State Record Redfish Caught

On February 27, 2007, Houston angler George Paauw stepped aboard fishing partner Fred Lynch's boat for a sightcasting trip to the flats. Paauw and Lynch had been fishing together for years and they were no strangers to catching redfish. But on that February morning, neither angler could have predicted Paauw would successfully sightcast and land a new State Record.

A native of the Rockies, Paauw learned to fly fish on narrow trout streams and placid mountain lakes. In 1994, Paauw moved to Houston and it wasn't long before he took a trip to the flats of the Texas coast to sightcast his first redfish. The adrenaline rush of spotting, stalking, and catching a tailing redfish hooked him on the shallow water game. As George put it, "There's nothing else as thrilling as casting to a tailing fish and watching it all happen."

Paauw's passion for sightfishing eventually led him to angler Fred Lynch. The two became friends and the search for big redfish was on. While fishing with Lynch in the summer of 2004, Paauw (who enthusiastically supports catch-and-release) caught and released a 43 inch redfish, realizing later the fish would likely have been a new State Record. And in the summer of 2006, George's young friend Josh Reynolds hooked and landed a 36 inch redfish while fishing with Lynch. Reynold's redfish is the current State Fly Fishing Record in the Junior Angler Division.

Because of their previous success at finding and catching large reds, Paauw and Lynch hoped they would one day have a shot at a monster. And they knew if the opportunity presented itself, they'd need to be prepared. So the two anglers vowed to tune up their gear and continue learning everything they could about hooking and landing big redfish on fly tackle.

Paauw's setup for the flats consisted of a Sage RPLX 8 wt. rod outfitted with a Tibor reel and Wulff floating fly line. George said, "I have several of the old Sage RPLX models in different weights. They're great rods. The Tibor reel is bulletproof. Top of the line equipment pays off in the long run. I have been using the same outfit for over 10 years."

And so on the afternoon of February 27, Paauw and Lynch drifted quietly across a deep flat, doing what they loved- looking for reds. On the final drift they noticed a commotion in the distance. It appeared to be several redfish tailing and stirring the bottom. As the two anglers approached, they realized what they had seen was not several tailing reds, but rather a single redfish- and it was huge.

Paauw held his breath and made several heart-pounding casts at the fish. On the third cast, Paauw landed his crab pattern slightly ahead of the red. As the crab fluttered down, the fish saw it and pounced. George recalls, "We both saw the fish attack that crab fly and Fred asked me if I had a good hook-up. I told him I did, but wasn't sure if my tackle could handle it. Although the redfish was super strong, it never took more than 70 yards of backing maybe because the cold water slowed it down a bit." After a 20 minute battle, the mighty redfish was netted and pulled onboard. Paauw and Lynch found themselves gawking at a real flats giant exactly what they had been searching for. All of their hard work and preparation had paid off.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has certified George Paauw's catch as the new official State Saltwater Record redfish in the Fly Rod Division. The redfish measured 46 inches long and weighed 35 lbs 13 oz. Congratulations George!