand knot from the same side it exited. Here’s the tricky part.

While holding the lure, slide the overhand knot toward the eye of the lure to form a small loop.

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on your plug. Now with the tag end above the overhand knot, wrap the standing line five times. Now we re-enter the overhand again.

Moisten the knot and wrapped area and pull the wraps and the overhand knot tight. Trim the tag close so that floating grass does not catch on the line. This knot is quick and strong, I have had no problems with this knot and I tend to run my drag on the heavy side.

This knot is also effective when used on your Assassins and live bait rigs for those wishing to throw croaker or piggies.

Finally we are down to color patterns — note the color of the lures in the photos. Silver-sided baits and chartreuse seem to excite the trout to strike. The sound the lure makes is also important; loud lures for windy days and subtle numbers when the water is calm. On slickcalm days I go with the weedless Assassin setup. My favorite colors all contain flash; bone diamond, Cajun croaker, and opening night. I had a tremendous amount of success with these color patterns and this rigging set up in 2007.

As I approach the half-century mark I have had occasion to dwell on the important things in life. Memorable moments, even the not-so-good, shape and mold us into what were are. I have loved my life as a father and fisherman. God has blessed me beyond my expectations with two fine sons and a few friends in this business that can never be replaced. If God were to call me home tomorrow I would regret not having told you boys and my buds what you have meant to me.

Jay Ray and Ryan, you’re the absolute best sons any father could ever wish for. We’ve waded this coast from one end to the other; fishing with the Webbs, Eastmans, Freirmoods, Franklins, Plaggs, Ramzinskis, Adams, Rowseys and Odoms. We’ve won some big tournaments and stood humiliated at some of biggest. I would not change a thing. In 1989 when all of a sudden it was just us, we pulled ourselves up by the boot straps and went on. I have watched as you have grown into your own men and now proudly watch as you go forward with your life. As for my guide friends mentioned, I have great respect for each one of you and each of you has taught me something very valuable about fishing and life. I cherish every memory we have made together. I will never forget you guys.

May your fishing always be catching.

contact

a sk t h e pro

Another solid fish on the flats during early spring.

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c a se y sm a rt t

Inexpensive to purchase and operate, the durable Carolina Skiff J16 has a lot to offer fly anglers.

the day i sold my last flats skiff and Bought my first kayak, I swore I would never again own another power boat. Nope, from here on out it was going to be nothing but caloriepowered kayaks and canoes for me. No gas tank to fill, no trailer to register, no flat tires or bearings to fix… what a deal!

But sadly, I am afflicted with the same defect as every other fisherman — we love boats. We can’t live without boats. And no matter how many times we cuss our addiction and swear to our spouses we’re off boats for good, the catalogues start trickling back in, the phone calls start, and we end up buying another one.

After all, if we don’t have a good boat sitting in driveway, “Somethin’ just ain’t right.”

So… as an afflicted fisherman with a full garage and an empty driveway, I started making phone calls and researching my next inevitable purchase. I was looking for a small skiff that was simple, clean, and easy to outfit. Because the boat would be dedicated to fly fishing, it needed smooth decks with no line-snagging accessories. I wanted tiller steering to save interior space and eliminate the headaches of cables and moving parts.

You know those badass split rocket-looking flats boats with edgy sounding names? Yeah, well… not even a remote consideration for my budget. Not even close. My next boat had to be inexpensive to buy, insure, and operate. It had to be affordable and sensible (if there is such a thing).

Using those criteria, I reduced my choices down to essentially 2 options — the good 38

April 2008

old 1650 aluminum johnboat, or a fiberglass Carolina Skiff J16.

Having already owned and operated many aluminum boats, I went with the J16.

The Carolina Skiff J16’s have been around for years. Manufactured in Waycross, GA, J16’s are basically no-frills flatbottom fiberglass utility skiffs. J16 hulls weigh approx. 350 lbs and measure 15’8 long with a 64-inch beam. The floor width is 50 inches. The J16 capacity is rated at 1015 lbs (motor/persons/gear). There is no wood within the hull of the J16 (although the add-on decks do contain wood) and the floors are foam-filled. The hulls are stable and reliable and will float in very shallow water, but like most flatbottom boats they’ll bang you in a stiff chop.

In short, J16’s are tough and rough.

When I was visiting with dealers, I called my friend Chuck Uzzle to get his advice.

Without hesitation, Chuck suggested I talk to The Boat Ramp in Port Neches about J16’s or “J-Boats,” as they called them, so I did. I was pleased. The Boat Ramp had plenty of J16’s in stock, their prices were competitive, and they communicated with me in an up-front and honest manner. That was good enough for me. I pulled the trigger.

I selected a J16 hull with a 20” transom (there is also a model with a 15” transom) and added to it large factory-built front and rear decks. For power I chose the quiet and efficient Suzuki 25 hp 4-stroke and rigged it with a threeblade stainless prop and portable 6-gallon tank.

With a galvanized trailer and spare tire, the rig came in under $6500.00.

Like most new boats, the new J16 took a Texas Saltwater Fishing

bit of “getting used to” on the water. Speed was no problem. The Suzuki 25 propelled the boat, me, and my gear along at around 28 mph. With a second adult passenger and his gear, the speed dropped down to around 24 mph. That is plenty fast in one of these boats. The biggest challenge was learning how much speed you could get away with in a stiff chop before bow spray started blowing back on you. The J16 has always had a reputation for bow spray, and for good reason — it will get you wet. But, the key is to throttle back. These flatbottom hulls are simply not designed to cleanly tackle rough water. You will get racked and sprayed if you try… guaranteed.

After logging some time in the J16, I started

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Stainless u-bolts provide solid tiedown points for anchors or drift socks. They wont snag fly line.

adding on a few extras. I installed 4 Scotty flush mount bases to the back of the rear deck. This way I could pop out the removable fly rod holders from my kayaks and use them on the J16 too. I almost never carry more than 2 rigged rods, but it is nice to have the option of storing 4 rods ready to go. I also installed several small non-line-snagging stainless steel U-bolts through the top plate of the gunnels to serve as tie downs for drift socks or anchors.

For extra seating and dry/drink storage, I rigged out 2 Igloo 48-quart coolers with foam seats. Rather than mount eyelets to the floors to secure the coolers, I bought about 10 bucks worth of no-slip rubber mat and cut it to fit the bottom of the coolers. This way, the coolers could be moved to different locations of the boat and easily removed at the end of the day. Best of all, the floor was left intact with no penetrations to potentially wick in water or condensate over time.

Non-skid mats prevent icechests from sliding around the floor of the boat and allow them to be moved as needed.

Extra gear, like rod cases, fits neatly under the large front deck.

I am currently having a welder fabricate a small removable aluminum platform that will attach to either the front or rear deck of the boat via sturdy turnbuckle style rigging.

Although J16’s will float quite shallow, they are wide and flat and by no means “technical” poling skiffs… more like pokeboats. So… a poling platform has not really been an urgent priority.

Fly fishing from the J16 has been comfortable and convenient and the boat can easily and neatly handle two large adults. The front and rear decks sit up high and are roomy and accommodating with no obstructions to snag fly line. Unlike aluminum, the fiberglass hull is quiet and has a solid reliable feel. It also does not get hot in the sun like aluminum.

So what are my thoughts overall? The main negative associated with the J16 is the rough wet ride. It will require you to modify your driving. The fit and finish on the decks of the boat are somewhat crude, but they make up for it in strength and simplicity. One other downside is that while the J16 floats shallow, the long shaft motor requires a jackplate to run shallow. This is a non-issue for me because I don’t motor over shallow water, but some may find it to be a problem.

On the positive side the J16 is smooth, clean and mostly fly friendly. The casting decks are roomy with plenty of storage below.

The hull is lightweight, stable, and tough. The J16’s sticker price is low and the resale market is strong. It’s an easy boat to trailer, cheap to insure, and cheap to operate.

The bottom line? In my opinion the J16 is a sensible boat for fly fishing that won’t sink the bank.

The J16's large front and rear decks make great casting platforms. 4 Scotty flushmount bases are mounted at rear of this deck.

Texas Saltwater Fishing

Beginning saltwater fly tyers are often uncertain what book to choose as a basic guide for tying saltwater flies. Saltwater flies, although generally larger and less detailed than freshwater patterns, require special skills to tie and often incorporate unusual and puzzling materials. Introduction to Saltwater Fly Tying,

by Scott Sanchez, is a book many novice saltwater tyers will find helpful. In Introduction to Saltwater Fly Tying, Sanchez, who has spent many years in the fly tying and fly fishing business, provides a good overview of the materials and techniques required to tie a wide variety of proven saltwater fly patterns.

In the first section of Introduction to Saltwater Fly Tying, Sanchez nicely organizes and summarizes the hooks, tools, threads, glues, feathers, flash, and other materials that have become staples in saltwater fly tying. After covering essential tying materials, Sanchez works through fundamental saltwater fly tying techniques. He demonstrates how to start the thread, wrap and tie off materials, and form halfhitches. Sanchez then slowly walks the reader through a variety of patterns that incorporate these core tying techniques. Each pattern Sanchez showcases is slightly more difficult to tie than the previous pattern.

Sanchez finishes with epoxy flies and spun deer hair patterns — some of the most challenging flies to tie.

Introduction to Saltwater Fly Tying is enjoyable on a variety of levels. It is educational and entertaining, and it showcases a variety of saltwater fly patterns.

Sanchez illustrates his tying techniques with photographs that are clear and easy to follow, and he maintains a good pace throughout the book. In short, Introduction to Saltwater Fly Tying does exactly what it should do — it introduces anglers to the essential materials, skills, and techniques required to tie a large variety of effective saltwater fly patterns. If you are a novice tyer, or if your tying skills have stalled, Introduction to Saltwater Fly Tying can get you on track and moving forward.

Introduction to Saltwater Fly Tying

By Scott Sanchez iSBn: 0-87108-931-9 160 pp. pruett publishing Company April 2008

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6 California angler Dan Blanton has made many contributions to the world of fly fishing. He has authored countless fly fishing articles, written several books, served on the editorial staff of several high-profile fly fishing magazines, and he is recognized as a pioneer in fly fishing the salt waters of the West Coast. Blanton’s contributions to angling have even earned him a spot in the Fly Fishing Hall of Fame.

But Blanton is perhaps best known for a humble-looking fly pattern he began tying decades ago — the Whistler. So called because of the whistling sound it makes in flight, Blanton’s Whistler pattern is a high-profile, quick-sinking fly that has proven to be deadly on fish inhabiting deep, turbid, or murky waters. Anglers throwing Whistlers have tagged stripers, bluefish, snook, bull reds… even tarpon. The Whistler is one of those unique patterns that has a mysterious magical combination of materials and action predators find universally appealing.

Known primarily as a deep-water fly, the Whistler sinks quickly and gets noticed in dark or turbid places due to the combination of large flashy bead chain eyes and a tall water-pushing collar. It has been reported that the hollow bead chain eyes (from which the Whistler derives its name) also create noises underwater, adding to the fly’s attractiveness. The original Whistler pattern was tied using red thread, white bucktail, natural grizzly saddle hackles, and a chenille. Blanton later developed what he called the “Flashtail Whistler.” The Flashtail Whistler was essentially a standard Whistler with 40-50 strands of pearl and silver Flashabou added to the tail to make the fly even more noticeable to predators.

Many variations of Blanton’s Whistler fly have been created since its introduction and most of them will catch fish. The chartreuse and black color scheme shown here is effective on fish staged in deep channels or fish that are holding close to structure like jetties or deep reefs. It is reasonably easy to cast in spite of its large size, and the double-wire weed guard is nearly bulletproof against snags. This pattern should be allowed to sink to the bottom and retrieved with a rapid erratic stripping style.

Hook: Tiemco 800S, Mustad 34007, or equivalent 2/0 through #2 Thread: Clear nylon mono or thread colored to match body Weight: 10 wraps .030 lead wire Eyes: Large silver bead chain Weed guard: Doubled strand of #6 stainless wire Flash: 10-15 strands silver Flashabou Tail: Craft fur Overwing: 2 matched facing grizzly saddle hackles Body: Chartreuse ice chenille (Estaz) Collar: 2 soft webby saddle hackles Head Cement: Sally Hansen’s Hard-as-Nails 40

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4

8

Done!

1. Tie in bead chain eyes flush with the rear of the eye of the hook.

2. Fold a 5-inch long section of stainless steel wire in half, loop it under the hook shank and pull it over the eyes. Then secure with tight

shape. Chenille should extend

thread wraps. 3. Tie in a clump of

halfway to the eyes. 6. Make 10

soft bucktail fibers at the base of the

wraps of .030 lead wire between

hook shank. 4. Overlay several long

the chenille and the eyes. 7. Tie in

strands of Flashabou and then tie in

2 webby saddle hackes in front of

a matching saddle hackles on either

chenille and palmer over the lead

side of the hook. The bucktail and

wire. Tie off thread and coat wraps

flash material should be sandwiched

with cement. 8. Carefully bend

between the saddles. 5. Tie in a

stainless steel wire as shown to form

strand of ice chenille (Estaz) and

a two-pronged weed guard. Done!

palmer forward making a small oval

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Brandon Jenewein

Redfish landed while prefishing Clearwater Redfish Cup.

reid and i had taken four days off (we work 4-10s) to get a full week of fishing in

bronzebacks onto our lines versus

before our inaugural 2006 Redfish Cup event

phone goes off with his now

in Clearwater, Florida. Anticipation was high.

annoying Good, Bad and Ugly

The drive to Florida was filled with discussions

ringtone. Oh boy. As I listen in I hear

of spooky redfish, mangroves, our just get two

that Ron and Ryan have decided to

fish a day strategy, and of course, “Hey there’s

stay another day and want to know

a Burger King, let’s exit here.”

where we are staying so they can

Day one of our prefishing started with a

entertaining friends.

Headed for the motel, Reid’s

join us again. I see the writing on the wall, and

our fishing area.

Trolling into the marsh we began fishing

surprise as Reid announced that one of his dear

as we discuss the plan, the best scenario is to

points, coves and creeks. In some of the

friends was going to be joining us on the water.

have Ron and Ryan join us in our boat so we

smaller coves we did spook a couple of good

And not only was he coming, but his son was

can at least fish and discuss strategy.

fish and saw their wakes headed for open water.

bringing his new boat to show us the ropes of

Day two started with a drive north from

Over the next hour, the four of us continued

Florida fishing. Against better judgement I held

Clearwater to a boat ramp located near Weeki

to drill dry wells and at the same time became

back my enthusiasm to get out on the waters of

Wachee Gardens. Continuing our string of

aware of a biting insect problem that was

Tampa Bay and waited for them to arrive.

success, we get to the ramp and find it closed

getting worse. Later I would find out the name of

After the normal introductions with Reid and

for repair. Reid and I and friends decide to

these lovely creatures is No See Ums. Come to

Ron reliving some great stories of shooting pigs

drive back south and we find another boat

find out, even though you can barely see them,

in the field behind their house, we were ready to

ramp where we can launch. Luckily the low tide

these guys pack a wallop.

roll. Of course I was ready two hours ago and

allows us to pass under a wooden bridge and

in our collective wisdom it was decided that I

head out into the gulf.

would fish alone on our Xtreme and Reid, Ron

On this part of Florida’s west coast there

Seeking relief we began to tear the boat apart looking for insect repellant. Not hard to guess; no repellant was found. At this point

and Ryan would fish on Ryan’s boat. Great,

are no real bays, the creeks and marshes

the insects overrode my heat index and on

two hours wasted and it is already late in the

flow right into the Gulf of Mexico. Within 40

went the Frogg Toggs, hood up. Reid quickly

afternoon. Well, after leaving the Gandy Bridge,

minutes we’re at our first spot. That would be

followed and we left our friends to the No See

I spent the last couple of hours in Cockroach

30 minutes to go back to the closed ramp to

Um wolves.

Bay with no redfish but plenty of snook. Ok

retrieve Ron’s sunglasses that fell of his face

— day one down, but tomorrow would be

without him knowing, and 10 minutes to get to

better with a fresh start focusing on duping

You can only be a good host for so long.

At least psychologically I felt better, if for no reason other than I could watch Ron and Ryan suffer the nasty little bugger’s incessant biting. Devoting all his time to flailing at the unseen enemy, Ron had finally suffered enough blood loss. The front of the boat was suddenly overcome with the smell of rusty bolts. Ron had found the WD-40 and was convinced it would

Tiny pest that packs a wallop — Florida's No See Um. Another redfish landed while prefishing Clearwater Redfish Cup.

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WD40 is great for lots of things; repelling insects isn't one of them.

repel bugs.

We were now dealing with a middle-aged man with a perfectly straight face, lathered in WD-40, proclaiming, “I think it’s working.”

Ron’s joy was short-lived. As the bugs chewed away they also stuck.

Being full of blood and oil-soaked they

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tournament tr ails

could no longer fly. Ron continued to collect friends and soon took on the appearance of a Hungarian poppy seed roll.

Ron and Ryan stuck it out and continued

Our first Redfish Cup weigh in.

to fish. Later in the day with the sun at full strength Ron decided to take his shirt off and expose us to his porcelain white skin

and the motor fired. Five minutes later it died

which is now beautifully juxtaposed against

again. The motor cut off three more times

his tanned arms and neck all glistening with

and finally would not start. I suspected the

WD-40 and flecked with poppy seeds. Good

fuel filter was clogged. I took it apart and re-

thing I had my Smith Optics sunglasses to

assembled the housing without the element

shield the glare. Ready to bake, Ron heads

and it ran like a champ.

to the platform off the back of the leaning post, six feet above the deck.

Within minutes he decided to step back to the leaning post. His well-oiled foot slipped and sent him into a spectacular

On arrival we were greeted with, “You’re 15 minutes late!”

I didn’t care. We bagged our fish and took them to the stage for weighing.

Later, and to our considerable surprise,

belly flop, landing on the gunwale. He lay

we were actually listed in the standings.

motionless for what seemed an eternity

Yep, we were dead last with -7.0 lbs… eight

and then slowly rolled into the water. The

pounds of redfish and fifteen pounds of

only thing that could replicate the sound

penalty… one pound for every minute we

would have been dropping a thawed turkey.

were late. There we were, entry fee and

The only difference being that Ron left a

the cost of travel invested, prefishing days

rainbow sheen on the water. Luckily, Ron

wasted, -7.0 pounds on the board, and

was retrieved no worse for wear and within

day two looming. Not a great way to start

minutes was ready to go back fishing, but not

the year.

on the platform. We ended the day finding a few 24-26” fish in one of the creeks.

We caught our two fish the next day and headed back to Texas with fond memories

Ron and Ryan left on the third day and

of WD-40, thawed turkey, negative stringers,

the rest of our prefishing produced nothing

fuel filters, and poppy seed-covered friends.

better than what we found on day two, so the

A wasted trip? No way, thoughts of that trip

area with the WD-40 slick was the choice for

still bring a smile to my face and make me

tournament day. It turned out that about five

thankful I have the opportunity to partake in

or six other teams had picked it too.

this great sport.

Day one of the tournament Reid and I nowhere close to the 27” limit. We had an hour ride to the weigh-in and decided we could afford a few minutes to upgrade our fish from a spot where we’d caught an oversized red earlier in the day. Well, 15 minutes later and no fish meant we were headed to the dock. Thirty minutes into our run the motor began losing RPM and

contact

caught two fish early, although they were

suddenly died. We squeezed the primer bulb 44

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B o B B y B y r d & c a p t. J o h n c o c h r a n e

Blue marlin fishing is one of the greatest sports on earth — at least to some of us. We spend a lot of time thinking about

no way one hook could be better than two. You have twice as many chances,

moves, hitting the fish in the side of the jaw.

right? Well, we now believe the answer is

When a marlin grabs this type of lure, a lot of

these fish and we’re always trying to improve

“Wrong”. You may have two chances, but

drag is needed to make the hookset move in

our fishing methods. Trolling for these big

they are not the right ones. While struggling to

its mouth and set the hook. We use a short

game fish with artificial lures is one of the most

improve our hook-up ratio, we decided to try

tag line and hit the fish with heavy drag on the

popular techniques used by today’s bluewater

using single hook rigs. Not only did we increase

strike, while the least amount of line is out, so

fishermen. Using this method is a way to cover

our hook-up ratio, our lures pulled much better

stretch is minimized. The procedure begins with

a lot of water when searching for a predator that

and looked more lively. The single hook rig

the reel set with heavy drag at 25 to 35 pounds

lives in the open ocean. Covering more area or

allowed the fish to grab the bait without biting

for the strike, depending on your line test. The

“ground” can definitely be an advantage over

down on top of the front hook of the double

fish grabs the lure, breaking a small #33 rubber

other fishing techniques, when the fish are not

rig. The front hook was apparently getting in

band in the tag line and turns to swim away.

concentrated in one place. The higher trolling

the way and it probably feels very unnatural to

Suddenly, the line comes tight and the fish is

speed allows more area to be covered in less

the marlin. We know that there is not much of

hit with the heavy strike drag, which moves the

time and can also trigger a chase response

anything “natural” about a lure, but the forward

lure and sets the hook. A minimum amount of

from the marlin.

hook seemed to interfere with a clean bite.

line is out, which reduces stretch and optimizes

We grew up fishing for blue marlin in the Gulf of Mexico, before the first deepwater

The single hook works when the fish grabs the lure, the line comes tight and the hook

the hook setting ability. After the fish pulls sufficient drag to set the hook (approximately

oil platforms were built. Initially, all of our

10 seconds), the drag is backed off to around

fishing was done with natural dead bait, but

5-10 pounds while the harness is attached to

we gradually started trying lures when they

the angler. Then, the drag is increased only as

became popular in the 70s. It was a struggle to leave those plastic things out there with no meat on them and most of the time they didn’t stay out more than an hour or so before we put bait back on. But, with a little patience, we kept dragging them and started to catch some fish.

As our confidence level increased, we began using lures more and more until we used them most of the time.

Big Game lures have transformed through the years with different shapes, materials, skirts and colors. But the basic idea has stayed pretty much the same. Fishermen trying to improve their catch ratio have utilized many different hook sizes, styles and arrangements and we’ve tried all of them. For many years we only used hooksets featuring two hooks. There was just 46

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side to see directly forward, so the easier you

more drag than is needed to catch the fish in a

make it for him to grab your lure, the better

timely manner. Like all lure hookups, you are

chance you will have of a successful hookup.

basically “snagging” the blue in the mouth as

You can use the wild running lures as teasers to

he attempts to eat the lure. It is a rare lure that

attract fish into your pattern.

actually gets swallowed like a bait, and all lures

The next time you get ready for some

suffer from this “snag” effect. Because the hook

bluewater trolling, try rigging some of your lures

location is not very deep, many pulled hooks

with single hooks. We think you will like what

are caused by ripping the hook out of the

you see and catch more fish. If you want to find

fish. It is especially important to back the drag

out more about lure rigging or big game fishing

off and keep it very light while fighting small

in Texas, visit us at Tops-n-Towers or come

blue marlin, white marlin or sailfish to avoid this

by our booth at the Texas international Boat

scenario. When leadering a fish, always try to

Show, april 24-27th. This time of year many

see how it is hooked before you pull too hard.

boat owners decide to sell their boat and move

One other advantage single hook rigs have is

up to a bigger one while there is still time before

they are much easier to remove safely when

the fishing season starts. Byrd & Cochrane is

releasing a billfish.

an authorized broker for Fox Yacht Sales who

When choosing lures, pick heads with

will also be in the show representing CaBO

stable characteristics. You’ve heard of

and Riviera Yachts. Come by the Fox Yacht

“straight runners” these are lures that run

Sales booth and check out a popular CaBO or

straight, with very little side to side motion and

a stylish Riviera, which is built in Australia.

slowly “pop and smoke” in the lure pattern.

Fox also has an extensive inventory of

These type lures with a short tapered lure

brokerage boats as well and will be displaying

head deliver a better hookup ratio. Straight

several pre-owned models. We specialize in

running lures are much easier for a blue marlin

sportfishing boats and motor yachts. Come

to approach and strike than a lure with too

by and get a great deal on your next boat. For

much action that is running wildly. The original

more information call our Houston sales office

“Konahead” with a scooped out face was very

at 281-291-0656 or the Port Aransas office

popular in its day and raised a lot of fish, but

at 361-749-4870 or check out our website

because of its radical action it had an extremely

at www.foxyachtsales.com

poor hookup ratio. A marlin’s eyes are on the

or www.byrd-cochrane.com

side of his head and he must move from side to 48

April 2008

Texas Saltwater Fishing

contact

Jou r na l Blu e wat e r

much as is needed to regain line. Don’t use any

Born in Galveston, graduate of Texas A&M, Capt. John grew up fishing and diving the Gulf of Mexico. A professional captain for over 25 years, he runs a 46’ sportfishing boat out of Freeport, Texas. Capt.

John is also partners with Bobby in Byrd & Cochrane, specializing in yacht brokerage and sportfishing consulting. For more information go to www.byrd-cochrane.com or contact John at captjohn@ foxyachtsales.com.

A native Texan, Bobby Byrd began fishing at the young age of eight, when he was a deck hand on his Dad’s boat. He fished with his father in the Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas and Mexico for many years of his life. In 1995, Bobby combined his love of the water and boating into a business when he opened Tops-N-Towers, a custom aluminum fabrication business in Seabrook, Texas. For more information you can contact Bobby at www.topsntowers.com.

Contact Byrd & Cochrane 281-291-0656 Tops-N-Towers 281-474-4000 Websites www.byrd-cochrane.com www.topsntowers.com www.foxyachtsales.com www.stingercustomlures.com www.TSFMAG.com

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CCA Texas Helps Complete Shrimp License Buyback Program Additional $50,000 makes CCA Texas largest single contributor to landmark conservation program from CCA Texas

Tough weather cleanup yields 1300 crab traps Story and photos from Everett and Pam Johnson

Art Morris- Fishery Outreach Specialist with Texas Parks and Wildlife, reports the 7th Annual Abandoned Crab Trap Removal conducted February 15-24, 2008 resulted in 1300 lost or abandoned crab traps being removed from Texas

In a continuing effort to reduce the harmful impact of shrimp trawls in Texas

bays. The volunteer force included 63 conservation-minded individuals

coastal waters, Coastal Conservation Association Texas (CCA Texas) has

wardens, and Brazoria and Anahuac Wildlife Refuge personnel. Art also

made an additional $50,000 commitment to the Texas Parks and Wildlife

expressed gratitude for donation of drinking water and rubber work gloves

Department (TPWD) bay and bait shrimp license buyback program. This

that was organized by Ronnie Luster and CCA Texas. Art also gave credit

contribution will help fund the final rounds of this program and will bring

for plastic tarps from the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Foundation to

CCA Texas’ giving total to $275,000.

protect volunteer’s boats.

manning 25 vessels as well as staff from Coastal Fisheries, TPWD game

“Reducing the harmful impacts of shrimping is one of the most important things we can do for the conservation of Texas’ bays and estuaries,” said Mark Ray, Chairman of CCA Texas. “CCA Texas’ historic

This load of 57 traps came into Charlie’s Bait Camp near Seadrift on Feb 16, 2008.

involvement in this program is a vital part of conserving our fragile bays and estuaries.”

Since its inception in 1995, the Texas shrimp license buyback program has been a success, helping to decrease inshore shrimping effort by as much as 48 percent with a reduction in bycatch estimated to be as much as 40 percent. It is widely held that to produce one pound of marketable shrimp a shrimp trawl will create as much as six pounds of bycatch while also often causing significant degradation to coastal bay habitat.

“The positive results from this program are clearly evident throughout the bay ecosystem. The reduction in shrimping effort has helped build the forage base, protected bay habitat, conserved gamefish species

Morris also reports, “The number of traps removed over the seven

and even helped the economics of bay shrimping,” said Robin Riechers,

campaigns that began in 2002 now stands at 24,046. Weather forecasts

TPWD Coastal Fisheries Director of Science and Policy. “Clearly, this

for Saturday, February 16 no doubt hampered this year’s event. Volunteer

program is working.”

counts are under-reported and some participants waited for better weather

The Texas buyback program offers the opportunity for participants in

that came later in the closure period. We have no way of accounting

the shrimping industry to sell their bay and bait licenses. To date, there

accurately for all the effort that was volunteered, but all who pitched in to

have been 20 rounds of license buybacks with thousands of licenses

assist in this effort are to be commended.”

retired. CCA Texas’ recent donation is a vital step in the continued

Ronnie Luster, widely recognized as Mr. Crab Trap Cleanup for his effort in securing the annual 10-day closure of the Texas crab fishery and

success of the program.

“Because of the continued support and leadership of the CCA we have been able to accelerate the inshore shrimp license buyback”, stated Larry McKinney, Director of Coastal Fisheries, “ this most recent contribution will help us bring this program to a successful close much sooner that we ever thought possible.”

“It is important to remember that shrimp trawl bycatch is made up of everything from vital forage fish to juvenile game species,” said Robby Byers, CCA Texas Executive Director. “Millions of pounds of bycatch are removed from Texas bays each year by shrimping efforts. By reducing the number of working licenses, the cumulative bycatch poundage and habitat destruction will continue to decrease, resulting in healthier and more productive ecosystems.”

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…Cont’d on page 55

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…Cont’d from page 50

Tough weather cleanup yields 1300 crab traps

the Abandoned Crab Trap Removal Program, produced what may have been the most notable find this year. Ronnie and sons, Ron Jr. and Preston, pulled a trap from San Antonio Bay that held a diamondback terrapin.

Unfortunately, the terrapin had drowned and could not be released. Many volunteers reported finding a host of crabs and various species of finfish and other marine organisms that had found their way into the lost or abandoned gear. “Ghost trapping” as it is called continues as organisms held by the traps act as bait for others and the cycle repeats itself as long as the traps remain in the water.

Several local chapters of CCA Texas pitched in again. The photo below shows Mid-Coast Chapter President, Hector Mendietta and his crew from Victoria unloading the traps they collected at Charlie’s Bait Camp near Seadrift.

Art Morris provided a bay-by-bay rundown of the 2008 removal program, and I want to say “Many Thanks,” to all the hardworking volunteers and fine organizations that support this effort. We’ll be looking for you next year and I know we’re all praying for better weather.

Feb. 15-24, 2008 # traps # volunteers # vessels Sabine Lake 60 0 0 Galveston Bay 476 20 11 Matagorda Bay 50 1 1 San Antonio Bay 561 33 11 Aransas Bay 93 3 2 Corpus Christi 33 6 0 Bay Upper Laguna 1 unknown unknown Lower Laguna 26 unknown unknown Totals 1300 63 25 www.TSFMAG.com

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Field Notes

The Coastal Fisheries Division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department operates

marine organisms to answer questions that the

are designed to answer questions about the

Division’s long-term monitoring programs aren’t

amount of genetic variation within a species,

designed to study. Specialized information on

how that variation is partitioned by location

fish life history and genetics is often needed

or time, and if hybridization or inbreeding is

a research facility located midway on the Texas

to make appropriate fisheries management

occurring. Genetic variation studies can help

Coast at Palacios. The office is known as the

decisions, and the PRB staff is often tasked

with understanding stock structure, or how a

Perry R. Bass Marine Fisheries Research

with providing that information.

species or population is organized genetically.

Station in honor of the Parks and Wildlife

The Life History group at PRB studies age

For example, you may have multiple stocks

Chairman Emeritus and longtime benefactor,

and growth and reproductive biology of marine

sharing the same feeding areas; but each

Perry Bass. There are currently four biologists

fish; and participates in special studies with

group may use different spawning areas,

and three technicians at the station that

other Coastal Fisheries biologists. Information

making them genetically different groups. It is

conduct life history and genetic research on

on fish size at age, spawning habits, relative

also important to understand how genetically

and total fecundity, and

diverse organisms are; genetic diversity reflects

age at reproductive

the capacity of a species to adapt and cope

maturity is determined at

with changing conditions. Maintaining genetic

the station.

diversity is important because without sufficient

Projects investigating

genetic variation a species may not be able to

the distribution of a

adapt to changing conditions and may cease

species or life stage,

to exist. Species of concern such as Atlantic

such as juvenile tarpon

salmon or yellow grouper often exhibit low

or gravid spotted

genetic diversity while other, more abundant,

seatrout, are also

species like striped mullet and Gulf menhaden

conducted by PRB

exhibit high levels of variation.

staff. The information

PRB staff typically base research projects

generated through

on samples and specimens that are collected

these studies can help

from the eight bay systems along the Texas

answer management

coast. Coastal Fisheries management staff

questions and allows

located at field stations in each of the eight

the TPWD to make

bay systems along the coast collect the

appropriate fisheries

samples during the course of their routine

management decisions.

monitoring activities. Fish otoliths, which are a

The PRB Genetics

bony structure in the skull, and whole fish are

staff investigates

collected for life history studies; while pieces

genetic variation and

of fin tissue are collected and preserved for

stock structure and

genetic studies. Samples are delivered to

relatedness of a marine

PRB where they are catalogued and stored

population or species.

until sufficient numbers are collected to allow

The different genetic

efficient processing.

analyses conducted

Fish otoliths are embedded in epoxy resin

Illustration of genetic populations.

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and thin-sectioned to reveal internal rings which are counted, much like rings in a tree, to determine age of the individual. A metallurgical saw is used to make the thin sections which are approximately 0.35 mm or 0.015

High Speed otolith saw.

inches thick. The Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) recently purchased and donated a state-of-the-art metallurgical saw to the research

t p w d

f i e l d

not es

station, which reduced the time required to section an otolith to 20-30 seconds.

The otolith section is processed using a computerized image analysis system which takes measurements from the center of the otolith to each age ring, or annuli; and to the otolith margin. These measurements are analyzed using an age assignment computer program which calculates age of individual fish based on the date of capture, number of annuli, the marginal increment and the seasonality of spawning and annulus formation for the particular species. Age data is used to calculate growth curves and age-length keys, assign fish to appropriate age classes, and is combined with reproductive data to determine age at maturity.

Genetic sample Otolith section showing internal structures.

processing starts with DNA isolation. A piece of preserved fin tissue is placed in a tube with some chemicals, incubated overnight, more chemicals are added and the mixture is centrifuged to concentrate the DNA. A PCR (polymerase chain reaction) machine is used to make copies of the DNA fragments

that will be analyzed. The amplified DNA fragments are labeled for either genotyping (DNA fingerprinting) or sequencing and are processed using a DNA sequencer. Several different sequences are examined for existing genetic differences; hopefully informative fragments are located without having to survey too many fragments. Sequencer data are then analyzed using different programs, some of which examine genetic relatedness, while others group samples by criteria such as age class or location.

The primary application of genetic analysis for Coastal Fisheries has been the examination of population structure. Most species studied have exhibited population structure that can be described as isolation by distance. This means that as the geographic distance between areas where samples are collected increases, so does the genetic difference between fish. Like results from the life history studies, genetic study results are used to enhance the information available for managing marine resources in Texas.

The PRB Fisheries Research Station is an integral component of the multifaceted ecosystem based fisheries management approach employed by Coastal Fisheries Division.

Look for life history and genetics studies results in a future article.

58

April 2008

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k a y a k

f i s h i n g

c a p t. s c o t t n u l l

saturday, feBruary 23rd dawned cold, overcast, and a Bit windy.

I arrived shortly after daylight to find an assortment

Not exactly the kind of day

of vehicles,

you want to spend at the

tents and

beach. But this wasn’t meant to be a day for

motor homes

working on a tan. I was driving over to Sea

lined up

Rim State Park to meet up with a hearty bunch

above the

of kayakers and surf fishermen to celebrate

high tide line.

the unofficial start of the surf fishing season.

There were a

And to raise some money for the American

few surf rods

Cancer Society while we were at it.

set out and

Drum Run 2008 is an annual event that

a couple people wandering around in need of

record the action. Yes, I left my rods in the

has been hosted for the last few years by T.J.

some strong coffee. Apparently I had missed

truck. I needed some photos and I know if I

Pilgrim and his wife Karen. Many of you know

a pretty good party the prior evening. Between

bring a rod I’ll never pick up the camera.

T.J. from several of the local fishing forums

that and the weather nobody was in a huge

where he goes by the handle of “Jolly Roger”.

hurry to launch into the chilly gulf surf. In time,

anchored and drifting a couple hundred yards

This event is not a tournament or competition,

more folks started poking their heads out of

or so beyond the breakers to find that I had

but rather a chance for a bunch of fishermen

their sleeping quarters like groundhogs looking

missed the first fish. Ty Howard had already

to get together and have a good time while

for their shadows. And eventually a few even

caught and released a nice bull red. I settled

hopefully intersecting with the start of the

started rigging their kayaks and readying their

in and watched. Not much was happening

annual drum run. This year around a hundred

gear in hopes the weather would warm up

and one by one the players headed to shore.

fishermen and women of all ages showed up

a bit.

It seems that slow fishing and the lure of

and took over a half mile section of the upper

Meanwhile, T.J. and Karen showed up

I arrived among the flotilla of ten kayaks

boiled crawfish were combining to thin the

coastal beach front with some driving from as

with 162 pounds of live crawfish along with

ranks down to a handful of determined

far away as Dallas and the Hillcountry.

sacks of potatoes and plenty of corn on the

anglers. I wandered around the group for

cob. Terence Boxie fired up his cooker and the

a while snapping a few photos of the guys

smell of Cajun spices filled the air. But right

and their rigs. About the time I was thinking

about the time it was looking like kayak fishing

the folks who had headed in might have had

was being put on the back burner, the clouds

the right idea I heard the clicker on Steve

broke and the sun shined through. Within a

Robinson’s reel. I paddled a little closer and

few minutes kayaks were steadily launching

got the camera ready just about the time he

through the surf. I reluctantly left the boiling

set the hook. It was obvious that this wasn’t

bugs and headed out with camera in hand to

a lumbering black drum as the fish took off

the solunar chart was dead on with the start of a predicted peak feeding time as the next twenty or thirty minutes about wore me out.

Gene Titus with a fat red.

Miles Buescher with a nice bull.

60

April 2008

Steve’s first bull red of 2008.

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pfds and kayak safety A recent incident in Port Aransas should serve as a harsh reminder to all of us who venture forth whether in a kayak or power boat. Mother Nature provides us many rewards in our outdoor pursuits, but she can also be unforgiving at times. On February 17th two young men ventured out before dawn paddling into the cold and treacherous waters surrounding the Port Aransas jetties. It has been reported that this was their first attempt at kayak fishing. They apparently had PFDs on board, but neither man was wearing this vital piece of safety equipment.

The result was a preventable tragedy.

Within minutes of launching the men realized that the water was too rough. They attempted to turn back but were overcome and capsized by the waves. One man was able to make it back to shore, the other was last heard yelling for help. His body was recovered ten days later on the beach of Padre Island National Seashore some 20 miles away.

Nineteen year old Stephen Stafford of Dripping Springs was by all accounts a physically fit and very capable young man, but he was no match for the strong currents and cold water. Several mistakes in judgment were made in this situation, but more than likely would’ve only led to a life-lesson had he been wearing his PFD. According to USCG reports, over 80% of boating deaths could have been prevented had the victim been wearing a PFD. Please think about that before you head out on your next trip.

62

April 2008

Mud bugs looking ready.

Tasha the Surf Dawg.

pulling drag. After a bit of give and take Steve

“Fish On!” By the time I sprinted back to his

hefted a huge bull red into his lap, his first for

side of the Gulf I had worked up a pretty solid

2008. A few quick photos and the red swam

appetite, so the paddling paparazzi headed to

away to fight another day.

shore. And it was a good thing too because

The Solunar Chart was dead on with the

I arrived at the kitchen just in time to get a

start of a predicted peak feeding time as

big flat of the last batch of bugs. There’s no

the next twenty or thirty minutes about wore

restaurant around that can match the meal

me out. The few anglers still fishing were

I had sitting out there on the sand. Kudos

scattered out over a couple hundred yards

to Terence.

and everyone was getting runs. With every

The rest of the afternoon was spent

“Fish On!” or shrill whistle I paddled like mad

hanging out on the beach with a bunch

to get some action shots. Miles Buescher

of good people talking about fishing. The

and his dad Mark had a bit of a circus going

kids were running around, surf rods were

on when I got to them. Miles had a big fish

being tended, and Tasha the surf dog was

running all around their yaks while Mark

overseeing it all. It really doesn’t get much

was trying to clear lines and keep the fish

better than that.

from running around his anchor rope. After

If you’d like to try your hand at fishing

a few tense moments and much laughter

“beyond the breakers” I’d suggest

Miles hoisted a fat bull red into his kayak for

taking a look at the “BTB” forum on

a photo session.

Texaskayakfisherman.com. T.J. and the rest

Gene Titus had driven all the way from

of this gang are a gregarious group and more

Buda and he wasn’t going to be denied. Of

than willing to help a newbie get started with

course he was the furthest away from my

tackle and equipment selection. And chances

location when he started whistling. I made it

are you’ll get yourself invited to join then on

over there just in time to capture the landing

their next outing.

of yet another big red. Hey guys, I thought this was the “drum run” …as in black drum?

Throughout the day the only fish landed were huge 40” and over bulls, not that anyone was complaining. Gene attended the Texas Kayak Fishing School a while back when Dean and I were teaching it together. While there he told Dean that his goal was to fish offshore from his kayak. Dean told him he was crazy. Well, here he is a couple years later taking care of business.

No sooner had I finished getting Gene’s

contact

f i sh i ng k aya k

Surf rods in a row.

catch recorded and I hear Steve hollering Texas Saltwater Fishing

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63

t o

s c o t t

c a p t. scot t som m e r l at t e

a c c o r d i n g

i am Just now realizing — it has Been a long time since i have climBed up on my soap Box to bring attention to, or

Jacks.

address any issues that we as anglers are facing. I actually have a few good ones that I have been chewing on for quite some time however, I am going to let them wait. Why, you ask? Because it is spring and I so damned glad for it. And, it means good things are just around the corner so, I want to write about my favorite thing — fly fishing.

It goes without saying that spring comes after winter, but it does, and with it comes many changes. For many, spring starts in late March with the Vernal Equinox, however for the fly 64

April 2008

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65

accor di ng to scot t

Fighting something big.

Redfish are always there for the fly fisherman.

moon in May which, incidentally, coincides with

mullet-imitating flies such

more consistent sightings of sharks, large jack

Seaducers and Deceivers.

Time will march on as the earth continues

crevalle and tarpon near shore and, in some cases, in the bays. In fact, it is not uncommon

to tilt and the calendar moves closer to the

to find large jacks working a flat in singles and

Equinox. Anglers will see the redfish slowly

pairs (occasionally tailing) for large blue crabs

fisherman, spring starts when the redfish begin

move into and remain in the shallows. Here

in April. These fish make easy targets for the fly

to root the bottom looking for the grass shrimp

they will feed on small mullet and pinfish and

angler and are usually the first opportunities to

that have started hatching and the big trout

then begin to break up into small pods and tail

hook into something big and strong.

move to the shallows. Some years this happens

as they root the once dormant grass beds in

as early as the beginning of February and other

search of small blue crabs and the many small

throttle for the Texas fly-caster. There are

years, as late as early April.

grass shrimp that are beginning to hatch in

so many options it borders on unreal. For

During this transition, anglers must be

Once into the heat of May, it is full-

the new growths of shoal and widgeon grass.

those willing to break from the everyday

flexible as early spring fishing varies little from

When this occurs it is a good time to pay

routine the possibilities are limitless. Redfish,

winter fishing except for the fact that sight-

particularly close attention to the stingrays in

trout, flounder, sheepshead, drum, Spanish

casting will become the norm rather than the

the shallows. Small pods of redfish and even

mackerel, little tunny, jack crevalle, tarpon and

exception (as is the case during the middle

large trout can be found closely following the

the list goes on and on.

of winter). However, blind-casting will still be

rays waiting for them to spook up an easy

a big part of spring fishing, especially when

meal. This is also the time to start paying closer

searching the potholes for trophy trout.

attention to the tides and currents as finding

the bigger trout will get spring fever and begin to think about making babies. The best time

behind and let Spring Fever set in.

warmer water temperatures becomes less and less of a factor in finding feeding fish.

Once spring is full swing and we have found

to target these trophy fish varies from year

our way into the month of April, the wind will

to year however, anglers willing to vary their

blow (hard) as the prevailing southeasterly

tactics and specifically target the sows stand

winds return and normal to high water levels

a good chance of hooking a trophy from early

will cover the flats. This will be the time to

February well into April. Methods range from

look for fish working under birds as the brown

slowly wading or poling a skiff in the extreme

shrimp fill the bays and start their migration to

shallows in search of a visible target, to blind-

the Gulf to complete their life cycle. This event

casting the potholes of a grass flat or muddy

is typically complete with the arrival of the full

April 2008

For me, it is time to put the dreary winter

Texas Saltwater Fishing

contact

As the days lengthen and the water warms,

66

bayside cove with large,

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67

a a ro n c i s n e ro s

Author and his friends getting ready to kayak the Old Arroyo.

not too long ago i celeBrated my sixteenth Birthday on the water.

they had never seen before. After settling in

laughing moments occurred when my friend

we gathered our fishing rods and headed to

Shane, the most inexperienced fishermen of the

the pier for some night fishing. We ended with

bunch, caught a catfish. He didn’t know what it

In the past I have celebrated my birthday with

zero bites, but still it was fun especially teaching

was until we told him. We also told him not to

a special lunch or dinner with my family. This

some of my friends how to cast.

handle it because it could poke him and inflict

year I wanted something different so I asked

pain. His naive but funny remark was, “What

my parents if I could spend my birthday fishing

excited about our kayak journey down the Old

do they poke you with, their whiskers?” We all

with some of my closest friends. Both of my

Arroyo. Before we paddled off, I took the time to

burst out in laughter and paddled next to him

parents agreed, and the excitement began to

teach my friends how to maneuver a kayak and

to help remove the fish from the hook. After

build. I would be spending the entire weekend

give them other basic instructions. We all made

poking fun at him for being so green about fish

with three of my friends. We got the opportunity

sure we wore a life jacket before we launched.

and fishing, he probably would have been better

to stay in a home right on the Arroyo Colorado.

By seven-thirty we were well on our way on a

off getting poked by the catfish rather than us

The house had a pier that was equipped with

kayak trip that brought us more laughter than

poking fun at him. On we went further into the

fishing lights and all the necessities to make it a

we ever could imagine.

old river, the paddle was easy and it seemed

comfortable stay.

The weekend actually started with a trip

My three friends Luis, Sharam,

to the grocery store to get all the supplies for

and Shane had

four hungry teenagers. My friends all met at

little or no fishing

my home on Friday evening and we gathered

experience.

all the equipment needed: sleeping bags,

Entering the Old

kayaks, fishing rods and reels, lures, and

Arroyo we split

other equipment.

into two groups

On our way to Arroyo City I could tell it was

68

The next morning we got up bright and early

covering both

going to be a fun weekend because everyone

shorelines. Each

was having a great time laughing as we shared

of my friends

fishing stories from the past. Arriving at the

was rigged with

home for the weekend we unloaded all the

popping corks

food, and gear. I knew that my friends would be

and dead shrimp;

impressed with all the exotic game mounted on

I decided to throw

the walls. I was right; they stood in awe staring

a topwater. The

at the animals they were familiar with and some

first of many

April 2008

All the exotics in the room made us feel right at home.

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69

h t u o y

Even a real donkey showed up for the party — I guess he wanted to play Pin-the-Donkey.

We even got a chance to play in the mud.

my three friends were enjoying themselves and so was I.

we all gave a sigh of relief. Tired, hungry, and

river and came across what looked like an old

thirsty we still had one last burst of energy. We

deer camp. By this time we were tired so we all

sang out loud as we paddled endlessly. If the

Shane. He had to go to the restroom so we dug

agreed to take a break before heading back. As

donkey could hear us sing, he probably would

our paddles into the mud and waited on him as

we sat on the bank, I saw a pair of pointed ears

have covered his big ears. Arriving at the dock

he climbed off the kayak and into the bushes.

coming at us. At first I thought it was a coyote. I

we tied up and layed on the dock completely

Seconds later here comes Shane running out

pointed this out to the guys, and they thought it

exhausted, not caring if we’d caught anything

of the bushes with his pants halfway down and

was a horse. We walked towards as it continued

or not. It was now twelve-thirty in the afternoon.

a look of fear in his face. We all looked at each

to approach us. When we got closer, we

Our paddling adventure lasted five hours, but it

other wondering what frightened him. Right

realized that it was a donkey. How appropriate!

didn’t seem that long because of how much fun

behind him was a wild pig that didn’t like anyone

I guess he knew it was my birthday, and he

we had.

near his territory. Shane yelling for fear of his

wanted to play pin the tail on the donkey. Little

life jumped on the kayak and wanted no part

did he know that we were all too old for that?

the evening a big barbeque was prepared for

of a fight or being bitten by a wild pig. All this

We did pet him and sent him on his way.

us. As the night grew old, the thought of my

The next incident again involved my friend

time we are dying with laughter to the point of

Boarding our kayaks and realizing we had

We all slept through most of the day and in

sixteenth birthday celebration coming to an

tipping over our kayaks. It took some time for

a long paddle back against the wind was not

end was soon arriving. We didn’t even get to

our stomachs to settle from all the laughter at

something we wanted to think about. Traveling

fish under the lights on our last night because

Shane’s expense.

about halfway back, two of my friends got

we were so tired. We woke up early the next

really tired so we had to stop and take a break.

morning and began to load all of the stuff into

friend Sharam and me. We were in really

Being that our arms were worn out, we decided

the utility trailer and headed back home.

shallow water when I spotted a big redfish

to walk the kayaks back along the bank. Big

tailing. I threw my topwater near its path and

mistake! We sank in mud to our knees. We

honestly say it was one of the most memorable

gave it a few twitches; the redfish went after it

were better off paddling back even though our

birthdays I have ever had. Spending time and

but missed. I guess it felt our presence and took

arms were tired. At one point I had to tie my

teaching my friends how to kayak and fish

off like a speeding bullet into deeper water. As

friend Shane’s kayak to mine and tow him in.

is something I will remember for a very long

the redfish sped across the mud flat, my friend

As I struggled while paddling and tugging my

time. Even though we didn’t catch anything

Sharam was not expecting what was about to

friend in his kayak, it struck me that this fishing

worthwhile, we really did! We spent time

occur. The big redfish hit the side of his kayak

trip had really nothing to do with fishing. It was

together and built a stronger friendship. Isn’t

and startled him to the point where he almost

about sharing, experiencing, and bonding with

that what fishing is all about?

flipped over. Again, we all started laughing at

my best friends.

Another funny occurrence involved my

the incident. By now I’m thinking what’s next.

70

We continued our trek further into the old

April 2008

Reflecting back to this weekend I can

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last month we left off with fresh gel-coat applied to the spot needing repair, so let’s get Back at it and finish the JoB.

lines from all directions. Sand with long strokes

only be seen in bright, direct sunlight. Had

to avoid creating high and low spots. Wipe the

we sprayed the gel coat you could never see

area clean every so often to make sure you’ve

the difference.

eliminated all sand lines from the previous grit.

As soon as you finish filling the area carefully remove the masking tape leaving putty only in the area intended. If you don’t remove the tape right away the gel coat will harden and the results won’t be pretty.

If you don’t think you have the finesse or After you finish with 1000 grit you’ll need to polish the area with 2000 grit compound.

You may see the outlines of the repair but this is to be expected. As stated, a flawless repair requires spraying gel-cote.

patience for making the repair as we have here, there is another method available. You can simply use an artist brush and dab gel coat in the damaged area. Catalyze the gel coat in a paper cup and dab the gel coat in place with an artist brush. Remember to scuff the area and wipe the area clean with acetone before you apply the gel coat.

If you don’t think you can handle that, bring the boat to us and we’ll make it look brand new!

Let the Gel coat harden for at least one

We will do our best to provide quality

hour before you touch it. A blow drier or heat

solutions for the most common boat related

gun can be used to speed cure time, but too

problems. We would appreciate any input or

much heat will blister the gel coat and shrink

questions about boats so that our articles can

it. Use only as much heat as you can stand on

efficiently help the most people.

your own skin. Once the area is hard enough to sand, carefully wet sand the area with 320

72

grit or higher. Work your way to 1000 grit using

Here, the final image shows the end result

400 and 600. Do not sand with circular motion;

of the repair. We matched the color of the gel

this will leave swirls. Sand the area in straight

coat very closely. The color difference can

April 2008

Texas Saltwater Fishing

fiBertex & supply 6901 pyrenees, corpus christi, tx 78414 office (361) 991-5956 fibertexandsupply@yahoo.com

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73

New Tackle & Gear abu garcia

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The Cardinal 700LX Series Spinning Reel– tough and extremely durable. The 701 LX weighs only 8.1 ounces. Aluminum frame, sideplate and rotor are overbuilt for maximum performance. The line roller is oversized for reliable line spooling and enhanced durability.

High Performance Corrosion Resistant (HPCR) stainless steel bearings and stainless steel

components require only the basics of rinsing maintenance. The Carbon Matrix Drag is waterproof and won’t overheat and fail in the midst of battle. With sizes to tackle all fresh and saltwater spinning reel applications, the Cardinal 700LX Series are spinning reels that take on the load of a baitcaster.

Berkley saltwater gulp the alternative to live Bait

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Part of the co-injected core collection, Blackfin and Permit feature a rubberized composite compound called Hydrolite lining from one temple tip to the other. Ok, so what does that mean, exactly? It’s like having a hypoallergenic, naturally adhesive soft lining where the frame meets your face – so the sunglasses stay in place on your

face and comfortable all day.

The more contemporary eye shape and square wrap frame are designed for the angler that wants to look great while seeing through the water more clearly with Costa’s top-of-the-line polarized lenses.

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the fish are listening!

Any fisherman who has tried live croaker for bait will appreciate Livingston Lures. Ever heard a croaker croak? Cast a Livingston Lure and it begins making the same sound.

Redfish, trout and other gamefish will strike instinctively. Spooky gamefish will not be alarmed by mechanical bead rattles as the sound is produced by Submersible MicroApril 2008

Coast bass bait: calicos, sand, and spotted bay bass will fall victim to the Swimmin Shad. Freshwater anglers too are using the Swimmin Shad while targeting largemouth, walleye, and muskies all over the country.

Available in twelve fish-catching colors, these baits can be re-sealed and kept fresh for the next trip.

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74

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tail and a unique side-to-side kicking motion that triggers reaction bites from all saltwater gamefish. Classic swim-bait design, now sold in trays to maintain perfect tail shape, this new Gulp!

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The new Berkley Saltwater Gulp! 5-inch Swimmin Shad features a high-vibration

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Integrated Circuits. These lipless crankbaits have awesome side to side wiggling action.

They swim like a croaker and sound like one too. Great for catching redfish, trout, flounder, tarpon, snook, striper, and all types of bass. Livingston Lures feature tournament quality construction and Bonus Bleeding Treble Hooks. Great for trolling! experience evolution! www.TSFMAG.com

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luresafety wrap Luresafety Wrap is a foam sheet formed over spring steel that wraps around your rod and lure. The wrap keeps the hooks from tangling during transportation or catching in your clothes when walking by the center console of your boat  Eliminates weights dangling from off shore rods

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No Velcro on the Luresafety Wrap to snag lures  The wrap can be stored on your console grab rail while using your rod.  available in many new colors  Great for both fresh and saltwater 

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Triumph Saltwater rods are as beautiful

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creating advancements in their applications for sportfishing. A pioneer in pheromone attractants, Mustad has launched the next generation with Activate. Fish use sensory receptors to detect pheromones when hunting prey. Both environmentally and ecologically safe, new Activate products utilize exclusive Phero-Tech, a scientific blend of pheromones, fish oils

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The combination of over 2" of insulation in both the body and lid combined with a freezer-quality sealing gasket creates optimal ice retention. The Roto-molded one-piece Just Keep Five

and attractants proven to trigger feeding response. Two-time Bassmaster Classic Champion, Kevin VanDam, says the changes are remarkable. “We’ve been involved from day one, and every move Mustad makes enhances performance and fishability. I believe in it 100%. If I see a fish and have Activate spray on the boat, I’ll catch that fish every time.”

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to look at as they are to fish with jet black blanks, stunning diamond wraps and underwraps on each guide, thoroughly finished with two coats of Flex-Coat® crystal clear thread finish. A Fuji® graphite gimble with EVA cap provides a secure fulcrum for fighting the toughest fish.

And, finally, a 5-year warranty

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casing withstands high-impact and harsh environments. Innovative features include integrated, heavy-duty T-Latches and full length molded-in self-stopping hinges. In addition, incorporated ropehandles, non-slip/non-marking feet, and recessed leak-proof drain plugs are also Yeti original designs. The Yeti Tundra delivers the long-term thermal performance you Texas Saltwater Fishing

512-394-9384

need while withstanding the rigors of your outdoor activities.

Other Features: Lockable, Dry-Goods Rack, Integrated Tie-Down Capability, Marine Quality Hardware, Dry Ice Compatible, Food Grade Materials Available in eight different sizes: 35, 45, 65, 85, 120, 155, 250, and 420 quarts.

April 2008

75

Reader It's easy and you might Dear TSFMag Readers, We want to know more about you and how we might serve you better. Please

14. Preferred fishing method: (Check all that apply.) r Wade

clip this page and complete our reader survey. We will draw three lucky

r Boat r Kayak r Poled skiff

winners from the surveys returned to receive a $100 merchandise certificate

15. Most of my trips are to: (Check all that apply.) r Upper coast

redeemable with any advertiser in our magazine for goods or services they provide. Photo copies of this page will be accepted. On-line readers may

bays r Middle coast bays r Lower coast bays r Surf r Offshore

participate at www.TSFmag.com

16. My favorite fishing style: r Natural bait r Lures r Lures

Thanks for participating and good fishing!

and bait r Fly-fishing only r Some fly-fishing

Everett Johnson – Editor and Publisher

17. When fishing for speckled trout, I usually: r Keep a limit

Mail to: Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine,

when I can r Keep some for dinner r Release big ones r Release all

PO Box 429 – Seadrift, TX 77983.

18. Your opinion of Texas’ speckled trout bag limits (north 1. Age: r Under 20 r 20-30 r 30-40 r 40-50 r 50-60

of Lower Laguna Madre): (Check all that apply.) r Leave it alone

r 60-70 r Over 70

r I’m all for reducing the limit if TPWD’s data said we could catch bigger fish.

2. Gender & marital status: r Male r Female

19. Your opinion of the Texas 15” minimum length

r Married r Single

regulation for speckled trout: r Increase it to 16”

3. Education: r High School r Some college r College

r Increase it to 17” r Leave it alone.

r Studied beyond four year degree.

20. Marine resource conservation organizations

4. Household income: r Less than $40K r $40-$60K r $60-$80K

or political action groups of which I am a member

r $80-$100K r $100-$150K r $150-$200K r More than $200K 5.Boats in household: r None r One r Two r Three r More than three

21. Do you participate in the CCA Texas S.T.A.R. Tournament?

6. Years fished saltwater in Texas: r Less than 5 r 5-10

r Yes r No If no, why not?

r 10-20 r 20-30 r 30-40 r More than 40

22. How did you receive this magazine: r Hard copy newsstand

7. How many days did you fish last year? r Less than 10

r Hard copy subscription r E-mag on-line r Freebie?

r 10-20 r 20-30 r 30-50 r 50-70 r 70-100 r more than 100

23. How long have you been reading TSFmag?

8. How many days do you think you will fish this year?

r Less than 1 year r 1-2 years r 2-4 years r 4-6 years, longer.

r More days r Fewer days r Probably the same number as last year.

24. How many fishing magazines do you purchase or

9. Other members of household that fish saltwater:

receive monthly? r Only this one r Two r Three

r One r Two r Three r More

r Four r More

10. How has price of fuel affected your fishing plans:

25. How do you rate this magazine? r Favorite r Good

r Not at all r Somewhat r Quite a bit.

r Average r Don’t like it.

11. Favorite source of tackle and gear: r Tackle store

26. Who are your favorite writers in TSFmag?

r Outdoor store r Department store r Mail order r Internet 12.Tackle and gear purchases last year: r Less than $200 r $200-$400 r $400-$600 r $600-$1000 r $1000-$2000 r More

27. What are your favorite articles and/or sections of this

13. i fish mostly: r Inshore r Offshore r Inshore and offshore

magazine?

76

April 2008

Texas Saltwater Fishing

www.TSFMAG.com

Just Keep Five

survey win a

$100.00 prize!

there are proBaBly as many ways to rig a shrimp as there are fish that will eat one. The method we’re demonstrating here includes a rattling cork and a circle hook. Any popping cork will work but the rattling style seems a favorite now days. It is a proven fact that the combination of rattling and chugging sounds that can be created with this cork will entice fish to feed, even when they are not in the mood.

Start with a small barrel swivel tied to 30 inches of 20-lb monofilament and attach a 2/0 or 3/0 circle hook at the opposite end. A loop knot is a good

28. WHaT aRE YOuR lEaST FavORiTE THingS aBOuT THiS

choice. A removable split shot weight is placed 6 inches above the hook. To

MagazinE?

attach the cork, wrap the leader three times around the top peg and snap it into the locking tab. Next, run the leader through the groove in the

29. DO YOu FiSH WiTH guiDES? r Yes r No

cork body and repeat the wrap

30. HOW ManY guiDED DaYS pER YEaR? r 1-3 r 4-6

and snap at the bottom. Fishing

r 6-10 r More

depth can be adjusted with longer

31. YOuR gEnERal OpiniOn OF SalTWaTER FiSHing guiDES: r I like them and hope to see more r We have too many r No opinion

leaders and cork placement.

Keys and advantages: The barrel swivel helps reduce line twist. The weight keeps the

32. WOulD YOu likE TO SEE HunTing COnTEnT in THiS

shrimp below the surface away

MagazinE? r Yes r No

from pesky birds and closer to approaching fish. The circle hook

33. WHaT iS YOuR OpiniOn OF SalTWaTER FiSHing

greatly reduces injury to fish as

TOuRnaMEnTS? r Good r Bad r No opinion

compared with trebles, especially

34. HOW DO YOu FEEl aBOuT C&R TOuRnaMEnTS? r Good

small fish and others you want to release. When the cork goes

r Bad r No opinion

under, simply begin reeling and let the circle hook do its job… no

35. gEnERal COMMEnTS, iDEaS, OpiniOnS, YOuR TuRn TO

need to set it! The hook usually

SpEak up:

ends up in the corner of their mouth for a solid hook-up and easy removal. Pop the cork sharply and then let it rest for a few seconds on a tight line.

Try braided line, you’ll love the distinct chugging sound that no-stretch line can deliver… you’ll get more bites and catch more fish!

(If additional room is needed please attach a sheet of paper to this survey.)

r EnTER ME in THE TExaS SalTWaTER FiSHing MagazinE REaDER SuRvEY aWaRDS DRaWing.

Name: Address: City: State:

Zip:

Telephone: Email (optional): www.TSFMAG.com

Just Keep Five

Texas Saltwater Fishing

April 2008

77

this month’s installment of “fishing products that pass the test” features a pair of

wanted. Naturally, we couldn’t wait to see it.

outstanding offerings that we have found to

and it is performing very well. Lure tangling has

be exceptional performers. These are honest

been greatly diminished compared to working with

observations, completely unsolicited, and yes —

other net designs. The stretch of the net fabric is

they have earned a place amongst the “stuff” we

another great feature. Heavy fish can bang around

take fishing.

all they want in there and the stretch softens the

The net shown in the accompanying photos has been fishing with us for seven months now

blow, it’s got to be easier on them than a hard fabric net material. And finally there is the slick finish of the net fabric; the slime stays on the fish which should contribute to post-release survival.

Other attractive features are the way the net floats and its stout elastic cord and carabiner-style aluminum snap.

Look for this fish-friendly prototype to become part of the EGO WADE® line very soon. To learn more about Adventure Products and their other fine offerings, visit them at www. adventureproducts.com.

Last spring I thought I was ready for a new

ego wade® net

simms Breathable waders

pair. I had been noticing a damp spot along the

We originally learned of Adventure Products at

Waders are to a year round wade fishing guide the

yet, but a signal that one was heading my way. Oh

ICAST 2006. Adventure Products introduced their

same as a claw hammer to a framing carpenter;

well, wet wading was only days away at the time

high-quality floating nets at that show and were

these are simple tools but we cannot do our

and I’d deal with it later. A few weeks passed and

very anxious to test the waters in Texas. During

job without them. Now I’ve never broken a claw

the waders went back in the closet.

the discussion that followed we advised that many

hammer, except maybe a handle; but even at

Texas wade anglers have drifted away from using

that a carpenter might be able to borrow one

one day that I’d finally worn out my Simms waders

landing nets because treble-hooked lures have

from another worker on the job. A pair of waders,

and that’s when I learned of their reconditioning

a nasty habit of tangling in the fabric. We went

though, may not be so easy to replace on the job.

and repair service.

further to relate how many anglers have embraced

I wish you luck trying to talk someone out of their

catch and release, and therefore strive to handle

warm, dry duds on a February morning when

waders and shipped them to Simms for evaluation.

their fish as carefully as possible.

yours are full of water. And good luck staying on

To be honest, I did not expect much. However, to

the bite as you turn blue.

my surprise we received a letter shortly that said

Looking back I’d say the guys at Adventure Products are good listeners and they are pretty

This is a short testimonial that anyone seeking

left inseam that was growing. Not a big problem

I happened to mention to Capt. Chris Phillips

Pam packed my worn and slightly leaky

the waders would be reconditioned to include new

serious about selling wade nets to Texas anglers.

uncommon value and performance in a pair of

booties, new straps, and all seams resealed. The

Back about mid-summer 2007 we received

breathable stocking foot waders might want to

cost would be about $50. Would I authorize the

read carefully.

service charge?

a call saying they were ready to ship a prototype net that might be just what the wade fishermen

We elected not to use a photo of brand-

drawing to a close, and I’m still fishing in my same

product here, anybody can

old Simms. Call it what you will; I call my original

do that. No sir, this is the

$199.00 investment and the reconditioning fee

real deal.

uncommon value and service in today’s market.

The waders you see me

78

April 2008

So here it is, another cold water wading season

spankin’ out-of-the-box

Check out Simms line of outdoor products at

wearing here are over four

Fishing Tackle Unlimited, Cut Rate Fishing Tackle

years old and it safe to say

and Angler’s Edge in Houston; The Tackle Box in

they have been, “ridden

Victoria, and Rockport Tackle Town in Rockport.

hard and put up wet,”

You can also learn more by visiting their website

hundreds of times.

www.simmsfishing.com.

Texas Saltwater Fishing

www.TSFMAG.com

Just Keep Five

during the 13th Big shell Beach cleanup held march 8, 2008, 400 volunteers combed 13.7 miles

member of CCA

of PINS beach bagging 115,500 pounds of trash. There was also a

Christi Chapter, was

great quantity of debris too large to bag that included tires, construction

as invaluable as

materials and old appliances. Park officials estimated the total haul at

always and so was

between 65 and 70 tons. In terms of total weight of trash removed, this

long time friend,

cleanup ranks as our greatest ever.

Ace Leal, the t-shirt

Texas Corpus

The really big news is that

man and another

Big Shell Beach Cleanup has

co-organizer. Mr.

surpassed the 1-million pound

Joe Escoto, the new superintendent of PINS, and

mark. Through the work of our

Cynthia Rubio of the Turtle Recovery Program

all-volunteer force we have

spent the day likewise "walking the walk" in the

removed the grand total of

work area and off-duty Park Ranger, Pat Donahue,

1,030,000 pounds of unsightly

who patrolled the area with a full first aid kit should

trash from our National

problems occur. Many thanks also to artist Ben

Seashore beaches!

Beaty for his caricature of me issuing a challenge

Although the morning temperature was a brisk 42 degrees, some volunteers arrived in open

for volunteers to join us on the beach.

We also want to thank Smartshield Sun

vehicles and I observed two volunteers in wheel chairs picking up trash,

Protection; H.E.B.; TEXMAPS.com; FishBites; Carsonmap.com;

now that’s dedication!

Gambler’s Specialities Ink of Corpus Christi; and dear friends, Dr. David

The organization of this event is always a great challenge to those

McKee, Ph.D. at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and businessman,

who pitch in and help run it and I want to thank them for a great effort. I

Steve Naylor, of Round Rock continued their dedication to this worthwhile

also want to recognize all of our wonderful sponsors; we could never do

endeavor. Mr. Brian Hawkins of the "Texas Country Reporter" TV show

this without you.

filmed the entire event and a show on it will air in May.

First our media partners and sponsors for helping get the word

The title of this report comes from my ol’ military days, "Above and

out: Ron and Julie Behnke - Saltwater Angler. David Sikes - Corpus Christi

Beyond the Call of Duty." Throughout the event it kept running through

Caller Times. Everett and Pam Johnson Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine.

my mind for I realized that was exactly what was happening right before

Time Warner Cable Media and CCA Texas – Corpus Christi Chapter.

my very eyes and I am overwhelmed with admiration for all of you. If that

The folks who provided financial support, goods and services:

old saying comes true and, "what goes

Mr. Henry Perry and Ainsworth Trucking Company; Ruth Parr Sparks

around really does come around,"

Foundation; Mr. Jim Mayo of Mayo Ranches; CCA Texas – Corpus Christi

you’ve all bought some exceptionally

Chapter and their president, Troy Adler; CCA Texas - Brush Country

good karma on this deal. You are

Chapter; Michael Laskowski of Trac-Work Inc.; TAMUK Anglers; Sunny

my heroes.

Beaches Organization; Daniel Dain and Stephanie Benham of Domino’s Pizza; CCA Texas Corpus Christi Chapter and Jay Gardner.

Your friend and admirer,

Co-Organizer, Tyler Thorsen, of www.corpusfishing.com and board

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Captain Billy L. Sandifer

Texas Saltwater Fishing

April 2008

79

DICKIE COLBURN

Dickie Colburn is a full time guide out of Orange, Texas. Dickie has 35 years experience guiding on Sabine and Calcasieu Lakes.

Telephone 409-883-0723 Website www.sabineconnection.com

it has Been a long time since i

Shell Island just north of East Pass.

struggled as badly as I did this

muddying things up a little, but the non-stop crew boat and barge activity

past month on Sabine Lake.

from Adam’s Bayou to East Pass has made that stretch of water even

There was a decent redfish bite

tougher to fish. The pipeline is well marked with designated crossing

on most days and we caught

points that enable you to cross the site without danger of hitting dredge

a few flounder between rains,

material. That material will remain there until the pipe is buried and the

but most of our trout were the

bottom returned to within six inches of its original depth.

You cannot dig an eight-foot deep trench the length of the lake without

product of trips to Calcasieu.

Easily, the biggest obstacle was water clarity or the lack

We knew going in that the pipeline work was something we were going to have to fish our way through this year, but it was a little demeaning being told that we would hardly notice their presence. It was not unlike

thereof. The combination of runoff from several big rains and daily winds

having the farmer tell you that his plowing the pasture while you sit in your

that blew from every direction reduced the visibility factor in much of the

blind will not bother the deer!

lake to six inches or less. I know that trout have to eat even in ugly water, but it sure doesn’t do much for angler confidence.

If we do not get a great deal of rain this month, much of the lake will clear up and we should see some of our best trout fishing of the year. We

If that was not enough, the LNG pipeline work began on schedule

will start experiencing some of the biggest tides of the spring and good

adding to the difficulty factor. If you are not familiar with that project, it

concentrations of trout, reds, and flounder will set up shop around the

includes burying sixteen miles of forty-eight inch pipe in the main lake.

major drains exiting the Louisiana marsh.

The pipe actually enters the lake north of Garrison’s Ridge and exits at

Because we will be speeding up our retrieves as water temperatures continue to climb, the Catch V and Catch 2000 will replace the Corky on most days for me. Bone-silver, chrome-green back, and chartreuse-pearl sides are very productive colors this time of the year. Top water lures like the She Dog, Skitterwalk, and Super Spook will produce their fair share of big trout as well. It is not unusual for us to locate the fish with topwaters in April only to switch over to suspended lures or tails to catch better numbers. Our redfish will also crash the party when you least expect them and will readily eat any of those lure choices.

On the windier days of April and May, we also do very well on both trout and reds drifting the flats with Assassins rigged on a one-eighth ounce head under a Paradise Popper. Look for the better concentrations of trout to spend most of the day in three to five feet of water. Adding a little Bang garlic scent to our plastics invariably produces more bites.

Another viable option for avoiding the wind is to duck into one of the bayous leading into the Game Reserve. The

Louisiana game wardens took a minute to visit with this young angler while patrolling a bayou on Louisiana side of the lake.

80

April 2008

Texas Saltwater Fishing

flounder fishermen will already be there, but we catch a lot of trout and reds in the

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Both fishermen were taking on water by the time Paul White got a grip on Wes McGuffin’s nice redfish!

tea-colored backwater as well. As a rule, the outside bends are prime areas on a good tide change. We do much better downsizing to smaller plastics like the Sea Shad in pumpkin, glow-chartreuse, and Texas roach.

We also do well with single spin spinnerbaits and swim baits like the Crème Spoiler Shad. We really caught a lot of nice flounder this time last year on the spinner bait rigged with an electric chicken Blurp Sea Shad.

In order to fish inside the reserve or in any bayou on the Louisiana side of the lake, you have to have a non-resident Louisiana license. If you launched on the Texas side of the lake you can only return with Texas legal fish. If you will do those two things, you can fish anywhere you choose and not have to worry about Game Warden encounters. If they have to explain the rules to you on the water, however, it usually gets expensive!

The wild card this month could very well be the jetties, the Causeway reefs, or both. Weather permitting; the jetties are always an option for everything from trout to giant black drum. Should the Causeway reefs get hot, they will draw a crowd, but they can yield an incredible number of solid trout day after day. Drifting the deep shell with tails and managing the speed of your drift are the keys to cashing in on this bite.

We carry a wide variety of different colors out of self-defense, but limetreuse, LSU, red shad, morning glory, and pumpkin-chartreuse are proven winners. A quality drift sock and lots of jig heads in an array of sizes are also must have items. The beginning of either tide is the time to be there, but incoming tides are usually the best as they usher in not only bait, but the clearest water as well.

Please remember… while they tend to make you nauseous, soaring gas prices are still no excuse for more freezer burned fillets at the end of the day!

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Texas Saltwater Fishing

April 2008

81

fishing is picking up around here and it’s my kind of fishing. There are a lot of fish up shallow and wade fishing has been good. We’ve had a mild winter and the water temperature is averaging 60 degrees and above and that always brings consistent fishing. We have had a lot of redfish running in knee deep water. On calm days we have also found reds around deeper mid-bay reefs when we can get out there

Grassy Point. You have to catch the wind just right out there. You either

and work. There has already been

need a north wind or just after a norther to really get on those fish. You

some bird action going on in East

also need some water, which means it’s sometimes better before the front

Bay and in Trinity Bay and we have

than after it. There have been some big fish caught behind Rollover Pass.

found several big herds of reds and a few trout under them. We have a lot

They are fishing the gut behind the pass where the eddie and tide pool are.

of trout staging in the two to five foot depths along the flats.

It is deep. They are getting in there before the fronts when the south wind

TRiniTY BaY Redfish action in Trinity is excellent right now. We have a fairly strong flow of freshwater from the river and that is a good thing for this time of year. It seems to stage the fish along main bay shorelines which is just the ticket for waders. At present we are still experiencing a lot of north wind. As we get further into spring we’ll see the northers farther apart and a steady increase of south wind. Until this pattern evolves into steady southerly flow we’ll be bouncing from one side of the bay to the other for protection. A lot

has the water pushed up. Current is the key here, coming or going. It takes a gum ball jighead to get a lure down in that hard current. Over the years I know of an eleven pound trout and several tens to come from that area, it can be like Baffin when it gets right. This will all change once it starts to warm and we get into true spring. That’s when the big trout will congregate behind San Luis Pass.

WEST BaY You are set for wade fishing along the south shoreline in all the coves

of the fish we’re catching right now are showing little sign and we are

over there. Reports indicate that the bite has been real early and real late,

keying on the mullet. If you can find the mullet real active there is a good

the first hour of daylight and an hour before dark. There have been some

chance of finding a good school of trout there too. We have not seen many

good trout in these coves, up to seven pounds. Mirrolures, Corky’s and

big trout yet although solid five pounders are beginning to show and every

soft plastics have all worked depending upon the conditions. Most of the

once in a while we hear of a seven. Soft plastics have been the go-to bait.

coves on the middle part of the island from Star Basin to Karankawa Cove

Saltwater Assassins and Norton Sand Eels have been working and darker

are holding fish but they are moving with the weather and water conditions.

colors seem best. When the water is real clear we have been using H&H

One day one cove will be hot then it is another. Drift fishing is still a little

Cocahoe minnows and Norton Bull Minnows, white with the chartreuse tail

spotty in the middle. You will find streaking water behind Confederate Reef

has been good.

and over by North Deer Island. If you find bait in there you can catch fish

EaST BaY There have been good numbers of trout hanging in the northeast corner by the wildlife refuge, including a couple of seven pounders on Corky baits and soft plastic. There has been some bird action along the north shoreline in about six feet of water. It has been inconsistent so far but while you are

running two to three pounds drifting with soft plastics. As far as redfish, there have been some pretty good schools down by Shell Island and Karankawa Reef. uppER galvESTOn BaY Seabrook Flats has been producing some decent trout on Mirrolures and

wade fishing you can see them start to work and you can run out there

Corky’s. Reports indicate some fish up to five and six pounds. All of this

and hit them. If you hit the right school you can catch about twenty or even

is normal for this time of year. There has also been some decent flounder

thirty keepers pretty quick, there a lot of small fish, though. In springtime

action on the edges of the flats with soft plastics.

the water temperature on the south shore always warms later than the

Springtime is upon us and the patterns are beginning to unfold.

north shore. As a result the trout there tend to run smaller this time of

Hopefully next month I can say it is all wide open. All things considered

year, sixteen to eighteen inches is a good one. I have received reports

we’re doing well for this time of year. In summary I’d say we’re in for a good

of plentiful redfish up in the back of East Bay around Oyster Bayou and

spring fishing season.

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Just Keep Five

Texas Saltwater Fishing

April 2008

83

april is Just around the corner and

Small is the factor when chunking hardware.

fishing conditions are starting to

perhaps a 4-inch Bass Assassin, 4-inch Sea

heat up. Whew—made it through

Shad, or the Blurp. You may want to try the 4-inch Blurp Shrimp in good

another winter without a freeze

penny, drunk monkey, or the molting pattern. These baits should produce

and our bays, from what I’ve

for you while drifting or wading. Don’t forget to haul out those rattlin’

seen, are looking very good. From

corks in whatever flavor you prefer as some amount popping, clicking

what I’ve observed concerning

and splashing can attract attention to your bait from those hungry

our shrimp hatch, leaves me

trout and reds. Sizing down your top waters is another good idea. Your

somewhat clueless as what to

Mirrolure Pup, small Skitterwalk, or Super Spook Jr. should be good

expect but birds were working on

choices. It’s not to say that you can’t catch your fish on the She Dog Jr.

the east end of East Matagorda

or 5 in. jerk bait, only that during the spring fishing season smaller baits

Bay in March so I am hopeful. Our

give better opportunities as they imitate your bait fish which are in the

recent fish catches were full of

smaller size range.

On your plastics, move over to a smaller bait

At the present time, the trout pattern seems to indicate slow

shrimp so the impression is that this fishing season looks to be a

movement off the mud flats to sand and shell. Expect your baitfish to

good one.

become more active at the surface as water temperatures rise; hopefully,

EaST BaY

to become dinner for a hungry trout. Coves and drains on the south

In this particular bay system

shoreline should prove worthy areas to chunk your line. Reefs in East Bay

my suggestion is to size down on the baits you use. At this time of the

should be holding trout for waders and drifters might find scattered shell

year our forage species are small, especially shrimp. In East Bay, one of

in the middle of the bay worth a try. When drifting, look for those jumping

the main diet trends for trout and reds is Mr. Whiskers and they are tiny.

mullet, slicks, and hopefully a few birds working. Don’t expect the same magnitude of bird activity as in the fall.

Tides are a great indicator of fishing success. Strong tides, either incoming or out-going, will help your fishing endeavors. I always try to fish an incoming tide for specks with better luck on an out-going tide for reds. Our strong spring tides are the result of the spring equinox and worthy of attention.

WEST BaY Expect activity over in West Matagorda Bay to be on the go as well. With the influx of glass minnows, diving pelicans and seagulls in waist to belly deep water can be an excellent scenario for any fisherman. Fishing the sand bars, guts, and grass beds along the south shoreline should pan out.

Once again, try to fish an incoming tide and it’s definitely time again to provide some type of floating device to retain your trout because the man in the dark gray suit will cut your stringer in half, steal your catch, and cause your donut to explode with no remorse. Lunch for that 4-5 ft shark will be on your tab that day.

Plastics and topwaters will be baits of choice. With strong incoming spring tides the redfish should be hanging around Oyster Lake. Drifting and using a trolling motor will be the best way to attack this place. You might even see a few birds working in this area. Another good place to frequent is on the outside of the Diversion Channel towards Twin Island. Drifting here will be the way to go while focusing on jumping mullet and mud baits. Until next time…

May God Bless.

Darrel Clifton with a Texas Trio. These fish were caught while drifting East Matagorda Bay with bone diamond Bass Assassins.

84

April 2008

Texas Saltwater Fishing

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Texas Saltwater Fishing

April 2008

85

april fishing should Be right

(black back with chrome body), and the CRBL (blue back with chrome body). A new topwater bait that I have been using since its inception is the

on schedule if not a little ahead

MirrOmullet, it is the same size as the Mirrolure Catch 2000, but a floater.

with this warmer weather we

You can walk the dog or just rip it, letting it splash from wave to wave.

have been having. Depending

The colors I have been using are the #21, and the #28 which are natural

on my customers and what their

looking colors. Either of these will provide good topwater action in just

expectations are for their trips

about any situation.

we will have many opportunities this month.

A new suspending bait that has found its way into my wading box is the MirroShine which resembles a sardine and/or shiner along with the

I am lucky, as many fishermen

new MirroMinnow which is a look alike to the glass or ghost minnow. Look

are on the middle coast, because

for these baitfish to start showing up on our shorelines in April making

we have many different types of

these lures a must have in your arsenal.

structure to fish. The difference

As for soft plastics I will have the tried and proven Saltwater Assassins

between the middle coast and

in pumpkinseed/chartreuse, opening night, space guppy and salt and

the rest of the Texas coast is

pepper silver phantom all rigged on 1/16 oz Assassin jig heads. Make

that we have protection from

a note… “I have caught more trout over 26 inches using the Saltwater

the spring winds that normally

Assassins than any other baits in my box.”

hammers everybody else from

Another soft plastic I threw a lot in the spring of 2007 was the Assassin

March through May. We can

Swimming Shiner. Side by side with customers throwing other lures, it

find protection in any one of our many back lakes and/or our leeward

would out-catch their lures often enough that they would switch to the

shorelines enabling us to fish many structures no matter what direction or

Swimming Shiner. The colors I choose are again natural looking, pearl/

velocity the wind is blowing.

chartreuse, and baby trout.

My normal spring time trips are customers looking for their trout of a lifetime and if that doesn’t go as planned they can still be entertained with catching numbers of larger than average size fish. That scenario works out perfectly when the trout are in their transitional period. This means many trout will be moving from the warm mud flats of the back lakes following baitfish to the shallow guts along the shorelines of West Matagorda, Espiritu Santo, San Antonio and Mesquite bays. This covers a lot of water but it is all still well within reach of the Rat Pack on any given day as we are lucky enough to be situated right in the middle of these areas.

If there is one thing I tell my customers to remember, which can be used anywhere along the Texas coast, is remember the five S’s…

SHORELINES, STRUCTURE, SLOW, SOUNDS and SLICKS. Make sure to fish SHORELINES targeting STRUCTURES such as grass patches, oyster reefs, drop offs, points, guts, color changes etc. Make sure to wade SLOW, keeping an eye out for SLICKS and listening for my favorite SOUNDS. Trout make a very distinctive “slurp” when they snatch their prey from the surface. Also listen for the SOUNDS of fleeing shrimp or possibly mullet skipping across the water as they try to elude a predator. Remember fishing is a lot like hunting and we have to use all our God given senses if we hope to be successful in stalking and catching our quarry.

This is one of the best times of the year for topwater action in our area.

My all time favorite topwater is the MirroLure She Dog and the colors I prefer are the CHPR (chartreuse back and belly with pearl sides), CRBK

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Watch for bird activity to begin in April.

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if there is one thing i tell my customers to remember, which can be used anywhere along the texas coast, is remember the five s’s…shorelines, structure, slow, sounds and slicks.

If your target is redfish look for these bronze bruisers to be in the same locale as Mr. Speckled Fish.

They can be found in sizeable numbers on shorelines due to their schooling behavior that usually starts in April and will be continual throughout the rest of the year. Stalking redfish in the back lakes will still be an option even as the shorelines heat up. I have found redfish in every nook and cranny of water no matter the depth and/or temperature.

If I am targeting reds in ultra-shallow water I will stick to the basics and use a Johnson gold or silver weedless spoon ranging from 1/8 ounce to 1/2 ounce depending on the vegetation in the area. These spoons are easy to work and can be cast upwind with ease if needed.

A broken-back Cordell is also very well suited for ultra-shallow action. I prefer to cast past my target then I reel slow enough that the lure doesn’t dive down into the grassy bottom. You should notice a “V” wake coming off the front of the lure if you are retrieving it back to you in this manner. You will be surprised how a finicky redfish that may have ignored your other offerings will find this lure simply irresistible!

Fish hard, Fish smart!

Scenes like this will become common in April.

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Texas Saltwater Fishing

April 2008

87

CLIFF WEBB

this time of year there is a lot

little area of fairly

more windy days than there are

in Baffin Bay. We

calm days. The key is to fish

stepped out of the

the lulls in between the winds

boat and began wade

switching. As the cold fronts

fishing. At about

approach, the southeast wind will

eight o’clock we had

race in at forty-five mph. Then

our first good trout,

the winds will switch to the north

it was about seven

at forty-five mph. And we hope

pounds. I told the

it blows through and have a day

fishermen, “This

or two before the southeast wind

is looking very

picks up again. That is exactly what

good. The wind is

protected shoreline

starting to lay a

happened this week on an incredible trip that we had.

On Monday, we tried to fish and the southeast wind was howling.

bit and the water

We just got blown out of the water. By Tuesday morning the wind had

is getting clearer.

switched and a front came in with gale force winds from the north. It was

There is a lot

blowing fifty mph all day long. The water was so stirred up the whole

of bait flipping

Laguna looked like chocolate. I had to cancel fishing for that day. The

in here and

following day, I had four fishermen come down and they were game to

we’ve already

give it a try. Even though I told them that the water was still dirty. I said,

caught one

hopefully. We can find some protected area with fishable water. The good

big trout and

thing is the cold front had dropped the water temperature down and it

there are probably more. I think we are going to

should turn the big trout on.

do something big.” And from about eight-thirty on, we all caught and

So, on Wednesday morning it was still blowing out of the north

Rene Garc ia

released big trout for six hours straight. It was unbelievable. We caught

at about twenty, not too bad. We headed down south along the east

a dozen trout that weighed more than seven pounds. Everyone caught

shoreline which is normally clear and it was as muddy as could be. It

a trophy trout and released it. I looked around and tried to take pictures

didn’t look too good. But, I had one place in mind and the forecast was for

of everybody and three of the guys were hooked up with big fish at the

the wind to continue to die down during the day. Sure enough I found a

same time. You know it’s good when three out of four were fighting a big fish. These fish were coming out of the water and headshaking, making all kinds of noise. The wind calmed to five to ten mph and this really made the aerial displays beautiful. I was truly enjoying watching and taking the pictures.

We were all standing about ten feet apart and Rene Garcia had reeled his Corky in to within ten feet away and was getting ready to bring it up to make another cast when a giant trout ran between Dr. Mario Perez and Rene and crashed the lure right on top of the water and almost jerked the rod out of his hands. The fish threw water all over both of them and peeled out the line. A few minutes later he landed her, I took the picture and she was released.

Dr. Perez caught one about nine and a half

Pat Alba 88

April 2008

Dr. Mario Perez Texas Saltwater Fishing

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Cliff Webb

long. I asked if he was going to keep her and he said, “ No, I’m looking for

Jay Veselka

ten pounds and I’ve got one on the wall that is thirty-one inches long. I’m going to turn her loose.” I thought that was excellent and he put her back in the water. Then, Pat Alba caught three seven-pounders in a row and one that was more than eight and released them, too. These guys were great! They just kept a few of the smaller trout.

I’m standing in the middle of these guys watching and I threw out and made a long cast with a Fat Boy Corky. I worked it back a few feet and I felt a big thump. I paused for a second and the line got slack and I reeled up the slack and set the hook. This fish came straight up out of the water and started jumping like a tarpon. I knew it was a big fish. It came toward me and I brought the rod tip down and reeled like crazy. Then she stopped and turned and I could see her shoulders. She was more than ten pounds. You just don’t see that kind of width from the back very often. The first time she came by me, and I saw there was no way I could grab her with my hand, I played her until she wore herself out. The next time she came by I grabbed her by the base of the tail and turned her over and she froze. Pat was there with his Boga and snapped it on her bottom lip. I had to raise my arm straight and stretch to get her out of the water and the Boga read more than ten pounds.

One of the best big trout fights that I’ve had in a long time.

This was a rare situation when all the big fish decided to eat at once. I think because we had two days where the water was so stirred up that they just didn’t eat. Then the cold front dropped the temperature a little and they decided they’d better eat. All the fish we caught were just gorged with mullet and shad. They were regurgitating when we reeled them in it would make a big slick around you. They looked like footballs, where you had to put two hands around them to hold on. I could not believe how heavy these fish were.

Life is good, and it doesn’t get any better than this. I’m in my element now. I could see them, I could smell them and there were slicks all over the water.

This was like the old days. It reminded me of fifteen years ago standing in this same place, when days like this were common. But, I haven’t had one like this in a while. I told the guys you just happened to hit that magic day where everything lined up and the big fish were on the feed.

As I’m writing this article on Thursday, the southeast wind is already up to thirty-five again with gusts to fifty mph. It was a short window of opportunity that we had with one calm day between the wind storms. Typically in the springtime, we get used to fishing in the wind. But you sure don’t want to miss those days in between. We’ve still got a good month of fat trout in front of us.

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Texas Saltwater Fishing

April 2008

89

life on the south texas flats has been just about as good as it gets.

Early spring brought us pleasant weather, thrilling topwater trout and tackle-testing redfish. Since the last issue our best trout action has been found over knee to waist deep grassbeds lying near deeper water. A variety of lures have been working; topwaters, Corkies and soft plastics. Plum and other darker colors hopped slowly near bottom have been most reliable.

When it was topwater time Rapala Skitter Walks and MirrOlure She Dogs accounted for some head-turning explosions in the choppier water, but as usual the Super Spook Jr was best during calmer periods. Topwater colors did not seem to matter as much as figuring out the best retrieve. Redfish action has been steady with good numbers of heavy slot fish and also lots of undersize fish in the mix. Redfish recruitment appears very healthy with all these up and coming youngsters. An abundance of “schoolie” trout is a sign of strong

Our shallow water redfish are about as good as it gets

recruitment within this species also.

A sure sign that spring came early was found in shallow water. Over

fived over several over-sized redfish between ten and fifteen pounds in

the past weeks we have enjoyed days between fronts when we managed

less than a foot of water, plus a fair number of trout between six and eight

to catch some excellent fish basking in calf-deep water; sometimes barely

pounds. This is what the Laguna is all about when she’s at her best.

covering our wading booties. Best baits in the extreme skinny were softly

Many of the productive areas we worked during March were not

presented tails in natural patterns, but much of the success depended on

the postcard clear waters Port Mansfield is famous for, but rather in

stealthy approaches and long casts rather than a particular lure. We high-

areas of murky water, devoid of grass, where the clue was lines of nervous baitfish. Most of the shallow areas we found holding thick concentrations of bait also held some good-sized predators. Catching them required much more than luck, though, confidence combined with willingness to stay with it was the key. Faster action may occur out deeper, but up in the super skinny the next cast could very well bring your best fish ever. Wade slowly, be confident they are there, and stay alert to every sign. Above all, keep casting!

April will mark some significant changes.

Some will be exciting and some will offer the typical and frustrating challenges of spring.

One change will be increasing water levels that will present opportunities to employ different methods. Sight-casting on the sand will come into greater play when conditions allow. Patience,

Most of the shallow areas we found holding thick concentrations of bait also held some good-sized predators.

Numbers of good trout have come mostly from knee to waist deep grass beds near deeper water.

keen eyes and long precise casts are needed to fool wary redfish in clear water, not to mention

Your next cast could bring your personal best.

large loner trout that often cruise with them. Sight-fishing is my greatest passion and perhaps the most exciting aspect of fishing the Laguna Madre.

For clear water work we always rely on natural-colored soft plastics on 1/8 and 1/16 jigheads. Never discount good old red and white when stocking your lure box. It has worked for decades and still a good one.

April is also one of the better months to expect heavier trout. Winter-fat fish laden with roe are often available to wading fishermen stalking shallow shorelines and submerged spoil banks. Spawning activity will have them feeding voraciously and the signs will be small slicks popping in the shallows, leaping bait, and bird activity. Life is good when you find these.

I’d like to emphasize part of last month’s report. While large topwaters are awesome producers, let’s don’t forget that much of the forage available during springtime is quite small. The flats should become thick with small shrimp, crabs and juvenile baitfish. Competing with these natural foods can be challenging. Last year, we experienced days when the smaller version of the Brown Lure’s Sea Devil caught fish when little else would. Your lure doesn’t always have to be big, noisy, or colorful to deliver big results. A mere morsel can often pull fish when the full meal deal cannot. Making good decisions makes us good anglers.

Last year, we experienced days when the smaller version of Brown Lure’s Sea Devil caught fish when little else would.

We high-fived over several redfish between ten and fifteen pounds in less than a foot of water.

Fish Don’t Fool Around in April the month of march continued

scouting during breezy conditions. Find out which of your local areas hold

to bring the usual high winds that

in our bay system that can stay clear to semi-clear even in the windiest

are so common for this time of

of conditions. Knowing which waters remain fishable despite breezy

the year. As I write, the winds

conditions can help save the day.

their clarity the longest despite windy situations. There are a few areas

Extremely windy conditions can be a foe, but at the present time it is

outside are howling up to forty miles an hour. It’s just something

a welcome ally. As of this writing parts of the Lower Laguna have what

we have to deal with and attempt

looks like a brown tide episode. Being that the predominate winds for this

to learn how to fish the not-so-

time of the year will come out of the south or southeast, it means all this

ideal conditions. By no means

wind will bring clean gulf water into our bay system. As a result of this

am I saying go fish forty mile per

water movement, our bays will begin to clear up and allow us to see what

hour winds; however, you will

is really below. Our water levels will also rise this month; therefore, giving

not always have southeast ten to

us access to back bays that will be soon be flourishing with tailing redfish

fifteen miles per hour, especially

chasing juvenile shrimp.

April is a month that springs up life on land as well as in the water.

in April. Fish still eat in windy conditions, but no doubt, windy

Look for fish to be very active in the highly oxygenated water and the

conditions do make it tougher

influx of pinfish, ballyhoo, and skipjacks along with blue crabs and scores

to find the right water clarity. Remember, trying to locate fish in not-so-

of mullet. Piggy perch have already turned up in the stomach contents

perfect settings is a learning experience that will payoff in the future. And

of the redfish and trout we are cleaning. In addition, during and after the

besides chasing something that is elusive makes it even more rewarding

month of April, you will begin to see more stingrays. Pay close attention

when the catching is done.

to the rays; they can sometimes have redfish and trout lagging behind

April is no different than March as far as wind is concerned; expect

looking for scraps.

Also, color changes and streaks will occur

most days to bring breezy conditions.

with frequency in April. Color changes can be

It’s a good thing to do some searching or

In order from left to right.

Joe Meyer, Aaron Cisneros, and Ron Shepherd found a few aces laying in mud.

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Texas Saltwater Fishing

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Again their patience and meticulous fishing effort paid off. great spots to fish because trout and redfish will use the darker side of the water to hide and ambush their prey. A clear indication that gamefish are present in a color change is baitfish tail slapping on the water’s surface as they escape hungry predators. Whether you are drifting or wading, I would suggest staying on the transitional line throwing your bait to the darker side and working it toward the clearer end. Sometimes a school of larger mullet will cause the water to

Ty Hlavaty caught this one on a Cork y Fat Boy.

streak especially in shallow sandy or muddy pothole areas. I have had great success in the past while jumping off the boat and fishing these streaks. I tend to throw darker colors or even an amber colored Brown Lures sea devil in these types of conditions.

There is no doubt that fish in April become very active because of warming water temperatures and the increase of bait activity on the flats, but sometimes they can develop lock jaw. This is when patience and perseverance will pay dividends. I bring this up to share with you a recent trip with two very good fishermen that wanted to target big trout. Before they jumped off the boat, I gave them an idea of the area they were about to fish and pointed them in the right direction where three big trout were landed on the previous trip. Off we went on a big trout quest. I went deep, and they headed shallow to the magical spot. On their first wade they spent a good four hours covering no more than fifty yards. These guys covered just about every square foot of the water at least four times. The conditions were perfect, but the bite didn’t start with a bang. After a long wade and no results, I personally thought the trout had moved but not these two guys. They stayed at it even when I went back to the boat.

From the boat I could see they were finally into some decent action, but I didn’t realize how big their trout were until I picked up them up an hour later. We left after the bite tapered and returned to the very same spot two hours later. Again their patience and meticulous fishing effort paid off. Once more they were rewarded with big fish. Not too many fishermen would have endured as these two did.

Most would have given up like me and gone back to the boat and on to the next spot. Let me point out that all this was done in knee to thigh deep mud. Patience and perseverance will on most occasions bring great results if you’re willing to put in the time and effort.

In March, Corky baits still brought much success for us, but starting in April you can bet that a topwater will be the first thing that hits the water for us. Experiment with different sizes of surface plugs to find the size the fish prefer. If it’s extremely windy and choppy, it would be wise to use bright colors like pink or orange surface bait for visual purposes. Remember April might be Fool’s Month, but the fish don’t fool around in April… they mean business!

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Texas Saltwater Fishing

April 2008

93

April is the month that fish will start biting on the south bank of the lake. The Old Jetties and all oyster reefs south of there will be excellent hotspots. West Cove will also get hot this time of year. With rising water temperatures over these relatively shallow reefs, topwaters will work very well. Bigger trout will be easier to catch this time of the year simply because the weather is more settled. Birds will start picking in the middle of the lake, so throw shrimp-colored jigs. A good choice is a D.O.A. shrimp under a Cajun Thunder popping cork. Any other jig that is glow or pearl will do fine. I would suggest quarter or even eighth ounce jigheads. Redfish will be hungry as usual. These can be found along the east bank around the wiers at Grand and Lambert Bayous. They can also be found along the south bank in cuts coming out of the marsh and in the ponds behind the wiers. Good colors for reds include avocado with a red tail, avocado with a chartreuse tail, and black with chartreuse tail. Adding spinners to soft plastics often results in more bites.

Galveston fishing has been great at times, but not particularly consistent, says the head of Silver King Adventures. “Had some good days in both East and West Bays lately. Found some nice fish up shallow in East Bay one day. Caught a trout pushing seven pounds on a Catch 5 while I was headed back to the boat. Stopped and fished there ‘til dark and had quite a few more bites on quality trout. Caught seven more in fact, up to five and a half pounds. Went back the next day and couldn’t buy a bite! It’s just like that this time of year it seems. West Bay has been a little steadier. The coves were pretty good a couple of times when the tide was higher, for both trout and reds. Caught forty five or fifty trout in one spot one day.

We were getting them on red Bass Assassins and the 809 series Mirrolures; it’s black back/pink belly. They were just solid trout, you know, two and a half pounders, but there were lots of them. Trinity has some potential too. Caught some nice reds over there on tails out of the boat, but the trout bite was slow.”

Jim says that the fishing in East Bay has been good more often than not in recent weeks. “We’re seeing that typical late-winter, early-spring pattern where the trout bite shallow right at the top of the high tide, and they’ll stack up in the bayous on the low tides. I caught one right at seven pounds this morning, and she was right on the bank. Tide had come back in from the really low levels it had been stuck at for a few days. Best bite for us while wading has been on Catch 2000s. Redfish are still biting good in the marsh as well. Several days, I’ve limited out and left them biting. They aren’t the upper-end slot fish generally, just marginal keepers up to about twenty five inches or so. But the fishing for them has been pretty much a slam dunk. Another impressive thing lately is the number of big trout coming out of Rollover. The guys are catching them behind the bridge in that deep water. You have to time it right; the turning tide is best, and strong current or wind will mess it up. But they’ve had some really big fish, including one confirmed over ten pounds.”

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April 2008

Fishing has been affected by low tides in Randall’s area lately. “It’s been a little off with these tides we’re having. Lots of places where we normally run our boats are high and dry right now. We are catching some fish, but we’re having to work harder for them than we really want to. The glass minnows have shown up; the fish are full of them. We are just waiting for the schools of bait to lead us to the fish. I expect to switch over to an evening type of charter sometime soon. This time of year the afternoon incoming tides are often the best, bringing the bait schools in and stirring up a bite.” When looking for migrating schools of minnows, Randall says he likes to key on terns, or “liar birds”. “They need to be fighting over stuff and making lots of noise. When you find them frenzied like that, they are on the minnows and the fish will be too.” On a separate note, he says he’s excitedly awaiting the arrival of his new boat, a JH Performance B 240. “It’s going to be great, I know it.” He’ll be powering it with another Evinrude Etec. “Best motor I’ve ever had,” he says.

“I spend most of my time in West Bay in April,” Tommy says. “One of the things we look for is the glass minnows to arrive. Keying on them is almost always best in the afternoons. If we can locate them by finding the brown pelicans and the terns, we’ll usually find the trout and redfish in there with them. You can’t hang your hat on it, but it happens with some regularity in most years. The typical drill in West Bay in spring has us wading shallow early with topwaters, then working our way out over the grassbeds as the day heats up. We also key on some of the guts next to the sand bars when we find rafts of bait and/or slicks in those places.” His advice for fishing East Bay is similar. “My best days in East Bay in April are days when winds allow for wading the mid-bay reefs. We start off at daybreak with topwaters, then shift to Corkies or other suspending baits, throwing them along the breaks and out into the deeper water, working them slow and low. The later it gets, the more we go to the Sand Eels like we do in West Bay.”

Fishing has been consistent for solid keeper fish so far this month. Baitfish of all varieties have started hatching out and the fish have been among the bait. We have lots of small glass minnows, grass shrimp, and finger mullet in the local bays right now. Locating brown pelicans, terns and gulls has been the key to finding fish lately. Wherever the birds are seen tearing up the water, the fish have been in the vicinity. Redfish continue to feed on Berkley Gulp shrimp like it is the real thing; new penny and nuclear chicken have been the best colors this month. The trout bite has been best using rattling corks dangling pearl/pink tail Hogie shrimp rigged under about eighteen inches deep. The flounder have shown back up on area shorelines, and we have been gigging some solid fish up to 23 inches, with most fish around the 17 inch mark. I look for the bird activity to pick up considerably this month with the best bite coming from East/South Bay. The flats around the river also normally stage some good bird activity in the month of April.

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The tide levels have been really low in March, but that is the only thing that has been down. The water temperature has been up, the water clarity has been better and the fish catching has been easier. I have been finding the fish in shallow water, two feet deep or less, with a mixture of gravel and mud bottom. On my charters, I have been seeing many trout in the 20 to 24 inch range, with a few reaching the 30 inch mark, and I think this is a good sign of things to come in the future. The trout have been really going after Bass Assassins in bone diamond and plum/chartreuse rigged on eighth ounce jigheads, although at times I’ve had to fish with quarter ounce heads in order to be able to feel the lure because the strong winds tend to pick up the braided line, keeping the lure up on the surface of the water. There seems to be no shortage of redfish, as we have been catching good numbers consistently, almost everywhere in the Laguna Madre with the same lures we’re using for trout. This pattern should continue through April.

Lynn says he will be fishing mostly grass in April. “I like to fish in Mesquite, West Matagorda and Ayers Bays this time of year. I’ll target grass whenever I can.

The grass may be on top of a sand bar, in a gut, or associated with shell reefs.

Mostly, we like to stick close to the hard bottoms in spring. I’ll be throwing a lot of topwaters at the fish, mainly the small ones like the Super Spook Junior. I favor a chrome one with a blue back in that lure, especially on bright days. On darker days, I throw the black/chartreuse head She Dog a lot, it’s a killer. That and the black Super Spooks. Of course, we’ll be targeting bigger than normal trout because this time of year is one of the best periods for catching them, but there will be plenty of redfish and flounder mixed in with them. The redfish like the topwaters sometimes even better than the trout, but we also catch lots of them when we switch over to soft plastics, especially the Gulp, which has proven to be incredible over the last couple of years. The flounder, redfish and trout all like those things as much as live bait it seems.”

Blake says he’s been finding the big trout and the redfish in the same shallow areas. “The bigger trout are up shallow with the redfish most of the time. We are catching them along shorelines in less than waist deep water, sometimes knee deep. They are relating to grass surrounded by mud mostly, occasionally sand.

As we head into warmer weather in April, sand and grass will probably hold more fish than the mud. In April, I like to fish the bays with lots of bayous and drains along shorelines with a good mix of bright sand and dark grass. Aransas, Mesquite and San Antonio Bays all have such areas. I’ll stay shallow most of the time, targeting the bigger trout. Topwaters are of course my favorite way to catch them, and I’ll make a concentrated effort to get ‘em that way, but I won’t hesitate to pull out the old Sand Eels if the blow ups aren’t coming or if they’re weak for too long. Over all, the topwater bite has been off this year compared to last, but that can change. Typically, warmer water will bring more action on the floating plugs.”

Winds, tides and sargassum will determine the fate of surf fishing in April.

Tides tend to be high during the first week of the month. Sargassum is already present and will probably be present throughout April but how much and in which areas of the beach is unforeseeable. Look for areas without excessive sargassum and with visible food chain activity. Many fish species are available in April including most of the shark species common to the area, large jack crevalle, slot redfish, black drum, sheepshead and whiting. Little tunny, Florida pompano and speckled trout are possible. Fishbites and fresh dead shrimp fish on the bottom works best for the crustacean feeders and a variety of lures, live and cut bait for the fish eaters. Speck rigs and Manno lures work well for sightcasting the little tunny. Watch for nesting turtles and avoid driving over mounds of sargassum decomposing at the water's edge. Good Fishin' www.TSFMAG.com

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Joe plans on doing as much fishing down south as possible in April. “I’ll be spending as much time in the Land Cut and in Nine Mile Hole as I can. Also, Rocky Slough and Summer House are always good this time of year. Most of the quality trout and redfish are shallow and there’s lots of good flats in those areas. When fishing the Hole, I like to make power drifts and troll around some looking for surface signs of the redfish schools, even sightcasting at them if the water’s clear enough.

At Summer House, it’s much the same drill, working the potholes in the grass and looking for nervous water to give away the location of the schools. In the Land Cut, it’s important to stay close enough to the edge to be able to present your lures right along the dropoffs. The fish are usually shallow, but close to the edge in there. At Rocky Slough, I like to stay close enough to the rocks with the boat to reach them with the casts without spooking the fish that are there. If the water’s murky, it pays to suspend soft plastics under corks when fishing any of these areas.”

Bruce says the fickle weather has made for inconsistent fishing in the second half of winter. “We’ve caught some big trout, as always this time of year, but with the rapid fluctuations in water temperatures and depth, it’s harder to stay on a consistent bite. Most of the big trout have been predictably located with the redfish, and they are shallow. There has been some topwater action, but Corkies have been better over all. We’ve been mostly on the west side, but in April, we’ll switch more and more over to the east side. We’ll have an influx of tide runners on that side, and the boat traffic on the west side with the crowds of spring also seems to relocate some of the fish away from that side. Shallow potholes will be the key for most of the big trout this month. We’ll stay with smaller, subtle lures like Corkies, small topwaters and Bomber Long A’s when winds are lighter. But most of the time, with typical strong winds of the season, we’ll throw the big, noisy topwaters like Super Spooks, She Dogs and He Dogs to make a lot of noise in the chop.”

The patterns this winter have been completely the opposite of what we’ve become used to during the last decade. Specks are now the “go to” species for limiting daily, and redfish are more difficult to find in large numbers. We’re throwing Cajun Thunder corks trailing slightly longer (20 inch) leaders with Gulps on quarter ounce jigheads. The whiter colors of Berkley three inch Gulp shrimp are working best for trout and reds, especially when the wind muddies the water.

We’ve had a few days conducive to chunking topwaters; the favorites are Top Pups and Super Spook Jrs. in chartreuse/black and red/white. As we glide into spring, weedless gold spoons will become our choice for redfish, but we’ll downgrade our corks to Mansfield Maulers or the smaller Cajun Thunders for more rattle to tempt trout and toss more straight Gulps in the potholes. Freddy says, “We’re expecting the tides to become more favorable this month. Some wind is great for drift fishing, but we’ve been getting pounded with gusts up to 40 mph, which can make it hard to spot the holes.”

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Katelyn Ellis and Clifton Gillock show off their catch of the month.

Kim Jefferies snagged her first keeper red at 31” while fishing Mud Island.

Michael Capps shows off his proudest catch to date.

Eric Campos snagged this 27” red on a silver spoon while out in Mesquite Bay.

Jeffrey Swearingen tricked this 25 1/2” trout while fishing in Port Mansfield.

Violet Luis catches her very first fish while out in Nueces Bay.

Jonathan Brokaw hooked this 28 3/4” trout on a gold spoon.

Grant Reese caught & released this red fishing in POC.

Melanie Cortinas having a good time fishing with her father in East Matagorda.

Michelle Johnston tackled this trout fishing in Matagorda.

Right: Karen Ainsworth lands this nice 23” 8# red fishing at Christmas Point.

Katelyn Marcantel hooked her first red measuring in at 27 1/2” while fishing the Galveston Jetties.

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April 2008

Melody Saldivar of Corpus Christi boated this nice red while fishing the Laguna Madre.

Below: Hayden Butler snagged this 27” red while fishing in Rockport.

Cody Hebert landed this 49” kingfish on a Rapala Lure fishing two miles off shore.

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Wes Palmer of Spring caught and released this nice red.

Sheri McWha of Corpus Christi hooked this 27” red while out fishing the Laguna Madre.

Stacey Kubena proudly displays her first snook caught while fishing SPI.

Ashley Luis lands her first drum measuring in at 14”.

Marco Lopez boated this 42” 24# bull red while fishing in Corpus Christi Bay.

Laura Weikel caught and tagged her first bull red at 41”.

Max Dozier boated this red while out fishing the Galveston Jetties.

Cooper Cogdell with a nice Port O’Connor Red.

Chris Caronna Sr tricked this 29” 8# 9 oz into taking his lure while out in Nueces Bay.

Brad Smith of Houston snagged this nice red in Copano Bay fishing in Rockport.

Brent Cofield tricked this 30” trout while out fishing in Padre Island.

Oktay Basci lands this nice 7# trout.

Left: Leighton Keen has help showing off his 73 # ling.

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