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.......

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.

Bone Boards "walk on water"

While fishing on the Guadalupe river one day, a group of people paddled by me on stand up paddle boards. Watching them glide along, my mind began wandering at the possibility of fly fishing from one. Arriving at the casa, the laptop was pulled out and a search brought me some results and even a local company close to me in San Antonio. After reviewing the board from this new company, I sent an e-mail to the owner with an inquiry to test one out and in return I would do a review. The next morning their was a reply from Bone Boards and I was able to pick a board up and use. 

The Bone Board is built from a rigid closed cell foam that gives it strength and keeps the weight down. Design Specs.
Looking over the board I was impressed with the detail and thought that was put into it.
With a length of 12 feet and width of 32 inches it was stable for it's size. It came with a marine grade aluminum rack that incorporates two rear rod holders and a side paddle holder. The rack is also fitted to hold the Igloo 14 can cooler that is included with the package and a  carbon fiber paddle that comes apart and has an internal steel stake out pin that goes through a hole in the board to keep you in place.

 I was a little hesitant at first to take it on the river because of the abundance of rocks. After a few trips out on the river I don't think you would have a lot of issues unless you are careless and run it into the rocks at high speed. With the light weight, I was able to carry it whenever I had to portage and was surprised at how tough the laminate on the bottom was with the rocks that it did scrape against.

Standing was fairly easy and at 250 lbs I felt stable enough to fish and paddle the board as it was designed. 
Paddling the board was a little bit of an adventure. The board would get nose heavy but it was due to my weight. After talking with the designer they are in the thought process of designing a second board which will be over 13 ft in length and have a wider stance to help out someone like myself. I was able to paddle it at a good pace once I adjusted the trim by backing up some on the board.
Rack, being collapsible and made out of marine grade aluminum it was light and fit perfect into the recessed holes incorporated into the board. The rack was then held in place by a buckle tie down like you would find on a casting platform on a boat.
Paddle, built 100% from carbon fiber, it was light and had the appropriate blade angle that allowed you to really dig when you wanted to cover ground or you turned it around when using it to position for a cast. It also comes apart by pushing a pin and inside is a metal stakeout pin to be used to anchor yourself in place when fishing a flat or if you want to get off and wade.

The standing area of the board is recessed and fitted with a nice foam pad that allows you to stand comfortably for a long period of time. The cooler is a nice addition when using the rack which has a recess that holds it perfectly. I was also able to leave the rack at home and just use my K-2 cooler as a platform to sit on when I wanted to take a break or paddle around.

Overall I think the design is great and functional. Some suggestions I would make would be to add grab handles to make it easier to carry, offer it in other than black. I realize that it was designed primarily for fishing the flats in Saltwater but I was impressed with it's ability to take on the river. I'm looking forward to seeing a larger model and wish them luck with the board.

Another Snook Trip

The title  is a little misleading since this was my first time to go fish for Snook. The trip resulted from an invite to head down with a group of fifteen other fisherman to South Padre Island on their annual trip. For such a large and diverse group the trip couldn't have gone any better....well, except for the weather.
The adventure began with me hitching a ride with a group from Austin, all whom I had never met and ended with me making fifteen new friends as well as fisherman who I would be glad to fish with any day.
There were a few bumps along the journey to get there.

We ran out of gas upon reaching Corpus but were rescued by a couple of fisherman who were fishing the river where we pulled over at. We were then pulled over an hour later for a lame excuse just to check us out.
Upon reaching the house at 2am, greetings and introductions were made with the rest of the group and a plan was put into motion for the next morning. Getting up after three hours of sleep, we were greeted with a steady rain and howling winds. When it started to clear up we made our way to Holly Beach and were welcomed with some calm water. It would soon change again. 

Upon reaching the island we started to catch some trout and a few Redfish before the wind came back making the paddle back to the beach tiring.

Back at the house we waited for the weather to let up.

The rain let up again but the wind was pushing thirty easily. A few had fished the Jetty in the morning so we took a ride and tried our hand at some of the Tarpon that had been rolling earlier. 
How often do you run into a clown fishing the Jetties, not very often....but I did.

I had the pleasure of getting to fish the Jetty with Austin Orr an extremely talented fly fisherman as well as an accomplished instructor. He went out of his way to answer any question that I had as well as help me with my casting in the wind, thanks again Austin.

The next morning was the same. We woke up to rain and wind and waited it out. Around 11am we drove to a flat and waded while the door was open. The wade resulted in multiple reds and trout, with Austin catching a nice one on the fly.

That evening some went back to the flat and the rest of us chose to put the kayaks over the bulkhead and fish the lighted docks trying for Snook.

The fishing started slow with a few trout caught, then Jeremy hooked a large ray on the fly rod.

 After getting it into the net we paddled over to a restaurant and grabbed a bite before heading back out. It was pretty funny watching all of the people looking at us as we docked and entered to eat.

Finally, I caught my first Trout on the fly rod, along with Skip Jack and a few Croaker. Still no Snook for me though.

The trip was great and i'm already looking forward to the next one. Thanks to Jeremy for the invite as well as putting it all together.

Enjoy the slideshow.

Saltwater Life

Living in Texas is diverse when it comes to fishing. The opportunity to fish freshwater and saltwater are abundant, it just takes a bit of driving. I have been taking two of my best friends on river trips with me and they wanted to pay me back with a trip for Redfish on the Coast. We arrived in Copano Bay on Friday with less than perfect conditions due to the scalding hot temperatures and high winds, we were forced to pull out a map and find a protected area to fish from the kayaks.

We found a location and got to fish for a few hours before dark. The wind was brutal but I was able to haul in one Redfish out of a grass flat.
The next mourning found us in the same location. Again the wind would not cooperate today so I headed deep into the flat trying to avoid it. The water was very muddy so we paddled out through the waves and staked the kayaks in order to fish a reef. Was able to salvage the morning with a few trout and we added one flounder.

After reading so much about Lighthouse Lakes we changed our plans and headed that way to scout in the afternoon hoping to find cleaner water for Sunday. Not knowing where to go I sent a message out on a forum and it was answered by Capt. Dean Thomas from Slow Ride Guide Services. It's not often that a guide will be willing to share information, but he did and I thank him.
Arriving at LHL we were greeted with the same winds but clearer water. After unloading we paddled across the channel and entered the lakes. Think I found my second home as I was amazed at the water as well as the different options to fish in this area. We scouted and explored the Mango groves and decided that this is where we would fish the next day.



Me, Chuck, and Ron

After eating at the Boiling Pot we made it back to the house and hit the sack being tired from paddling and fighting the wind all day. Sunday called for rain and calmer winds.
If this is what they mean by calm i'll take it any day.

Smooth as glass

Paddling, I looked for any sign of feeding Redfish. It didn't take long to hook up with my first of the day.

Hearing the water erupt, all you could see were tails as a large school of Redfish were working their way towards me. When in casting distance, a spoon was cast past them and then brought back where it was met with a solid take. Setting the hook cause the school to explode and go in different directions and I was awarded with my largest of the day.

Spent most of the morning chasing schools of Redfish as well as picking off a few while working the flats. As the storms approached and the rain started to fall we fished until noon then headed back to load up for the return trip. Can't wait to get back out there.

Ron with a nice red

Stood up and paddled the rest of the way in, need to bring a push pole next time.



Muddy water Redfish

As I drove the 600 miles to Mississippi, all I could think about was catching my first Redfish on a fly. My wife and youngest daughter make this trip with me every year so the Big Tuna was the kayak of choice since it can be fished tandem or solo. We were staying at my cousins house on the edge of Bay St Louis, with it's many fingers coming off the river it looked like there would be plenty of opportunity to hook up with some fish. Waking up in the morning I paddled out of the canal into the river working my way across to one of the many fingers to explore.

The water is very muddy with hardly any visibility which made it hard to see any of the Redfish as I worked my way through the grass flats. A few fish broke the surface by me and exploded on the shrimp imitator that was presented to them, taking to the air I had hooked up with my first of many Skip Jack that were in the area. The poor man's Tarpon doesn't dissapoint with it's strength and multiple jumps as it tried to get free.

The area was so fishy looking and I was able to catch a limit of Reds but they all came on a baitcaster.

Some of the area that was fished. This is from inside of one of the fingers that I explored.

 Paddled around 5-6 miles every day and caught a limit each day of Redfish. Upon returning to the house on the second afternoon the water erupted by me. I tossed a spinnerbait into the flurry and immediately hooked up with something large that pulled me around in the kayak for over twenty minutes. I had to tighten the drag all the way down and thumb the spool so I didn't get spooled. Finally it came to the kayak and when I went to net it the Jack Cravelle had one more burst left in it and broke my 40lb braid. What a fight that was, guess it didn't want it's picture taken.
Sunday came and my Cousin and I drove to Louisiana to meet up with our friend that we fish with in Myrtle Grove which is one of the areas that is part of the Swamp Men Alligator hunting show.
I took the Mini Mag as well as baitcaster and was determined to catch a Red on the fly. Again I was met with muddy water and strong winds but I still threw it and struck out. Needing fish for the fish fry I picked up the baitcaster and was able to put a couple of Reds in the boat. It is hard throwing a fly rod with three people in the boat, I laughed everytime they ducked.

While I fished everyday my wife and daughter caught crabs for the big feast. Here are some pictures of the buffet.

The best part of the trip was spending the time with my family and completely ignoring work. The highlight of the trip was rigging the kayak tandem and paddling my daughter around as she fished.

Slideshow of the many pictures taken during the week.
Again, thank you for reading and following me on my adventures.