Catching Up: October 2006

Hot, dry and calm. We've had day after day of uneventful weather. The fishing has remained consistently good in the Laguna Madre and all the way down to the Land Cut. Usually we have a slow period at the end of summer; it did slow some but nothing like years past when it would just get stagnant. We had one episode of low oxygen in Packery Channel that killed small bait fish. Nothing too bad, the pelicans enjoyed it.

We're still having good action from this wave of fish that came in last spring; hopefully it will last until winter. As of this writing we are experiencing a north wind with cooler temperatures. Good news, to me this means less crowded water and a lot more fishing. It's going to drop the water temperature and bunch the fish up and bunch the bait up. Things are going to go from hot and slow to fast and furious. It has been a great summer but, I'm definitely ready for fall.

A couple of weeks ago, Greg Woodard from Houston came down. We went south and began fishing early in the morning. We fished along a deep grass drop off keeping a look out for any sign of movement. We saw trout that were in pods of five to eight fish on the surface, we could sight-cast right to them. We caught a few as big as 27-inches but most of the time the smaller trout 18 to 20 inch range would hit the lure first. The action was great.

Woodard was using his favorite 7' rod. I asked him to try my 6'6" Waterloo HP Slam rod. I thought it would increase his accuracy in sight-casting these trout and reds. He really liked it and said that he's "Got to have one."

We were using the new Bass Assassin shrimp cocktail in the color they are calling drunk monkey along with the old tried and true 5-inch Saltwater Shad Bass Assassins in plum-chartreuse and bone diamond. We tried some top water, She Dogs in black and chrome and Super Spook Jr in bone and silver. We could actually see these big trout follow the lures up. Again the smaller trout were hitting it first. Maybe the big trout were just too hot. We even caught a few flounder, and the flounder bite should just keep getting better with the cooler water temperatures.

On another trip, a week ago, Ernest and Lee Allen came down with friends. These guys are excellent, hardcore, winter time wade fishermen. We've had many awesome winter fishing days together. This was their first time to come in the heat of summer.

We went south past Baffin Bay to a shallow flats area. As we waded up shallow, we could see dozens of drum; they looked like beer cans in the flats with their silver backs out of the water. The reds were mixed in there too.

Lee Allen brought his fly-fishing gear and had a blast; it was perfect for sight-casting reds and drum. Every time he had one on you could hear him laughing across the flats.

The other guys and I were fishing the deeper grass beds using soft plastics catching reds, trout and flounder. I decided to wade up to check on Lee; he was way up shallow about a half mile away from us. He was still laughing and still catching fish when I came up to him. So, I left him to go to the boat to move it closer. As I was slowly walking back, looking for fish along the way, I saw a big wake from my left coming in front of me. So I stopped and waited to let it go by, thinking it was a drum. As she moved in front of me I could see spots! Immediately, I flipped the pumpkinseed-chartreuse Sea Shad in front of her, it was only about ten feet away. She jumped on it like a duck on a Junebug. She went ballistic! The water was only one foot deep. I had to drop down on one knee to get my rod tip low enough to keep her head in the water so she would stay on. When I got her close to me I put my hand on her back and pushed her to the sand bottom. It was that shallow which really made it exciting. I can't believe she didn't see me before she hit, what luck. It made that long wade all worth it.

We fished two days together. They just kept a few fish the first day and on the second day we didn't even bring ice for the fish cooler. I know the Allen's are coming back this winter and I think they'll come back next summer too. Everyone enjoyed it.

The Gulf of Mexico has been beautiful. My wife and I have had the opportunity to go wade fishing on the beach. We'll stand there in shallow water watching the schools of baitfish come by and the trout will be cruising under them, right on the sand bar. Just be ready to make a cast.

During the fall season the conditions are perfect. The water is clear and the winds are usually light. The trout fishing should just get better with cooler temperatures. The redfish are in abundance. We're also offering flounder gigging and duck hunting trips this year.

We now offer accommodations on the water. A beautiful two bedroom and two bath, fully furnished condo on the water. We can pick you up at the dock and return you to a swimming pool, hot tub and a sunset.

Come on down, give us a call and we'll be happy to set up a memorable trip.