South Texas Fishing Industry Gathering

Preparing to write this month’s article it is hard not to dwell on the current state of things. Virtually all of Texas is in lockdown with orders to stay at home or shelter in place. Hopefully by the time you read this we’ll have come out the other side of this dark tunnel and straight into some serious spring fishing. 

I was fortunate to get in one last fishing road trip before all hell broke loose. Following the Houston Fishing Show I was invited to join a group of folks for several days of fishing and camaraderie on the far south end of the state where spring was already in full swing. Mark Nichols and Ed Zyak with D.O.A. Lures have been putting on these get-togethers for many years in Florida and I’ve been privileged to be a part of several outside of Texas. 

The official title is a “media event” and that likely better described the events of years past.  Writers from across the country would assemble at the designated location and spend a couple days fishing with local guides while using D.O.A. products. My first trip was an eye opener to the wide variety of lures produced by the company. I’d known Mark for a good while, but I had honestly only used his famous shrimp. In those two days I was able to test the entire line-up and enjoyed success with most. I now incorporate many of their offerings into my everyday fishing for everything from trout and reds to tarpon and snook. Mark truly has developed a lure for most any situation.

Three years ago Mark and Ed hired Captain Brian Barrera to handle D.O.A.’s business along the Texas coast. Part of that responsibility is organizing an annual gathering on the Lower Laguna Madre. I prefer to call it a gathering rather than media event because it truly has become a gathering of like-minded folks from across the fishing industry. Great food, adult beverages and good people with lots of fishing stories makes for a fun time even without the fishing.

In addition to writers and photographers, Mark includes others from companies with which he works closely.  It’s a great opportunity to get some hands-on with new products from companies like Hummingbird, Danco, ForEverlast, Shimano and Laguna Madre Clothing. Believe it or not, the new product that piqued my attention was a pair of protective wading socks. Billy Gerke, owner of ForEverlast, brought a pair of Ray Guard socks made of Kevlar. I’ve worn all manner of stingray protection over the years and this is by far the most comfortable and easiest to use.  Keep an eye on their Facebook page for the release announcement which should come sometime in the next month or so.

Enough of all that, let’s go fishing. I was assigned to Captain Ruby Delgado’s boat the first morning and she is an absolute pleasure to fish with. She knows those waters, runs a tight boat, and can spot a redfish as well as anybody I’ve been around. Mike Holliday with HUK clothing and fellow writer/photographer Kelly Groce were also onboard. I’ve fished with these ladies on past trips so we quickly fell into the good-natured ribbing that comes easy with a good crew. 

Ruby and Kelly were steadily hooking trout and reds throwing D.O.A.’s Paddle Tail Grub in Copper Crush under the D.O.A. Clacker Corks. I was being stubborn and sticking with the PT-7 just because I like topwaters. Blow-ups were steady from trout but I just couldn’t get any of them to fully commit. A few were impressive enough to turn every head on the boat. I feel sure I could’ve cleaned up had I given in and switched to a soft plastic. And Mike? Well Mike turned into the pin perch champion. His ability to hook those perch on a soft plastic and jighead was quite impressive and we let him know with a round of cheers each and every time. In the end we all caught fish and had plenty of laughs. What more can you ask for?

The next morning I was assigned to Captain Larry Hensley, along with Mitch Dreisbach, president of Danco, and Taylor Winzeler, owner of Laguna Madre Clothing. Our day started with Mitch carefully putting together sandwiches for each of us. Very thoughtful of him. As we skimmed across the ultra-clear shallows headed towards the Arroyo, Taylor and I were enjoying the smooth ride on the front seat. That was interrupted when Mitch leaned over the windshield to ask Taylor if he had brought the sandwiches. Taylor’s immediate head drop provided the answer. I’m not sure how many times it was said during the day but, “You know what would be really good right now? A sandwich!” will never not be funny amongst our group. 

The fishing was a bit slow throughout the day, but Capt. Hensley never gave up and through making several moves we scratched out a few fish. As a fellow guide I felt for him. Some days are harder than others, but you still want every one of them to be stellar. He put far more pressure on himself than the crew did. It was a very enjoyable day just with all the conversation about the fishing industry, kids, mutual friends, etc. Catching was a bonus.

The event was officially over and everyone was headed home on the third morning. Everyone except Rex DeGuzman and myself. Brian had teased us with photos of snook for weeks prior to the event and it was time for the payoff. We only had a few hours in our schedules to get it done. Brian hustled from spot to spot trying every trick in the book. We saw dozens of snook  and got in some good casts, but alas, they just weren’t in the mood. At one spot I tossed a weightless C.A.L. Jerk Bait right in front of a very large snook who couldn’t have acted less interested.

So with time running out we made one last stop. Brian said since sight-casting wasn’t working it was time to dredge. He tied on one ounce jig heads, yes I said one ounce, and threaded on 3” C.A.L. Shad Tail in Texas Croaker. It’s a purple over clear gold flake that I’ve been using quite a bit over the last year. The Humminbird showed we were sitting in about 15’ of water and spot locked with the Minn Kota a very long cast from the bank. Brian instructed us to throw as close to the bank as possible and then make a steady, fairly-fast retrieve maintaining bottom contact.  He said you’ll likely get some tap bites that’ll be ladyfish, but when a snook hits it’ll feel like the lure just stopped. 

Brian was dead on. Tap-tap and a ladyfish would vault into the air, but with the leverage of the heavy jig we could get them to throw it fairly easily. I had quite a few of those pesky ladies and then it happened. The lure stopped dead and I set the hook on a really nice snook. They turned on a that point and we had more snook than ladyfish over the next hour or so. Rex got his first-ever snook and there were high fives all around.

Man I love catching Texas snook. And doing it in this unorthodox manner with a lure I’d never have thrown made it even sweeter. As we were wrapping up I asked Brian how he had settled on using a one ounce head and he replied, “Because we don’t make a two ounce.”  Fair enough.

And you know what would be good right about now? A sandwich!   

Preparing to write this month’s article it is hard not to dwell on the current state of things. Virtually all of Texas is in lockdown with orders to stay at home or shelter in place. Hopefully by the time you read this we’ll have come out the other side of this dark tunnel and straight into some serious spring fishing. 

I was fortunate to get in one last fishing road trip before all hell broke loose. Following the Houston Fishing Show I was invited to join a group of folks for several days of fishing and camaraderie on the far south end of the state where spring was already in full swing. Mark Nichols and Ed Zyak with D.O.A. Lures have been putting on these get-togethers for many years in Florida and I’ve been privileged to be a part of several outside of Texas. 

The official title is a “media event” and that likely better described the events of years past.  Writers from across the country would assemble at the designated location and spend a couple days fishing with local guides while using D.O.A. products. My first trip was an eye opener to the wide variety of lures produced by the company. I’d known Mark for a good while, but I had honestly only used his famous shrimp. In those two days I was able to test the entire line-up and enjoyed success with most. I now incorporate many of their offerings into my everyday fishing for everything from trout and reds to tarpon and snook. Mark truly has developed a lure for most any situation.

Three years ago Mark and Ed hired Captain Brian Barrera to handle D.O.A.’s business along the Texas coast. Part of that responsibility is organizing an annual gathering on the Lower Laguna Madre. I prefer to call it a gathering rather than media event because it truly has become a gathering of like-minded folks from across the fishing industry. Great food, adult beverages and good people with lots of fishing stories makes for a fun time even without the fishing.

In addition to writers and photographers, Mark includes others from companies with which he works closely.  It’s a great opportunity to get some hands-on with new products from companies like Hummingbird, Danco, ForEverlast, Shimano and Laguna Madre Clothing. Believe it or not, the new product that piqued my attention was a pair of protective wading socks. Billy Gerke, owner of ForEverlast, brought a pair of Ray Guard socks made of Kevlar. I’ve worn all manner of stingray protection over the years and this is by far the most comfortable and easiest to use.  Keep an eye on their Facebook page for the release announcement which should come sometime in the next month or so.

Enough of all that, let’s go fishing. I was assigned to Captain Ruby Delgado’s boat the first morning and she is an absolute pleasure to fish with. She knows those waters, runs a tight boat, and can spot a redfish as well as anybody I’ve been around. Mike Holliday with HUK clothing and fellow writer/photographer Kelly Groce were also onboard. I’ve fished with these ladies on past trips so we quickly fell into the good-natured ribbing that comes easy with a good crew. 

Ruby and Kelly were steadily hooking trout and reds throwing D.O.A.’s Paddle Tail Grub in Copper Crush under the D.O.A. Clacker Corks. I was being stubborn and sticking with the PT-7 just because I like topwaters. Blow-ups were steady from trout but I just couldn’t get any of them to fully commit. A few were impressive enough to turn every head on the boat. I feel sure I could’ve cleaned up had I given in and switched to a soft plastic. And Mike? Well Mike turned into the pin perch champion. His ability to hook those perch on a soft plastic and jighead was quite impressive and we let him know with a round of cheers each and every time. In the end we all caught fish and had plenty of laughs. What more can you ask for?

The next morning I was assigned to Captain Larry Hensley, along with Mitch Dreisbach, president of Danco, and Taylor Winzeler, owner of Laguna Madre Clothing. Our day started with Mitch carefully putting together sandwiches for each of us. Very thoughtful of him. As we skimmed across the ultra-clear shallows headed towards the Arroyo, Taylor and I were enjoying the smooth ride on the front seat. That was interrupted when Mitch leaned over the windshield to ask Taylor if he had brought the sandwiches. Taylor’s immediate head drop provided the answer. I’m not sure how many times it was said during the day but, “You know what would be really good right now? A sandwich!” will never not be funny amongst our group. 

The fishing was a bit slow throughout the day, but Capt. Hensley never gave up and through making several moves we scratched out a few fish. As a fellow guide I felt for him. Some days are harder than others, but you still want every one of them to be stellar. He put far more pressure on himself than the crew did. It was a very enjoyable day just with all the conversation about the fishing industry, kids, mutual friends, etc. Catching was a bonus.

The event was officially over and everyone was headed home on the third morning. Everyone except Rex DeGuzman and myself. Brian had teased us with photos of snook for weeks prior to the event and it was time for the payoff. We only had a few hours in our schedules to get it done. Brian hustled from spot to spot trying every trick in the book. We saw dozens of snook  and got in some good casts, but alas, they just weren’t in the mood. At one spot I tossed a weightless C.A.L. Jerk Bait right in front of a very large snook who couldn’t have acted less interested.

So with time running out we made one last stop. Brian said since sight-casting wasn’t working it was time to dredge. He tied on one ounce jig heads, yes I said one ounce, and threaded on 3” C.A.L. Shad Tail in Texas Croaker. It’s a purple over clear gold flake that I’ve been using quite a bit over the last year. The Humminbird showed we were sitting in about 15’ of water and spot locked with the Minn Kota a very long cast from the bank. Brian instructed us to throw as close to the bank as possible and then make a steady, fairly-fast retrieve maintaining bottom contact.  He said you’ll likely get some tap bites that’ll be ladyfish, but when a snook hits it’ll feel like the lure just stopped. 

Brian was dead on. Tap-tap and a ladyfish would vault into the air, but with the leverage of the heavy jig we could get them to throw it fairly easily. I had quite a few of those pesky ladies and then it happened. The lure stopped dead and I set the hook on a really nice snook. They turned on a that point and we had more snook than ladyfish over the next hour or so. Rex got his first-ever snook and there were high fives all around.

Man I love catching Texas snook. And doing it in this unorthodox manner with a lure I’d never have thrown made it even sweeter. As we were wrapping up I asked Brian how he had settled on using a one ounce head and he replied, “Because we don’t make a two ounce.”  Fair enough.

And you know what would be good right about now? A sandwich!