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.......

Fly Shop Friday ( ReelFLY)

I've been working my way around visiting all of the fly shops in my part of Texas in order to give myself and you a better perspective of these companies and the services offered by them to the fly fishing community.
This week took me to ReelFly Fishing Adventures in Sattler, TX almost a stones throw away from the Guadalupe River.

 

Walking into the shop is just like entering your front door, it's just that comfortable. As usual I had a lot of questions about trout fishing and they were great at answering them. So don't be afraid to ask for help or advice from them.

About ReelFly

The store opened in 2011 and is owned by Captain Brent Hodges who has been guiding on the Guadalupe river since 2006. Since opening, the variety of product in the shop has expanded to include  mosteverything you would need for freshwater and saltwater fly fishing. And it's the only place i've ever seen with .99 cent flies.


The Shop

Currently they offer guided trips on the Guadalupe and Colorado rivers for freshwater, and fly fishing the flats in Port O'Connor for saltwater. The shop also offers waders and fly rod rental as well as casting lessons. If you are looking for lodging when fishing the Guad they can help out with that as well with TheCreel B&B.

If you are up around the Guadalupe river and would be interested in a guided trip give them a call. Or if you just need to warm up with a cup of coffee after a morning wade, stop buy and swap some fishing stories.
It's always better on the river.........

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.

NUMA Polarized Sport and Ballistic Eyewear (Preview)

Got back from fishing the Coastal region in Texas today and found a package by the door. My NUMA optics Polarized glasses had arrived. I will be testing these out on fishing trips to see how well they work on the water. The two pair that will be tested are the Chisel Ballistic in black frame with copper lens and the Lo-Pro in black frame with copper lens.

Each pair of glasses came packaged inside a case and also included a cleaning cloth pouch.
What lured me to these glasses was the lens has an anti-scratch coating and are 100% UV protection. The other feature that fly fisherman should like is the safety feature of their shatterproof lenses which could come in handy in stopping a fly. Keep an eye out for the review.