April 14, 2016
Backwater Adventures
A 11
Island Moon
On the Rocks
Spring Winds
By Joey Farah
By Jay Gardner So I just got back in from Port Aransas, and there is some serious birding going on out there! I was at the Texas Bays and Estuaries meeting (cool stuff!) and I decided to bomb out for lunch and see what was hanging around. You know there’s some good birds when the parking lot at Paradise pond is full. So I walked quietly out there, and sure enough, the chalkboard was full of goodies such as worm-eating warblers, Kentucky warblers, scarlet tanagers, orchard orioles, etc. Fun stuff! There were a few seasoned veterans holding court on the boardwalk, telling everyone that came through (whether they asked or not) what the soup de jour was. I always giggle at these folks, who assume that no one else knows anything about birds and that people have actually come to see them instead of the birds. They make me laugh inside.
Farah’s Fishing Adventures If you are waiting for the winds to calm down you will not be going fishing for quite a while. We usually stare out over rough seas during the month of March, with winds to 30 mph daily. This is the second week of April and we have only just begun to see the southeast winds take over. This is a great thing and the key ingredient in the improvement of water quality and fishing. Strong southeast winds will push water into the bay system from the gulf.. The time to get out and do some spring fishing is now, not when the winds stop. Some important things to remember this week is while drifting keep the corks separated. Too much noise from multiple corks will spook fish and make tangles for you as well. Many times if you have four anglers try several different styles of corks and find out what type and leader length is working best. When positioning the boat do not drift the exact same drift every time, the boat’s presence when drifting will move and spook fish so alternate your path to stay in water you have not fished. Sometimes you can return back to a productive drift 30min later and do well. The flats just beside the ICW will hold a lot of gamefish at this time because the shrimp migration is centered on the ICW Channel. Shrimp will move at night and then settle in the muddy bottoms close to the channel at first light. Look for groups of birds to be hanging out on spoil islands and the side of the channel to indicate where the most concentrated areas are for bait. When the water clarity is dirty try a small red or glow bead at the hook to catch the eye of predatory fish. The addition of scent to your live bait only increases your chances so look for PRO CURE and FISHBITES at Marker 37 for an added spice to your bait.
Capt Farah and Cove with another monster redfish from Baffin Bay this week. us around. Over the years the cove has had a number of Dolphins wash up and die there. I was always curious about that and mentioned it to an old commercial fishermen once and he told me they all go there to die. Like a mystical bone yard on fabled times where whales settled on the beach in their last days. The herd always sticks around for a few days to say their goodbyes and then leaves. We stopped the boat and the winds whistled in our ears. The first cast I made over the edge of the drop off was a short one into a small washed out hole. THUMP! I could see a redfish bolt out over the shallow sand like a kid that stole a cookie. He turned against the bend of the Waterloo Rod and with that his head rose out of the water in an explosion of white water. I turned him up into the skinny water and enjoyed watching him come to hand a few minutes later in shin deep water. I bent down and pinned him to the bottom. The DOA SHRIMP was perfect on the outside of his mouth like I planted it there for a photo. I turned to the rest of the anglers still putting on their waders, with an outstretched hand I flipped him back into the water like a sacrifice. They jumped out and spread out while I just stood close to the boat. With rods bending every now and then I relaxed and got in the boat. I stood with my eyes closed and put my face into the winds. I could smell the ocean and the grass growning on the dunes. The salt and seaweed that lay on the barren sands behind the dunes. These I thought are pure winds, absent of city life, city stress, city drama. I breathed a little harder and let the Winds of Spring fill my lungs and heart. When I let out all the air in a long breath, with it came out all the winter in my soul. I felt the sun peak out of the clouds and with it a new beginning. Spring is here ride the winds of change and enjoy all our blessings along the Ocean.
Stacy and Scott with Stacy’s first drum. Baffin Bay The bow of the boat listed to the side as the winds hammered against the boat. The sound of the radio disappeared in the wind and spray. When the boat finally stopped behind Padre Island a peaceful quiet overcame us like we had just stepped out into a different world. The winds wiped swirls across the shallow flat that stretched for miles up to the back of the sand dunes of Padre’ Island. Old Father Island had held his arms up and protected this small cove for centuries. I first found this cove many years ago when I and a friend snuck out of the house for three days and drove my aluminum boat and 8hp all the way down to Baffin. The winds of spring break could not damper our Spring Break fever. The small cove was the only place that we could fish with 40mph winds blowing
So Paradise was great, as usual, and I actually got to write common yellowthroat on the chalkboard (how did those guys miss THAT one?) While I was there, one of the resident experts casually mentions that there’s a Cerulean warbler that’s been hanging out at the Birding Center. Well, while it’s not a completely rare bird, they’re not common, and I don’t happen to have a decent frame of a Cerulean, and I happened to have my camera on me. So I load up and head over there, and sure enough, right by the picnic table there’s a whole group of bird experts looking up in the mesquite tree. And there it was, mixed in with a bunch of other great birds (except the butterbutts, aka yellow rumped warblers, we’ll talk about those later) was a Cerulean warbler. I’m not going to name any names, but there was one guy there that I think may have been leading a birding trip. Or at least he acted like it, LOL. Common practices of not talking, or talking very lowly and standing out of the way were pushed to the wayside as one of the self proclaimed experts moved and talked like he was a snake-oil salesman at a county fair. Again, these kinds of folks make me laugh inside, except the fact that they teach novice birders bad habits. Oh well.
Cerulean Warbler come through the first time, they will have no reason to stay in your yard, and they will keep going and you will likely miss them for this season. Make sure you have water, and if you’re feeding, get those hummingbird feeders up pronto. The next few days will be great for birding. So, at the end of the day, I got put off a bit by the actions of a few folks, and didn’t stick around long enough to get a decent frame of the Cerulean, who even acted like he was trained to hang around. Folks mentioned that he had been there for several days, so if you get this in a decent amount of time, I’m betting he will still be there by the picnic table at the Port Aransas Birding Center. Head on out and check it out. With this mediocre weather, I’m just keeping my nose to the grindstone. I’m hosting my company’s yearly fishing tournament at my house next weekend, and there’s a bit of yard work to go yet. Drop me a line at tarponchaser@ mail.com and I’ll see you on the rocks.
This north wind and unstable atmosphere really should result in the first serious fall out of the season. Augs and I were sitting on the porch last night and a common yellowthroat tried to land on his head. These birds are dropping out of the sky, and they are hungry! Most have flown somewhere between 16 and 24 hours straight to get here. There’s no stopping in the middle of the Gulf, and if some happen to yield to the call of the siren in the form of a oil platform, they typically are doomed there. So if you don’t mind, please keep fluffy the cat indoors if you have an inside/outside cat, and if not, please put a bell on your cats collar. You cat DOES have a collar, right? Also, if there ever was a time, put out those oranges NOW. Topdog and I were talking, and he surmises that if you don’t have oranges out when the orioles
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