SUPerFISHal

Had the chance to play around with a paddle board during the summer that I was doing a review on and found out that it was different but fun. During the winter, money was saved and a Jackson Kayak SUPerFISHal was ordered. Wednesday after work I drove to the dealer and picked up my new SUP.

As I headed back out of town, thoughts ran through my head of how this SUP should be rigged out. Upon arriving back home this afternoon I went ahead and added the two rod holders that come with it onto their Ram mounts and placed the K2 Cooler into the position it should be.

A few tie down straps will have to be added to keep the cooler more secure and I might add a drag chain to slow or stop the SUP when I need to. Guess a new SUP paddle will need to be saved for now.

I'll do a review on it as soon as some time is spent on the water fly fishing from it.

Trout on Glass

Yesterday I had a few hours and was able to get away for a quick trip so after gathering a few things and driving to the Guad it was time to catch some trout on the new Matthews Fiberglass rod.

This was my first time to fish fiberglass but it didn't take long to put a smile on my face. The casts were crisp and sensitive. Wading downstream I stopped and talked to a few fisherman and all had the same response, the flow is down, water is murky, and the fishing is tough. Proceeding to an area and tying on a streamer I began to cover some water without any luck so I switched over to a nymph rig and covered more ground.

With this not producing and occasionally seeing rising fish my strategy changed and a dry fly was tied on with an emerger dangling six inches from the hook. After a few casts a bow slapped the dry and missed but the next one to hit was not so lucky. After a good fight the fish was brought to hand and quickly released after a picture.

Here is the video from the take to the end shot on the Go-Pro.


Rainbow on the Guadalupe River from Robert Matthews on Vimeo.

The fight on a fiberglass rod was fun as you got to see in the video. Can't wait to fish it again.

Bonefish off the Bucket List

Cozumel, Mexico was the destination. Given only one day to scratch Bonefish from my Bucket List, we sent our wives for a day of fun and sun on the beach while myself and two friends met up with a guide to give it a shot.

 Traveling light, I took the custom 8wt and Solitude5 reel along for the adventure.

After a forty minute boat ride in some rough water we manuvered into the sheltered Lagoon and anchored the boat. Jumping over the side of the Panga we seperated with me going solo with a guide since I was fly fishing and the others going to work a different stretch of water with the guides brother.

With the fish feeding on shrimp, I was given a streamer that closely imitated the bait in the lagoon.

The wind was howling as the front approached. With overcast skies and spotty rain showers it made for a rough time trying to sightfish and spot tailing bones. Suddenly two appeared within casting range. As the fly sailed in their direction, it's direction was changed and the fish went away spooked. We covered a lot of water occasionaly spotting a few tailing bones out of casting range and dissapearing as we approached.
Then it happened. Pointing in the direction of the feeding fish I stalked within casting range. Three casts later as the fly was stripped, the bite was felt and the hookset was perfect. The bone took line and surprised me with it's power as it headed towards a grove of mangrove bushes. With all of the line out and into backing, I tightened the drag and leaned on the fish trying to turn it. After successfully turning the fish it made another run and the line went limp. Epic fail as I watched a 5-6lb class Bonefish swim away. Reeling in the line I found that the knot held but the hook had been straightened.

Tying a new fly on and covering more ground, we moved to a deeper part of the lagoon and fan casted the area. It wasn't long and the fly stopped on a strip and the fight was on. Knowing that these fish are hard to catch it put a big smile on my face as my hand slid under it's belly and the fish lifted for a picture before releasing. Success was finally mine.

The 1/2 day trip ended with me catching three Bonefish and one of my friends catching another.

Next on the list of many is Redfish......

First 2013 Fish

It's here, a new year, and the fish are still biting. The Guadalupe river is still producing nice trout and the fish have started to hit the surface. I've seen many fish rising and have been catching a few on dry's.
Wading downstream to get to a hole, I placed a cast upstream with a dry as I shuffled my feet along the slick rocks trying to keep from falling. Instintively the rod was raised high into the air to take up any slack and hopefully get a good hookset as the water exploded behing me.
Fish On, and the battle began as the bow realized the mistake it had made by inhaling what it thought was an easy meal. After a good battle the fish came to the net and was kind enough to pose for a picture.

The rain continued to fall and it got colder as the day grew longer to the point where my fingers were getting pretty numb from being wet. But I trudged on since the fish didn't seem to mind the weather.

I'm not very good at naming flies but these are the drys that have been producing. Basically my friends at ReelFly pick out what is needed and it works.

Guess i'll have to go get cold again tomorrow....
Good luck on the river...and enjoy it's beauty.

Robert

East Bay Birthday

There it was, my Birthday Redfish working the shallow shell and mud bank heading straight toward me, with small shrimp eagerly jumping out of the way trying not to become fish food. The fish that has been eluding me all year was going to happen. Putting the paddle down and picking up the custom Mini Mag, I gathered the line floating in the water and proceeded to make my cast which came to an abrupt halt as the fly had gotten hung up on oyster shell. Putting the fly rod down I grabbed a spinning rod and flicked a short cast with a spook to the redfish that was now on top of me. One twitch and the water exploded and the fight was on. Landing the fish started a great day with friends on the water and a day where many more would be caught.

Fished hard with the fly rod until the wind picked up with no takers, the good thing is I still have a few weeks to try it again.
The trip was to East Bay in Matagorda where eight friends met up for two days of excellent fishing. While I spent both days targeting redfish the rest of the crew targeted trout which are abundant here during the winter months.

Damon with a nice stringer of trout

Friends are what it's all about.......

After the Rain-Bows

I'm off Tuesday, let's go catch some trout on the river.... Those were the words that filled my ears while visiting with Brent from ReelFly Fishing Adventures Fly Shop in Sattler, TX last week. It began when I wanted to learn more about fishing for trout on the Guadalupe river. I didn't Google it. I just walked up the stairs and opened the door to my local fly shop and asked how the guide trips on the  river have been. Turns out when you are as busy guiding other people, you don't have time to get on the water for fishing and relaxing yourself. I'll chalk it up to right place at the right time, and it would give us a chance to talk about the custom rod design we are working on for the store.

I was greeted in the morning by Ryan, a friend of mine who guides out of the shop and would be joining us on the day . I have fished with him before and always enjoyed the company. After launching the raft and completing the shuttle we were soon on our way.

Anchoring the raft we proceeded to hop in the river for a wade. Working the current that was going through the washed away limestone, it didn't take long for me to connect with my first bow of the day.

The water was off colored from the rain that came through the night before with a cold front and the winds had filled up the water with needles from the majestic cypress trees that line the banks making the presentation pretty hard and the fishing rougher.

As the day progressed we were able to bring many trout to the net and shake off quite a few more. The knowledge that I learned on how to read the river and patterns to use on the trout can't be found on the web. Priceless.......

Thank's again to Brent for offering to take a friend fishing.

and to Ryan for not only tying those small fly's on my line but for all of the paddling he did during the 5 1/2 mile trip.

If you are looking to catch some trout on the Guad. Give the guys at ReelFly a call and you will be completely satisfied and come away with a better understanding of this great fishery.

Enjoy the slideshow and thanks for reading,
Robert

Cold Front Fishing in Rockport

After the trip we took to Aransas Pass in July, the three of us decided that we would meet again before Thanksgiving and give it another go. Soon, three became four and we headed South and met up in Copano Bay to spend four days of fishing and hanging out telling lies.

After unloading we made the short drive to Lighthouse Lakes and were greeted with a roaring wind. Soon we were on our way across the channel and into the lakes. It was cold and the water was up and moving. We fished hard and caught a few when the wind died some as darkness approached.

We reached the grocery store and gathered supplies needed for the next three days. Returning to the house Chuck began to prepare dinner for the night, chicken fried backstrap with pan gravy and mashed potatoes. We ate till we couldn't eat anymore and divided the rest that we would eat for lunch.

Friday morning started off the same. Alarm went off at 5am and walked outside only to be greeted with heavy winds and duck hunters. We gave them some space and proceeded to fish the channel on the other side of the highway. We didn't do any good but stuck it out until the afternoon hoping the wind would die down and we could hit the lakes again. Paddling to the lakes was a chore and you wondered to yourself if any ground was being made. 

Once again the wind slowed down and the fish seemed to turn on some. Wading and looking foe tails was a task so it was pretty much cast and hope. Soon we had a few and headed back for a night of food and listening to the high school  football playoffs going on.

Saturday we slept in until 7am and went out for breakfast. The whole time trying to fool the wind, figured if it thought we weren't going out then it would die down. Not working. Headed to Light House and decided to stay in there the whole day. The fishing again wasn't happening so we explored Mangrove trails and just kicked back taking in the sights of the massive amount of ducks moving through the area.

 Soon as the sun began to fall, I tied a popper on and found some tailing reds. Three massive explosions later and no fish hooked, they were blowing it out of the water. As it got darker I paddled back to the group and found Derek hooked up with his first redfish.

After cleaning the fish the pit was lit and we were soon eating grilled fish and potato chips.

A great time was had again. The fishing was not the greatest but the company of great friends made up for it. Looking forward to doing it again.