August 2019

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ABOUT THE COVER On a recent Port O’Connor snapper trip Kelly Waters scored a double hookup on her first drop.

Lucky for her, one had been previously caught, tagged, and released as part of The Great Snapper Count being conducted by Harte Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies. Kelly received a $250 reward for registering her catch with Harte scientists.

AUGUST 2019 VOL 29 NO 4

CONTENTS

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

10 16 22 26 32 38

42 46 50 54 56 60 62 66 92 95

Fishing Through A Slump The Pace Puzzle Pamela Comes to Texas: Part 4 Lasting Impressions Tripping on Tripletail Tag! You Win!

10

Steve Hillman Kevin Cochran Martin Strarup Chuck Uzzle Joe Richard Everett Johnson

Let’s Ask The Pro Shallow Water Fishing TPWD Field Notes Kayak Fishing Chronicles TSFMag Conservation News Fishy Facts Extreme Kayak Fishing & Sharks...

Plastic & Water Don’t Mix Boat Repair & Maintenance Science & the Sea

Jay Watkins Scott Null J. Brooke Shipley Dave Roberts CCA Texas Stephanie Boyd Eric Ozolins Everett Johnson Chris Mapp UT Marine Science Institute

WHAT OUR GUIDES

HAVE TO SAY

70 72 74 76 78 80 82

Dickie Colburn’s Sabine Scene The Buzz on Galveston Bay The View from Matagorda Mid-Coast Bays with the Grays Hooked up with Rowsey Wayne’s Port Mansfield Report South Padre Fishing Scene

Dickie Colburn Caleb Harp Bink Grimes Gary Gray David Rowsey Wayne Davis Ernest Cisneros

REGULARS

42

8 Editorial 68 New Tackle & Gear 84 Fishing Reports and Forecasts 88 Catch of the Month 90 Gulf Coast Kitchen

90

82 6 | August 2019

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EDITORIAL

AUGUST OPTIONS

Humans are fickle by nature, fishermen even more so. We can’t wait for summer but too soon we gripe about the heat. Scorching August sun, greatly elevated water temperatures, and days that make you beg for a breeze require lots of stamina.

Tides are generally weaker in August than earlier in summer and this influences feeding patterns in many places. Some bay anglers resort to live bait as a more productive option. Hardcore lure chunkers try to manage expectations in line with these realities by fishing early and late, when fish are more likely to feed. A handful simply hang it up until fall. They call these the dog days for a reason.

However, there are other ways to feed your fishing passion. Calm August mornings set the stage for excellent surf and nearshore angling that many find more appealing than getting cooked on the flats or putting fishing on temporary hold.

Single-digit wind forecasts generally deliver gentle swells or flat surf, tailormade for casting lures in shallow guts to hungry speckled trout.

Cooler water and higher oxygen levels lend to a predictable bite when action in neighboring bays turns sluggish. We often hear that surf trout are just plain meaner than their bay cousins.

Redfish love the surf, too. There will be mornings when the bronze bullies roam the first gut in herds, gobbling everything they can swallow.

They can actually be seen beaching themselves as they explode on hapless clouds of dusky anchovies.

8 | August 2019

Tarpon can be seen rolling a few hundred yards off the beach. Drifting and troll-motoring into casting range offers great opportunity to place a lure or pre-rigged live bait within reach of the silver king.

Further offshore, around platforms, natural structure, and artificial reefs, red snapper lurk in incredible numbers. Thanks to a generous 97day Exempted Fishing Permit season this summer, the Texas small boat fleet is being treated to some of the finest fishing opportunity in more than a decade. A seaworthy bay boat of 22- to 24-foot length can get you there on a calm sea.

And there’s plenty more! Drifting and trolling lures along nearshore weedlines offers a veritable smorgasbord of angling opportunity – dorado (mahi-mahi), king mackerel, cobia (ling), and tripletail, for sure – maybe even a wahoo or sailfish. Check out the snapper piece in this issue for ideas.

If venturing offshore seems rather daunting, don’t forget about the jetties. Early morning hours produce the best incoming tides on new and full moons, sometimes sparking feeding frenzies among schools of bull reds and jack crevalle. Catching them is as easy as jigging a heavy spoon near bottom behind a drifting boat. Kid-friendly for sure, but you might want to tether both kiddo and rod to the center console just to be safe.

Please know that I will not feel sorry for you if you persist in lying in the shade like a lazy old hound dog. Get on the water and take a kid fishing!

Fishing

through a

SLUMP STORY BY STEVE HILLMAN

If you can catch ‘em in this then you’re my hero!

M

ajor league slugger Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles recently set a new major league record for the most consecutive at-bats without a hit. The previous record was set in 2011 by Eugenio Velez of the Dodgers. During a Monday night game against the Oakland Athletics, Davis made outs in his first two plate appearances to tie Velez for the record. In his third trip to the plate he scorched a line drive right at Oakland’s outfielder Robbie Grossman to take sole possession of first place all-time for the most at-bats without a hit. He would go on to strike out in his next two at-bats to extend his ever-so-humbling new major league record (www. theguardian.com, April 9, 2019).

Coaches and MLB analysts can only speculate what went wrong with Davis’ bat. Some said it was just bad luck because many of his hard hit balls just couldn’t find holes between defenders. Others were a little less forgiving by saying he’s failing to make adjustments to modern era defensive shifts. Regardless, one of the previously most feared sluggers with a seven-year $161 million contract was in the worst funk of his career.

Davis would finally end his slump by hitting a two-run single off Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello, but not before extending his record to 0 for 54. He went 3 for 5 that day hitting two doubles and collecting four RBIs. He broke out of his slump in a big way. There is a laundry list of great baseball players (some of them Hall of Famers and future Hall of Famers) who have gone through slumps in their careers - Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Cal Ripken Jr., Joe Morgan, Mike Trout, and Roger Maris. The list goes on and on.

I was a young teenager when I caught my first trout on a topwater. I was casting a chrome/blue Rebel Jumpin’ Minnow along the edge of a massive raft of mullet on Dickinson Reef. From that day forward I fell in love with not only topwater lures but artificials in general. My passion for tricking trout and reds with lures was so intense that I fished every chance I got. Thankfully, my mom and dad owned a seafood business on Dickinson Bayou where I worked most of my summer days. Dad would allow me to go out and fish nearby waters for a few hours every morning before work.

I learned a great deal from my elders but I prided myself on figuring out what made trout tick on my own as well. Since those early days on the bayou, I’ve enjoyed great success catching thousands of fish and gained a tremendous amount of confidence in the process. I was fortunate to have started my guiding business in the early 2000s and didn’t have to deal with the freeze of 1989 while trying to make a living catching trout like Eastman, Plaag, Paradoski, Friermood, West, Williams, Frazier and others did. One might say that I started at a good time.

Then came June 8, 2019. This date marked the beginning of a slump that I will remember for a long time. It would last for roughly 10 days with all of my trips producing only a few keeper trout (lots of undersized), flounder and reds. In all honesty, only a few folks were

Fishing in comfort with my new Fish Monkey gloves. Helps support my arthritic hands and provides UV protection and a firm grip as a bonus!

consistently catching fish on lures during this period, but I wasn’t one of them and that bothered me.

After one of the better winter, spring, and early-summer bites I’ve enjoyed in a long time, I had run head-on into a brick wall. It all started with massive amounts of fresh water being released from the Lake Livingston dam. The Trinity River can make Galveston Bay the best bay to catch fish or the worst. As if excess freshwater and stiff southwest winds weren’t enough, my slump continued through a period of early morning low tides on the back side of a full moon. Needless to say, this wasn’t the easiest time to come out of a slump.

It looked like I was well on my way out of my rut while wading along a shell-covered shoreline with very good fishermen one morning.

Rafts of mullet and slicks were popping up along a ledge out in front of us. We were having a hard time getting bites on soft plastics so I switched over to a MirrOlure She Dog to see if I could at least draw some agitation strikes. Low and behold, I started getting blow-ups and finally hooked up with a very solid trout. Unfortunately, it pulled loose at my waist. I looked down the shoreline and one of my customers was bowed up with a nice trout. I watched him net it then heard him yell in anger as he walked back to my boat. My fear was that he had buried one of the trebles from his topwater in his hand. Thankfully, he had only broken his rod.

So now there are two of the four of us back at the boat while fish are popping slicks out on the ledge.

As I’m walking back out to start chunking again I notice one of the other guys netting a big flounder.

As he yelled out, “This is the biggest flounder I’ve ever caught!” it jumped out of his net like a tarpon.

We did catch some nice fish that morning but most of the line drives we hit flew right into gloves.

Things improved over the days that followed and When there’s not enough I eventually wiggled my way out of the worst slump to go around you get the I think I’ve ever had. When you fish almost every day, cluster effect. year after year, the law of averages will eventually come into play. Even some of the best fishermen I know don’t catch them all the time. In my world, a fishing slump is like going into a deep depression.

I know that sounds dramatic but when clients are depending on you to put them on fish everyday (whether they’re keeping them or not) and you struggle, it affects you mentally. Since I know I’m not the only angler who has gone through this, here are a few things that helped me.

Acknowledge Pattern Changes There are many variables that affect the timing and location of where trout show up. Stop trying to catch fish the way you want to catch them, and where you want to catch them. For example – I was trying to catch trout in areas I did last year but freshwater pushed those fish further south. Relocating would mean having to fish around more boats than I prefer but you can only be stubborn for so long.

12 | August 2019

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Keep a Good Attitude Don’t expect good things to come your way if your attitude isn’t right. Furthermore, no one will want to share a boat with you. Keep your chin up and try to have fun!

New Water Try fishing other bodies of water. My own personal experience is that when I’m fishing a different bay system, I’m not thinking about where I always catch them. Instead, I’m focusing more on water temperatures, bait concentrations, etc., instead of worrying so much about “spots” where I’ve caught fish before. In other words, I’m using my senses more than my GPS. Take A Few Days Off Sometimes we just need to step back and take a little break to regroup. I enjoyed playing golf with my dad for a couple of days and not even thinking about fishing.

Start Earlier Not only will you beat the heat, you’ll be able to get a spot before the crowds arrive. Sometimes being thirty minutes early can change the outcome of your trip.

John Chisolm made this post-full moon trout angry with his Spook One Knocker!

The struggle is real! Haley Matthew’s used his MacGyver skills to get through one wade before the tape fell off!

Top Notch Gear Make sure you have the very best gear to get the job done. When you’re struggling you don’t need the added disadvantage of using World War II rods and reels. Go with up-to-date state-of-the-art gear such as Waterloo rods and Concept reels. The key here is to use equipment that is not only light and sensitive to help you feel every bite, but to also allow you to fish hard all day without getting fatigued.

Don’t forget to use sensitive and hassle-free backing and leader material. The line is just as important as what you’re putting it on. I prefer Seaguar Smackdown Tournament Braid (30 lb.) for my backing and Seaguar fluorocarbon (20 lb.) for my leader.

Through the years I’ve learned to not worry about what everyone else is catching and just focus on what’s happening on my boat.

By not allowing hearsay to cloud my thinking I can focus on what I know how to do. Slumps are no fun but sometimes you just have to fish through them. The best part about being in a slump is coming out of one. Best of luck my friends!

CONTACT

STEVE HILLMAN

14 | August 2019

Steve Hillman is a full-time fishing guide on his home waters of Galveston Bay. Steve fishes the entire Galveston Bay Complex, wading and drifting for trout, redfish, and flounder using artificial lures.

Phone 409-256-7937 Email captsteve@hillmanguideservice.com Web www.hillmanguideservice.com

TSFMAG.com | 15

The

Pace

Puzzle STORY BY KEVIN COCHRAN

L

ure chunkers need to believe ample numbers of fish swim within their reach in order to perform with the proper mix of patience and confidence. Knowing plenty of fish swim and feed actively in a small space simplifies things significantly. In a perfect world, one can identify a spot holding schools of feeding fish, then stand still and repeatedly present lures to them.

Of course, the world is far from perfect. Often, anglers don’t know exactly where to make a stationary effort. Fishing aboard a moving platform provides one way of dealing with this dilemma. Consequently, many folks fish from a drifting boat, covering large expanses of water, hoping to contact fish as they go.

Others choose to wade through the areas they target, either because they enjoy the freedom and control gained by getting in the water, or because they have a strong belief in the presence of fish in the area. Waders generally cover relatively small pieces of water with some sense of purpose, probing them thoroughly, trying to determine which specific parts hold fish.

Whether one works from the deck of a boat or by wading, pace of movement plays a significant role in determining the level of success of an effort. Boat-bound anglers acknowledge the need to control pace of movement in a variety of ways, sometimes employing devices to accelerate or decelerate forward motion.

For instance, while drifting to cover water, saltwater anglers in Texas often use a drift sock to slow the boat’s pace of movement. If wind speeds ramp up over fifteen knots, some will deploy a second sock to fight back against the forward thrust of

the breeze. Conversely, if dead-calm conditions prevail, many use a while, working only a narrow corridor of water in front of them, without trolling motor’s whirling blades to generate some movement. regard for the layout of the area. On average, they strut too quickly These compensatory measures don’t allow for as much precise through the space, further limiting the ability to probe all parts of the control as those available to wading anglers, who depend less on the terrain thoroughly. Stronger winds blowing on the backs of the anglers mercy of prevailing winds. At a basic level, wading allows for more increase the negative impacts of these flawed behavior patterns. stealth and complete coverage of an area, without as much direct Strong winds can influence waders in the same way they do drifters, influence from weather conditions. Of course, this assumes a wading pushing them forward too fast through an area, especially when angler consciously adjusts pace of movement in response to the waders show low levels of awareness of the need to adjust their pace. needs of the moment.

Savvy anglers consciously fight against this tendency when waves Ironically, or perhaps predictably, many novice waders behave as slap their backs, partly because they recognize the importance pace though they don’t accept or understand the need to adjust pace of of movement plays in facilitating adequate testing of lure choice and movement in response to various aspects of the situation. Typically, presentation, and partly because medium-strong winds generally most of them embark on a wade making steady, medium-paced increase the effectiveness of sideways presentations. forward movement, without speeding up or slowing down, until some Executing some presentations becomes much more difficult when barrier (like deeper water or a shoreline) prevents them from continuing. the angler tries to walk and fish at the same time. Consequently, some A more thoughtful plan involves moving somewhat quickly away anglers, especially those attempting to master the use of new types of from the boat at first, to exit the area most negatively impacted by lures, should stand still while actively deploying the lure on each cast, anchoring and disembarking from the vessel, then slowing down moving a few steps between each cast. some. The proper pace then depends on the pertinent variables In a worst-case scenario, lack of confidence in a lure and/or specific affecting the situation, but normally involves moving no more than a presentation causes the angler to stand still too much, essentially few, maybe ten or twelve yards, every five minutes or so, while making stopping and fishing in the same place for too long without sound several casts and complete retrieves. When moving at this pace, reasons. Worse, some waders stand still because they don’t understand anglers should remain cognizant of the need to make casts toward all which direction to move, how fast to move, or even that moving slowly fishy-looking parts of the area. This almost always dictates casting and and steadily generally works better as a starting point for a wading even moving in multiple directions. excursion, regardless of time or location.

Many anglers who fail to appreciate the The size and type of area dictate the importance of pace of movement also fail to magnitude of proper initial pace of movement This graphic illustrates a basic wading plan for targeting the mixed sand and grass areas along acknowledge the strong influence direction in a significant way. When targeting fish a shoreline, one where the angler walks with the of movement exerts on productivity. Often, over a large area, like a flat adjacent to a wind, weaving toward and away from the shoreline, novice and beginning waders proceed shoreline, for instance, anglers should start by casting in multiple directions all the while. directly downwind, casting downwind all the employing a medium-fast pace of movement.

Certainly, the precise speed should take into account the season, meaning warmer weather generally dictates a faster pace of movement than colder weather.

In warm weather, lures presented quickly, on or near the surface, generally work well, allowing one to make a relatively high number of casts and retrieves per minute. Covering an area thoroughly while deploying these types of lures in this way does not require moving at a snail’s pace. Conversely, cold weather often demands working lures low and slow, on or near the bottom; this cannot be achieved while the angler races through an area like a thoroughbred trying to win The Preakness.

Regardless of the season, when an angler chooses to fish a small spot, like a patch reef on a shoreline, a set of rocks lying adjacent to a sand bar, or the crown of a spoil bank surrounded by deeper water, a slow pace of movement makes more sense than a quick one. If the angler believes the targeted fish possess a positive feeding attitude, either because of the influences of tide cycle or moon position in the sky, or in response to observations like the presence of nervous bait, 18 | August 2019

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popping slicks or other visible signs of feeding activity, the pace of movement should be steady, and medium-slow, at least until bites begin to happen.

A fish biting the angler’s lure legitimately and instantly reduces the proper pace of movement to zero. A bite occurring in a particular place correctly instructs the angler to make more casts into the place. At the most basic level, the ease with which waders can repeatedly cast to a small area in which a bite has occurred elevates the effectiveness of wading over drifting in most cases. Especially when targeting fish around rocks, reefs, grass beds and other structures, making multiple casts to micro-spots within the area often produces the best results.

While bites come at an Jason King handled this 28-inch trout gingerly with his Boga Grip, leaving Perry Shankle pulled this attractive trout acceptable rate, anglers should it in the water while extracting the hooks, then releasing it quickly without from a micro-spot during a tough midreduce the pace of movement to handling it much. These behaviors elevate the chances the fish will survive day bite on a hot day, making a persistent zero, whether their casts deploy after its release, especially when the weather and water are hot. effort with a soft-plastic paddletail. the lure in a recognizable sweet muddy hole next to a reef, any place where the angler has caught spot next to a rock or reef, or in a part of the area without any obvious, a large number of fish on previous occasions. By choosing a microdiscernible feature. When steadily catching fish of an appropriate size, spot during a slow bite, the angler elevates the effectiveness of a anglers should stop, stand and fish. Amazingly, many novice anglers key component in the catching puzzle--experimentation with lure don’t, and they wind up marching to and through the fish they find. choice and presentation.

Anglers who do stop and fish after they begin getting bites will When testing these aspects of the effort, any angler would always eventually need to adjust their pace of movement upward, when want to believe the experimentation occurs in the presence of fish. So, bite frequency wanes. Doing so in an optimal fashion usually means walking around at a medium pace and covering lots of space while resuming movement with a slightly slower pace than the one used dabbling with lure choice and presentation during a slow bite makes prior to the interrupting bites. I call this “getting a new piece of water”, no sense. In the toughest bite scenario, one needs to know a lure and accomplish it by slowly moving forward or sideways, so my casts start landing in untested water, eventually stopping if bites happen, or likely lands in close proximity to a fish in order to properly assess the efficacy of the lure and its movement pattern. accelerating gradually if they don’t.

Ironically, then, stationary fishing works best when the bite rate falls Sometimes, properly resuming a moving effort means walking fairly near zero, just as it does when the bite rate reaches its highest point. At quickly to another part of the area with a similar feature to the one all points in between, some ideal pace of movement prevails, dependent which produced recent bites, then stopping again and standing while on the perceived potential for bite-rate and the size and type of area making repeated casts to determine whether the new spot holds fish. selected, in a world more favorable to the tortoise than the hare.

In extreme cases, wading anglers might adjust pace of movement dramatically, by getting in the boat and racing to another spot with similar features some distance away, then repeating the wading plan in the new place.

More often, short moves made with the feet present new Kevin Cochran is a full-time fishing guide at Corpus Christi (Padre Island), TX. Kevin opportunities for wading anglers. As long as the perceived biting is a speckled trout fanatic and has created mood of the fish remains at a medium to high level, waders should several books and dvds on the subject. walk slowly around and through an area, targeting all likely fishKevin’s home waters stretch from Corpus holding spots, stopping and fishing hard when bites occur. In cases Christi Bay to the Land Cut. where the perceived biting mood of the fish falls low enough, a TROUT TRACKER GUIDE SERVICE different reality comes into play.

Phone 361-688-3714 If earning bites becomes tough enough for long enough, a wader Email kevxlr8@mygrande.net Web www.FishBaffinBay.com should target fish in a small space, one strongly believed to hold www.captainkevblogs.com fish. Such a spot might be a grassy edge, a sweet set of potholes, a

CONTACT

KEVIN COCHRAN

20 | August 2019

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Pamela comes to STORY BY MARTIN STRARUP

Part 4

Doug’s Big New Year’s Eve Party

B

odie followed Pamela into the great room and decided to chaperone her through the crowd while waiting for dinner. After a lengthy conversation with a gentleman and his wife, Bodie decided he’d fit in better at the bar.

“I may not have a degree on the wall, but if having one causes people to use big words like that I’m glad I don’t,” he muttered to himself.

Red was having his glass refilled when Bodie walked up.

“Red, tell me. What does extrapolate mean?”

“Not sure, Bodie. Maybe extra polite?”

“I don’t really think so,” Bodie replied, somewhat irritated.

Bodie had his glass refilled and turned to go find Tommy.

Turning, he ran headlong into a man standing behind him and his bourbon splashed the man’s shirt and suitcoat.

“Excuse me, sir. I didn’t know anybody was behind me,” he said apologetically, hurriedly reaching for a bar towel.

“You cowboys could use a lesson in manners,” the stranger shot back.

“Well excuse me, but you’re the one crowding me while there’s plenty of space on either side,” Bodie answered.

“Maybe I should just take you outside,” the stranger retorted.

Red got between them to play peacemaker, reminding that they

were all Doug’s party guests and the incident should be forgotten.

“Oh, I’ll forget alright. Just as soon as I put a dent in this guy’s head,” the man replied, still wiping his shirt.

“Well, Bodie, I tried. He’s all yours,” Red said with a smile as he walked away.

Bodie extended his hand to the man and said, “I’m Bodie Allen, and again I’m sorry for spilling my drink on you.”

The man tried to slap Bodie’s hand away but Bodie was too quick and grabbed his wrist with his right hand and twisted the man’s arm behind his back. Seizing him by the neck with his other hand, Bodie led him from the bar and out of sight of anyone but the bartender.

Bodie leaned and whispered into the man’s ear while putting more pressure on his neck and arm.

“You have two choices buddy. You can apologize and stay away from me the rest of the evening, or maybe you want to show me what you got,” releasing the man and shoving him away.

The man spun around and made a mean face but Bodie knew he wasn’t going to do anything. Guys like that are always more talk than fight.

The man massaged his arm and the back of his neck, glared at Bodie, and stomped back into the mansion.

“Well then, I thought that went quite well,” Doug announced

TSFMAG.com | 23

from the shadows.

“How long have you been watching?” Bodie asked.

“Oh, I noticed that little incident at the bar,” Doug replied.

“Knowing that man as I do I thought there might be trouble.”

“Oh, no trouble at all,” Bodie grinned, straightening his tie.

“Well then, Bodie. What say we get you another glass and rejoin the party.”

“I’ll take some more champagne!” Tommy called from the shadows as he stepped out and handed Doug a croquet mallet.

“Where did you…what were you going to do with this?”

Doug asked.

“Well, if that guy tried to get tough with Bodie I was gonna whomp him with it.”

Doug just stared with his mouth open, not sure what to say, and Tommy told him a moth was going to fly in there.

Doug began a belly laugh and Bodie and Tommy joined in. Just then more laughter erupted from the darkness as Red stepped from the shadows and handed Doug a pool cue. “Might as well put this away with Tommy’s mallet,” Red replied with a wink.

“We sort of take care of each other, Doug,” Bodie allowed between guffaws.

The call for dinner came and Doug announced each guest would find a name card at the place settings. Pamela found hers, Bodie was next to her, and Tommy and Red were paired up.

“Bodie, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to sit next to Tommy,” Red whispered.

“Oh, come on Red, why not?” Bodie whispered back.

“Because his table manners are awful and he splashes food when he eats,” Red whispered again.

Bodie thought for a second and leaned across the table. In a soft but stern voice he said, “Tommy, use your best manners, and don’t splash food on Red while you’re eating.”

Doug was at the head clinking a glass for the group’s attention as he welcomed everybody and expressed hope that they were enjoying the evening. Waiters and servers flew about the room, “Like a flock of geese flying into a spread,” as Bodie put it.

The servers put generous portions of prime rib on all the plates along with baked potatoes, some kind of seasoned carrots, and bacon-roasted Brussels sprouts.

Bodie whispered to Pamela, “I don’t like Brussels sprouts.”

Pamela whispered back, “Don’t eat them.”

Tommy leaned forward and whispered, “Bodie, I don’t like Brussels sprouts.”

Bodie whispered back, “Then don’t eat them.”

Tommy set about mashing his potato with a fork and when he was satisfied he began lathering it generously with whipped butter from a silver dish in front of him.

Bodie commented to Pamela that the prime rib was delicious, well-seasoned and perfect medium rare. Pamela agreed and was about to make another comment when Tommy suddenly bolted from his seat, his fork flying as he grasped a pitcher of iced water from a waiter and began guzzling.

Startled, Bodie jumped up to see what in the world was the matter but couldn’t get Tommy to stop gulping water long 24 | August 2019

enough to say anything. Some of the guests were horrified, some were laughing, others only stared.

Tommy finally handed the pitcher back to the waiter as Doug made his way to them.

“What’s the matter, Tommy, are you okay?” Doug asked, concerned.

“Doug, you need to go fire whichever cook made that butter because it’s the hottest thing I ever ate in my whole life. That stuff will bite you!” Tommy exclaimed, looking for another pitcher.

“What butter,” Doug asked.

Pointing to the small silver tray, of which there were many on the table, “That butter, that fancy whipped butter,” Tommy managed to choke between gasps.

The room went silent until a raucous burst of laughter rang out.

Still without a clue as to the nature of Tommy’s problem, Bodie and Red stared with their mouths agape at the spectacle before them. Doug was doubled in laughter, so much that he clung to a chair to stay on his feet.

“Well I don’t know what’s so funny, Doug. That stuff can hurt someone,” Tommy cried as the guests erupted in another wave of laughter.

Still bewildered, Bodie asked Doug what was so funny. Doug finally composed himself and said, “Bodie, that’s not butter, that’s horseradish for the prime rib, and it’s very spicy at that!”

Tommy turned beet red and sat back down while most of the guests continued laughing at his expense.

Bodie and Red managed to not laugh out loud, finally picking up on what had happened.

Pamela remarked later that she almost bit a hole in her lip trying not to laugh. Tommy asked for a fresh potato and a server brought one as everything eventually settled back down and the meal continued.

“I sure hope we get invited back to Doug’s next party after all this mess,” Bodie whispered to Pamela.

“Oh, trust me, you will. Entertainment like Tommy is hard to find, and very expensive if you can,” Pamela chuckled.

Dessert was served, New York cheese cake with fresh blueberries, carrot cake, red velvet cake, and a huge German chocolate cake. The waiters asked what each guest preferred and a server brought it to them. Bodie went with the carrot cake, Red wanted the red velvet, and Pamela wanted the German chocolate. Tommy asked for a slice of each and the servers brought it dutifully.

Following dessert, most of the guests moved back to the great room while Bodie and Pamela found a sofa and talked a while.

“I feel so out of place at parties like this,” Bodie lamented.

“Why would you feel that way?” she questioned.

“Well, in case you didn’t notice; I don’t own a tuxedo. I don’t own an airplane, and I can’t carry a conversation with people who use words I’ve never heard,” Bodie replied.

“Bodie, people like you because of who you are, not because of your possessions or your education. Doug likes you for who you are,

as do Tommy and Red, and everyone else I know around here. And in case you haven’t noticed, Mr. Allen, I love you for who you are.”

“Yeah, I know, it’s silly. Red told me the same thing. I just feel so out of place in company like this.”

“Just remember who you are, Bodie. And remember that nobody here can ride a horse and rope calves, they couldn’t catch a fish nor clean one if they did, much less a deer or other large game animal.

You’re my cowboy and that’s all that is important to me.”

Doug announced the fireworks show was about to begin and the guests all began to drift outside toward the pool. The show was spectacular. Bodie allowed that he’d never seen anything that could touch it. At the stroke of midnight the biggest explosion of all shot sparklers out for a hundred yards. Everybody cheered and couples kissed, including Bodie and Pamela. All the guests and staff joined in a chorus of Auld Lang Syne.

Bodie was ready to go home and said as much to Pamela, who replied, “Me too.

Let’s thank Doug and say goodbye. I’ll grab my purse and jacket and I’ll ride gun for you.”

“Uh, would that be shotgun?

You want to ride shotgun, my dear?” Bodie asked with a chuckle.

“Yes, whatever it’s called. I want to ride it,” she cooed.

They thanked Doug for everything and with Tommy and Red in tow they headed out the door to the driveway.

Bodie and Pamela said goodnight to the boys as Bodie held the truck door open for her.

Arriving home, Bodie went to his bedroom and came out carrying a pillow and blanket.

“And just where do you think you’re going with those things, Mr. Allen?” Pamela asked smartly.

“Just getting my bed ready on the sofa,” he replied.

“Oh, no sir. Not tonight, Mr. Allen. Tonight we sleep together in your bed or you can take me back to Doug’s house, right now!”

“Well, as you wish, my dear. But I sure hope you don’t snore!”

At the stroke of “ midnight the biggest explosion of all shot sparklers out for a hundred yards.

”

To be continued...

Be safe!

CONTACT

MARTIN STRARUP Martin Strarup is a lifelong saltwater enthusiast and outdoorsman.

Martin is also a collector and dealer of vintage fishing tackle and lures, especially those made in Texas.

Email

Trouthunter@swbell.net

TSFMAG.com | 25

You cannot see too much of it but the Trout Support Grasswalker has certainly earned go-to status in my sight-fishing program. Redfish love ‘em!

L ting

Impre ions STORY BY CHUCK UZZLE

A

s I reached the top of the stairs leading to my attic, I paused as I usually do to survey the many things I need to eventually clean up or get rid of while searching for a particular box that lies somewhere in the jumble. Unable to locate it in a few minutes, which is normal, my focus drifted and I began rummaging through a container of old photos, newspaper clippings and other memorabilia. One of my favorite boxes contains a bunch of random newspapers from many years ago when I began my guiding career. I have to actually tell off on myself for this one because it’s just funny.

For years I bought various newspapers, but only on Thursday, because that was when the outdoor articles were published. I would buy a Houston Chronicle, Houston Post, Beaumont Enterprise, Port Arthur News, and Orange Leader every Thursday and everything except the outdoors sections went straight in the trash. I lived and died with every word from Joe Doggett, Doug Pike, Shannon Tompkins, Ed Holder, and others of that era. I was probably the least politically informed person walking the planet but I could tell you a whole bunch about fishing and hunting.

Amongst all those publications, I put the most stock in my local paper and basically anything Dickie Colburn said or wrote. Thursday mornings at 6:15 AM I would be glued to our local radio station, KOGT 1600, where Dickie would give his report on the weekly show called “Let’s Go Fishing” with the great Richard Corder and eventually Gary Stelly. Between the story in the Thursday paper and the radio report I was all in, I had the “Gospel According to Colb!”

As a young guide it was always a feeling of confidence to look up and see Dickie fishing in the same area I was fishing – it meant I was doing something right. I remember the first day I ran into him on the water, we were in East Pass chasing trout under birds and we were both fishing solo. For some reason the trout kept coming to the surface right in front of my boat no matter which way I turned. After a while I hollered at Dickie and invited him to ease in closer so we could both catch fish and that’s exactly what we did. That trip happened thirty years ago and not much has changed; I still hold Dickie in the highest regard and I am beyond thankful to call him my friend and mentor. He has had a far greater influence on me than he probably knows.

TSFMAG.com | 27

As I continued digging through the box of newspaper clippings I found the first-ever mention of my name in print related to fishing and it was in one of Dickie’s columns. I guess you could say my guiding career had gotten off to a questionable start as I had begun to associate and fish with what I would now call some “less than reputable” folks. Dickie pulled me aside one day and took the time to give me some truly life-changing words, he said, “Son, all you have in this world is your name and reputation, so protect it by always doing right.”

Those words hit me like a ton of bricks and I made an immediate about-face that landed me in a brand new world and I could not have been more fortunate. Dickie and I began to fish a lot together and my learning curve absolutely went through the roof. The days that we spent digging around in the river and on Sabine Lake saved me countless hours of exploration as Dickie showed me more in a day than I might have learned in years on my own.

I recall a day we anchored in the Sabine River looking for redfish.

We got set up on one side of a small point that jutted out from the shoreline but we couldn’t buy a bite, which was quite a surprise to Dickie as he’d been on them in that spot like clockwork. After about thirty minutes of nothing he pulled the anchor and moved the boat

The best seat in the house is often found atop the polling platform.

28 | August 2019

about 20 yards so we could reach the other side of the submerged point and we began to catch fish on virtually every cast. That small adjustment made all the difference and, had I not known how the fish related to it with the tide condition we were experiencing I would likely have not caught a single one. It was truly an eyeopener for me, the way Dickie understood and worked the structure so precisely. Lessons I learned while fishing with Dickie still serve me well to this day.

The desire and ability to pass along fishing knowledge to others so they may succeed is a special gift. As guides, we have opportunity to share such knowledge with many fishermen who are starving for anything that can enable them to become better anglers. Many times it’s the little things like showing someone how to tie a proper knot or perhaps throw a cast net to collect bait that help the most. One of my favorites is teaching youngsters to use a baitcast reel without backlashing. Some of the biggest smiles I have seen from proud dads is when they watched their children pick up this technique and become proficient. I’m not real sure if it’s the fact that their child learned a new skill or that dad now has more time to fish instead of undoing all that tangled fishing line. Either way brings happiness, so it’s all good.

At this point I had almost reached the bottom of the box that I had been reminiscing over and was somehow reminded of another lesson Dickie taught me, and it had basically nothing to do with fishing and everything to do with priorities. At the time of the lesson my guide business had really taken off and I was fishing a lot, especially considering that I also worked a full-time job.

Fishing was well on its way to taking over my life and it was time for a reality check…time to pump the brakes a bit.

With a dead-serious look on his face, Dickie said, “Son, don’t ever let me find out you passed up anything relating to your family to take a fishing charter with people you may never see again. If you pass up a little league game or event with your wife for a charter, you and I will have problems. You only have so many days with your family and those fish aren’t going anywhere.

Be smart. Take care of your family and go to church. Doing the right things will take you far in life.”

Talk about serious impact, I understood everything he said and I have done my best to live Dickie Colburn admires a beautiful marsh by those words. That kitchen red on a recent trip with the author. table talk probably ranks as high

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That’s Dickie in action.

Getting to spend a day on the water with your mentor is always a good one.

as anything we ever talked about and I will always be grateful for that advice.

To this day I still consult Dickie about a variety of things, knowing that he always has my best interest at heart. There are few things at this point in my life that are as rewarding as spending a day on the water with a good friend and every chance I get to fish with Dickie I take it.

We spend a lot of time in different water now that I chase redfish in the marsh the majority of the time while Dickie still patrols the big open water of Sabine Lake. When opportunities present themselves that we may be able to share the boat together the days usually end up special. It’s always a great day to share a boat with another guide but another thing to share it with the one who taught you how to be one. As long as Dickie will keep teaching I’ll keep listening.

CONTACT

CHUCK UZZLE

30 | August 2019

Chuck fishes Sabine and Calcasieu Lakes from his home in Orange, TX. His specialties are light tackle and fly fishing for trout, reds, and flounder.

Phone 409-697-6111 Email wakesndrakes@yahoo.com Website wakesndrakes.com

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Hot weather tripletail, caught from a small crab buoy in the background.

Photo by Pete Churton.

–on–

ripletail STORY BY JOE RICHARD

T

ripletail are pelagic fish, found far offshore in sargassum weed lines, but they arrive in Texas inshore waters each summer. Mostly encountered at the surface, around floating objects, loitering and waiting to ambush small prey that happens by. Even a 20-pounder can be found with its face near a simple crab trap buoy. Of course, structure that breaks the current is better; day marker navigation aids, posts and buoys can attract several fish.

Sabine Pass easily holds more tripletail than the rest of the Texas coast, and while cruising just offshore there in August, it’s wise to keep a lookout for surface fish. Any shallow water gas production platforms will attract them, and that’s where I used to photograph them (when I didn’t mind jumping in the water and being wet all day). Matagorda Bay also has a plentiful summer population, for reasons unknown.

Tackle Spin tackle will get the most out of a fight with a tripletail, but it’s wise to use this gear in open water around weed lines, floating debris and crab buoys. Around solid structure, like a heavy buoy or small Gulf platforms, these fish will dive around or through structure and easily cut the line. In these situations, it’s more practical to use heavy baitcasting tackle and a stout rod. At times we’ve been unable to stop them with 30-pound line, when fishing bottom 20 feet down with live bait. To pull big tripletail out of structure, I’ve heard of people using Ambassador 7000 reels filled with 40-pound line. While not as smart as grouper, tripletail will certainly sprint into available cover if the notion takes them. Other times, they might head off into open water, jumping, and that’s really something to see, however rare.

Such was the case with my first tripletail back in the early 1970s; we’d climbed up on a gas platform, doodle-socking up and down with jigs and spoons, for trout near bottom. A big fish hit and took off, jumping about 25 yards away, and kept going. We dove into the bass boat and followed. Using our standard red reel and 20-pound line, I brought the ponderous fish alongside, landing a fine 22-pounder. If memory serves, it hit a white bucktail striper jig.

Each summer we’d ease the boat up to numerous gas wellheads, casting around them, going deep with jigs and spoons. Once, on the bow of a jonboat we’d launched in the surf, I hooked a TSFMAG.com | 33

Solitary tripletail surrounded by many sheepshead, inside a gas well.

Calm conditions certainly help anglers find these fish. Few are caught in whitecap weather.

Pete Churton and his brother Bruce admire a keeper tripletail.

34 | August 2019

12-pounder from the boat’s bow and jumped from seat to seat towards the stern, horsing the fish away from structure. The fish took off at a 90-degree angle, straight away from the boat. With a tight drag on the reel, I was caught between boat seats and was yanked overboard, fighting that fish underwater…eventually handing the rod up to my buddy, who subdued it.

Landing a tripletail is best done with a big landing net. A small gaff may bounce off the fish. A small landing net can lead to comical errors, like the time a Port Arthur friend could only get half the fish in the net. The angler set his rod down to help land it, the fish woke up and bolted, and the rod flew out of the boat…

Angler jumped overboard after the rod, which only left a trail of bubbles, of course. Imagine losing a 15-pound tripletail at boatside, and your favorite fishing rod.

Dog-paddling in the water, there was screeching and harsh language; as Hunter Thompson would say, it was an ugly thing to see, and nothing to be done. It was all recorded on cell phone video, but so far my friends haven’t uploaded to YouTube.

A word of caution: triples have very sharp spines like a sheepshead. You don’t want to hold one up for a picture and have it wiggle loose, dropping it on your bare leg or foot, which I have seen done, with grim results. The gill plates are sharp, and it’s advisable to use at least 20-pound fluorocarbon as leader. Back in the day we always had good luck with 20-pound Ande line, which is also hard to cut.

Texas has a fairly recent bag limit of three tripletail per angler. For many years there were no limits, until word got out the fish were out there, and locals around Matagorda Bay began abusing the local fish population each summer. I know of two older Port O’Connor guides who did so, returning with what looked like 50 or so tripletail covering their boat’s deck during summer, with no ice. They did this repeatedly. In 2009 one of them told me how they accomplished such a feat, but I won’t repeat it. It was legal at the time, but conservation and ethics of marine resources doesn’t even register with some people. Apparently other boats were doing it as well, from other corners of that same body of water, which seems to be the only reliable Texas bay tripletail prowl.

Today the minimum length allowed is 17 inches, which doesn’t provide much of a fillet. Like sheepshead, smaller tripletail don’t have much meat. Better to release smallish tripletail, since they can grow to 35 pounds.

Tripletail may look slow, but they save their energy, much like a flounder. One day at a big weedline offshore, I watched a tripletail of about 10 pounds, lying next to a floating tree lodged against the sargassum weed.

Around it swam a dozen banded rudderfish, which looked like tiny amberjack about six inches long. They swam past the stationary tripletail, and wham! In the blink of an eye, the tail of a rudderfish was wiggling back and forth, poking out of that tripletail’s mouth…it’s

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speed was impressive. These offshore weedlines are complete ecosystems for many juvenile fish species, and tripletail are there to help themselves.

Back in 1983 a Matagorda guide put his client on a new Texas state record tripletail. That June I rode around with the guide, (his name now forgotten) and we drove around checking crab trap buoys that afternoon, without luck. Records now show that a 33-pounder is the current state record, caught in June, 1984. Either it was the same fish registered a year later, or two record tripletail were caught there during back-to-back summers. The bay was quiet in those days during mid-week, not another boat and the guide, once back at the marina on the Colorado River, plunked down $10 worth of quarters and went to playing Pac Man without even saying goodbye…well, it was a different time. Twenty years later, tripletail were hounded by considerable boat traffic and, without bag limits, took a serious beating. Texas Parks and Wildlife struggled to provide scientific information on this rather unique and mysterious fish; hard science was required before establishing size and bag limits. It finally happened, and none too soon.

Think small, “ because these fish

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have a rather smallish, gulper-type mouth with fine little teeth made for gripping.

”

Natural Baits These fish prefer small crabs, shrimp, and fish. Baits that wiggle the hardest are best.

A sturdy marsh minnow of 3-4 inches would be great. No tripletail would turn down a free-lined live shrimp or one suspended under a cork. A small blue crab will do, and also the (easier to catch) fiddler crab. Anything lively and small should work.

Tossing a castnet around marinas or boat ramps can provide enough bait, if you have a livewell on the boat.

Artificials for Tripletail Think small, because these fish have a rather smallish, gulper-type mouth with fine little teeth made for gripping. A crab imitation fly is said to work well, because they love crabs. A DOA shrimp may be ideal because it sinks slowly and no tripletail in his right mind would turn down a shrimp. With a heavier jig, one would have to “high-stick” the rod to keep a jig or spoon at the surface where most of these fish are caught. A single-hook jig seems to work better than a spoon with treble hook.

Recently I was tossing six-inch twister tail worms and lost a 15-inch tripletail—the worm was bit off just behind the hook. I let the next fish, identical size, take it and turn away, and caught that one. So, a 6-inch bait is a bit large for these fish.

It’s a different ballgame searching for tripletail but catch one and what a feast you will have on the dinner table; far better than any trout, redfish or flounder.

JOE RICHARD

CONTACT

Joe Richard has fished the Gulf since 1967, starting out of Port Arthur, but his adventures have taken him up and down the entire coast.

He was the editor of Tide magazine for eight years, and later Florida Sportsman’s book and assistant magazine editor. He began guiding out of Port O’Connor in 1994. His specialty is big kingfish, and his latest book is The Kingfish Bible, New Revelations. Available at Seafavorites.com

36 | August 2019

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STORY BY EVERETT JOHNSON PHOTOS BY PAM JOHNSON

W

hat do you do when friends invite you offshore during snapper season? Well, when the seas are predicted to be less than two feet and the red snapper are biting like a bunch of piranhas…you go!

Pam and I joined Chris and Cindy Hanson and other guests the last Saturday of June aboard their 30-foot Grady White out of Port O’Connor. Chris had been out several times prior and enjoyed a great snapper bite. Limits of ten pounders…some heavier. Hell yeah we wanted to go!

The 35 mile trip to the rock formation Chris had been fishing took slightly longer than an hour.

The twin-250 Yamahas purred like kittens and the Grady glided across the gentle swells like a new Caddie on the Grand Parkway. Chris owns a great boat and is diligent in maintaining it.

I hadn’t been snapper fishing in twenty-something years, having long ago sold my old offshore rig. What I witnessed on that trip was nothing short of phenomenal – compared with past experiences.

We fished jigs, if you could call it that, there really wasn’t much jigging required. Every time a line was dropped to the bottom and reeled up a few feet – if you hadn’t already hooked a snapper, just pump the rod a few times and hang on.

Pam grabbed a rod while I manned the camera. Before I could wipe the fog from the lens she had one coming alongside.

Up on the bow, Kelly Waters was bringing up her first snapper when the rod suddenly bowed even deeper. She had a double.

Now I was very accustomed to double hookups, back in the day, fishing double-drop rigs around platforms with squid and cigar minnows. Small fish mostly, and lots of culling to reach a limit. But Kelly was using a Snapper Slapper. Beat all I’d ever seen!

Given the rapid bite and the two-fish red snapper limit, it probably took less than an hour, even with taking turns on the rods and motoring back around to drift the most productive part of the structure. Our crew of nine put 18 snapper on ice quicker than I’d ever seen. Incredibly, the snapper on that rock were so abundant that we caught nothing but snapper, all solid fish.

TSFMAG.com | 39

Pam landed her first snapper so quickly that I barely had the camera ready.

I do not recall a single drop that didn’t bring a snapper to the surface.

Snapper trips on calm days make for great family outings.

Thank you, Cindy and Chris Hanson, for a great day offshore.

40 | August 2019

We also took time to get to know the SeaQualizer I’d brought as a gift for Chris, releasing several fish equal to the ones we were keeping.

I was curious how it would work. Everything you read about using a descending device such as the SeaQualizer is true.

It’s really easy. Attach a three pound weight to the SeaQualizer that is attached to a dedicated “release rod” (large spinning rod works best). Adjust the device for half the depth being fished – snap the device’s jaws on the lip of the fish to be released – open the reel and let the weight take the fish back down. The jaws pop open as it descends to the preset depth and the “recompressed” fish swims away. No questionable venting and no fish wasted. If you fish for snapper or other reef species you definitely need a SeaQualizer.

(Learn more at www.seaqualizer.com) If you look closely at the photo of Kelly showing off her double, you can see one of them is wearing a streamer tag. But as luck would have it, we were so excited and busy celebrating that nobody noticed the tag as it went in the ice box. More on that later.

Finishing our snapper limit, we drifted happily away from the snapper rock and brought out snacks and cold drinks. A great day so far, with more to come.

Chris suggested we might want to troll a weedline we’d crossed several miles before reaching the snapper spot. Baitfish and signs of feeding activity were plentiful and we had it all to ourselves. It didn’t take long before we had lines out and reels screaming. Chris knows his stuff.

The highlights along the floating sargassum was a mahi-mahi of more than 20 pounds, a surprise of a wahoo, a barracuda, and enough king mackerel to make everybody’s arms ache. With temperatures nudging the century mark and little breeze, the boat ride back to port sounded inviting. We rolled up the lines and left them biting.

At the dock, we arranged our fish on the planks for a photo when somebody exclaimed, “Hey look! This one has a tag!”

Kelly chimed in that she had noticed something on one of her double-fish but paid little attention at the time. Turns out she had landed one of 4,000 red snapper that were tagged and released for fisheries research prior to the opening of the season.

The Great Snapper Count, funded by the US Congress and headed

by Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, is a program aimed at discovering the absolute abundance and movements of gulf red snapper. Another goal is to better understand post-release survival of the species.

The release of 4000 tagged red snapper was conducted at hundreds of sites across the Gulf of Mexico, 10 fish per site, on natural and artificial structure between Brownsville, TX and Key West, FL. Red snapper weighing between six and eight were primarily targeted.

Landing and reporting a tagged fish per the instructions printed on the tag can earn lucky anglers $250. Some of the tagged fish were given two tags, making them worth $500. Kelly’s fish had a single tag, but she was none-the-less elated to qualify for the $250 reward.

During the month of June a total of 197 tag recoveries were reported.

June will be remembered as a great month for Texas red snapper anglers. Quite uncharacteristic of the first summer month, the winds were mostly light and seas averaged less than two feet many days.

And plenty of snapper were landed by recreational anglers.

Under agreement between Texas Parks and Wildlife and Department (TPWD) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the 2019 red snapper season in Gulf waters beyond the

Nine Mile Texas Territorial Seas boundary, was established under an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) to commence June 1 and projected to continue 97 days.

The 2018 82-day season, also conducted under the two-year EFP, was the model for projecting 2019 season guidelines. Last year’s harvest data, combined with the continued rebound of the fishery, led to a longer season for 2019 and slightly greater harvest allocation of 265,090 pounds.

If everything falls in line with the projections, Texas anglers will be allowed to fish all 97 days. In the event that angler participation and prevailing calm conditions might contribute to achieving the 265,090 pound allocation in fewer than 97 days, the season could be shortened. However, according to TPWD and researchers at Harte, the probability to allow the full 97 days looks promising so far.

One of the key elements upon which researchers and fisheries managers are staking the accuracy of their projections is the voluntary reporting of red snapper landings via iSnapper. The historic general lack of recreational harvest accountability has long been a sticking point and played a significant role in NMFS granting the recreational sector very short seasons in prior years. iSnapper is an electronic app that can be used from iPhones and other mobile devices to file trip reports. Participation thus far in the 2019 has been very encouraging, says Dr. Greg Stunz at Harte Institute. “The reports filed and data collected is running well ahead of 2018. A very good sign that greater numbers of snapper anglers have bought into the ‘citizen scientist’ aspect of the program and are willing to share harvest data that will provide a basis for continued longer seasons and higher allocations of the fishery for Texas anglers.” (www.sportfishcenter.org/outreach/isnapper-app) Texas has a great red snapper fishery that lies within easy reach of the small boat fleet on calm summer days. The fishing Pam and I experienced recently was so good that this old trout snob is actually considering jumping back into the offshore game. Oh my…another setback for my retirement funds!

Wahoo! Mike Macha’s trolled ballyhoo tricked this one along the weedline.

Cindy fought this great cow mahi-mahi and brother Mike expertly applied the gaff.

Back at the dock; Kelly was very pleased with her tagged red snapper. Heck, for $250, who wouldn’t be?

Numerous pods of bottlenose dolphin cruised the surface above the snapper rock. Using the SeaQualizer descending device virtually eliminates predation of snapper during release.

TSFMAG.com | 41

Fishing windward spoils is a key to summertime success.

J AY WAT K I N S

ASK THE PRO

A DAY IN THE LIFE

OF A FISHING GUIDE I’ve had several requests to do a piece on a typical day in the life of a fishing guide. At first I thought it wouldn’t make much of an article, but after considering all that I go through to prepare and run a fishing trip, I decided to go ahead with it. Before getting into it, please understand that I take my job seriously and tend to be a bit anal about some things.

A little bit about me, the way I fish, and prepare for fishing trips: When wade fishing I carry the minimal amount of the right gear for the job at hand. More has never proved better for me.

Both my boys have horror stories of my inability to just let things be. I turned around in a tournament because our team number placard flew out of the boat. Jay Ray was livid because we were racing others to a well-known area. I went back and picked it up anyway; I hate litter.

Ryan and I were fishing a Bass Champs tourney on Falcon and I was cleaning up spent worms on the deck. He was like; “Really, Dad? We’re in a tournament!”

I am very particular in the way I keep my boat and stow my tackle. I have an ice chest dedicated to lures. Baits are organized by brand, size, and color. I don’t need you putting empty water bottles or your own tackle in it, and darn sure don’t want you chunking your wet wading gear in there when we’re running to the next spot.

That brings up the people that get completely undressed after each wade. I understand shucking the

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wading belt but taking your boots off every time makes no sense. If they’re too tight you need to get boots that fit.

I want the decks clean. For goodness sake, please try to wipe your feet when you get in the boat after a wade. I want dock lines coiled and stowed, deck hatches closed and latched properly. I absolutely hate seeing the latches sticking up.

I can’t do rust on anything and I try to keep screws and latches cleaned and oiled. Can’t do spotted windshields either and not sure why because I seldom sit while running, always looking over the windshield.

No rattling or objects that go bump in the boat while running across the choppy stuff; it drives me up the wall.

Seasoned operators become aware of normal running noise. Any new noise distracts me and makes me unhappy.

You’ll probably think I’m nuts, but years ago when I ran other brands of motors, I could always tell when the engine was running hot or fixing to drop a cylinder. My new Mercury 350 Verado is super quiet, which makes conversing with clients possible while running. My customers probably hate the lack of engine noise…if you get my drift.

I usually place my client’s stringers under their rod in the rod holders when running from area to area. I’ll stop and adjust or remove the cork if it bangs against the console while underway.

My lure box is organized with lures selected according to seasonal patterns. No need for winter-dominant colors in summertime. I load up on only the Bass

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Assassins and MirrOlure soft plastics that are producing the best when I’m throwing plastic primarily.

In Corky season my Custom Corky boxes are planned for water clarity. Clear baits for clear water, bright colors for bright days, dark colors for dark days (for sure gold hologram). Downright dirty, nasty water has its own box.

I obsess over preventive maintenance on the boat, motor and trailer. I try to run as fresh a prop as I can but I do have periods when working skinny that my prop gets worn more than I like. I monitor prop wear constantly, both visually and also by comparing GPS speed with engine RPM. I change water pumps every 100 hours, whether the pressure gauge is dropping or not. The guys and gals at Chris’s marine know without asking what I want done with each service visit and they do a tremendous job.

I carry the tools required to tighten or repair my twin Power Poles on the water. Anchoring in choppy water for hours at a time, six days a week, is hard on them. Keeping all the fittings and fasteners tightened properly can easily double service life. For $40 to $50 you can purchase a Power Pole rebuild kit and keep it on the boat. Money well spent!

I make a practice to switch off the battery power every day after washing the boat. I use lots of soap, and hot water when I can. I go so far as rewashing the boat in the morning to remove oak leaves, oak pollen buds, and dust from wind during the night. Stains on my boat make me crazy. I don’t have a boat barn but Watkins Landing (boat barns and rental cabins) on our Hwy 35 Bypass property is in the works.

Boat fuel; I have used super unleaded fuel for the past 20 years and I am a big believer that higher octane increases performance and engines last longer. With the Mercury Four Strokes it is a must but I

44 | August 2019

used it in my two strokes as well.

All the tasks mentioned above are performed after the day’s fishing, in preparation for the next day. These are the absolutes in my day, things that I can control. I believe in controlling everything we can and not worrying too much about things we cannot.

At this point in my career I am blessed to have a client base that bring their own tackle and wading gear. I am familiar with them and their capabilities. Some don’t do soft bottom and some don’t like wading shell; others can do whatever. These things factor into what areas I can consider in my fishing plan.

The beginning of a typical day. During spring and summer I wake around 4:15 AM; I still don’t need an alarm. I guess I’m still nervous about people being disappointed in my services. I know, it’s crazy, but that’s me. My truck is loaded and locked with rods inside. The boat is hooked up the night before.

I move around within the house with minimal lighting and noise to avoid disturbing the dogs or the wife. Coffee cup is in the Keurig machine. Wading clothes are in the laundry room, folded and ready.

I brush my teeth and comb what little hair I have left. Sunglasses, wallet, USCG license and cell phone are in the ball cap on my desk.

Coffee in hand, I slip out the door at 4:30 to begin my day. I love the smell of fresh coffee in my truck.

I truly enjoy the early-morning ride through Rockport. Bayside Drive is beautiful before the town wakes up, especially during holiday season with the two large lighted Christmas trees reflecting in the ski basin. I see the same coffee-goers at Whataburger and Stripes every day. Words are few and typically have to do with how the fishing has been. The guys and gals at Stripes know me by name and always greet

of winter into this mix and you’re looking at a solid day of fishing.

Back at the dock, I clean fish if my clients kept any. I seldom socialize with clients after a trip; you get your day and all of me for that day. My next move is to the car wash to repeat the process in preparation for the next day.

Arriving home, I update my Fishing Club Members on the day’s events, answer text messages and e-mails, and make a post on Instagram. And of course there is my personal life, something I’ve not always managed as well as I should or could have. I guess if fishing ever got in the way of anything it was this.

These days I enjoy some TV with Renee and our two dogs for an hour or so each evening. I am typically in bed and asleep by 9:00 PM. A rather boring social life but that comes with being a fishing guide, especially if giving every group a 100% best effort each day is your goal.

So, that’s it, in a rather large and wordy nutshell. It’s not just about the fishing. There’s a lot that goes into doing it right and having pride in trying to do your best for each and every client, each and every day.

Moving water over shallow reefs and spoils creates terrific ambush points.

May your fishing always be catching!

-Guide Jay Watkins

Sight-casting with peak visibility creates great summertime action that everyone enjoys.

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me with a smile and “Good morning, Jay.” I see the same guides most every day and we may or may not exchange a few words. I’ll stop at the local bakery and the ladies there don’t have to ask, they just put two small pig-in-a-blanket in the microwave and refill my coffee cup. They never charge for the refill… thanks ladies.

The ride to Cove Harbor when fishing south, or Goose Island when working north, is when I reflect on life. I listen to Mickey’s show when he is on the air and Golic and Wingo all the other days. I like to keep abreast of the sports world so I can talk current topics with my sons Jay Ray and Ryan when they call.

I talk to God sometimes. I pray that he knows how much I appreciate being where I am at this point in my life. It is a shame that we do not all do this more often. The kids are grown and I have grandkids now, so I realize the 3rd Quarter of my life has begun and the 4th is hopefully yet to come.

At the dock, I park away from the actual launch and sometimes visit with buddy, Rhett Price. We seldom discuss fishing, mostly just talk about our kids and our lives.

He ends our conversations with, “I love ya buddy,” a special emotion I share with a handful of guides along the Texas coast. It makes me tear up when I realize just how special this is and how many do not have such relationships. For those that believe there’s no crying in fishing, you are mistaken.

Boat’s in the water and I am putting on wading boots. A good pair of Simm’s lace-up boots with neoprene wading socks completes my make-ready chores.

Years ago, Jay Ray told people there is a “Dock Jay” and a “Bay Jay.” When clients are on time, rigged and ready, it’s all good.

When they’re not, the smart ass in me comes out and I can be a bit abrasive. Never anything strong enough to hurt someone’s feelings, I hope, but a definite signal that our day isn’t starting the way I prefer. Once away from the hustle and bustle of the dock, Bay Jay kicks back in.

I think aloud for the rest of the day, verbalizing why we are where we are, and why we are going to do what we are going to do. I seldom lose focus for very long which can make some uncomfortable. It’s only fun to me when we are doing ALL we can do to figure out how to catch them.

I still sweat the slow times of the day and often become quiet, not saying much, moving in and out around the group, trying to figure things out and make adjustments. This only comes with years and years of water time; lots of failures and successes rolled into one. I typically relax when I see we are going to have a 20-plus fish day. Not just any 20 fish, but 20 solid fish. That number used to be 30 but with today’s fishing pressure 20 is more realistic and acceptable to me. Add the larger trout

Jay Watkins has been a full-time fishing guide at Rockport, TX, for more than 20 years. Jay specializes in wading yearround for trout and redfish with artificial lures. Jay covers the Texas coast from San Antonio Bay to Corpus Christi Bay. Telephone Email Website

361-729-9596 Jay@jaywatkins.com www.jaywatkins.com TSFMAG.com | 45

C A P T. S COT T N U L L

S H A L L O W W AT E R F I S H I N G

SEAS LESS THAN TWO FEET… When people talk about sight-fishing along the Texas coast, whether fly or conventional, thoughts generally turn to redfish. It is perfectly reasonable to do so as reds are the most common and easily available targets.

They’re also quite cooperative and tend to fall for a

You never know what will bite out there. Last year Capt Steven Reed put a customer on this sailfish right off the end of the POC jetties.

46 | August 2019

fake with gusto. And, for eight months out of the year, they are my main target on guided trips aboard the Sabine Skiff.

What’s different about those other four months?

Well it’s really hot in the shallows leading to somewhat lethargic reds, it’s summertime crowded on the flats, and I’m honestly a little bit tired of doing the same thing every day. But most importantly, there are tarpon…and kings, ling, jacks, tripletail, dolphin, bonito and Spanish mackerel to be had. All of these can be sight-fishing targets in our nearshore waters, June through September, and even into October.

When I was a youngster I fished with my dad a good bit. We mostly hit the bays and maybe the jetties from time to time chasing trout, reds and flounder. About the time I hit my teen years dad bought a nineteen-foot Galaxy with a 150-horse inboard/outboard. After gaining some inshore confidence we pointed the bow towards the sunrise and headed out through the jetties. It was a whole new world “out there.”

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TSFMAG.com | 47

One of my go-to flies on the beachfront and nearshore.

Prepped and ready with everything from a 6wt for Spanish Mackerel to the 12wt for jumbo tarpon.

Capt Brian Barrera runs beachfront trips out of Port Isabel. This monster king fell for a DOA TerrorEyz.

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The green-tinted bay water gave way to bluegreen and then deep indigo blue. I’d never seen water that looked like that.

As we pulled up to an oil rig to tie-off I was mesmerized by all the fish swimming inside the legs of the structure. Most were spadefish, but one was a large lumbering shape that looked somewhat like a shark. It wasn’t a shark. Most of you are nodding your head knowing that we were looking at a large cobia…which we didn’t catch.

We did manage to catch some snapper and a couple kings.

From that day onward I was obsessed with fishing offshore. When dropping a baited hook into the depths you never knew what was going to hit or how hard it was going to pull. I started working at Marburger’s Sporting Goods around that time and probably got on everyone’s last nerve with all my questions regarding kings, ling and snapper.

Looking back, I was likely on dad’s last nerve as well because every time seas were predicted to be “smooth to slightly choppy” I’d be chomping at the bit to get out there.

We didn’t have the luxury of multiple weather sites and accurate real-time conditions back then.

Friday afternoon I’d sit in the boat parked on the side of the house and tune the VHF to NOAA weather. I’d listen to the forecast played over and over until dad pulled into the driveway. I wanted to make the absolute best impression with my overly optimistic version of a favorable forecast.

More often than not we’d head towards Galveston the next morning with plans to go offshore only to be greeted by conditions that kept us pinned to the jetties.

Now here I sit, some forty years later on the first official day of summer, flipping from site to site comparing forecasts and looking at the trends for the coming week. It doesn’t look good at the moment but hope springs eternal. We are coming up on what is traditionally the most consistent stretch of calm conditions, July through September. Barring any tropical trouble, there should be plenty of days that allow us to venture out in boats more typically thought of for bay use.

Personally I’m pretty conservative when making my plans. For chasing tarpon I want it as flat as possible with seas of less than two feet at 6+ seconds. I can easily handle rougher water in my Dargel Kat, but it becomes more difficult to locate rolling fish and schools of bait. When the morning dawns mirror flat you can bet I’ll be cruising the beachfront on the hunt for those silver flashes.

Sight-casting flies or lures to schools of feeding tarpon is about as exciting as it gets. I’ve had seasoned anglers completely forget how to cast the first time a school erupts a few yards from the bow. I

When you bend the 12wt into the cork you know you’re in for a fight.

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truly enjoy showing customers a sight they’ve never witnessed.

The problem with our coast is that even when you get those mirror flat mornings chances are good that by early afternoon the winds will be picking up. Once that wind chop gets going it becomes much more difficult to locate and stay on the schools of tarpon. At this point you’ve got a couple options, you can keep grinding and do more blind-casting using you electronics to locate suspended fish… or you can switch gears and look for other targets.

Unless the tarpon have really been going off I’ll usually opt for looking at alternatives. Weed lines, color changes, oil rigs, shrimp boats and bait balls are all good options. Basically, our nearshore waters are fairly featureless when it comes to bottom structure.

There are a few wrecks, rocks and manmade reefs but overall it’s pretty flat and those structures don’t necessarily offer opportunity for the sight-casting situations I prefer.

While searching the beachfront for tarpon I’ll keep an eye on the offshore horizon looking for birds working or maybe an anchored shrimp boat making careful note of the locations. If the tarpon aren’t cooperating and the crew gets restless for some action I can head towards these easily seen targets. An anchored shrimper culling their catch is the golden ticket. Anything and everything that eats a bait can be found chowing on the easy meal. Chunk a big fluffy fly and let it settle with the chum. That’s probably as close to a sure thing as there is in fishing.

Bait balls with birds hovering above are also a high-percentage play. Work the outer edges and watch for predators flashing through the bait. Try to match the fly or lure to the baitfish in shape and size. Generally, this situation will lead to catching kings, Spanish mackerel, bonita and sharks. It can get a little crazy around these bait balls with kings and sharks breaching the surface by several feet in pursuit of a meal.

While cruising around looking for birds or shrimpers I’m always on the lookout for a solid weed line along a current rip. If the weeds look right and have bait I’ll either idle the edge or drop the trolling motor to ease along more stealthily searching for predators. Cobia, tripletail and small dolphin (dorado) are the most common targets.

And if all else fails, there’s always the option of chumming. An anchored shrimper no longer culling, an oil rig or even some sort of known bottom structure are all good places to chum. The trick to chumming is to put enough out to draw some predators, yet not so much that you’re feeding them. You want them excited and hunting when you drop the fly or lure. Too much chum in the water can make them picky about accepting a fake.

I took a little break in the midst of typing this story to peek at the forecast and I think there’s a little window coming up in about five days. Tomorrow will find me at the workbench checking tackle and prepping for battle. It’s that time of year!

Capt. Scott Null is a devout shallow water fisherman offering guided adventues via kayak, poled skiff, and wading.

Telephone Email Website

281-450-2206 captscottnull@gmail.com www.captainscottnull.com

By J. Brooke Shipley, Ph.D. Chief Scientist, TPWD Artificial Reefs Program

FIELD NOTES

ARTIFICIAL REEFS AND RED SNAPPER – CLOSER THAN YOUR LOCAL GROCERY STORE! Just over 10 road miles, or nine nautical miles (NM), is all it takes for a Texas angler to access year-round saltwater fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. In this coastal area, you will find 12 nearshore artificial reef sites maintained and monitored by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Artificial Reef Program (Reef Program) (Figure 1). These individual reef sites are home to thousands of tons of reef materials, such as concrete culverts, limestone pyramids, railroad ties, and even marine vessels. These 12 nearshore reef sites can be found from Sabine down to Port Isabel in waters between 38 and 73 feet deep. Many of the reef sites are at least 160 acres; the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Nearshore Reef Site, is one of the most recent and largest at 1,650 acres, Port O’Connor and Port Isabel are 381 acres, and Boatman’s and Lonestar, off Corpus Christi, are the smallest and oldest at 31 acres each (Table 1). These reef sites allow fishing and harvesting of red snapper throughout the year, while the red snapper fishing season in federal offshore waters (more than 9 NM off the coast) is only open for 97 days.

As much of the Texas coastal bottom is mud flats and

silt, the placement of reef materials creates new habitat, turning bare bottom into a cornucopia of reef associated species, and cryptic spaces for predator escapement of smaller fish species. Materials like vessels and pyramids (Image 1) are used at sites to provide habitat complexity, especially for juvenile and adult red snapper. Research shows that red snapper may reach a legal harvestable size between ages 2 and 5; fish of these size classes have been observed at Texas artificial reefs. While larger (and legal) red snapper are most targeted by anglers, juveniles are just as important to increase recruitment to the fishery, since early life-stage red snapper prefer lowrelief habitat before moving to higher relief structures.

To that end, low-relief habitat has been created at nearly all the nearshore reef sites by deploying reef material such as cinder blocks (Image 2), reef plates, concrete railroad ties, reef balls, and culverts, to create desirable habitat for juveniles and individuals in early life stages.

Recently at the RGV Reef Site, post-settlement juvenile red snapper, only inches long, were observed on cinder block reefs. These snapper remained at the reef site and grew to harvestable sizes. Research has also shown

Concrete pyramids on the way out to a reef site for deployment.

Figure 1: Texas Artificial Reef Program Nearshore Reef Sites.

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Relax, we’ll take care of the details!

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that the deployment of reef materials can shift the fish species that are present. For example, before deployment of materials at the Corpus Christi Reef Site catfish and other bottom fish were dominant.

Once materials were deployed, those fish decreased and there was an increase in commercially and recreationally important gamefish, such as, red snapper, gray triggerfish, Atlantic croaker, and even small Warsaw grouper.

One of the main goals of the Reef Program is to improve public accessibility to desired gamefish and provide recreational use at nearshore reefs. We accomplish this by partnering with numerous non-profit and private groups, and we actively seek external funding to create and maintain artificial reef habitats for desired gamefish. Over the years, the Reef Program has received $1.826 M in contributions from Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) Texas and Building Conservation Trust (BCT) to deploy material, including culverts, concrete pyramids, quarry blocks (Image 3), and vessels, at six different sites to build up nearshore reefs. In 2014, the Reef Program

Deployment of cinder blocks at the Rio Grande Valley Nearshore Reef Site.

partnered with the Saltwater-fisheries Enhancement Association (SEA) to convert a previous cargo ship, the M/V Kinta S, into a nearshore reef off of Corpus Christi (aka ‘reefing’). Only a few months after the 155 ft vessel was reefed, one lucky angler caught a 33inch red snapper. More recently, large-scale deployments at the Rio Grande Valley Nearshore Reef Site have been supported by the work and continued partnership with non-profit Friends of RGV Reef.

Table 1: TPWD Artificial Reef Program’s Nearshore site coordinates, materials used, and depth.

52 | August 2019

Quarry block deployment at Sabine Nearshore Reef Site.

This group has sunk two vessels and deployed over 10,000 concrete railroad ties and over 100,000 tons of other concrete material. On the eastern edge of the Texas coast off of Sabine, in 2018, the nonprofit Friends of Sabine Reefs partnered with CCA Texas and BCT to reef a barge and 350 tons of quarry block at the Sabine Nearshore Reef Site. Beyond these partnerships, the Reef Program has received federal funding for creating and improving artificial reefs, including $400,000 for the RGV Reef Site and $1.5 M and $750,000 for Big Man’s and Kate’s Reef Sites off Galveston, respectively. The Reef Program also receives support from private individuals, including over $300,000 from a single family.

So, you may be wondering how you can get involved with the Texas Artificial Reef Program.

Go fishing at one of our 12 nearshore reef sites – or plan to fish at all 12! You can get involved by enhancing and creating a reef of your own through the Public Reefing Program or joining a non-profit group that supports a local artificial reef site. Through the Public Reefing Program, any member of the public can submit a request for approval by the Reef Program to deploy their own reef materials. Guidelines and restrictions govern how this is done, but individuals fund “their own reef” that they can fish!

What are you waiting for? The 12 nearshore reef sites in Texas state waters are home to many fish, including red snapper, gray triggerfish, tomtates, and catfish, that are ready for you to reel in.

For more information about the Texas Artificial Reef Program or how to get involved, visit us at https://tpwd.texas.gov/artificialreef or email us at: ArtificialReefs@tpwd.texas.gov

Check the TPWD Outdoor Annual, your local TPWD Law Enforcement office, or tpwd.texas.gov for more info.

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DAV E R O B E R T S

K AYA K F I S H I N G C H R O N I C L E S

THE MOTHERSHIP OPTION As most kayak anglers learn early in their careers, we often find ourselves logistically challenged. Regardless of where you launch and physically capable you might be with a paddle in your hands, there’s always going to be places you would like to fish but simply cannot reach. This is where mothershipping becomes an option.

For anglers who might also own a skiff, or have a friend that does, mothershipping is when you load a kayak or two in the skiff and transport them greater distances than we can paddle to marsh or other backwater areas that are ideally suited to fishing from the kayak. Solving the logistics problem from this angle greatly expands the paddling angler’s horizons, saves time and exertion, and makes for a very enjoyable outing. There is nothing more disheartening than facing the trip back to the dock after a full day of fishing, under blazing summer sun into a headwind.

Last fall, I made a skiff trip, sans kayak, and decided to ease into a pond that I had never fished. Shortly upon entering, the sound of oyster shell scraping gelcoat reached my ears like fingernails on a chalkboard. More than I could stand, I decided to ease back, anchor outside, and study the pond for signs of life. Sure enough, within a 54 | August 2019

short time, I began noticing tails popping up across the flat and I could see a small school of reds pushing along the far shoreline. Seeing is knowing; but how could I get to them?

I kept thinking to myself, “Man, I wish I had my kayak!”

Since that day, I kind of put that remote pond on the back burner but never forgot about it. Here recently with all the rain, my typical areas in Sabine have been inundated with fresh water, which led me to wanting to explore new fishing grounds. That was when I got the idea to mothership back to that shallow, oyster-filled pond and see if those reds might still be there. Later that afternoon I made a post on the Upper Coast Kayak Anglers forum asking if anyone wanted to join me. It wasn’t long when my buddy Daniel called to say he was up for it. We put a game plan together and decided to meet early in order to get the kayaks loaded and strapped down.

We arrived to the boat ramp just in time for the sunrise and we began our journey with both kayaks strapped along the gunnels of the skiff. We made our way through the bayou that leads to the oyster pond, but this time, I knew to stop short of the entrance. I lowered the Power Pole and we began unloading kayaks and gathering gear. Scanning

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the area, we devised a plan with Daniel heading to the right while I went left, eventually meeting in the middle around a cluster of small islands.

Further fishing plans would be decided after the rendezvous.

As we broke away, I began to paddle and could feel the blades scraping clumps of oysters. Expecting there might be fish hanging on that structure, I stopped and started throwing a She Dog across the flat before creating too much disturbance. I didn’t make it 30 yards into the pond before seeing a swirl out in front of me. Too big to be a mullet, I made a cast just to the side of it and began a slow retrieve.

Just as the lure passed the targeted area, a small wake began trailing my lure and grew quickly. In true redfish fashion, it attacked from behind and just smoked my She Dog. There is no hookset required with a strike like that; all I needed to do was hang on. As soon as the line came tight the fish made a sharp turn into the oysters and broke me off. No worries though, at least I knew I was on some willing fish.

Tying another lure, I could hear redfish blowing up along the shore further ahead. Since that was the only topwater I had with me, I tied on a Keitech swimbait with an Owner Twist Lock hook (weedless) to keep it from snagging on the shell. Before I could make another cast I heard Daniel’s yell signaling he was hooked up. Even from where I was at I could tell he had a decent fish on. Time to keep moving!

I continued fishing the shoreline while keeping a sharp eye in the middle of the pond for signs of fish. The water was just deep enough to keep the fish concealed unless they were moving. As I moved forward, I got to the mouth of a pocket and spooked a fish that was sitting there. I judged the angle of the wake and made a cast that enabled bringing the lure directly into its path. A solid thump and the fight was on. The fish made several strong runs before I could bring it alongside the kayak, weighed it on the Boga Grip, snapped a photo, and made a quick release.

Like we had planned, Daniel and I eventually met at the islands. He had landed two nice fish, lost one at the kayak, and had several more short strike his topwater. While talking about the drift we’d just made and what our next move was going to be, we both heard a familiar sound. Daniel made a long cast and was hooked up. We got a quick picture with his fish and sent her back into the pond. It seemed like that fish was the turning point for our morning. That was the last fish we enticed to bite. We pushed several fish but could not get any to eat.

It was almost like they were sleeping and didn’t want to move or feed.

After realizing the bite had died and the temperatures were quickly rising, we decided to head back to the mothership and ride around to look at a different area. We slid the kayaks back on the boat, strapped them down and away we went. We found a few more fish throughout the day but they seemed to have the same lethargic attitude as the fish in the first pond. That was our sign and we decided to call it a day.

It turned out to be a fun day of fishing and getting to do it in a new area. Without a doubt, we would not have been able to accomplish it without mothershipping via the skiff. I hope you are able to explore new water as we did, see new sights, and perhaps catch a few fish. Stay safe out there!

Dave Roberts is an avid kayak-fishing enthusiast fishing primarily the inshore Upper Coast region with occasional adventures to surf and nearshore Gulf of Mexico.

Email: TexasKayakChronicles@yahoo.com Website: www.TexasKayakChronicles.com

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Story by John Blaha

T S F M A G C O N S E R VAT I O N N E W S

YTD 2019: CCA TEXAS AND BCT COMMIT $525,000 TO HABITAT CCA Texas’s habitat initiative, Habitat Today for Fish Tomorrow (HTFT), and Building Conservation Trust (BCT), CCA’s national habitat program, have committed $525,000 to five habitat projects year-to-date in 2019. The year-to-date commitment pushes CCA Texas and BCT’s commitment to habitat to over $7.25 million and fortytwo projects since the inception of the HTFT initiative in December 2009. Projects approved thus far in 2019 include habitat research in Baffin Bay, shoreline protection and marsh restoration efforts in the Galveston Bay system, shoreline protection and marsh restoration efforts in Redfish Bay (Aransas Pass), and continued commitment to oyster restoration efforts in Sabine Lake.

Serpulid Reef Study in Baffin Bay – $75,000 CCA Texas and BCT funded an initial study of Baffin Bay’s serpulid reefs for $60,000 in 2018. This initial study focused on three areas: assessment of invertebrate reef communities including density, diversity, and biomass at several reef sites; linking changes in reef communities to seasonal

56 | August 2019

and/or water quality changes; and conducting dietary analyses of fisheries species to assess the importance of reef communities as prey resources. Despite what was learned in the initial study and what is still being learned about the value of this unique habitat, a simple fact has not been addressed: Serpulid reefs in Baffin Bay have degraded compared to historic levels, with many areas already reduced to rubble. This newly-funded study will evaluate the efficacy of using alternative substrates for restoration of Serpulid reef habitats in Baffin Bay. Specifically, the study will: compare the colonization of Serpulid worms on restoration substrates with those on natural Serpulid reef habitat; compare the colonization of restoration substrates by mobile and sessile invertebrate species (prey resources) with those found on natural Serpulid reef habitat; and calculate and compare benefit-cost ratios for each substrate type to guide future restoration planning.

Harte Research Institute has successfully conducted numerous restoration projects in Texas targeting oysters as the primary reef builder, including studies using alternative

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substrates to restore habitat and reef-resident organisms. Identifying substrates that fulfill similar ecosystem functions to natural Serpulid worm reefs will provide conservation benefits to remaining reefs and is critical toward future restoration of this unique habitat. CCA Texas and BCT are excited to see the results of this groundbreaking study that will set in motion the future restoration of these rare, historic, and unique habitats found in the Baffin Bay system.

Sabine Lake Oyster Restoration - $100,000 The Sabine Lake Oyster Restoration effort is an ongoing project that will restore oyster habitat within the remaining area of the 27.7 acres, where 22.3 acres where initially restored in 2015. The project will add to a network of small patch reefs that were strategically placed to supplement the nearby natural and historical Sabine Lake reefs. CCA Texas and BCT originally funded $100,000 in 2018 for this effort, and has now approved an additional $100,000. These funds will be added to $500,000 that Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has secured from Hurricane Harvey relief funds, for a total of $700,000. This project is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.

Dollar Bay Shoreline Protection and Wetland Restoration - $50,000 CCA Texas and BCT have partnered with Galveston Bay Foundation on numerous projects in the past. These projects typically have several

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partners, and those included in the Dollar Bay Shoreline Protection and Wetland Restoration project are: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), Ducks Unlimited, and Texas General Land Office (TX GLO). This project proposes to implement shoreline protection measures that will protect up to 1,500 feet of shoreline and restore 72 acres of intertidal wetland habitat within Dollar Bay. CCA Texas and BCT funds will be used to help with construction or the planting of smooth cordgrass once construction is completed via volunteer and/or contractor efforts.

Galveston Bay Foundation Kemah Headquarters Habitat Protection and Restoration - $50,000 The new Galveston Bay Foundation Headquarters in Kemah will not only provide a home of the GBF staff, but the property boundary shoreline will provide an excellent opportunity for local community schools, and citizens to see firsthand a healthy shoreline eco-system. The long-term goal is to complete several demonstration habitat restoration projects on the property in addition to the living shorelines. This is to include, oyster reefs, freshwater wetlands, and prairie restoration. CCA Texas and BCT funds will be utilized for the construction of the breakwater, cleanup of debris on shoreline and associated with derelict bulkhead and pier structures, and support marsh vegetation planting efforts. CCA Texas and BCT strongly believe that public education is essential for the future health of our coastal resources. This project will provide many educational opportunities for the general public once completed.

Dagger and Ransom Island Shoreline Protection Project - $250,000 The Dagger and Ransom Island Shoreline Protection Project is a wide ranging project with the ultimate goal to eliminate or drastically reduce 58 | August 2019

the rate of shoreline erosion and island migration. Three different types of shoreline protection (shoreline revetment, beneficial use, and offshore breakwaters) will be used at three priority areas. Once completed, the project will protect more than 5,000 acres marsh and wetlands, and create more than 40 acres.

The islands form a protective barrier between the Corpus Christi Ship Channel and approximately 14,000 acres of valuable seagrass beds and other sensitive habitats. These islands once formed a nearly continuous, narrow landform separating Corpus Christi Bay and Redfish Bay. Island degradation and shoreline erosion have significantly decreased the size of the islands, as well as the functions and values they provide to this bay system. Protecting shallow aquatic habitat, submerged aquatic vegetation, intertidal habitat, oyster reefs, emergent marsh, mangrove marsh, tidal flats, benthic life and associated uplands are important for the health of the entire bay ecosystem. This project will create low and high marsh habitats and enhance seagrass beds critical for water quality in the bays and for sustaining a range of vertebrate and invertebrate species, many of economic and recreational importance. Construction on this project is expected to begin in 2019.

The Future CCA Texas and BCT continue to explore funding opportunities up and down the entire Texas coast, and welcome opportunities to partner with like organizations, academia, and governmental agencies. If you or your company are interested in helping fund this critical work, please contact John Blaha at jdblaha@ccatexas.org or Patrick Murray at pdmurray@joincca.org.

Win a new TRUCK in the 2019 Banded Bird Challenge!

2018 is a year the Texas Dove Hunters Association hopes will be long remembered as the beginning of an ongoing annual research project that not only provides very valuable information on the Eurasian Collared Dove, but also marks the beginning of an annual event in which hunters from all across Texas search for the elusive collared dove with a prize band on its leg.

The Banded Bird Challenge (BBC) was developed as a means of tracking Eurasian Collared Doves to learn more about their migration patterns, habitat preferences, age, and more, as data is collected over the years to come. A total of 460 birds were trapped and banded in August of 2018 and then released in various areas all over the state of Texas. Of these birds, 16 were harvested and reported to TDHA. Only four of those 16 hunters who harvested banded birds had entered the BBC to qualify for the prizes. This year there will be an additional 800 birds banded and released.

With each year, from data collected as bands are turned in, we learn a considerable amount more about these birds.

In the first year the results confirmed an assumption that they

would not travel much during the fall and winter so long as food abundance and other habitat requirements remained available within relatively short distances. We anticipate the majority of their travel to be in spring and summer. Most birds traveled only between 2-10 miles in a two-week period of time, while over the course of 4 weeks they ranged from 10-60 miles. One bird in particular traveled 70 miles before being harvested 26 days after its release. This bird was released in an area of concentrated brush habitat, not a typical grain producing area.

We hope to be able to establish a better pattern of aging as the years progress and more bands are reported.

Bands do not expire from year to year – which means the odds of winning increases as birds banded in prior years remain in the population. However, hunters must enter the Banded Bird Challenge each year in order to be eligible to win.

Entry fee is $20 and free to youth hunters ages 10-13.

Entries can be purchased online at bandedbirdchallenge. org or by calling the office at 210-764-1189. Don’t go to the field without entering the BB Challenge! You may be one of our next winners!

TEXAS DOVE HUNTERS ASSOCIATION

Sept. 1, 2019 thru Jan. 23, 2020

Photo is for representational purposes only.

Open to all hunters with a Texas hunting license to harvest a Eurasian Collared Dove with a TDHA band on its leg. Every band reported provides data for the TDHA Eurasian Collared Dove research project.

EARLY BIRD ENTRY JUNE 1 - JULY 15, 2019

REGISTER AT: BANDEDBIRDCHALLENGE.ORG

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Aplysia dactylomela at low tide.

Photo by Eric Carrasco.

Creative Commons License creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

STEPHANIE BOYD

F I S H Y FA C T S

SEA HARES Sea hare is the common name for a large group of herbivorous sea slugs in Anaspidea, an order consisting of two superfamilies, only one of which (Aplysioidea) are true sea hares. The other, Akeroidea, are primitive relatives. Sea hares are cosmopolitan, found in temperate and tropical seas, inhabiting calm shallow coastal areas and sheltered bays wherever there is an abundance of algae. (In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution refers to a range that extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats.)

Though these marine gastropod mollusks lack outer shells, most have an atrophied internal shell that lies fully or partially within the mantle (a flap on the back that covers the gills and other internal organs). This very reduced mantle cavity is enveloped in a pair of large fleshy protrusions called parapodial lobes, which allow some to swim or glide through the water. Species range in size from less than an inch, to over 27 inches and 4.5 pounds. Their varied colors are derived from the pigments in their diet. They usually bear a pair of somewhat tubular rhinophores on their head and large flattened oral tentacles on either side of the mouth. A rhinophore is one of a pair of chemosensory structures. The name relates to the rhinophore’s function as an organ of smell. “Rhino” means nose from the Ancient Greek, rhis. Rhinophores are scent or taste receptors. They are primarily used for chemoreception and rheoreception (response to water current). The ‘scents’ detected are chemicals dissolved in the seawater, such as pheromones in possible mates. To protect the prominent rhinophores against nibbling by predators, most species are able to withdraw them into a pocket beneath the skin. The common name, sea hares, 60 | August 2019

possibly originated during the time of Aristotle in Ancient Greece when a Mediterranean species was likened to a sitting hare, the large parapodia resembling the rounded back, and the rhinophores resembling the ears.

Apparently Aristotle fancied sea hares as being poisonous to the touch, but they’re not.

The sea hare’s usual method of travel is crawling, which it achieves by lifting the front end of the foot (aka the ‘belly’ [not literally the stomach]) and stretching it forward, placing it on the ground, and creating an arching pattern. The remainder of the body follows this arching pattern – like an inch worm! Hares that are capable of swimming accomplish the action by creating a funnel using the parapodia – first folding forward and downwards (this action pulls in water), then pressing the anterior parts of the parapodia together to push the water out behind. A sort of jet propulsion. Sea hares feed on a variety of algaes (red, green, and brown) and eelgrass.

They use their jaws to grasp and the radula to pull the algae into the mouth. The crop is lined with chitinous plates and acts like a gizzard to aide in the digestion of larger seaweeds. Due to algae’s location on rocky or sandy substrates, sea hares often unavoidably consume sand.

A side of sand makes for a heavier hare, and therefore reduces its ability to swim, so it’s no surprise that hungry hares seem to swim more than satiated ones.

Some sea hare species squirt purple or red ink when disturbed or attacked. The commonly believed function of this ink is that, like the octopus, it provides a screen or decoy for a quick escape. However, even among the swimmers, “quick” or “fast” isn’t really in the sea hare’s repertoire. More likely, the ink is a chemical irritant. Sea

Aplysia morio swimming at Stetson Bank. Photo

by Emma Hickerson, NOAA/NOS/NMS/FGBNMS; National Marine Sanctuaries Media Library.

hares store noxious chemicals from their algal cuisine, and usually their leathery skin accumulates these toxins, but the ink could also be a way to remove unwanted chemicals from the hare’s body, a two-birds-one-stone solution. In a laboratory study conducted in 1969, hares from the genus Aplysia were fed brown and red algae to determine the effect on ink replenishment. Because ink was only replenished when red algae was consumed, it is believed that Aplysia extract the biliprotein chromophores, a complex of protein and bile pigments, from the red algae and store them in their ink glands. Despite these deterrents, sea hares are still preyed upon by pycnogonid sea spiders, wrasses, and sea turtles Sea hares are hermaphrodites, meaning they possess both male and female reproductive organs. The male reproductive organ is on the right side of the head; the female reproductive organ is situated in the mantle cavity, beneath the shell, down between the parapodia.

They can mate in pairs, but they commonly occur in large groups during the mating season, often leading to chains of three or more sea hares mating together. The one at the front acts as a female, the one at the back as a male, and the hares in between act as both male and female. Eggs are laid in gelatinous chains that can be several yards long and contain over 20 million eggs. Frequently seen in intertidal grass beds to around 10 feet deep, they appear as a long tangled string of variably shaded green or brown hues. The large number of eggs produced requires that there be little yolk. When the eggs hatch, larvae spend at least a month in the planktonic phase before they settle onto algae patches where they eat and grow into adults.

Because of their relatively simple, large, and easily accessible nervous system, sea hares are often used for neurobiological studies.

The Aplysia genus, in particular, have a well-understood and mappedout neural circuit, and are commonly used in medical research to study learning behaviors. Specifically, the right giant neuron of Aplysia dactylomela, the spotted sea hare, is similar to that of vertebrates, making it ideal for the study of electrophysiology, as well as conditioned-response studies. These neurons have been found to be invaluable in detecting long-lasting effects in neuronal behavior.

A few species that can be found in our bays are the mottled sea hare, Aplysia fasciata, the sooty sea hare, Aplysia morio, and the spotted sea hare, Aplysia dactylomela. The mottled sea hare is a relatively large swimming hare, growing up to 10.5 inches long. Color varies from light brown to dark red-brown or red-purple, lighter color mottling on head, neck, and ‘wings.’ There can also be veins and streaks of black or dark brown. Spews purple ink. The most active, graceful, and best surviving of all the species of Aplysia, according to the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab. Coloration and shape of the internal shell help distinguish different sea hares. Also sometimes called a

Inked! Photo credit: NOAA NMFS SEFSC Panama City Beach Laboratory.

sooty sea hare, but the true sooty sea hare is uniformly dark brown to black, though sometimes darker lines and stripes can be seen on the head and sides. Sooties are also a swimming hare and grow about 16 inches long. They can live at depths up to 131 feet but prefer habitats with low wave shock because of their poor grasping abilities (when a strong storm stirs up their habitats, Aplysia are usually washed ashore). The spotted sea hare is characterized by relatively tough, leathery parapodia; large dark or black rings; and blackish reticulate lines. Black markings can be seen on both the outside and inside of the parapodia. The color of the spotted sea hare is very variable, from pale gray to green, to dark brown, or may be more orangey if their diet consists primarily of red algae. However, there are almost always large black rings on the mantle. At 16 inches long, you might spot them swimming through the bays!

Where I learned about sea hares, and you can too!

Texas Marine Species txmarspecies.tamug.edu/invertfamilydetails.cfm?famnameID=Aplysiidae txmarspecies.tamug.edu/invertdetails.cfm?scinameID=Aplysia%20fasciata Sea Slug Forum www.seaslugforum.net/find/145 www.seaslugforum.net/seahatac.htm www.seaslugforum.net/seahchem.htm www.seaslugforum.net/find/aplysioidea www.seaslugforum.net/find/anaspidea www.seaslugforum.net/find/aplybras www.seaslugforum.net/aplymori.htm www.seaslugforum.net/aplydact.htm The Cephalopod Page www.thecephalopodpage.org/MarineInvertebrateZoology/Aplysiamorio.html www.thecephalopodpage.org/MarineInvertebrateZoology/ Aplysiadactylomela.html Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org/site/accounts/information/Aplysia_dactylomela.html iNaturalist www.inaturalist.org/taxa/48656-Aplysiidae Revolvy www.revolvy.com/page/Aplysiidae Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratories, Inc. www.gulfspecimen.org/specimen/mollusca/sea-hare-and-sea-slugs/ TSFMAG.com | 61

ERIC OZOLINS

E X T R E M E K AYA K F I S H I N G & S H A R K S F R O M T H E S A N D

MIDNIGHT JACKPOT This is a tale of a shark fishing adventure that occurred in mid-June this summer. First-time client James Mudd had been eager to book a trip with me for nearly a year. James wanted a family trip, and with his two kids out of school for summer, June was the perfect time for a two-day mid-week fishing adventure. The group included James’

62 | August 2019

brother, sister, and cousin. This dynamic fishing family are no strangers to saltwater, with plenty of bay and offshore experience, including the famed Bisbee’s tournaments, but this was to be their first go at big game surf fishing.

We met in the morning and caravanned down the Padre Island National Seashore. Fishing had been very good but recent reports were cause for concern. A few days earlier, rumors of a coldwater upwelling had begun to circulate. I could only hope that with generally light wind in the forecast, the cold-dirty water would make its way offshore and not envelope the surf zone.

As we drove the north end of the beach, the surf was relatively calm but with no clear water in sight. We continued driving south. Ten miles brought no improvement and we continued ten more. Finally we started to see emerald green water creeping closer to shore, even though still roughly 500 yards out. This was the hand we were dealt and all I could hope at that point was to somehow make something happen for this eager group.

Setting camp, my main objective was to get baits out before the wind and surf picked up as per the forecast. Come early afternoon, I had kayaked out at least 600 yards and placed three

PISCATORIAL TRIVIA

By Brian Henry The megamouth shark was discovered in the Pacific by scientists in 1976 and was given the name Megachasma pelagios, meaning “swimming bigmouth” because it swallowed a cargo chute that had been lowered as a sea anchor from their ship.

Sardines aren’t a species of fish. They become sardines only after they are smoked, dried, or canned. Small fry of pilchards, herrings, and sprats are the most common fishes fated to become sardines.

More than 50 percent of all fishery products consumed in the United States come from the Bering Sea. American Samoa, the only U.S. territory south of the equator, consists of five volcanic islands and two coral atolls. About 900 species of fish are found in the waters surrounding the islands.

Sailfish grow so rapidly that in the first six months of life they go from tiny specks to upwards of four feet long.

The biggest known deep-sea fish is the Greenland shark, found at depths of more than 7,000 feet.

By munching on coral and discarding it, some large parrotfish can produce more than 800 pounds of sand a year.

In spite of its scientific name, Hoplostethus atlanticus, the orange roughy lives in all oceans.

There are more than 2,200 species of catfish found on every continent except Antarctica.

Catfish have more taste buds than any other creature.

Hagfish digest food through their skin.

A book by William Young of 1933, Shark! Shark!, had one edition bound in a sharkskin cover.

In 2009, Palau, in the Central Pacific Ocean, became the first country to ban all shark fishing within its national waters.

The hammer-shaped head of a hammerhead shark is called a cephalofoil.

Isinglass, derived from the Dutch huizenblas, meaning “sturgeon’s bladder,” is a transparent gelatin derived from a sturgeon’s bladder. It’s used in glues and jellies and as a clarifying agent.

The world’s longest fishing rod measures more than 73 feet.

Slimehead is the real name of the fish marketed as orange roughy.

While a human’s taste receptors are concentrated on the tongue, a catfish’s taste buds cover its entire body.

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fairly large stingray baits on 80W class reels. The reason for long drops on big reels was to get baits out in the better quality water. With the wind and current both forecast to increase, I had to run baits at an angle into the direction of the current to help hold them in position.

So, in reality, the lines were probably stretched 800 yards.

No matter my track record of recent successful trips, I am always anxious for that first fish and it didn’t take long. One of the baits was

64 | August 2019

hit by a healthy blacktip that was landed and released. Not a monster as I had hoped, but a shark, nonetheless. By now the wind was picking up making kayaking much more tedious. I kayaked a replacement bait and we were set again.

A short time later another bait was picked up. Another blacktip. As the afternoon wore on I was privately pondering whether there were any larger beasts about. We landed another pair of blacktips just as the sun was beginning to set. Back in the kayak, I set about making sure we had a fresh set of evening baits, praying something larger than a blacktip would find them.

Shortly after sunset one of our mid-range rods was hit – another blacktip. This one caught by James’ sister Missy turned out to be a recapture of a previously tagged fish.

We recorded the data and released it successfully. At that point I was happy but my anxiety was growing. As much effort as I had put in, the reward thus far was only a slew of blacktips. But the biggest baits were still out deep.

With all the optimism we could muster we could do nothing but wait it out. A couple hours passed and finally that beautiful sound of one of the large reels screaming split the night. I immediately jumped up on the rack.

The shark took the bait rather gingerly at first but did not hesitate to light the afterburners. I knew it was a big shark and by the way it was acting I was convinced it was a hammerhead.

I got James on the platform and prepared for battle.

This was HIS shark, the one he came for. The shark continued burning line; after about five minutes it had probably dumped another 200 yards and still swimming running for Cuba.

I coached James on the finer points of a methodical fighting technique, keeping everything smooth and fluid is very essential with hammers. I don’t slam the drag down like some people, it seems to only anger them and encourage overexertion, which greatly reduces the chance for a clean release. When the shark wants to turn, it will.

True to form, after about twenty minutes James had it turned and was gathering line as it swam up and down the beach.

Then the far left rod went off. First thought was the hammer had swum into that line and was tangled and dragging it. We backed off the drag slightly, deciding it best to leave it alone for a while, continuing to focus on James’ fish.

After another 15 minutes or so, James’ fish was swimming strongly to the south. The distance between it and the other rod was growing, yet the other rod was giving line. It didn’t take long to recognize it was not being dragged by James’ fish and we indeed had a double hookup on our hands. I got James’ son, Holton, up on the rack preparing to battle the second fish. Two large sharks on at the same time. You could hardly ask for anything better but landing both of them would involve a lot of work and a big dose of luck.

As fate would have it, Holton’s fish swam in and up the beach up to the north. Meanwhile, James’ fish was finally swimming straight in and still well to the south. Good

happened next was a godsend, James’ hammer swam straight into the bar and nearly beached itself. I managed to remove the hook in a matter of seconds as the Mudds all shot photos while I ran back for the measuring tools.

We got a measurement of over 11 feet and a ton of killer photos as the moment of truth approached… being able to accomplish a successful release. I walked her out and guided her into the current.

She felt strong and was moving. I pushed her off and she swam OK for a second or two and then made a U-turn. I quickly hopped around and grabbed her by the dorsal and pushed her off again into the darkness of the great Gulf of Mexico. She swam strongly and we all celebrated.

The amazement of our accomplishment was overwhelming to say the least. A double hookup and successful release of a large tiger and even larger hammer. For the Mudds, that slew of blacktips could have easier gone into their memories as a very successful first sharking adventure.

Adding the tiger and the hammer pushed it way over the top.

What a great trip with a great family!

C O N TA C T

news was that any chance of the two tangling was eliminated. At that point It was only a matter of which would be landed first.

I knew James’ shark was a hammer and had priority due to how fragile they are, and we wanted successful releases with both.

Luckily, within only a few minutes, Holton’s shark was in the first gut with the two sharks spaced a couple hundred yards apart. While not knowing what species Holton’s shark might be, I knew instinctively we had to land and release it as quickly as possible and then concentrate on the hammer.

I ran up the beach to leader Holton’s shark with half the Mudd crew in tow, the other half still with James at the camp as he continued to fight the hammer. Holton’s mystery fish was stubborn at first but with steady pressure on the leader I succeeded in guiding it to the sand.

Only then did I realize it was a tiger, and a pretty solid one at that.

Tigers are a definite favorite of mine, and though I strive to land one every trip, the truth is we get only a few each year.

The Mudd crew pitched in and we made precise work of removing the hook from the tiger, measuring, and hurriedly snapping photos.

Holton was ecstatic with his smile wider than the moon. His male tiger would have topped 10-feet had its tail not been shortened due to prior injury. Still a lifetime catch for the young man; we accomplished the release and hurried back down the beach to assess the situation still underway between James and the hammer.

James’ hammer was swimming up and down the gut. We strategically waited for it to get in front of the truck before I headed out to grab the leader. As with Holton’s shark, the crew did their best to keep lights trained on the beast to aid my efforts and safety. What

For the past decade Eric ‘Oz’ Ozolins has been promoting shark catch and release and assisting various shark research programs. Eric offers guided shark fishing on Padre Island National Seashore. Also renowned for extreme kayak big game fishing, Eric is the owner of Catch Sharks Tackle Company.

Email Websites

oz@oceanepics.com oceanepics.com | catchsharks.com

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EVERETT JOHNSON

P L A S T I C & W AT E R D O N ' T M I X

11TH ANNUAL PORT MANSFIELD EAST CUT AND BEACH CLEANUP Miller and Kathie Bassler, along with a crew of 220 volunteers have scored another great success in cleaning the Mansfield Channel and several miles of gulf beach.

Beach and shoreline cleanups come in various forms; the logistical challenges of this event make it notable in that the work area is accessible only by boat - five miles across the Lower Laguna Madre from Port Mansfield – or 62 miles down the Padre Island National Seashore beach from Corpus Christi.

The result was more than 22 tons of debris, much of it plastic, removed from the channel shorelines, jetties, and adjacent gulf beaches. When all the picking-up was accomplished, the trash was loaded on trailers and hauled back up to national park headquarters at Malaquite Beach.

The Basslers give huge credit to the dozens of Port Mansfield homeowners who graciously house out-oftowners for the weekend effort and many area fishing guides who donate the day to ferry workers to the work area, foregoing a lucrative Saturday charter. The volunteer fleet included 33 boats. Special credit is also

66 | August 2019

due national park personnel who participated and helped coordinate disposal.

Volunteers were provided breakfast and sack lunches during registration at the Port Mansfield Chamber Pavilion, the staging area where the crews then board boats to the work area. The event was capped with a celebration dinner, free to all donors and participants.

Cleaning the jettied section of the channel is especially challenging, given the size and of the granite blocks and the tripping hazards. A human-chain was organized to pass the bagged debris across the rocks to the waiting trailers.

Photo credits go to Bob Daemmrich. Check out the drone video footage captured and compiled by Dennis Rodriguez https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0OaO4lzX0. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video must be worth a million!

Learn more about this event by contacting miller@ basslerenergyservices.com or Kathie Bassler kathie@ basslerenergyservices.com

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Waterloo Rods Introduces Carbon Mag Waterloo’s Carbon Mag is the next advancement in graphite rod technology. The Carbon Mag is lighter and has higher density carbon paired with a nano-silica resin system. The new nano technology makes the blank extremely sensitive and durable. The Carbon Mag blank is available to personalize and customize your next rod; our most common lengths are 6’6”, 6’9”, and 7’. Also available; customized handles, guides and colors to best fit your preference. These options are available on our website, as well as in our shop and our dealers located along the Gulf coast. Visit our website at WaterlooRods.com 68 | August 2019

Might as well fish the best!

P R O D U C T S

Danco Fillet Knives: In-stock at Fishing Tackle Unlimited!

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TSFMAG.com | 69

DICKIE COLBURN

DICKIE COLBURN’S Sabine Scene

S ab i n e

Dickie Colburn is a full time guide out of Orange, Texas. Dickie has 37 years experience guiding on Sabine and Calcasieu Lakes.

Telephone 409-883-0723 Website www.sabineconnection.com

Initially, the greatest fear amongst local anglers after the five fish limit became a reality on the lower coast was not so much that they abhorred reduced limits, but that Sabine Lake might be the only venue on the coast still honoring the more liberal limits.

The consensus was that many Galveston anglers would readily drive another hour east just to keep more trout. When it was announced that the reduction would soon be statewide, even the local anglers that agreed with the need for change remained leery of any benefits for Sabine.

More generous limits of shorter trout had already enticed a few Texas guides to make the short run across the Causeway in order to stay in business. To heck with the fact that a keeper Louisiana trout was three inches shorter than its Texas cousin, forty-five fish for three anglers was more attractive than fifteen!

I perceived that assumption to be greatly over exaggerated, but I was wrong. Even before the changes could go into effect, Harvey unexpectedly relocated our trout population and, as predicted by the naysayers, parking a trailer at a Louisiana launch instantly required an early arrival.

The grind continues for Sabine Lake anglers, but

many of those visiting anglers are now leaving home thirty minutes earlier to fish Calcasieu. Numbers apparently do not outrank size and a shot at a better fish merits the extra gas.

On a recent stormy Sunday afternoon, I crossed the Causeway and stopped at launches all the way to Hackberry in route to a friend’s house to eat barbequed crabs. It came as no surprise that in every parking lot Texas plates far outnumbered those from Louisiana.

My host for the afternoon said that a pair of Texas plant workers caught three trout over seven pounds on the preceding Wednesday and it didn’t take long for the word to get back across the river. If that bite continues to improve, they may need to install another traffic light in Johnson’s Bayou!

A recent article in the Louisiana Sportsman, however, reported that the trout population may be dwindling in that state as well. They are still in the process of gathering data, but the initial numbers are decidedly low enough to warrant the attention of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission.

At a time when it is so difficult to even muster a handful of quality strikes, it seems impossible that there was a day when keeping a hundred trout was

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considered another so-so trip. Because they usually had more tiny white worms than bass, we cleaned them and gave them away to friends that obviously knew something we didn’t.

Netters and the anglers that drifted plastic worms over deep shell on the south end of the lake, however, knew that a more exciting bite existed. Boxes of five pound plus trout didn’t merit a second look and there is no telling how many trout in the seven to nine-pound class were unceremoniously filleted and eaten.

It wasn’t until Mickey Eastman brought his trout tournaments to Sabine that speckled trout attained their due respect. For those hoping to keep it a secret it was a disappointing revelation, but even the added pressure proved to be little more than an inconvenience.

Then came Rita, Ike and the infamous Harvey and copious amounts of additional fresh water generated by Rayburn and Toledo Bend continue to flush through the lake on its way to the Gulf. The

added silt that now blankets most of the shell is easily stirred up by even the most modest of winds rendering “catching” an even more challenging feat.

If fishing dirty water is not your thing, I would highly recommend joining the parade to Calcasieu. Not that their water clarity and salinity Redfish continue to level have not taken a hit as well, but it provide the most is stable enough to keep quality trout consistent bite for hanging around and that is not to be Sabine anglers. taken for granted!

Weather and tides permitting, there are three patterns that will yield at least a few fish on Sabine right now. Schools of small trout are occasionally showing up from the Causeway to the jetties. Slightly better trout as well as small flounder and slot reds are showing up on the North revetment wall on good tide changes. Outgoing tides are generating a mixed bag around the drains on the east side of the lake.

Hopefully, our kids will reap the benefits of enhanced conservation efforts that will quickly insure a brighter tomorrow!

TSFMAG.com | 71

CAPT. CALEB HARP

THE BUZZ on Galveston Bay

Galve s t o n

Capt. Caleb Harp has fished the Galveston Bay System since childhood and, now a charter captain and fishing guide, he uses his knowledge to enable clients to enjoy the excellent fishing the area offers. His specialty is the yeararound pursuit for trophy trout and redfish with artificial lures

Telephone 281-753-3378 Website harpsguideservice.com

August on Galveston Bay can be nothing short of phenomenal due to the weather patterns that dominate this month of the summer season. Options become nearly endless during light wind and zerowind days. Due to the great majority of our fish living in the middle of the bay, it’s almost impossible to get on them when the wind is blowing 20+ mph.

However, when it’s calm you can go wherever you want, whenever you want.

Too bad we do not still have the vast schools of trout as we did in years gone by. Nowadays we have to play it smart and live or die on a school we were lucky to locate. The days of leaving fish to find fish are pretty much gone. Whenever you find a pattern, you better camp out. Needless to say, the calm winds of August will allow more time on these schools though, and hopefully several days of fishing success before they break up or move on.

If I was allowed only one word to describe what’s been going on around the Galveston Bay System I would say inconsistent. Fishermen have had some great catches in the areas in and around West Bay but these patterns are typically short-lived and heavily pressured.

East Bay has been pretty slow on average, and whenever you do catch something you better have your Check-It-Stick handy.

Trinity is gutted with freshwater again, the same as it’s been the last five years.

As negative as I probably sound, I do believe it will eventually turn around. Our saving grace will come on September 1st when our new 5-fish limit will take affect. It won’t be a cure-all, at least not right away, but I’m willing to bet it will be a huge step in the right direction. Give it two or three years and I’m willing to bet we see a big difference. Better late than never…right?

Last year at this time I expressed the need for everybody to fish smarter and more conservatively, which I believe continues to be as important today as it ever was. Fishermen must stick together as a group that loves this bay system and the sport of fishing and take better care of our fishery. We need to do away with the kill-em-all mentality. Gone are the days when good ol’ Galveston Bay could cough up liberal limit after limit, year after year. While we’re at it, we also need to ditch the posting of hero stringers on Facebook with captions to the effect…

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“Nobody saved me any buffalo!”

When I say to fish smart, what I mean is that we have to slow down and dissect every detail of what’s going on to understand the reason why the fish are doing what they are doing and why they are where they are. Often times we get into a rush and want to power through an area or pull up to a spot and give it ten casts and keep rolling.

Fishing smart means slowing down and locating fish, and then finding out what they’re willing to eat. Once you get a few sessions like this under your belt you will be ready to carry the knowledge to other places and other schools of fish without wasting a whole day running around and practicing your long distance casting.

I remember years ago on a wade fishing trip with Mickey Eastman, we were fishing a rather small cove and I wanted to push forward while fan-casting a topwater. After thirty minutes without a bite, I said to Mickey, “Let’s get out of here. They’re either not here or they’re not feeding.” Mickey just looked at me and dryly replied, “We aren’t going anywhere.”

Two hours later and still no bites, we finally saw a slick pop. Within an hour we had experienced a day I will never forget – literally a dozen or more fours and fives, a couple of sixes, and three over seven pounds. This is just one of many examples why it pays to slow it all down and study everything that’s going on around you.

In closing, I wish everyone the best on the water and I encourage everyone to try to fish smarter and learn as much as you can. The fishing will get better and we will be just fine. The slowest of days are often when we learn the most. I hope to see you all on the water soon.

– Captain Caleb Harp

TSFMAG.com | 73

BINK GRIMES

THE VIEW FROM Matagorda

M ata go r d a

Bink Grimes is a full-time fishing and hunting guide, freelance writer and photographer, and owner of Sunrise Lodge on Matagorda Bay.

Telephone 979-241-1705 Email binkgrimes@sbcglobal.net Website matagordasunriselodge.com

74 | August 2019

A slight switch in wind direction means everything to coastal Texans. Southeast wind normally brings a low barometer; and, falling barometric pressure is generally more conducive for fish to bite. North winds flatten the summer surf, giving us miles and miles of guts and bars to work along the beach. The good news with an easterly flow is tides rise and push water to back lakes and estuaries devoid of tides for most of the summer. To put it plainly, the bays get a shot in the arm when southeast winds blow.

Then there is August. Many days we pray for wind. Sure, it’s hot, but if you leave the dock a little earlier and head back to the dock before it blisters, August can be just as profitable as June.

August normally brings with it weak cool fronts that knock down the humidity, flatten the Gulf of Mexico, and usher in the first batch of bluewinged teal. We will work the surf and jetty on these days, concentrating in the first gut on the incoming tide and tossing topwaters on the outer bars on the falling tide.

When winds are light we also drift the middle of East Bay. Trout and redfish hang there all year, and

THE So, did this trout have a close call with a shark, or did Capt.

Tommy miss lunch?

slicks become more prevalent during August, especially for schooling redfish.

East Matagorda’s mid-bay reefs consistently hold good trout in August. We start out in waistdeep water on the shell drop and then end up in chest-deep water on the end of the reef as the water warms. Know your tides. There have been many mornings I have arrived to find nothing, but patience prevails knowing the incoming tide will bring fish to the reef. Slicks popping in deeper water adjacent to the reef are good signs.

Don’t be surprised to find birds working along the north shoreline with calm conditions. Since the ICW runs along the northern boundary of East Bay, those shrimp running the “ditch” often enter the bay on the incoming tide.

Likewise, the reefs along the north shoreline are a boon to waders tossing topwaters on the incoming tide. Never underestimate the cuts leading to the bay on the incoming tide as well.

Those fish enter and exit the ditch daily through the cuts. There are some good trout on the shorelines for waders as well. Again, it’s an early bite with the heat. We find those trout over the grass early, then they fall along the ledge in about 4-5 feet of water later in the day.

Offshore anglers have enjoyed excellent red snapper action in 40-80 feet of water. Lots of 1520 pound snapper have been caught over wrecks and reefs.

Tripletail action in the bay has been hit-or-miss. Better catches have come on the weedlines just off the beach; and, more tripletail have been spotted in East Matagorda Bay in the past two years.

Expect kingfish, cobia and dorado to remain consistent over structure. If the past two years are a barometer, expect tarpon to show along the beach in August. Legitimate 200-plus pounders were caught and released last summer.

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CAPT. GARY GRAY

MID-COAST BAYS With the Grays

Port O'Connor Seadrift

Captain Gary Gray is a full time guide, born and raised in Seadrift. He has been guiding the Seadrift/Port O’Connor region since 1986. Gary specializes in year ‘round wade fishing for speckled trout and redfish with artificial lures.

Telephone 361-785-6708 Email bayrats@tisd.net Website www.bayrat.com Facebook @captsgaryandshelliegray

August is generally our hottest month, and with the temps we’ve experienced through June and thus far in July it will likely hold true again this year.

Summer doldrums with light to no wind and high air temperatures means fishermen need to make adjustments to stay on their quarry.

As of late-June, Shellie and I have been meeting clients well before sunrise to get a jump on the early bite. We normally launch our boats at 4:45 AM and leave Charlie’s Bait Camp well before most anglers are picking up breakfast tacos.

On my Shallowsport X3, I run a Simrad GPS/Sonar with water temperature gauge. Water temps on the flats where we begin our morning wades have been hovering in the upper-80s. Folks, that is warm, but not nearly as warm as three hours after sunrise. You do not want to be on that flat five hours after the sun is up if you can help it because most of your quarry will have already slipped over the drop-offs on the edge of the flat looking for cooler water. We also see this on mid-bay reefs where the water can be five- to six-feet deep a short distance from the shallow reef crowns.

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August is a great time to fish the surf!

reefs lies in the surf along Matagorda Island and Matagorda Peninsula. From May to September, when the wind lays and the gulf calms, you will find the bow of my Shallow Sport X3 pointed either toward the pass and then west down the beach, or I’ll be running through the Big Jetties and turning east along that stretch of beachfront.

There are several ways you can fish the surf. My clients and I prefer wade fishing and the key to this is finding a location where you safely anchor the boat. I most always try to anchor in the second gut. In some instances, if the first gut is wide and deep enough, I will anchor my Shallow Sport there.

Another method we employ on really calm days is remaining in the boat and trolling to hunt for trout and reds. I’m a big believer in equipping boats with trolling motors for this and other fishing opportunities. Troll-motoring down the beachfront, concentrating casts in the first and second guts with your favorite She Dog is an excellent way to spend the morning. The explosions you get from amped-up tide runner trout are second to none.

Another way to fish the surf, and probably the most popular nowadays, is setting your anchor so the boat settles parallel to beach where you can throw live bait back into the first and second guts.

I am going to tell you right now though, you have to get your bait to where the trout and reds are.

I see anglers everyday anchored offshore of the third bar. Some of the guys will be casting further offshore and some just throwing alongside the boat. Normally, this is where you pick up stuff like large stingrays, sharks, and other species besides specks and reds. If you’re looking for specks and reds you need to target the first and second guts – period!

Granted, there will be days when it isn’t safe to anchor near the beach and you just flat shouldn’t attempt it. My rule of thumb is this: If the waves are breaking on the third bar, turn around go back to the bay. Better yet, if the marine forecast includes seas greater than two feet, don’t even go to the surf. It can become very dangerous very quickly.

I’ve narrowed my surf wading box to a handful of lures that have worked well over the years.

Longtime standbys are the Johnson 3/4-ounce gold spoon and 5-inch Bass Assassin Sea Shads in darker shades – Red Shad and Morning Glory. Jighead weights depend mostly on wind and current. I find that 1/8 and 1/4-ounce get the job done most days. MirrOlure He Dogs and She Dogs in the 808 or Purple Demon work for me. Another MirrOlure that’s been getting play time is the 52MR series. I like Purple Demon, Hot Pink, and 21 (black back-white belly).

In closing I would like to recommend wearing some type of PFD when wading near a pass. Quite a few options here – inflatable or vest type – the important thing is to wear one. Currents in the passes are much stronger than you encounter further down the beach and you could be swept into deep water in the wink of an eye. I prefer not to wade near passes for this reason.

Fish hard, fish smart!

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TSFMAG.com | 77

DAVID ROWSEY

HOOKED UP WITH Rowsey

Upper Laguna/ Ba f f i n

David Rowsey has over 25 years in Baffin and Upper Laguna Madre; trophy trout with artificial lures is his specialty.

David has a great passion for conservation and encourages catch and release of trophy fish.

Telephone 361-960-0340 Website www.DavidRowsey.com Email david.rowsey@yahoo.com @captdavidrowsey

78 | August 2019

Well, the dog days have arrived in full force. Slack winds and 100° temperatures are sucking the wind out of the “dream job” of guiding right about now.

I’m often asked how I do it most every day, and I sometimes wonder that myself. The truth is I still love to fish and am as excited as any client when I feel that thump at the end of the line. The real story, though, for me to run so many days in the heat, is being stubborn and a strong dose of mind over matter. No matter how any of us make a living we all have to get up and put our feet on the ground.

The good news is that we are catching…steadily.

Trout mornings have been really solid on most days, unless the winds are just dead flat. With little tidal movement in Baffin, a good breeze to create current in the water is a must. Personally, I prefer wind in the range of 12- to 20-miles per hour. The water stays generally “trout green” with our typical SE wind and the currents generated are ideal for keeping baitfish pinned to structure. The wind is your friend this time of the year. Embrace it!

My focus from August through the first cold fronts will be trout for the first three hours of daylight and then switching to reds when the heat and the sun gets

up good. Redfish schools are showing up pretty steady now, but it doesn’t take much boat traffic to bust them up. “Back in the day” you could find countless schools of reds throughout the Laguna and Baffin and they were easy pickins.

It is a much different story than even just a short ten years ago. I cannot exaggerate how my clients and I could be on a wade with 200 reds in front of us, catching practically every cast, only to watch them break up and vanish when a boat runs by within a couple hundred yards. This used to not be the case, but with so much more boat traffic, people running shorelines, and “rodeos” in the open bay, reds have learned new survival strategies. Mainly, the school splinters off in many directions and fish bury in the grass. Come sunset they gather up again.

With so many more people and boats on the water, I’ve learned to take opportunities as they present themselves. Most of you know me as a diehard trout guy, and that is true. Many years ago I was trolling up on what I thought was a big school of reds on some deep rocks in Baffin. The school turned out to be black drum. We did not catch any on our lures but, lo and behold, about one in twenty amongst the school were

redfish. We managed to catch 15 or 20 of them over the next couple of hours, along with some very solid trout. I have learned many lessons on the water by accident and that is one I still use every time the opportunity presents itself. My point to all my fellow trout and red snobs is to try new things to accomplish the same goal. Thinking outside of the box can sometimes make you look pretty damn smart.

I do not foresee any big change in lure selection over the next few months. At least half of the boat will start with MirrOlure She Dogs in the morning and the other half will try finessing Bass Assassins around whatever structure we are on. Even on days when we are blessed with a good topwater bite, it usually ends pretty early. From that point on, it’s all about the 5” Bass Assassin. A fast sinking MirrOdine is also a must-have in the wade box. It will cast a mile and has a lot of flash that trout love when the sun gets high and pushes them to deeper water.

There is a big to-do about the state of our coastal fisheries right now. TPWD has created a Facebook poll seeking opinions and comments on a mix of things that have to do with saltwater fishing and boating. I’ve had many opinions about what needs to be done on the coast for many years and I’m pleased to see many salty sportsmen looking at the bigger picture and encouraging others to be more conservative. This poll is an opportunity to speak directly to TPWD. Get involved and let your voice be heard.

Remember the buffalo! -Capt David Rowsey

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TSFMAG.com | 79

WAYNE DAVIS

WAYNE’S Mansfield Report

Port Mansfield

Captain Wayne Davis has been fishing the Lower Laguna-Port Mansfield for over 20 years. He specializes in wade fishing with lures.

Telephone 210-287-3877 Email captwayne@kwigglers.com

in

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Greetings from Port Mansfield! Late spring and early summer weather patterns have made it necessary to adapt to strong southerly winds longer than expected.

We’ve had a few days of seasonably light wind but, in general, we have had to tuck and run more days than I care to remember. Even late-June gave us sustained 20-to-25 with gusts to 30, and that’s just not normal.

In a perfect world, gusty southerly flows are mostly in the rearview by mid-June and in July we expect calm mornings with breezes developing around noon and maybe reaching 20-mph by late afternoon.

Sneaking through the East Cut jetties on a calm summer morning is always a great change of pace for bay anglers. Who would want to pass up a nice mess of delicious red snapper fillets and maybe some sight-casting to occasional ling and kingfish? I’m sure praying the wind gives us a break soon!

Water levels have remained high, which certainly boosts water clarity on windy days, and also allows the shallows on the eastside sand flats to cool considerably overnight. Having said that, on a recent trip I was returning to Port high on the east flats and noticed some bait and a fair spattering of redfish in

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Steve Lyon with a dandy summertime speckled trout.

a small zone. I had a new group the following day Sonny Hinojosa releasing one of many “tournament so I thought; I bet this winning” reds landed area will have better fish during the Shallow Sport right at sunrise. I made a Owners Tournament. mental note and decided to give it a go.

We arrived high on the hard-packed sand just before the sun began to peak above the horizon the next morning. We slid off the side of my Shallow Sport Classic into cool mid-calf water and immediately noted the area was covered with nervous bait. Every couple of minutes you would see or hear an explosion. The winds were gusty but we were so high on the sand that the water was gin clear. Within minutes we started connecting with trout and reds; one trout went five pounds.

The hot baits that morning were the KWigglers 4-inch paddletail in Honey Gold-Chartreuse and Willow Tail Shad in Mansfield Margarita. We had a blast until 9:00am when they suddenly shut down like somebody had thrown a switch. Not one mullet or gamefish to be seen…it was over. The sun had climbed to the point where it moved those fish off the flat to deeper water. This kind of moment provides an invaluable lesson in how quickly fish can turn on and then disappear.

Timing really is everything!

So, with this in mind, consider earlier starts in the summer and have a solid “first spot” plan in mind. Factors to consider when developing your first spot plan are water levels, wind, water temperature, lunar phase, boat traffic, bait presence, and water clarity.

Our catches have been fair for small- to medium-keeper trout with a few reds mixed in. Just about every trip we pick up a flounder, sometimes two or three. In general I would say this has been one of the better flounder years we’ve seen in quite some time. About three months ago we started catching small flounder, some barely 14 inches, but now we are seeing some 19- to 21-inchers, with one on a recent trip going four pounds. In addition to the flounder, snook are another surprise. I typically do not target snook, the ones we’re finding have spread into what I would call normal trout and redfish haunts.

Something else to ponder: As I set out for a wade, especially on weekend days in popular fishing areas, I take note of the number of boats and anglers within sight and try to calculate the number of fish they will likely be keeping. A conservative estimate would be two fish per angler, weighing an average of two pounds each. Even by these conservative estimates I come up with several hundred pounds being taken from an area not much larger than a few hundred acres.

I then try to recall the number of boat trailers in the parking lots and empty boat slings in the harbor, which brings me to an even scarier harvest calculation. This does not include tournaments that are held just about every weekend, nor does it consider the number of boats running from private docks.

I mention this so you can run your own numbers, or at least give it some thought. We have a fragile ecosystem here on the Lower Laguna, which causes me to wonder how long our Mother Lagoon can continue to give up so many fish.

Enjoy your time on the water and practice catch and release when you can.

TSFMAG.com | 81

CAPT. ERNEST CISNEROS

SOUTH PADRE Fishing Scene Arr o y o C ol o ra d o t o Po rt I sa bel

A Brownsville-area native, Capt. Ernest Cisneros fishes the Lower Laguna Madre from Port Mansfield to Port Isabel.

Ernest specializes in wading and poled skiff adventures for snook, trout, and redfish.

Cell 956-266-6454 Website www.tightlinescharters.com

Just recently a young lady shared her experience of a snorkeling trip on the Lower Laguna. She related that as some of the workers on the charter vessel prepared the people with snorkeling gear, others entered the water with trays of fish food. She went on to say that immediately the fish knew a buffet was about to be served as the fish gathered by the dozens to be fed.

This technique of attracting fish surprised me, but it made sense in assuring the paying snorkel clients would get the max viewing opportunity of all the creatures in the water.

The thought of baiting (chumming) an area I plan to fish had never really crossed my mind. However, as a fishing guide, it became quickly apparent that the way we target bait concentrations is very similar.

Redfish action continues to be steady, but something I have noticed lately with all the summer boat traffic, redfish have definitely taken to more remote areas, well away from the outboard noise and fishing pressure.

Redfish tend to move up on the skinny grass and sand flats during the early hours but retreat to deeper and cooler water come mid-morning. Currently, we are also finding scattered reds along the ICW drop-off during the hottest part of the day. Sandy potholes off

Mike Romano with his first Texas snook, and a trophy at that.

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Robert Parker and Emma Schaaf had an epic snook day. Their smiles tell it all.

spoil islands have also been productive areas to target. Even with water temps ranging mid-80s to 90 degrees, we are managing to find a redfish bite in these waist-deep holes when the tide is falling in late-afternoon.

August can be a stormy month, with tropical depressions and possibly hurricanes developing in the Gulf. Should this be the case this summer, I expect elevated tides will change redfish patterns, causing them to scatter as more acres of quiet water become available.

The KWiggler Ball Tall Shad in Plum-Chartreuse continues to be our hot redfish bait, followed closely by Mansfield Margarita. The Willow Tail Shad in Turtle Grass is another good producer when they seem to prefer more natural colors. The topwater bite has been sporadic at best in recent weeks.

Anglers targeting trout in the Lower Laguna have surely noticed the abundance of smaller fish this summer. These fish are the stock of the future, so please handle them as carefully as possible to accomplish a healthy release. I can say we are not catching full limits of trout as the hot weather has shortened the windows of opportunity but fishing the moving tides has undoubtedly helped us get on a few.

The bigger trout are still around but scattered, and their continued weight loss as spawning continues is greatly evident. If you plan to release the big ones, it’s critical that you don’t stress them too long because with this hot weather, their stamina and tolerance to handling is much lower than normal.

Trout are very sensitive to water temperature, which means locating the better ones usually means keeping a close eye on my water temperature gauge. Locating structure that would normally hold feeding fish often gives us few bites when the water temps rise toward the high-80s and 90s.

What’s acceptable water temperature? Right now, I would say anything less than 81° holds the greatest promise. It has been a while since I’ve seen my water temperature gauge showing anything in the 70s. So, it goes without saying, the bite will deep, near bottom, and slow retrieves with soft plastics have become the most productive method. Low and slow may not be the most exciting way to fish, nearly everybody would prefer throwing topwaters, but that’s the way it is and will likely remain throughout the month.

Flounder have easily been the biggest surprise so far this summer, and catching them has been a great bonus compared to the past three years. We are picking up several per day without specifically targeting them. Concentrating efforts on cuts and drains, and along the ICW drop-offs, will provide even more bites.

Snook fishing has been off the charts this summer as we continue to see and catch them in areas that have never held snook in my memory. I stress careful handling and 100% catch and release on my charters in hope that this fishery will continue to thrive for many years to come.

In closing, I would like to recognize all my sponsors that make my passion and guiding business successful: Fishing Tackle Unlimited, Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine, Simms, Costa, KWiggler, AFW, AFTCO, Coastline Trailers, Majek Boats, Shimano, Power-Pole, and Ron Hoover RV and Marine of Donna.

Best fishing!

TSFMAG.com | 83

FISHING REPORTS

Lake Calcasieu Louisiana Jeff and Mary Poe - Big Lake Guide Service - 337.598.3268 After dealing with so much rain, freshwater runoff and high winds for several months in a row, August sounds like a welcome breath of fresh air.

The weather will be hot, but weather conditions this month usually provide plenty of productive fishing options. On many days, we get our limits of fish before noon and come back to the dock to beat the heat. We'll target fish in depths of seven feet or more because of the heat, so the Calcasieu Channel, Cameron Jetties, the surf and nearshore platforms usually produce best.

The deeper, cooler water in these places offers the fish some escape from the suffocating heat on shallow flats. Soft plastics rigged on heavy jigheads weighing at least a quarter-ounce work best for targeting trout at these depths. Topwaters can work great during August, but the feeding window is shorter than at other times of year when the water's cooler. Early morning is typically the best time to throw the floating plugs. We're hoping for light winds, light flows of freshwater will allow us to fish where we need to this month, so we can enjoy some consistent trout fishing.

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com - 409.935.7242 James had been catching pretty good numbers of fish on trips made in the week or so prior to giving this report. “We're catching some fish, spending most of our time on shallow shell close to deeper water. Sometimes, we're wading really shallow, like less than knee-deep. A few days ago, we caught 25 trout working that shallow. We've been throwing medium-sized topwaters like the pink Ghosts and One Knockers. Also catching a bunch of fish on little boss Bass Assassins. We still have too much freshwater in some parts of the bays, so areas west of Pelican and Sand islands are producing better than places in East and Trinity bays. Trout fishing should remain basically the same throughout the month of August. If it stops raining, we might get some saltier water back into some new areas, like maybe Dollar Point and Smith Point, the south shoreline of East Bay. Otherwise, we'll stay west. Fishing might get really good out around the jetties and in the surf.

Flounder fishing has been great and should continue to be. We've been catching some wading and out of the boat too.”

Jimmy West - Bolivar Guide Service - 409.996.3054 Jim said the freshwater flowing down the rivers after a wet spring had slowed the fishing in some parts of the Galveston Bay complex, but the bite has been hot in other places. “East, Trinity and Upper Galveston are very fresh. If any wind is blowing at all, a messy thing turns worse, and it gets really hard to catch a fish. Over here in East Bay right now, catching fish means working a soft plastic right on the bottom. Executing that out of a boat is difficult for the average fisherman. Further west, in parts of Lower Galveston Bay and in West Bay, the water is saltier and greener, and the catching is easier. We've had some good trips over there recently, targeting trout and reds around rocky structures with topwaters and tails.

Last week, I had two days where we caught 90 to 100 fish pretty easily.

Nothing big, but enough keepers to make it worthwhile. It's easy catching compared to these other areas where the water's so fresh. The surf has been good at times too. If we get typical calm August weather, fishing on the beach, the jetties and in western parts of the bays should be best.”

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays Randall Groves - Groves Guide Service 979.849.7019 - 979.864.9323 Randall had just gotten off the gulf from an offshore outing when he 84 | August 2019

ORECASTS F from Big Lake to Boca Chica

AND

gave this report. “Great fishing today. We had several groupers and full limits of snapper, up to twenty pounds. We expect the offshore action to remain excellent through August and maybe beyond. Yesterday, fishing the beach was hot. It's been excellent every time the wind lays for a couple days. We've got some stained water right now, so we've been catching trout and redfish with noisy lures like Skitterwalks in white with red head. When the topwater bite slows, we're doing better with Norton Sand Shads rigged on quarter-ounce heads and dangled under popping corks. The fish seem to locate the lures better in the stained water when you make lots of noise with the cork to attract their attention. We should have steady action along the beachfront through August too, if winds are light. We'll move into some of the back bays along protected shorelines when the wind gets up, throwing topwaters and tails for redfish and trout. Overall, things have been trending up, and they should continue to do so with the expected calmer weather patterns.”

Matagorda | Tommy Countz Bay Guide Service - 979.863.7553 cell 281.450.4037 The expected light winds and searing heat of August open up several productive options for folks fishing the Matagorda area. “Normally, I spend most of my time heading west this time of year. We'll wade the shorelines in West Matagorda some, focusing on the grass beds tight to the bank at first light, throwing small topwaters and dark soft plastics on light jigheads, but moving out to the deeper side of the bars quicker once the sun comes up. Lately, we've been doing well by walking out as far as we can get and casting out farther, working topwaters with a slow, erratic presentation. The trout have been blowing up well on that drill. If we're fishing out of the boat, we like to throw live shrimp under a popping cork over the artificial reef for trout mainly. Live shrimp should also work well to take the tripletail off exposed structures like rigs and signs, also floating mats of grass. And, in most years, August is the best month of all for getting numbers of days with potential for catching in the surf, so we'll head out to the beach as often as we can.”

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam www.palaciosguideservice.com - 979.240.8204 Fishing is finally settling into summer patterns, and results are getting good again. We've had some awesome days in the surf, also fishing deep shell reefs in West Matagorda Bay, and sight-casting redfish in the marshes. The surf turned on for some good stretches of days, and we clobbered the trout throwing green/chrome MirrOlure SheDogs and white Skitterwalks. The deep shell pads and sunken barges out in West Matagorda have been holding great numbers of trout up to twenty-two inches, and they are readily biting free-lined live shrimp and chicken of the sea DSL's. Fishing for reds in the marsh has been hot as well, since these high tides have sent the fish way back into the shallows. Matrix Shad crawfish in pearl and pumpkin have been hard for the cruising bruisers to resist. Our triple tail bite is not as good as it can be, due to all the runoff from the heavy rains, but I believe once salinity levels increase, we'll start catching more of them again. August is a great month to head out early, fish some deep structures or hit the surf and enjoy some fast catching.

Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith Back Bay Guide Service - 361.983.4434 Lynn looks forward to fishing as much as possible in the surf during the month of August. “In a normal year, the wind lays in July and August, and the surf gets flat and green. We'll have our eye on that, and head

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out to the beachfront as much as we can. Out there, we like to throw topwaters early, staying in the gut closest to the sand, or the one outside the first bar. We usually have good luck on some of the bigger fish that way.

As the sun climbs higher in the sky, we usually move out a little deeper and switch over to soft plastics eventually. Of course, trout are the target fish when we're fishing the beach. If conditions don't allow us to get to the surf on a given day, the main alternative plan is to fish the flats and shoreline areas close inside the pass, where we have grass beds on sandy bottom close to deeper water. Topwaters work well in places like that on an average August morning too, especially when we're targeting trout around rafted baitfish. When wind speeds ramp up a little, we'll make some forays into the back-lakes, searching for redfish.

Rockport | Blake Muirhead Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894 Blake likes to fish several different types of areas in August, depending on the wind and weather. “On a normal day, I start off fishing pretty shallow, say knee to thigh-deep water, on area shorelines with a mix of sand and grass. We'll wade and throw live croakers most of the time, soft plastics on other occasions. Of course, as it gets hotter late in the morning, we usually move out deeper and fish potholes and grass edges in water barely shallow enough for wading. On the calm days, I sometimes fish the reefs out in the middle of the bays. They usually hold plenty of trout in hot weather, since you have shallow structures close to deep water. The same calm days can also make the surf the place to be. I can remember years in the past when I've fished eight or ten days out along the beachfront in August, so that's a definite possibility. On the way in from the surf, I will also start checking the areas close to the Aransas Channel for redfish schooling up to head out into the gulf next month.

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut Robert Zapata – rz1528@grandecom.net - 361.563.1160 “Summer fishing has been good so far in the Upper Laguna Madre, and I don't expect that to change much during the month of August. The air and water temperatures will stay hot, as will the catching. The fish will begin their days in shallow water close to shorelines early in the mornings and will drop into deeper water as the sun rises and warms things up. On a typical August morning, winds are light at first, then they get progressively stronger into the middle of the afternoon. We've been catching some good trout and reds on Bass Assassin Elite Shiners in colors like Houdini, meat hook and mama's 14K, rigged on sixteenth-ounce Spring Lock jigheads. One trout caught recently stretched the tape to 31 ½ inches, and was caught in a foot of water. Bass Assassin Die Dappers in colors like chicken on a chain and salt and pepper silver phantom with chartreuse tail are working best in deeper water later in the day. Free-lining live croakers and piggy perch along grass lines, in potholes and around rock formations has been productive too. I'm seeing lots of stingrays when wading, so I wear ForEverLast RayGuards at all times.”

Corpus Christi | Joe Mendez – www.sightcast1.com - 361.877.1230 Hot summer mornings normally produce light winds, often with a westerly aspect. When this becomes the norm, Joe likes fishing the shoreline of the Kenedy Ranch south of Baffin Bay. “Trolling down the outside edges of the large rocks lying close to the Kenedy Ranch Shoreline is a productive plan on most mornings this time of year. With the excellent water clarity we've had for a while now, even the deepest rocks are visible once the sun gets up a little ways in the sky. It's usually possible to catch plenty of trout and a few redfish on topwaters early, but the bite is generally best on paddletails rigged on eighth-ounce to quarter-ounce heads. The key to catching in this area is casting at the bright spots close to the rocks. Most of the fish seem to prefer sitting on the grassy edges

86 | August 2019

of these sandy spots, waiting to ambush something that swims through the area. Light south or southeast winds make it easy to stay outside the deeper rocks and cast toward them. If west winds are blowing, taking the boat closer to the shoreline and casting out makes more sense, but requires caution to avoid bumping into shallow boulders.”

P.I.N.S. Fishing Forecast | Eric Ozolins 361-877-3583 | Oceanepics.com Summer doldrums now dominate the Texas surf, and fishing will vary along the coast. Down south, clear green water will make morning trout fishing exciting. Trout will also be most active when the tide is moving. My personal preference is topwater lures; bigger lures produce bigger trout.

Soft plastics will also produce lots of specks. Overall, expect the middle of the day to be very slow. The exception will be unusual bait activity.

The farther we go into August, the more bait-balls get pushed inshore by predators. During these frenzies, you can find anything from skipjacks to tarpon and sharks. Large spoons are a great way to target tarpon. Red drum will be fairly easy to catch on live and cut bait. Shark action will occur mostly at night as larger predators feed under cover of darkness in calm, clear water. The heat of summer brings two possible dangers.

Stingrays are currently very abundant in the surf, so be sure to shuffle your feet when wading. The other hazard is tropical weather. Before each outing, take a look at the tropical forecast and plan accordingly.

Port Mansfield | Ruben Garza Snookdudecharters.com – 832.385.1431 Getaway Adventures Lodge – 956.944.4000 August has a reputation for early morning topwater action that sometimes lasts all day. With calm winds, areas to consider will be the west shoreline from Port all the way to Gladys, and any of the spoil humps along the ICW. When the wind is a factor we head to the eastside flats. The Saucer area and Game Warden Shack are always worth a look.

That’s a lot of water to cover but one of August’s greatest indicators is the presence of slicks to focus upon. Birds work in August, especially over deeper water from Century Point to the Oak Mottes. Trout under birds will usually hit topwaters but your hookup ratio is almost better with soft plastics. KWigglers Ball Tails and Willow Tails on 1/8 jigs are both excellent baits. As the day heats up, we like to head for deeper water along the ledge between the Weather Station and Wagner's Bar and key on muddy streaks created by schools of mullet. For a change of pace, try trolling and plugging the gulf side of the East Cut jetties for bull reds, king and Spanish mackerel, and occasional tarpon.

Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel Aaron Cisneros | tightlinescharters.com – 956-639-1941 Staying on consistent trout action with steadily rising water temperatures in recent weeks means beginning our days in three-foot depths and slowly wading toward chest-deep water. Topwaters have been very effective in the early hours, the Super Spook Jr in bone getting lots of strikes. Usually by mid-morning we have made the switch to KWigglers Ball Tail Shads on 1/8 Screwlock Jigheads. Plastic colors vary daily with depth and water clarity but overall the plum-chartreuse gets the job as well as any. Schools of redfish have been fairly easy to find along remote grass-sand shorelines where boat traffic is lightest and bait is plentiful. Small topwaters have been collecting fairly steady action the first few hours after sunrise while the trusty weedless gold spoon works all the time. The normal summertime pattern of best action occurring early and again late in the afternoon has begun to develop noticeably in the past couple of weeks and I expect this will continue throughout August. If you’re not out there at sunrise you will probably miss the best opportunity the day has to offer.

TSFMAG.com | 87

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Photo Gallery Guidelines First come – first published!

Photos are judged on artistic merit and sporting ethic displayed. No stringer, cleaning table, or hanging board images allowed.

Digital images only. Adjust camera to high or best quality. All images become property of TSFMag. Email to: Photos@TSFMag.com Include short description of your catch with name, date, bay system, etc.

TSFMAG.com | 89

PAM JOHNSON

Gulf Coast

Got ideas, hints or recipes you’d like to share?

Email them to pam@tsfmag.com or send by fax: 361 792-4530

Sharilyn and D’Netta’s

Crab & Tomato Pie INGREDIENTS

PREPARATION

1 Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust

Place pie crust in 9” pie dish and bake according to package instructions. Cover edge with foil ring to prevent overcooking. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

2 Fully-ripe tomatoes (medium size) 2 Tbsp real butter 1-½ Cup lump crab meat ¼ tsp garlic powder 1/3 Cup diced onion 1/3 Cup freshly chopped basil 1 Tbsp chopped jalapeno pepper (optional)

Melt butter in non-stick skillet and sauté crab several minutes over medium heat.

2 Cups grated Le Gruyere or your favorite cheese

Mix cheeses and mayonnaise.

3/4 Cup Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise 1/2 Cup grated parmesan cheese

Arrange tomato slices in bottom of cooled pie crust and cover with sautéed crab meat. -Sprinkle with diced onion, basil, and optional chopped jalapeno.

Fresh vine-ripened tomatoes are a must to get the most out of this delicious creation.

Carefully spread cheese-mayo mixture on top of the chopped veggies by dropping from large serving spoon and pressing lightly with back of spoon.

Thank you, Sharilyn Carroll, for sharing this wonderful recipe!

90 | August 2019

Peel and slice tomatoes. Place on paper towels to absorb excess juice. Sprinkle lightly with garlic powder.

Bake in 350° oven for 20- to 30-minutes, until cheese bubbles and begins to brown.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with chopped basil and parmesan cheese.

TSFMAG.com | 91

S P O N S O R E D B Y C O A S TA L B E N D M A R I N E

C H R I S M A P P ’ S R E PA I R & M A I N T E N A N C E

A PICTURE IS WORTH 1000 WORDS In Photo 1 we are looking inside a fuel engine performance will be greatly affected. injector from an Evinrude G2 with This leak was detected because the customer brought the engine approximately 300 hours of operation. in for a regular service visit. We believe service should be scheduled The engine had a water fitting leaking annually or every 100 hours of operation. Engines that are not operated Chris Mapp, owner of near the cylinder from a pressure 100 hours per year should be serviced every two years. Regardless Coastal Bend Marine. sensor.

The customer brought it in for of outboard brand, salt and ethanol are two critical factors to guard Evinrude, Suzuki, Yamaha, regularly scheduled service and we against. Removing the engine cowl regularly for visual inspection to Mercury, Honda, BlueWave, SilverWave, Shallow Stalker noticed the excess salt and mineral detect leaks and corrosion can provide money-saving results.

Boats, Coastline Trailers, build up around the edges.

Thank you, and have a great summer.

Minnkota & Motor Guide Two items of interest here are the Chris Mapp Trolling Motors. carbon buildup on the injector tip Coastal Bend Marine | Port O’Connor, TX Great Service, Parts & Sales and the salt that has accumulated www.coastalbendmarine.com | 361-983-4841 “What can we do for you?” around the exterior shell Same injector disassembled and fully cleaned.

What we found inside a fuel injector when Lucky for the owner this problem was tipped off by a water leak and mineral within the body. The salt, left unchecked over time, can corrected before major damage occurred. deposits on the body of the component. work its way into the sealing surface of the injector causing either an external fuel leak or causing the injector to become stuck to the cylinder head. We talk often about the benefits of using fuel additives and it is rare that we get to see or show the results from lack of usage.

Carbon buildup causes hot spots around the piston and cylinder walls and when left unchecked builds up on the injectors. When this happens fuel flow can be reduced and

92 | August 2019

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TEXAS SALTWATER FISHING HOLES GUIDE SERVICES M ATA G O R D A B AY Speckled Trout / Redfish

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What Fuels Hagfish Hearts?

After just an hour or so without oxygen, your heart develops permanent damage. Shortly afterward, it stops beating entirely. Not so with the resilient hagfish, a slimy eel-like creature that feeds on dead marine animals that fall to the ocean floor. In fact, the hagfish’s heart continues beating and supporting normal activity for up 36 hours without any oxygen at all. What scientists haven’t understood is how or why.

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But the hearts that received glycerol in oxygen-deprived conditions beat more effectively, with stronger contractions and relaxations, than the other hearts denied any fuel or provided glucose. Though it didn’t explain how the other oxygen-deprived hearts kept beating, these findings suggest that glycerol is an important fuel source when oxygen runs out. The next question is where the glycerol comes from — possibly the liver — and why hearts use it. The answers might give scientists clues about how to prevent damage to human hearts when denied oxygen during a heart attack or transplant.

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Now they have a partial answer to the first question. Canadian researchers from the University of Guelph conducted an experiment to discover what fuel the hagfish heart uses to keep beating with no oxygen to power it. Past research revealed that the heart first uses the carbohydrate glycogen when oxygen is not available, but then the glycogen runs out.

The researchers removed hearts from hagfish and observed the muscles for 12 hours, some exposed to normal oxygen levels and others denied oxygen. Within each group, the hearts received saline (salt water) with glucose and glycerol — two types of carbohydrate fuel — or no fuel source at all. All the organs kept beating, “like zombie hearts,” as one scientist described it.

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A hagfish’s heart can continue beating for up to three days with no oxygen at all. Credit: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration

Fax: 361.573.0304

www.ScienceAndTheSea.org © The University of Texas Marine Science Institute

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