Fishing has been put on the back burner this semester, classes were tough and free time for a trip to the coast was as abundant as the chupacabra. on 12/12 I was able to make a trip down to the coast for the first time in a good while, powderhorn lake was my destination which lies in west Matagorda bay and right in between Port Lavaca and Port O'connor. The wind was howling and the catching was slow. I needed redemption like a fat kid needs cake.
Being on winter break, I'm taking advantage of every day I have to try to get on some fish. Winter has been my favorite part of the year to fish here in Texas and this December has been awesome weather wise. Looking to make another trip, I checked the forecasts and tides and decided to try and make a trip out today to try and fish some flats in Port Aransas and as a scouting trip for another trip me and a buddy are going on Wednesday (fingers crossed) weather permitting.
Today's trip started off pretty bad. First off, half way there after leaving the house by 5:00 this morning, I realized I forgot my stake out stick. I've had to deal with worse, like only having half a paddle, but knew it would be a huge inconvenience. I was planning on using my fly rod exclusively as I just got some new line, as I was unloading the truck at the launch I realized I forgot my fly box. I was hoping this wouldn't be an indication as to how the rest of the day would go. Anyways, let's get down to the fishing...
I laucnched at 8:00 this morning planning on fishing some flats. With the warm weather we've been having, the fish have still been active on the flats, especially when the sun is out and warming up the shallow water. The wind was blowing from the south an dless than 5mph, it was smooth as glass, and of course I didn't have my fly rod!!
Being on winter break, I'm taking advantage of every day I have to try to get on some fish. Winter has been my favorite part of the year to fish here in Texas and this December has been awesome weather wise. Looking to make another trip, I checked the forecasts and tides and decided to try and make a trip out today to try and fish some flats in Port Aransas and as a scouting trip for another trip me and a buddy are going on Wednesday (fingers crossed) weather permitting.
Today's trip started off pretty bad. First off, half way there after leaving the house by 5:00 this morning, I realized I forgot my stake out stick. I've had to deal with worse, like only having half a paddle, but knew it would be a huge inconvenience. I was planning on using my fly rod exclusively as I just got some new line, as I was unloading the truck at the launch I realized I forgot my fly box. I was hoping this wouldn't be an indication as to how the rest of the day would go. Anyways, let's get down to the fishing...
I laucnched at 8:00 this morning planning on fishing some flats. With the warm weather we've been having, the fish have still been active on the flats, especially when the sun is out and warming up the shallow water. The wind was blowing from the south an dless than 5mph, it was smooth as glass, and of course I didn't have my fly rod!!
As I'm paddling towards the flats I pass some small islands with mangrove shorelines, surrounded by some roughly 2.5' deep flats with grass and sand pockets. The water on this shoreline was pretty clear and looked fantastic. I get to the other side and notice a lot of activity of the surface of the water and plenty of nervous bait. I decided to stop here and check it out. Having caught only jack and shit on a topwater, I thought now would be a good opportunity to put it to the test with fish obviously feeding on top so I tie on skitterwalk. Within a couple casts I hookup to a rat red.
|
I fish this spot for about an hour/hour and a half. Every few casts results in a blowup. It was amazing to watch these fish come up out of the water to attack the skitterwalk. Unfortunately, most of these blowups missed. I will be honest here, I attribute a lot of these failed hookups to my inexperience with topwaters, the red above was my first ever fish on top. I was using an eratic and quick retrieve and thought that if maybe I slowed it down, I may get more hookups. When I tried this, it got no attention at all. They weren't all failed hookups however, weeding through a couple more rat reds (17-19" range) I managed to hookup to a 22" red. This thing annihilated the skitterwalk, a scene straight out of jaws. Few more casts and I get a hookup, only to be disappointed when it comes off. I get another massive blowup and he was on! This guy was on for no more than 10 seconds, then he was gone. I look at my skitterwalk and see that one of the hooks on the treble broke off. This SOB had some size to him. By about 9:30 the bite had died.
With the fish scattered, I go looking around in some guts to see if either they or any trout are hanging out. A few bumps, but no commitments using a h&h minnow. After a couple hours of no takers, I decided to try some shorelines again as I paddle back towards my truck. As I paddle up along the mangroves I spot a tail waving at me. As quickly as I saw it, it was gone. My go to lure for this situation is usually a buggs. They have a weedguard which is great especially for the mid coast with all of the grass, and its only an 1/8th ounce. When they are tailing, their faces are in the mud, you need something you can get down there to them in the grass but not have it get caught up in it. That's definitely one thing that I have had to adjust to since fishing the upper coast. Fishing the upper coast marshes, you're almost always dealing with a straight mud bottom with no grass, so your options as to what to throw in this situation are usually a bit broader.
With the fish scattered, I go looking around in some guts to see if either they or any trout are hanging out. A few bumps, but no commitments using a h&h minnow. After a couple hours of no takers, I decided to try some shorelines again as I paddle back towards my truck. As I paddle up along the mangroves I spot a tail waving at me. As quickly as I saw it, it was gone. My go to lure for this situation is usually a buggs. They have a weedguard which is great especially for the mid coast with all of the grass, and its only an 1/8th ounce. When they are tailing, their faces are in the mud, you need something you can get down there to them in the grass but not have it get caught up in it. That's definitely one thing that I have had to adjust to since fishing the upper coast. Fishing the upper coast marshes, you're almost always dealing with a straight mud bottom with no grass, so your options as to what to throw in this situation are usually a bit broader.
With not having luck with that guy, I paddle around this shoreline for a little longer, spotting a tail here and there, only to have it disappear before I can throw anything to it. Regardless, tailing redfish is an awesome sight to see, and the scenery in Port Aransas with all of its mangroves and clear flats is second to none. With the winds picking up and the weather cooling off I decide to head in at 1:00 with 2 reds for the frying pan.
Despite not being able to scratch up that last red for a limit, and all the speed bumps prior to getting on the water, it was a great day on the water and even more memorable with catching them on tops, for the first time. If today was any indication, it's going to be a great winter of fishing on the Texas Coast.