October 2012

TROUT SURVIVE C&R...

AND THEY TRAVEL

Dr. Greg Stunz’s study results.

JOE DOGGETT’S

B-TEAM Less glamour but still a hard pull.

CHUCK UZZLE’S

REDFISH TACTICS Simple and effective.

Only $3.95 www.tsfmag.com October 2012

TIDE PREDICTIONS & SOLUNAR FEED TIMES INSIDE!

WE LIVE HUNTING AND FISHING W W W. F O R E V E R L A S T. C O M

T-TOPPER REALTREE LUGGAGE

SNAKE GUARD SHIELDS

FEEEDER UNITS

ABOUT THE COVER Fred Boudreaux is this month’s cover angler in a scene likely to be repeated many times along the Texas coast this month.

Cade simpson photo

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

CONTENTS

OCTOBER 2012 VOL 22 NO 6

FEATURES 08 Been there, “Dunn” that!

14 The Redheads are Coming!

20 The Passing of the Torch and...

24 The Double Nickle 28 Sometimes Simple is Best 32 The B-Team 38 Releasing Fish Offshore 42 “Trout have tails…

REGIONAL SALES REPRESENTATIvE Patti Elkins Patti@tsfmag.com Office: 361-785-3420 Cell: 361-649-2265

Mike McBride Kevin Cochran Billy Sandifer Martin Strarup Chuck uzzle Joe Doggett Joe Richard Megan Robillard and Greg Stunz

PRODuCTION COORDINATOR Donna Boyd Donna@tsfmag.com

14

DEPARTMENTS

77

23 Coastal Birding 37 Boat Maintenance Tips 46 Making the Most of the Seasons...

48 Let’s Ask The Pro 50 TPWD Field Notes 52 Fly Fishing 56 Pole Fishing 58 Youth Fishing 60 Texas Nearshore & Offshore 64 Kayak Fishing Chronicles 68 Extreme Kayak Fishing & Sharks...

72 Fishy Facts 104 Dont’ Watch Shark Week Then Go...

WHAT OUR GUIDES HAVE TO SAY

78 Dickie Colburn’s Sabine Scene 80 Mickey on Galveston 82 The view from Matagorda 84 Mid-Coast Bays with the Grays 86 Hooked up with Rowsey 88 Capt. Tricia’s Port Mansfield Report 90 South Padre Fishing Scene

Dickie Colburn Mickey Eastman Bink Grimes Shellie Gray David Rowsey Capt. Tricia Ernest Cisneros

REGULARS

98

4 | October 2012

04 76 92 96 98

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

NATIONAL SALES REPRESENTATIvE Bart Manganiello Bartalm@optonline.net

Billy Sandifer Chris Mapp Everett Johnson Jay Watkins Jose Garcia Scott Null Scott Sommerlatte Marcos Garza Mike Jennings Cade Simpson Eric Ozolins Stephanie Boyd Wade Owens

88

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Hello TSFMag, I have a fishing tale for you.

My boyfriend Pete and I were in Rockport this past Thanksgiving weekend. You might recall that the wind and light rain picked up on Saturday afternoon. It was too much for our small boat in Copano Bay so we called it a day and stayed in the rest of the evening. On Sunday before we headed home, we stopped in Rockport Harbor, as we usually do, so that Pete could fish for flounder. He got lucky and caught two nice ones using Berkley Gulp! shrimp. Attached is a picture of one.

I was cold so I stayed in the truck and read my book. I looked out at Pete once and he was waving for me to come out there with him. I shook my head “no” crossing my arms on my chest and pretending to shiver, to show that it’s too cold. He waved me over again and I reluctantly went out.

I said, “Let’s go home, it’s freezing” and he agreed. He asked me to reel up his line while he hooked up the boat. It was odd that he would ask me to do that, then I noticed he’d switched to a popping cork, and then I noticed there was no weight on the end, it was light.

As I reeled it up, I saw a shiny engagement ring on the line! It was the ring I’d casually pointed out to him many months before!

In the excitement, I sort of remember him asking me to marry him and I know I said yes but all I could think was, “Get this ring off the line and onto my finger.” Picture attached.

We spent the 3-hour drive home laughing and talking about how nervous he was that the ring would fall off the line or that a fish would be attracted to the sparkle and go after it!

Thank you for publishing my story, Robin Field & Pete Haralambous

6 | October 2012

EDITORIAL Are We Being Conservative Enough?

Don’t worry; this is not a political rant; at least not in the sense of presidential campaign and election politics. I guess it could qualify as fishing politics – sort of.

What I want to talk about is the state of the Texas mid-coast spotted seatrout fishery. The middle coast got off to a better start this year than it did during the several most recent, no doubt the easing of the drought that has dogged us the past four years has helped some. But I’m here to tell you it didn’t last near as long as we (or at least I) had hoped. Fishing reports from a host of qualified recreational anglers and guides bear this out via reports that ran a declining gamut from glowing to dismal as spring turned into summer and now fall.

Nearly everybody is catching “a ton of dinks” and truly solid catching for more than a day or two over the past four months have been the bragging material for only a lucky few recs. Guides that fish hard every day and network closely with associates who fish likewise have been ferreting out pockets of good fish on a more regular basis, but the action has certainly not been enjoyed by all guides who ply these waters. This is clearly evident in their frequent web postings and the fact that they can be seen “staked out” throwing natural bait for reds and black drum.

That “ton of dinks” can in some ways foretell of better days ahead but, trout of twelve to thirteen inches need at least another full year to graduate to “solid” status.

There is nothing really new in this. Even in the days of plenty along the mid-coast, I’m talking 1996 to 2002 here, “solid” trout were always more numerous in spring and early summer than during September and October. TPWD says we can attribute most of this to the number of fish harvested during the summer months. A quick comparison of coastwide spring and fall gill net survey results are actually quite convincing. In most bays the fall nets capture about 40-50% fewer trout. Suffice to say – they went somewhere!

So this brings me to my point. Any angler with more than a few seasons under his belt can clearly see what has been happening.

Resource managers call it fishing beyond the level of sustainability. To the rest of us it means we are taking more fish than the ecosystems can supply.

Think of it the same as a Mastercard or visa account. When you spend more than you can pay when the bill arrives, you are charged interest. Pretty soon, if you do not adopt more conservative spending habits and pay down the balance, the card limit is reached and the provider suspends the account. Before you know it your credit score sinks so low that it takes years to rebuild.

Hence the title of this editorial – Are we being conservative enough?

People often say, “Money is tight,” when they cannot afford a new car or a nice vacation.

Right now - I say our mid-coast spotted seatrout fishery is tight and the best way to improve the situation is to conserve what we currently still have. The regs say we can keep ten – but is that conservative enough?

STORY BY MIKE MCBRIDE

8 | October 2012

one of the biggeR

peRks of being a fishing guide is all the interesting

characters you are privileged to hook. Port Mansfield does not disappoint. Any boat slip, fuel pump or store counter can suddenly deliver yet another “personality” and the corner barstool at the Windjammer Restaurant did just that. Y’all meet Jerry Dunn.

It’s been said that when a student is ready to learn a teacher will appear. If I ever quit being a student of fishing it’ll be time to do something else. So – you can bet that when I met “fortyfive years of fishing for a living” I cupped both ears.

It would be silly to try and list all Jerry’s credentials but, having been dubbed “the dean of Texas bass fishing guides” might be a strong first hint. Stronger in my opinion is surviving across spans of six decades solely by putting people on fish with lures in areas that experience more dramatic swings in fishing conditions than anything we’ll ever see on the coast.

Also intriguing is that despite a vast expanse between fresh and saltwater worlds, some things turn out the same. There are many comparisons that strike home, and yes, I listened. So might you.

Torpedo the school and you might get one, maybe two. Ease in and you can work ‘em over.

TSFMAG.com | 9

“There was a time when anglers had to rely solely on their instincts. You can read your electronics, but that doesn’t mean you can read a shoreline.” – Jerry Dunn

With one elbow on the bar and plain spoken as you might imagine a former ranch foreman, Jerry eased back into some of his weathered years.

“When I started, my tackle box was a brown paper sack thrown in a 15’ boat with a 20 horse rope starter on the back. Never meant to start guiding, it just sorta happened…but $45 a day was a lot of money back then even though we fished from sunup till dark.”

Wanting to hear more I tried to encourage him, “I can’t even imagine what all changes you’ve seen over the years.”

I got a look that was more like a stare…the way you look at one of your kids when they’re being stupid.

“Well, as far as you younger guys go,” Jerry winked, “There was a time when anglers had to rely solely on their instincts. Electronics changed everything. But all that technology won’t help anybody if they don’t understand what they’re doing. You can run that GPS and read your side-scanning sonar, but that doesn’t mean you can read a shoreline. It’s about understanding what you are seeing. Really, it’s just all ‘bout common sense, and to consistently catch fish you need to first learn about fish and their behavior.”

Relating that to my world I’m convinced that GPS may actually dumb a lot of anglers down; encouraging the easy path of spot fishing over the finer science of learning nature’s habits. Let’s remember that a spot ain’t worth much until it’s time to be there, and that to me is the hook and bull of all of this. And, I want to add, you can’t learn it from reading anything except the water.

I had to throw in a poke about lures in general, knowing that bass guys are famous for having tackle stores in their boats. Figuring he may have honed a few things to a fine edge over the years, I was hoping he would like to tell me.

10 | October 2012

“Porch fishing” …with an eight-point buck grazing in the front yard. Only in Port Mansfield!

Inspecting his boots for a minute, Jerry looked up and said, “Mike, every lure in both of our tackle boxes will catch fish. You can catch a fish on anything. But the truth is, when that lure hits the counter it’s already hooked what it was designed to catch.”

I agreed. With another little poke, Jerry divulged that over the years his bread and butter simply became a Texas-rigged lizard – with the only change worth considering being the weight of the bullet.

Interesting that his experience led him to depend on plastics for survival and I think we’re seeing the same thing on the coast. Sure… we all like it on top (!) but, push come to shove, it’s the worm that most pros rely on to be consistent. So what’s in your wallet?

Continuing to compare our worlds, we slipped off the bar stools and ended up at our place. Inside my man cave, Jerry gave a cursory sideways glance at several boxes of “stuff ” cluttering an otherwise perfectly good floor.

“You know,” he said, “There came a time that I ended up dumping all my sponsors and I believe that really raised my credibility.”

An eyebrow went up (mine), and he followed with, “Yeah, after that…whenever I offered a client a suggestion…they knew it was because I truly believed in the product, not because of some paycheck.”

OK, that was big! Perhaps honor and integrity may have played a small part in forty-five years of success. Ya think?

Back to fishing, the “dean” squinted a bit, then offered with a bit of passion, “Your fish school here. And so do ours at times. One of the biggest mistakes I see is when fishermen pull right up into a school with their big motor. That’s the absolute worst thing you can do if you expect to catch fish.”

That got my attention. I can imagine that Jerry and his peers

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wouldn’t dream of torpedoing a school with 250 horses (so common around here) and settling for one fish apiece while they are fleeing for their lives.

“That’s like robbing the teller,” Jerry mused. “I want the whole vault, so ease in and you can continue to work ‘em over.”

In my opinion, that single disruptive tactic, that so many on the Lower Coast seem to live by these days (read guides), is actually changing fish behavior. Those big herds of reds pushing water on the flats, which I assume were common eons before humans, are becoming increasingly rare. Some say the legendary acres of tailing reds simply no longer exist, blaming too many doses of 250 ponies.

Freshwater anglers have been well ahead of the saltwater crowd for a good while in many ways. For one, freshwater is simply a bigger overall market and innovations naturally flow in greater number. However, no billion-dollar industry can endure unless its foundation remains solid and the upshot is exceptional stewardship of bass fisheries.

Saltwater anglers remain rooted in filleting and eating their passion while the bass guys quit raiding theirs a long time ago. And while 12 | October 2012

Mike McBride

Contact

(Above) The future of Texas’ exceptional seatrout fishery may well depend on anglers laying aside their fillet knives.

there are certainly many similarities between lake and bay, when it comes to the filleting part, the philosophical distance remains huge.

Jerry says, “Nah, we don’t eat ‘em…but there was a time. We used to clean fifteen per person.

Nowadays I don’t even own a fillet knife. There’s bigger rewards than that.”

Our conversation also included bass chaser Carroll Atkinson, Jerry’s fellow guide and longtime friend. Both men have probably seen more on the water than I ever will, so I had to ask. “I’m curious as to how the whole bass fishing culture jumped out of the skillet and is now almost 100% catch and release. What took y’all there?”

Here came that look again – times two.

Jerry thinks it was live-weigh tournaments; the advent of live wells in bass boats. “Tournaments became big business,” he quipped, “and you can take it from there.”

Now it was time for me to stare and Carroll seemed confused that I’d even asked the question.

Sliding forward, and with sincere inland twang, he said; “You know, I don’t think I can really put my finger on exactly why, but when it started it just kinda kept going. “And, he added, “We’ve been enjoying the success every since.”

One more round, so I offered one more question…for now anyway.

“Jerry, you guys have seen in your past a lot of our future. We are still way behind in many respects, so where do you think we’re going on the coast.”

Another boot check. And after a satisfactory inspection, Dunn simply said, “Y’all are going to go where y’all take it, but wherever that is, just remember it just takes one man to start a war. Try to pick the right one.”

After finally calling calf-rope on an impressive run of guiding, Jerry hasn’t even launched his boat in the four months he’s been down here, preferring instead the porch and his cat who he says “rules the roost.”

I suppose it’s just his time to kick back and reflect. When it’s my time, I sure hope I can also say I’ve been there and done that. In the meantime I’m looking forward to a lot of porch fishing. We’ve still got a lot to learn, and yes, I’m still listening.

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

Skinny Water Adventures Phone Email Web

956-746-6041 McTrout@Granderiver.net Skinnywateradventures.com/ Three_MudSkateers.wmv

STORY BY KEVIN COCHRAN

Fishing in low light conditions in winter is productive. Safely accessing areas in the dark requires thoughtful preparation.

14 | October 2012

Redhead ducks are frequently

sighted on the coastal waters of South Texas from late October through early March.

According to an article entitled Coastal Pond Use by Redheads Wintering in the Laguna Madre, Texas, co-authored by Ballard, James, Bingham, Petrie and Wilson, “The distribution of North American redheads…during winter is highly concentrated in the Laguna Madre of Texas and Tamaulipas, Mexico. Redheads forage almost exclusively in the lagoon and primarily on shoal grass…rhizomes; however, they make frequent flights to adjacent coastal ponds to dilute salt loads ingested while foraging.”

During the night, the crimson-crowned diving ducks sleep in the Laguna Madre, preferring shallower, calmer areas when it’s windier. Sometime after sunrise, flocks can be seen flying in formation to the north and west, toward inland areas, to slake their thirst. Late in the afternoon, the birds return to their watery roosts, where they raft up again for the night.

While the sight of thousands of these migratory birds in flight can be breathtaking, as they form a continuously evolving “cloud” of shimmering color and reflected light across the sky, their presence is also a hazard to navigation in the bay systems where they spend the night. Unlike puddle ducks (mallards, pintails, teal, etc.) diving ducks like redheads can’t lift straight up off the water and fly away when roused.

After redheads become motivated to move from their resting place, they begin running along the surface of the water while flapping their wings forcefully; eventually, this creates enough lift for them to take flight. If and when boaters come quickly upon a large raft of these ducks, dangerous encounters can and will occur. This past winter was one of the worst I’ve personally experienced in over a decade of guiding on the waters of the Laguna Madre, in terms of close encounters of the redhead kind.

An early bird by nature, I often leave the dock in the dark, and I always shine a strong Q-beam forward to illuminate my path.

Furthermore, I slow down to considerably lower speeds than I would use when visibility is better, especially if it‘s misty and/or foggy.

Most significantly, I maintain a constant TSFMAG.com | 15

vigil, looking forward, not only because I expect to encounter ducks, but in order to make it easier to slow down and/or stop when I see something in the way.

On a daily basis, I mention the possibility of encounters with redheads to my clients when pulling away from the dock, saying something like, “If you see ducks or feel me slowing the boat down, bow your head forward and protect yourself with your hands. If I say, ‘I see a duck’, duck is the key word!” Some customers seem amused by my warning and don’t really take the risks of running into redheads seriously.

I jokingly say, “Redheads don’t taste real good when they’re cooked; they definitely don’t taste good raw, with the feathers still on ‘em!” All of this banter is a tongue-in-cheek way of emphasizing the need to be alert and ready to do whatever is possible to minimize the damage if we run into a big flock and things go wrong.

Ideally, the beam of the light shining from my helm alarms the drowsy birds and gives them ample time to get out of our way. If they start moving and choose a direction to either side of our intended path, or away from us, and if I slow down because I see them, the birds usually don’t pass close to us. If, on the other hand, the birds get up later, are closer to us to start with, and they choose to fly straight at the boat, they pass right over us, or worse yet, fly right into our craft, even if I come to a full stop.

I stop when I see such a scenario developing, but even if we aren’t moving, redheads flying at full speed into the boat is a bad deal for both the birds and the people on board. Ducks crashing into the bow will be deflected onto the water, where they will cause no damage to boaters; those crashing into the rig above the gunwales can cause bodily injury to people and snap lightweight fishing rods like twigs.

Having experienced all these things over time, I’ve become more 16 | October 2012

cautious than ever when riding around on the Laguna Madre in the dark during winter. I most often encounter redheads when embarking before daylight, but they also provide the same hazard to safe navigation when returning to the dock after dark. Significantly, a large number of the birds prefer to roost on the east side of the ICW, in the path many boaters use when traveling between Bird Island and Baffin.

I mention all this not as a way of discouraging people from leaving the dock early or coming in late, but merely as a warning, to encourage captains who run around on these waters in the dark to proceed with caution by slowing down, shining a strong light ahead and expecting to encounter ducks.

I acknowledge the danger inherent to riding a boat through rafted redheads, and don’t want to unnecessarily kill any birds; I certainly want to keep my customers out of harm’s way. I also recognize the enchanting way the presence of so many flying creatures enhances the natural beauty of our counties, cities and bays. Mostly, birds influence fishing trips positively, not only because they improve the aesthetic experience of being on the water, but because they can help anglers find and catch fish.

Everyone reading this is likely aware of the meaning of the sight of flocks of seagulls hovering low over the water and dipping occasionally to snatch shrimp fleeing from the hungry mouths of piscatorial predators. In all places around the world, “working birds” are used to pinpoint the locations of schooling fish. Other types of potentially useful evidence provided by birds are harder to interpret.

Wading shorebirds standing in loose groups on the bank (or in the shallows close to the bank) can indicate the presence of predatory fish chasing bait. Egrets and herons in particular will attempt to take advantage of opportunities created by trout and redfish pushing bait to and through the water’s surface. Birds have

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no conscience, especially when it comes to stealing meals from fish.

Pelicans paddling around in an area and/ or diving can alert attentive anglers toward potentially productive areas. Diving terns can do the same, especially if they are seen repeatedly splashing down in relatively small areas, rather than moving steadily over long distances and diving only sporadically. I look for all these things when out on the water, since I have no conscience when it comes to using birds to help me locate fish!

A novice bird-watcher, I’ve seen winged creatures do many interesting things while I was fishing. Just recently, I observed a crested caracara attempting to kill an obviously wounded redhead. The purity and severity of the incident were poignant. Over the years, I’ve advised readers not to look around too much and lose focus when fishing. On the other hand, to never stop and smell the roses is to ignore one of the most important aspects of our time on the water. Taking in the natural

Cooler weather in October sometimes makes it a little easier to catch fat trout like the one Chris Farmer is holding here.

Cooper Cogdell with a pretty trout caught in the heat, well in advance of the arrival of the redheads.

beauty of the creatures and scenes replenishes our souls, adds meaning to our existence.

Corpus Christi is called the “birdiest city in North America” for a reason. The Texas Coastal Bend has more birds than any other place in this great land of ours, both in terms of the raw number of birds flying around on a daily basis, and the highest average number of species present at any given time. Accordingly, people flock here from faraway places on birding pilgrimages.

I’m currently working on a DVD which will provide a guide to some of the best bird watching areas in the Coastal Bend, including places where plenty of our feathered friends can be observed from a car, others where walking around provides more opportunity for seeing birds and still others which require a boat to access. Working on this project has motivated me to learn more about the abundant fowl with which we share our beaches, pastures, woods, wetlands and waters.

I will continue to take advantage of all the help birds can give me when I’m fishing. I’ll also watch closely for them when I’m boating in the dark, in the interests of safety, both for the birds and the people.

We who work here share an obligation to look out for redheads and other waterfowl. After all, they’ve made their living on the Mother Lagoon far longer than have we.

Contact

Kevin Cochran

18 | October 2012

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

STORY BY BILLY SANDIFER

20 | October 2012

i neveR foR one split

second of my life dreamed

Female bull shark, caught and released

by James Clark in the PINS surf.

that I’d live to be this old or ever retire. Quite simply I never had any desire to do either. I figured on dropping over dead while kayaking a shark bait through the surf or at the least on a charter down island. I secretly thought it would be a nice touch to keel over dead picking up trash at a Big Shell Beach Cleanup.

I’ve intentionally spent this adrenalin-filled adventure we call life in such a manner that left little doubt I would have to ever worry about getting old. All my life people have asked me, “Billy, aren’t you afraid of anything?”

I’ve always replied with the same one liner; “Sure, I’m scared to death of getting old.”

They’d have a good laugh and say they doubted I’d ever have that problem.

I’ve lived each day as if it were my last one and done my best to savor all of its sweet nectar like a hummingbird on one of the last flower blooms of fall. All of our lives are comprised of a certain number of days and the number doesn’t matter; the way we spend them does.

So then I end up with swollen ankles, feet and legs for twenty-six straight days last June. The v.A. diagnosed the problem as bilateral peripheral vascular disease of both lower legs due to Diabetes Mellitus – Type II, associated with being sprayed with Agent Orange. An internet search suggested I shouldn’t worry too much about making longterm investments.

Between that and PTSD they declared me 90% disabled due to service-connected combat-related health and mental health issues and they pay me for 100% disability as I am considered unemployable. The money is wonderful but it was as if they had stolen my life. I spent months in misery and depression attempting to come to terms with this. I was like a boat that had slipped it’s anchor and was aimlessly drifting around at sea. I seriously considered moving to Panama or somewhere I might find a new mission and an adrenalin fix.

The Board of Directors of the Ruth Parr Sparks Foundation is made up of Mr. Leon McNinch of Alice, TX. and Mr. Jim Mayo of Mathis. Their contributions have been the lifeblood of the nonprofit group Steven Naylor and I started and named Friends of Padre, Inc. In July I took Mr. Mayo, his lady-friend, Glenda, and two of his business partners on a sightseeing trip down island. He was shocked to learn I had only been down island a few days this year. I told him that since I no longer had customers to pay for the fuel I couldn’t justify going regularly which was new to me as all these years I’ve attempted to scout the entire beach at least once every week.

TSFMAG.com | 21

Meet Jeff Wolda – I highly recommend him as a stand-up guy and light-tackle guide for anybody wanting to fish the PINS surf.

Petra Hockey with her first topwater trout from the PINS surf. I love turning people into topwater junkies!

I always thought of it as “riding fence” on a ranch. Mr. Mayo advised me he thought the Friends of Padre was affording me a gas and vehicle repair allowance because as far as they were concerned the main job of Friends of Padre, other than to carry out the Big Shell Beach Cleanup, was to be supportive of my other personal conservation work which definitely included me “riding fence” on PINS once a week.

It was then that I realized the board of Friends of Padres (including me) had became so focused on evaluating good causes we felt worthy of donations we had neglected to realize that the conservation work I’ve been doing all these years is of extreme value and needed to be continued and supported from our donated funds as well. All at once I wasn’t old and worn out anymore; instead I was a man with a mission. The same mission I’ve been performing continuously since leaving the military; “riding fence on

Petra and Ladd Hockey celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary fishing and birding on PINS with the author.

22 | October 2012

PINS, collecting natural science data and reporting necessary and important information of things I observed to the appropriate NPS personnel.

For the first time I was glad my professional guiding career was over and I could go back to immersing myself within that ecosystem I knew so well and enjoyed studying, experimenting and monitoring all the flora and fauna of the island and nearshore waters So the Friends of Padre did some prioritizing and purchased some top quality optics and other tools necessary to be good guardians of the island and all its children. We are in the process of having our website rebuilt to include a blog that will give reports and other information folks need to know. Check out our website at www.

FriendsofPadre, Inc. and when you choose to make a donation to Friends of Padre you’ll be directly supporting conservation programs on PINS which could, in future years, be extremely influential in keeping driving permitted on PINS. I’ve invested a lifetime in trying to protect Padre Island, its inhabitants and the rights of its visitors. Hard to retire with no one to keep the flame alive.

Now I want to introduce Jeff Wolda.

Jeff is 42 years old, a nine year veteran of the U.S. Navy and has been fishing on PINS both with me as well as on his own for years. In a few days Jeff will become the new light-tackle fishing guide on PINS and maybe my poor ol’ telephone will get a break. I recently went to PINS with him and told NPS personnel he was my recommendation for becoming a guide. He has been one of our section leaders in the past few Big Shell Beach Cleanups and is a straight shooter. I recommend him to you just as I did with NPS personnel.

Jeff is the man to take up the torch I’ve laid down and by hiring him you will help add an additional set of eyes

John Navar landed this 6’-2” male bull shark in the PINS surf recently. His tackle included a Daiwa Saltist reel and 40# test line. The battle lasted nearly an hour before the bull was released to fight another day.

Black-chinned Hummingbird -Archilochus alexandriand hands to those already “riding fence” down island. His phone number is 361-215-8400 and his web site is PI-Adventures.com. Jeff will not be doing shark fishing trips for now; other than sightcasting to shallow water individuals he encounters. Supposedly another individual will be doing shark fishing charters but I haven’t a clue as to when he will start. The guide on PINS is the representative of all PINS users and it’s good to know it’s a man of integrity, honesty and grit.

I’ve had something on my mind for some time now but seems I never have space to write about it in an article. For a few years we all had CB radios in our vehicles down the beach and kept them on Channel 1. Lots of good came from that. Stranded turtles or sea mammals can be promptly reported as well as accidents or injured people. You can also find out what color the water is 30 miles south of you without having to drive 60 miles round trip only to find it is of poor visibility and to learn that the jack crevalle are at that very moment hitting the beach at the 28-mile beachfront.

CB radios cannot get all the way out but we can pass info along the beachfront to someone who could make an emergency phone call when needed. It’s a win/win for everyone and probably half of us still have one around somewhere. I’m reinstalling mine in my Suburban.

Think about it. It’s a good deal for lots of reasons.

Plumage is metallic green above with whitish under parts and dusky green flanks and sides. Male shows a violet band at lower border of black throat. This is the western counterpart of the ruby-throated hummingbird found predominantly in the eastern states. Both species migrate through Texas heading to wintering grounds in Mexico during the fall; and then back north again through Texas during spring. Females of the two species are very difficult to tell apart.

If we don’t leave any there won’t be any! –Billy Sandifer

Contact

Billy Sandifer Retired after 20+ years of guiding anglers in the Padre surf, Billy Sandifer (“Padre of Padre Island” to friends & admirers) is devoted to conserving the natural wonders of N. Padre Island & teaching all who will heed his lessons to enjoy the beauty of the Padre Island National Seashore responsibly.

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

Phto by Cissy Beasley

TSFMAG.com | 23

STORY BY MARTIN STRARUP

24 | October 2012

i RemembeR like it was yesteRday.

Sunrise on Matagorda Bay. I had to see this over a hundred times, following my dad as a small boy and then fishing with him as a young man. Seen it at least a hundred more with my own son trailing behind me, now a grown man himself. I truly regret that we rarely made photos back in the day – but the images in my memory as still sharp as a tack.

I was five years old and with my Dad down at Oyster Lake, sitting on the sand wearing a little inflatable life ring that had fish figures on it. My Dad was casting his red Ambassadeur 5000 out into the current of the outgoing tide that was rushing under the old wooden bridge and into West Matagorda Bay. The old man who had a bait camp there was talking to my Dad and his pet crow was flying around.

That old crow would steal anything shiny that you happened to set down. If you took a ring off or your watch or just laid your pocket knife down he would swoop down, snatch it and fly off.

Then he would circle around and fly into the back window of the old man’s trailer.

Now for those who knew about the crow, they would simply walk up to the old man’s trailer and tell them that his blanketyblank crow had stolen this or that and the man would produce a box of purloined items and say, “What’s yours?”

I always wondered about those who didn’t know the crow was his pet. I guess that’s how the old man survived down there in that desolate place.

I was watching that crow because my Dad had told me that he would fly down and peck little boys on their heads. I didn’t know if that was true but I had me a pretty good size oyster shell in my hand and if that crow tried it, he was going to get it.

I watched him leave the old man’s shoulder and fly up and around the bridge and right into someone’s station wagon. In a few minutes he flew out the opposite window and made a big circle and disappeared behind the trailer. I don’t know what he had pilfered from the station wagon but he had something dangling from his beak.

I got up and walked to my Dad’s black and red pickup and got a Dr Pepper from the metal Coleman ice chest sitting in the shade and sat back down in the sand under the tailgate.

My Dad looked back and I wasn’t where he had told me to sit, so when he called my name I walked back down closer to him.

He told me to stay away from the water with the tide moving like it was and there was no need to remind me. He had already told me more than once and made sure to tell me that grown men had fallen in and drowned when the tide was moving like that. Well that just made me scared for him because I sure wasn’t going near the water.

I watched my Dad work what was either a Hump or Bingo lure suspended underneath the clear plastic popping cork. There was a rhythm to the way he worked it and a certain amount of time that he would wait before he would pop the cork again and I would make a game out of watching it. I was easily entertained.

I can’t remember now but it sure seemed like he brought a trout in on almost every cast and he called me over and let me reel in a few. My own rod and reel was still in the garage back home where I had left it. One of those “I thought I put it in the truck” deals.

After a while he let me fish. He’d cast out for me and let me reel in but I could never master the rhythm in popping the cork.

But I did catch a trout and, after he unhooked it for me, he let me TSFMAG.com | 25

from him all those things that help me to this day. To me it can seem like yesterday and sometimes when I am out on the water or even down at Oyster Lake I can close my eyes and be right back there when I was five years old. I can smell the smoke from the fire, I can hear that stupid crow and I can see my Dad casting and working his lure.

It’s hard to believe that those memories are 50 years old, that my Dad has been gone for 5 years, and that I have turned 55. Hurricane Carla got the bait camp and the trailer; old age got the old man. I don’t know how old that thieving crow was back in 1962 but some Native American legends say that a crow can live to be 70 years old.

If you happen to be headed down to Oyster Lake on West Matagorda Bay, my advice would be to play it safe and keep your windows rolled up, your watch on your wrist, and your rings on your fingers.

Turning fifty-five, the Double Nickel…who’d have ever thought it.

Be safe.

MARTIN STRARuP

CONTACT

hold it and put it in the fish box that he also used for a stool. That was the first speckled trout I had ever caught and buddy, you can bet that everyone in kindergarten heard about it come September.

At that time my Dad was running a 16’ Yellow Jacket boat and even though he had a boat he still liked to fish from the bank on occasion.

Oyster Lake was one of his favorite walkup spots as was Cash’s creek, the hog pens on the Tres Palacios River, and the surf in Matagorda when the wind was right. I don’t remember but it could be that he fished from the bank when the wind was blowing too hard to use the boat. All I know is that I enjoyed doing both and I loved being with my Dad. What I didn’t know at the time was that he was instilling in me a love for fishing and for the outdoors.

In the winter months when we weren’t in a boat on the rivers we’d set up lights down at Oyster Lake. I was a bit young to stay up real late and would wind up asleep in the truck, but I can remember the water alive with fish and my Dad and friends catching them two at a time on tandem jigs.

There would be a fire made of driftwood and an old-fashioned coffee pot like I had seen on western movies. I learned that if you didn’t use a towel or hot pad to grab the handle you would wind up crying and someone would be rubbing bacon fat on the blisters.

The men would fish until the tide slacked and then take naps. If the tide was going to move again they would fish it and when it did otherwise they would sleep until daylight, put on their waders and do some wade fishing. While this was going on I would be casting from the bank with what I believe was a Johnson closed-face spinning reel. I caught a lot of magnum oyster shells in the clear cold water.

This is how I grew up. Fishing or hunting with my Dad and learning

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

ROY’S Bait and Tackle Outfitters

7613 SPID Corpus Christi, TX 78412 www.roysbait-tackle.com

361-992-2960

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26 | October 2012

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TSFMAG.com | 27

STORY BY CHuCK uzzLE

i have neveR

undeRstood

why fishermen cannot be happy with things as they find them. Always hell-bent for complicated. Re-inventing the wheel, with corners this time.

In our never-ending quest to catch more and bigger fish we often stray down the path that we think leads to discovery, only to find that if we’d just read the street signs we’d be in much better shape.

Over the years it seems we have become so detailed and specific, the average fisherman suffers all too frequently from paralysis by analysis.

Fishing reports have become thesis length statements, so full of detail that instead of helping, they now hinder the angler. A once simple task has become so complex that many anglers doubt their own ability to catch fish. An extremely simple answer to this information overload phenomenon can be summed up with four letters forming an acronym, KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid. I am a firm believer in the concept and you should be as well.

In our quest to become fish catching machines and super-anglers many of the best things about the sport of fishing routinely take a backseat to the newest, latest, and greatest.

I usually get my own brand of wake-up call from clients who share the boat with me, especially kids and anglers new to the sport. Sometimes it takes seeing the sport through a different set of eyes to help you truly focus on what’s good. If you stop for just a moment 28 | October 2012

Big redfish like this one caught

by Eric Gildea will destroy a soft plastic drifted under a rattling cork.

TSFMAG.com | 29

Seamus Gildea with his first topwater redfish.

and think about what is the most basic and pure moment in the whole fishing equation, it has to be when a fish pulls on the other end of the line. At that moment it doesn’t matter what lure or bait you’re using; what rod you’re casting; and for that matter, which species of fish is doing the pulling. All that is truly good about the sport is compressed into that split second when anticipation and excitement meet. That’s what keeps us coming back.

Now a lot of fisherman will scoff at the notion of simplifying the fishing process and they are certainly welcome to that opinion because the sport means different things to different people. I personally love to simplify things every now and again because it helps me gain perspective. Here recently I have taken to the notion of “getting uncomplicated” and it’s been a blast.

For years when I first started guiding, my security blanket, if you will, was a handful of Mansfield Maulers and a bag of glow Cocahoe 30 | October 2012

Clint Permenter hoists a fat 9.5 pound “slot” redfish taken under a Double D cork rig.

Minnows. I spent hours drifting that slender rattling cork invented by the legendary Bob Fuston and I caught the heck out of fish while doing so.

I have come full circle and returned to my old ways it seems as I now reach for that rod with a cork on it more often. I don’t care who you are or where you fall out on the angling scale, everyone who fishes loves to see a cork dance and then plunge under water. It’s the most basic of all scenes in the sport and something that all fisherman have in common.

Things have certainly changed over the years including the basic cork setup. The Mansfield Mauler has been imitated to death and since spawned a whole new breed of rattling, fish catching spinoffs. Here on Sabine, a local company called Double D Lures (DoubleDLures.com) has started manufacturing a rattling cork that I really like because it’s extremely durable and catches fish.

The wire that’s used on the Double D corks is much stiffer than most so it resists bending as other

hook is not a bad idea either as they make unhooking fish easier and are harder for the fish to swallow – less chance of injuring the ones you elect to release.

The idea of fishing with a cork will certainly be met with resistance from those who believe themselves above such mundane methods and that’s okay because everyone has certain likes and dislikes. I have no problem slowing things down every now and again, taking a little time to just have some fun and get a bite. It’s even better when those bites become big fish and it’s great when they won’t hit any of the “high tech” lures of those who look down their nose at the cork.

There is nothing better than hearing a guy at the dock, all decked-out in the latest high-end clothes, glasses, tackle, boat, and truck telling his buddies; “Yeah, they caught fish but…they were using corks.” And then watching as he places an icepack on his wounded ego.

Chuck Uzzle

Contact

models are prone to do.

Invariably, if you fish a cork rig long enough, a redfish will take a big swipe at the cork instead of your lure and bend the wire up pretty good. The bent wire will usually keep the cork from sliding freely and that causes the rig to be less effective.

The cork on the Double D is also a little denser and tougher which further increases the durability and lengthens its life. I have had great success all summer long with the Double D cork rig and it’s always nice to see a local guy do well.

The Double D cork rig.

As for the preferred bait on the business end of the rattling corks, I have become a big fan of the Berkley Gulp, especially the 3” shrimp. This is a simple setup that just absolutely catches fish. I have seen redfish just inhale these baits under a cork when they wouldn’t even look at another offering. One recommendation that I can make is to use a jighead with a corkscrew style bait keeper. Gulp baits are not cheap and when you screw them on they stay there. A jighead built on a wide-gap

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

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

TSFMAG.com | 31

32 | October 2012

STORY BY JOE DOGGETT

we weRe anchoRed on a gReen July tide

near the end of Galveston’s South Jetty. We were “free shrimping” - casting live shrimp against the rocks and allowing the current to carry the settling baits across the submerged slope.

Fishing was steady; Ken Frazier, my old fishing friend, knows the rocks. A school of speckled trout milled within reach and we kept the “bite” active by tossing an occasional handful of free baits.

We were working on a two-man limit of specks, nothing exceptional size-wise, but all solid keepers in the 2- to 3-pound class, excellent candidates for the fillet knives back at the Galveston Yacht Basin.

I stuck the point of a No. 8 gold treble under the “horn” of a kicking brownie and lobbed a careful side-arm cast across the breeze. The shrimp and tiny pinch of lead split shot landed with a soft plop and began to settle.

The 12-pound mono pulled tight against a vicious strike. No school trout, this time!

Line pulled from the loosely set drag and raced across the surface. A slender silvery two-foot fish flew out in a high and twisting leap.

“Skipjack!” Hooted Frazier. “Leave it to you to hook a B-Teamer when we’re in a hot school of trout!”

I scrambled around the bow, keeping at right angles to the running, jumping skipjack. “Well, it may be a B-Teamer but it sure fights harder than any trout we’ve caught. Look at this guy go.”

The skipjack dove under the boat. I plunged the rod tip, clearing the outboard, and played the fish out on the other side of the boat. I reached with the long-handled dip net and the thrashing mesh came aboard.

I plucked the small treble and released the fish; it flashed like a lance into the green.

The skipjack, or ladyfish, is one the second stringers on the Texas tides, falling short of the exclusive A-Team lineup of speckled trout, red drum, snook and tarpon. The B-Team species often fail to get the recognition they deserve.

When the coveted specks and reds fail to cooperate, the B Teamers can salvage the day. Or they can expand the potential. For example, when a limit of trout is on the stringer or in the box, deliberately targeting B-Teamers can add variety and excitement.

The idea is to keep an open mind; the tides do not totally revolve around specks and reds. We sometimes tend to forget that.

The skipjack is a good example. Few Texas anglers deliberately target them; in fact, many old salts hold the “skippers” in low regard. I’m not sure why, maybe because the table quality is poor. But edibility should not be the measure of a great sport fish - especially in these times of catch-and-release.

Frankly, edibility shouldn’t even be a factor. Look at tarpon; nobody this side of a jungle rain forest eats tarpon.

When specks aren’t hitting, currents around the ends of Gulf jetties are great intercept areas for a variety of light-tackle B-Team species.

TSFMAG.com | 33

Streamlined skipjack, or ladyfish, is a great light-tackle fish, combining the runs of a bonefish and the jumps of a baby tarpon.

And I believe that pound-for-pound a skipjack runs harder and jumps higher than a “baby” tarpon. The biggest knock against the ladyfish is size - or lack of it. Most are between one and two pounds, and anything topping an honest four or five is really big.

Regardless of size, the ladyfish is a fast-lane predator, usually running in wolfpack schools and most often encountered in the surf, or along jetties and in the currents of major passes. But they do range into the primary bays, usually near channels.

Down south, they mill across the white Laguna flats behind Padre

34 | October 2012

Island; sight casting with a fly rod while wading on knee-deep sand is great sport.

The jaws are sandpaper rough and you need a 20- to 30-pound mono or fluoro shock leader if you expect to bring many to hand. This abrasive treatment on terminal tackle is another negative in the eyes of some fishermen - but you don’t hear of many old salts griping about the rough jaws of snook.

None of it really makes sense to me. If skipjacks averaged 10 pounds rather than two, they surely would rank among the world’s hottest lighttackle game fish. A decent ladyfish combines the runs of a bonefish with the jumps of a tarpon. If angling action is the aim, where do you go from there?

The Spanish mackerel is another B-Team fish on the warm-water tides. Some trout pros dislike mackerel but I think they are great they are streamlined and dashing, with dark green backs and yellow spots. They hit going 100 miles per hour (or so it seems) and run fast and hard.

Well, there’s the size issue again: Spanish mackerel average about two pounds. A three or four pounder is a good one.

But, if you think about it, the typical trout caught by chunk-and-chance (opposed to specifically targeting large sows) probably weighs between one and two pounds.

Anything topping three is regarded as a “solid speck.”

Many times, there’s not much difference on the scale. And, like the trout, the Spanish mackerel is an exceptional food fish (when broiled with a light baste of olive oil, and salt, pepper, and lemon). I consider fresh Spanish mackerel vastly superior to the

larger king mackerel. and “You can’t have a beer that’s too Unlike the speck, the mackerel is cold!” And so on. ridiculously easy to clean. And it’s a

You would think gung-ho high-yield bounty, with a small head anglers would chorus, “Or a fish and a tiny body cavity. No scaling that’s too big!” or skinning required; just lop off the

But many veteran trout head and either gut the fish whole or pluggers curse the jackfish. Perhaps slice the fillets. this negative reaction is based on Spanish mackerel seldom are another truism: “You don’t bring a caught in the bays. Never say never in knife to a gunfight!” saltwater but a “Spanish” encounter

The typical 12-pound casting inside the barrier islands is rare. outfit is pretty wimpy against a big They prefer the open Gulf, schooling blunt-headed jack with wild eyes on green tides within reach of surf and sweeping fins. You need more waders and pier and jetty fishermen. horsepower to set the hook and The calling card of aggressive pressure the fish. This is no knock mackerel often is a sharp strike against the trout rod; it simply followed by the abrupt slack of a was not designed or intended for cleanly sliced line. Mackerel have powerful fish weighing four or five tiny teeth that can easily cut a times more than the average speck. normal casting line (especially

Yes, it’s possible to catch a big when free shrimping with no buffer jack on a trout rod - many veteran between the mono and the stubby pluggers have done it even while treble hook). wading - but you grow old in the They also are death on softprocess. The fight requires maybe plastic “tails,” which may explain why a minute-per-pound, and this is Tangling with a large jack crevalle while wade-fishing many old salts are down on them. assuming you stay after the fish and can be an exceptional test of tackle and angling skill.

This one nearly spooled Gaylord Randel several times And, you might argue, mackerel nothing breaks or blows up. during an epic battle that lasted nearly one hour. don’t jump after being hooked. Well, Jacks don’t jump, but a big one has a neither do redfish. screeching run. The light rod surges If mackerel are on the tide and you want some of the action, rig with and line pours off the reel. No question - you’re fast to something a small spoon or nylon-strand jig and a short (four- to five-inch) wire with real shoulders. leader. A fast retrieve near the surface is the percentage choice.

But following the first run the jack has a disheartening tendency to Some of my most-memorable sessions have occurred while “walking turn sideways. It puts the slab side against you, plodding methodically the rocks” of the long Gulf jetties and casting spoons as far out as and “breathing” on the line with deliberate tail beats. This is when the possible. Mackerel prefer the open water away from the sloping granite trout rod loses major points. It bends into the handle and you have very blocks. As a plus for the jetty rat, the mackerel has a tough mouth; fish little leverage “way out the there” on the broadside fish. This especially is hooked in the jaw seldom pull off when being flipped onto the rocks. true with stretchy mono.

But, wherever you find them, a few Spanish mackerel can dress up any stringer or dinner table.

The jack crevalle is another notable B-Team species. The jack is lousy food fish but has uncommon strength and exceptional size.

Mature fish average between 15 and 25 pounds. Anything under 10 is small and anything topping 30 is really big.

Nothing wrong here on the scale; the second-string status simply might be because jackfish are too much.

The notion that a “stud jack” is overkill is an odd spin, given popular sentiments such as, “You can’t have a car that goes too fast!”

TSFMAG.com | 35

When a stud jack crashes in and clamps on and heads south, the odds are good you will lose your costly Skitter Walk or 51M, or whatever mullet-looking dandy you were using to ply the tides for “speckled beauties.” This helps explain the dour mood of some grizzled old salts.

But maybe they take things too seriously.

A school of marauders crashing through the surf or into a pass is a thrilling sight, and a hookup now and then adds juice to the day. I must confess I love seeing all the violent energy erupt from nowhere. The flying mullet and bombastic crashes get my plugging pulse pounding.

I can’t stand it - screw the specks. I want to chunk into the leading edge of the melee. And if I lose a lure or break a leader, at least there’s a fish story in there.

Skipjacks, Spanish mackerel and stud jacks are three fine examples of our inshore B Team. Other second stringers, in no particular order, are black drum, sand trout, flounder, inshore sharks, bluefish, croaker, tripletail, sheepshead, whiting, and pompano.

Yes, even gafftop catfish; the slime is awful, but they fight hard and long. You think you’ve got a good red until the thing waves its streamer

36 | October 2012

Big skipjacks hit lures or live baits, fight much harder than speckled trout. Food quality is poor and catch-and-release is encouraged.

fins and rolls to the surface.

No way the hardhead catfish or the stingray makes the cut.

But, for the angler who keeps an open mind and enjoys a bent rod (which is sort of the idea of the whole thing), a variety of trip-saving B-Teamers is available. And some of the best of this mixed-bag action occurs during late summer and early fall.

If you don’t want ‘em, make a hole and let me cast.

Boat s ’ p p a M Chris ce Tips n a n e t n i Ma All outboards are covered by a manufacturer’s warranty that clearly states what is covered both in the original “factory warranty” timeframe as well in various “extended warranty” periods. They are quite different and it is important to understand these to eliminate surprises when you need to go for warranty services.

There are milestones in an outboard’s life and two important ones are the “break-in period” and first scheduled service at 20 hours of operation. There is another very critical service interval I want to discuss here - the 100 hour or annual service.

Every outboard that is used in saltwater should be serviced by the dealer after the first 100 hours, and again each 100 hours or annually during its life. This is essential for longevity and performance but, more importantly, it establishes a record of inspection and maintenance that can prove of great value should a warranty situation arise down the road.

The manufacturer’s warranty is for defects in material and workmanship based on normal operating ranges/parameters. When a warranty claim is entered, the manufacturer will ask the servicing dealer three questions: 1). Is this a defect?

2). Is this lack of maintenance?

3). Is this abuse?

Abuse does not always include intentional or willful misuse of the product. Rather, abuse is most often due to lack of information. Here’s an example: We considered it “normal” to run a tunnel or cat hull with the jackplate raised six inches to cross a shallow flat in order to reach hallowed fishing grounds. Believe it or not, this is not normal throughout the industry. While we may not realize it locally, boats with jack plates represent only a very tiny fraction of the market – yet they represent the highest rate of lower unit and cooling system related failure. We don’t consider this abuse, but it is in the eyes of a manufacturer.

This is where annual or 100 hour service comes into play; so critical in demonstrating that you not only care about the long term performance of the product, but that you also strive to help them help you in the event of a questionable and/or expensive failure. Manufacturers want to help but they are not limitless in their ability. Do your annuals and ask your dealer to show you how to protect the product, explain the warranties and warning systems, and what you can do on a regular basis to insure your experience will remain trouble-free.

The time to understand warranty is at the time of sale, not after the problem occurs.

This article is dedicated in memory of my father, Don Mapp, one the finest and most respectful anglers I have ever known.

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

Science and the Sea

TM

Horseshoe Crabs: True Survivors Horseshoe crabs are known as “living fossils” because they have survived on Earth for more than 450 million years. Although they have evolved in small ways over the millennia, they haven’t changed nearly as much as the world around them. Over the years, horseshoe crabs have seen the rise and fall of the dinosaurs, lived through the rise of the mammals and survived three major extinctions, including a huge one 250 million years ago that wiped out about 96% of marine creatures and 70% of large land animals.

Horseshoe crabs are known as living fossils. Credit: Bill Hall, University of Delaware Sea Grant College Program.

So how have horseshoe crabs managed to succeed? Quite simply, these creatures can put up with a lot.

A creature that survives that long can’t be choosy, looking for the perfect meal and perfect bed. These “crabs” – which are actually more closely related to spiders, ticks and scorpions – can eat just about any kind of organic matter, from mollusks to algae. They can even go without food for up to a year. They’re also not exactly picky about where they live, being able to tolerate a wide range of salt levels and low levels of oxygen in the water.

But horseshoe crabs are neither indestructible nor immortal, and their biggest modern threat comes from humans. Their numbers have decreased dramatically the past 20 years as habitats dwindled and fisherman used them for bait. Now, conservation efforts have started to reverse that trend with stricter regulations and quotas on harvesting them for bait and by creating horseshoe crab reserves and sanctuaries for spawning. So, perhaps these survivors will be around another 400 million years.

The University of Texas

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

TSFMAG.com | 37

Sara Douga, an intern with Texas Parks and Wildlife, retrieves our only snapper that didn’t swim back down. A sturdy landing net can be useful at times, during a day spent offshore.

38 | October 2012

STORY BY JOE RICHARD

Two summers ago

we returned from 70 miles offshore with a completely empty icechest. Why? We’d thrown back everything we caught: Snapper up to 18 pounds, a bunch of kings up to 35 pounds, and a ling or two. It turns out snapper season was closed, we only wanted kingfish in the 50-pound range for a certain, summer-long tournament, and our ling that day were undersized. Didn’t see any amberjack or grouper.

With an empty box but many photos, we returned home after burning lots of fuel. Rice and beans for dinner, as they say, after a strictly catch-and-release day offshore. That happens to bluewater trollers all the time, but rock and rig fishing in 100 feet of water off Port Arthur?

That’s rare, very rare.

Releasing fish offshore in a skillful manner takes practice, but anglers are obligated to do so these days, to keep fishing in the face of closed seasons, short bag limits and significant size limits.

Most offshore anglers keep whatever is legal out there, if its “halfway decent to eat.” Even spadefish and the now-restricted triggerfish. And then you have more top-shelf fish that can be released, decided by law or conscience. For instance, a three-pound tripletail might be legal, but has small fillets. If released, it could grow to 35 pounds.

A barely-legal ling is another dilemma, though its fillets are more generous. However, if ling can reach 135 pounds, why keep a 15-pounder? They’re great to eat, but the average size and numbers of ling have dropped hugely since I started fishing off the Texas coast.

Catching a 30- or 40-pounder today is something to crow about in the online forums, or win a tournament division.

Earlier this summer I racked up nine ling, but released seven.

Most were undersized but some exceeded 20 pounds, and it’s nice to know they’re likely prowling offshore right now, probably hookshy until next year. Some of those released ling carried more meat than a limit of trout, but I’d already kept one for the freezer in May. Earning good ling karma didn’t help us win the ling pot in a July tournament, however. I set the hook a little late (to be extra sure), but a 40-pounder that would have paid for our expenses somehow

spit the hook and was lost…

When a ling is finally tired, it’s fairly easy to tail them into the boat, while lifting on the hook from the other end. From a boat with low sides, anyway. Smaller ling can be derricked into the boat, or dipped with a sturdy landing net. Nets offshore look odd but have their uses—from landing fish soon released, to retrieving floating items (like a pack of cigs thrown to a needful shrimpboat crew) or the odd snapper floating nearby that wasn’t fully deflated when released.

Observations and advice on releasing offshore fish: Kingfish are more difficult to release in fighting shape. You have to work fast, because they don’t live long out of water. Tail them like a salmon into the boat, unhook the fish with long needlenose pliers, avoid sharp teeth and maybe flailing treble hooks, pick it up and drop it straight down so that gravity carries it forward through water for as long as possible. If you’ve taken too long, the king will slew sideways about eight feet down and begins to sink. If he doesn’t kick into gear and get water flowing over his gills, he will likely sink to the bottom.

Gaff-and-release isn’t an option here, if you have a conscience. Years ago I watched one crew gaffing small kings off Sabine. They held each fish over the water until it stopped moving, and then gingerly unhooked each fish like they were rattlesnakes. Then they shook each king off the gaff, watching every one sink as shark food. They were either rookies, or didn’t care about the resource.

Some offshore guys have argued that all released kingfish are dead, but my boat crews know better. We tagged and released 200 kings in 1985 and 87, with interesting recaptures in faraway lands, proof many of those fish survived. Tagging a king actually adds time in the boat, when every second counts against this fish. Half of our tagged kings wore federal belly tags, (involving tedious work with a sterilized scalpel), while the other half swam off with easier-to-install shoulder darts. My farthest recapture was a king that swam from Galveston to Cape Canaveral in the Atlantic. That’s a long swim for a dead fish.

Bigger kings are a precious item these days, increasingly rare.

Releasing them is difficult, because of their size. The majority of bigger kings are kept for trophy pictures, even though the meat is TSFMAG.com | 39

Red snapper having its air bladder deflated, before being released.

dark and too laden with methyl-mercury for advisable consumption.

There is no reason to keep a kingfish bigger than 20-25 pounds, unless it’s the only fish of the day and people are really hungry for fresh fish. Meanwhile a bigger king of 40-plus pounds is worth big bucks in a tournament. It’s a long and hazardous road of 14 years or so, for a king to reach tournament-winning size. As for smaller kings, health advisories say that 14 pounds or so is the cut-off for healthy consumption. Pinching down hook barbs or using single hooks makes it easier for all concerned.

Red snapper are easily dealt with, though catching and releasing them in really deep water is problematic. This summer we caught dozens of snapper from 10 to 18 pounds, and in the boat you could see the pressure change swell them up within 10 seconds or so. On our best day the depth was 135 feet, but we weren’t even fishing on bottom, the Slapper Jigs were taking them halfway down. Digging out the double hooks was often a chore, and stout needlenose pliers a prized item that day. Snapper are patient enough in the boat, but the air pressure builds rapidly inside them. This can damage them, so I poke the deflator tool in their side, let the air out, and the unhooking begins. unfortunately, this invigorates snapper on deck and they’re likely to flop more, while being unhooked. That day we caught 45 and kept our eight-angler limit of 16 fish. All other snapper except one swam rapidly back down. We had one floater and retrieved it with the net. Instead of training seven people that day with the deflator, I ran around deck and did all the fish, whether they went in the cooler or not. (A deflated snapper takes up less room on ice).

Though I was super-busy when I wasn’t bowed up with my own

RecaptuRing tagged fish Years ago we were often reminded that fish tossed overboard don’t always disappear forever. We had lots of interesting tag recaptures while fishing the Texas coast. For instance, a Spanish mackerel that soon wintered in the Yucatan. Our ling were caught again in all five Gulf States. A sand trout released 20 miles offshore was recaptured in a Louisiana tidal creek…

40 | October 2012

snapper, we Author about to poke a hole in a red had several snapper’s air bladder. These fish behave cameras going, in the boat and are easily released. thank goodness.

Pete Churton from Beaumont got the picture of TP&W intern Sara Douga releasing snapper, and Shannon Tompkins from the Houston Chronicle shot many photos that day, including a perfect side-pic of a sow snapper that seemed to hover in mid-air before splashing down. See you later boys, can’t say it was fun.

Releasing snapper from 200 feet or so is far more dubious, with the gas inside them expanding by a factor of six. That deeper water

Port Arthur crew members snatch a schoolie kingfish into the boat. This is another easy release, the hook is lightly planted.

Quality gloves make their work easier.

And the two weirdest cases: A person I knew in Mobile, AL caught one of my Galveston-released kings. And then Bill Ferguson, one of my tourney crew, recaptured one of our tagged kings a year later about 15 miles from the original site, during a tournament, that helped win second or third place. As they say, What goes around comes around. Fish tagging is absolute proof that catch-and-release fishing works.

Sara Douga lets a “sow” snapper fly, on its way back to the water. Most fish are released downwards for efficiency, but we were having fun with this fish.

Author releases a 20-pound ling. This one wouldn’t cooperate, but jumped out of my hands instead—Whoa! He seemed eager to hit the water.

A small “rat” wahoo is released. It would be a shame to keep a wahoo the size of a Spanish mackerel.

is where bigger female snapper spawn, and the 25-pounders out there carry millions of eggs, far more than smaller snapper. I was relieved when the CCA finally stopped the snapper division of their tournament, because knowledgeable anglers were actively targeting giant female snapper in deep water.

Where releasing them wasn’t really an option.

Ditto for deepwater groupers and tilefish. Catch them in their usual depths of 600 to 900 feet, and they’re toast when they break the surface, floating like buoys. You might see one quiver, but their eyes are bugged out—with scales ruptured and sometimes sizzling. This is not a catch-and-release fishery. virtually all Texas tarpon offshore are released, since it’s illegal to bring one home without an expensive kill tag. The offshore tarpon guys are quite good at releasing their fish, and these days most of them know better than to drag one into the boat for a hero picture. Tarpon are rare and precious enough to warrant extra care in reviving them, accomplished by easing the boat along and dragging the fish alongside until he kicks away.

Sharks are meaner and tougher, unless dragged up on a dry beach. In the boat we grab the leader and cut it as close to the shark as we dare. It’s a shame to leave a stainless hook (they should be illegal) in a released fish. We generally catch our sharks by accident while snapper fishing, or with circle hooks while tarpon fishing. It’s a shame to leave a thick circle hook in a shark, but with the cost of health care today, repairing a mangled hand is expensive. I got away with it many times, often while talking to the shark like Steve Irwin did with his dangerous critters.

But the late Capt. Howard Horton of Galveston had three fingers sort of…removed one night by a small but gaffed blacktip shark. He was trying to save a 30cent circle hook from its jaw. Doctors rebuilt his hand and morphine eased the pain, during his week in a Galveston hospital.

Pelagic fish: Releasing blackfin tuna, after the boat crew has caught their share, isn’t difficult.

They’re as easy to handle as a bonito, though bigger.

Simply pop the hook out and toss them overboard quickly. Small wahoo can be released, since they’re really no different from kingfish. However, since they taste like turkey breast, it’s a rare sight to see wahoo released. Really small wahoo are caught around sargassum weed patches, and should be thrown back. Why keep a three-pound wahoo, when it can grow to 135 pounds? Same with dolphin. Keep a few small ones, but remember a two-pound dolphin with thin fillets in June can weigh four pounds by August.

They’re the ocean’s fastest-growing fish. A jumpy little pipsqueak dolphin can reach 50-pound trophy size in just four years.

TSFMAG.com | 41

STORY BY Megan Robillard and Greg Stunz, Ph.D. Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi

We’ve all had those memorable days

where you are in “the spot” and can do no wrong - fish after fish. You show up the next day for a repeat, same location, conditions, and techniques… NOT A BITE! The obvious questions are: where did the fish go, are they still there, are they just not biting?

As avid anglers and scientists, we have envisioned a day where we could track the movements of one of our most prized sportfish, the spotted seatrout, to better understand their behavior. Now with the advancements in fisheries technology, we finally had an opportunity to track these fish real-time to try and answer some of the burning questions most of us have had for years; are trout homebodies, or do they move far distances among neighboring waters? Do tournament fish really survive live weigh-ins? Do surf trout go in and out of tidal inlets spending their time in both the bay and Gulf (aka Tide-Runners)?

Well, after 3 years of tracking 81 individual trout (including one of my personal best!), we have some answers. While maybe not the Holy Grail of predicting the exact time and place of the bite, the patterns we found were very enlightening, often surprising, and just may help you catch more fish.

To briefly recap, from 2009 - 2010 we caught and surgically implanted acoustic (sound) transmitters into 81 trout: 31 were from the Laguna Madre (both upper and lower), 30 from the surf beaches, and 20 from live-release tournaments based at Bluff’s Landing. Individual fish movements were then tracked using an array of hydrophone receivers we strategically placed on pilings/channel markers in the bays and inlets between Aransas Pass and Port Mansfield’s East Cut, with the majority in the Upper Laguna Madre (see map). For 3 years we “listened” for the tagged fish. This acoustic tagging technology works by using internal transmitters that are constantly sending a unique signal through the water every minute. If a tagged fish swims within approximately 1000 yards of a stationary receiver it can “hear” the ping of the transmitter and records the time stamp and the fish’s ID. Each transmitter has enough battery life to last 3 years. During the study we periodically retrieved 42 | October 2012

and downloaded the information collected by the receivers. The tags have now expired, and in summer 2012 we pulled the entire array of receivers and ended the project. Many of the fish that “volunteered” for our study were still swimming strong with their lifetime souvenir! I’m sure there will be more than a few fishermen who unknowingly catch these fish and while filleting them for dinner have quite a surprise when they find a small, black, plastic tag in their fish’s abdomen!

First, a few statistics from the study: Catch-and-Release – The Final Chapter – It Works! We “heard” from 59 of the 81 fish, which equals a 73% survival rate. So for those of you who may still be on the fence as to whether a trout survives catch-andrelease, we think our study really puts the final nail in the coffin. Our fish were caught with hook-and-line, went through a surgery process, were then released, and they survived. The tournament fish that went through even additional stressors had a 75% survival rate! The other very interesting and related stat is that we had an angler recapture rate of 17%, which is absolutely unheard of in traditional tag-andrecapture studies; typically recapture rates are much lower with 3% considered a high return rate. In fact, just for the 31 fish tagged in the Laguna, there was a 26% recapture rate! One fish was actually captured 3 times. Unfortunately, it was strike 3 for this fish, as it met its fate at the cleaning table. However, this is very telling in terms of the fishing pressure in South Texas waters, when some of our fish are being “recycled” up to 3 times.

Now on to the really fun part…where did these fish go? Drum roll please…trout have tails, and they sure know how to use them! To better describe what we found it is important to look at the 3 “categories” of fish tagged: bay, surf, and tournament. Let’s talk about the surf fish first –their daily movement is unparalleled. They routinely move up and down the coast. The 22 trout tagged in the surf that we heard from swam an average of 2 miles per day. We even had two surf fish that each traveled over 12 miles in one day! The amount of movement these

(Left) Two examples showing the location of the receivers in the acoustic array.

(Above) A picture of our team (Greg Stunz, Laura Payne, and Megan Robillard) surgically implanting an acoustic tag into a large Lower Laguna 27” 6.5lb spotted seatrout courtesy of Captain Mike McBride.

fish do in the surf is fascinating. Every surf fish we detected (75%) were moving into the tidal inlets (often year-round). These results clearly show that inlets are important for fish movement and for Gulf-bay exchange. Interestingly, they didn’t stay long in the bay and most headed out after only a short stay. The vast majority of our surf-tagged fish ended up in Packery Channel (a surf trout hot spot), even though we tagged them up and down the surf from Fish Pass jetties down to the 40 mile marker on PINS. What about the tide-runners – fish that move through East Cut up through the Land Cut? We did not pick up any surf trout on any of the bay receivers (over 6 miles from an inlet). Surf trout were detected only on the receivers near inlets. Now does this mean tide-runners don’t exist?

We don’t think so. Hindsight is always 20/20 and as with most scientific studies you learn a lot every time you venture out on a new project. The issue was the surf trout would have had to travel a very long way (between 6 – 30 miles) before getting close to one of the bay receivers to be detected. So a question we still have is how far into the bays do the surf trout come and how long are they staying?

However, we did not pick up any surf trout in the Land Cut or Baffin/Upper Laguna Madre areas, where we expected to see a migration route based on anecdotal information. What we do know is that surf trout absolutely use the inlets and these tidal passes are very important to their migration patterns. We will leave it up to you to decide if our evidence helps or hinders the tide-runner theory!

The surf trout definitely used their tails

and moved large distances up and down the surf zone, but we also found that the bay trout had extensive movements, just not nearly as dramatic. Unlike the surf trout that routinely entered the inlets, baytagged trout NEVER left the estuary –and never registered on any of the inlet receivers. This suggests that the surf and bay trout may actually be different sub-groups. The other notable finding was that one bay trout was recaptured by a recreational angler up to 6 months later only a few hundred yards from where we originally tagged it. Traditional tagging would have suggested this trout moved very little, but when we downloaded the receivers we found that this fish made at least a 70-mile track back and forth along the King Ranch shoreline and down into the Baffin area over the 6 months. This technology shows how much these fish really move and how previous studies using traditional tag-and-recapture methods left a big question about what the fish actually do between the “tag” event and subsequent “recapture.” Interestingly, several of our fish have been recaptured at almost the same spot they were originally tagged, despite having many long-distance forays in the meantime. This does suggest some type of preferred feeding area, and why certain locations may produce better than others.

A typical spring Now on to the last group of tagged movement pattern with dates/location for fish…the tournament fish. The neat large trout in the Upper thing about tagging these fish was Laguna. Note this fished covered the entire Upper they were obviously the biggest fish we tagged averaging 25” and larger, and not Laguna in just 2 months. surprisingly had very large migration patterns. We heard from 15 of the 20 fish tagged and 2 were recaptured by anglers.

These large tournament fish, which were all TSFMAG.com | 43

released from the same spot near Pita Island, greatly dispersed after release. Most went south into the Baffin area and even the Land Cut headed toward Lower Laguna, while one went north into Corpus Christi Bay, and we never heard from her again.

we will be expanding this network with even more coverage and species. We’re thinking of calling it the TEXAAN (Texas Acoustic Array Network) - we like the name at least. The TEXAAN will “wire the Texas coast” and allow us to examine very large-scale movements along large stretches of the Gulf and facilitate From the scientific standpoint what does collaborations with other researchers. We all of this mean? We have a few takehave been and will continue using this home messages: technology with red snapper offshore, and 1) Catch-and-release works! No ifs, ands, or we are planning another project within our buts about it.

Texas bays looking at juvenile trout and 2) “Surf” trout move between the Gulf and our redfish movements starting in 2013; so, stay bays, frequently. Although we were not able tuned. Ultimately we hope the information to absolutely confirm or deny the tide-runner from this and our future studies will be useful theory, we did show how critical our tidal to our TPWD resource managers as they inlets are to Gulf-Bay exchange. consider future management strategies for 3) We now better understand trout Texas sport-fishes. movements and our findings contradict Finally and most important, this type previous studies that said trout rarely leave of work would not have been possible their natal estuaries. Although some trout did without the generous support of several (Above) A tag and recapture at almost the same location, but during the mean time moved 50 miles like to stay closer to home, others absolutely groups and individuals. In particular, the back and forth along the King Ranch Shoreline over move among nearby bays and are willing to CCA, the Rotary Club of Corpus Christi, and 193 days. make large extensive migrations over very Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi who (Below) A example of two surf trout tagged on Padre short time periods. all helped fund this project were essential.

Island National Seashore on the same day in August.

What makes fish venture out or stay Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine and Each move in opposite directions. Both were detected home? Most of the movement was largely David Sikes (Caller Times) kept everyone just a few days later on inlet receivers on the same day, but one in East Cut and the other in Packery unpredictable, and most likely this is due to updated and on the lookout, for tagged Channel. They would have had to have traveled a the wide tolerance range trout have evolved. fish. However, most essential were the minimum of ~ 7.5 miles per day to cover this distance.

Early on, we speculated environmental TSFM guides who helped us catch our study conditions would greatly affect movement. subjects and supported this project is many Despite a wide variety of extreme weather ways: Mike McBride, David Rowsey, Billy events, conditions played little role in Sandifer, and Jay Watkins. A major “fringe” trout movement. A notable exception was benefit of our job is getting the opportunity the widespread flooding during 2010 in to fish with the best trout fisherman in the Lower Laguna Madre, where we observed business. Scientists are not always easy to movements northward through the Land work with, especially when the captains had Cut to more salty realms. However, that to keep straight faces when we asked them was the exception rather than the rule. For to routinely put us on fish of a particular example, we had some very cold weather size, in a particular location, on a particular during our study period – the coldest we’ve date; however, they always came through seen in many years. We anticipated seeing for us! Stay up-to-date on our latest a major migration of fish out of the bay to sport-fish projects by visiting us at: www. the Gulf’s warmer waters; that egress never harteresearchinstitute.org/fisheries. materialized, not a single fish. Likewise, Dr. Greg Stunz is a marine biologist that several strong Gulf storms produced rough specializes in sport-fisheries. He holds the surf and very high tides, but they didn’t Endowed Chair of Fisheries and Ocean cause any unusual movement into the bays/ Health at the Harte Research Institute for inlets. Since spotted seatrout do not make Gulf of Mexico Studies and is a Professor spawning migrations, our best guess is their of Marine Biology at Texas A&M Universitymovement is largely in response to locating their preferred food supply Corpus Christi. Megan Robillard is a Research Associate with over or just simply random movement. So the moral of the trout story is 8 years of sport-fish research experience. Their research program when you’re “on them” take advantage of the opportunity while it lasts, is diverse but recently focuses on migration patterns of marine life because individual fish may not stick around for long. However, keep using a variety of state-of-the-art electronic tracking devices for fish that spot in your memory bank, because they often come back to the such as sharks, red snapper, and dolphin-fish. In addition, they have same feeding areas even after long travels. also begun assessing the role of artificial reefs in the Gulf.

What’s next? The value of the data collected was so informational, 44 | October 2012

right gear!

Making the most of the seasons requires the

STORY BY everett johnson

46 | October 2012

We were assembling

gear in the driveway

and loading the truck, preparing to hit the road for a Port Mansfield Labor Day weekend. A friend pulled in just in time to help me load the BBQ pit and a fish fryer. I was even happier that he’d stopped by when it came time to wrestle the pair of loadedto-the-lid 120-quart Igloos onto the rear bumper cargo rack.

“Oh my goodness,” he exclaimed. “You going for a month or planning to open a sporting goods store down there? You got more junk here than most garage sales!”

“Nah,” I shot back jokingly, fully understanding his amazement. “Just your standard ol’ South Texas cast and blast weekend, that’s all.”

Come to think of it, as the load took shape, it really did look like the Clampetts heading for Beverly Hills - sans Granny and her rocker. But – the true beauty of a good cast and blast is found in all the options that can be combined – hence the mountain of gear. Lord knows I hate going unprepared.

Cast and blast is self-explanatory. Sportsmen who practice

it are bound and determined to fill long days with as much of both as they can possibly cram in, as often as good wingshooting and coastal fishing coincide. Hell yeah!

We are diehard wade-fishermen so we tote a lot more than simply rods-n-reels and tackle boxes. There’s belts, boots, nets, wading boxes, you name it…a complete category of equipment unique to the sport. And if you happen to be a gear junkie, (that would be my lovely wife, not me for Heaven’s sake) there will be times when you might tote two or three of all the above.

It’s the same on the shooting side. Three gauges of shotguns, (her again), various ammo for each, snake boots, camo clothes, decoys, chairs, bird processing gear and another ice chest to hold them, everything necessary to comprise your ordinary “Clampett” load.

Assembling all this gear can be a formidable task and that’s where knowing a one-stop-shop really pays off. Over the years we have tried and used a variety of goods from an equally large number of suppliers; which often means shopping in nearly as many places. ForEverlast Hunting and Fishing Products to the rescue! continued on page 100...

TSFMAG.com | 47

Kansas City Chiefs #43 Thomas Gafford with a solid Mesquite Bay trout caught over sand and grass near nighttime feeding area.

J AY WAT K I N S

ASK THE PRO

CURRENT IS THE KEY September has been a test of Texas fisherman’s will with lingering heat and an abundance of generally unfavorable wind. I have no data other than my daily journal entries but it seems that drought years include too much south and southwest wind. A prolonged combination of these will often make for tough fishing conditions. Luckily, for whatever reason, catching has been better than I expected considering the wind, extreme heat and little rain.

October marks the beginning of Kristen with a very a transitional period in the Rockport nice trout caught area. It can still be quite hot at times in less than pretty water over shallow and tides low, so we will continue to grass beds. have some water heating issues. White shrimp will be all but gone from the marsh and back bays. Moving water, no matter what it looks like, should be investigated if baitfish are present.

More than any other time of the year anglers must be totally in tune with the possibility of change.

As the first cold fronts approach the Panhandle wind will become increasingly stronger out of the southeast. This can help your fishing if tides have been low and water movement minimal. In northern Aransas Bay, Mesquite and San Antonio Bays, I concentrate on three methods of locating and catching fish 48 | October 2012

in October. I am a believer in locating areas where fish “live” that are adjacent to their primary feeding areas. This game plan gives me two chances at them – on the preferred feeding grounds during major or minor feeding periods - and again when they retire to their adjacent “living area” between feeds.

The first method I employ is locating nighttime feeding areas. I believe the apex predators (trout) become increasingly nocturnal with age.

Nature builds survival instinct into the gene pool to enhance survival of the species and part of it is night feeding.

I look for areas of shallow grass, sand or scattered shell that exist close to deeper water that holds some of the same characteristics. I like these areas to be along windward shorelines or spoils. Wind is our friend and it is a fish’s friend too, providing water color, higher oxygen content and a stacking of the bait species. The rougher the surface, the harder fork-tailed baitfish have to work to stay off the shoreline.

The harder they work the more vibration they create. It gets worse from there, trust me.

Fishing windward structure allows the angler to position himself offshore of the shallow structure and then cast

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at angles across it. Start out as deep as you feel comfortable. If you motor in too close you’ve blown your cover and the largest of the large will be long gone. OK- I pull too close sometimes, but I’m short and prefer not to tread water for the first couple of casts.

Once a “line” is established, and I spoke of this last month, you must be diligent in holding your ground. Do not allow wind, your casting effort, or a hooked fish to pull you in on top of it. I see it all the time. Cast and take a step forward. Catch a fish and walk two or three steps forward trying to land her. Hang the lure on grass or shell and start walking in to free it. Get the picture?

I am constantly instructing, sometimes cursing under my breath, watching my anglers hedging too close to the line. I had a guy ask me one time why I always lead the wade. I eased around behind him and started fishing and he asked, “Where are we headed?” Everyone except him died laughing. I lead because I have the best nose for what we’re doing. It’s that simple.

The second method is what I call fishing where fish live. Many times due to extreme heat and the stars just not lining up right for aggressive daytime feeding, I must resort to working areas where I believe fish simply live. This is very true during times of gradual changes in the seasonal conditions. These areas are typically in slightly deeper water but in close proximity to favorable feeding grounds. I like areas that have similar bottom structure but it can be limited in comparison to the actual feeding area.

Gamefish and bait alike will seek shelter in slightly deeper, darker and cooler water during nonfeeding periods. The key to getting strikes when they are not feeding is in finding concentrations of fish. The way I see it, when there’s a bunch of them, even though they are not feeding, they’ll take a bait simply to prevent their neighbor from getting it. Again, my beliefs and my confidence level talking here - it works for me.

In fact, it worked just today on a deep drop along a mid-bay spoil where we had caught a dozen or so really solid 20-inch class trout at daybreak. Come midday we slid back in, casting as deep as we could to an area adjacent with the same mix of harder sand and scattered shell. Give the lure about a four-count to get down to them, and then a slight but deliberate twitch. Let it fall again and, thump… you’re on. Five casts yielded five identical fish, then the bite slowed. Why? There was no competition.

Moved 20 yards or so and it started again with nearly the same result.

You are catching because you are fishing where they live when they’re not feeding aggressively – close to that shallow spoil area. By the way, they prefer to feed shallow because it is easier.

The final method in this trifecta is a classic – wind-blown water moving through the reef/sandbar guts and saddles. This absolutely works and it works best if you have staying power and confidence that you can catch quality fish in less than a foot of water with zero visibility on a lure. I had a client refer to this as the “drilling mud pattern” due to the water that day being more like lightweight drilling mud than something you’d like to fish in.

The key here is hard-moving water and the presence of bait that is being washed through the gut or over the saddle in the reef or sandbar. One of the telltale signs is the presence of terns and pelicans.

If these guys are hanging around you can bet there is some bait. This pattern manifests itself during some of the first hard fronts of the season as well as during an approaching frontal pattern when strong southeast winds are created.

In moving water over heavy “clump” shell, I believe it pays handsomely to use the Bass Assassin Pro Elite Jig in 1/16 ounce weight with 1/0 or 2/0 short-shank hook. Heavier, longer-shank hooks hang up badly and the last thing we want is to be retying when we should be fishing. Braided line is another must-have, and if your going to use a leader (I do), go with 20# Seaguar fluorocarbon for best performance. Casts should be made at slight angles to the direction of the water movement, slightly up-current. This allows the bait to follow the current line which sweeps the bait towards the fish in a very natural manner.

Trout, reds and flounder will position themselves into the current. Their broad tail provides the power and maneuverability to feed in swift current. So even though late-September and earlyOctober can throw us some curves condition-wise, we find ways to produce and that’s the challenge of fishing. I continue to love what I have been so fortunate to be able to do for so many years.

May your fishing always be catching. -Guide Jay Watkins

L&S BAIT COMPANY® Office 727-584-7691

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B y J o s e G a r c i a | F i s h a n d W i l d l i f e Te c h n i c i a n Upper Laguna Madre Ecosystem | Corpus Christi, TX

FIELD NOTES

MISSING TARPON LINK As we make our way to the boat ramp, the smell of weight and length, we have had some state records that the salt air and the sound of the pounding surf on the indicate it is possible. The current state record was set beach give me hope that we may be able to catch a

by Jeremy Ebert from Deer Park, TX. Ebert caught his glimpse of the elusive tarpon, known as the “Silver tarpon while fishing at a Galveston pier on October 4, King.” Our target area for the survey is Cayo del Grullo, 2006. While fishing for bull reds and using menhaden a small bay at the extreme western end of Baffin Bay. for bait, he caught the 210.7 lbs tarpon measuring 91 We arrive at the site and pick our nets finding a good inches long. The previous state record was set in 1973 count of black drum, red drum, hardhead catfish,

by Tom Gibson who caught a tarpon weighing 210 lbs gizzard shad and spotted seatrout. This is what makes measuring 86.25 inches. these waters of the upper Laguna Madre famous. As we near the end Tarpon caught by TPWD by bay system 1975-2011 (n=349) of the last net of the morning, we spy the uncatchable…a tarpon! It is always an awesome sight to see such a magnificent creature close up, because these fish are not as abundant and are not seen as often as they were many decades ago.

In the 1890’s, tarpon were so plentiful that the city of Port Aransas, TX and a hotel that is still in operation, were named after the fish.

Tarpon are sought by most anglers because of their acrobatic moves and fighting abilities. Be aware that the odds of bagging one are eight hook-ups per one landing, and that the current bag limit (Above) Figure 1- Alantic tarpon spring and fall gill net catches by bay system between 1975-2011. for the tarpon is one fish per day with a minimum size limit of 85 inches.

(Below) Figure 2 - Atlantic tarpon annual gill net catches Tarpon range from Nova Scotia to the northern part coastwide between 1975-2011. of South America and can also be found off the coast of West Africa. Tarpon are unique in that they are obligate air Number of tarpon caught by TPWD coastwide by year 1975-2011 breathers, and if they are not allowed to access the surface, they will die. The uptake of oxygen that occurs is done at the surface through a rolling motion that is commonly associated with tarpon sightings.

Although tarpon can be found seasonally along the Texas coast, they are most abundant in more tropical areas. Adult tarpon can grow to about 8 feet long and weigh up to 280 lbs.

Although we have not seen many tarpon reach the above 50 | October 2012

Although not a state record, local bait stand owner, Cosme Cavazos, not only caught one, but two monster tarpon in Copano Bay within a month’s time while fishing for alligator gar. Cosme is the owner of the Cosway bait stand located on the John F. Kennedy Causeway on the right as you travel towards North Padre Island. If you ever get the chance, stop and take a glimpse of the first tarpon he caught which is hanging on the wall of his bait stand.

The story goes that one night back on July 17 1990, Cosme and his wife Diana were fishing in Copano Bay looking for alligator gar when he hooked something big. He could not tell exactly what had taken his line other than the fact that it was large enough to pull his boat around the bay.

According to Cosme, the big fish pulled his boat for about four miles all the while making lunging swift motions towards the darkness of night. On one occasion when Cosme was able to shine the spot light, all he could see was red reflections off the creature’s eye. He fought it for three hours until the fish tired out. After Cosme brought in the fish, they searched for a scale large enough to it. Cosme could only find a 185-lb scale to weigh the fish which pegged out the scale. Cosme then left the fish hanging in a garage until the next day and found a larger scale. The tarpon tipped the scale at 240 lbs and measured 95.5 inches long.

One month later, Cosme landed a second large tarpon in Copano Bay near Rattlesnake Point. This fish was not as big as the first, but did weigh 163 lbs and measured 86 inches long. What an amazing fish story!

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Coastal Fisheries Division has monitored and collected tarpon data since 1975. Figure1 shows the number iof tarpon caught by bay system along the Texas coast showing an increase in the number of sub-adult tarpon catches as you go south.

Although anglers encounter adult tarpon regularly along gulf beaches, the majority of the data from within the bay are sub-adult tarpon (smaller individuals that measure on average 27.5 inches.)

There is a missing link as to the number of observations for juvenile tarpon that is needed in order to better assess tarpon use of Texas waters. In order to establish a better assessment of the population, we need to know the when, where and what kind of environmental conditions these juvenile tarpon are found. This will help biologists recommend ways to protect the tarpon and their habitat. One way for anglers to help is by participating in the Tarpon Observation Network (TON) program. Visit http://www.tpwd.state. tx.us/tarpon to log in any tarpon observations. In appreciation you will receive a TON poster.

On a positive note, TPWD data indicates a long, slow upward trend in sub-adult abundance in recent years (Figure 2). Two of the best catches ever have occurred within the past three years. While nothing is definitive with tarpon, we hope this recent trend will continue to improve, giving future generations the same opportunities that Gibson, Ebert and Cavazos had of catching 7-foot tarpon.

Tarpon Conservation Capt. Jack Campbell of Skinny Water Fly Fishing Guide Service (Seadrift-Port O’Connor, TX area) agrees that tarpon sightings along the Gulf beach and in his home bays of San Antonio, Espiritu Santo and Matagorda have become more numerous over the past several years. So far this season, nearly forty tarpon have been “jumped” on Jack’s boat and fourteen have been landed.

Incredibly plentiful during migrations between the Bay of Campeche and all along the Texas coast in the 1930s through the 50s, tarpon in Texas bays grew increasingly scarce until just recently. And so it goes – with more tarpon frequenting our bays – anglers are seeing more and occasionally landing one.

Tarpon are strong fighters; famous for twisting leaps, and quite often the fish is near total exhaustion before it can be landed.

Capt. Jack offers some tips on handling and accomplishing a healthy release for anglers lucky enough to bring one of these highly-prized gamefish to the boat.

-Time is of the essence and holding the fish in the water during unhooking and photographing are the best assurance that it will survive capture.

-Landings are fairly rare unless specifically targeted with appropriate tackle and nobody can argue that a grinning angler posing with his catch makes a superb trophy. However; bringing the “silver king” aboard diminishes the chances for a successful release. Thrashing and general banging on deck can cause injury (to fish and angler) and greatly increases the time the fish will be out of water.

-Grasping by the lower jaw to control the fish alongside the boat for length-girth measurement and photos is a far kinder and gentler treatment. Plucking a scale is about all conservationminded anglers will do nowadays.

-With a set of photos and measurements, your local taxidermist can create a fiberglass replica for the bragging wall.

-TPWD allows a daily bag limit of only one trophy fish at 85 inches minimum length and, if Lady Luck should smile, please return the kindness by practicing good conservation.

Capt. Jack Campbell assisting with a client’s fly-caught trophy.

Check the TPWD Outdoor Annual, your local TPWD Law Enforcement office, or www. tpwd.state.tx.us for more information.

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A pod of reds working along a point of marsh point.

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

F LY F I S H I N G

Rooting reds &

sight-casting madness Ahh, October. Hard to believe that by the time you read this the summer of 2012 will be but a memory. It seems like just a few weeks ago we were gearing up for long hot days on the horizon. As a dedicated sightcasting fanatic I love this time of year. The weather is generally pleasant, the bays are less crowded and the redfish are on the feed. I’d like to propose we extend October for at least an extra month, maybe two.

Stepping into the air-conditioned office from the hot and dusty dove field to jot down my monthly thoughts, I’m full of optimism for an awesome fall fishing season. This summer has presented us with plenty of rain along the upper coast and with that comes a banner crop of bait. I spend a good deal of my time in the marshes around the Galveston Bay system, and over the last few weeks I’ve been astounded by the number of shrimp, shad, finger mullet and baby crabs. It’s really cool to see the marsh rebound from last year’s drought. All of that food has the redfish population in excellent shape and ready to start fattening up for winter.

While baitfish and crabs are always on the menu for reds, shrimp appear to be their favorite. When shrimp are present in the marsh it seems as though most of the reds will flat out ignore everything else. Most of 52 | October 2012

A delighted young lady angler with her marsh prize.

Look close; there’s a shrimping popping ahead of that redfish!

my customers are into catch and release, but I still clean enough redfish to keep an eye on their dietary preferences throughout the year. During times when I’m seeing plentiful shrimp, their stomachs will contain more shrimp than anything and at times will hold nothing else.

We all know size really does matter, this is particularly true when it comes to the relationship between shrimp and reds. Around the first of August I was poling around the far reaches of the marsh and started seeing tons of tiny shrimp, basically whiskers and eyeballs.

When the tide was up into the salt grass I would sweep my push pole through the edges of the grass and it would look like rain drops dotting the surface. The reds weren’t interested in them at this size, but I knew it was only a matter of time. Over the next few weeks I kept an eye on these little guys as they grew. Around the end of August the majority reached a half to three-quarters inch. Apparently the reds had been watching as well because the feeding started.

The first day I noticed it there were only a couple of small schools busily working the flooded salt grass. The next day there were six groups. By the end of the week there were feeding reds everywhere I looked. It would seem as though this would make for some easy fishing, but it’s a bit harder than you’d think. The schools are tightly packed and moving at a fairly quick pace weaving in and out of the flooded grass. Their whole world lies inches within front of their face.

They are banging through the grass looking to spook a shrimp out of hiding. You’ll need a perfect cast in order to get their attention. A lure dropped a foot outside the grass will often go ignored, as will an offering that is too large to mimic their prey. My fly guys definitely held the advantage during this period because they were better able to match the hatch. For those throwing conventional gear, a small weightless or very lightly weighted soft plastic rigged weedless and TSFMAG.com | 53

Author’s mom and dad got in the sight-casting madness.

Hot August mornings gave us lots of memorable fish.

54 | October 2012

to wade. This is where the reds are swimming with their backs exposed far away from anything deeper than a foot. It never ceases to amaze me how far into shallow water those redfish will venture.

This is the stalking and sight-casting that gets me fired up.

How long this activity will continue depends on the strength of the fronts. Most years we don’t see an honest cold front until the first of December. If I recall correctly, last year the front that signaled the end of the shallow water marsh madness was during the week following Thanksgiving. In past years I’ve had the marsh hold up all the way until late December, but sure as Christmas there will be a chilling cold spell that ends the fun. Over the years I’ve come to sadly recognize that front. It’s usually a good strong blow that completely drains the marsh with an extreme low tide followed by a cold night. The exposed mud gets seriously chilled and the returning tide is simply too cold.

However long it lasts, you can bet I’ll be out there getting every minute of this season I can. I may take a quick break for a little bow hunting, but even as I sit in the blind I’ll be thinking about those reds tearing up the marsh. Get out there and get you some.

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tossed into the thick of the action was the ticket.

As of this writing the shrimp are about an inch and a half to two inches. They’re still hanging out in the flooded grass on high tides and the reds are still beating the shorelines for a meal. My customers throwing conventional gear can now better imitate the preferred forage. I’ve had them throwing light-colored TTF Killer Flats Minnows rigged weedless and the reds are chowing down on them. I expect this to continue through the final weeks of September and well into October. As we start to get a few fronts some of the more mature shrimp will begin to exit the marshes and will kickoff the “bird fishing” in the larger marsh lakes and out in the open bays.

In this year of plenty I suspect there will be plenty of smaller juvenile shrimp hanging back to keep the reds occupied throughout October and into November. The remaining shrimp set up one of my favorite patterns and are a big part of why I love October so much. Prior to the arrival of the front we’ll get a push of higher tides on the southeast winds. The shrimp will get up into the flooded grass and the reds will follow them. Then the strong north winds will lead to lower than normal tides causing the shrimp to retreat to the open water burying into the mud. Roving schools of reds will root their way across the marsh lakes in search of the burrowing morsels. Once the north winds subside, the tides will rise and we get to repeat the whole scenario.

I’ve always been a year-round marsh rat, but this pattern is the reason I started kayaking and eventually got into piloting a poling skiff. This type of fishing requires that you venture deep into the marsh, places where many boats simply can’t go and it’s too muddy

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

TSFMAG.com | 55

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

POLE FISHING

WHY FLY? Standing atop my poling platform I am bombarded with questions daily. Of course the question I am probably asked most often is, “Why do mullet jump?”

But that has little to do with fly fishing so I will save that for another time and concentrate my efforts on answering some other more frequently asked questions and they are - “How did you get into fly fishing?” and my favorite - “Why did you start fly fishing?”

I still remember a Sunday afternoon television program back in the early-80s where the anglers were pursuing tarpon with fly rods. To say I was mesmerized would be the understatement of the century. I called my father in and he sat down beside me and watched.

When the show was over I looked at him and told him in no uncertain terms that someday, I was going to go to catch a tarpon on a fly rod. From that point on I have read every article I could about saltwater fly fishing with one goal in mind – going to the Florida Keys and 56 | October 2012

catching a tarpon.

Shortly after seeing that but still long before I ever picked up a fly rod, I was introduced to the art of fly tying which, incidentally helped fuel the fire. In 7th or 8th grade, a teacher by the name of Bill Trussel would sit in his room during what was called the “activity” class or some would call “homeroom” and he would tie flies.

Along with several other students, I was fascinated by what he was doing, and over the course of the year, he took the time to teach us the basics of fly tying – truly one of the best, most useful things that I ever learned in school. Thank you Mr. Trussel!

A year or two later I found a fly rod and reel combo at Oshman’s Sporting Goods that I purchased with my hard-earned lawn mowing money. It was a yellow Eagle Claw rod made of fiberglass matched with a Pflueger reel. From there I set out to learn to cast the damn thing. Now mind you, this was no easy task considering

host of the show, Flip Pallot, I realized catching fish on a fly rod was exactly what I wanted out of life.

At the time of my revelation, I was in the Coast Guard and had money to spend and immediately drove to Houston where I purchased my first “real” fly outfit which was a G Loomis 8 weight with a Scientific Anglers System Two reel. Not too long thereafter I ran into Wright Taylor, a long-time friend that I had lost touch with since high school, and learned that he was getting into the sport as well. We started fishing together quite often, and together we started catching redfish and learned the sport that eventually would consume our lives.

Taylor now guides full time in the 10,000 Islands region of Florida and I am here in Texas starting my seventeenth year of guiding full time this month. I am also blessed to have been given the opportunity to travel all over experiencing and sharing through photographs the world of fly fishing.

Wow, it is hard to believe that a couple of television shows could change a person’s life but that is what happened to me. And, while this might answer the “how I got into it” question, it does not address the “why.”

Fortunately, the “why” is a much shorter and simpler answer – fly fishing is a more sophisticated and certainly more challenging way to fish. Some might even call it hard. And, to quote Tom Hank’s character Jimmy Dugan from the movie A League of Their Own, “The hard is what makes it great.”

Be good…and stuff like that!

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the fact that I was 15 years old and was already obsessed with playing football, duck hunting, chunking gold spoons at redfish, riding motorcycles and chasing girls. Add that to the fact that, as far as I knew, there was nobody nearby that new anything about fly fishing to get instruction from. To say the least, it took quite a few years before I got the hang of it and started catching fish. And, by fish, I mean bass and bluegills.

Now mind you, I still had no idea that a redfish could be caught on a fly. Little did I know there were several fly anglers out there already pursuing the gamefish of Texas with the long rod and they had been doing it for quite some time.

People like Brooks Bouldin, Robert McCurdy, Joe Robinson, Jimmy Nix, Carey Marcus, Tom Horbey, Chris Phillips, Dave Hayward and Chuck Scates were not all, but some of the most influential early Texas saltwater fly fisherman that helped introduce many to the sport here in Texas. Bouldin, who not only started the Texas Fly Fishers club in Houston back in 1976 and also the owner of the Angler’s Edge, introduced many to the sport as did Robert McCurdy who opened the first fly shop in Texas in 1984- The Austin Angler.

Unfortunately, I knew none of this and even if I had, I was too far from Houston or Austin to take advantage and so I had to get started on my own.

Then, in January of 1990 I had the opportunity to guide a gentleman by the name of Sandy Moret and his son Andrew on a goose hunt here in Texas. To put it in perspective, Moret owned the Florida Keys Outfitters and Fly Fishing School and his son, known to many now as Drew Moret, is one of the most sought after guides in the Florida Keys. Looking back, I feel sorry for them. I must have asked a thousand questions in my quest for knowledge about the sport of fly fishing.

However, it was not until 1992 that I lost my frickin’ mind and became obsessed. I watched a show on television that changed my life forever and it was called The Walker’s Cay Chronicles. Through the incredible cinematography and the almost poetic narrative from the

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.scottsommerlatte.com

TSFMAG.com | 57

The author’s fly fishing arsenal.

MARCOS GARZA

YO U T H F I S H I N G

FLY FISHING ADVENTURES The sun is overhead, burning hot into the day. The water is as clear and smooth as glass; the sand is white and hard. The reds are tailing about 30 yards ahead of me; my 6wt fly rod is in-hand and ready to go with a white and chartreuse Clouser minnow. I cast my fly in front of the tails, hoping to snag a redfish as I strip my fly back to me. The redfish falls for my trick, and takes off as I set the hook.

Every morning I am out fly fishing, I play this scenario in my head hoping that I will have my shot at that redfish every time I have my fly rod on the boat. But every time that I do, we are heading offshore to search for tarpon and kingfish. Although one of my greatest goals in life is to land a tarpon on the fly, I would like to get my redfish first. This month I will be writing about one of my fly fishing adventures from this past summer.

It was early July and we hadn’t stumbled onto any bait balls offshore yet and we were just scouting around 58 | October 2012

because the lodge had a group coming in soon. Since we were just goofing around, I had decided to take my Sage Smallmouth fly rod just in case we came up on a bait ball with bonito and Spanish mackerel. We started off the morning chunking out some big Super Spooks to see if we could find any kingfish to get our day started. I wasn’t expecting to see any bait balls out there so I really didn’t use my fly rod for a good while. Our morning was slow; we would hook up on a king here and there, until we moved into the good spot.

Drifting in our usual king hole, we cast out and immediately, we were getting blow ups from multiple kings on the same cast. This is when I had decided to break out the fly rod. The Sage Smallmouth is around a 5wt or 6wt rod and was definitely not made to handle kingfish, yet I still used it.

Now that you know how crazy I am, I can tell the rest of the story. With the kings chasing the topwaters

on the surface, I cast my fly behind one. To no surprise, I hooked one without even stripping my line three times.

As soon as I set the hook, the king took off and I was trying to adjust what little drag is on the fly reel so that I wouldn’t get into my backing too soon.

While I was messing with the drag, I was also holding the reel so that the king couldn’t take any more line than it had already. By doing this, I basically forced it to break off my wire leader.

Disappointed that I had not landed the king and lost a fly, Capt. Shuler rigged up another wire leader for me so that I could get out there again.

With a fresh leader and fly, I cast back out behind the topwaters and once again, I hooked up onto another king. This one I had a better handle on and I had now learned to not mess with the drag, or hold the real too tight. He ran out my fly line and got into the backing. I wasn’t willing to lose all of my line and another fly to these fish, so I gripped the reel tight and started to get back some line. After a few seconds, my line went slack and thankfully, I still

had all of my line and my fly.

Relived that I did not have to re-tie, I cast back out and hooked another one. Now that I had experienced the first king fish, I figured that I would be able to land this one. I fought and fought, loosing and gaining line. I had him in close and was ready for the final run. He saw the boat and took off in the other direction. I was fighting to get the king back to the boat and again the line went slack.

I was very disappointed that I didn’t get to land any of those kings, but I had fun. In the end, fishing is all about the memories that we create and the times that we share. But as good as that other stuff is, I still wanted to get those fish in. Now that I have the experience under my belt, I will head back out soon, and finally beat those fish at their own game.

TSFMAG.com | 59

MIKE JENNINGS

TEXAS NEARSHORE & OFFSHORE

No End to the Fun It’s been said many times that time flies when you’re having fun and I have to agree. As the peak of the summer fishing season is quickly fading, I have to say it has been fun and a bit unusual, to say the least.

Much of this year has been fairly rough even by the standards of seasoned blue water veterans. We have dealt with a 40-day red snapper season that ended up being extended 6-days – still earning distinction as shortest on record. We dealt with a couple red tide events that coincided with our tarpon migrations and crushed our nearshore fishery for a few weeks. We are seeing our oil and gas production platforms removed at an alarming rate, which is severely impacting the fishery in the lower half of the western Gulf along the Texas coast. From the perspective of a fishing guide, we are still seeing the effects of a down economy, our corporate charter business not returning as quickly as we had hoped.

Now with all that said, you are probably thinking; “I 60 | October 2012

thought he said he was having fun?” Well I am. Please read on!

Even with considerable adversity that has been thrown at the Texas offshore angler this year; we are still having a stellar fishing season. After last year’s lack of cobia, and some speculation that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill may have hurt their numbers, they seemed to be back in decent supply and the landings continue to be fairly consistent. The average red snapper are larger than they have been in three decades. Much of our shallow live-bottom that was damaged by Hurricane Ike is coming back with a vengeance and holding fish with much greater consistency than it has the last two years.

Sailfish numbers this year have been as good as I can remember; even landing one just 4 miles off the Freeport jetty in July. The kingfish bite has been consistent all year with many being caught just off the beach throughout the summer. The one thing that may have

been lacking this year was the usual large numbers of dorado but, the ones that have shown seemed to be heavier than average over the past few years.

Even when we can find things that seem to be adverse to either our fishery or our general access to a particular species of fish, the overall experience this season has been just as I stated earlier – lots of fun!

To top off the summer we can always look to the shrimping industry and hopping between anchored shrimp boats for everything from sharks to tuna . As my deck hand recently put it, while explaining to a client what it was like fishing the boats, “Working shrimp boats is like Christmas morning over and over again. You never know what you’re going to get, one may hold a pair of socks and the next may have an X-Box 360.” After I stopped laughing I had to admit that I had never heard it put any better.

Fishing the boats this year has also been about as good as it gets with the boats being deep enough to hold blackfin tuna as early as mid-July. With larger than usual numbers of boats working in water over 200 feet we have had a great year on the tuna.

This brings me to my point; I have mentioned fishing around shrimp boats in the past, yet I have been remiss on an important issue. I recently realized that I have never mentioned something I see every day and consider to be a common mistake anglers make when working around anchored shrimpers.

In my opinion, their most common error is spending too little time at any given boat in the quest to hit them all before anyone else can. I was recently fishing from one boat to another, making several drifts at each, when one of my customers spoke up and reminded me that a boat had just left the shrimper we were headed toward. I politely informed him that I had seen the boat leave but, figured he wasn’t there long enough to convince me there were no fish present.

We then proceeded to catch two very nice cobia off that particular vessel the previous anglers had failed to raise. I think in our nature to be competitive, many get in the habit of trying to beat the next guy and fail to fish thoroughly enough to discover what is in front of them.

In my experience, a short stop and one quick drift is a good way to pick up a couple of easy TSFMAG.com | 61

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fish, but leaves many more to the guy that is willing to be thorough.

So next time you’re working those shrimp boats, if they show any signs of life on the first pass, don’t be lulled into thinking that one quick pass is even near good enough. I often catch fish twenty to thirty minutes into chumming and working a single boat. On many occasions I find the fishing gets better with each successive drift.

Never underestimate the power of patience and a long chum slick.

Let the other guys race around and barely get their attention while you ease in and clean up what they left swimming. I bet you will find that you become even more successful behind the boats.

This time of year is fun in many ways as we watch this fishery change with the season. And yes – we can always dwell on negatives and things that are adversely affecting our sport – but I see no need.

Nice thing is that our fishery is so diverse and healthy that between the reef fish around our rigs, wrecks and rocks, to the predators on a weed line and the ever-present fall shrimp boats, time will fly and the fun has no foreseeable end.

62 | October 2012

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

Telephone Email Website

979-864-9439 texassportfishing@gmail.com www.cowboycharters.com

TSFMAG.com | 63

CADE SIMPSON

K AYA K F I S H I N G C H R O N I C L E S

BORDERLINE INSANITY Like lots of folks that read this magazine, I am a do-ityourself fishermen with a great passion for the outdoors and I love the adventure of learning new areas along the Texas coast. I rely on my library of Hook-N-Line Fishing Maps when planning my trips. They are a great resource for DIY anglers, helping us understand what each area has to offer and various launch points we can access. So let’s hit the water!

Where I loaded up the kayak and headed back to the TexasLouisiana border. If you remember, in an earlier article I fished near Port Arthur at Keith Lake. Well, the Sabine area has an abundance of fishing habitat available, therefore I saw the need to get back over there and explore more territory. I based my trip out of Nederland, TX which is actually a little farther from the fishing waters than Port Arthur (though in the same general area). With advice from friends, I zeroed in on the marshy region around Texas Bayou within the Texas 64 | October 2012

Point National Wildlife Refuge. I used HNL Map F118 for detailed reference.

When and Weather My trip back to the state border took place in late August. My HNL map as well as reports from fellow fisherman confirmed the Texas Bayou area is a late summer/early fall hot spot. You already know what the weather was like in late August so I don’t really need to say too much – it was hot!

Tackle and Gear Over the past couple of months I have been developing a new hobby - rod building. I was very excited to get one of my new rods out on the water for this trip. Red Ranger, as I have named her, is a 7-foot, split-gripped beast of a casting rod with Fuji guides, split graphitenylon reel seat, built on a medium-light action blank with fast tip. I could not wait to get a lure on her and see what she could do. As it turned out I didn’t get

Daley’s Fish ‘N’ Hunt has an excellent selection of tackle.

If they don’t stock it, you probably don’t need it!

to fight a red with her, but a couple of nice trout took the topwater plug I was tossing.

Whether on a fishing trip or a drive back to Baton Rouge to see my family, I look for any excuse to detour through the Port Arthur area to go see my buddies at Daley’s Hunt ‘N’ Fish. They are really blowing and going with their facility and services. If Daley’s doesn’t have it as far as tackle goes, you probably don’t need it.

New to the area is Sarge Custom Rods. Sarge is custom

building some very nice rods. I saw on 2coolfishing that one of his rods weighed in at 2 ounces flat - and I thought my rod was light!

Conveniently enough, Daley’s is stocking his rods.

If live bait is your thing then Luck in a Bucket is your place. They are located on Hwy 365 in Port Arthur.

Hitting the water The intertwined and twisted canals of the marsh present quite an impressive array of fishing spots.

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Being my first time in this area, I made sure to do my homework before taking the trip. More specifically I focused on measuring distances from launch points to prospective fishing holes seen on the map.

I use this method for many places I fish, be it twisty canal spots or more wide open lake and bay areas. I stumbled across a Google earth distance calculating website, mapsof. net/distance-calculator (there are others). I zoom in on a water system and place markers along the projected paddling path to gauge just what I might be getting into as far as distance goes. Same concept can be applied to open lakes and bays.

Getting to the launch is easy. You travel down Hwy 87, past Keith Lake, eventually Hwy 87 becomes Jetty Rd. Off of Jetty Road is a public boat launch which gives direct

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66 | October 2012

Where to eat and where to sleep I missed out on my Waffle House breakfast which I enjoyed last trip to this area. However, I subbed in the complimentary continental breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express.

Later in the day and hungry for some Mexican cuisine, I found an appetizing plate of fajitas at Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, in Nederland. Tropical Grill is an option for seafood and other grilled treats. Nederland is home to a countless number of the regular chains as well.

I grabbed a comfy room at the Holiday Inn Express, I mostly just like telling people “No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night!” Nederland offers an abundance of hotels and motels including Candlewood Suites, Greene Town Motel, Airport Inn, and Hampton Inn to name a few.

RV Parks include CJ’s RV Park, Charlies RV Park, and Acadian RV. The Other Angles If bank fishing is your forte, refer back to the Keith Lake Cut, just a short piece back up the road on Hwy 87 from the Jetty Rd launch.

Power-boaters have a variety of options with the ability to pole around the marshes or make a run out to the jetties or into Gulf if desired.

No feasible surf or wade fishing is available in this particular region of the Sabine Country.

Wrap up For the next few installments of the Kayaking Chronicles I am going to embark on a more focused fishing style and goal - beyond the routine and conventional kayak angling methods. With the assistance from my comrade Cliff Burrow, we will take to the coastal waters in our kayaks armed with fly rods in search of a 30 inch or better redfish. “Operation Stand and Land” is officially underway.

As always, be careful on the water, bring a friend, and have fun.

The Contacts: If you would like more information on the Nederland area, visit www.nederlandtx.com/ Daley’s – www.daleyshuntnfish.com, 409 736 3999 Luck in a Bucket – 409 736 3486 Sarge Custom Rods – www.sargecustomrods.com, 512 913 1334

C O N TA C T

access to the Texas Bayou marshes. There are several other channels stemming from the ICW that are begging to be kayaked. I supposed I will have to go back again, darn. Pick your desired channel and paddle away. A GPS isn’t a bad idea out here, bread crumbing your paddle trail can help you get back out of the marsh more easily, especially if a sudden storm should make a hasty retreat necessary.

Telephone Email

936-776-7028 Cademan11@sbcglobal.net

Find me on Facebook to follow along in my outdoor adventures

TSFMAG.com | 67

The author with mako landed in the PINS surf – truly rare – preparing for tag and release.

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

ERIC OZOLINS

SHARKS

THE OBSESSION WITHIN Deep within my aquatic soul boils an uncontrollable obsession in the shape of an iconic dorsal fin. It compels me daily to seek encounters with those wonderful and intimidating creatures of the deep we mundanely and collectively refer to as “sharks.”

As a child I remember the commercials for the early years of Shark Week. Growing up in the 80s my family did not have cable television, thus the luxury of the Discovery Channel did not exist in my household. My inauguration came by accident in a hotel on a family vacation to Florida. The show was presented as a scary yet informative look into the world of the greatest apex predators that inhabit the planet. That was 25 years ago and I have been wildly fascinated with sharks ever since, watching anything on television dealing with these frightening creatures. Fascination grew into obsession.

Now, two decades later, not much has changed. For me, shark week is 52 weeks out of the year.

My fascination from the very beginning wasn’t with the horror that has been unjustly bestowed upon these animals, but the display of their true dominance and purity within the oceans. Sharks are the product of a near-perfect creation of life that has evolved very little over the course of millions of years. Back eons ago in my 68 | October 2012

own school’s library, while trying to work cooperatively on class projects, I would venture off toward the Life & Science sections picking out shark related books and literally draw in the mystery of these remarkable beasts.

One of the books I found as a youngster was by the legendary Jacques-Yves Cousteau titled The Shark – Splendid Savage of the Sea. Other books I found displayed the shark as a fearful, primal enemy to humans. In this book, Jacques and his son Philippe expressed the wondrous and intriguing aspects of the various shark species. I was recently reconnected with this book when I randomly stumbled upon a pristine copy of a 1970 print in all its glory with 124 color photos to boot!

Cousteau was the pioneering explorer of the oceans and traveled in his research vessel, RV Calypso, to document incredible marine life, much of it newly discovered to science. While not realizing it fully at the time, the famed Jacques Cousteau would play a key role in my developing obsession with sharks.

As an adult (if I ever did truly grow up), my Calypso is my beach vehicle. My Calypso is also my kayak and any offshore vessel I happen to board. I often document and film as much as I can, though perhaps not quite to

the extent or finesse of Cousteau. Each adventure I embark on is in high hopes of “the encounter.”

I am relentless and think about sharks around the clock, non-stop. My eyes are continuously glued to the weather/wind/ surf forecast and within all my areas of fishing opportunities, sharks are and will remain top priority.

I’ve been fortunate to catch and come in contact with some very inspiring specimens, big and small.

My more exotic and rare catches far offshore from Texas waters include the smooth dogfish shark, oceanic whitetip, and chain catshark. In the Cousteau parody film The Life Aquatic, the menacingly elusive “jaguar shark” is amazingly similar to that of the deep-water chain catshark which as been known to glow with bio-luminescence. Back on the Texas beaches, I’ve been lucky enough to tag and release a large shortfin mako and an equally large dusky shark, both incredibly rare and virtually

One the author’s “rare and exotic” catches – chain catshark.

unheard of this far inshore. Wherever it may be, each new species I catch or see is an awe-inspiring treat and will never get old.

With the exception of us – the selfish human race; sharks are the world’s supreme apex predator and can be found in all the oceans and then some. To put things in perspective, I have caught sharks from the piers, kayak, jetties, inshore passes, deep offshore

TSFMAG.com | 69

waters, from the surf, out of the state, and out of the country. However, the majority of the time, my personal “research lab” is the south Texas beaches.

My entire adult fishing career has mostly been focused around chasing sharks, usually from the sand. Various species make their rounds throughout the year so there is virtually no off-season. The more time you put in, the more you realize there are optimal periods to fish and not to fish for sharks. I had been guilty back in college for skipping an exam or two to hit the beach for the fall bull shark run. However, during those periods where sharking will likely be slow or tough, I’ll resort to kayak or offshore fishing - though the thought of sharks will roam continuously through

70 | October 2012

A morning tiger shark; my obsession drives me to seek these incredible apex predators of the ocean.

my mind.

One of the greater joys of shark fishing is the mystery.

You NEVER know exactly what fish will pick up your bait.

Often times you are fishing for sharks in general but have the opportunity of hooking into one of at least a couple dozen different species in your region. Over 400 unique species of sharks have been scientifically documented.

My continuing goal is to encounter and come in contact with as many of these fiercely majestic creatures as I can.

Right now my number is right around 30 and grows every year. I randomly dream about catching another species from our waters to add to my increasing tally, sometimes a freakishly large thresher or a prehistoric-looking six gill shark. Catching a rarity in a weird way can be as selfgratifying as winning the

C O N TA C T

Measuring the girth of a nighttime tiger prior to release.

Super Bowl. Interaction with them fuels my thirsty obsession.

The majority of my big-shark trips down the beach target tiger sharks. I’ve caught tiger sharks in six different months and they can be targeted throughout much of the year. Tigers are among my favorite for a variety of reasons. They are in a family of brutes within the shark world, and have an appetite to match. The younger specimens have vivid stripes (hence the name) and their serrated teeth are designed to crunch through anything in nature. To me the tiger truly defines the word shark. They can grow to be massive and menacing, with a mouth full of razor sharp trouble.

Every day of my life revolves around the next promising window to blast big baits out into the surf hoping to encounter the next graceful giant. My life contains few boundaries restraining me from my continuing shark quest. Things often get put on hold and obligations get delayed. Unfortunately, that is the price I have paid for the obsession that consumes me. With that being said, I’m not sure I’d want it any other way!

For the past decade, Eric ‘Oz’ Ozolins has been a key figure promoting catch and release with sharks and assisting various shark-research programs. Oz is renowned in the kayaking world for extreme biggame fishing and runs Kayak Wars – one of the largest kayak fishing tournaments in the world.

Email Websites

Oz@extremecoast.com extremecoast.com kayakwars.com

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TSFMAG.com | 71

A ladyfish showing off how it gets the popular nickname "skipjack."

Photo credit: Doug (Flikr alias: dbuk2)

STEPHANIE BOYD

F I S H Y FA C T S

THE WILD IN US “They say catch-and-release fishing is a lot like golf.

You don’t have to eat the ball to have a good time.”

-Anonymous Ladyfish and tarpon: one usually avoided, one highly sought after. Both excellent targets and prime catchand-release candidates. And not surprisingly… related.

Ladyfish and tarpon belong to an ancestral order of bony fishes called the Elopiformes. Both are herring-like in appearance and produce elongate, transparent larva called leptocephalus, a larval type that today is found only in ladyfish, tarpon, bonefish, and eels, suggesting a close evolutionary relationship even amongst dissimilar fishes.1 All of these species are considered to be some of the more ancient of living teleost fish groups.

The ladyfish, Elops sauros (“serpent lizard”), is a slender yet robust fish with a large, deeply forked caudal fin. It’s body is rough with small, thin, silvery scales. They are typically found in warm brackish water, such as lagoons, bays, and mangroves, but they can tolerate a wide range of salinities. Though they are not obligate air breathers like tarpon, ladyfish do appear to be relatively tolerant of 72 | October 2012

inadequate oxygenation of the blood.2 Ladyfish larvae go through three stages of development. Stage one is the leptocephalus stage, characterized by a long, ribbon-like, colorless, transparent body with large fang-like teeth, a small head, and teensy fins. They have no gills or red blood cells. During this stage, they absorb oxygen and nutrients directly from the water. In stage two, the larvae shrink. They start to lose the lepto look and begin growing into something more ladylike. Near the end of this stage, the larvae stops shrinking and starts growing again (now that its curves are in all the right places).

Stage three is the last stage before becoming a juvenile fish. All last minute touchups are applied, and then it’s off to meet the parents. Ladyfish can reach three feet long, weigh fifteen pounds, and live six years. As adults, they are primarily fish eaters, though crustaceans are also an important dietary component. The bigger they grow, the bigger they eat. This fish swallows its prey whole. Pretty much any fish smaller than them is fair game, including smaller ladyfish. No bonds of kinship in this bunch. And even though you won’t often find

The silver king.

Photo credit: Joe Richard

ladyfish on our menus, sharks, dolphins, alligators, and some birds have no qualms with this meal.3 When hooked, the ladyfish is good sport for a light-tackle angler. It’s skipping and jumping behaviors along the water surface have earned it the popular nickname of skipjack. The meat is typically bony and dry, which means this fish is great for catch and release.

On to Ms. Popularity. Tarpon are voluminous, deep-bodied fish, with big eyes, large scales, and a generous mouth. And did I mention she’s single? In 1847, Valenciennes classified the tarpon under the genus Megalops, meaning large-eyed. Many people call it the silver king for its bright flashing scales when it jumps. Its enormous mouth, often exaggerated by anglers as being the size of a five-gallon bucket, is filled with tiny, densely packed teeth. Most unique about the this fish, though, is its modified swim bladder, which allows the tarpon to fill it directly with air gulped from the surface. This is a handy adaptation for oxygen-poor waters, but tarpon need access to atmospheric oxygen to survive in any environment, which is why even in oxygen-rich waters, they will still roll and gulp air.4 They are found primarily in warm coastal waters, bays, estuaries, lagoons, etc., and can tolerate a wide range in salinity, from freshwater rivers and lakes to offshore waters.

TSFMAG.com | 73

tremendous strength and fast swimming speed. However, because they spook easily and are often very wary of humans, they occasionally (accidentally) injure people. Most injuries occur when anglers try to release the fish after a fight, though some happen when a tarpon inadvertently leaps into the boat.5 Now that’s easy fishin’!

Two images of the same leptocephalus eel larva. The top image is viewed under unpolarized, transmitted light. The bottom image is viewed under polarized, transmitted light by a camera with a polarizing filter. The increased visibility of the bottom image is due to the presence of birefringent muscle and connective tissue fibers.

Photo composite: S Johnsen using images from E. Widder.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of Commerce

The tarpon childhood is practically the same as the ladyfish: three stages, beginning with the leptocephalus. They are slow-growing fish and don’t reach sexual maturity until six or seven years old. Females can grow over eight feet long and weigh 355 pounds. Males are generally smaller. A tarpon weighing 100 pounds is roughly 13-16 years old. They can live 55 years.5 Adults are strictly carnivorous and mostly feed on midwater prey such as mullet, pinfish, marine catfish, Atlantic needlefish, sardines, shrimp, and crabs. They’ll eat at any time of day, and be eaten at any time, mostly by bull and hammerhead sharks, but dolphins and alligators won’t turn their noses up, given the chance.4 Tarpon are highly prized as recreational fish due to their

“I have wondered whether it is the wildness in fish that somehow renews the wildness in us. After the hook is set and the shiver of something wild comes dancing up the rod, we seem somehow to be released from the confines of our over-civilized selves… And in that instant, in that moment of abandonment to pure, uncluttered joy, there is, suddenly and momentarily, a brief glimpse into the untamed, unfettered, wild nature of what humankind once was, and what it still needs to be from time to time.” -Paul Quinnett, Pavlov’s Trout

Footnotes 1

S.F. Hildebrand, “Fishes of the western North Atlantic: Families Elopidae and Albulidae,” (Sears Fount, pp. 11-147, 1963) 2 “Species Name: Elops saurus,” Smithsonian Marine Station, 28 August 2012 <http://www. sms.si.edu/irlspec/elops_saurus.htm>.

3 “Ladyfish,” Florida Museum of Natural History, 28 August 2012 <http://www.flmnh.ufl. edu/fish/gallery/descript/ladyfish/ladyfish.html>.

4 “Tarpon,” Florida Museum of Natural History, 28 August 2012 <http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/ fish/gallery/descript/tarpon/tarpon.html>.

5 “Species Name: Megalops atlanticus,” Smithsonian Marine Station, 28 August 2012 <http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/megalo_atlant.htm>.

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TSFMAG.com | 77

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

78 | October 2012

The catching has been so textbook on Sabine for the past three weeks that I thought I could finally meet a deadline a little early with confidence that it would remain at least marginally accurate. That was three days ago. I am still watching hurricane Isaac literally crawl its way toward the Louisiana coast line.

It looks like it could squat on New Orleans and test their new levee system, but we could get a lot of rain out of it as well. The only bump in the road over the past month has been rain as the wind has not been a factor. Overall, the water is in great shape, but a few days of heavy rain can temporarily slow the bite on the north end of the lake and in the rivers.

All signs point toward another fantastic fall season on Sabine. We are just one or two cold fronts away from blowing the top off the fishing. The marshes are still flush with shrimp and baitfish and once they are forced to migrate to deeper water it will be “game on!”

The bite is already typical of fall with the exception of a dependable big trout pattern. The redfish are schooling almost daily as they push shrimp and shad to the surface all the way from Blue Buck Point to Coffee Ground Cove. As the schools have grown in size we are seeing fewer trout mixing with them and I don’t blame them for steering clear of those high-

impact food fights.

By the end of the month it will be dealer’s choice as to how you opt to catch them. Aside from the schooling activity you can work the Louisiana shoreline with spoons, swimbaits, spinnerbaits or topwaters and quickly limit most days. Take advantage of any hard north wind or strong outgoing tide by concentrating your efforts around the drains and mouths of the bayous.

I also expect the crankbait bite for both reds and trout to light-off in the ICW as well as both rivers any day now. We do very well this time of year with square-billed lures that have a tight wobble and can be cranked down 3-5 feet. The River 2 Sea’s Biggie and Strike Pro’s High Fin Wobbler work well as does the Bomber Model A. Bream or crawfish patterns work a little better on the redfish, but once the trout start chasing them, colors like Sexy Shad and chrome-black work even better.

As I mentioned earlier, the big trout have been hard to pattern so far, but the trout bite overall has been very consistent. While a good trout has been something in the four-pound class, the best news is that the bite has been good all over the lake thus minimizing the pressure on any one specific area.

When the trout are not picky about the length of the tail; we are staying with an Assassin Texas Shad, TTF Trout Killer or Tidal Surge Split Tail rigged on 1/8 ounce heads. When they are a little more discriminating we have only had to downsize to the Assassin Sea Shad or TTF Flats Minnow to get them going again.

As for lure colors, it is simply a case of light or dark most of the time, as long as it has a chartreuse tail, but needlefish and bug juice

The Crismans enjoyed time spent with the schooling redfish.

have been exceptionally good colors of late. Bug juice got really hot back in late spring, but needlefish is like magic on the larger trout when the small ladyfish and needle gar are hammering away at shad on the surface!

Not surprisingly, the few 5 to 6 pound trout we are catching right now are coming off scattered shell along the banks of the ICW. The bite has been too brief to experiment, but She Dogs in the Geaux Naked and Geaux Daley patterns have worked well enough. You can eliminate real estate by keying on slicks and small pods of finger mullet on the incoming tide in 2-3 feet of water.

One pattern that deserves checking every trip is “scraping the wall” with a Maniac Mullet or Corky Devil for big sow trout. It simply involves having the confidence to vertically fish the lure just off the bottom, tight to the 12 to 22 foot breaks on the ICW or the river. At its very best it is a little slow, but the technique is death on arm-length trout.

Flounder fishermen are already proclaiming this to be the best year ever, but they have said that for the past two years and that is a good thing. In the very near future they will start stacking up in the passes and holding on main lake points but for right now the bayous and river channels have been the place to be.

Hopefully, I will be able to brag on the striper bite as well next month!

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TSFMAG.com | 79

mICKEY Eastman

mICKEY On Galveston

Galveston

Mickey Eastman is a full-time fishing guide out of Baytown, TX. Mickey has 26 years guiding experience on the Galveston area bays and is the founder of Gulf Coast Troutmasters, the largest speckled trout tournament series of all time

Telephone 281-383-2032

80 | October 2012

Summer is finally winding down and things have slowed a bit here on the Galveston Bays; but when you measure everything as a whole, we’ve had a really good run of fishing these past four months. Live bait has been king here the last two or three weeks, always is this time of year. But it’s not slowing me down, we’re still catching some fish on lures, soft plastics mostly, Tidal Surge Split Tail Mullet and MirrOlure Lil John. Those baits have been consistent all summer over well pads, deep shell, slicks, mud boils, all that open-water stuff - even along shore lines. So, we’re still doing well enough.

Talking trout, September has potential to be kind of a transition month and depending on the fish, some years you’ll have two or three weeks of real slow bite and the live baiters with shrimp and croakers are doing better, but I don’t think its going to be that way this year. I think we are going to be heading right on into the fall run without any dead periods. I say this because we have so many fish. I really don’t think it will be a prolonged transition at all; the bite may get spotty for a few days but they’re going to be biting somewhere, you just have to find them.

Your redfish are a different animal altogether

and right now they are definitely spotty. A lot more happens to your redfish with movement out of the marsh, spawning migrations, and all that. I’d say they are going through their transition right now. The other day I was on an open-water school of reds. There had to be 200 fish in that school just swimming on top like goldfish. We tried and tried and caught one fish out of them. I played with that school for about two hours, following with a trolling motor. It was real cool – my customers enjoyed watching that – they thought it was pretty neat seeing big fish like that swimming all over the top, but they just wouldn’t bite. We tried spinner baits, topwaters, soft plastic, a little bit of everything. I think we ended up catching that one fish on a Maniac Mullet, just kind of dousing it in front of him. Lots of times when you can see them like that you can’t catch them.

Trout fishing has been fairly steady. We haven’t caught our limits every day, but enough to make it fun.

Like this past Monday, it started out being really slow and I thought, “Man, it’s going to be one of those days.”

And finally it hit me, “Oh – this is tide related.” Turned out, it had a lot to do with the tide.

We have days with little current and we’re

struggling. Then a few hours later that will, can last way into November. And – I’ve tide gets rolling pretty good and it’s like seen it where we had a couple hard, early somebody threw a switch. Maybe you’ve northers real close together and it was noticed some days you can pull up to a barely two weeks long. well pad with a bunch of slicks coming off As the water cools we will see a lot it and it’s just like working birds. You catch of the better trout moving up to the tons of fish. Current goes slack and you shorelines – this makes for some of the can’t buy a bite. best wade fishing of the year.

Speaking of birds, right now we have The bull red run will be going on and a lot of birds working but they’re on a lot it gets folks stirred up the same as birdof small stuff; nothing solid - baby specks, fishing. It is a once a year deal and can be sandies, gafftop, that kind of stuff. You can a whole lot of fun in the passes and along weed through them and maybe find a few the beach. just-keeper trout so I just steer clear of it; Then there’s flounder. My goodness! not worth the effort. These folks that are You talk about getting people stirred up doing it need to mash their hook barbs - let me tell you, flounder can get them down because they’re going to mess up stirred up. If the number of flounder we a bunch of baby trout. Once the marsh have caught totally by accident this year dumps on a good norther and the really might be an indicator; I’d say we are in for big shrimp start moving, the fish will get a heck of flounder run. bigger under those birds, and that’s when So there you have it. We’ve had as Capt. Brian Fikes aka “Potsey” with it is fun. good a summer as many have ever seen nice topwater trout in Trinity Bay. Once the fall season gets truly and if everything holds together - no underway, we are going to have a whole lot going on fishing-wise. I hurricanes, no major flooding down the rivers, no red tide, none of already mentioned the bird thing and lots of folks want to know when that bad stuff - I can’t help but think we are in for an awesome month to expect it. The fact of the matter is that the shrimp migration pretty of fishing in October. much controls it. If the migration is drawn out, the “bird season” if you Go have fun and be safe on the water. – Capt. Mickey

TSFMAG.com | 81

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 www.binkgrimesoutdoors.com

All Matagorda captains have been saying it since the spring, “it is going to be a good fall.” Why? We have been seeing shrimp in all the places they should be, probably due to the wet spring we enjoyed.

Last year’s drought put a damper on the white shrimp crop. Whites need freshwater to “sweeten” the marsh nursery to grow before flooding the bays in the fall and eventually the Gulf.

Last year’s hypersaline environment stunted the shrimp harvest and the effects were seen firsthand in our bays with the absence of diving gulls. Now, that’s not to say we didn’t catch fish last fall; we just had to work harder and longer to find specks and redfish over deep shell.

One of my fondest memories of the fall in East Bay was taking a

www.saltwatersoul.net O.G.C. 82 | October 2012

day off of work in the late 90s to hunt ducks with a couple of my high school buddies. We threw out two sacks of decoys and sat somewhere on the east end of the bay until sunrise. We saw very few ducks, but watched flock after flock of birds working over fish, so we picked up the spread, tore off the waders, and caught 30 trout to five pounds Author’s daughter showing off a fine Matagorda speck. Keep an eye on the birds!

in about an hour.

That day I swore I would never leave Matagorda County.

East Matagorda Bay has spoiled us for years by producing world-class fall fishing and I truly believe this fall will be a banner campaign. Heck, I caught limits of trout on a couple of occasions under birds in August, and regularly saw gobs of shrimp in the back lakes when tides rose in late August and early September.

Of course, when word of “birds working” reach the masses, East Matagorda Bay can become a circus, so be patient and keep your cool. Treat other boats with respect, and remember, it’s just fishing.

If crowds are not your thing, slip on over to West Bay and wade the shorelines. Autumn equinox tides push those big redfish tight to the grass where a small Super Spook or She Pup normally tickles their fancy.

If you must stay in the boat, work the edges of Oyster and Crab lake and look for a “V,” that’s where you will find a freight train of schooling redfish sniffing out shrimp hiding in the grass.

We cast and blasted for teal and trout for the last half of September, and will continue with dove during October. Most of the fishing will be done in the morning with shotgunners catching the late-afternoon flight around water and goatweed. Dove hunting is dove hunting - success can change with the slightest wind shift or rain shower - but, we try to stack the She Pups worked tight to odds by resting and rotating our fields. It ain’t too shabby, grassy shorelines will produce lots of reds in October. and a lot closer than South Texas.

As for baits, I love throwing a small Super Spook or MirrOlure She Pup this time of year on a 6’2” Waterloo Slam Mag. I am not one of those guys who brings 900 rods in the boat - just one - and it works a Bass Assassin just fine, too.

I should have my 2013 2400 Pathfinder by October, the 13th Maverick Boat Company hull I have owned.

Enjoy the brisk mornings, breath-taking sunrises and sunsets, migrating waterfowl and the very best fishing of the year.

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CaPt. shEllIE GRaY

mID-Coast BaYs With the Grays

Port O'Connor Seadrift

Captain Gary and Captain Shellie Gray fish year-round for trout and redfish in the Port Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor/ Seadrift area. Gary started his Bay Rat Guide Service 20 years ago.

The Grays specialize in wade and drift fishing with artificial lures.

Gary and Shellie also team up to fish many tournaments.

Telephone 361-785-6708 Email Gary@BayRat.com Website www.bayratguideservice.com

84 | October 2012

Whewâ&#x20AC;ŚOctober is finally here! I have been anticipating this month with the cold fronts getting stronger and a chill in the morning air. Hopefully the days of dripping sweat before you can untie from the dock are all behind us and we can settle into some pleasant weather and steady autumn fishing patterns.

In the last couple of weeks I have seen little hints of the seasons changing. There are a lot more birds working over shrimp in San Antonio, Mission, Hynes and Guadalupe Bays. The fall shrimp migration is on! It will really kick into high gear when we get the first really strong fronts, then you will start catching the heavier reds and larger trout. This exodus of shrimp from nursery waters will normally last into December with some amount of bird activity, depending on the water temperatures.

October strategies should not change a lot from the strategies I used in September. The only noticeable difference is that patterns become more defined and the catching is steadier.

Surf fishing gets better for redfish and will certainly bring out the red drum fisherman in you.

I have had some unbelievable surf trips in October.

Hit it right and you will catch some real brutes, and plenty slot fish too.

Fishing the marsh drains of West Matagorda, Espiritu Santo, San Antonio, and Mesquite bays will really get good during the strong tidal movements of the fall season. I start my wade as far away from Carlton Jones with a big trout caught on the shell in San Antonio Bay.

Parker Medford had a great time reeling in this big redfish.

the drain as bait activity indicates there might be feeding underway, slowly working toward the drain itself. A couple favorite lures around the drains are the Bass Assassin 4” Sea Shad or 5”Die Dapper, depends on the average size of bait present. Of course your Top Dog Jr, Top Pups, She Dogs and She Pups can also be solid choices. Work visible structure carefully along with any bait commotion you might come across.

The birds in Upper San Antonio Bay really get going following the first few frontal systems. Concentrate your efforts in the region north of ICW. Be very careful navigating – lots of reefs and other obstructions not marked on your GPS. My favorite in October is fishing the many reefs on the upper end of San Antonio Bay. I will almost always concentrate my efforts on the side of the reef that tapers slowly into deeper water. This means the western edge of the reef in most cases. On this side of the reefs there are more points jutting out or different contours in the bottom than the other side which will usually just drop off into deeper water and turn to mud quicker.

When wading or drifting these oyster shell reefs I will always have my faithful Saltwater Assassins in slammin chicken, hot chicken or baby bass colors. All of these are good shrimp imitators. I like both the 5-inch Shad and also the 4-inch Sea Shad, I will let the fish dictate which lure I choose during the day. I will rig these on Assassin 1/16 ounce jigheads. There are a couple of tips to help you better your day on the reefs.

One thing to remember when wading the shell is to always keep your movements to a minimum, meaning when you are wading, walk slowly and make fan casts, the more you walk the more crunching the fish hear from your feet on the shell. Number two is to always stop as soon as someone in your group hooks up. I see it all the time, someone hooks up and he or his buddy keeps moving into the fish, pushing them away.

There is no reason to move forward once you are catching fish unless they stop biting. Which usually means you pushed them away or they just moved. The most important thing is do not block someone else’s wade on any reef. This holds true on any shoreline. It gets worse every year but this year I have seen seasoned wade anglers pulling in on me when they see a rod bent over. I repeat do not block a wade!

If you are pulling into a reef that someone else is already wading and they are wading towards you, give them some room or go behind them. Better yet find your own reef to wade, there are a lot of reefs out there. I am not trying to say those guys own the bay or that reef, all I am saying is get there earlier next time or quit looking for fish using the bent rod theory.

Fish hard, fish smart!

TSFMAG.com | 85

DaVID RoWsEY

hooKED uP WIth Rowsey

With August gone and September fading; I will soon have my slowest months of “artificial only” guide work behind me. Most of my honey-do work Upper is also behind me. The fall garden is planted and Laguna/ anticipation is high for another winter and spring Baffin season of catching large trout. Thus far 2012 has proved to be a warm one down here in the coastal bend and although we caught some big fish, I cannot ever remember working so hard for them. My hopes David Rowsey has 20 years are high that 2013 will be cooler and things will experience in the Laguna/Baffin get back to what I consider normal. If some of the region; trophy trout with artificial lures is his specialty. David has a trout we caught in August and September are any indication; I’d say the future looks good. My clients great passion for conservation and I had an amazing run on some hot summer trout and encourages catch and release of trophy fish. that broke over the nine pound range. Those fish will be massive come December and January.

Telephone October is the beginning of all things good in my 361-960-0340 life. Cooler weather teases us every few days, duck Website www.DavidRowsey.com and quail season are just around the corner, and large Email trout begin feeding aggressively. But before they start david.rowsey@yahoo.com locking lips with large mullet, we have a window of

opportunity to get ready for them. Kind of like when a hurricane is threatening - I use October as winterpreparedness month.

What I mean is that I get all my ducks in a row now; reels cleaned and super-tuned, zippers lubed on equipment that gets douched in the salt, reels spooled with new braid, a huge lure inventory to sort through and reorder what may be needed, plugs re-hooked, lube on trailer hubs, etc. There are just a ton of things that I like to take care of to prevent issues when I’m on the water with the greatest fishing clients ever.

My family and I are very grateful for their continued support and friendships, and I think being organized and prepared for their day to fish is just a small way of saying, “Thank You.” As ducks migrate south, the baitfish and reds migrate north around here, and the flounder will be right behind them. October will display all kinds of activity that demonstrates the cycle of life for our salty friends. I’m not big on “fishing the birds” but this is one time that I will give it consideration as it can

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j o h n d a u g h e r t y. c o m 86 | October 2012

Fishing Magazine 2012.indd 1

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really mean something during this exodus of fish headed to the gulf.

Unlike some bays farther north, I have just never found bird fishing in general to give up more than dinks and gafftops. October and November are different though. You can actually catch some quality trout and enough oversized reds to make some “heavy” photos. Birds are easy to spot and an easy pattern to figure out but, for those of us who prefer to be wet while casting we just need know how to get in their way as they travel through.

The first time I ever saw my name in print, Capt. Mike McBride wrote an article for TIDE Magazine and described me by saying, “Rowsey is a master at hiding in plain sight.” Mike and I had fished together enough, with great success I might add, mostly in unconventional spots that boats just pass by on the way to Baffin. The reason I mention this is because this is time of year when I fish these highly visible areas. One the most productive being the edge of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW).

The ICW is a fish highway with no

parallel in this area. Although you can catch fish on it year round, October makes for great wading that produces stout trout, many in the trophy class. There are lots of little cuts that intersect the ICW, depressions from barges getting off course, and tons of grass lines and edges that hold fish.

If you are into topwater action, try it one morning in October – you can thank me later. If you want something a little more conventional to throw a plug at, the spoil islands from the mouth of Baffin to the JFK Causeway would be next on my list. The islands do not funnel fish as well as the ICW, so make sure you have good bait activity before you start casting wildly into the abyss.

I forgot to mention in the September issue that I have opened the books for my winter and spring dates.

Please do not delay in booking if you are Neal, (dead ringer serious about trophy trout fishing. I’m for Adam Carolla) looking forward to seeing my regular displays a healthy crew and meeting my next best client.

29” personal best.

Bass Assassin Die After deer season might be too late.

Dapper did the Remember the buffalo. trick - released to -Capt David Rowsey fight another day.

TSFMAG.com | 87

tRICIa’s Mansfield Report CaPt. tRICIa

Little has changed since my last report. Late summer is always jalapeño hot down here and we could sure use some rain to sweeten the Laguna. Catching remains slow in general. We have had some decent days and a couple great ones but overall it remains well below average for Port Mansfield. October always brings change to South Texas and I’m praying for pleasant Port autumn weather and consistent fishing patterns.

Mansfield Seasoned anglers are all standing around scratching their heads. Fishing patterns taken for granted over the years just fell apart this summer. It has certainly been a different year. The live bait folks have been Capt. Tricia’s Skinny Water bringing in decent numbers of pretty solid trout but Adventures operates out of none of us have a clue where the reds are hiding.

Port Mansfield, specializing in Dedicated lure chunkers just grit their teeth and hitch wadefishing with artificial lures. their wade belts a little tighter.

Calm mornings reveal large schools of drum and Telephone we sometimes see reds and trout in the mix, although 956-642-7298 getting any of them to take a lure has definitely been Email a challenge. Even so, it is encouraging to see them shell@granderiver.net and know that everything will change when fall-like Website www.SkinnyWaterAdventures.com weather reaches the Lower Laguna.

The greatest puzzle lately has been trying to understand why redfish have not been more numerous on the flats through the summer months. Everything,

88 | October 2012

even baitfish, seemed to mostly prefer deeper areas and we have had little choice but to follow them. Best opportunities have routinely been found along outer grass lines and other distinctive drops. Just in the last week or so we are beginning to see small schools and pods staging on shallow sand and patchy grass in the early hours. When they finally do make their way back to the flats we will probably wonder where in the heck they all came from.

Trout have been more cooperative although the size is quite disappointing. Literally dozens of fish measuring ten to fourteen inches can be found on any given wade. The trick is to remain focused because there

Joanie Hunt had a lot of fun with the redfish.

Statement of Ownership, Management and Circulation: 1) Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine 2)ISSN 1935-9586 3) Filing Date 10/1/12. 4) Issue Frequency: Monthly. 5) No. of Issues published annually: 12. 6) Annual Subscription price $25.00 7) Complete Mailing Address of Office of Publication, 58 Fisherman’s Ln, Seadrift, TX 77983. Contact Person: Pam Johnson. Telephone 361-785-3420. 8) Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters: PO Box 429, Seadrift, TX 77983-0429. 9) Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor: Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine, PO Box 429, Seadrift, TX 77983-0429. 10) Owners: Pam and Everett Johnson, PO Box 429, Seadrift, TX 77983-0429. 11) Known Bondholders, Mortgagee, None. 12) Tax status has not changed during preceding 12 months. 13) Publication Title: Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine 14) Issue date for circulation data below: Sept. 11. 15) Extent and nature of Circulation: a) average no Copies preceding 12 months: 25,000; no. copies of single issue published nearest to filing date 24,750. b1) Mailed outside-county paid subscriptions: avg. preceding 12 mo., 6,878; single issue nearest filing: 7,000 b3) Paid distribution outside the mail including sales dealers and carriers Avg. preceding 12 mo’s 12,641, single issue nearest filing: 12,307 b4) Paid distribution by other classes of mail Avg. preceding 12 mo’s: 103, single issue nearest filing: 95. c) Total paid distribution-Avg. preceding 12 mo’s: 19,622, single issue nearest filing: 19,402. d1) Free or nominal rate outside county Avg. preceding 12 mo’s: 1,462, single issue nearest filing: 1,485 d4) Free or Nominal rate distribution outside of the mail Avg. preceding 12 mo’s: 179, single issue nearest filing: 182. e) Total free or nominal rate distribution Avg. preceding 12 mo’s :1,641 single issue nearest filing: 1,667. e) Total distribution Avg. preceding 12 mo’s: 21,263 single issue nearest filing: 21,069. g) Copies not distributed: Avg. preceding 12 mo’s: 3,737 single issue nearest filing: 3,681. h) Total Avg. preceding 12 mo’s: 25,000, single issue nearest filing: 27,750. i) percent paid Avg. preceding 12 mo’s: 92.28%, single issue nearest filing: 92.09% . 16) Publication of statement of ownership: If the publication is a general publication, publication of this statement is required. Will be printed in the October 2010 issue of this publication. Signature and title of Editor, publisher, business manager or owner Pamela K. Johnson - date 8/4/12

are definitely better ones hiding amongst the juveniles. You just never know which cast will bring a five, six or even a seven pounder. Calm wind and mid-day heat shuts everything down but enough breeze to create some chop and bring a hint of color to waist-deep water over grass and potholes can keep it going longer. If nothing else, all those small trout are a sure sign of strong recruitment and better days ahead.

A couple more fishy topics: The throng of fishermen that came to Port Mansfield this summer beat all I ever saw or even imagined would show ever up. So much for all the worry that reducing the daily bag limit from ten trout to five would put the kibosh on the local economy. I think it’s pretty safe to say that if you build a good fishery the anglers will come.

Unfortunately with that great influx of traffic on the bay also came some dangerous boating situations. I cannot stress enough the importance of staying alert and following the rules of the road.

I believe mandatory boater education for those born after Sept. 1, 1993 and operating greater than 15 horsepower is a good idea.

Moving on to tournaments; the Lower Laguna plays host every year to many fishing tournaments from small to quite large.

Unfortunately there have been reports of alleged fraud (cheating) during some of the larger events in the local news media.

HB 1806 recently enacted into law provides that felony charges can be brought for cheating in saltwater tournaments. Be advised that altering length or weight, presenting fish you did not catch lawfully, along with a bunch of other creative fudges, can now land you behind bars.

A true sportsman would have subscribed to a higher set of ethics all along. This Joe Hunt with a solid trout law should give the would-be cheaters from waist-deep grassbeds. something to think about besides ways to win dishonestly…and it’s about time.

No one knows what early fall will bring but, traditionally tide levels will be up and that alone will alter the way we fish. Areas we haven’t been able to work in months will come back into play.

Cooler water temps should put fish shallower for longer periods. October will no doubt require some creativity to discover productive patterns but regardless, the fish are going to be somewhere and, after all, this is supposed to be a challenge; right? The signs are good, believe they are there and get in there and catch them.

For some reason our reds have been holding in way deeper water than normal.

Life is short…probably shorter if we don’t fish!

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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

I drove up to a traffic light well before daylight the other day on my way to meet my clients as another truck pulling a boat rolled up in the next lane. I was on my way to Arroyo City and it appeared he was headed to South Padre. A thought crossed my mind; “How do you know which way to go for the best fishing opportunity?”

It becomes second nature for folks who fish regularly to formulate a game plan, hoping to maximize your fishing results. I’m not saying the choices are always the right ones, but you have a hunch. I pick my launch point based on water conditions, weather, tides, number of good fishing locations in case somebody beats me to my favorite one, and so forth. Doing your homework, putting a game plan together, and getting on the water early definitely has advantages.

I bring this up because as many fishermen have come to find out, it hasn’t been easy on the Lower Laguna Madre lately. We have seen some great catches and my clients have made some. We have even had a few strings of multiple good days but, overall, it continues to be a grind. The bait fishermen have been fairing a bit better but certainly not near what it has been in years past. The good news is we have seen a minor improvement over the last three weeks.

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not in great numbers, but they have become a little more predictable compared to last month. We have been targeting them shallow in the early morning and again in the evening, holding on grass flats and potholes. Small topwaters have been effective but do not be discouraged if they’ll only blow up or short strike it. Be patient and keep throwing to them.

The days are becoming shorter and soon the air and water will be noticeably cooler. Historically for me, October has been the best month of the year to fish in the evenings, especially for redfish. Presently, from my observations there seems to be a greater concentration of redfish around the Arroyo Colorado area. In the coming month look for the shallow flats on the west side to turn on.

Trout have been more consistent and predictable for us with efforts concentrated over hard sand and shell bottoms in waist deep water. Kelley Wiggler ball tail shads on 1/8 oz jig heads have been our best lures. Early morning to mid-morning have been the best times. Quite often the key to producing better catches has been to revisit areas where we caught them earlier in the morning. Waiting for the changing of the tide and hitting these areas a second time has been a key element in catching limits of trout. With cooler

Michael Okruhlik had a Bucket List day recently – trophy snook, flounder, tarpon, trout and redfish. Congratulations Michael!

temperatures coming, look for trout to station themselves in shallower water and remain there for longer periods.

The flounder population down here seems to be doing well and we have seen an increase in catches this year, some were quite impressive.

If you are willing to put in the time and fish the edges of oilfield channels and the ICW; chances are good that you will land a few saddle blankets. Keep in mind this month is when the East Cut turns on as they leave the bay to spawn in the Gulf.

In closing, I would like to recognize and congratulate client Michael Okruhlik for an epic trip he made with me. Never did we imagine that day that he would accomplish a feat that not many anglers in any body

of water have done before. Our main target was snook, but a few nice reds and trout came into his hands early that morning. As the bite came to an end we moved to another area. By mid-morning his Bucket List wish came true when he landed a trophy snook. However, his memorable day was not over yet.

I shared with Michael that I had seen tarpon rolling in the area earlier that week and would not be surprised if he landed one. Sure enough, he also knocked that species off his Bucket List with a 12 pounder. On our last wade of the day, to our mutual surprise, he hooked and landed a 5 pound flounder. I don’t know whose smile was bigger Michael’s or mine. It’s days like this that make up for the slow ones and keep bringing us back for memories that last a lifetime.

Way to Go Michael!

TSFMAG.com | 91

FISHING REPORTS

Lake Calcasieu Louisiana Jeff and Mary Poe - Big Lake Guide Service - 337.598.3268 This is the height of the transition to fall. Trout and redfish will be in mixed schools under birds and the action is fast. Many people think there is no rhyme or reason for why schools of trout and redfish move in the directions they do. Tidal movement dictates when they bite, where they bite, and how they bite. Speckled trout will feed against the tide almost all of the time. You can conclude that if you see birds working, fish busting the surface, or shrimp jumping, they will continue to move in the same direction until the tide swaps. DO NOT attempt to fish birds that another boat is already fishing. Think of it as double the trolling motor noise, double the hull slap, double the hatch slamming and music playing. Two boats on any school is too many! Stop your big motor well upwind of the school (three to five hundred feet) and troll quietly toward them. The closer you get to the fish, the less trolling motor you use. Try to keep the edge of the school at the end of your cast. This will keep you from getting too close and spooking the fish.

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com - 409.935.7242 Storms, high seas and dirty water made a mess of the early part of tarpon season, the head of Silver King Adventures reports. "We found plenty of tarpon, but we haven't been able to get at 'em. All we need is some clear water and calm seas, and we'll catch some, but those

92 | October 2012

ORECASTS F from Big Lake to Boca Chica

AND

conditions might not be coming. Trout fishing has been better. Last time I was out, we caught limits of trout and redfish, working the same old summer pattern, slick hopping and working reefs and structure out in the middle. Wading will pick up as we get into October.

Galveston fishing is so weather-dependent. We're on a three week run of bad weather, so nobody's really catching very good. Usually, when that happens, the fishing is off the charts once the weather changes for the better. I look for October to be a lot like June, meaning we'll probably be able to catch 'em however we want to, wading or by boat.

Topwaters, Catch 5s and Bass Assassins will all be in play. Birds should be working and the quality trout should move a little shallower."

Jimmy West - Bolivar Guide Service - 409.996.3054 Jim was in the field with a big group of dove hunters when we talked.

"I've been running a lot of dove hunting trips. Shooting has been good, and that looks to continue all the way to the end of October.

Right now, there are lots of teal on the rice farms. If the main duck season follows suit at all, we're set up for great duck hunting come November. By then, I'll be in the blind when the weather's bad, fishing when the weather's good. Fishing has been inconsistent lately with these west winds. We're still stuck in a summer pattern, fishing slicks and structure out in the middle. We have seen a few birds working, but it's been spotty at best in this heat. Once October gets here, we'll get some stronger fronts and the shrimp will start moving, so the

birds will be working on more of a regular basis. That will open up easy fishing out of the boat at times. The wading will also pick up.

I've already gotten several reports of some good catches of redfish shallow, but once the water cools down, we'll have consistent fishing for both trout and reds on the shorelines."

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays Randall Groves - Groves Guide Service 979.849.7019 - 979.864.9323 Randall reports steady fishing in his area in the time leading up to this report, particularly for redfish. "We've got tons of redfish lately, and they've been pretty easy to catch most of the time. On some days, we're able to see them before we catch them, not necessarily actually seeing the fish, but seeing their effects on the water. We are finding them by focusing on wakes, nervous water and muddy streaks. Once we locate them and can see which direction they're moving down the shoreline, we've been catching them best on dark soft plastics like roach Sand Eels and roach Bull Minnows. Actually, the Bull Minnows have been working best, because it's easier to swim them over the shell. The tails help them stay up in the water column and pass over the oysters. Trout fishing has been a little tougher because of persistent west winds and muddy water. That should change as the weather cools a little and we get more fronts. Late in October, we should see some shrimp migrating into the bays, and that will mean working birds and easy limits!"

Matagorda | Tommy Countz Bay Guide Service -979.863.7553 cell 281.450.4037 Tommy is enthusiastic as usual about the upcoming prospects in the Matagorda area this fall. "We should see birds start working with some regularity in East Bay this month. That will make the fishing easy, of course, if the crowds aren't too bad. If birds aren't working, we'll be drifting scattered shell in the west end of East Bay, using heavier

jigheads and soft plastics to work the lures low and slow, or drifting mud flats in the east end of the bay, using similar techniques. If we head to West Bay, we'll wade tight to the shorelines early, using topwaters, mostly targeting redfish, which have been plentiful over there lately. As the sun gets higher, we usually switch to soft plastics in dark colors. Lately, I'm using the new Norton Sand Shad quite a bit. They imitate a small finfish very well. As the bite wanes on the shorelines, we normally move out to the deeper guts around the outer sand bars. We might see some action in the river, especially late in the month. Normally, the fish in there bite best at night, but it's not uncommon to find birds working right in the river. And, we're hoping the new cut perks up the action for bigger trout in West Bay." Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam www.palaciosguideservice.com - 979.240.8204 Redfish have dominated our boxes lately, as the trout bite has slowed down a little. The bays are full of white shrimp, and the redfish have been schooling and eating them up. Schools of up to twenty fish have been around area river mouths and in back bays, herding schools of shrimp down the shorelines. The best lure has been a pearl/chartreuse Bull Minnow. Most of these reds have been in the lower end of the slot; they're good eating-size fish. The trout bite at the wells and on the shorelines has slowed down. We've had to grind out half-limits, working over sand and grass, with tons of 14 1/2 inch fish in the mix. Tripletailing has remained consistent, with good catches of fish coming to the boat, the average size being about ten pounds. Live shrimp rigged about five to six feet under popping corks are working best. October should bring some awesome bird activity to the area

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with all the shrimp we have in the bays. South Bay, Turtle Bay, and East Bay back to the river are some of the best areas for fall fishing.

Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith - Back Bay Guide Service - 361.983.4434 Early in the month of October, Lynn expects to be fishing much the same way he has been in September. "We'll still look to get into the surf a few more times, if the weather allows. At the end of the surf season, it's sometimes possible to catch some bigger than average trout along the beach front. We'll throw topwaters and stay in the shallower guts close to the sand when out there. We've been fishing quite a bit around shell lately, close to deep water. And we'll keep doing that while the weather stays hot. Once it cools down some, we'll switch over to shallower water, targeting the sand and grass mostly, especially when we're targeting trout. Fishing for reds should be good along the shorelines in the shallows and in the backwater lakes later in the month, after a few fronts have taken the edge off this heat somewhat. We'll be throwing topwaters quite a bite, and using twitch baits like Paul Brown's Original Lures more and more too. As always, we'll stick with soft plastics when the bite is slower."

Rockport | Blake Muirhead Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894 Cast and blast season is here, and Blake will be busy as always. "I'll be running lots of cast and blast trips in the near future. We've had great dove hunting and there are lots of teal too. The dove hunting will go all the way through October, and then I'll be getting ready for the big duck season. As far as fishing goes, it was really good throughout most of the summer. It's slowed down a little lately with the high water and blazing hot temperatures, but things should perk right back up once we get some stronger fronts blowing through. I'll be targeting trout, reds, flounder and occasionally black drum in October.

94 | October 2012

I'll be looking for the reds, flounder and drum around the passes, as they migrate toward the Gulf. Trout will be found here, there and everywhere, moving shallow as the water cools off some. We've been catching lots of fish in depths up to eight feet, but will be fishing much shallower by October. One thing I've been doing a little different lately is using paddletails like Norton Bull Minnows more often, especially in dark colors with bright tails."

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut Robert Zapata – rz1528@grandecom.net - 361.563.1160 Water clarity in Baffin Bay and some of the adjacent waters is deteriorating, but the fishing and catching continues to be good for me on my charters. The water temperatures should begin to cool down while the days get shorter, and this will trigger a speckled trout spawn.

Many of the trout are now carrying full egg sacks as they get ready for the fall spawn, which usually occurs in October. My clients and I very much like the month of October because of the cooler air temperatures.

The schools of bull reds will continue to gather and look for ways to get out into the Gulf of Mexico and I will be ready with my half-ounce gold weedless spoons and Bass Assassin Die Dappers in colors like plum/ chartreuse and chartreuse dog rigged on eighth-ounce Spring Lock jigheads. Live piggy perch will be just the right size to catch speckled trout, and the redfish and flounder will not turn them down either.

Sightcasting in water less than twelve inches with three-inch Berkley Gulp! Shrimp will continue to provide awesome action this fall.

Corpus Christi | Joe Mendez – www.sightcast1.com - 361.937.5961 "I usually find the fishing pretty easy in the upper parts of the bay system in October," Joe says. "Lately, the redfish have been schooling up on the flats adjacent to Emmord's and Beacroft's Holes, along their edges, and in the deeper parts too. The hotter and brighter it gets, the more the schools prefer the deeper water. Finding them shallow

means looking for the schools themselves, if the water is clear and the wind is blowing hard enough to allow for seeing the bottom. If it's calmer and the light conditions aren't as bright, which usually means early in the morning, finding them means looking for the wakes the schools make as they swim away from the boat noise. Once located, the fish are relatively easy to catch on soft plastics, flies and spoons, as long as you're able to keep the boat upwind of them at a great enough distance from the school to keep from spooking them. A trolling motor is critical in this process. Trout fishing should be decent too, along the edges of the holes, where deep grass beds are barely visible."

Padre Island National Seashore Billy Sandifer - Padre Island Safaris - 361.937.8446 Barring tropical entities, red tide, and extreme high tides on the fall equinox, October is a wonderful time to just be down the beach of PINS and great fishing is all icing on the cake. Wildlife is more abundant, temperatures more moderate and the peregrine falcon migration typically occurs the first week of the month. Finger mullet will start migrating late September with the first cold front and should be going full force early-October. Too many large jack crevalle, Spanish mackerel, occasional king mackerel and tarpon, and large numbers of slot and oversized redfish are typically available. Drive the beach slowly and let the birds and the bait tell you where to fish. Huge schools of skipjacks should be present feeding on anchovies and this will be the focal point of most of the food chain action. Sharks are often danger close and can be sight-casted in shallow water. Pompano and whiting should be available when the water is clear on fresh dead shrimp and Fishbites.

Lures of many types will work as will live-lined finger mullet.

Port Mansfield | Terry Neal www.terrynealcharters.com – 956.944.2559 Some of the best fishing of the year should be just ahead of us. The

autumnal equinox comes on September 22 setting the stage. For the last 30 years I've tried to be in the high country chasing bugling elk.

There is something mystical about this time of year; whether you are in the high country or wading the flats for reds and trout. The fish have been scarce for the last couple of months but should be more visible as temperatures change. Water should start to cool off as northers make it to the coast. There are no givens in fishing and, like it or not, the pattern is what it is, bitter or sweet. Some have better luck than others; it’s called fishing not catching. We tend to get spoiled when we experience consistently fabulous results like the last couple of seasons and over the last 30 years I've seen it come and go due to various natural events. Good Ol’ Mother Nature does things her way. Don’t give up; October will bring us better fishing.

Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel Janie and Fred Petty – www.fishingwithpettys.com – 956.943.2747 We’re excited about the fall fishing season; the LLM is starting to settle down after a busy summer. With less boat traffic, the redfish will be prowling the flats in search of anything they can grab out of the bay grasses or root out of the sandy areas. Freddy says, “Redfish will gobble up just about anything they encounter while grazing across the flats.

We’ve cleaned reds that had some strange stomach contents, such as a chicken bone or a starfish.” With one of the windiest summers in memory stirring up the silt on the west side, trying to find trout in the cloudy water has forced us to push our normal hunting grounds farther north in search of clear potholes. We’re limiting on slot reds and netting a couple of oversized ones most days, throwing Cajun Thunder round corks with Berkley Gulp! three inch shrimp in new penny, nuclear chicken and pearl colors, on Hogie black-nickel eighthounce jigheads to fish the muddy conditions. We all need to help stop the open bay dredge disposal that is threatening the existence of the nursery that is our bay.

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Lisa Cheney Baffin Bay - 27.75” trout

Austin Conner South Padre - flounder

Sandra Requenez Port Mansfield - 27” red

Dillon Goggans Port Mansfield - 30” 8lb trout

Dean Leathers Galveston Ship Channel - 26” trout

Jonathan Becerra Port Isabel - 27” red 96 | October 2012

Sandra Garcia Cullen Bay - 23” first redfish!

Samuel Ramirez Trinity Bay - 23” first keeper trout!

Tina Ponkoney redfish

David Camacho Jr. Freeport - 26” black drum

Lucy Ferrell Rockport - redfish

Raj Maharaj South Padre - 7’ 7” bull shark

Maria Brown Clear Lake - 25” first redfish!

Eric Orozco Intercoastal Waterway - bull red

Rick Olivas Southbay, SPI - 26.75” trout

Participants at the 29th Annual CCA Redfish Bay Chapter "Take a Kid Fishing Event" June 1, 2012 - Port Aransas

Hannah Marie Paul Nueces Bay - 24” first redfish!

John Henry Rodriquez Bad Lands - 27” trout

Alex Rivera Port Isabel - 36” redfish

Coleman Suydam San Luis Pass - first redfish!

Brent Louviere Sabine Pass - 27” first keeper red!

Juan Reyes Port Mansfield - 25” redfish

Jaime Valdez Galveston - 45” shark

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Nikolas Wukasch Matagorda - 27.5” first red!

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Bill Davenport Port O ship channel - 42” 32lb red

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Pam Johnson

Gulf Coast Kitchen

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

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

Lemon Crab Cakes

Lemon Dipping Sauce: 1 cup Hellmann’s mayonnaise Finely grated zest of 1 medium lemon

2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice 1 clove garlic, minced Fine sea salt and freshly groundpepper to taste

Crab cakes: 1 lb. fresh-cooked lump crabmeat 3/4 cup panko breading (1/4 Cup in crab cake, reserve 1/2 cup for coating) 1 egg, beaten 1 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 1 Tbs. Dijon mustard 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 1/2 cup canola oil Lemon wedges for garnish 1/4 tsp. hot pepper sauce In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, lemon zest, lemon juice, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside 1/4 cup for crab mixture. Cover and refrigerate the remaining until serving.

To make the crab cakes, place crab on paper towels to absorb extra moisture. Pick over the crabmeat for bits of shell and cartilage. In mixing bowl - 1/4 cup panko, reserved 1/4 cup dipping sauce, egg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and parsley. Add crabmeat and mix gently until combined. Divide mixture into 8 equal portions; shape each portion into a thick cake, placed on baking sheet. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup panko over the crab cakes; flip and coat other side. Refrigerate 15 minutes.

In large frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers.

Add the cakes and cook until the undersides are golden brown, 2–3 minutes.

Flip and cook until the other side is golden brown, about 2 minutes more.

Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Serve at once with lemon wedges and remaining lemon dipping sauce.

98 | October 2012

Simple Crab Cakes 8 saltine crackers, finely crushed 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1/2 teaspoon seafood seasoning (such as Old Bay®) 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 egg, beaten Salt to taste 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional) 1 pound fresh crabmeat, well drained 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs 2 tablespoons butter

Mix saltine crackers, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, seafood seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, egg, salt, and cayenne pepper in a large bowl.

Stir in crabmeat until mixture is combined but still chunky. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.

Sprinkle breadcrumbs on a plate. Shape chilled crab mixture into 4 to 6 thick patties; coat completely with bread crumbs.

Melt butter in a skillet over medium-heat; cook crab cakes until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side.

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...continued from page 47

Ever since we got to know Billy Gerke of ForEverlast, the chore of finding sources for all this stuff has become easier. In their wade fishing line, ForEverlast has several styles of belts with fixed and detachable boxes, over-theshoulder tackle organizers, stingray boots and leggings, pliers that cut braid, stringers, landing nets, basically everything you need.

ForEverlast also offers an equally impressive line-up for hunters ranging from game feeders and snake-protective chaps and boots all the way through wing-shooterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s belts and bags. And when it is time to process your game,

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theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got you covered there too!

Do yourself a favor and simplify your search for fishing and hunting gear by visiting a retailer that stocks ForEverlast products, or if you already know what you need, take the easiest route and shop online â&#x20AC;&#x201C; www. foreverlast.com.

ForEverlast is a familyowned and operated business based in Hallettsville, TX. Billy Gerke and his whole family fish and hunt just like you so they know what works, as well as what you need to get the most out of your days on the water and in the field. Their product designs did not happen by accident; they are evolved through testing and trial and error over many years by an innovative family that work hard and play harder in the Texas outdoors.

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Don’t Watch Shark Week Then Go Wade Fishing Fishing Humor by Wade Owens

“Get your stuff. The surf’s laid down and they’re hammering big trout.”

I begin to stutter a little, “h-ha-have you been watching sh-shark week bro? you’re out of your mind.”

Before I realize what’s going on my wife is shooing me out the garage with a “I paid the insurance premiums last week, go have fun with your silly friends.” Wait…what?

Next thing I know we’re on the shallowsport heading out of the basin. Captain hits the gas and I lose my hat. Our grand exit clouded in amateurism. Get my hat and try again. We’re off and soon careening out the cut and headed down the shoreline. What the boys are looking for is beyond me. I’m searching for fins and putting my stormtrooper-lookin wading booties on. We find a spot (looks like any other spot to me), drop anchor and start letting line out to set us on the second bar.

About that time I notice a smell. “my dang wife rubbed yesterday’s chicken on my shorts…now the insurance comment makes sense.”

That’s the last time I let her pack my bags!

One of the boys points out that the cooler musta popped open going thru the pass and lunch (chicken salad) came out and I sat in some that spilled. Great. We lost some lunch. And I’m going to get eaten. Least I know my wife isn’t trying to exchange me for life insurance dollars. Probably.

Jump off the boat and somehow perfectly time the landing into thigh deep water on the bar. “how ‘bout them apples? I didn’t drown!” nobody’s watching. they’re all fishing already.

A gull overhead squawks and I give the “wassup” nod “keep an eye on the water for ole toothy and give a holler to a brother if you see something.” He squawks again, flies immediately to shore and gets tangled up in a piece of shrimp net that had washed up. Perfect. My spotter is now useless.

Start my shuffle and almost immediately feel my stringer pull tight and spin me around. In an instant I think jaws has grabbed me and I’m going for a ride offshore. Quickly I realize the floatie on the stringer is stuck under a cleat on the boat. And I haven’t strung any fish. Duh. I must have screamed like a girl cuz now everyone is looking. (of course) straighten my gear and get to fishing. Rapidly I’m starting to get hits. Then a hookset. BAM! I’m on and hollerin “like donkey kong boys!” they’re not looking. (figures) probably because pretty much everyone has strung fish already and is either presently hooked up or stringing something. Cuz I’m slow like that. Bring in my trophy, double check the length on my rod and string dinner. Nice!

And so it goes for a while. Fairly steady fishing with me and the boys loading up the stringers. Eventually I’m kinda on auto pilot.

Not because I’m so good, but because my ADD is kicking bad and everything distracts me. Birds, mullet, waves, etc till suddenly a fin 104 | October 2012

pokes up and runs a bit on the next gut out. Before my heat soaked brain can process what it is, my stringer pulls tight on me. This causes me to go into a complete panic because I’m certain I’m standing in the middle of a school of sharks. I turn and run for shore. Forget shuffling, I’m sprinting (looks like a moving, waterlogged cross between the robot and a seizure).

I step off the bar into the first gut and fall headfirst into the water, doing my best to hold my rod out of the water. Which means its more of a bellyflop like you see in the redneck games. I’m up like a flash (ok, two flashes) and sputtering towards shore arms out wide, soaked and dripping like a seaweed covered swamp thing. Quick pat down and I’m intact. Kiss my finger and point to the sky with a big nod, then down on one knee for a quick tebow (thank you baby Jesus). That’s when I hear it. The laughing of the other guys.

One of them is doubled over alternating his finger pointing between me and the small pod of porpoise that came in to terrorize the trout I was on. Seems a wave rolled over perfectly onto my stringer (fish now high and dry on the beach) and pushed the stringer away from me. There was no shark. I sit down and silently sign to my boys they’re #1. The adrenaline has now left me and I feel like the backend of a sugar high. Reach for the water bottle on my belt. Gone.

Everything on me is soaked so I cant clean my glasses. The gull stuck in the shrimp net is cackling at me, even the little sand crab that runs up appears to be mocking me.

I suddenly realize I never reeled my line in and there’s something tugging. “screw you guys, I still catch fish!” I holler. Reel in my redemption and hoist it high. A foul hooked hardhead. Sometimes things just go from bad to worse.

Apparently I’d been sitting there a while because what comes to check on me? A freaking pack of pelicans. Guess they’d seen my stringer of fish on dry land and thought they’d have a snack. Shoo them away with my rod and a “yeeyeeyee!” the turtleman would have been proud of. One of the pelicans departing gift was left on my leg. I’m utterly grossed out and almost throw up due to the smell.

Gagging like the captain does when we’re at the ranch cleaning gut shot deer (a whole other adventure).

Trudge back to the water and rinse. Repeat. Gag a little. Rinse some more. Go back to the boat to unload my stringer and get a fresh bottle of water. Notice a fish lost his tail to a shark attack in the last 4 minutes. I didn’t even know. I quit for the rest of the day. Those losers still hauling in fish can be dessert, I’m done.

Came away from the trip with a big sack of filets and a new rule around my house. No shark week. Ever. Cuz at this point, I’m not sure I can even get in my swimming pool.

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galveston tides & Solunar Table Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine October 2012

The BEST Choiceâ&#x20AC;Ś Any Place, Anytime!

To find a location near you, please visit us at www.speedystop.com

Tidal Corrections Location Calcasieu Pass, La. Sabine Bank Lighthouse Sabine Pass (jetty) Sabine Pass Mesquite Point Galveston Bay (S. jetty) Port Bolivar Texas City, Turning Basin Eagle Point Clear Lake Morgans Point Round Point, Trinity Bay Point Barrow, Trinity Bay Gilchrist, East Bay Jamaica Beach, Trinity Bay Christmas Point Galveston Pleasure Pier San Luis Pass Freeport Harbor

High -2:14 -1:46 -1:26 -1:00 -0:04 -0:39 +0:14 +0:33 +3:54 +6:05 +10:21 +10:39 +5:48 +3:16 +2:38 +2:39 +2:32 -0:09 -0:44

Low -1:24 -1:31 -1:31 -1:15 -0:25 -1:05 -0:06 +0:41 +4:15 +6:40 +5:19 +5:15 +4:43 +4:18 +3:31 +2:38 +2:33 +2:31 -0:09

For other locations, i.e. Port Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor, Port Aransas, Corpus Christi and Port Isabel please refer to the charts displayed below.

Please note that the tides listed in this table are for the Galveston Channel. The Tidal Corrections can be applied to the areas affected by the Galveston tide.

Minor Feeding Periods are in green, coinciding with the moon on the horizon, and the last from 1.0 to 1.5 hrs after the moon rise or before moon set.

Major Feeding Periods are in orange, about 1.0 to 1.5 hrs either side of the moon directly overhead or underfoot.

Many variables encourage active feeding current flow (whether wind or tidal driven), changes in water temp & weather, moon phases, etc. Combine as many as possible for a better chance at an exceptional day. Find concentrations of bait set up during a good time frame, and enjoy the results.

Te x a s S a l t w a t e r F i s h i n g M a g a z i n e l

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