February 2017

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February 2017

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about the Cover February giant! Conservation and sportsmanship kudos to Tansel Basci for practicing C&R on this splendid example of what anglers can expect from our beloved Laguna Madre this month. Tansel’s trophy measured 32-inches and pulled the Boga Grip to 10.25-pounds.

February 2017 VOL 26 NO 10

Contents

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

10 Surefire Late-Winter Trout Strategies 16 Grace and Readiness 22 Rudy Poindexter: Part 1 26 Taking the Plunge…Or Not? 30 Peacock Bass

36 40 44 48 50 54 58 62 64 92 94

Steve Hillman Kevin Cochran Martin Strarup Chuck Uzzle Joe Richard

Let’s Ask The Pro Shallow Water Fishing TPWD Field Notes Fly Fishing Kayak Fishing Chronicles TSFMag Conservation News Fishy Facts Inshore | Nearshore | Jetties | Passes Extreme Kayak Fishing & Sharks...

Boat Maintenance Tips Science & the Sea

26

WHAT OUR GUIDES

HAVE TO SAy

70 72 74 76 78 80 82

Dickie Colburn’s Sabine Scene The Buzz on Galveston Bay The View from Matagorda Mid-Coast Bays with the Grays Hooked up with Rowsey Wayne’s Port Mansfield Report South Padre Fishing Scene

Dickie Colburn Caleb Harp Bink Grimes Gary Gray David Rowsey Wayne Davis Ernest Cisneros

50

REGULARS

74

08 68 84 88 90

Editorial New Tackle & Gear Fishing Reports and Forecasts Catch of the Month Gulf Coast Kitchen

90 6 | February 2017

Jay Watkins Scott Null Jennifer Butler Scott Sommerlatte Dave Roberts CCA Texas Stephanie Boyd Joe Richard Eric Ozolins Chris Mapp UT Marine Science Institute

Editor and Publisher Everett Johnson Everett@tsfmag.com VICE PRESIDENT PRODUCTION & ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Pam Johnson Pam@tsfmag.com Office: 361-785-3420 Cell: 361-550-9918 National sales representative Bart Manganiello Bartalm@optonline.net regional sales representative Patti Elkins Patti@tsfmag.com Office: 361-785-3420 Cell: 361-649-2265 PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Donna Boyd Donna@tsfmag.com Circulation Subscription – product sales Linda Curry Store@tsfmag.com Design & Layout Stephanie Boyd Artwork@tsfmag.com Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine is published monthly.

Subscription Rates: One Year (Free Emag with Hard Copy) Subscription $25.00 E-MAG (electronic version) is available for $12.00 per year.

Order on-line: www.tsfmag.com Make checks payable to: Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine Attn: Subscriptions P.O. Box 429, Seadrift, Texas 77983 * Subscribers are responsible for submitting all address changes and renewals by the 10th of the prior month’s issue.

Email store@tsfmag.com for all address changes or please call 361-785-3420 from 8am - 4:30pm. The U.S. Postal Service does not guarantee magazines will be forwarded. how to contact tsfmag: Phone: 361-785-3420 fax: 361-785-2844 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 429, Seadrift, Texas 77983 Physical Address: 58 Fisherman’s Lane, Seadrift, TX 77983 Web: www.TSFMAG.com photo gallery: photos@tsfmag.com Printed in the USA. Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine (ISSN 1935-9586) is published monthly by Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine, Inc., 58 Fisherman’s Lane, Seadrift, Texas 77983 l P. O. Box 429, Seadrift, TX 77983 © Copyright 1990 All rights reserved. Positively nothing in this publication may be reprinted or reproduced. *Views expressed by Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine contributors do not necessarily express the views of Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine.

Periodical class permit (USPS# 024353) paid at Victoria, TX 77901 and additional offices.

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

EDITORIAL

A Tale

Homo sapiens is not an aquatic species but we seem uncommonly drawn to the water. Coastal fishing and waterfowl hunting are enormously popular in Texas and many of us pursue these activities vigorously. So vigorously, in fact, that we sometimes take far greater risks to enjoy epic days on the water than we likely ever would for other activities. It’s the way we’re wired.

But how should we weigh risk?

Friday, January 6, 2017, a powerful winter storm swept across the coastal plains of Texas. The mercury plummeted to upper-30s as dawn approached and gusty north wind was reported to have reached 40-mph between Palacios and Port Lavaca. Tough weather but, quite often the stuff of waterfowling legend.

Tragically though, three young Baytown duck hunters have no such tale to share – they lost their lives on Carancahua Bay. We cannot begin to imagine the grief and despair of families and loved ones, and pray we will never experience it firsthand.

There were no witnesses, so we can only surmise their terror that morning as their 17-foot aluminum boat either swamped or capsized in angry seas.

Their outboard engine may have failed, leaving them at the mercy of the winter storm. All three wisely wore life vests but hypothermia likely claimed them, not drowning. God rest their souls. The men had two retriever dogs with them, one reportedly also perished, no report as to the fate of the other.

To question the decision of these men to launch that morning is totally inappropriate, and likely could only serve to increase the suffering of

8 | February 2017

of

Tragedy…&

a

Lesson

loved ones in mourning.

Suffice to say, they were very avid and ambitious young sports. However young in years, they were not short on experience, having accomplished numerous bay crossings on prior outings. Blame it on youthful zeal.

I never met either of these young hunters but I certainly share similar passion for the outdoors. Many readers of this magazine share it, too. And we have taken unreasonable risks a time or two. But with happier endings.

We live and learn.

A tragic and bitter lesson is all that remains. Join me in praying for peaceful, eternal rest for the deceased and God’s healing mercy for their loved ones.

This time of year, attending one of the numerous upcoming boat-sport shows is an entertaining and informative way to view the latest and greatest the marine industries have brought to market – boats, outboard motors, trailers, and electronic gear. The shows are unique in that no other venue provides as much opportunity to compare, and perhaps even test-drive the newest offerings. Boat builders, dealers and their staffs will be in attendance along with factory representatives to fully demonstrate products and answer technical questions.

Practice safe and courteous boating always, no matter the weather, and be sure to include family on your outings. Especially kids!

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STORY BY STEVE HILLMAN

T

he forecast called for 20-mph wind from the northeast as a Pacific cold front pushed through the Upper Texas Coast. My clients understandably expressed concern when we spoke the afternoon before. I assured them that it would actually increase our chances for the area we would be fishing, and if ever I thought conditions would negatively impact the fishing to the degree that it wouldn’t be worth the effort, I would recommend rescheduling.

It’s my obligation to be 100% honest with clients. Furthermore, establishing a trust factor from the onset goes a long way. Our efforts were rewarded the next day as we drifted color changes over mud and scattered shell while catching all we wanted. The wind was our friend that day. As with most things in life we are always looking for ways to gain an advantage. Knowing how weather changes influence the area you choose to fish can provide you with the edge on days when others may decide to stay home.

To further explain, due to lower water temperatures, algae and plankton are greatly reduced in the water column during the winter months. This often results in air-clear water. Calm winds and superclear water can make it tough sledding this time of year other than at first light or near dusk.

It’s not unusual for calm days to be characterized by fewer bites and smaller trout, especially in higher salinity areas such as West Galveston Bay. The major areas within the Galveston Bay Complex run on a northeast/southwest axis so, enough wind from either of those directions blows parallel to the shorelines, sometimes creating muddy streaks in what would otherwise be clear water.

Off-color water warms more quickly by absorbing more sunlight because of the suspended clay particles and, also provides an ambush point for trout and reds along its edges. Fishing such streaks is one of the easiest ways to catch late-winter trout. Muddy streaks aren’t

always the result of wind, however, as swift currents can cause them as well. An ideal situation would involve the tide and wind moving in opposite directions. This scenario would enable the angler to cast with the wind while presenting the lure directly in front of the trout, creating a much more natural appearance as opposed to swimming the bait from behind the fish.

Some refer to them as guts while others call such areas troughs or undulations. Regardless, such bottom depressions are key focal points that demand attention during the colder months. The list of reasons for fishing such areas is long and varies with weather changes. On a recent trip after almost 14 inches of rain we found the areas that had been productive too fresh to have success. The water was rust-colored and had that musty freshwater smell to it. Hoping that higher salinities could be found in nearby deep guts, we headed that way. It was our only option given the circumstances.

Once we stuck the first trout I knew it was the correct decision.

Our arrival coincided with a minor feed and a tide change, which didn’t hurt our chances either. Working our MirrOlure Soft Shad paddletails low and slow in six feet of water did the trick as most of the trout and reds that had previously inhabited the surrounding flats found safety down deep. This particular area was actually where a barge channel had been dug back in the 60s. While it’s mainly silted in over the last 50 years the depth was still significant enough to allow for the salt and fresh water to separate. The specific area along the old barge channel that was the most productive was where another gut intersected, forming a Y. These converging guts, for the most part, formed an underwater point which served as a staging area for trout to ambush bait.

The scenario described above included another element which aided in our decision to target such areas. It was two days after a strong front which caused water temperatures to plummet to 46 degrees. In addition, the sky was void of clouds and the barometric TSFMAG.com | 11

pressure was unsurprisingly extremely high (1,033 millibars). The deeper water afforded thermal protection near the bottom for trout and reds as well as the bait. We’ve all heard the phrase, “shooting fish in a barrel.” And this was darn close.

While we tend to drift-fish quite a bit more here in Galveston Bay than our friends to the south, wading is still a great option when conditions are conducive. Again, I cannot stress enough how reliable targeting the low-lying areas can be this time of year.

A few years back we were wading an area lined with hard shell, cross-sectioned by deep washouts. The washouts between the small reefs were soft mud bottom and had been created by years of current.

The water temperature was 48⁰ and as the tide began to move it caused the water in the washouts to become off-color. Of the three or four washouts in the vicinity one had noticeably more flipping mullet than the others. We had been very careful not to walk too close to the edges for fear of spooking the trout. Once in position and armed with Paul Brown Originals and MirrOlure Catch 2000s, we methodically

made casts up-current into the middle of the gut allowing the current to carry our baits toward the end of the gut which was shallower. To this day, I’m not sure if I’ve ever experienced more violent strikes on suspending plugs. We proceeded to catch between 25 and 30 trout with the smallest being around four pounds and the largest weighing right at 8 pounds. All but one of the smaller deeply hooked trout were released before we decided to give them a break and go search for smaller eating-sized fish.

Here’s quick bullet list of simple ways to greatly increase your opportunities for catching more and hopefully bigger trout during the colder months: Target deeper areas such as the Intracoastal and Old Intracoastal waterways, washouts between reefs and small islands, old channels and bayou drains, especially during extreme low tide periods.

Target flats near guts during warm-up periods, especially late in the day.

Find areas of off-colored water when possible.

Spend time in areas where bait is present.

Hint – Sometimes pelicans, terns or gulls can see what you can’t.

Keep track of when tides and major and minor feeding periods will occur. (left) Josh Morton surprised us all with this 19-inch 3-pound croaker! (right) One of many big trout while casting into washouts in February 2007. I no longer own those neoprene waders by the way and I’m quite sure they wouldn’t fit me now if I did.

12 | February 2017

(bottom left) John Chisolm tricked this nice trout while drifting mud streaks created by an early morning NE wind. (bottom right) A short feed during a moonset minor provided us with some nice fish while drifting down the edge of a deep gut during high pressure post-front conditions.

The water temperature was 46 degrees.

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Know the effects of wind, water temperature changes and salinity changes for the area you choose to fish and how the fish Joe Powers caught this react to such changes. solid speck along with Learn the anatomy of the area in which you choose to dozens of others by keying in on diving loons fish. Google Earth is very useful. and a few flipping mullet Bites are often very subtle especially during post-front in 6 feet of water over conditions. Using sensitive and lightweight rods and reels oyster reefs and mud. will help you win the soft bite battle. A Concept A, C, E or TX reel rigged on a Waterloo UltraMag, HP Lite or Salinity rod will take your catching to a new level.

Like a sculptor chiseling away at a piece of marble, every scenario can be dissected into minute detail but I’m only allowed so many words. Hopefully the information I’ve shared will help you become a more successful winter angler. By knowing how to use the elements to your advantage and paying attention to detail you will be able to stay ahead of the curve. Good luck and make every cast count!

Contact

Steve Hillman Steve Hillman is a full-time fishing guide on his home waters of Galveston Bay. Steve fishes the entire Galveston Bay Complex, wading and drifting for trout, redfish, and flounder using artificial lures.

Phone 409-256-7937 Email captsteve@hillmanguideservice.com Web www.hillmanguideservice.com

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14 | February 2017

STORY BY KEVIN COCHRAN

I

n the past, working as a teacher in our public schools, I came to recognize the critical roles various components play in the learning process. Presenting a concept or trying to encourage the development of a skill in a situation where the learner shows readiness inevitably tips the scale in favor of the desired result. Other elements create circumstances which culminate in “teachable moments” providing the perfect context for the presentation and comprehension of concepts and skills.

Recognizing and utilizing teachable moments requires a special brand of grace. This trait facilitates the efforts not only of school teachers, but also those of parents, spouses, even friends and partners of various kinds. Certainly, the recognition and ability to seize upon ripe opportunity enhances the effectiveness of a fishing guide, particularly one who’s interested in teaching angling skills and techniques.

These tenets come up in my discussions with clients and potential clients on a regular basis. “I see you catch a lot of fish on Paul Brown Lures,” one might say. “I want to learn how to make better presentations and catch more fish on those when we go.” Such a comment directly indicates readiness.

I normally respond to such a reasonable request with some version of the following statement, “I do use Corkys and Fat Boys quite a bit. And I’ve caught thousands of fish on ‘em. If the fish are biting ‘em on the day we go, I’ll be happy to show you how I like to use ‘em.”

I also generally add, “But if I have little or no confidence in them that day, I can’t really advocate us spending much time on it. The best way to learn to use a lure is to earn strikes. Ultimately, the fish offer the most valuable lessons, by providing positive feedback in the form of bites.”

Different lures, presentations and situations dictate different expectations with regard to bite frequency. In an optimal situation, one can demonstrate some effective presentation or technique and prove its efficacy by getting a bite within a cast or two. For instance, when a particular twitching cadence causing five side to side movements in the head of a topwater lure followed by a pause of about two seconds and a short speed burst out of the still position produces aggressive strikes on three consecutive casts, calling another over and demonstrating the presentation becomes a wise move.

Other presentations and scenarios won’t play out this way. Take, for instance, two supremely effective methods for coping with tough situations.

One involves bending the tail of an Original Paul Brown Lure sharply down, which causes it to spin when retrieved. In extremely windy conditions, this spinning motion allows the lure to stay down in the water, though the strong breeze pulls it right to the surface without the bend. Often, turbid waters cause fish to become less mobile; they tend to sit on the bottom and wait for a meal to swim within close range, then snatch it suddenly.

The rotation of the bent lure places it within their strike zones effectively, but such harsh conditions don’t facilitate a high bite frequency. Surely, demonstrating the effectiveness of the method demands more patience in both teacher and learner than showing how to optimize a presentation to get more bites in an easier situation.

A similar issue arises when attempting to show someone the potential usefulness of another method which helps cope with difficult situations—placing a cork on the line above a soft plastic. I call this method the “cork and jig”, and use it most often as a way of earning more bites in strong winds and murky water. When used in such a context, one cannot expect to get bites quickly to verify the truth of the plan, so patience becomes a critical component in the learning process.

Certainly, getting bites on the cork and jig proves easy at times, when benign conditions prevail. But one cannot expect to teach and/or learn the truth of how the method can enhance the catching in a difficult situation when employing it in a favorable one, because the presence of the proper context for a learning situation enhances the likelihood for a successful outcome, while the absence of the proper context decreases or eliminates the chance.

Pupil readiness adds a component to the list of elements constructing the context for learning. Surely, an angler who’s caught fish on an Original Paul Brown Lure or with a cork and jig in relatively easy fishing situations will show better patience and perseverance when trying to master the use of either when nasty conditions conspire to make getting bites tougher. This combination of readiness and proper environmental conditions creates an optimal learning situation.

Mastering presentations represents a form of learning which resides in the realm of muscle memory. Repetition and positive outcome provide the basis for the acquisition of skill in this case.

All elements of angling which we might define as physical application skills fall under this umbrella.

Other aspects of the endeavor reside in a more nebulous, cerebral realm. Learning how to read signs which indicate the likely presence of fish, for instance, relies on the use of multiple senses and the ability to recognize and cross-reference subtleties of the natural environment intellectually, rather than through the physical (left) Fishing in the dark, either before daylight or after dusk, can produce bites from big trout in March.

Clint Shack caught several good ones on such an outing a couple years ago.

(right) When fishing under bright skies in March, sustaining efforts with soft plastics in water with some turbidity often works best.

(bottom) Gray skies enhance the potential for catching big trout in clear water. Ruben Barron used this truth to his advantage and caught this 29-inch specimen during the month of March.

18 | February 2017

application of a technique.

Still, attempting to tutor someone in these intellectual or cognitive skills works best when the instructor makes proper consideration of the context. For instance, one could more easily point out how to recognize a tightly-packed school of bait fish which likely indicate the presence of hungry predators during the season, weather, tide-phase and/or timeframe which increases the chances of encountering a school of bait demonstrating the behavior. Similarly, one can much more easily show another how to locate mud-stirs in open expanses of generally clear water by driving around in ample light and looking for them.

The contexts which generate above average opportunities for teaching and learning various aspects of angling skill and acumen involve the elements of time, space and the environment. More directly stated, they relate specifically to the timing and location of the outing and the weather and celestial elements influencing the endeavor. All of it relates to an old saying about the weather: “We can only fish the conditions we have right now.”

This saying often came up in conversations I had with partners when I fished tournaments on a regular basis. While heading to some destination for a day of pre-fishing, we’d realize the current situation didn’t likely mirror the one we’d have on the day of the event. “Boy, I wish we could go over there and try that area on the other wind direction,” we might lament. “But going over there today won’t do us any

evidence in the form of bites. For many anglers, these difficult assessments lie outside the scope of their abilities, so they have no internal readiness for the comprehension of the concepts. An external source must provide their readiness, by explaining the facts to them correctly. If the tutor can then manipulate the situation positively, the process and outcome can carry lasting impact.

In the end, when one person attempts to teach another about various aspects of the art of angling, proper consideration of the context for the lesson helps increase the odds of a successful outcome.

Toward this goal, two critical skills aid the teacher in the endeavor: graceful awareness of ripe opportunity, and recognition of the need for readiness. In order to maximize results, an angling instructor must correctly predict how the prevailing conditions generate specific teachable moments and also remain ready to take advantage of opportunities which arise unexpectedly.

Kevin Cochran Contact

good. With this weather, we won’t get a clue as to how it might turn out.”

We realized how weather creates a specific context for angling events and lessons. Wind of a certain speed blowing a specific direction through air of a given temperature over water of another temperature creates a situation which affects strategy in various ways. Only a frivolous fool would attempt to make an assessment of a specific situation when other weather elements prevail.

The same truth obviously applies to timing and location. Learning to fish in the dark cannot be done under a beaming sun. Testing theories about how to use topwaters out of the boat to target fish over deep structures won’t work while standing on the edge of a knee-deep flat.

One learns and develops tactile-kinetic skills (those involving physical components and movement) primarily through the act of doing, through practice, repetition and imitation.

Cerebral aspects of angling can prove harder to test and teach than physical application skills. Take proper pace of movement when wading as an example. Teaching someone the effectiveness of stopping, standing and fishing normally requires little effort when bites come steadily. But one might have a difficult time convincing the same angler to slow down or stop when bites don’t come regularly, though doing so might have a profound effect on the ability to catch a fish, particularly when one stands within casting range of plenty of fish with low appetite levels.

Understanding how prevailing conditions likely create a negative biting mood in the fish contributes to the ability to make such a judgment correctly. Accurately adding up the variables which affect the biting mood relies on the use of relatively high levels of fishing intelligence, as does correctly deducing the presence of fish without

Kevin Cochran is a full-time fishing guide at Corpus Christi (Padre Island), TX. Kevin is a speckled trout fanatic and has created several books and dvds on the subject.

Kevin’s home waters stretch from Corpus Christi Bay to the Land Cut.

Trout Tracker Guide Service Phone Email Web

361-688-3714 kevxlr8@mygrande.net www.FishBaffinBay.com www.captainkevblogs.com

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STORY BY MARTIN STRARUP

B

odie kept his eye on the jointed topwater as he worked it slowly across a gut near the shoreline. A few minutes earlier, a really big trout had swirled behind the bait but hadn’t attacked it. Bodie thought that maybe he was working the bait too fast and on the next cast he slowed his retrieve, pausing more often. He figured the muddy bottom of the gut would be holding some fish but so far all he’d seen was that one big swirl and a wake as the fish took off down the gut.

Bodie was glad to be back on the water and despite the chill he was having a good time.

He turned his head and looked over at his fishing partner and noticed right off that Red didn’t have a stringer out. “Must be having the same lousy luck as me,” he muttered.

When Bodie’s attention lapsed was when the big trout decided to kill the noisy chartreuse and pearl floater.

Nothing subtle about it, only his reflexes kept his rod from being pulled from his cold left hand. He reared back instinctively with his rod high as the fish tore down the gut, ripping line at a rapid pace.

The big trout ran out onto the knee-deep sand bar along the outside of the gut and was heading toward the only area of oyster shell that lay along the island. “If she gets into that shell I’ll lose her,” he warned himself. Bodie tried to turn the fish, thumbing the spool. She found a clump of oysters and the line went limp.

Bodie’s jaw was set and the muscles in his cheeks were quivering when a big smile slowly spread across his face. “Got me, didn’t you?”

Disappointed but still pleased, he offered as if the fish could understand, “Well just come on back and get some more if you’re of a mind. I’m still here.”

Bodie knew that Red was coming up behind him. He couldn’t hear him but he sensed his presence.

“The object of this sport, Bodie, is to catch the fish – and THEN release it,” Red taunted.

“You’ll save a fortune on lures that way.”

Bodie turned around grinning and suggested maybe they should move to a different spot.

TSFMAG.com | 23

24 | February 2017

Bodie chided.

Tommy went to sulking and was quiet as Bodie and Red discussed politics.

“I wasn’t speaking ill of the dead,” he finally squeaked apologetically.

Bodie was peering at Tommy and was about to ask what he really meant to say about Red’s friend, when Red chimed in.

“We know, Tommy, but it’s a sad thing really, just totally sad,” Red agreed wiping imaginary tears.

“Well what happened to him?” Tommy asked meekly.

Red pretended to get all emotional and went back through the whole fictitious tale.

“That’s terrible,” Tommy said sadly, nearly in tears himself. “I mean are you sure it was the dog food that made him get out into the street?”

Red looked at Bodie but the big man just held up his hands to signal that Red was on his own.

“No, Tommy, it was the dog food, he ate it all the time. To make it worse, Old Rudy’s family was so poor they couldn’t afford a coffin.

They just wrapped him in his favorite blanket and we put him in a hole,” Red replied. “I was a pallbearer and I put his ball glove in the blanket with him.”

By this time Red had real tears trying not to laugh.

Tommy just shook his head. Red said he needed to pick up his wife for some shopping in Victoria. Bodie took the bill to the cash register saying he needed to go by the ranch.

They were all walking out the door when Tommy asked, “Red, do you remember what brand of dog food Ruby was eating?”

“What?” Red asked, astonished.

“Do you remember the brand of the dog food that killed your friend?” Tommy asked again.

“He was killed by a school bus, Tommy.” And with that he floored the golf cart.

Tommy told Bodie that it was a terribly sad story and that someone needed do something. Rather than explain it to Tommy, Bodie agreed that perhaps something should be done. Completely flabbergasted that Tommy could be so gullible.

“Wish I could hang around, Tommy Boy, but I need to go,” Bodie announced.

Well, if they won’t do anything for that poor Ruby guy, I’ll just have to do it myself, Tommy thought to himself.

To be continued…

Martin Strarup

Contact

“I was hoping you were going to suggest that, Bodie. This place is as dead as Rudy Poindexter.”

“Who, pray tell, is or was Rudy Poindexter?” Bodie inquired.

“Guy I went to school with when we were kids.”

“What happened to him?”

“What do you mean?”

“How did he die?”

“Oh, he ate a bunch of dog food.”

“Died from eating dog food?”

“No, no,” Red said with a straight face. “He was out in the street scratching fleas and a school bus ran over him.”

Before Bodie could say anything Red was moving for the boat as fast as he could wade.

“Oh, that’s gonna cost you, just so you know, that one’s going to cost you,” Bodie chortled.

The two fishermen hit three more places but found nothing that wanted what they were offering. The decision to head in and grab some lunch at Haddon’s was easy.

“I ran out of coffee two hours ago,” Bodie announced.

“Yeah, I know,” Red replied sheepishly. “I forgot my thermos and I’ve been helping you drink it.”

Bodie shot him a dagger and said, “You keep this stuff up and I’m going to start calling you Tommy Jr.” “Oh, please no, Bodie, anything but that,” Red blurted, grabbing the console railing as the big Tran SVT jumped on plane and headed north.

Washing the boat and their gear, Red said that he would meet Bodie at Haddon’s and sped away in his golf cart. Bodie put his rods into his truck and followed.

Bodie called Monroe at the ranch to check on things. He had spent the better part of a week working on various projects out there after returning from South Texas where Mr. Connor had leased some prime brush country for winter pasture. He’d done some hunting but didn’t see any buck bigger than the one he’d shot the previous season and settled for a couple doe for the freezer.

Satisfied that Monroe was on top of the projects he’d lined out with him, Bodie shut the truck off and walked into Haddon’s.

Tommy and Red were at a table and Bodie noticed an extra cup of coffee. “Thanks for ordering me a cup, Red. I sure can use it.”

“Y’all didn’t do much good today?” Tommy asked.

“Had one really good trout find some oyster and cut me off, Tommy. The only bite I had all morning. Red never had a bite.”

“Well some days are like that, the water is just dead,” Tommy agreed.

“Dead as Rudy Poindexter,” Bodie answered, grinning at Red. “Who’s that?” Tommy asked.

“A friend of Red’s, died a long time ago,” Bodie offered between sips.

Eloisa came to the table and took their orders. Bodie and Red opted for chicken-fried steak and Tommy a double meat, double cheese, chili burger.

“That’s about a pound of beef smothered in chili,” Red cried.

“I know, but I missed breakfast,” Tommy answered. “And I’m sorry about your friend Ruby Pointer.”

Red looked at Bodie who was trying not to laugh when Red sternly replied, “RUDY POINDEXTER, not Ruby Pointer!”

“Well excuse me,” Tommy shot back. “I only heard the name once and it’s a weird name anyway.”

“Now, now, Tommy Boy. It’s not good to speak ill of the dead.”

Martin Strarup is a lifelong saltwater enthusiast and outdoorsman.

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

Email

Trouthunter@swbell.net

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STORY BY CHUCK UZZLE

A

s a young fishing guide many years ago, I was fortunate to have been associated with some very knowledgeable folks who to this day are still some of the greatest influences I have, both personally and professionally. Guys like Dickie Colburn, Johnnie Cormier, and Jim Leavelle have been my sounding board and sources of information on a myriad of topics from lure colors to life lessons. One day in particular stands out and the tale I am about to relate occurred at Dickie Colburn’s kitchen table.

I was a young dad at the time and my guiding career was taking off just like I had hoped it would. Dickie offered this piece of advice and warning; “Son there will come a time when you will have to cut back on your fishing as Hunter (my son) gets older. You have to remember that those fish will always be there but Hunter will only be a kid once. If I ever

TSFMAG.com | 27

find out that you skipped out on any of his games or school events to pull a trip, you and me are going to have problems.” I remember it vividly and all I can say is “thank you” because he was 100% right.

As Hunter grew up we got heavily involved in select baseball and traveled constantly as I coached most of the time. My time on the water began to shrink just as Dickie told me it would but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Before too long I made a choice to focus on guiding shallow water trips for redfish in the marshes of Sabine and Calcasieu. I got rid of my big bay boat and stayed with my small aluminum skiff because if I was only going to pull a limited number of trips, I was going to pull the ones I enjoyed the most and that was definitely the shallow water kind. For the last ten years or so I have been exclusively running the backwater and chasing baseball with a smile on my face.

Hunter is now a junior and playing catcher for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana and I travel to as many games as I can. This change of schedule has begun to open more fishing dates for me and I have decided to take the plunge and expand my “fleet” by adding another big boat. This will allow accommodating more anglers per trip and the ability to return Compression checks William Hyman to a twelve-month on older motors are with a bonus guiding schedule. great indicator as to largemouth Taking the plunge how much life may be taken in the on a bay boat took left in your investment.

Sabine marshes. some soul searching, let me tell you. Easily, the toughest decision was whether to buy a new or used boat.

Here is where I leaned on my friend Jim Leavelle and his no nonsense problem solving logic. In years past I could always count on Jim for straight answers and this time was no different. After much contemplation, I decided to find a solid used boat and update it to fit my style. Once I settled on a used 28 | February 2017

boat I narrowed my search to boats with hulls that were built heavy and sturdy, had plenty of room, were more comfortable than fast, and had excellent round-the-boat fishability. I chose an ultra-clean 22-foot Gulf Coast Vari-Side with 4-stroke Yamaha power, a perfect combination for the guiding program I wanted to use it in.

As with any used equipment purchase, there are some things to be aware of and some things to be considered during the purchase. The rig had really low hours on it so I was concerned with the fuel system most of all. A quick check of the water separator filter confirmed there were some fuel quality issues but nothing that could not be corrected with some maintenance and attention to detail. Instead of running the suspect fuel on the test run, a portable tank was carried aboard and the motor performed perfectly as expected. I did eventually decide to have my injectors cleaned when the tank was cleaned, so I knew I had a fresh system all the way through. With my fuel system and motor now receiving a clean bill of health it was time to begin the process of checking the electrical system.

A fresh bilge pump was installed and I updated the trolling motor and batteries.

With the main concerns on the boat now taken care of, the focus shifted to Always a good idea to cosmetics. I must check the fuel system Sheepshead... admit though, I when purchasing an older it’s what for boat. This sample indicates nearly choked when dinner! a tank cleaning and filter the costs to replace change would be in order. and update all the hardware and fittings began to pile up.

Swapping rusted latches and updating hardware is an easy way to improve the overall look on an older boat and mine shines now like brand new.

Compared to the investment on a new boat of the same caliber, I feel like I got a ton of bang for my buck. I know that many of TSFMag readers will be in this position this spring

Chuck Uzzle

Contact

as they contemplate buying either new or used boats. There are plenty of great deals out there on boats of both kinds so don’t rush The latest addition to my fleet, a well-kept the decision. Do your homework before 22’ Gulf Coast Vari Side. opening the checkbook. For some people the thought of refurbishing an older boat is not so appealing while others can’t even comprehend suffering the initial depreciation that will be incurred to own a new one. To each his own is all I can say; this is definitely not a one-size-fits-all situation.

Looking ahead to 2017 I can say with a high degree of certainty that I will be branching back out into the open waters of Sabine Lake much more and increasing the days I will be booking charters. My new website wakesndrakes.com is up and running and will have updates as well as reports posted on a regular basis. The opportunities to chase everything from redfish in shallow water to trout at the jetties will certainly make for an exciting year and one I’ll be looking forward to.

I’ll also still be spending as much time as I can watching Hunter play baseball and just being a proud dad.

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TSFMAG.com | 29

STORY BY JOE RICHARD

American anglers whooping it up in one of Venezuela’s oxbow lakes. The border with Venezuela is about eight miles behind them.

E

ver catch a peacock bass? February in Texas is a great time for dreaming about fishing other venues, and the peacock should be on every angler’s bucket list of life’s quests. Prime time for catching them is autumn and winter, which is the dry season down in the southern latitudes in Panama and tropical South America. That’s when these amazing fish are concentrated in rivers and nearby lakes, which the locals call lagoons. (We know them here in America as oxbow lakes. In Australia, they’re called billabongs).

Dropping water levels return these fish out of flooded forest, back into the lakes—fish that may have never seen an artificial plug. That’s a recipe for serious action.

I would encourage serious anglers to make at least one of these trips. One never knows how much time we have, and a trip down to South America, battling these colorful, powerful fish is something not to forget. Peacocks are also present in backyard canals in Miami, but that isn’t the same as flying much further south and sampling local food (mostly grass-fed steak) with companero fishing buddies, seeing new country, and battling fish all day—that’s why we camp and fish on the vast continent of South America. And last trip we found an unexpected bonus: Best. Wadefishing. Ever. My two travel companions, bass tourney guys from the States, were ready to relocate after 11 days of fun.

The locals there don’t jump in the water much because of piranha, and we certainly caught some big chompers there. But while in the water they didn’t bother us at all, even though we waded barefoot. We didn’t have to wade, but

casting from tree-lined shorelines isn’t easy. We had occasional johnboats, but preferred to spread out.

The weather down there is sunny and about 90⁰ all year long, unless it rains. Nobody advised us to bring wading shoes, or a vest for carrying lures, but we made the most of it. These colorful bass are so vicious and greedy, the huge reservoirs in Venezuela were stocked with peacocks to control piranha populations. The peacocks literally school like tuna at midday on some of the lagoons we fished, and attacked any lure landing close by. American anglers typically favor big topwater plugs to enhance each strike, while our host friends used something as simple as drone spoons, with a single hook that can’t be mangled, like these fish Wade fishing for peacock often do with treble hooks. bass. That’s Ron Klys, My striper jigs were also a bass tourney angler visiting from Florida. effective, and could reach way out when we were shore-bound.

On the Venezuela side of the Columbia border we caught a number of 12-pound bass, which was good enough for me. There are 20-plus pounders a little further south in the state of Amazona, but they told me that region is owned by native Indians, and you have to get permission to enter and fish there. One Wooden plugs made angler who fishes there is

by Caribe Lures are specifically designed Dario Brillembourg, often for peacock bass. seen on YouTube with

32 | February 2017

his huge bass, whom I’ve corresponded with. He’s had some adventures, landing his floatplane on secluded jungle lakes.

What we liked most on our trip to the lagoons was the fast action. I asked the guys to keep tally the last day, when we had the lay of the land, so to speak, and we waded into them at first light after small, strong cups of coffee. Seven of us landed an estimated 175 bass by 2 p.m. And this, after stopping for a steak and eggs breakfast. We were fretting about missing Dario Brillembourg from some of the morning bite, Venezuela, who flies his own plane and lands on remote but our hosts assured us no lakes in Amazonia, where he’s problem, these fish bite all caught many 20-pounders. day. Rest assured, we didn’t want to leave later that afternoon.

As we’ve found out, there are several species of peacock bass. Many sport a black spot on the tail like our redfish, and I’ve seen them cruise by in schools along the shoreline. The bass, I mean. Once hooked, they jump repeatedly but are strong enough to spool a casting reel, if they decide to leave the area.

I haven’t been spooled there yet, but one fish did pull about 200 feet of drag, before being stopped on 12-pound line. That line is obviously too light for flooded forest, but we were wading during lowwater season with just an occasional fallen tree to worry about.

It’s tough country, down there. Bass eat the piranha and piranha return the favor, if you release

a bass and it floats away. We found a floating seven pounder, and all that remained was a head and vertebrae. We circled it with the jonboat, and for some reason nobody cared to reach in the water and pick up the remains for a picture. Piranha literally carve out a plug of meat when they bite, and our friends there had some stories to tell.

Other local hazards: My friends always travel in a caravan of three or four pickup trucks, camping in national parks where the fishing can be outrageous.

They didn’t mention carrying weaponry; that might have been bad form when carrying guests. We camped 40 klicks off the pavement in a region that held three small fish camps. And Tepid water temps in had the greatest time sleeping late November helps in hammocks under a billion Ron Klys cool off stars, and not one of our seven during a long day of battling peacock bass. anglers suffered a scratch. friends in Venezuela are pretty casual about traveling the country, and I’ve crossed it twice on different trips with two different groups. They’ve camped and fished the national parks for 30 years; their dads worked for Standard Oil long ago and flew much of the country, exploring but also marking prime, isolated fishing lakes that are naturally restocked each winter. And not with fingerlings, but hungry fish up to 12 pounds.

How to set up a trip down there? That takes a little research; there are fish camps with Internet web sites. My friends down there are rice farmers who own cattle, but are also die-hard fishermen. They’ve taken a number of people fishing over the years, including double-headers where visiting anglers first fish off the coast of Caracas for marlin, before heading into the country’s interior to camp and fish freshwater. I’ve made one of those trips with my son, and we had lots of fishing action. Heck, we even caught piranha from the shore at night, using fried chicken scraps.

Anyway, I have pictures of piranha and other fish we caught down there, with peacock bass stories, on my website at: http://seafavorites.com/fishing-other-countries/venezuela-read-blog Jonboats are used by the riverside fish camps, here running down the Cinaruco River, which merges with the mighty Orinoco only a few miles away.

34 | February 2017

Joe Richard

Joe Richard has fished the Gulf since 1967, starting out of Port Arthur, but his adventures have taken him up and down the entire coast.

He was the editor of Tide magazine for eight years, and later Florida Sportsman’s book and assistant magazine editor. He began guiding out of Port O’Connor in 1994. His specialty is big kingfish, and his latest book is The Kingfish Bible, New Revelations. Available at Seafavorites.com

Contact

Despite wading barefoot with piranha and freshwater stingrays—ugly brutes that shuffled past in the shallows. Other slight concerns were a number of killer bee nests seen in dead trees on the bigger reservoirs.

Bump one of those trees with the boat, and you were in big trouble, having to hide under the boat’s hull until dark. (And treading water with piranha, not everybody’s idea of fun). We didn’t see any huge anaconda snakes; our hosts said they look like a car tire sitting in the bushes. They also said the aggressive Orinoco crocodiles have been pretty much poached out.

Cheaper trips for peacock bass are found in Panama and Venezuela.

More expensive trips involve flying into remote regions of Brazil and living on a houseboat for a week, with fishing skiffs tethered alongside. That’s where 20-pound bass lurk in flooded rain forest, ready to crush all but the toughest lures.

As a side note, there have been kidnappings in South America, but so far I haven’t heard of an American being grabbed. One American told me in Brazil their boat and guide was captured, but when the kidnappers found out he was American, they apologized and left him on a sandbar with all of his fishing equipment. (Have a nice day). Took his guide and boat, however. It was surmised that the kidnappers didn’t want our Special Forces hunting them down. My

J AY WAT K I N S

AS K THE PRO

Improve your chances to land a trophy trout If you watch NFL games you have probably seen the commercial with Jason Witten sitting in the Dallas Cowboys locker room talking about how long it took him to earn his authentic Cowboys ball cap. Next to him is a young boy with the same cap; his mom bought it at the NFL online store. Who are you, Jason Witten or the boy?

My focus for the next three months will be trophysized trout. But before we get into that we have a few things we need to cover.

Manage your expectations: I believe that nothing truly valuable comes without hard work. And, to be honest, trout that tip the scale to 10-pounds (and more) are extremely rare nowadays – think 180-class lowfence whitetail rare. So, as we get on with managing expectations, know that catching a 10-pound trout will require extreme preparation, skill, and at least a fair amount of luck.

Learning: It seems that many anglers today have their fish-catching cart before the horse in both the mental and physical game – and please don’t take that the wrong way. My goal here is educate you and help

Dale Combs with a CPR trophy.

36 | February 2017

you prepare for an encounter with a trophy fish. I will turn 59 in a few days and have fished my whole life. I am still learning.

Learning is done on the water. Due to the wealth of information available today via social media, seminars and magazine articles, some anglers become “experts” without actually doing much fishing. Learn the basics of fishing and you can avoid the trap of getting your cart too far in front.

Skill Development: I think the first skill that must be mastered is casting. Casting is not just how far you can sling a lure. It’s picking a target and accurately placing the lure on it. It takes a lot of practice. Pick a target every cast.

Second is learning to quickly clear a backlash. This should come while mastering the casting thing. The last thing you want to be doing is wasting precious minutes picking at your reel or returning to the boat for a spare when the bite is on.

Third is learning to tie knots properly. The knot connecting the lure to the line is the most important link between you and the fish and it needs to be the strongest possible.

Fourth is lure presentation. Think of it as dancing. For every lure there’s a dance, and in case you haven’t noticed, no two two-steps are the same. Every angler has to find and develop their own rhythm. I think lure presentation is something we tweak continuously throughout our fishing career.

Tackle: A fast-action medium-light rod makes a lure dance differently than a moderately-fast medium rod. What I do with a 6’-6” Henri medium-light will be different from your 6’-6” Waterloo HP Slam Mag medium. Both are awesome sticks by the way.

Match your rods to the presentations you are trying to make.

Detecting a Bite: Distinguishing which signals being telegraphed through the line are bites and which are not is critical to success. The intensity of the bite can vary from day to day in winter, so it’s necessary to learn to decipher all of them.

Landing Fish: Looking at the rod tip to see if the fish is still on the line is not in the fish landing protocol. Remember, bigger fish have the ability to literally tear themselves free of the lure. The big ones get away because they can.

C ontact

Oh, the net thing. Hey, do what you want but, there is nothing to eat. Do not rush in, you’ll only when I teach anglers to land fish I teach them to do ruin the bird’s chances and your own. it without a net. I want the angler to learn to play Preparation: There is no excuse for not being the fish down so that it becomes easier to handle. prepared. Make a checklist. Mentally if you are Not saying nets are bad, just one more thing floating younger than 50, write it down if you’re older. You in the water for a big fish to tangle in. I’ve seen too need two reels, both in top working order. Make sure many tangles and break-offs...why risk it? the drags are smooth. Monofilament line should be Reading Water: Let’s say you have mastered changed once a month, braid will last two or three. everything so far; it’s time to learn to read the water.

Never risk losing a great fish to weak line.

This does not mean jerking the throttle back every Tie your leader knots the night before in good time you see a bent rod – just kidding. Reading lighting, you can put your lure on once on the water water means interpreting every sign and signal where the conditions will dictate lure type and color. your eyes can detect and you’ll need the best pair Check your waders for leaks. You won’t last long of polarized sunglasses you can afford. I wear Costa in 50⁰ water if you’re wet and cold. I had a guy get Del Mar 580s with copper lenses and green or in the water and one leg of his 1960 model waders silver mirror finish. With practice, you can learn to came off. No small tear, I’m talking all the way off.

Author preparing interpret depth changes and structure types. Black is Carry a small box of your favorite lures and some to release a typically grass or shell in my part of the world. White extra leader material. Your knot tying skills will allow beautiful 10-pound is shallow sand and dotted with long-legged birds – more you to tie a new leader while wading if the need winter trout. humor. Blue-green is deeper potholes. arises. By getting prepared the night before you’ll be Learn to visually establish underwater bottom structure – where ready to fish when the boat stops. are the edges and what’s the water depth where the edges begin?

Patience: This comes with water time. I can be as patient as Reading water allows you to establish the line where heavy bottom Job on the water. In the grocery store, not so much. Patience is grass begins and the broken stuff starts. something we acquire as we mature. My angling patience twenty Oh, and then there’s constant monitoring of water temperature. Two years ago left a lot to be desired. degrees can make a huge difference in your day’s results. Not knowing If you will apply yourself and work on the things I have laid out this will lead to defeat more times than not in the big trout game. here, I believe you will see significant improvement in your fishing Solunar Table: So, we’ve got us some bad to the bone Costa’s and success. Thanks for reading, laughing, and hopefully learning. we’re reading water and monitoring water temperatures. Now it’s May your fishing always be catching! -Guide Jay Watkins Solunar Table time. You don’t have to take a course in astronomy, just know the times during the day when feeding activity is most likely to occur. They’re called majors and minors; skip the science Jay Watkins has been a full-time fishing guide at Rockport, TX, for more than 20 years. Jay specializes in wading yearand follow the table. That’s how I do it. round for trout and redfish with artificial lures. Jay covers Bait Presence: Locating predictable food sources is huge in the Texas coast from San Antonio Bay to Corpus Christi Bay. winter trout fishing. I can’t tell you how many times a single mullet flipping or jumping over the proper bottom structure has put me Telephone 361-729-9596 right in the middle of them. An osprey or brown pelican gliding Email Jay@jaywatkins.com overhead patrolling the same piece of water repeatedly is even Website www.jaywatkins.com better. They see things we cannot and they do not waste time where

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C A P T. S COT T N U L L

SHALLO W W ATER F I SH I N G

Never waste

a nasty weather day!

I

know the big trout guys love this time of year and I’ll likely slip out into the mud to wade around a bit with a Corky doing that mind-numbing retrieve, but it’s not what gets a sight-casting guy fired up. February generally isn’t the best month to go poling around looking for reds unless you’re in the Louisiana marsh chasing the winter bulls. Unfortunately, I had too much going on this year to pull off my two months of guiding over there.

While there will certainly be a few scattered days with sunshine and warming temps to pull some fish out onto the flats, the majority will be cold, cloudy or windy; perhaps all three. It’s a good time to catch up on chores and honey-do jobs to buy yourself some passes.

Or you can spend those days getting ready for the better fishing that’s right around the corner. While I’m all about keeping the wife happy, I also like to be ready when the weatherman throws me a bone.

A lot of things get pushed to the back burner when the fishing is good like it has been with this extended

40 | February 2017

fall weather. They’re generally little maintenance things, but without attention sometimes a fender falls off the trailer when you’re headed to meet your customer at the boat ramp. Yeah, that happened. Tie straps are pretty damn handy.

Anyway, now is the time to get on those little chores you kept putting off. High on my list this February is getting my trailer in shape, obviously. Next time you have your boat off the trailer take a few minutes to really look things over. Are the bunk supports in good shape? How about the carpet on the bunks? I know mine needs to be replaced. Take a look at the U-bolts, axle, welds, etc. If you aren’t too sure what you’re looking for you might want to take it by a shop and have them check it over. A buddy of mine had a weld bust as he was pulling out of the driveway. Lucky for him it wasn’t a few minutes later as he was doing 70 on the highway. And bearings, always check the bearings. How many boats did you see on the side of the road with burned up bearings this season?

Speaking of bearings, how did your reel sound on the last trip? Now would be a good time to break down

BY

WWW.HOOKSPIT.COM

Harsh winter days are great for tying flies.

42 | February 2017

When it’s all on the line, literally, you will be glad you cleaned and inspected your reels.

Tools of the shallow water fishing trade ready for a new season.

rings and hooks. It always feels good when every lure is cleaned up and ready to roll. Some years they even get new boxes.

One box that tends to get replaced every year is the one holding the jig heads. No matter how hard I try, that one always seems to end up a rusted mess by the end of the year. My weedless spoons also reside in this box so they’re screwed up too. I used to try to revive everything, but it only puts off the inevitable. New box, new jig heads and new spoons.

Flies are a whole other thing. They tend to get worn out through a day of fishing and I’ll seldom throw one for more than a couple trips.

I’ll also send my customers home with the fly if they had a significant catch on it. I enjoy tying flies so it gives me a reason to keep restocking the boxes. But it never hurts to check those flies stored in your boxes.

The foam slits used to secure the flies tend to hold moisture that can wreck your hooks. I once had a box that had gotten wet without me realizing it. Every fly in that box had badly rusted hooks that were beyond rescue. I now use the waterproof locking boxes from Montana Fly Company (MFC) and don’t have that problem.

There are all sorts of other little things to look into. How is your braid? How old are your fly lines? Are they clean? Did your pliers work properly last time out? I haven’t even dipped into boat maintenance.

Think through a day on the water and try to check everything you rely on to have a safe and successful trip. Make some good use of these dreary winter days, spring is coming and having everything ready to roll feels really good.

C ontact

those reels and give them a thorough cleaning. I do my own basic cleanings a couple times during the season, but about this time of year I’ll drop them off with the guys at FTU for a thorough workover. When I get them back it’s like I have brand new reels again. If you’re going that route, do it now. As soon as the first warm days arrive those reel repair guys will get swamped. Happens every year.

While I do still chunk conventional at times, my go-to is fly fishing. Thankfully, fly reels are pretty simple gadgets. Unlike conventional reels, the more expensive they are the less maintenance they tend to require. I’ve got several Hatch reels that have been through multiple seasons of abuse with nothing more than a rinse. Take a moment to look your fly reels over. Is the frame still true or is it torqued just a bit causing a rub between the frame and spool? Pull on the line. If it sticks even a little bit, take care of it. Pay close attention to the initial pull as it usually happens right at the start-up. Fly fishing can be frustrating enough without having a balky drag pop your leader. Also, check your handles to make sure they spin freely. A previous brand of reels I used was really bad about having the handle bearings freeze up if they weren’t being used often.

One of my least favorite, yet most satisfying chores is replacing hooks on my plugs. I’ve got a box on a shelf in the shop where I toss lures with bent or broken hooks. Once a year I force myself to dump it out on the work bench and get out the split ring pliers. I’ll also go ahead and check the rest of the plugs still in the line-up. Anything with a touch of rust gets replaced. Once the hooks are off I’ll toss them into a bucket of warm soapy water. After a little scrubbing, they get tossed into another bucket of rinse water. Once dry, they get brand new split

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

Telephone Email Website

281-450-2206 scott@tsfmag.com www.captainscottnull.com

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Figure 1. Karenia brevis at 40x magnification.

B y J e n n i f e r B u t l e r, H a t c h e r y B i o l o g i s t , S e a C e n t e r Te x a s

FIELD NOTES

Red Tide

and Fish Hatcheries If you spend time fishing the Gulf coast you have probably at least heard the term, “Red Tide.” Maybe you have even suffered from its toxic effects. “Red Tide” refers to a dinoflagellate bloom of huge proportions. A dinoflagellate is a single cell phytoplankton, or “drifting plant.” The species that causes red tide in the coastal waters of Texas is Karenia brevis (abbreviated to K. brevis, Figure 1). These dinoflagellates are very small, so small that they are undetectable to the naked eye. Two hundred K. brevis cells lined up side by side would fit in the period at the end of this sentence.

Under the right conditions, they will reproduce rapidly and form a “bloom.” A K. brevis bloom is very visible to the naked eye, and gives water a brownish-red tint. These blooms can get so large and stretch so far across bays and in the Gulf that you cannot see the extent of the bloom from an airplane. They can be miles long and are moved by tides and currents.

While most phytoplankton blooms are common and harmless, there are a few species that are toxic. K. brevis is one of the toxic dinoflagellates. They produce brevetoxin, a potent neurotoxin. It affects humans in two ways.

Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning (NSP) occurs when a human

eats a shellfish, like an oyster, and gets sick. The oyster is a filter feeder, and consumes K. brevis when filtered from the water. The brevetoxin is not neutralized even when the oysters are cooked thoroughly, so it is important to know if there is a bloom in your area. Symptoms can include gastrointestinal problems, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, slurred speech, numbness of lips, mouth and tongue, and respiratory distress. Another way that humans are affected is when the brevetoxin is aerosolized. This occurs when there is a bloom and windy/rough sea conditions. Waves agitate the dinoflagellates breaking them up and releasing the brevetoxin into the water. The wind picks up the toxincontaining aerosol and disperses it. Breathing the toxin can cause coughing and sneezing and could be problematic to people who suffer from respiratory asthma. Brevetoxin affects fish by paralysis causing death. Red tide has been linked to massive fish kills along the Texas coast (although not all fish kills are caused by red tide), and fish hatcheries are not immune to its effects.

So, how does this tiny dinoflagellate impact at Sea Center Texas (SCT), TPWDs largest marine hatchery?

Well, SCT is positioned near the coast and pumps natural seawater through a pipeline from a pump station. The At Sea Center Texas, hatchery staff work together to produce red drum, spotted seatrout, and southern flounder for stock enhancement of the upper Texas coast. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department releases over 25 million fingerlings every year coastwide, and contribute to the fish populations that anglers are targeting. Sea Center Texas also has a (free!) Visitor’s Center where guests can see native Texas fish in aquarium displays, state record fish replicas on the walls, a touch tank, and other interpretive displays. There is also a saltwater wetlands, freshwater wetlands, and Wildscape demonstration area onsite. Guests are also encouraged to take a hatchery tour where the broodfish and incubation rooms are visited and the process and purpose of what we do is explained.

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facility utilizes this resource in everyday operations by filling outdoor fish rearing ponds, broodfish tanks, and aquarium displays. A red tide bloom in close proximity to the seawater intake station could cause serious problems. Fortunately, we are prepared for such an event.

Sea Center Texas has an 8-acre reservoir that serves as a seawater storage site. The facility can be operated in a scaled-back manner until the bloom dissipates or disappears by using seawater from the reservoir. The last red tide event that impacted operations at TPWD’s Coastal Fisheries began in September of 2011 and tapered off in the early spring of 2012. This was the longest red tide event recorded. In addition to local and regional sampling by Coastal Fisheries during the bloom, Sea Center performed daily K. brevis counts from water samples taken from our intake station and our reservoir. This enabled us to be

Figure 2. Visible red tide near the Perry R. Bass Marine Fisheries Research Center in Palacios, October 28, 2011 (photo courtesy Winston Denton, TPWD)

46 | February 2017

very proactive with water management: mission critical systems were prioritized, seawater discharge was minimized, and fingerling grow-out in ponds was coming to its seasonal end. Although red tide induced fish kills occurred at our intake pump station, nearby beaches, bays, and marshes, SCT experienced no fish mortality.

Certain combinations of environmental conditions trigger red tide blooms but the exact cause remains unknown. In the meantime, Coastal Fisheries staff are keeping a watchful eye on the color, smell, and phytoplankton composition of our Texas coastal waters.

To report a fish kill, or if you suspect a red tide bloom, call TPWD’s 24-hour communications centers at (512)-389-4848 (Austin) or (281)842-8100 (Houston). For more information about red tide and the latest updates, call the TPWD hotline at (800) 792-1112, select fishing, and then select red tide. Current information about shellfish closures can be obtained by contacting the Seafood Safety Division of the Texas Department of State Health Services at (800) 685-0361. (Save these numbers in your phone so you can call when you are on the water.) More information, including downloadable and printable brochures, can be found at tpwd.texas.gov and searching “red tide.”

For more information about Sea Center Texas, visit tpwd.texas.gov/ spdest/visitorcenters/seacenter/, find us on Facebook, or call (979) 292-0100 ext. 21.

Check the TPWD Outdoor Annual, your local TPWD Law Enforcement office, or www. tpwd.texas.gov for more information.

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S C O T T S O M M E R L AT T E

F LY F I S HIN G

Getting Schooled Here’s to new beginnings. I know, it sounds like something someone would say at the beginning of the year. Well technically, even though this is the February issue of this fine fishing publication, at the time of this writing, it is the very first day of yet another new year.

So, I raise a glass of rye, hoping this toast inspires a GREAT NEW YEAR for all of us. Moving on, I am going to ask you all to bear with me as I utilize my space here to wax philosophical.

As some may know, I love to tell stories on myself. The good, the bad and, unfortunately sometimes, the ugly.

And, if I have not already aired it out publicly, chances are, I will at some point.

I take pride in the fact that I was the first full-time fly fishing guide to call Port O’Connor-Seadrift home.

Saying that, I want you to know that I know every nook and cranny of my home waters very intimately. I have been hunting and/or fishing here 35 years, spending nearly 200 days on the water per year for about 25 of them. I tell you this in attempt to justify one of my “ugly” weaknesses – I have a selfish streak. However, I also go to lengths to respect the space of others. Which is why I chose to set up guiding here in the beginning. I wouldn’t be in anybody’s way and I wouldn’t have to share.

48 | February 2017

When I started full-time in 1996, you could count the full-time Texas fly guides on one hand – Chuck Naiser, Chuck Scates (RIP), Eric Glass and Chris Phillips (RIP).

These guys were and still are my heroes.

As to who came fifth or sixth falls to either me or my good friend Ethan Wells, we started about the same time.

Ethan may have beaten me by a month or two but no matter, to my knowledge he and I brought the total to six.

Sure, there were other notable and accomplished guides who took occasional fly fishermen, but they did not fish solely by chunking fur and feathers. They just knew enough about it to be good when they needed to be.

Now, back to when I was entertaining the idea of becoming a fly-fishing guide. I had a few close friends encouraging me despite my desire to never be a fishing guide. When I finally realized that the water is where I belonged I had to decide where to go and there was only one place – Port O’Connor-Seadrift. I already knew the water and nobody was working there.

Much to my benefit and detriment, I set out to do my thing where I would not be in the way of other guides and I could indulge the selfish side of my personality in that I would have all the best fly-fishing spots to myself.

And it worked for quite a few years. However, those

funeral…oops…wedding. Actually, if it were my funeral, Tom would probably be selling tickets.

So here is where I bring together all the above to make a point.

Not too long ago Tom called and invited me fishing. He said he knew where we could catch some good trout on fly and I accepted.

He took me into a pocket I know very well and have fished dozens of times and always caught reds. Thing is, I have always fished it in exact opposite conditions and this is where I got schooled.

Tom not only showed me something that I knew nothing about, he showed me something I had never seen, and took time to explain why I was seeing it. It was a great learning experience, and it happened in MY water.

The bad part is, I now have to look at a whole bunch of other spots in a whole new light. It just goes to prove that every spot has a hidden secret or two and there is something new to be learned around every corner. Especially when your friends are great fishermen.

It was a great way to end 2016 and an even better way to begin 2017.

C ontact

days are over as I now see a hoard of internet-famous kids flocking to the water to become guides. They have their GPSs, Google Maps, social media and binoculars – not only for spotting tailing redfish, but at least as much to see where someone is poling a skiff and then figuring out how to get there.

Moving on, I have acknowledged that I am a rather selfish bastard, and I am, just in reading this…way too prideful. Well folks, I have knocked out two of the seven deadly sins in a few short paragraphs.

Now I will try to atone for it…if I can.

So, in 2001 I got word of a new Texas fly-guide. I had heard great things about Tom Horbey but did not really care one way or the other so long as he was not in my way. Then, one fateful summer day in 2002, I ran into him in MY water and the next year he moved to POC. I was not happy.

Now in all honesty, Tom and I rarely crossed paths and had no real rubs other than those being fueled by another “new” guide (a whole other story). Then one day it happened. I was running to one of my favorite early-fall spots and did not see Tom parked in a pocket, tying on a fly on for his client. I ran right through the area I suspected he was about to fish. I felt like an ass!

With that, I had not spoken to him since he moved to POC however, whether I like you or not, I will go out of my way, the best I can, to avoid messing up your fishing. I spent the rest of the day on my poling platform dreading the phone call I knew I had to make.

That evening I picked up the phone and apologized for my rude behavior. He told me an apology was not required but accepted it anyway. It took a while but we eventually became friends. In fact, I consider him such a good friend that I would invite him to my

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

Telephone Email Website

979-415-4379 vssommerlatte@hotmail.com www.mangrovefly.com

TSFMAG.com | 49

DAV E R O B E R T S

K AYA K F I S HIN G CH R ONICLE S

The Heat’s in the Tools I believe that if the honest truth was to be told most Texas folks have a love/hate relationship with winter.

Personally, I lean more towards the loving side of the cooler months while others become hermits and patiently wait for warmer weather. But saying that, please understand that while I love winter I do not, under any circumstances, like being cold. Once your fingers and face become numb and do not function properly, that is when it is no longer fun.

When you are not fully prepared, outdoor activities are not pleasant. I even have days at my real job (the one that pays the bills) wishing that I was sitting behind a desk somewhere warm and comfy and not out in the field working. On the bitter days when it is hard to get motivated, I can always hear my older co-worker quoting that old saying that I am sure every construction hand has heard a thousand times. “Come on 50 | February 2017

Junior, the heat’s in the tools!”

I often try to remind myself of that saying when I start to second guess my outing on a cooler day. My tools in the field though are my paddle and my FTU Green Rod. Keep them moving and you will surely stay warm.

52 | February 2017

on average, it has produced both quantity and quality for me.

Here lately my work schedule has been severely crowding my free time. When you work 7-12s you only have a small window to go fishing and that is when you are lucky enough to get off work early enough. I have hit a few areas right at dusk and into the first few hours of darkness with some luck but nothing that was just lights-out. Every trip that I have made I managed to catch a few 20 to 22-inch trout with the occasional 24-incher. This is where I’m stuck for the time being and hoping that we will get some consistently cold weather to push the larger ones into predictable areas I can target with my limited time on the water.

In true Texas fashion, winter this year has been more like a really long fall season with a few bitter days sprinkled here and there. As I write this there is a cold front coming early next week and hopefully by the time you are reading this we will be finally experiencing winter.

I will be back to my normal work schedule soon and I plan on being on the water on all three days I have off each week. February is one of the best times of the year to have a monumental day on the water; it also has potential to produce the caliber of fish you’d like to put on the wall. Either way, for the next few months I will be sitting on a flat somewhere throwing a Corky or Fluke, waiting for that one big bite.

Remember to stay warm, stay dry and, the heat’s in the tools!

C ontact

Anytime I have someone new with me or someone who does not fish often during winter I always try to inform them of the two most important things – stay dry and stay warm.

For starters, if you are going to paddle or even wade, make sure that you leak check your waders. A good way to do this is in a swimming pool. I am guilty of failing to leak check but after a brutally cold and wet day on the water a few winters back, I swore I would never let that happen again. It is too easy nowadays to run down to any outdoor store and purchase a pair of waders that will keep you dry.

Your hands are probably the most vulnerable part of your body and important to keep dry. This is an especially difficult task when wielding a paddle that is constantly in the water. I have found that it is best to wear a pair of neoprene gloves while paddling to your initial spot. After doing most of the paddling I take them off to fish since they are kind of bulky when holding a rod and trying to feel a bite. Getting your hands wet is going to happen, especially when you start catching fish. I have started carrying a hand towel with me to dry them off after the release of a fish. If anyone has a solution to the dilemma of waterproof gloves that you can still fish with, please send me an email, I would really like to know.

Much like the thermostat in your house switching from cool to heat, my internal switch has changed from redfish to trout. I spend a majority of my winter fishing time chasing trout, searching for a fish of a lifetime. When I think of winter two things come instantly to mind - duck hunting and throwing Corkys for trout. I am not sure why I am so hooked on these things but they are both one of a kind experiences; maybe it is because there is such a small window I have to take advantage of it while I can. February trout fishing for me has always been very productive and certainly the best of the cooler months. I have still not caught my personal best during February but,

Dave Roberts is an avid kayak-fishing enthusiast fishing primarily the inshore Upper Coast region with occasional adventures to surf and nearshore Gulf of Mexico.

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Busy marinas filled with thousands upon thousands of recreational fishing vessels should have been a signal describing the economic impact of rec fishing. Somehow it has been overlooked.

Story by John Blaha | Photos by Lisa Laskowski

T S F M ag C o n s e r v a t i o n N e ws

The Outdoor Recreation Jobs and Economic Impact Act of 2016 As recreational fishermen, we need to pay special attention to the recently signed bill by President Obama, the Outdoor Recreation Jobs and Economic Impact Act of 2016. If you follow legislation in regards to recreational fishing and the impact it has on the economy of the United States, then you may have seen articles recently about the Outdoor REC Act which was signed into law the last week of December and stands to ensure that the outdoor recreation economy is counted as part of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product. Marine recreational angling is of course part of the overall outdoor recreation economy, which is enormous, and CCA economist Brad Gentner wrote the article below about what passage of this Act may mean to our recreational fishing community.

A recent Outdoor Industry Association Recreation Economy report shows that outdoor recreation annually accounts for $646 billion in consumer spending, 6.1 million American jobs, $80 billion in federal state and local tax revenue and other significant economic activity across the country. This report alone signifies the importance of the outdoor recreational economy and the affects it has across the entire United States.

What Does the Outdoor Recreation Jobs and Economic Impact Act of 2016 Mean?

By Brad Gentner, President, Gentner Consulting Group LLC 54 | February 2017

This piece of legislation is a big deal for the recreational fishing community. Perhaps not as big of a deal as for other outdoor recreational pursuits, as the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) collects fishing expenditure information periodically, Increasingly restrictive fisheries management policies are perhaps the greatest threat to the future of recreational fishing.

but more on that in a second.

First, I want to briefly describe what this act does. It requires the Department of Commerce to estimate the economic footprint of the entire outdoor recreational industry. This effort will be conducted with the assistance of both the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture. Currently, the outdoor recreation industry does not have its own classification in the database used to track the flow of dollars in our economy. They will use the same consistent and time-tested methods that they have used for other sectors of the economy, like mining or durable goods manufacturing, since the Department of Commerce has been tracking these statistics. Our economic footprint will be included in the annual industry statistics produced by Commerce.

The nice thing is the current estimates of GDP already include our expenditures; the focus of this effort will be to simply delineate them so they are easier for businesses, advocacy groups and policy makers to use.

Why is this good for us? Because finally our worth will be counted in a way that cannot be disputed, by a Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, that is independent from NMFS. It will be estimated and tracked by experts that have been doing this for decades. It does not rely on survey of anglers, like the MRIP, and is therefore harder to ignore. As I mentioned above, NMFS already periodically collects data on expenditures. However, they only recently established a firm schedule and that schedule is not every year. We all already know we get ignored regularly in the federal fishery management process. Take our recent blog post, on www.

56 | February 2017

joincca.org, (Old Dog, Same Tricks - Oct. 27, 2016) where NMFS ignored our economic footprint, again, when it sent out its press release for Fisheries of the United States 2015. We have been begging them to include the impact of recreational angling.

Which brings me to another reason for the need for these broad-brush, whole economy numbers. We aren’t trying to sort out allocation using these figures. Instead, we are trying to show that the natural resource economy is not underpinned solely by commercial extraction as many would have you believe. Why wouldn’t an agency want to brag that the resource they manage is several times more important economically than it is?

It is even worse when we try to bring our huge economic footprint to bear on individual policy issues. Often we are dismissed because the data comes from MRIP (the Marine Recreational Information Program) or because the process does not recognize recreation as a serious business. The economic activity recreational fishing generates is huge in comparison to commercial fishing.

Across fisheries that have a recreational component, we dwarf commercial extraction. In 2005, all outdoor recreation generated more than Americans spent on pharmaceuticals and automotive parts combined.

We know that these kinds of figures drive budgets and research priorities. We know these figures should be used to drive policies that generate more benefits from our resource than they currently do. Now Congress has agreed with our community that this is vitally important, and perhaps NMFS will no longer be able to ignore that fact.Â

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F I S H Y F A CT S

Spotted Eagle Ray Stingrays are a well-known and common nemesis in Texas bays, but what about their less common(ly encountered) cousins? The manta ray has its own claim to fame, being the largest of the rays, and we’re big on knowing the “largest” animals. Cownose rays are memorable for their mass migrations. Electric rays are, well, kind of self-explanatory. Guitarfishes and sawfishes – very odd looking, won’t forget one of those once you’ve seen ‘em.

How about eagle rays? The name sounds impressive, but how much do you really know about them?

Reaching nearly 11 feet across, the spotted eagle ray, Aetobatus narinari, is one of the largest eagle rays in the world, surpassed only by the manta. It can grow longer than a man is tall (over 8 feet), not counting the tail length, which can add another 8+ feet. At a recorded maximum weight of 507 pounds, you’re dealing with a very large fish. The tail is whip-like and barbed, like a really long stingray tail, except the eagle ray’s spines are located at the base of the tail, near the body, instead of near the tip. The spines, of which there are usually 2 to 6, are not smooth, but instead have curved lateral teeth, a forked root, and a barbed tip. Also, they are venomous.

One of the more distinctive rays, the spotted eagle ray is a dramatic dark color on top, scattered with light spots or rings. The underside is white and contains the mouth and gills. The tail also has a white base, and in freshly caught specimens, may have crossbars. Skin is

58 | February 2017

smooth, lacking denticles or other poky features. Body is flat and rhomboid-shaped, making for easy flight through the water. Snout is rounded, but pointed at the tip, resembling a beak.

Spotted eagle rays are found in warm waters worldwide. Though they are generally associated with bays and coral reefs, they sometimes enter estuaries, and they often school in large groups to cross deep, open waters. Current molecular research indicates that this wide-ranging species might actually be a species complex (a group of closely related species that are very similar in appearance to the point that the boundaries between them are often unclear). Based on external morphology, coloration, parasite fauna, and distribution, there are likely at least four species of Aetobatus narinari.

Like all eagle rays, spotted eagles are active swimmers, as opposed to the closely related whiptail stingrays that lie motionless on the seafloor. Occasionally eagle rays jump out of the water. The reason why remains a mystery. Some scientists speculate that they may be females trying to avoid unwanted male attention, or they may do it to shake off parasites or remoras.

Sometimes they accidentally land in boats. Fun fact: the tides influence their behavior! Apparently, high tides are the equivalent of a Red Bull.

Daily diet consists of mainly bivalves, but also shrimp, crab, octopus, worms, whelks, urchins, and small fishes.

A row of broad, flat, chevron-shaped teeth in each jaw combine to form a single plate, used to crush shellfish. This ray is well adapted, with its shovel-shaped snout and duck-like bill, for digging. Feeding rays often leave craters in the sand as they submerse their large heads and excavate buried prey, spewing sand from their gills and generally dirtying up the surrounding water. When prey is caught, the ray crushes it with its plate-like teeth and spits out the shell pieces, swallowing only the slimy delicious bits.

By adulthood, these rays are large enough to deter most predators, even without the venomous spines. Sharks are the exception.

No surprise there. They’ve even been reported to follow spotted eagle rays during birthing season to feed on newborn pups.

Spotted eagle rays are ovoviviparous, meaning the eggs develop and hatch within the mother. Mother gives birth to live young.

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Gestation takes about a year, and a litter can be up to 4 pups, each about a foot in width at birth, perfect miniature versions of adults.

They reach sexual maturity in 4 to 6 years and typically return to the same location annually to mate. Total lifespan is 15 to 20 years.

While it is not considered a food fish, the spotted eagle ray is caught as bycatch in much of its range and used for fishmeal and oil. It is sometimes fished as a gamefish and provides a good, noisy fight when captured on a line. Generally a shy and tranquil species, spotted eagles are wary of divers and difficult to approach. However, it is considered potentially dangerous to humans due to the venomous tail spines.

Stings from spotted eagle rays are similar to those of stingrays and are basically treated the same.

Aetobatus narinari is currently classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List and is protected in Florida State waters (no such protection currently exists in Texas). The classification is based on the species’ exposure to a wide variety of inshore fishing gear (beach seine, gillnet, purse seine, benthic longline, trawl etc.), its marketability, and the generally intense and unregulated nature of inshore fisheries across large parts of its range. It is also a popular public aquarium specimen.

Cross one cousin off the list.

Where I learned about spotted eagle rays, and you can too!

FishBase www.fishbase.org/summary/1250 IUCN Red List www.iucnredlist.org/details/39415/0

60 | February 2017

Florida Museum of Natural History www.flmnh.ufl.edu/index.php?cID=2033 Oceana oceana.org/marine-life/sharks-rays/spotted-eagle-ray Dept of Environment and Natural Resources environment.bm/spotted-eagle-ray/ University of Adelaide www.toxinology.com/fusebox.cfm?fuseaction=main.marine_vertebrates. display&id=MV00053 Oxford Journals jhered.oxfordjournals.org/content/100/3/273.long MarineBio marinebio.org/species.asp?id=58 ARKive www.arkive.org/spotted-eagle-ray/aetobatus-narinari/ Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_eagle_ray Animal Place www.animalplace.net/fishes/spotted-eagle-ray-facts-characteristics-habitatand-more/

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Mongo croakers like these are commonly caught in winter at platforms just offshore.

JOE RICHARD

IN S HO R E | NE A R S HO R E | J ETTIE S | P A S S E S

Winter Gulf Platforms February is a tough month along the coast, but if there is one sure deal out there, it’s tying up to a platform in state waters. You have to get there, of course, and the weather is all-important. But catching a calm day in a safe boat, with a couple pounds of frozen squid on hand—that’s a sure recipe for a cooler full of fish. They’re hungry this time of year, and fishing pressure is minimal by summer’s standards.

We have two means of fishing these platforms in winter. First, with a mediumaction boat rod, rig up three red circle hooks on 60-pound mono leader, along with an 8-ounce drop weight. Attach squid and send to the bottom close to a piling, and leave the rod in a holder with reel in gear. When the rod jiggles and 62 | February 2017

First mate Miss Amy with a pair of state water snapper during winter. These fish often have to be measured, before keeping.

bounces, ignore it. When it bends over and stays bent, it’s time to reel. Every kind of fish down there will feed on squid: Keeper snapper, slot redfish, big whiting, croaker and Gulf trout. With the latter three fish, they’re maybe the biggest you’ve ever seen; one winter I cranked up a Gulf trout that weighed 4.3 pounds, weighed back at the marina.

Smaller Gulf trout can be filleted into fresh bait, so bring a cutting board and sharp knife. We often send a trout head or entire fillet back down, where a bull redfish may grab on. This is fairly steady action, but we supplement it by jigging with baitcasting tackle.

Not the fast jigging of summer, but fishing the jig slowly in the depths near bottom, where we catch the same fish. Along

with hungry, spawning sheepshead, if we add a pinch of shrimp to the jig. The jig’s tail isn’t really necessary, that lead head and hook will sink quickly down to ideal depths of 50 feet or so. The jig may be intercepted along the way by sheepshead, however.

This is fast action for winter fishing, faster than most days back at the jetties. Certainly worth the effort. However, a safe boat and a good weather forecast are necessary. Keep a GPS handy for navigating back to the jetty or beach, if a fog bank should move in and cut visibility. An old fashioned compass is handy, too. In our younger days before GPS, winter fog banks lurking further offshore would move in towards the beach around 4 p.m. and would almost beat us back to the jetties. But we always won the race, though sometimes by a narrow margin. Twice, we ran through the jetty safety cut, with the fog beginning to obscure the end of the rocks. That’s cutting it close. Lots of bad things can happen if visibility is cut to a few yards.

With low water temperatures, this is a hazardous time to end up in the water, so stay alert and sprint for the beach if an untimely norther rolls in. And keep a bucket on the boat; they’re handy for a number of uses including holding fish destined for the cooler, but also for bailing a boat if a bilge pump fails. One weekend we were caught about nine miles off Sabine Pass, in a safe 22-foot Aquasport with cabin, but had a devil of a time making it back to the jetties when a sudden, vicious northwest wind arrived under a blue sky. We dallied

a little too long; somewhere I still have pictures of the guys posing with big Gulf trout with whitecaps splashing pilings behind them. We untied from the rig and had to skate about 45 degrees off-course until reaching calmer waters near the beach, then ran to the jetties. Next day in the papers, we read how some young guys had tried it in a smaller boat off Freeport, and didn’t make it back. This was before weather apps, cell phones and other modern conveniences. It’s so important to remember that the worst thing you can do is wind up in cold water offshore. That’s why I wouldn’t recommend trying these Gulf platforms in a low-sided bay boat. Not in winter. A box full of fish isn’t worth it.

If you don’t want to try this sort of action, there is always the bigger, safer partyboats to consider; I’ve made many winter trips on these vessels. There are zero worries about safety; you can nap in dry semi-comfort (compared to a small boat, anyway) and those fish further offshore, reached by these bigger boats, are indifferent to winter’s cold.

Slot redfish cruises through the pilings of a Gulf platform in state waters.

C ontact

Old, rusty platforms in state waters offshore are prime habitat for winter fish. This bay boat ventured out in summer, when at least the water was warm.

Joe Richard has fished the Gulf since 1967, starting out of Port Arthur, but his adventures have taken him up and down the entire coast. He was the editor of Tide magazine for eight years, and later Florida Sportsman’s book and assistant magazine editor. He began guiding out of Port O’Connor in 1994. His specialty is big kingfish, and his latest book is The Kingfish Bible, New Revelations. Available at Seafavorites.com

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TSFMAG.com | 63

Alexis and her first sandbar landed on a recent PINS trip.

E X T R E M E K AYA K F I S H I N G & S H A R K S F R O M T H E S A N D

E R IC O Z OLIN S

Prime Time for Sandbars The warm winter of 2016-2017 has proven to be right about on par with the previous two. As of January, 1 we’ve had only a few fronts that might qualify as “cold” but that could change any day. Some areas of the coast have endured very thick fog that would appear and hang around for days. When the sun broke through and the water had a chance to warm up, fishing would turn on in the surf zone with red drum, black drum, and pompano.

Though the beaches have remained relatively quiet in regards to human presence, the same cannot be said

64 | February 2017

for marine species. I am a shark fisherman by nature and strive to target them every chance, year ‘round. I know when to expect certain species to become plentiful in the surf and I know when to expect fish to head to deeper, warmer water. I also know that this February we are about to see an abundance of sandbar sharks.

The sandbar shark moves inshore as the Gulf of Mexico cools down in winter. While generally a highly migratory species, a component of the sandbar population remains in deeper gulf waters all year. Sandbars are very robust with very impressive teeth.

Visually similar to the blacktip shark, but larger in terms of overall bulk. These fish typically max out between 7.5 and 8 feet in length.

Sandbars have two physical characteristics that aid in identification. First is an interdorsal ridge running between its dorsal fins. Of the shark species found in Texas only a few possess this feature. Blacktip and bull sharks do not, and can Alexis, all strapped therefore easily be ruled out. in and doing battle.

The other obvious giveaway is the massive triangular dorsal

66 | February 2017

Another hard-fighting sandbar for the author.

put on a fantastic display and impressive fight for being only a 6’-9” specimen. I have rarely seen other sharks of that size fight as hard. We were releasing that fish when a 6’-6” took a bait and put up another impressive fight. We ended up “two for three” in a matter of a couple hours. We would have undoubtedly landed more had we run baits back out for the evening bite.

While I have landed sandbars in the 7.5-foot range, every fish is unique in its own way. These are very hardy sharks. I’ve heard tales of anglers years ago keeping sandbars for meat or jaws, and thirty minutes on the sand they suddenly went berserk. This could be attributed to the cool water and weather allowing the fish to retain as much oxygen as possible.

In March 2006, I had a very scary encounter that resulted in a trip to the ER and surgical reattachment of some tendons in my hand.

Sandbars are very aggressive on the sand and capable of doing damage. Never underestimate any shark, and definitely do not underestimate a sandbar.

Sandbars deserve our respect and our protection. While our fishery is healthy and sustainable at present, it is important for Texas anglers to obey regulations to assist the recovery of the species in other parts of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic. If you want to brave the cooler conditions, get out and deploy some baits. You may be delightfully surprised.

C ontact

fin. When compared to say the blacktip, the sandbar dorsal is far larger in relative scale to the rest of the body. That uncommonly large dorsal is often the first clue when an angler is battling a sandbar to the beach.

As with most shark species that frequent our surf, sandbars have a water temperature range in which they are most likely to be present. Ideal would be between 64⁰ and 68⁰ but might appear in slight deviations outside that range. When the water temp drops into the 50s they move back offshore.

Two reasons for sandbar abundance in our surf during winter. Mating: It is not uncommon to catch a mature “swollen” male, and then a mature female within minutes. For whatever reason, sandbars come from all around the gulf to mate in the South Texas surf during February and early-March.

In addition to their reproductive habits, sandbars are also attracted to the readily available food sources. Their preferred forage species include whiting, black drum, pompano, and sheepshead. Deploying any of these fresh baits during good water conditions is likely to entice a large sandbar.

While most often caught on kayaked baits, they are sometimes taken on baits casted out from the beach. Even more so, I have seen big sandbars caught in channels and passes at night.

Interesting is the sandbar’s relevance to the fishery. Within the last few years sandbars have become a federally protected species. During winter in South Texas they might seem a dime a dozen. However, overfishing along the East Coast has resulted in the protected-species status. Sandbar sharks were commercially harvested and labeled as blacktip shark in the market for many years. Truth is they taste similar and can be quite delicious. Seafood marketers believed labeling truthfully as sandbar shark would sound “dirty” and diminish the appeal, hence they were simply sold as blacktip. All of this is now irrelevant with the protected status being enacted. At the end of the day the protection of the species is good for the fishery and even better for the species itself.

I have had many run-ins with sandbars and I enjoy catching them.

Up until about 15 years ago, no one really knew about our wintertime surf shark fishery. The old-timers fished from Memorial Day until Labor Day. When the weather got cool everybody went hunting. Biologists knew sharks were present in the surf in winter, but it took quite a while for winter shark fishing to really catch on. The advent of the internet and the sit-on-top kayak for safely transporting baits offshore no doubt helped the evolution to occur.

Sandbar sharks can be quite remarkable from an angling viewpoint.

Like their smaller cousins, blacktips and spinners, sandies have been known to make marvelous surface breaches. I have witnessed this countless times and it is still impressive to me. While each shark species has its own behavioral traits, sandbars are typically solid fighters and use their bulk to advantage.

A great example of this was when Alexis Anthony and I were fishing for sandbars recently. Late that afternoon she hooked a solid fish that

For the past decade Eric ‘Oz’ Ozolins has been promoting shark catch and release and assisting various shark research programs. Eric offers guided shark fishing on Padre Island National Seashore. Also renowned for extreme kayak big game fishing, Eric runs Kayak Wars; one of the largest kayak fishing tournaments in the world.

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TSFMAG.com | 69

Dickie Colburn

DICKIE COLBURN’S Sabine Scene

Sabine

Dickie Colburn is a full time guide out of Orange, Texas. Dickie has 37 years experience guiding on Sabine and Calcasieu Lakes.

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

70 | February 2017

“Maybe you just need to go back to square one and fish your old spots,” proposed Gene Locke while digging through his Corkys for a color that might work. “It wasn’t until the nets were removed and the visiting Troutmasters showed us the benefits of targeting the shallow flats that we even realized what we had been missing.”

We are finally starting to catch more two to three-pound trout on a regular basis again, but any fish over the five-pound mark now merits a second look. That was not the case even as recently as two years ago. For years, the big trout bite was so prolific that local anglers took it for granted. That is no longer the case!

Two years of excessive flooding and a growing number of more astute anglers haven’t made things any easier, but the fact that we are once again seeing better numbers of solid 18 to 20-inch fish is encouraging. Fewer reports of big trout could also be the result of more fishermen now content to simply look for bites than patiently target quality fish.

There has absolutely been far less wading pressure on the shallow flats thus far and even

the drift fishermen are making technique alterations that will generate more strikes. From the Causeway all the way to Middle Pass, anglers are fishing shorter tails and smaller topwaters to catch more fish.

Five-inch tails like the Assassin rat tails, Split Tail

Another “just for fun” redfish!

mullets and Die Dappers rigged on 1/8-ounce heads have taken a backseat to their more productive smaller counterparts like the Sea Shad, Lil’ John and Vudu shrimp. More anglers are also fishing tails under a cork than ever before and fewer folks are even bothering to wait out a bite on prime structure.

For those reasons alone, catching larger trout is more accidental than the result of any dedicated grinding. The good news is that, at least for right now, the water clarity is fantastic, warmer than usual, and there are still enough shrimp in the Two more reds lake to keep the reds and those smaller released on trout in a hunting mode. a Frogg Togg Some of the more consistent fish kind of day. catchers have lengthened the leaders on their cork rigs and are fishing their smaller plastics much deeper. A two to three-foot leader has given way to a four to five-foot leader, but while it generates more bites, I have never found that change to be as effective for big trout.

In fact, we are still catching fewer but larger trout staying with the shorter leader and the longer GULP Jerk Shad. The bonus to this combination is that the redfish cannot leave it alone. I love to catch big trout, but I still have to catch a lot of reds before running off in search of a better bite.

For those of you that have called or

e-mailed questions about fishing the cork and tail rig, this is the setup I use to fish it year ‘round. I fish a 1/8-ounce jig head tied on a 24 to 30inch mono leader under an oval TKO cork. For ease of casting on even the windiest of days, I fish a Shimano 3000 Stradic filled with 20-pound Power Pro under a 7-foot medium action Laguna spinning rod.

At times I swap out the lead head for a 4/0 worm hook for an even slower fall and tie everything on with a loop knot for more life-like lure action. Warning‌this technique can be addicting. Especially when everything else fails!

We very well may see a great bite on the deeper Causeway reefs this month, but I would not pass up the revetment walls or wading what is left of the barrier islands on the north end of the lake. If the winter remains mild, She Dogs, Swimming Images and 4-inch Usual Suspects can all get red hot. The key to fishing the wall is determining if the fish are holding next to the rocks or a full cast away.

If the water clarity holds up and 4 to 6-inches of visibility is sufficient, I will spend the last few hours of most days fishing a Fat Boy or topwater in less than four feet of water. Plan on staying late and never pass up a good incoming tide.

Take more kids fishing in 2017!

TSFMAG.com | 71

Capt. Caleb Harp

The Buzz on Galveston Bay

Galveston

Capt. Caleb Harp has fished the Galveston Bay System since childhood and, now a charter captain and fishing guide, he uses his knowledge to enable clients to enjoy the excellent fishing the area offers. His specialty is the yeararound pursuit for trophy trout and redfish with artificial lures

Telephone 281-753-3378 Website harpsguideservice.com

February is one of the best months to catch big trout Do not be misled into thinking winter is over, not by in Galveston Bay. Quite often the weather sets up a long shot, but the warming periods become more perfectly, sandwiched between January’s coldest days frequent and tend to last a day or two longer. Good old and the beginning of the spring transition. While these unpredictable Texas weather can bring 30⁰ one day and fish will still be favoring the January winter pattern of 70⁰ a couple days later. These crazy trends always bring holding in deeper protected areas much of the time, setbacks, that’s why it is important to concentrate effort they begin to venture onto adjacent mud-shell flats during the warmups. more often. March brings the dreaded spring transition The same as in other seasons, the primary clue to with its hard-to-predict patterns game fish vacating protected holes to of windy days, changes in fish feed in depths that we can wade will metabolism and structure be signs of mullet activity along edges preferences. February is just so where the deeper water tapers shallow much easier. toward muddy flats. Bait is usually hard Put into the simplest of to spot earlier in the day; prime time terms - the fish have been really usually occurs between mid-afternoon cold nearly all of January and and sunset. The first hour or two of laid up with low metabolism. darkness can also be worth sticking February’s longer warming around for but only if you are skilled in periods increase metabolism, nighttime navigation. and herein lies the key. Picking It is important to recognize the your days carefully, when they’re primary influences that cause fish to Clayton Smalley with a big one not hunkered down for cover change their habits and patterns: during a February and the wind isn’t howling, can Freshwater Inundation – warm-up period. set the stage perfectly.

Obviously, saltwater fish prefer salt

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water. Although redfish and flounder will tolerate lower salinity than trout for extended periods, they still prefer a stable environment of at least moderate salinity. When salinity drops to single digits or turns completely fresh, all three species begin to move.

Forage Availability – Fish must eat to stay alive but you might be surprised at how far a fish will move to capture a meal. Studies reveal that speckled trout will chase a baitfish only three times it’s body length to capture it. So when you are blind casting around a flat, you’ve got to get within 90 inches of that elusive 30-incher. But they must have food to survive, so whenever the bait evacuates a flat because of extreme cold or extreme warmth, they will adjust. Perhaps this helps explain why locating concentrations of bait is so vitally important.

Water Temperature – Whenever fish become too cold or too warm it tests their survivability and they will seek more favorable habitat. Right before the ’89 freeze, Mickey Eastman said there were huge pushes of fish leaving the back of East Bay heading straight to Rollover Pass. Almost like a herd of animals fleeing a forest fire.

West Galveston Bay West Bay has been good for wade fishermen in the south shoreline coves. As the water temperature begins to warm up, the fish will stage on sandier bottoms with more concentrated shell. Working your lures slow and low this time of year is the name of

2017-TX-feb-17-27-37-trout.pdf

the game. I like to throw Corky Fat Boys and Soft Dine XLs for the slower bites, working them against the edge of the shell. The slower fall of soft plastics rigged on 1/16 and 1/32 jigheads can also be killer. We should see good numbers of larger trout coming from West Bay in February.

East Galveston Bay East Bay has been hot in the back of the bay towards Rollover and along the Anahuac Wildlife Refuge shorelines but there has been a lot of traffic.

That whole area of East Bay is full of mud flats covered rangia clams and oysters – great structure for big trout. MirrOlures, Corkys, and topwaters (warm days) are go-to lures for February. Redfish and large trout are often found in mixed company in the shallows; keep that in mind when fishing warmups between fronts.

Blake Byford fooled this one with a Corky Fat Boy.

Upper Galveston Bay The Upper Galveston Bay region has been the most reliable of late. The deepwater getaways and drop-offs that comprise the area are some of the best in the whole system for wintertime fishing. Oyster-filled mud flats also make great habitat for trout and redfish during cold months.

Corkys and soft plastics on light jigs are killers up there. February will heat things up even more with more bait presence followed by better fish feed activity. Last spring was absolutely unreal up there and I’d expect the same this year.

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TSFMAG.com | 73

Bink Grimes

The View from Matagorda

Matagorda

Bink Grimes is a full-time fishing and hunting guide, freelance writer and photographer, and owner of Sunrise Lodge on Matagorda Bay.

Telephone 979-241-1705 Email binkgrimes@sbcglobal.net Website matagordasunriselodge.com

74 | February 2017

Except for the die-hards, it is hard to get some people excited about coastal fishing in February. I don’t enjoy bundling beyond motion to survive an earnumbing boat ride, but I have had some of my most memorable winter catches on days more suited to shooting ducks than bending graphite.

The slightest sign of life - that’s what I look for in February. One mullet in February is like acres of mullet in June.

Sometimes it’s hard to find even one mullet, but that doesn’t mean pack up your tackle and go home. Some of the lowest tides of the year occur this month, so you can eliminate lots of water.

Concentrate on the areas that fall from waist to chest deep during the summer – those same areas are probably shin to waist deep in February.

Find points of sloughs and

bayous and work the troughs and guts. These points normally hold the deepest water as outgoing and incoming tidal flow carve depressions. I can’t tell you how many times I have waded from thigh-deep to waist-deep water and immediately find the fish in the slightest elevation change.

The best way to figure out February is to keep fishing.

I like the water temperature around at least 53-degrees. It seems the trout bite a little better. Anything lower and it’s 50/50.

The middle of East Matagorda Bay is where we like to drift, but you have to pick your days. A typical February sees a good bite every other day. The key is choosing the right “other” or “every other.” Really, we guides have tried to figure out why, but we are still searching for answers.

If you would rather stay in the boat, the Colorado River and Diversion Channel are always players no matter how hard the wind blows, provided the water is salty green. For years locals have fished the river at night from lighted piers and caught trout that would make most blush. Those fish are still there and fishing only gets better the colder it gets.

Many will target trophy trout this month; and, with respect to Baffin Bay, I feel East Matagorda Bay gives any angler a chance at a 30-incher on any given day.

I have become fond of MirrOlure’s pink Soft-Dine. It just seems trout get a running start and thump it when all others are experiencing a lethargic bite.

If you target oversized trout, treat them with respect. They are the prize of our estuaries. Do the same with redfish, especially the oversized breeders.

Treat our bays with respect. Think of the bay as your backyard pond. You wouldn’t throw trash in your pond and you wouldn’t keep everything you catch in your pond just to post it on social media.

Afternoons this time of year can be just as good as the morning, maybe better for big trout.

Be patient and keep fishing. Determined anglers always seem to be the “luckiest.”

Follow our catches on Instagram @matagordasunriselodge.

TSFMAG.com | 75

Capt. Gary Gray

MID-COAST BAYS With the Grays

Port O'Connor Seadrift

Captain Gary Gray is a full time guide born and raised in Seadrift. He has been guiding in the Seadrift/ Port O’Connor area for 28 years. Gary specializes in wading for trout and redfish year round with artificial lures.

Telephone 361-785-6708 Email bayrats@tisd.net Website www.bayrat.com

Old Man Winter kept me guessing whether to write about extended fall fishing conditions (again) or normal February patterns. With this latest front that arrived a few days ago, with sub-freezing temperatures two nights in a row, I guess I will go with normal February.

As for extended fall conditions, I’ll just throw a day out there that everyone should remember – Christmas 2016. Our first Christmas in the new house, Shellie and I invited our whole clan in to celebrate. Hopes were to have a roaring fire in the fireplace as the children opened presents, and then move the adults outside to the big fire pit as the sun was setting for refreshments and more celebrating.

Wrong. Old Man Winter must have been on vacation somewhere in the tropics. So much for roaring fires, we had an 80⁰ Christmas. But, the Old Man finally showed up and winter has

officially arrived on the Middle-Coast.

Don’t get me wrong, the mild weather with prolonged warm water temps and higher tides made for some great fishing. We could hit any area we wanted to fish and fish it the way we wanted. For once the wind didn’t dictate where or how and that was a blessing.

OK, back to our February forecast and the patterns

Knowing there’s

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In Bayou Lafourche there are plenty of ways to enjoy living on the bayou. You can cast a line into peaceful bayou waters or venture deep into the Gulf to catch your fill of specks and reds. Launch your own boat or take a charter out for the day, then relax under the glow of a bayou sunset. Just 45 minutes from New Orleans, visit Bayou Lafourche to experience a different kind of life, the Bayou Life.

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76 | February 2017

THIBODAUX | LOCKPORT | GOLDEN MEADOW

The owner of Diamond J, James Rosalis, was a partner in Circle J Enterprises at the time our office and son’s home were built by Circle J. Workmanship and attention to detail were both excellent!

– Everett Johnson, Editor/Publisher, Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine

we expect to see. For starters, I am predicting the water temps and tides should drop a little closer to what they should be this time of year. Baitfish will leave main bay shorelines and stage in cozier confines of back lakes. Gamefish will follow.

My game plan for February will focus on deeper drains leading to the many backwater areas off San Antonio, Espiritu Santo and Mesquite bays. We will be concentrating our efforts wherever the baitfish (mullet) tell us to go.

Go-to lures for extremely cold water will be any of the Corky family. My favorites are the floaters, mostly the Fat Boy and Original. When the water is deeper than four feet I will switch to the Original Corky sinker. Another great MirrOlure product is the Softdine XL. This lure seems to be a little easier for anglers to get a handle on when learning to fish suspending twitchbaits slowly.

Another tried and true number for wintertime is the 4” Bass Assassin Sea Shad paddletail rigged on a 1/16 Bass Assassin jig or, if we really need it to sink slowly, we will opt for an un-weighted worm hook. When fishing the Sea Shad weightless, just like the Corkys, you need to really slow your twitches and retrieve speed to keep it low in the water column. It is amazing the difference a 1/16 ounce can make.

Bass Assassin also makes the Die Dapper, another excellent plastic for rigging weightless and working slowly in cold water. They come in 3.5 and 5-inch versions with belly slits to aid weedless rigging.

Some anglers ask, “What about scented lures. Do they work better in winter than unscented?

Tricky question but here are my thoughts…

Under certain conditions, I would say yes, but to get the most benefit you almost need to run a dead-stick presentation – think dragging a dead shrimp on bottom. Saying that, I would also say that scented baits really come into their own when targeting flounder in deeper drains and along channel edges. They seem to hold on longer when they pick it up. But if scented lures are your confidence baits, use them! I use them when I deem it necessary to catch fish. I may be hardheaded but not stupid.

Let’s discuss fishing line. Wintertime bites are often only a soft tap and I believe braided line lends a distinct advantage in detecting them. I was slow to convert and tried many brands. My current favorite for year-round fishing is Mustad 30-pound.

Another component you need to have in your fishing arsenal, and definitely one of the most important in feeling the subtle strike of a frigid trout, is a high-quality fishing rod. There is only one name you need to know when speaking of high-quality fishing rods – Waterloo. Waterloo offers the best actions for the different situations and scenarios we encounter on a daily basis here on the Texas coast.

Think about it, do you want to use a rod designed and built by guys in California or the East Coast…for wade-fishing in Texas? I certainly would not. Give me a locally built rod, built by guys that fish the same waters I fish, for the same the species I chase every day. That’s what Jimmy and Carson at Waterloo do.

Fish hard, fish smart!

TSFMAG.com | 77

david rowsey

HOOKED UP WITH Rowsey

Upper Laguna/ Baffin

David Rowsey has 20 years experience in the Laguna/ Baffin region; trophy trout with artificial lures is his specialty.

David has a great passion for conservation and encourages catch and release of trophy fish.

Telephone 361-960-0340 Website www.DavidRowsey.com Email david.rowsey@yahoo.com

By now, for most of us, hunting season is over and big trout seems to be the talk of every meeting amongst friends. It happens every February, and for good reason. Ol’ fabled February has provided many of the greatest fishing tales of giant trout caught and lost.

Lord knows I’ve had my personal share, along with elated clients watching the Boga Grip snatch the jaw of giant trout, or watching the hooks rip lose before we can close the deal. Either way, it keeps us all coming back for more.

I was about 30 years old when I fished my first tournament. It was promoted by the late Tom Nix, founder of Saltwater Angler. Tom’s vision led him to organize the first lures-only, live-weigh tournament.

The norm today for big trout events, and cornerstone of his legacy.

The first Baffin Bash was staged in February and the field was stacked with every heavy-hitter on the Texas coast. Most of the top guides that were featured in print media (no social media then) showed up. The late Jim Wallace (state record holder), and many local stud fishermen rounded out the field. For my partner (David A. Murray) and me, it was damn intimidating to walk into that crowd. I have always

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5” Length for the Big Bite!

78 | February 2017

been a confident guy, but will admit I was a timid cat, and questioned our decision to lay our money down to play. A few more bottles of cold-bubbly confidence and we finally ponied up.

In typical tournament fashion, the first day weather consisted of sustained winds of 25+, with stronger gusts. Our little 20’ boat was by far the smallest in the field, and the slowest. We braved the elements and took a full-hour beating to reach our first stop.

In hindsight, we should have just fished from the dock and not taken such a beating. We zeroed. But to our great surprise, considering the awesome field, only two teams weighed a fish that day. As crazy as it seemed, and we joked, we were still near the top of the leaderboard.

The second day gave us different weather. Calm ‘til midmorning, when a big norther was due. We did a mad dash for a rock pile that we knew some big fish were living on. I dropped David A. at one end of the rocks and idled to the other, planning to meet in the middle.

Only ten yards out of the boat I could see David A. fighting a fish, then another, and another. I knew he was throwing an Original Corky as was I, but failed to

Big Chad Howard (6-7” for scale) with a gorgeous 8+ trout that he tricked with a Bone Diamond Bass Assassin. CPR

get a bite the whole wade. There’s no “I” in team, so I was just happy my buddy was catching good.

As we came together I could see a look on David’s face, and it wasn’t the good kind. Turns out that he lost some great fish, one out of his hand, and never got one on the stringer. I was heartbroken believing he had a full stringer.

We spoke briefly and he insisted on getting the boat and putting me where the fish were. Well, I too managed to lose the first good one and thought it just wasn’t our day. A few casts later I got that old Corky “double-tap thump” and landed a 7.5 pounder. A whole bunch of fish too-short-toweigh later, I caught another in the 5.5- to 6-pound range. Everything was looking up except the weather. The wind starting cranking from the north and the bite came to a halt. We loaded the fish into the makeshift livewell and were very happy that we hadn’t zeroed – again.

After another long ride to weigh-in, we learned that most teams, including the leaders, had struck out on day two. We ended up taking the lead and winning our first tournament. We were elated about the win, but no one else really seemed to care – except Capt. Jay Watkins. Jay was the only man, besides Tom Nix, that congratulated us on our win.

This is, by no means, a dig on the other competitors, but a compliment to Jay’s character. Before social media, people read articles to gain knowledge, and I was and still am, a huge Jay Watkins fan. I read everything he wrote in the old Saltwater Angler at least ten times. So, having your fishing hero congratulate you was a bigger deal than the $5,000 first place check.

Fast forward 17 years. Jay and I have become the closest of friends. Our respect for each other’s fishing prowess is a given, but his mentoring me in the way that I guide and conduct business has been priceless. Our personal lives seem to get discussed more now than fishing, but that, to me, is the natural progression of a true friendship. Everyone should be so lucky.

Remember the buffalo! -Capt. David Rowsey TSFMAG.com | 79

Wayne Davis

WAYNE’S Mansfield Report

Port Mansfield

Captain Wayne Davis has been fishing the Lower Laguna-Port Mansfield for over 20 years. He specializes in wade fishing with lures.

Telephone 210-287-3877 Email captwayne@kwigglers.com

The first months of the year can bring the toughest of water temp is critical to success and mastering weather conditions for anglers but they can also bring slow retrieve techniques can be challenging but force the greatest opportunity to target large speckled yourself to slow down! trout. How badly do you want it?

Water levels have been receding but not quite First things first – creature comfort (see also; as much as we expect in winter. The areas that Simms). When facing adverse weather conditions, it concentrate fish when water levels are low are is critical that you dress to remain dry in wet conditions and warm in cold. If you meet that goal we can move forward to lures, rods, reels, and your approach to your quarry.

We will use larger suspending baits, some topwaters, and soft plastics – all of which will need to be presented slower on average than in warmer times. There may be a period when the bite will become aggressive but that is usually short-lived as the water temperatures will run between upper-40s and 50s, occasionally reaching the 60s. You can run your lures a little quicker with 60-ish The author water temps – the general rule being prepares to release the colder the water temp the slower a healthy red. the presentation. Accurate monitoring

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$10 Entry for Open Bait Division $25 Entry for Artificial Bait Division Open Bait (live, dead, prepared bait, or artificial,) and Artificial Bait (artificial lures only) This will be an individual effort tournament.

Multiple Anglers may fish from the same boat.

WIL BRING TWO TROUT 15" TO 25" ANGLERS WILL (ONE MAY BE OVER 25") TO THE SCALE

Age Group Division: Youth Division: Ages 12 and under Junior Division: Ages 13-18 (Junior anglers age 18 must be attending grade school at time of event)

Artificial Division: Competing for $2,500 Open Bait Division: Competing for $500 We will pay the top 5 anglers in each division as follows: 50%, 20%, 15%, 10% and 5%

Dates and Locations:

Dec. 4, 2016 - Harborwalk Marina, Hitchcock TX Jan. 22, 2017 - Jackie’s Brick House, Kemah, TX Feb. 12, 2017 - Marker 37 Marina, Corpus Christi, TX March 5, 2017 - Marker 37 Marina, Corpus Christi, TX

$10 Entry for Open Bait Division $25 Entry for Artificial Bait Division Open Bait (live, dead, prepared bait, or artificial,) and Artificial Bait (artificial lures only) This will be an individual effort tournament.

Multiple Anglers may fish from the same boat.

Age Group Division: Youth Division: Ages 12 and under Junior Division: Ages 13-18 (Junior anglers age 18 must be attending grade school at time of event)

Artificial Division: Competing for $2,500 Open Bait Division: Competing for $500 We will pay the top 5 anglers in each division as follows: 50%, 20%, 15%, 10% and 5%

Dates and Locations:

April 9, 2017 - Marker 37 Marina, Corpus Christi, TX April 23, 2017 - Harborwalk Marina, Hitchcock TX May 28, 2017 - Marker 37 Marina, Corpus Christi, TX June 11, 2017 - Jackie’s Brick House, Kemah, TX July 23, 2017 - Marker 37 Marina, Corpus Christi, TX August 13, 2017 - Harborwalk Marina, Hitchcock TX

David Norris was very pleased to land this Lower Laguna beauty.

obviously still fishable but the fish are not concentrated there. They are spread wider than normal, and wading anglers need to spread out accordingly.

As I continue this quest of guiding I continue to learn from anglers who expect me to teach them. I listen carefully to short conversations and suggestions from clients as to how they pick lures, lure presentation and sometimes where to fish. Recently I fished two outstanding anglers with many years of experience. We set up our boat position, Power-Poled down, and I laid out the approach. We slid overboard and after several fish each I found myself ahead of them. I wondered why I was so far ahead but didn’t connect the dots until after the wade, but did I? We were all catching fish but as the distance between us grew I realized my anglers were catching more fish, a lot more. I was far ahead and pressed on, hoping for a big trout or a better pattern so I could show that I knew more and, of course, to bring them in on this find of trophy fish. When I went to pick them up I was informed they’d caught more than 25 fish each. Lesson learned. I should have slowed down. But, what if I’d found a treasure trove of big trout up on that flat?

We are seeing some very large trout while running the flats on warm days and truth be told some are being caught. With so many using and monitoring social media and seeing photos of trophy trout and big stringers, I ask that we consider more catch and release posts. Such as the Empty Stringers Catch and Release Program that Capt. Ernest Cisneros started and I have joined.

You can find us on Facebook with some great release shots. It’s a wonderful feeling, releasing big fish, or any fish for that matter. Some say that’s “food on the table” and they are right. If that is how you look at fishing that’s fine. But how about keeping a few smaller ones and releasing the mature spawners?

Empty Stringers Catch and Release Program has rewards in addition to just releasing fish.

Captain Ernest and I are giving away free fishing trips for two anglers, (you guessed it C&R trips.) Our sponsors - Fishing Tackle Unlimited, Costa del Mar, Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine, Backlash Rods, Shallow Sport Boats and others have stepped up to the plate and are all donating to the cause. More details will be forthcoming on the Facebook page so keep an eye on it.

As far as fishing, it’s been good. Most fish are waist-deep or less and you need to work your baits relatively slowly, near bottom. Ball Tail Shads and slow-rolled paddletails on 1/8 and sometimes 1/4-ounce jigs seem to be the ticket. Work areas close to deep water and, on warm days, feel free to wade shallower. Although we’ve had a couple cold snaps, we have also had extreme warming trends immediately following that have lasted a little too long, to suit me. We need it to get cold and stay that way for longer periods. Once this occurs, and utilizing strategies mentioned here, you will likely encounter Empty Stringer opportunities of your own.

Stay safe and be courteous on the water.

TSFMAG.com | 81

Capt. Ernest cisneros

SOUTH PADRE Fishing Scene A rr oyo C olorado t o Port I sabel

A Brownsville-area native, Capt. Ernest Cisneros fishes the Lower Laguna Madre from Port Mansfield to Port Isabel.

Ernest specializes in wading and poled skiff adventures for snook, trout, and redfish.

Cell 956-266-6454 Website www.tightlinescharters.com

82 | February 2017

February is historically the coldest month of the year, but the way the weather has been running it is hard to predict what might happen. Exceptionally mild weather finally gave way to an arctic blast this past weekend that dropped the air temperature to low-30s.

Water temperature on Monday morning was a chilly 36. By mid-week the water temperature recovered to the 60s. Go figure!

As of this writing we have not seen the low tides associated with our winter months but perhaps we may see the tides drop this month. Fishing has remained very steady although the higher tides sometimes makes us work harder to find them. I am hoping the larger trout will congregate soon in traditional winter holes, if and when the tides finally recede.

On another note, the end of this month will mark the first full year of the Empty Stringers Catch and Release Program. It has been a great success and popular with many clients. Many thanks, appreciation and recognition to all the anglers that have participated and the sponsors that have supported this conservation initiative. I am proud to announce that my anglers who chose to participate have collectively released 808 keeper-size game fish thus

far, and we still have the month of February to go.

Fishing, in general, has been outstanding when the wind is not blowing over 30 mph. Our water is in good shape and the rebound of sea grass has helped tremendously with water clarity.

Redfish have been fairly easy to find. Even when the water temps were chilly they held in 2 to 3-foot depths.

On the coldest of days, look for potholed waist-deep flats that have quick access to deeper water. Quite often they will just hang in the potholes. Redfish are hardy creatures, as soon it begins to warm back up, it

A grand angler in the making Tristan Schaefer.

will not be long until they pull back onto the sandy, shallow flats.

Finding active mullet and spotting mud boils while running the flats has been the key to locating the larger schools of reds. We are very pleased with the opportunity to target the schools, now that the water has cooled down.

As for our bigger trout, it’s been a bit disappointing so far and we are hopeful that sustained lower water temperatures and lower tides will put it back on track. We were by far consistently catching bigger trout in November than at present and I have never seen this before.

I have seen trophy-size fish while crossing the flats but not in the numbers we saw last year. But I have a positive outlook and we are simply running a little behind the previous years. Soon the big trout will show up in good numbers.

Now, on the keeper-to-undersized side of the ledger, trout up to twenty-two inches, there is no shortage of these. We are finding good numbers of trout in knee to waist-deep water; surprisingly in most cases we have found them hanging in sandy, crystal clear potholes. So far sandy areas have had good concentrations of keeper trout but as the water cools down this month look for muddier areas to be good producers on solid trout.

We are still finding great success throwing K-Wiggler Ball Tail Shads in Bone Diamond and Plum-Chart on 1/8-ounce

heads. A slower retrieve while bumping our baits on the bottom of the actual sandy pothole usually entices a strike and, in some cases, there have been more than one trout hanging there. Multiple strikes or catches out of the same pothole have not been uncommon.

The bigger trout that we have seen have been in extremely shallow water making them hard to target, but as the water recedes, I am certain the chances of catching them will increase. I am totally ready and excited to chase the bigger fish with a new bait that K-Wiggler will be introducing soon. I have been field testing this new swimbait for quite some time and I have no doubt its action will be a big trout attractor.

The new Concept TX reel from 13 Fishing can likely be found at the boat and sport shows this month, and Fishing Tackle Unlimited will be featuring them at the Houston Fishing Show that is coming in the first week of March. This is A foggy morning supposedly a limited-edition reel so grab didn’t stop Jason one while you can.

Villarreal from catching I would like to close by encouraging this 28-inch redfish. extra caution on the water. We have experienced many days when the fog reduced visibility to less than 100 yards.

Waders should wear the brightest colors possible and avoid getting too far from the boat or shoreline. Drifters also need to remain on high alert to avoid drifting into waders and the path of oncoming boats.

TSFMAG.com | 83

FISHING REPORTS

ORECASTS F from Big Lake to Boca Chica

AND

Lake Calcasieu Louisiana Jeff and Mary Poe - Big Lake Guide Service - 337.598.3268 February can be a great month to catch the trout of a lifetime in Big Lake. In most cases, they will be found from Commissary Point north to the Intracoastal Waterway. On warmer days, when water temperatures reach the mid-sixties, these fish can be caught on reefs in three to five feet of water. However, in many instances, they will be found in less than three feet of water, holding over soft mud and scattered shell. Our go-to baits at this time of year include Paul Brown FatBoys and Devils as well as MirrOdines and Soft-dines. Redfish can be found along the east bank, south of commissary point. Look for slicks, mud boils, and birds hovering over the water waiting to dive. The weirs are also a great place to try your luck. Eighth-ounce jigheads with Gulp! swimming mullet are usually our most productive lures to throw at the redfish. High water conditions push the fish closer to the bank, and low water conditions pull the fish off the bank. This rule applies to big trout as well.

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com - 409.935.7242 In February, James expects to be wading more of the time, targeting big trout as often as possible. “The shoreline fishing has been good recently,” he says. “We have been catching good on old school 51-series MirrOlures and FatBoys in some places, wading in areas with a muddy bottom and some

scattered shell. In the coves in West Bay, we catch a lot of fish on tails, like Bass Assassins. I think with all the grass we have in this bay these days, the bite on soft plastics is better. In the old days, fishing the mud streaks in West Bay was really good on twitch baits, but now it seems better on tails. Fishing for the bigger trout is usually good in February, especially if we have water temperatures holding in the fifties. When we have sustained weather which keeps the water about 57 to 59 degrees, it’s usually a great year for catching the six, seven pound trout and a few bigger ones. Warmer weather usually means smaller fish this time of year. But the fun side of that is we catch more when it’s warmer. So, it’s a good month either way.”

Jimmy West - Bolivar Guide Service - 409.996.3054 Jim was hot and heavy into the duck and goose hunting when we talked, but he expects to be back to fishing a lot by February. Like many others, he prefers wading and fishing the afternoon hours in winter. “We normally catch some of our biggest trout in February by wading and staying at it until about an hour after darkness falls. On the warmer days, we do have a decent bite early in the day sometimes, but more often than not, especially when it’s colder, we catch better in the afternoon and into the night. Lots of times, we’ll head out late-morning and fish some drains and deeper holes in the bayous with soft plastics, targeting a mixed bag. This normally produces both trout and redfish, even an occasional flounder. Then, we focus on wading the shorelines and

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84 | February 2017

shallower areas as the afternoon wears on, targeting the bigger trout on twitch baits and topwaters. This pattern produces well during the warm ups between fronts. On the coldest days, we find it necessary to target the fish in the deeper holes, rather than on the flats.”

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays Randall Groves - Groves Guide Service 979.849.7019 - 979.864.9323 Randall reports steady catching of both trout and redifsh on recent trips using a roach-colored paddletail rigged on a three-eighths ounce Norton ScrewLock jighead. “In February, I’ll be targeting mostly trout by fishing in muddy streaks out in the open bay. Depth normally runs about four to five feet and the bottom consists of a mix of shell and mud in the best spots. We always work to find plenty of mullet in the area when fishing this pattern. It’s like any other fishing that way, really. Bait fish must be around in order to indicate the likely presence of the predators, meaning the trout and redfish. One really good way to locate the mullet on days when they aren’t jumping readily is to look for the other creatures which tend to appear where the trout and reds are....pelicans, cormorants, mergansers and loons. While fishing this pattern this time of year, I favor a small lure in two color patterns above the others, the red magic Norton Sand Eel Junior and the Halloween Norton Sand Eel Junior.”

Matagorda | Charlie Paradoski Bay Guide Service - 713.725.2401 February fishing in the Matagorda area includes many favorable options in mid-winter. “Some really big trout are always caught around here in February,” Charlie says. “Most are found on the shorelines. We catch some big trout on sinking twitch baits, like FatBoys and MirrOdines. Topwaters work great on some days too. East Bay also offers some of the best drift

fishing for big trout in the state. We always catch some big ones by working the areas adjacent to the main reefs which have a mix of shell and mud. Soft plastics work best for this style of fishing, but fish can be caught on others lures too on the best days. And, the Colorado River is running clear and is full of fish. The Diversion Channel too. People who prefer to target redfish will do well by focusing on the shoreline guts in West Bay. Especially when tides get really low, the reds will gather in large schools over there. Over all, this month provides as many solid options of various kinds as any other month.”

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam www.palaciosguideservice.com - 979.240.8204 Fishing has been outstanding in our local waters. Except for the little cold spell we had for about four days, fish have really been in an autumn-like pattern. We are finding a few fish moving into the harbor when the water temperatures drop, but they are right back in the bay, holding over shell as soon as it warms up. The fish in the harbor were hitting the new VuDu Eels in pearl/chartreuse rigged on three-eighths ounce heads jigged off the bottom, and the trout over shell were hitting VuDu shrimp rigged about three feet under popping corks best. Redfish are still schooling on the shorelines and in the marshes, which is unheard of this time of the year. They have been gorging on little grass shrimp and mullet and crabs. Quarterounce gold spoons and pearl/chartreuse Bull Minnows have accounted for best bite. February should be a great month because we still have tons of bait in the bay. When and if we get some cold weather, the flats off the river and the flats around the Turning Basins ought to be lights out!

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Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith Back Bay Guide Service - 361.983.4434 In February, Lynn predicts he’ll be fishing areas in the back lakes of Port O’Connor, where the trout fishing has been good recently. “We’ve been catching some solid trout, big for this area, and I expect it to get even better in February, which is usually one of our best months for providing potential catches of the really big trout. I’ll be targeting guts and drains with a soft, muddy bottom and also adjacent flats covered with lots of grass. I like to fish the late-morning to late-afternoon hours this time of year, allowing the sun to heat up the flats through the day. The dark grass beds tend to soak up the sun and heat up the water around them. When looking for big trout in areas like this, I key on places which are holding lots of bait, mostly schools of mullet. Mullet jumping out of the water signal a good chance at a topwater bite, so we will throw topwaters quite a bit this time of year. We also like the slow-sinking twitch baits and catch plenty of fish on them. My favorite colors this time of year are pink/silver and strawberry/white.”

Rockport | Blake Muirhead Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894 Blake expects to continue fishing for redfish in some of the back lakes and marshy areas where he’s been duck hunting recently, and also begin switching over to trout fishing more of the time. “I’ll try the areas in the back lakes where I’ve been seeing reds consistently throughout duck season. When the tide is high and the weather warm, the fish often move into shallow parts of the lakes, and when it’s cold and the tide drops out, they normally concentrate in the deeper holes and bayous.

During February, though, I like to start focusing more on catching trout.

I like to fish shorelines in bays like St. Charles, Mesquite and Corpus Christi Bay, normally in areas adjacent to drains which lead into the backwater areas. Targeting fish in places with a soft bottom dotted with scattered shell is usually a ticket to consistency. We typically experience an improvement in the bite on topwaters during this month. We also tend to catch plenty of fish on sinking twitch baits like Paul Brown lures too. And we still throw our Norton Sand Eels on the slower days.”

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut Robert Zapata – rz1528@grandecom.net - 361.563.1160 State record trout have been caught during the month of February in Baffin Bay, and the water conditions in this body of water are looking very good right now. With the water temperatures being cold, the fish will go into depths of five feet or more overnight, but they will gradually come up into shallower water as the sun rises and warms up the water’s surface and shallows. If we have multiple days of cold weather, I think that wading will render greater success. I will look for areas with muddy bottoms, and I’ll be looking for lots of bait in the area, like mullet swirling or flipping on the surface. Smelly baits like Bass Assassin Die Dappers and Berkley Gulp! will be very helpful at this time. Die Dappers in colors like salt & pepper/chartreuse tail, sand trout and morning glory/chartreuse tail, or the three-inch Berkley Gulp! shrimp in colors like pearl/chartreuse or root beer/chartreuse are among my favorites.

Rig them on eighth-ounce Spring Lock jigheads and move them very slowly on the bottom.

Corpus Christi | Joe Mendez – www.sightcast1.com - 361.937.5961 Water conditions in the Upper Laguna Madre and Baffin Bay continue to be about as good as they get, and the fishing is excellent lately too. “We have some really clear water throughout most of the area. This allows us to make some really good catches in the shallows at times, when the fish move up and we can see them clearly. Places like the King Ranch Shoreline and the spoil banks along the ICW provide opportunities for this kind of fishing on a regular basis when the water’s clear like this. In 86 | February 2017

the Lagoon, fishing from the boat around the edges of the grass beds lying next to the deeper water with a bare bottom works better some of the time, particularly on sunny days when the fish seem to get spooky in the shallows. Working the deep rocks and grass lines on the Kenedy Shoreline can be productive in the same situation. On the coldest days, we find more fish holding on the edges of the ICW and the channels which intersect it. The key to catching them then involves matching jighead size to the conditions.”

P.I.N.S. Fishing Forecast | Eric Ozolins Mild winter weather often means thick fog on the beach. Extra caution is advised when driving; slow down near camps. Water conditions have been favorable for pompano, the clearer the better. Fishbites and freshpeeled shrimp are the ticket. Red drum should be plentiful, but expect to see more slot-sized than oversized. Shrimp, mullet, and cut whiting work well on most reds. Trout fishing can be hit or miss, but any that are available in the surf will likely be large and healthy. Black drum, slot and oversized, will be in the surf. Shrimp or Fishbites are always reliable baits for this species. Know and follow the keeper-slot regulations.

With hunting season ending, we see increased game warden presence on the beach. Large sandbar sharks will be abundant when conditions are right. Sandbars are suckers for large whole whiting or sheepshead.

Prolonged warm water could bring blacktips and bull sharks. Check weather and avoid driving during northers as waters rise on the beach.

Prime times are usually 2 to 3 days after a front.

Port Mansfield | Ruben Garza Snookdudecharters.com – 832.385.1431 Getaway Adventures Lodge – 956.944.4000 Fishing has been good between fronts. Redfish action remains steady in knee-deep to waist-deep water. The topwater bite has slowed, but K-Wiggler Ball Tail Shad and Paddletails get it done. Plum/chartreuse, Mansfield Margarita, bone diamond and flamingo are excellent colors on eighth-ounce heads. Gold spoons work on sunny days. If you can’t find reds on the sand, check potholes on grass bottoms. Trout fishing is also very good. The bite requires slower presentations in the cooler water. Several fish on warm days have had multiple finger mullet in their stomachs. Paul Brown FatBoys and Devils are productive this time of year. Copper top, pearl/chartreuse, and pink/amber are top producers.

This time of year, I head first to ICW spoils, and on colder days to deeper water nearby. Increasing jig weight to quarter-ounce is a good plan in deeper water. I also work the softer bottoms on the west side. We sometimes find topwaters effective along these shorelines after several warm days. Keep one in your box!

Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel Janie and Fred Petty | www.fishingwithpettys.com – 956.943.2747 December has been a month plagued with some foggy days, which we expect to start clearing up when the wind begins to blow. Fog would linger some mornings until 11:30 or 12, whether the wind was up or not. We still managed to limit on trout when it was impossible to move around and scout for reds. Freddy says,” Catching reds is often not difficult even when you can’t drive around safely or see where you’re going, but when the winter’s lowest tides combine with fog, just navigating the channel through the point off Laguna Vista is a challenge, because GPS is only good to a few feet and under these conditions, a foot off can spell disaster!” We haven’t caught any flounder since the last report, but have had very nice limits of redfish with a few oversized and some really noteworthy sow trout mixed in with limits of smaller, but super healthy specs coming on FP3 corks with Berkley Gulp! Live three-inch shrimp. We’re expecting the winter months to produce some wallhanger trout for our clients. No more open bay dredge disposal!

Billy Sandifer Big Shell Beach Cleanup The 22nd Billy Sandifer Big Shell Beach Cleanup on Padre Island National Seashore has been scheduled for Saturday, February 25, 2017.

Volunteer workers will gather at Malaquite Pavilion and depart for the beach work area at 8:00 AM. Park admission fee will be waived for Cleanup participants. All workers will be returned to the pavilion by 2:00 PM. Cleanup volunteers with four-wheel-drive vehicles are the backbone of this event. However, those without four-wheel-drive are most welcome and will be transported down the beach in the vehicles of other volunteers. Any with four-wheel-drive with room in their vehicle and willing to transport other volunteers should notify an event coordinator upon arrival.

Trailers for hauling trash are always much-needed. They must be of sturdy construction and in good condition. The terrain down-island is rough in places.

Dress appropriately for the weather. Mother Nature doesn’t always smile on the Big Shell Cleanup and the show goes on – warm, cold, rain or shine.

Long trousers, long-sleeve shirts, windbreaker or slicker suit, suitable headwear, and sturdy work shoes are recommended.

Food will be available at the Malaquite pavilion after the event. Water and light snacks will be available in the work area but feel free to bring something additional to eat if you feel it necessary. All volunteers will receive an event t-shirt.

I started this event in 1995 for the simple reason that I was tired of trash on the beach and sick of people griping about it but doing nothing to fix the problem. No good can ever come from folks sitting around and complaining. Good can only come from acting to change the situation. I started this event simply because no one else would.

Back in time, a very few concerned individuals would pick up some trash and haul it out. Shark fishermen historically collected and burned trash in the fire they kept going for the duration of their stay. You could tell where a shark camp had been by the lack of trash.

But culture changed and over the years a younger generation of shark fishermen with no regard for the ecology and beauty of Padre Island National Seashore began to appear. Soon you could tell where a shark camp had been by the heaps of trash left behind. That negative change in the culture was heartbreaking to me and I hoped an organized cleanup event might reverse that trend.

I had no plans or ideas for organizing a beach cleanup, just a burning desire to make a bad situation better. I went around begging support and advice from everybody I thought might be able to help. Basically – I just had to wing it.

Lots of folks said it couldn’t be done, but lots of good people stepped up. That first year, 300 volunteers picked up 50 tons of trash from 11 miles of beach. We missed only one year of the last twenty-three, some years working in absolutely horrible weather conditions.

The Cleanup has grown and gained notoriety over the years. In 2009 I was honored by Field & Steam magazine as one of their Heroes of

Conservation for my efforts in the largest, longest-running and most successful event of its kind in the US. Cumulative stats from twenty-one prior events: 6,600 volunteers have removed 2,456,000 pounds of trash from the beaches of the Padre Island National Seashore. Not too shabby for the brainchild of a barefoot farm boy from Agua Dulce.

I guess some folks see it differently but I do not feel I am worthy of any praise. What is awesome to me though, is all the effort of the wonderful volunteers and organizers that have helped keep the event going all these years. They are truly my heroes; not me.

In 2008, Mr. Steven Naylor, of Round Rock, Texas and I founded a 501c3 we named The Friends of Padre (FoP) to become the managing entity of the Big Shell Cleanup and insure its continued success. FoPadre is also involved in several other cleanups on Padre Island and supportative of other conservation organizations working on the island. FoP board members are a handpicked number of conservation-minded and knowledgeable island users. More information on this group is available on their web site at FriendsofPadre.com.

Last year we had a record turnout of 700 volunteers, and as you might imagine the organizational aspect of Big Shell Cleanup has become enormously complex. Friends of Padre makes it possible to handle the job efficiently. We are always looking for ways to improve the event and accomplish more good work. This year we are going to try to sort and set aside a percentage of the trash gathered for recycling. Wouldn’t it be great to recycle some of that plastic rather than sending it to a to a landfill?

I chose the Big Shell area of the Padre Island National Seashore for this event because two major ocean currents converge there and deposit more trash than in any other section. Big Shell is also typically the worst section of the beach to drive on and there is never a dull moment during the Cleanup.

But it’s a wonderful place and we labor in the Big Shell to conserve and preserve its beauty for future generations to enjoy. Bringing children to participate in the event is a great way for adults to teach them the importance and the responsibility of caring for the great outdoors.

Mr. Leon McNinch and the Ruth Parr Sparks Foundation of Alice, TX. has become by far the biggest supporter of the Friends of Padre, literally enabling the organization to continue its work. Curtis Mai and Sharkathon are major supporters. Also lending support over the years are David Sikes of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, CCA Texas-Corpus Christi Chapter, Michael Laskowski Sr. and Jr. of Trac-Work Inc., Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine, and Scott and Brian McKinsey both remain treasured by and extremely important to the event (along with too many others to mention.)

Please join us on February, 25, 2017 and help preserve this great Texas tradition.

Your friend in conservation, Billy Sandifer

TSFMAG.com | 87

Sydney Perez Lake Jackson - 27” first keeper red

Jonah Frisby South Padre - 22 lb red snapper

Floyd Robbins Port Isabel - 41” redfish CPR

Aden Johnson Galveston - snapper

88 | February 2017

Jeff Bonham Corpus Christi - redfish

Will Lau Port O’Connor - 28” redfish

Billy Hathorn Port Mansfield - 29” red CPR

Claire James Laguna Madre - 17” first trout!

Michael Barr Port Mansfield - 30” 7 lb trout

Laci Finger Mustang Island - tripletail

Susan Houston Rockport - red snapper

Ryan Vaughan Port Aransas - black drum

Joel Ayala Texas City - fishing with Dad

Coen Cantu Baffin Bay - 7 lb redfish CPR

Dolores Benavides 5’ 4” cobia

TSFMag

Catch of the Month &

Silverstar Fishing Jewelry

Photo Contest Sponsored by

Landry Patterson 5 lb first black drum! CPR

Carter James John Sosa 31.25” 8.5 lb trout Laguna Madre - 18” first trout!

From the November 2015 issue to the February 2017 issue, Silverstar Fishing Jewelry has sponsored a monthly photo contest. Winners received a beautiful 1-inch diameter custom-designed sterling silver pendant that looks great worn on a neck-chain.

This contest is now concluded.

CJ Medrano Port Mansfield - 30” grouper

Chad Alexander Galveston Bay - 24” personal best trout!

We would like to thank everyone who participated – we loved seeing all your photos!

Thank you to Jon Hunter with Silverstar Fishing Jewelry for sponsoring the contest and the prizes.

FEBRUARY WINNER

Patti Wilhite

Aiden Medrano Port Mansfield - trout

Charissa Joon San Luis Pass - 25” redfish

Tom Hill Venice, LA - redfish

Lauren Waltall Matagorda - 25.5” red

Steven Frye Surfside - 40” black drum

38” first bull redfish!

TSFMAG.com | 89

Pam Johnson

Gulf Coast

Got ideas, hints or recipes you’d like to share?

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

Shrimp Ball This delicious recipe comes from the kitchen of Brenda Berry. It has become one of our favorites and we prepare it often. Brenda has been very generous over the years, sharing this delightful creation with many friends and family.

INGREDIENTS 1/4 medium onion (hand chop only) 2 Tbsp. mayonnaise 1 - 8 oz. package Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened 1 Tbsp. Tabasco sauce 1/2 tsp. salt 1 small can tiny shrimp 1 cup pecans, finely chopped

PREPARATION Combine all ingredients except shrimp and pecans and mix well.

Gently fold in shrimp. Form into a ball and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least two hours. Spread chopped pecans on waxed paper. Remove cheese ball from refrigerator, unwrap and roll in pecan pieces to coat evenly. Serve with wheat crackers.

90 | February 2017

Homemade Shrimp Butter INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup real butter 1 Tbsp. lemon juice 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1 tsp. Tony Chachere's seasoning 1 - 8 oz. package Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened 3 Tbsp. finely chopped onion (hand chop only) 1/3 pound cooked shrimp, finely chopped

PREPARATION In small bowl, combine first three ingredients. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add onion, shrimp and lemon juice and Tony Chachere’s seasoning. Beat until well mixed.

Refrigerate at least one hour. Serve with assorted crackers.

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CHRIS MAPP

BO AT M A INTEN A NCE TIP S

Evinrude E-TEC 10-Year G1 & G2 Warranty

How Does it Compare? You Do the Math!

The Evinrude E-TEC 150 Gen 1 is a 60⁰ V-6 that weighs 419 pounds. The E-TEC 150 Gen 2 is a 66⁰ V-6 with non-power steering model weighing 496 pounds.

The G2 cowling panels can be color coordinated to the boat.

The Suzuki 140 weighs in at 411 pounds. The Yamaha and Suzuki 150s are in-line four-cylinder fourstrokes with dual overhead that weigh in at 465 lbs.

Yamaha offers the SHO models which on the V6 200,225 and 250 weigh a mere 505 pounds and include built-in low water pickups at the nosecone. All weights are approximate.

Evinrude states 3-years no maintenance and it is my belief, due to our water properties locally and based on 100 hours of operation per year, the preventive maintenance should be done on this basis. Every other year is fine if you’re not running your boat 100 hours per year.

Other E-TEC Features: -E-TEC outboards require no break in period.

-Being two-strokes, there are no engine oil filters to change and there is no oil crankcase extending below the waterline.

-There is a 1.8-gallon oil tank located in the boat for the G1, and on the G2 under the cowling, with an extra oil tank on the boat optional.

-E-TEC’s standard fuel filters, water pump, lower unit lube system and grease fittings are all serviced during the annual maintenance.

The cost of the full-service PM and maintenance work for Yamaha and Evinrude is estimated at $850.00 plus tax. The Suzuki is closer to $950.00 plus tax, due to engine configurations and filtration systems.

All outboards should have the prop pulled on a regular basis to inspect for fishing line wrapped on the prop shaft.

Fuel additive is required for optimal fuel preservation and engine performance on all outboards.

Flushing the engine on all outboards is still very important after each use.

The main mechanical focus or benefit for the Evinrude E-TEC over four-strokes (our opinion) is that we experience no issues with prolonged or extensive idle speed operation that so often causes cylinder glazing in four-stroke outboards.

Chris Mapp, owner of Coastal Bend Marine.

Evinrude, Suzuki, Yamaha, Mercury, Honda, BlueWave, SilverWave, Shallow Stalker Boats, Coastline Trailers, Minnkota & Motor Guide Trolling Motors.

Great Service, Parts & Sales “What can we do for you?”

Evinrude offers larger cooling water intakes to enhance shallow water capability, reliably pulling more water when the engine is operated higher on the jack plate.

The Evinrude E-TEC is a two-stroke design, which by its very nature creates 50% more thrust - two revolutions will produce the same result as a four-stroke’s four revolutions. And, the E-TEC has fewer moving parts. The fuel injected E-TEC is very quiet with very immediate throttle response.

Cost of fuel and the efficiency of the E-TEC will be very similar depending on operating rpm and engine load. In a word the E-TEC is very efficient. Four-strokes are slightly quieter at idle.

The E-TEC uses TCW3 oil though the XD50 oil is recommended and in bulk is $31.00 per gallon, pre-package is closer to $40.00 per gallon and you can expect to burn one gallon of oil per 30- to 35-gallons of fuel depending on load. The E-TEC computer-driven fuel system can be programmed to provide 20% oil consumption savings with XD 100 lubricant which is approximately $50.00 per gallon in pre-package or $40.00 per gallon in bulk with your container.

Suzukis and Yamahas come standard with 3-year warranty and the manufacturer’s promotion offers two or three additional years at no cost, based on different promotions.

The Evinrude E-TEC warranty is 3-years standard on engine and accessories with additional 2-years promotional when you choose the system check rigging kit, including the control box, key switch, system check tachometer, oil tank and main harness. This warranty is for five years or 1000 engine hours, whichever comes first.

Evinrude is also offering a 10-year warranty for the engine and accessories (three-years standard and seven-years extended) if you choose to purchase the above items in lieu of the above rigging component offer.

The 10-year promotional offer is limited to 1,500 hours (recreational use only) with $50.00 deductible after the initial three-year period.

Evinrude 10-year promotion expires March, 31, 2017, financing available. Bring us your trade-in.

Hope you have a great winter fishing season!

Chris Mapp Coastal Bend Maine | Port O’Connor, TX coastalbendmarine.com | 361-983-4841

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TROUT REDFISH FLOUNDER

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KAYAKS FOR SALE 2 Cobra Fish-n-Dive Kayaks 13’ long x 30” wide Like New & Very Sturdy

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Science and the

Sea

TM

Putting the Ancients to the Test Bowhead whales and Greenland sharks can live up to two centuries, and century-old Galapagos giant tortoises are just young adults. But none of these creatures can hold a candle to corals and sponges. Although both corals and sponges look somewhat like plants, they are two very different kinds of animals that can grow to be thousands of years old.

NOW AVAILABLE “There is something about the outdoors that brings us closer to God.” The devotionals in this book are real-life experiences from an author who has spent countless sunrises and sunsets in God’s great outdoors. It is practical application of God’s principles, shown through the eyes of a sportsman, with beautiful photography to accent each lesson.

Only $12.95 Order by mail or online: binkgrimes@sbcglobal.net www.binkgrimesoutdoors.com 94 | February 2017

Bink Grimes 333 CR 166 Bay City, Tx 77414

Elkhorn coral. Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Corals are made up of thousands of tiny multicellular polyps, each an individual organism that feeds on microscopic plankton and tiny fish they catch with tiny tentacles. Corals can reproduce sexually or asexually, and asexual reproduction leads to new polyps with the identical genetic code of the parent. Scientists studying elkhorn corals in Florida and the Caribbean have found that the oldest genotypes of this endangered species have been around more than 5,000 years.

Sponges differ quite a bit from corals, but they stay in one place just like corals. Without a nervous, circulatory, respiratory, digestive or excretory system, sponges depend on the flow of water through them to get food and oxygen and to remove wastes. There is no simple way to estimate the age of a sponges, but size can be an indicator, and the oldest is estimated to be 4,500 years. But now, scientists have found a sponge about the size of a car — the world’s largest known sponge and perhaps the world’s oldest animal — 7,000 feet deep at the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in Hawaii.

Living for so long shows the hardiness of corals and sponges despite major changes in their environment over time. Human-caused climate change, however, will put that resilience to the test. It’s occurring much more quickly than typical historical variations of climate, and scientists have to wait to see if these ancient creatures can withstand that pace of change.

www.ScienceAndTheSea.org © The University of Texas Marine Science Institute

©JASON ARNOLD

IF WE SAVE THE SEAGRASS,

WE SAVE THE FISH. Seagrass is critical to good fishing. Marine organisms depend on it for survival—for food, shelter, and oxygen. But boat propellers are destroying Texas seagrass, which is seriously impacting saltwater fishing in the coastal shallows. When boaters do not lift their propeller in shallow water, the prop cuts and uproots the seagrass beds—leaving long barren trenches or “scars” that may take years to heal ... if ever.

Stop Prop Scarring – Lift, Drift, Pole, Troll

It is ILLEGAL in Texas to uproot seagrass with a propeller.

Avoid damaging seagrass – lift your prop!

When in shallow waters, lift your motor and drift, pole, or troll through it. After all, there’s nothing like a redfish on light tackle in shallow water. Let’s keep it that way!

For more information visit:

www.tpwd.texas.gov/seagrass

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