July 2014

Only $3.95 www.tsfmag.com July 2014

TIDE PREDICTIONS & SOLUNAR FEED TIMES INSIDE!

ABOUT THE COVER Dani Zirkel, fishing for sharks from the PINS beach, caught and tagged this six foot-ten inch female bull shark. This great fish was successfully released following a quick photo session. Way to go Dani, and conservation kudos!

CONTENTS FEATURES 10 Fiddling with Fishing Stuff 16 A Surprising Conclusion 22 More on Species and Tactics 28 Bodie & the Smugglers, Part 3 34 Time Warp 38 kayaking Offshore

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JULY 2014 VOL 24 NO 3

DEPARTMENTS Mike McBride kevin Cochran Billy Sandifer Martin Strarup Chuck uzzle Joe Richard

44 Let’s Ask The Pro Jay Watkins 50 Shallow Water Fishing Scott Null 56 TPWD Field Notes Paul D. Cason 58 Texas Nearshore & Offshore Joe Richard 64 Fly Fishing Scott Sommerlatte 68 Youth Fishing Marcos Garza 70 kayak Fishing Chronicles Cade Simpson 74 Extreme kayak Fishing & Sharks...

Eric Ozolins 78 TSFMag Conservation News CCA Texas 80 Fishy Facts Stephanie Boyd 108 Science & the Sea uT Marine Science Institute

WHAT OUR GUIDES HAVE TO SAY

86 88 90 92 94 96 98

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

6 | July 2014

Dickie Colburn Steve Hillman Bink Grimes Shellie Gray David Rowsey Capt. Tricia Ernest Cisneros

88

REGULARS 08 Editorial 84 New Tackle & Gear 100 Fishing Reports and Forecasts 104 Catch of the Month 106 Gulf Coast kitchen

106

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EDITOR AND PuBLISHER Everett Johnson Everett@tsfmag.com VICE PRESIDENT PRODuCTION & ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Pam Johnson Pam@tsfmag.com Office: 361-785-3420 Cell: 361-550-9918 NATIONAL SALES REPRESENTATIVE Bart Manganiello Bartalm@optonline.net REGIONAL SALES REPRESENTATIVE Patti Elkins Patti@tsfmag.com Office: 361-785-3420 Cell: 361-649-2265 PRODuCTION COORDINATOR Donna Boyd Donna@tsfmag.com CIRCuLATION SuBSCRIPTION – PRODuCT SALES Linda Curry Cir@tsfmag.com ADDRESS CHANGED? Email Store@tsfmag.com DESIGN & LAYOuT Stephanie Boyd Stephanie@tsfmag.com Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine is published monthly.

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HOW TO CONTACT TSFMAG: PHONE: 361-785-3420 FAX: 361-785-2844 MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 429, Seadrift, Texas 77983 PHYSICAL ADDRESS: 58 Fisherman’s Lane, Seadrift, TX 77983 WEB: www.TSFMAG.com PHOTO GALLERY: photos@tsfmag.com PRinTEd in THE uSA. Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine (ISSN 1935-9586) is published monthly by Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine, Inc., 58 Fisherman’s Lane, Seadrift, Texas 77983 l P. O. Box 429, Seadrift, TX 77983 © Copyright 1990 All rights reserved. Positively nothing in this publication may be reprinted or reproduced. *Views expressed by Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine contributors do not necessarily express the views of Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine.

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WHEn yOu THinK EDITORIAL JuST yOu KnOW iT ALL Fishing is an amazing pastime and to prove it I want to relate a recent fishing adventure.

For nearly two decades I have been almost totally focused on the pursuit of speckled trout, redfish and snook. I am a wade-fisherman foremost and I use lures. I only occasionally give in to the “scented soft bait” sirens– unlike my GuLP-aholic wife who will whip those things out in a heartbeat– but that’s where I draw the line.

It’s not that I have not or might never again enjoy other types of fishing. I was once upon a time obsessed with colorful little fish in tumbling brooks and head-over-heels for bluewater.

I have occasionally been labeled a trout snob but I will only admit to latent tendencies.

So a couple of weeks ago a friend inquired whether Pam and I might like to accompany him and his wife for some bull red and jack crevalle action at Port O’Connor’s big jetty.

“You mean jetty-jerking…with bait?” I snapped, almost incredulously.

“Yeah– I guess you could call it that. It’s fun,” he replied. know this; I had never been there or done that, despite having been through that channel at least a hundred times. I have seen all the people having fun in boats and walking the rocks, but it never

8 | July 2014

was my cup of tea. Or so I thought.

Anyway, come dawn the next morning, we joined the armada.

Boats nearly bumping gunnels, fighting huge reds and jacks, cameras flashing and high-fives all around. You may have even been one of the happily waving anglers.

Now, know this also; Mr. Trout Snob ate crow and had an absolute ball!

We started with frozen sardines until a friend happened by and loaned us a large, pink jig shaped like the handle of a butter knife.

That was it for me. Lowering to bottom and coming back up a few feet as instructed, that jig got nailed before I could jig it. Biggest jack I ever caught and I have landed a few!

Every pass, idling back up the incoming current and drifting toward Bird Island, produced a huge bull red or another hard-fighting jack, most too heavy for a 30-pound Boga Grip.

I have no clue who was first to use the phrase, “Never say never,” or the one about old dogs and new tricks but, they sure fit. We have heavier tackle on order and a pile of big, pink jigs. When the trout fishing is slow you might find me at the jetty.

I cannot wait to take my grandkids.

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E ID R CB M IkE M Y YB R O ST

Leaving early will be essential.

So too will be good lighting.

I see you!

Unfortunately i haven’t

been fishing much lately, especially not

guiding. I’m not sure whether I fish to tell stories or tell stories to fish but, if I do make it out on the water for two days I have to lay on my back for three. It’s way past time to lay on a surgeon’s table instead.

Yes that procedure is in the works, but even when I have been able to go it seems like I’ve been scratching my head right along with many others down this way.

Wacky conditions usually have us fishing where we can and not where we normally want, and for whatever reason guided, nonguided, and even tournament weights seem way down. We all know fishing is cyclical but we sure hope things change for the better soon, and we all sure hope it’s just these temporary conditions. Time can either fix or tell, so we shall wait and see.

In many senses however, we all fish for something larger than just the fish. To me, the whole act is a pleasant exercise in problem solving, and the best part is that it happens in a God-granted and fascinating waterborne laboratory. Since problems can be easier to solve with proper and well-suited tools, I have a few new (to me) toys and tips to mention, which have at least helped the whole process become more enjoyable if not more productive. In order of operation, let’s work our way from the slip to the “if we get lucky” cleaning table.

First tool up is a new boat, not yet here but on its way. Mine and Capt. Tricia’s Haynies were long-awaited game changers, basically shrinking the Laguna for us in a faster, more comfortable and economical way. Well suited for the demanding work we have to do in extreme conditions, it eats chop like crazy and without it I’d probably have been forced to bow to the scalpel much sooner. It’s an easy choice to go with the same 23’ Cat design - just a few minor changes.

My good friend and sometimes tournament/music partner, Doc Saenz, named mine the Black Pearl. I’m not sure if that came from the black console or Capt. Sparrow of Pirates of the Caribbean but the biggest change is bumping 200 ponies up to 250, Mercury Pro XS,

of course. Besides the power, it incredibly gets 13-15% better fuel economy than most 4-strokes. It really doesn’t need more horses (by any means), but it’s getting harder to compete for fewer areas these days, and, why not? I am excited.

Another upgrade will be the beefier torque master lower unit, and nothing’s going on that shaft but another custom prop from Louie Baumann. The performance difference is significant, plus higher iron content in the alloy makes the all-critical diameter last much longer running skinny water.

The next pleasurable upgrade will be the Safe Floor, the granulated rubber deck coating Tricia and clients have been enjoying the past two years. For me it’s a must-have product for too many reasons to list here but suffice to say it makes the whole experience more pleasurable and practical.

With summer’s many challenges you will need to bring your best game daily and leaving early will be an essential part. Good lighting will be necessary for early morning navigation and I found a ridiculously lightweight and compact spotlight that solves many issues in this category. It is a Waypoint cordless pistol-grip LED from Streamlight with a bright, tight beam. Its lithium ion battery can last up to 15 hours full-on! That’s crazy sweet, and so is the simple PowerCap, a well-made hat with coin-battery LED lights right under the bill. I well remember the old days of night wading, having to lug around 6V batteries and a neck stretching coal miner’s lamp. Excellent upgrade, and why didn’t I think of that?

When on the water, the better we see the better normally we do.

I cheat and use binoculars all day, scanning variously for bait, birds, bikinis, or perhaps even enemy boats. After much research I ended up with a Marine 7X50 binocular from Steiner. There are definitely cheaper options, but the quality and clarity of this optic competes with the highest-enders. What a treat. And the night-vision capability is “peeping tom” scary. I see you!

I was given a new reel recently for some on-the-water testing and TSFMAG.com | 11

Time for a new Black Pearl.

it has turned out to be another pleasant surprise.

From what I have seen thus far I’m probably going to upgrade the whole arsenal. A quick look at the handle alone shows considerable attention to materials and construction and the same class of workmanship exists throughout. Ceramic bearings allow “casting to the backing” and the drag is as smooth as the cast. It’s made by 13Fishing and the model I’ve been using is the Concept-C. It’s their middle price-point model which is another surprise, about 180 bucks, which is less than many other quality reels.

Another product I’m finding indispensable, especially for reels, is an aerosol spray penetrantlubricant-rust buster made by Lucas Oil Products.

Larry the Cable Guy must have been involved because it’s called Tool Box Buddy. I’ve had pliers locked up for months at the dock that loosened with a day’s soaking and we’ve had some “grinder” reels settle down decently after a good dose. The lubricity of this stuff is awesome and the corrosion resistance it provides is incredible...up to a year, even in saltwater. Spray the inside of the reel and you can literally swim with it and your boat’s exposed electrical connections stay pretty and clean.

The only place I’ve found the stuff is at O’Reilly’s Auto Parts. The only negative is that I have to return regularly for another can because friends and clients latch onto it as soon as they see what it will do.

I’m still using Sufix braided line but recently went to the 30-pound 832 Advanced Superline, simply because that was all they had on the rack. It has proven to be a real keeper, but I also use a rod’s length of leader and that has continued to be a pain. Leader material can be expensive, hard to carry, and some can’t handle much shock or gets cut easily by the braid at the joining knot. Throwing your favorite lure off in the heat of the moment can cause loud breaches of acceptable language. A simple and practical solution for me has been a little spool of T-Line made by Mason. It’s just heavy mono, but fixed most of those nasty shock-breaks. It fits easily into a pocket and only costs about $1.19 for 25 yards. Hey, it’s the little things, remember?

Now should we happen to get lucky out there, we need a good rope to skewer them on when we’re wading. Several good stringers are available from several good guys but the one I’m enjoying most 12 | July 2014

Exactly what the name says...!

is the green one from Grind Terminal Tackle. It has an innovative Chinese-fingerlock type of release for the cork, easy to remove, doesn’t tangle, and can easily be controlled for carry purposes. Some solid polymer stringers can be as unruly as a Slinky, especially in cold water, and the coated stainless cable “Try it - see if you like it.” styles may not be the greatest idea around summertime sharks. Sorry, but I want one they can bite through, not a tow rope.

Back at the table can be a real chore. I am not an electric knife guy and enjoy the art of filleting with a straight blade. I’m faster and my cuts prettier. I received another gift recently that makes cleaning fish, even redfish, fun again. Time-honored choices are Dexter, Cutco, and the newer Bubba Blade has made a mark, but this one seems

It’s the little things, remember?

a cut above. If you are a real knife lover and not just a knife user, the 9” fillet by Hammer Stahl might be worth a look. The steel is German, X50 CrMoV 15 high-carbon stainless, and pleasingly sounds like a tuning fork. No sawing required, just push-flip-push, and with a good starting edge it doesn’t seem to need sharpening beyond an occasional swipe on a leather strop. Although the handle is a bit slippery and it’s probably a bit high-priced, it’s a piece of pleasurable artwork that can turn you into a Benihana performing chef. You knife gurus will know more than I but I have

What is all of this worth anyway?

to think it’s the steel.

Fiddling with our stuff is a lot of the overall fun we can all have as fishermen, but beyond fun is finding the right tools to make everything work better. Some are cheap, some ain’t, but hey, what is all of this worth anyway?

Hopefully I’ll be back behind a console soon, a new one at that. In the meantime, it will be scratching my head, one day, one fish, and one problem at a time.

Y’all take care of your back and have fun shopping.

Contact

Mike McBride

14 | July 2014

Mike McBride is a full time fishing guide based in Port Mansfield, TX, specializing in wadefishing with artificial lures.

Skinny Water Adventures Phone Email Web

956-746-6041 McTrout@Granderiver.net Skinnywateradventures.com/ Three_MudSkateers.wmv

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STORY BY KEVIN COCHRAN

In last month’s feature,

I created a fictitious tale, using two characters to illustrate a perceived clash of cultures existing between younger and older anglers. I exaggerated some aspects of the pair to emphasize their differences.

Below, I’ve attempted to do something similar, but this time I’ve presented the fishermen as I really know them, rather than as caricatures or archetypes.

The men in question both know how to catch fish, and both have won trophies and prize money in competitive events. They fish together regularly, though their priorities and stylistic preferences differ. My perception of them leads me to an important and profound conclusion.

Angler A largely does things the way I do. For instance, he keeps track of current trends in the sport, and adjusts his equipment accordingly. His custom-made, featherlight rod and similarly light reel reduce fatigue in his wrists and arms during the long hours of chunking and winding.

On the reel, Angler A places 20 or 30-pound braided main line, but he places a length of clear line between the super-sensitive braid 16 | July 2014

and his plugs. He uses a variety of lures, including ones deployed by other experts, in all three main families, topwaters, sinking twitch baits and soft plastics. Occasionally, he pulls out “specialty items” within those families, like broken-backed crank baits. Additionally, he shows creativity when rigging his soft plastics, placing them on shankweighted heads when the need arises, due to profuse amounts of shell or grass on the bottom.

In other words, Angler A strives to be versatile and to make use of as many modern tools as he can in a quest for consistency. He wears lightweight, breathable, Gore-Tex waders and high-tech sunglasses which allow his eyesight to penetrate the waves effectively.

Furthermore, when not out on the water, he spends plenty of time studying Google Earth images of the bays in which he likes to fish, cross-referencing what he sees with information found on maps, GPS screens and also with his recollection of details learned during his visits to those places.

This studious angler recognizes the important relationship between intimate knowledge of the bottom features in the bays

A brilliantly colored sunrise promises another great day of fishing.

and the ability to identify sweet spots. In other words, he recognizes the connection between knowledge of the bays and the ability to consistently find fish in them. An inherent curiosity spurs his quest to catch big trout in various places.

Not afraid to make long drives to visit and fish in new areas, he finds those kinds of adventures intriguing, and frequents many locations south of the JFK Causeway which hold more trout exceeding thirty inches than any place further north. Motivated to catch more magnum fish, he spends ample time, energy and money trying to upgrade his personal best.

In short, Angler A’s artful and effective angling efforts reveal his high fishing acumen. An “elite-class” angler, he could teach others many things about the sport, if he wanted to. Mostly, he stays to himself, fishing long hours alone in the dark and fog, on secluded shorelines, trying to escape the workaday life which pays his way. In this respect, he closely resembles his friend, Angler B. But Anglers A and B differ in many significant ways.

Angler B still fishes with the heavy green Curado reels he won in

tournaments years ago. On them, he spools monofilament main line, tying it directly to his lures without adding a short piece of stronger line to serve as a shock leader. Leaders, he says, hamper his presentations.

He finds little use for fancy new equipment of any sort, sticking with inexpensive, generic sunglasses, waders, boots and other stuff.

All his gear is functional, though some of it fails to provide comfort and facilitate ease of activity like some of the more costly gear available today.

More importantly, Angler B mostly likes to fish in one small area within one bay system. He does so almost every time he puts the boat in the water. To his credit, his knowledge of the area can only be described as “freakishly good”. He understands how tide movement patterns position fish in relation to the structures in the area, and how weather patterns do the same.

He has fished successfully in other places, surely, but he prefers his “spot” over all others. The joy he experiences while fishing apparently emanates from the comfort level he has with the place, not from a quest to learn new places or to catch bigger fish. If he can figure TSFMAG.com | 17

out what’s biting in his home waters and catch some fish there, he remains perfectly content.

In order to catch those fish, Angler B mostly uses one type of lure.

I will not state the type here, but I will say it is not a conventional floating plug. In the past, he did show a tendency toward tunnel vision with topwaters, but to his credit, he recognized that as an Achilles heel and changed his ways. He still, however, shows a marked tendency to fish with the same kind of lure almost all the time, regardless of wind speed, water temperature, water clarity or any other environmental factor.

In short, Angler B shows less versatility and creativity than Angler A. If forced, I’d say Angler A is the “better” fisherman. In fact, I’ve told him so. In response, he points out to me that his buddy has won more prize money and events than him. The fact started me to thinking. I wondered what might explain Angler B’s slightly superior competitive performance.

First off, I thought the sample size might be too small to be useful.

When I looked deeper into it and realized both these guys have been fishing with and against each other in tournaments for nearly two decades, I threw the idea out. The evidence comes from results earned in maybe one hundred events. That’s a big enough sample size, I’d venture to say!

So what does explain the small, albeit perceptible difference between the success the two have known over the years when fishing competitively? One fact came immediately to mind as I pondered the question. Most of the tournaments they fish allow Angler B to access and fish his favorite spot. Some did not. I do not have all the data to make a more thorough comparison of events fished in their home waters and those fished outside those boundaries.

I know Angler A would more readily venture away from their favorite spot when fishing a tournament in which it lies within range.

Angler B will almost always be found fishing there when he can. I conclude Angler B’s confidence in the spot plays a role in his slightly superior performance.

Jerry Honeycutt showed versatility in technique by dangling his paddletail under a cork and catching this 30-inch specimen.

18 | July 2014

This conclusion leads me to a broader-based, though similar, one.

In the end, one of Angler B’s defining traits shines through as the most important one for a lure fisherman. Angler B shows a gloriously high commitment to his choices. Commitment to the execution of a plan appears to be the most important contributor to success in the end.

As often happens, I fall back on an analogy to the game of golf when analyzing the detailed aspects of fishing with artificial lures.

Great golfers consistently say the same things about what makes them superior to other players. All of them talk about being committed fully to the shot before drawing the club away from the ball.

Studying the swings of great players prove they get the job done in various ways; their methods of striking the ball show perhaps more differences than similarities, from the way they grip the club, to their alignment, swing paths, the rhythms in their swings and more.

Furthermore, the strategies deployed by great players to win big events differ dramatically. Zach Johnson won The Masters without ever attempting to hit a par 5 in two shots, while Bubba Watson won the famous event twice with a strategy based on overpowering the same holes, going for them on his second shots time and time again.

In other words, Zach successfully deployed a conservative strategy while Bubba gambled often and won. In a way, this proves my point. ultimately, commitment to the plan matters more than the specifics of the plan. Once a player decides on a strategy, he then works feverishly to commit to each and every shot fully while executing the strategy.

Successful anglers operate in much the same manner. Once a spot and lure are selected, the goal becomes to focus fully on presentation and other aspects of each and every cast. The full focus, or commitment, becomes the most important factor affecting the outcome.

Angler B, I believe, performs with a slightly higher success rate in tournaments because he better utilizes his personality to accentuate his fishing efforts. His stubborn insistence on doing things the same way in the same place repeatedly actually enhance his success rate, mostly because his feverish faith in his choices generates complete commitment to his plans. Confidence and commitment feed off Captain kev loves catching big trout like this one on sinking FatBoys, but also realizes other lures sometimes produce better results.

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each other and become the most important attributes underlying successful angling efforts.

While the previous statement rings true, it presents a dilemma to developing novice anglers. While commitment to a plan has paramount importance, commitment to all plans will not provide access to equally positive outcomes. In other words, anglers who make poor choices specifically in location, lure choice and even presentation style will not experience successful outcomes on a consistent basis.

Truthfully, my opinion about what makes a great angler has not Along with the summer heat comes a profusion of bait fish and other creatures on which the trout can feed. Catching them on lures can consequently become more challenging.

changed, at least not in one significant way. While I acknowledge the importance of commitment to a plan, and the fact that said commitment trumps some other aspects of the sport, such as knowledge of various areas, rigging methods and versatility in the use of multiple plugs and presentations, I still contend these things generally help define the best anglers.

The “ultimate” angler would display the positive aspects of both these guys. In other words, if Angler A could develop the same fanatical commitment to his plan each and every day, each and every cast, like Angler B, he’d improve. Similarly, if Angler B could upgrade his knowledge of multiple areas and methods without compromising his fabulous focus, he’d improve too. The hypothetical alpha angler relies on versatility and extensive knowledge when formulating a plan, then displays a nearly super-human level of focus once on the water attempting to execute the chosen plan.

CONTACT

kEVIN COCHRAN

20 | July 2014

kevin Cochran is a full-time fishing guide at Corpus Christi (Padre Island), TX. kevin is a speckled trout fanatic and has created several books and dvds on the subject. kevin’s home waters stretch from Corpus Christi Bay to the Land Cut.

TROuT TRACkER GuIDE SERVICE Phone Email Web

361-688-3714 kevxlr8@mygrande.net www.FishBaffinBay.com www.captainkevblogs.com

STORY BY BILLY SANDIFER

last month I dIsCussed sPeCkled trout

in the PINS surf to some degree and I could go on and on about theories and lore concerning these fish but I’m not going to. TPWD says there are many more large trout than creel surveys would suggest and I personally agree with them. We hear stories of huge trout and I believe some of these are the truth. I know giant trout exist as I have seen them with my own eyes. I believe trout over twenty pounds inhabit our bays and surf and there are two very real reasons we don’t catch them. First off ; they behave differently than smaller trout and our every day techniques are aimed at thirty inch and smaller fish so we aren’t fishing for them. A big second reason is when someone does hook one of these huge trout he is ill prepared and breaks it off or gives it slack or commits some other mistake that allows it to gain its freedom. So let’s move along.

Species: Snook–I haven’t a clue what is going on with snook in the surf of Texas and neither does anyone else, as near as I can tell. While they are regularly caught from jetties up and down the Texas coast I only know of three ever caught from the beaches of PINS in my lifetime. In bygone years there were many snook or “pike” as they were known and there was

22 | July 2014

This month’s cover angler, Dani Zirkle, preparing to release her six foot – ten inch bull shark in the PINS surf.

TSFMAG.com | 23

even a cane pole commercial fishery for them. I know of large schools being observed in the surf but they simply will not feed. In my youth, smaller ones were caught in dark shallow water using jigs and moving them in a figure-8 fashion off Bob Hall Pier. The most productive time and method of catching them is from the surf side of a jetty using small live finger mullet fished on a fish-finder rig behind an egg sinker. Snook are also bad about fraying line with their sandpaper lips and cutting leaders by flaring their gills, the gill covers of this species are super sharp so sturdy leaders are necessary. They are in their highest numbers during the finger mullet migration of the fall season. A far cry from when Louis Rawalt caught a 57 pounder on a cane pole at Newport Pass. It was the state record and was larger than the IGFA world record for many years.

Species: Redfish–There are some redfish in the surf all year long and they Recent fishing successes on Padre Island National Seashore with surf guide Jeff Wolda. Jeff Wolda photos

can be caught by a wide variety of techniques and baits. They are regularly caught by anglers fishing on the bottom with shrimp for whiting. They will hit cut bait or finger mullet just as well and the secret weapon of experienced bait fishermen is chunks of fresh skipjack. They will hit most artificial lures with a silver spoon being a very dependable producer. While fishing for reds is kind of a laid back thing most of the year it can be an entirely different type of game when the finger mullet migrate in the fall. Each September, untold millions of finger mullet migrate out of the bay system into the surf and when they move into the surf they are followed by vast numbers of redfish from our various bay systems. This is also the time of year when adult reds move into the surf from offshore to spawn. There are lots and lots of redfish schooled near the jetties and in the surf. If you are in the right place at the right time you can catch and release large numbers of redfish. We’ve had numerous days when we landed over 30 slot and oversized reds on lures and I remember one day’s count being 58 in murky, rough, high water on finger mullet.

Never is being observant and driving slowly more important than at this time of year. There are few days when various numbers of redfish are not encountered resting in the pools and pockets of shallow water immediately alongside the shore. Stealth is absolutely mandatory and small paddle-tailed plastic baits seem the best producers. By casting to fish on the edges of the group several can often be caught from the same school without spooking them. Stay alert for copper-colored oval shapes just over the first sand bar. Often this is hundreds of closely packed migrating redfish.

I have a theory about our fall redfish. At least 7 out of 10 have been bitten recently by a shark. Not meat missing; just a fresh bite mark. It leads me to believe they move out of the 24 | July 2014

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There are two species of oriole that were once considered the same; known universally as the Northern oriole. They have since been recognized separately. One of these was our bird of the month last issue; the Baltimore oriole, most common throughout the Eastern United States. This month we are looking at his western counterpart; the Bullock’s Oriole. While there are many similarities between the two there are also numerous differences, including their coloration. The Bullock’s Oriole, named for amateur naturalist William Bullock, has less black on the head, crown, eye line and a bold white patch on the wing.

26 | July 2014

Billy Sandifer

Contact

Bullock’s Oriole Icterus bullockii

channels and head offshore where they are attacked by schools of sharks laying in wait and the survivors move from that deeper water to the shallows of the surf to protect themselves from the sharks. Most of the bite patterns are indicative of six foot bull sharks or others of similar size. Then as the water cools and shark numbers decline many of the reds move back offshore. The key to finding redfish in numbers, other than visually, is finding where the finger mullet are the thickest.

If you find a pool two- to three feet and full of finger mullet that are milling around rather than moving steadily, you can bet the reds are there as well or not far away. If the reds are good-sized you are often better off fishing one bait per line rather than two, as if you hook two reds they will usually destroy your terminal tackle fighting each other.

Species: Jack Crevalle–The average jack we encounter on PINS weighs sixteen to twenty-two pounds although I occasionally see sixty pounders. Years ago Saltwater Sportsman Magazine referred to them as the “barroom brawler of the sea.” They just put their heads down and take on all comers. They are undeniably one of the hardest fighting fish in the sea. For decades I’ve told folks, “Everyone should catch one jack crevalle on light tackle but a second one should be optional.”

Jack crevalle show up in the surf and stay in varying numbers from March into June when they pull out to deeper water for the summer.

They show back up in high numbers to feed on the migrating finger mullet in September through early December prior to migrating offshore and south for the winter. The mullet are migrating south; into the current at the water’s edge, and the jacks are running to the north at the water’s edge, meeting the mullet head-on. Brown pelicans feed on the same bait species as the jacks and when you see a flock of diving and whirling pelicans ahead of you at the water’s edge you can rest assured the jack crevalle are there as well.

Jacks will hit any type of lure or natural bait but a large silver spoon is a steady producer. Stop a few hundred yards in front of the jacks so as to give your anglers time to get the gear ready. You’ll be sightcasting the jacks, which may be in plain sight ten feet from you. A fly fisherman’s dream.

Throw at an angle ahead of the jacks so the bait approaches them naturally. Jacks make long, determined runs so be sure not to have your drag screwed down pretty tight. Once everyone has lost or caught their jacks you can turn the truck around and catch up to the pelicans and get back into the jacks. Each time, remember to give your anglers a head start by stopping well ahead of the jacks. They are a bloody, dark-meated fish and while a few people enjoy eating them most release them or freeze them for shark bait later. Wear gloves when picking up jacks as the sharp ridges on their tails will make for nasty cuts on hands and fingers.

If we don’t leave any there won’t be any. -Billy

Retired after 20+ years of guiding anglers in the Padre surf, Billy Sandifer (“Padre of Padre Island” to friends & admirers) is devoted to conserving the natural wonders of N. Padre Island & teaching all who will heed his lessons to enjoy the beauty of the Padre Island National Seashore responsibly.

Website www.billysandifer.com

STORY BY Martin Strarup

Bodie had to admit

that he was tired – dog tired. It had been a long and stressful day. Tired as he was though, his mind kept drifting back to his work and the thought wouldn’t go away that he should meet Henry at the windmill when they pulled the pump. Monroe could handle it; he was a good hand.

But Bodie hated signing POs for new pumps when a quick rebuild would have sufficed. That’s the way he’d always been wired when it came to Mr. Connor’s money.

Even with that the thought of supper and crawling into bed was taking over. Strolling into Haddon’s and settling at the bar he ordered a beer and a chicken-fried steak with a side of home fries from Eloisa.

“Bodie!” she greeted him with concern. “You look absolutely whipped, worse than you did the other day…you need to slow down and get more sleep!”

Bodie nodded and told her that was exactly his plan as soon as he finished his supper.

Tommy was on his way to Haddon’s when he passed the Coast Guard Station and saw Chief Long heading out. Tommy pulled up to visit for a bit and the Chief rolled down his window.

“Hey Tommy, I figured you and Bodie would be getting ready to head out for some fishing tonight,” he called.

The notion popped into to Tommy’ head that now would be a good time to practice the story he’d been cooking up for Bodie. Who better to practice on than Chief Long?

“I ain’t going out there no more in the dark, Chief. ‘Cause last night some smugglers tried to get me and Wehman! They shot at us and tried to catch us but we knew the back bays a lot better than they did and we got away!” Tommy was telling the biggest lie of his life and hoped he was pulling it off.

“Holy Moses!” exclaimed the Chief. “Did you get a look at their boat Tommy, anything that might help us identify these people?”

“Umm…well no…not uh…not actually. We was too busy running

away so we didn’t see much of nothing,” trying to act brave but still a little scared.

The Chief then explained that it was very important Tommy tell him everything he knew.

“Where exactly were you and Wehman when you ran into them, Tommy? And how many boats were there? Could you see how many men?” the Chief asked. “You say that they shot at you, was it automatic fire or single shots?”

And then he paused, sensing that maybe something wasn’t right…“Are you okay, Tommy? You look a little sick to me.”

Tommy was squirming in his seat right about then; this had definitely gotten out of hand. The Chief was asking him important questions that Tommy hadn’t gone over yet in his mind and he didn’t know what to say.

“I didn’t see anything Chief because I was hiding down in the bottom of Wehman’s boat. Maybe you should be asking him instead of interrogating me,” Tommy’s thoughts were racing as he replied almost haughtily, praying the Chief might back off.

“I’m not interrogating you. I’m trying to gather information so that I can catch these people and put an end to this. I can’t have people shooting at citizens and it is my job to stop smuggling. And that’s what I intend to do!” the Chief said, louder and more sternly than Tommy wanted to hear.

Tommy wished he could disappear.

“Where is Wehman? I need to talk to him.”

“He went to San Antone, Chief. I don’t know how to get hold of him.”

“I’ll get hold of him Tommy. You can bet on that, and we’ll get to the bottom of this – QUICK!” the Chief snarled. “You better be careful Tommy because if they saw ya’lls boat and if they think you can ID them they’ll be after you boy. Stay close to home and I’ll be in touch.”

And with that the Chief rolled up his window and drove away.

TSFMAG.com | 29

Tommy was just sick. What he thought would be a fun thing, to practice his story with Chief Long, didn’t work out the way he thought it would at all. Now he was lying to the United States Coast Guard and, to top it off, to his friend Chief Long.

“Oh how DO I get myself into these messes?” Tommy asked himself aloud.

Chief Long thought that there was more than something a little fishy about Tommy’s story and he decided to drop into Haddon’s to see if Bodie had been there. When the Chief walked in he saw Bodie at the bar working on a chicken-fried steak and a mountain of fries.

“Pull up a stool and have some supper,” Bodie said, offering his hand.

The Chief took a stool after the handshake and passing on supper.

He got right to the point.

“Bodie, Tommy Meyers just told me that he and Wehman were chased and shot at by smugglers last night out on the bay and I need to get in touch with Wehman to get his side of the story,” the Chief informed him rather officially.

This time it was Bodie nearly choking on his beer.

“Tommy and Wehman night fishing, and smugglers too?” Bodie asked, laughing despite the seriousness in the Chief’s tone.

“It’s no laughing matter, Bodie. Tommy said that somebody shot at them as they gave chase. The boys shook ‘em off in the back bays. Now I need to get in touch with Wehman immediately.”

“Well have you gone by his house, because that’s probably where he is,” Bodie said, still halfway chuckling.

The Chief told Bodie that Tommy said Wehman was in San Antonio and had no way to get in touch with him.

“Well I have his cell phone number,” Bodie said. “Why don’t we just give him a call?”

Bodie dialed the number and after a few rings Wehman answered.

“Wehman this is Bodie. I’m sitting here with Chief Long and he has some questions for you about the smugglers you and Tommy ran into last night.” Bodie could hear Wehman saying something as he passed the phone to the Chief.

Now Bodie couldn’t hear but one side of the conversation, but he could tell that Chief Long wasn’t very happy. He turned beet red and was almost spitting when he talked, but as the conversation dragged on he relaxed and was almost laughing when he handed the phone back.

“Well it seems that our boy Tommy fed me a tall tale that he and Wehman cooked up – just so he wouldn’t have to go fishing with you tonight,” the Chief said, now fully grinning.

Chief Long filled Bodie in on everything Wehman had told him, and between bites of chicken-fried steak, Bodie’s wheels started to turn.

“What say you and I teach old Tommy Boy a lesson, Chief Petty Officer Long?” Bodie quipped with a wicked face-wide grin.

“Oh, do tell, Mr. Allen…Please Do Tell.”

Bodie gestured toward the far corner of the room and he and the Chief took a table where it was quieter to work up a plan. When they shook hands and parted ways they were both laughing and looking forward to giving Tommy a night he would remember.

The next night just as it was getting dark, Bodie ran his Tran SVT up near the pass and set his Power Pole. He pulled a plastic container from under the console then sat and waited. He couldn’t help but look at his watch now and then, and laugh a little.

Tommy was sitting at home thinking that he should go to Haddon’s and have a beer with Bodie to settle his nerves. But since his conversation with Chief Long he’d been scared to leave the house.

30 | July 2014

Tommy jumped when he heard a loud knock at the door.

Tommy opened the door a crack to find Chief Long and two toughlooking Coasties. All serious and wearing side-arms.

“Tommy Meyers,” the Chief deadpanned gruffly, “You are to accompany us to the Coast Guard Station where we will board an RB-M and search for the smugglers you ran into last night.”

Tommy couldn’t speak and thought he was going to faint. The most he could do was nod weakly, feeling his knees giving out. The two tall Seamen each grabbed an arm, half carrying him to their waiting truck.

On the way to the station Chief Long laid it on thick and heavy about the smuggling problems they’d been investigating near the pass, and that the most sightings seemed to occur during the middle of the week.

“But…but it’s the middle of the week now,” Tommy cried.

“Correct sir, and aren’t we lucky that we have you to help ID these characters for us,” Chief Long snapped.

As the RB-M sped through the night toward the pass, Bodie was getting ready for part two of their plan. He started laying out Roman candles on his leaning post to fire when he got the signal from Chief Long.

As he saw the running lights of the Coast Guard boat make the turn out of the cut he heard the sound of an outboard motor coming from the gulf. Bodie listened hard and in the light wind he also heard the rumbling of a diesel motor.

Bodie grabbed his phone and called Chief Long and told him what was going on. “We’ll drop Tommy off on your boat when we get there and then crash their party” the Chief told Bodie.

The lights on the RB-M went dark and Bodie raised his Power Pole and let the boat drift into deeper water. The RB-M almost scared him as it appeared off his port bow in the darkness, and a very frightened and wild-eyed Tommy Meyers was helped aboard.

“Might be a good idea for you to head on in Bodie. I’ll give you a call as soon as I get a chance,” said the Chief.

Bodie started his boat and saw the Coast Guardsmen mounting a machine gun on the deck turret and handing out rifles. When he was back inside the cut he jumped the SVT up, turned on his running lights and headed back to port.

On the slow ride in he told Tommy about what he knew and what they had planned to do in order to teach him a lesson. Tommy just rode in silence as he took in everything Bodie was telling him. Then Tommy started talking and he was still telling Bodie all about how it all went wrong as they idled into Bodie’s boat stall.

“It was all Wehman’s idea, honest Bodie. I told him that I was scared to go out in the dark fishing and he said that a story about smugglers would get you to change your mind and I wouldn’t have to go with you. I didn’t mean to get Chief Long involved, I swear. It’s just that when I started telling him my story I couldn’t stop.

The next morning Bodie’s cell phone rang and it was Chief Long.

“I’d appreciate it if you and Tommy could drop by the Station, if you would, Bodie.”

“Well I was headed to the ranch to oversee some work Chief, but I’ll go get Tommy and be there in a bit,” Bodie said.

Bodie phoned Monroe and told him that Henry and his crew would be at the windmill at 9:00 and that he should meet them there. “And be sure that if that pump can be repaired, that it is…”

Bodie picked Tommy up at his house and told him that the Chief wanted them both at the Coast Guard Station. “They’re going to

32 | July 2014

“So am I going to get a reward and a medal for being a hero and all that stuff?” Tommy needed to know. “Hey – wait until Eloisa hears that I’m a hero; heck I bet I get free beer and food and stuff! Hey Chief, do you have any pancakes?”

Tommy was already counting his chickens Bodie saw the Chief’s mood changing and quickly thanked him for the coffee as he ushered Tommy through the building and towards his truck.

“Come on Tommy let’s get you out of here before the Chief decides that you really do need a good keelhauling,” Bodie giggled.

“That’s not funny, Bodie. That’s not funny at all,” Tommy stammered as his usual frown settled across his face. “But I did help the Chief get them smugglers… now didn’t I? Bodie drew a deep breath and cranked the engine. “Yeah Tommy,” he muttered. “You’re a hero alright.”

MARTIN STRARuP

CONTACT

keelhaul me and then throw me in the galley,” cried Tommy.

“They’re not going to keelhaul you, Tommy. And it’s the brig anyway; not the galley. Let’s just go see what the Chief has to say and how they came out last night with the boats out in the Gulf.

When he pulled up to the gate the guard on duty recognized Bodie and Tommy and waved them through. Chief Long was waiting.

“Well Tommy how does it feel to be a hero this morning?” Chief Long asked with a chuckle.

“He- he- hero?” Tommy stammered.

Chief Long explained that they were able to catch a modified diesel powered shrimp boat that was loaded down with drugs the night before and while the high powered boat got away from the scene, they were picked up about 20 miles down the barrier island by a cutter with assistance from a helicopter.

“Yes sir,” the Chief beamed as he slapped Tommy on the back. “Had you not told me that whopper about smugglers and had Bodie and I not planned to scare the hell out of you out near the pass, why Bodie wouldn’t have been there to hear the boat engines and our RB-M wouldn’t have been where it was last night.”

“So you’re not going to keelhaul me and put me in the galley?”

Tommy asked sheepishly.

Chief Long looked at Bodie who simply rolled his eyes between sips of coffee.

“No Tommy, we’re not going to keelhaul you. And by the way it’s a brig, not a galley,” said the Chief.

“Yeah – That’s what Bodie told me. But a man can’t be too careful these days,” Tommy sighed with relief.

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

1-800-827-0640

www.Mojo-Gear.com/storefinder

/MojoSportfishing

34 | July 2014

STORY BY CHuCk uZZLE

I’Ve Come to the realIZatIon

that the older you get the faster time seems to move in almost all facets of life. For me, I’d swear it is moving at light speed right now. It seems like just yesterday I was anchored in the Sabine River with my three year old son catching croaker on fresh dead shrimp.

That thought ran through my head as Hunter, now eighteen, walked across the stage to receive his high school diploma a few weeks ago. All I could do was shake my head and wonder “Where has the time gone?” For fishermen and outdoorsmen time is not measured in hours or days but in seasons, and they all tend to run together if you think about it. It’s a perpetual cycle that blinds us to the conventional time keeping methods that shackle those poor souls who do not fish or hunt. It’s like having your own personal time warp and I hope that I will never lose it.

Speaking of a time warp; that might be the best way to describe things on Sabine Lake right now. From weather and fishing patterns all the way to lure selection, things from the past are making a name for themselves in the here and now. For example, let’s look at one of the hottest lures on the scene right now – swim baits.

For years the go-to soft plastic was a package of Queen Cocahoe minnows, we threw a zillion of them and had no problems catching fish. In time, the newer shape of soft plastics got away from the minnow and paddletail styles in favor of a straight tail or some other design. Fast forward many years and here we are again with the swimbait, a minnow-style soft plastic bait with a paddle tail. It’s amazing how the future continues to imitate the past and then somehow seem to perfect it.

Two baits currently gaining great acceptance are the swimbait soft plastics by Egret and Z-Man. Two similar and exceptional baits with built-in action and both ridiculously durable. The mainstay of the Egret line for me is the Wedgetail Minnow and it is catching fish everywhere, from Toledo Bend to the Gulf of Mexico.

The Wedgetail is a great bait to use with a steady retrieve which allows that uniquely shaped tail to throw off some serious vibration. These baits are far more cost effective than pre-rigged swimbaits, plus they make excellent additions to spinnerbaits.

The Z-Man line of soft plastics has been a real eye opener for me since I first gave them a try. First gaining fame predominantly in Florida, the Z-Man baits are beginning to make a name here in Texas as well. Several models like the PaddlerZ and the PogyZ offer up that great paddletail along with a jointed body for increased vibration and action. These baits hold up to loads of punishment by both redfish and speckled trout. The performance of both the Egret and Z-Man line owe their success to the original paddletail concept but with a new twist that’s all their own.

Now as we peel back the calendar to look at old reliable lures, we should also look at old reliable fishing techniques and patterns that seem to re-surface every so often. Those of you who fish Sabine routinely know there is no such thing as a routine year here. unlike other places along the coast that basically change very little from year to year, Sabine Lake is a never-ending puzzle to be solved. The combinations of weather and how much freshwater runoff we have to deal with make for anything but ordinary.

This year we appear to be about a month behind where we would expect to be, pattern-wise. The marshes are bulging full of bait just waiting to be carried out into the open lake where they will no doubt start a feeding frenzy of epic proportions.

The presence of ladyfish and other species that tend to prefer saltier environs were noticeably absent during the full moon in May. This will no doubt change as the warmer temperatures and more predictable weather of June usher in some the best TSFMAG.com | 35

Z Man soft plastics have been real eye openers and consistent fish producers.

Egret’s Wedgetail Minnow is a versatile soft plastic that can be rigged on everything from a jig head to a spinnerbait.

36 | July 2014

CHuCk uZZLE

CONTACT

conditions of the year. The extended cold weather we endured no doubt pushed the calendar back and changed the outlook.

Areas within the surrounding marshes are just now beginning to show signs of developing the much needed vegetation that is the lifeblood of these rich estuaries. The grass provides protection for smaller fish that use the marshes as a nursery as well as shade and ambush points for larger predator species. It has taken us a little longer than usual to reach normal surface temperature but that will soon be yesterday’s news. This year’s combination of an extended cold winter with a big push of freshwater from up north is but the latest combination in a long line of factors that Sabine anglers will attempt to decipher.

The learning curve for most anglers will continue to get a little easier as we get deeper into summer. The winds that plagued most anglers earlier in the year tend to lay down so much you almost beg for a breeze. The flat calm conditions will no doubt enable anglers to locate fish, and stay on them when they find them. The summer months basically become the great equalizer and turn the lake into a user-friendly body of water. Better water clarity along with a lake full of bait means plenty of opportunities and increased options for everyone. For me it will mean more days on the poling platform pushing around the marsh in search of a hungry redfish.

In keeping with the theme and pondering how time has sped along, all I can do is look back and smile as things on my boat will no

doubt change. Hunter, who has long been my designated scouting partner will soon take up residence at college and probably turn to the “dark side” to become a freshwater fisherman and duck hunter when he’s not playing baseball. I’m sure that I’ll find a way to keep chasing fish along with trying to see every game I possibly can.

Like the old saying goes “the only thing for certain is that things change” and you can either embrace it or let it eat you up while trying to fight it. I for one believe there are some great things in both the past and the future which should make for one heck of a ride. The coming weeks and months ahead will be full of opportunities both on and off the water so take full advantage of them every chance you get. Take a kid or someone who has never fished with you next time you head out and share the experience, the summer is perfect for doing just that.

Remember there is nothing out there holding you back and an endless supply of opportunities to let your seasons run together.

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 Email Website

409-697-6111 cuzzle@gt.rr.com www.chucksguideservice.net

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Getting ready for battle. This teenager has caught 40-pound kings from his kayak, off Navarre Beach on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

38 | July 2014

STORY BY JOE RICHARD

Paddling a kayak

offshore is a real trip,

so to speak. There’s a certain amount of satisfaction in paddling and catching fish of any kind, but paddling offshore is different.

It’s certainly different from regular boats; you’re down there close to the water with a wet butt and maybe a hungry gut, as old fishermen used to say, and it takes getting used to. It’s also quiet; there’s no engine noise or exhaust fumes. Waves come and go, and you make adjustments in balance that become automatic. You have to pay attention—there’s no napping out there, or ignoring a distant thunderstorm, and no speedy ride back in. Hook a big fish, and you can be towed for miles. If the reel’s drag is too tight, it can actually flip the boat. Or a big bull shark can smack you around.

That’s what happened to Glenn Madden, often known as Professor Salt, who teaches at Corpus Christi College. He targets Gulf fish from kayaks, and while doing so has racked up quite a few adventures. Like having his kingfish eaten by big sharks, one of which gave his kayak a good thumping as it lunged past him, only inches away. You definitely have to keep your cool out there, in a ‘yak.

He also fought a 5-foot mako shark that jumped repeatedly. That one seemed small enough to land and bring home, but it chewed through his wire leader and escaped. He’s also lost a sailfish.

The standard kayak for these guys paddling offshore is a 12-foot, sit-on-top “ocean kayak” model. They’re maneuverable, fast, and you can easily climb back aboard if you bail out. They say models shorter than 12 squat too deep, while a long 15-foot tandem, built for two fishermen, is less maneuverable when chasing after big, hooked fish.

It’s the 12-footers that are making the big catches.

“Last summer I hooked a big king right off the Aransas jetty, and that fish made a crazy run right under a passing barge,” says Madden.

“I had to paddle backward, the tugboat was honking. We got clear, but then the king ran to the other jetty, right in front of a ship, which caused more problems. That fish measured 54 inches, we called him the suicidal king.”

Lots of fun out there. Glenn and his buddies seldom weigh their fish, they can only measure them. Imagine trying to standing up offshore in a kayak with a Boga Grip, trying to weigh a 4-foot kingfish or bigger.

“I enjoy double-header hookups on kayaks, it keeps me busy,” says Madden. “A couple of years ago, it was July 4, I hooked 31 kings, and eight were double-headers. I landed 23 and uploaded lots of video on You Tube. There were powerboats around me that weren’t getting much action, so I advised them to shut their engines off and try drifting their baits.”

The silent approach is a very effective way to catch kingfish, alternating a slow troll with occasional stops. And people are catching on. Consider that last summer’s Corpus Christi Bluewater Kayak Classic had 121 kayaks offshore. Which puts it in first place these days in Texas, for number of boats signed up for a single-day kingfish tournament. The trend for 20 years has been faster and bigger boats, topping out at a quarter-million dollars or so, but today a tournament with 12-foot plastic boats with paddle power, draws more entries.

How times have changed from the early 1980s, when familyowned boats of all types signed up by the hundreds for long weekends offshore. In 1999 the Southern Kingfish Association (SKA) arrived in Texas, with bigger, faster boats, but lower participation.

That concept finally collided head-on with the economy in 2008.

Today, it’s kayaks that lead in numbers. (Jacksonville, Florida had seen the same thing happen there, though so far they’ve restricted TSFMAG.com | 39

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Glenn Madden with a 47-inch kingfish off Port Aransas.

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their huge kayak tournament to inshore fish species).

In Texas, the Bluewater Classic has a modest entry fee and prizes.

“The tournament only pays about $1,200 for best 2-fish kingfish stringer, but when you’ve spent $10 all day on expenses, then first place doesn’t look too bad,” says Madden. “Entry fee is only $30 bucks, because they like to encourage new people to get into the sport.” kevin kieschnick, who is tournament director, says, “This year check-in will be at the pavilion behind Bob Hall Pier, at Padre Balli Park. “Fishing day is Aug. 2. “Online registration should start on June 1 at www.bluewaterkayakclassic.com. All rules and info will be posted there. And also as a sticky on www.texaskayakfisherman.com under the BTB section.”

Anglers generally visit and register the evening before, and are free to launch next day at first light, anywhere along the beach or in Port Aransas. From there it’s a mad scramble to paddle offshore for that prime, early-morning bite. In the mid-day heat of summer, these guys know kingfish may go deep for siesta.

“Four years now, I’ve been fishing this tournament,” says Madden.

“Third place was my best fish. Last year I took a long shot at Port Aransas, paddled out to the ships that anchor offshore 4-5 miles.

Worked it and the jetties hard, and there just weren’t a lot of fish. The kings shut down that weekend where it had been good for days, and they returned soon after. The guy who won the tournament, they say Judging the waves before launching. This area near Pensacola generally has a longer surflaunching kayak season, than South Texas.

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Glenn Madden with a limit of kingfish south of Port Aransas.

he put on a clinic offshore, landing two kings that totaled 92 pounds.

That’s a 46-pound average…”

These guys have caught bull redfish, big jacks, red snapper, even tarpon. At least, they’ve had run-ins with tarpon. Glenn and a friend were trolling the beach with big Storm plastic swimbaits, knowing jackfish were running in large packs. Both guys hooked up. While Glenn fought a kingfish, his buddy hung onto to a huge tarpon that pulled him miles offshore, out of sight. This guy later swore it was eight feet long, but his video camera ran out before he got it alongside the boat. The fight drew near a Gulf platform, and the tired fish finally sprinted through the structure, cutting the line. If it was eight feet long, it would have been a state record. But getting that tarpon back to the beach with a kayak—that would have been like the Old Man and the Sea, when sharks ate the catch while it was tied alongside. From a kayak, that would have been a dicey experience if A bull shark hammered Glenn’s 40-inch kingfish, before it could be landed.

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Mr. Bull Shark came calling for lunch.

Kingfish exceeding five feet have been hooked and lost from these kayaks, though I haven’t heard of a 50-pounder landed yet. But it seems only a matter of time before the STAR tournament kingfish is won by a kayak angler.

Best Baits “Ribbonfish seems to be the best bait out there, and the bigger the better,” says Madden. “Live ribbonfish don’t wiggle underwater, they ease along with only their long dorsal fin undulating. So trolling them slowly from a kayak looks very natural. Catch your own ribbons, they’re a whole lot bigger than from the stores. Sometimes I’ll dress up the ribbonfish a little, with a Sea Witch skirt in front of it. A lot of times in the middle of the day, kings stay deep, maybe 20 or 25 feet, and a little weight certainly helps. There are also lures, like the Sebille Magic Swimmer. It’s a high-dollar bait, I didn’t want to feed a storebought to a bunch of underwater chainsaws. So I ordered some blanks and painted them and they work good. They’re 9 or 9.5 inches long, made of hard plastic. They have two joints, so they’re in three pieces.

Jointed lures wiggle more at low speed, so they’re best for kayaks.

Close Calls “One day we were offshore and I told my buddy there’s a storm popping up, a little further out,” says Madden. “I trolled around the rig once, and then headed inshore a half mile, then stopped and looked back. Richard was still out there, tied to the rig fishing, and the sky was turning black. I stowed my gear and hustled back out there, got him headed inshore, and we sprinted for two miles before that storm caught us. A black wall passed over us. Soon enough we had six-foot seas. It blew so hard, I could have lost my paddle to the wind, and the lightning was bad. But we tied down our rods so they didn’t stick up.

We basically surfed inshore and right up on the beach. I lost one rod and that was all. Today Richard is more careful with storms. Another group of kayaks got caught three miles from us. They had a tough time getting in. They had no platform around them for safety.”

Why not climb a platform with a storm approaching, and pull the ‘yak up there with you?

“Most of our rigs in state waters are really rusted and we sometimes worry about being under them. I was worried the administration was going to pull our platforms in state waters. Out of Aransas six miles, those rigs are gone. But there are still rigs we can fish off the beach from a kayak,” he says.

A Cautionary Tale “I tell some of the new yakkers to be careful out there, if they don’t have much experience on the Gulf,” Madden said. “Or even common sense while boating. We had a guy show up one morning offshore, no life jacket, a Pelican kayak with a leak in it. He’d been reading the blogs, and was fired up to get offshore. I lent him a hand-pump and he used it, but with water still coming in, we advised him to head for the beach. He started back, but after a half-mile he fell out of the boat, it was too waterlogged to continue. We paddled over and he held on to my boat, while my friends pumped out his ‘yak. While holding on, he got his ponytail hung up in my kingfish plug, and we had to cut him loose, he lost some hair. He climbed back in and made it back to the beach, but I worry about those guys. We haven’t seen him again.”

Beautiful fish coming to hand for quick release. Note the calm conditions on this day.

J AY WAT K I N S

ASK THE PRO

Learn from the fish,

and your fellow fishermen!

With of the approach of June comes the start of the busiest time of year for Texas coastal waters. Weather patterns will shift to mostly calm nights and early mornings versus the current “blow your butt off all the time� conditions we are still experiencing. Hopefully our trout fishing will become more predictable.

June is live-croaker time all up and down the coast.

This very effective bait allows more casual anglers a higher success ratio. By no means does having croaker in the livewell equate to catching fish all the time but it is one of the most effective methods on the market.

Neither I nor most of my clients use them, simply because we prefer trying to trick the trout into eating something that is obviously not natural. I have always said that I do not mind nor care what type of bait anglers use. Those fishing with me will wade and throw lures and be instructed on how to become proficient with them. Honestly, it is a lot easier, my Bass Assassins and MirrOlures are dead before I get them out of the package. They are also available at nearly every store 44 | July 2014

I visit, 365 days a year. So if you find yourself with no croakers available on the day you are to be on the water, here are some proven summertime tips that might save the day for you, and your fishing companions.

First: You need to target the same general areas you would have fished had you waded or drifted with croaker. I elect to single out the croaker because all are familiar with this very popular live bait during summer.

The bottom structure that is holding the fish is not just holding croaker-interested fish. As a young guide I had the luxury of less traffic on the water, so crowding was seldom an issue. Today this is seldom the case, so I use friends that fish with croaker to actually provide me with valuable fishing information. This is fair, going to school on their fishing efforts, because it is highly unlikely that I would pull in and fish the same area. What I will do though is be aware of the specifics; water depth, wind direction, tidal movement and of course the type of structure they are working. This tells me all I need. The longer a line of live bait fishermen stay in a given area the

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better the odds are that fish are continuing to be caught there. Seldom do I observe a croaker-savvy guide or other savvy individual staying in an area for any amount of time if trout or redfish are not being caught.

Once structure and other elements of the setup are established, I review my memory banks for areas that are most like the one observed.

No doubt I still must have; for the summer months especially, moving water, preferred bottom structure and a food source in order for me to have the confidence that fish will be present. However, knowing that live bait is working in areas similar to the one I have chosen is huge in my confidence column.

Deploying lures into the same water is a totally different game. I have never had a Bass Assassin, MirrOlure, Corky or spoon react on its own to the approach of a predator the way live bait often does.

Instead; positioning and presentation along with a huge dose of patience is needed to consistently catch solid numbers of trout or redfish this time of year. Honestly it takes the above mentioned characteristics to catch fish on lures year round but for sure the summer months require a little more of each.

How we approach an area and then position ourselves are the key roles for me. I don’t typically tell my clients that we are stopping 150 to 200 yards from the point where I think we will start experiencing bites.

The distance between where we stop and where I think the fish to be allows all of us to settle in to fishing prior to catching. It is important to establish rhythm in not only the presentation but in our approach. I like to cast a few times while slowly moving forward. Then I’ll stop and fan cast for a few minutes and then revert back to moving and casting at a slow pace. Any hint of a gamefish presence should be a signal to stop and fish more thoroughly.

Solid trout and reds caught midday after live bait boats had left the area.

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am more likely guilty of staying too long, believing I am good enough to make them bite when they are no longer hungry, or possibly even not there any longer.

Fish will leave areas when water conditions change, such as a rise in surface water temperature or a sudden lack of current. When this occurs seek out areas close by with more depth and good bottom structure. Does not have to be the same type of bottom structure, shallow you could have had grass and deeper maybe only a drop-off, but that’s still good structure.

I hope from this article you can learn to learn from your fellow fishermen, even if your style of fishing is different from theirs. I believe everyone is entitled to fish however they wish. I do think though, that we should always practice good conservation, when deciding to catch and keep or catch and release. If you need em, keep some, if not let ‘em fight another day.

May your fishing always be catching. -Guide Jay Watkins

C O N TA C T

It is normal for me to start commenting on the impending hot zone as we approach. “See that bait activity out front? There’s a slick just popped right where the bait was jumping. Get ready, I’m feeling birdie.”

All these statements are generated by actual sightings as well as my local knowledge of where the bottom structure we are seeking is located. There is no substitute for water time.

Once in the hot zone it is time to be totally conscious of your presentation throughout the entire length of your cast. I try to create erratic movements with the lure; no matter which lure I’m using, especially as the lure arrives at what I perceive to be the ambush point. I absolutely believe that predation is incited by the reaction of the prey. I want the trout to see nervous and erratic motion and then react as if they know that their presence caused it – and then conclude that this is obviously something that fears me so I’ll take it. Fish most probably do not possess that full logic process but I think this is what is happening, therefore I can stand in an area for virtually all day, and all the while feel like the next cast is going to result in a fish.

You have heard me comment many times on the patience aspect of lure fishing, which is actually a major component in all types of fishing, not just when using lures. In the hotter summer months it becomes extremely important for us to use the hot zones as long as we are seeing, feeling or sensing that fish are still present. Never leave fish to find fish if you want to catch fish.

Yes, I sometimes leave areas where the fish are not the ones I want my clients to catch but, many times it is a mistake. This is a lesson that came very hard to me. Leaving and losing the bite for the day has been a very good learning tool during my guiding career. Heck, nowadays I

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

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

S H A L L O W W AT E R FI S H IN G

On the way to becoming

a better fisherman

“It’s all about the patterns, not the “spots.”

That’s my response when folks start trying to pry my favorite fishing locations out of me. I don’t have fixed honey holes, per se. What I do have are areas of different types of habitat. That may be soft mud, hard mud, sand, grass, shell or a combination of those things. I also have a mental file of those types of habitats adjacent to deeper water, shallow flats or perhaps hidden way back in some marsh.

I often see some rather heated exchanges on message boards and social media regarding fishing reports.

Generally the poster has a nice photo of some fish and a vague description of the circumstances and conditions leading to the catch. Then someone asks where, as in they want the GPS coordinates, and it quickly spirals downward.

It’s really a shame because it 50 | July 2014

doesn’t need to be like that.

My humble suggestion is that both sides could do a better job. First off, the person posting the photos could easily provide a lot of information that could help others be successful without compromising their hard earned “spot”. A few simple tidbits about the lure used, the retrieve and the type of habitat. Perhaps “slowly working a pink Corky over soft mud and mixed shell.”

If the poster were feeling really generous they could throw in the weather conditions and a general location, “I was on the south shoreline of West Galveston Bay with a strong southeast wind and an incoming tide.” That isn’t giving too much away. It’s a fairly large bay and I can picture a couple dozen places that might fit the bill.

This is where the other side of the argument needs to work on their game. Take what is

given and know that most anglers are going to be somewhat guarded about giving out an exact location. You can’t really blame them. They put in their time on the water and are having some success. Chances are they plan on hitting that location again and would rather not arrive to find a dozen of their Facebook “friends” shuffling through the bite.

Those looking for their next good bite via the internet should be thinking more about gleaning the clues for the productive patterns instead of a map with a big X on it. I understand that many of those seeking the honey holes are fairly new to the saltwater fishing game. As such they may not have a clue where to look for that “soft mud with scattered shell”. I also get that the bays are big places with lots of water that mostly looks about the same.

Charlie Dunn working the long rod.

I run into this at speaking engagements all the time. I go through the seasonal patterns that I fish and the types of areas I search under different conditions. After the talk a newbie will approach and want to know how or where to find these places. My advice is always the same. Put in some time on the water. That’s how most of the really good fishermen get to be really good.

To some folks that may sound a little harsh, but I think it’s the best advice I can give. Of course that isn’t all I tell them. My suggestion is to pick an area and stick with it. Mentally block out all the other chatter about how good the fishing is on the other side of the bay system. Try to fish there under all sorts of conditions. Hit it on a falling tide, a rising tide, different winds and different seasons. Know what the various tides and winds do to the currents and how the water flows through the area. You also 52 | July 2014

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need to learn the bottom structure. This can be done by wading, constantly poking a kayak paddle into the bottom, or my personal favorite; poling. Try to touch every bit of bottom. Some of my favorite places have some really small oyster piles that would be easy

C ontact

Charlie’s first red on fly.

to miss. Start small and once you get that figured out expand the area and do it again.

Keeping a journal of conditions and a map with notes is a good idea. Write down your catches as well as your skunks. Sometimes the days I strike out teach me more than the days of easy catching.

And speaking of those slow days, don’t get discouraged and quit.

Sometimes the fish simply won’t cooperate. Instead of packing it in, go exploring.

Now that you’re armed with a solid working knowledge of one or two general areas those fishing reports become very valuable. You see that people are catching reds in shallow water adjacent to oyster reefs on a falling tide. You’ve got a spot for that. Give it a shot. I’ve often found that fish in one part of a bay system are doing the same thing in other areas. Now it’s the pattern that you’re looking for and not someone’s secret spot.

But the best part of having this vault of information is the satisfaction of putting together your own pattern and having it work.

Not only did you find the fish, you caught them and you know why.

Congratulations. That feeling of satisfaction means you’re on your way to becoming one of those really good fishermen.

54 | July 2014

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

Telephone Email Website

281-450-2206 scott@tsfmag.com www.captainscottnull.com

By Brian Bar tram | Fisheries Biologist Aransas Bay Ecosystem Field Station, Rockpor t

FI E L D N O T E S

more than meets the eye...

We’ve all heard the cliché, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” In the fisheries world, this mantra holds especially true for graphs depicting fisheries data. A graph doesn’t quite have the same “wow factor” as a picture of a tailing red drum or an angler with a rod doubled over. But a graph can tell you a lot about what’s going on with a fish population, albeit with a discriminating eye and an understanding of what that bouncy line that resembles an EKG readout really means.

Many of you may have been to public meetings held by the Texas Parks Wildlife Division (TPWD) in which a graph is displayed on the screen during the course of a

56 | July 2014

presentation. Sometimes the interpretation is fairly straight forward and the conclusion is undeniable. For instance, say the graph presents numbers of a sportfish caught in gill nets over the past couple of decades and the trend line slopes downward, we likely have an issue that needs to be addressed. On the other hand, if we observe commercial landings of a particular species taking a precipitous drop, yet TPWD gill nets are jam packed with them; this may require a little more thought as to what is really happening.

Part of our job as TPWD biologists is to collect, compile, analyze, and review fisheries related data. A superficial glance at a graph can cause alarm and raise a multitude

of questions. A longer look at the graph can yield answers, or more questions. A countless number of factors can affect that little line that we see on a graph and the peaks and valleys that we see on that line can sometimes be linked to significant events. Fisheries data can exhibit a great deal of variability, and for good reason. The environments in which aquatic organisms live are often very dynamic. Fish and shellfish can be affected directly or indirectly by drought, torrential rains, or harmful algal blooms (e.g. red tide, brown tide). In Texas, the impacts of major freeze events and outbreaks of red tide can be seen in the population data for many species. Some of these impacts can be seen on a coast-wide basis, others on a more localized scale depending on the spatial extent of the event. Hydrological parameters such as salinity, water temperature, and dissolved oxygen can all influence the health of a fishery, but factors that have nothing to do with Mother Nature can exert an equal if not greater influence. Effectiveness of modern angling techniques influences how many fish make it home to the fillet table.

Even something as abstract as angler mentality and behavior can affect catch rates, which can manifest in our data.

Referring to the example mentioned above, I recently found myself perplexed as I looked at some commercial landings data of black drum in Aransas Bay. The landings decreased drastically at one point on the graph, yet as I compared that same time frame within our TPWD sampling data, the same decrease was not apparent (refer to red arrows on graph, years 2000-2001 and 2006-present). I consulted with my supervisor as to the cause and I discovered that the reason was surprisingly simple; the commercial fishermen that were responsible for the majority of the black drum landings have simply moved away to other locations. Fewer commercial fishermen equals fewer fish

being brought back to local fish markets. This was a striking example of how fisheries dependent data (reported by both recreational and commercial fishermen) and fisheries independent data (data that come from sampling the resource directly) can differ. There are a number of unique factors that can affect each type of data. TPWD uses both types of data to better understand and manage the resource.

To some people, graphs are boring. To fisheries biologists, they offer insight into what is happening in our bays and offshore waters. It is our job to gather and synthesize data with a trained eye and interpret that data for you, the angler, so that all of us might better understand what is going on beneath the surface.

These graphs allow comparison of fisheries dependent and fisheries independent data on black drum from Aransas Bay. Significant events to note include the major freeze events in the 1980’s (red lines) and an increase in commercial fishing efforts for black drum in the mid 90’s and early 2000’s (black lines). The red arrows on the first graph point to dramatic decreases in commercial landings of black drum. During the same time period, we see an overall increase in gillnet catches of drum. This would indicate the reduction in landings was likely due to a reduction in commercial fishing effort, not a reduction in the overall abundance of black drum in Aransas Bay. Next time you find yourself at a Coastal Fisheries public meeting and a graph is shown on the projection screen maybe there is more to it than meets the eye.

Check the TPWD Outdoor Annual, your local TPWD Law Enforcement office, or www.tpwd.state.tx.us for more information.

TSFMAG.com | 57

A “sow” red snapper resting inside artificial reef material. Photo by NOAA.

JOE RICHARD

TEXAS NEARSHORE & OFFSHORE

Artificial Reefs Badly Needed It’s no secret that Texas is woefully short of artificial reefs offshore, whether in blue water or within sight of the beach. Texas offshore anglers depended heavily on the offshore gas and oil industry to provide fishing spots for the past 50 years, and it was great fishing. But now that 1,000 platforms have been removed, and the feds have almost strangled recreational harvest of snapper beyond nine miles, where to fish? Especially in state waters, where red snapper fishing is allowed all year, but little fish-attracting structure exists.

What a difference between Texas and Alabama, in the Eastern Gulf. Forrest Gump’s state, with about 50 miles of coastline, has nowhere near the fishable, continental shelf that Texas has. But they’ve allowed thousands of offshore artificial reefs to be built. Their offshore policy remains: Build it and they will come.

Today, Alabama anglers catch the majority of recreationally caught snapper for the entire Gulf, and often within sight of land.

There are a few artificial reef sites off Texas, and even several shipwrecks. Texas dabbled in reef-making in 1979 by sinking nine Liberty ships offshore, sites that are mostly forgotten today.

The Texas Clipper from Galveston was cleaned at great expense and volunteer effort, and sunk off South Padre Island. But the cost and time involved in cleaning these ships before sinking 58 | June 2014

has become prohibitive. Huge Navy aircraft carriers, sold for a penny, are towed to Brownsville and cut up for scrap (and shipped into Mexico). Sinking ships for artificial reefs

So-called “supper reefs” are much bigger than a standard reef ball, and incorporate natural limestone for better coral growth. Photo by Walter Marine

has now fallen from favor, because of toxic materials in each vessel.

What about all of those platforms removed from Texas waters? They were hauled away for scrap, as well. Many were dynamited loose from the bottom, destroying all fish within a fair distance, sometimes floating thousands of snapper with their eyes bugging out. A few Gulf platforms were even loaded onto barges and towed into Florida waters, and sunk 50 feet below the surface, ripe habitat for many fish today.

What’s to be done in Texas? Offshore snapper fishing has hit a low ebb, but the situation should begin improving. CCA Texas is in the process of securing several 160-acre sites along the coast, and several have already received reef material on the bottom. They’re concentrating efforts on state waters only, where Texas Parks and Wildlife determines snapper harvest.

“At Freeport’s Vancouver site, we’ve donated $50K for a project there run by Texas Parks and Wildlife, says John Blaha with CCA. “The material so far includes 120 culverts, and also large granite rocks. At Port Mansfield, where fish are already being caught, we gave about $50K. That project has about 4,000 culverts.

“The site off Corpus Christi, we gave about $100K for that one, another TP&W project. It has 470 prebuilt pyramids. We’re also involved with a new site out of POC and we’re committed to $100K, though permits for that one are still being worked on. We also contributed $200K to a new site off Matagorda; we’re hoping to secure enough funds from the Deepwater Horizon restoration fund to reef the entire 160 acres there.”

“On the upper coast they’re permitting a site 160 acres between Galveston and Freeport. We already have donated material, big pipe structures that weigh 20 tons each.

60 | June 2014

TSFMAG.com | 61

Concrete culvert sections donated by Alamo Concrete Products going overboard to become part of CCA Texas’ Habitat Today for Fish Tomorrow reefing project (in partnership with TPWD) offshore Port Mansfield. (CCA photo)

“We’ve also been part of the Idle Iron issue.

We’re trying to build a feasible plan to make reefs out of that old platform material, instead of hauling them away. We want to bring different agencies together, to build a cohesive plan that is good for the ecosystem.”

Tom Hilton also has a plan to build a great many artificial reefs along the entire Texas coast, but so far that hasn’t happened and the cost will obviously be high. For quality fishing, you need a great many sites that can’t be cleaned out each summer by fishing pressure. They would certainly offer good fishing during autumn or winter, when Texans are preoccupied with football weekends or with that deer lease. During those two seasons, you can launch and run only a few miles offshore, and may not see another boat.

“I call it the Texas Great Barrier Reef,” says Hilton.

“I proposed to build a 1-mile wide artificial reefing corridor along the entire Texas coast, positioned just inside Texas territorial waters. It ended up being 64 separated reefing areas, due to the requirement of avoiding conflicts with shipping fairways, anchorages, oil platforms, pipelines, etc.

“The concept revolved around providing more fishing opportunities for Texas recreational anglers close to shore and during Texas’ 365-day snapper season. Creating close, inshore reefs would provide easy access to the fish. Not require a lot of time, fuel or expense and would jump-start coastal economies like nothing we have seen.

“People could go for a snapper run and be home for lunch. It would encourage people to take their kids, since they wouldn’t need to travel so far to catch fish. It would be free from federal fishery management meddling, since it would be located inside Texas territorial waters. It would mitigate the loss of habitat we are now experiencing, with the removal of over 1,000 oil platforms since the BP oil spill. There would be a lot of positives.”

62 | June 2014

TSFMAG.com | 63

S C O T T S O M M E R L AT T E

F LY F I S H I N G

BE CALM and DON’T TROUT SET “Well,” I asked my roommate Al Keller (also a guide) as I walked in from a long day on the water, “How was your day?”

His response, “You know, they just barely got it away from them today.”

Translation: his anglers lifted their rods when the fish ate the fly, which is better known as the “trout set” or the “premature e-jerk-u-lations.” Unfortunately,

this accounts for more missed opportunities at a fish than anything else.

Now I have to assume that the majority of those reading this column are in fact saltwater fly fisherman considering the masthead of this publication reads Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine. And, I therefore have 64 | June 2014

to conclude that you are familiar with the term “strip-strike” or “stripset.” However, after spending years with anglers that I know have and also those that claim to have years of experience fly fishing, I have to wonder if people actually know how to properly set the hook while fishing in a saltwater environment.

You see, when fishing for trout up north and a fish eats, you tend to lift the rod fast and high to set the hook. The reasoning for this is two-fold. First is that the fish can spit the fly just as fast as it ate it and secondly, you usually fish much lighter tippet which mean the

softer tip of the rod has more give therefore, it protects the tippet from breaking during the hookset. The problem with this is, rarely is this method going to result in a hookup with the species that we pursue in the brine.

In regards to the fish that we chase, there are some things to take into consideration. For one, they are usually bigger and in some instances, have a much harder mouth. Add to that, we are using much larger hooks in which even the sharpest of the sharp are dull in comparison to the itsy-bitsy hooks used for trout fishing. In addition, because the hooks are larger and the fish are usually larger, it requires more pressure to bury the hook deep.

Hence the need to learn to properly “strip-set.”

The funny thing about the strip-set is that it cannot be done properly if there is slack in the line. This means that the cast needs to be laid out straight with no slack and the fly should be retrieved with the rod tip in or, at least near the water pointed directly at the fly.

As for the strip-set, I cannot emphasize the following enough- DO NOT REACT TO WHAT YOU SEE. Actually, this is not 100% true but for the time being, let us stick to that rule.

So the cast has been made, the rod tip is low to the water, pointed at the fish and the fish eats. The proper way to react to this is to keep stripping or, better yet, make a long hard strip. If the line does not come tight and you KNOW that the fish has eaten the fly, make another long strip. If and only if the line

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begins to stretch, then it is time to put the rod to work. The proper way to do this is not to lift the rod but to pull the rod butt into your waist and then rotate your body utilizing the lower, more powerful butt-section of the rod to bury the hook point home. If you are fishing for tarpon or larger offshore species, you might want to hit them two or three times with the butt section of the rod. It is that simple however, it is a lot easier on paper than in a real fishing situation.

The problem with doing a strip-set in a real fishing situation is that the excitement of a fish eating can sometimes be overwhelming.

Anglers tend to react to seeing the fish eat by immediately lifting the rod. The only way to overcome this excitement‌ well actually I hope none of us ever actually overcome the excitement; however, it is important to be able to control the excitement.

Now for the few times that a strip set will not work. Unfortunately, there will be times when a fish will eat coming at you fast enough that it creates slack in the leader. When this happens you have to get the slack out fast. The only way to do this is to do exactly what you are not supposed to. The trick is to lift the rod and hope the fish feels the hook and turns. Once the fish turns it is important to keep stripping and get the rod tip down to then drive the hook home with the rod butt.

Remember, it is important to feel the line come tight before rotating the body on the stripset. And, it is important to use your body and not you arm alone.

Case in point, I recently had an angler tear the tendons in his elbow trying to set the hook on a tarpon. He did everything perfect, right up until the line started to stretch. At this point he pulled the rod up using only his arm. I heard a scream and watched the fish leap high into the air, and his rod and reel fall to the deck of the boat.

Fortunately the hook did not find purchase and his rig stayed on the deck. This might not happen on a smaller redfish, however. It is important to learn to do it the right way so when that fish of a lifetime appears, it is all just second nature.

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Until next month‌ best of tides and stuff like that.

66 | June 2014

Scott Sommerlatte is a full time fly fishing and light tackle guide, freelance writer and photographer.

Telephone Email Website

979-415-4379 vssommerlatte@hotmail.com www.scottsommerlatte.com

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MARCOS GARZA

YO U T H F I S H I N G

Bamm Bamm My dad and I woke up at around 5:00 in the morning to get ready for an offshore trip with clients from Getaway Adventures Lodge. Our Guide, owner of Bamm Bamm Charters and good friend, Capt. Chad Kinney, was taking us out on a trolling trip. We all met at Mansfield’s E-Dock at 6:00 and loaded up the boat. We took off at about 6:15.

Chad and Gila were up-top navigating the vessel and the rest of us were down on the deck. We were all talking before we left the harbor.

We enjoyed the nice ride out to the gulf; it was calm and just enough wind to make it cool. It was just a picture perfect morning. I went up-top to be with Chad, Gila, and my dad. They were talking about the plans for the day. It was a trolling trip and the plan was to find some wahoo somewhere in that big body of water. After about an hour I decided to go into the cabin and take a nap because it was still going to be a while before we reached our destination.

I woke up at about 10:00 to find out that they had been trolling for about an hour and a half. I apparently missed some action too. A sailfish had come up and hit on a plastic squid that they had set out, but that was it.

There was nothing else going on out there in the deep 68 | June 2014

blue. It was a perfect day with nothing to show for it. The clients from the lodge are sitting down waiting for us to tell them to grab a rod at any moment. We came up on a weed line that stretched for miles. There were two other boats trolling on the same weed line. We hailed one that we knew on the radio and asked them how it was going.

They had as much luck as we did. They weren’t catching anything either. We trolled on that weed line for hours.

I fell back asleep while I was sitting up-top. I was out for another hour or so.

I woke up and we were moving quite fast. I looked and saw that we didn’t have any lines out. We were moving inshore. The ride was smooth, the water was very calm. I sat up-top with Gila, Chad had gone into the cabin to get some rest, and Gila talked to me about what we were looking for. It all boiled down to structure.

I learned that structure is very important, no matter where you are fishing. Gila and I looked for more weed lines in the water. The clients were still chilling down on the bottom deck, they were talking and enjoying the beautiful day that we had been blessed with, the only thing wrong was that we weren’t catching any fish. I was

having fun learning about being offshore and it always helps to be out with people that will make it fun.

It was around 3:00 and we finally gave up on trolling. We went further inshore to about 200 feet of water. We stopped over some kind of structure and dropped down some heavy jigs. The guys let

the jig hit bottom and started jigging and it wasn’t long before one of them hooked up.

The first fish in the boat was a gag grouper. Not bad. The guys kept fishing and eventually I joined in on the fun. The guys were catching snapper and because we were still in federal waters we couldn’t keep them. I dropped my line down and started jigging. About halfway up, I hooked onto an amberjack and it was a little bit of work reeling it in. I did expect it to be more of a challenge though. I got it up to where we could see color and we saw that it wasn’t that big, it was a keeper but not huge.

We were having a blast now that we were catching fish and it was easy, all we had to do was let the jig drop and work it back up. We caught something on almost every drop. The day was almost over so we decided to move back to state waters so that we could keep some snapper. Chad took us to a secret spot of his. We rigged up for snapper fishing and my dad started chumming. We baited the hooks and dropped them. We didn’t take but maybe 30 minutes at the most and we were done with our snapper. We had a hell of a time with Chad and even though the trolling sucked, the backup plan was pretty great.

Tournament July 24th-27th Registration begins July 24th @ the Chamber of Commerce Pavilion.

Bay and offshore divisions for men, women, & juniors. Piggy perch division for the kids. Live Band Friday & Saturday Night 2014 SPONSORS: Angler’s Edge Vic’s Rentals Bassler Energy Services Bryant Industrial Services W.C.N.D. Breakaway Cruises Budweiser K.B.W. StateFarm Genco Energy Services V.T.C.I. Boggus Ford Y-Knot Rentals Vaughn Construction

For more info, call 956.944.2354 or visit www.portmansfieldchamber.org

We invite you to come participate in the 40th Annual Port Mansfield Fishing Tournament!

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CADE SIMPSON

K AyA K F i S H i N G c H R O N i c l E S

TOdAy iS A GOOd dAy One of my favorite moments is pulling up to the launch spot super-early, well before sunrise. The wind is laid down and everything is still. You can see the reflection of the moon on the glassy surface of the water. The anticipation is heightened even further if there is a wispy fog hovering in thin patches.

You may have fished a thousand times, same or similar routine and destination in mind, but something in that predawn creates an aura that makes it feel brand new.

The next few minutes are spent unloading gear. I have a habit of laying all my gear out on the ground and then packing the kayak one piece at a time. Your gear must always be kept to a minimum, of course, but needing something and not having it on the boat is a bummer.

Finally satisfied, I am ready to launch.

Pushing out into the water and taking those first few paddle strokes is another bullet point on the timeline.

It’s the– “OK I’m here, I’m one with the water, let’s do this thing” moment. When all is quiet in the dark you are easily overcome by a very surreal and stealthy sensation as you glide along in the kayak. It’s a long paddle to the honey hole so you snap back to reality and press on.

If your timing is right you approach your fishing spot just as the sun begins to provide enough light to see 70 | June 2014

YOU BELONG ON A HOBIE hobiecat.com

drink the experience back in. With a smile on your face you take your paddle in hand and press on to find the next redfish that will give you your next thrilling fight. Today is a good day!

C O N TA C T

ripples and backs in the shallow water. You cruise slowly along, eyes peeled for a casting opportunity. You reach behind the seat to grab a rod, must be ever-so quiet, disturb the peace and waste a chance. Those are the rules in shallow water sight-fishing.

Your first cast, though the reel barely hums, seems too loud as the lure arcs toward the target. But what a great sound. In these early casting moments I am nervous in a way, high on anticipation for the first bite of the day. Slowly, you move down the shoreline. Up ahead you hear a popping sound, a splash, you know this sound. It is the sound of a hungry red feeding along the grassline. This is it. Make it happen!

Ever carefully you creep closer and closer to the commotion that is breaking the still silence of the morning. You lay your paddle in your lap and pick up your rod. You know you have to make a perfect cast to entice the fish. You cast, in your mind you curse yourself; too far left. You bring your lure in and cast again, perfect.

The retrieve begins; the lure is coming by the fish. The fish detects it, turns, darts towards it, slam, set – FISH ON! In the shallow water the fish is within sight during the whole fight, cutting across the flat as it tries its best to escape, baitfish and tiny shrimp showering ahead of the racing predator. Finally the battle is over and you have retrieved your catch. If nothing else happens for the rest of the day, it has already been a good one.

A few moments to revive the fish and it swims off hurriedly. Why do they have to throw water on your glasses?

You get yourself reset in the kayak and then take a few moments to

Telephone Email

936-776-7028 Cademan11@sbcglobal.net

Find me on Facebook to follow along in my outdoor adventures

ICE44LONGER

HOLDS

%

UP TO

*BASED ON INDEPENDENT TEST COMPARISON OF ESKY TM SERIES 135 AND YETI® 160 COOLERS.

72 | June 2014

*

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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

E R IC O Z O LI N S

optimal bait selection Perhaps the most important decision in shark fishing on consumption, it is what they were built to do. And is bait selection. You may be fortunate and have ideal yet, even this perfectly evolved eating machine will tides, weather, and location working to your advantage refuse certain food if their instincts tell them to. Why but, if you are not using appropriate baits it could all be is that? Could it be a chemical reaction within their for nothing. Novice shark anglers struggle with this, not brains that tells them to avoid a certain food? Maybe yet understanding why sharks prefer one specific offering over another.

That old match-the-hatch theory can be credited for such tunnel vision, Large chunk of blackfin narrowing the selection to the most tuna rigged for a slow day. abundant prey species in the area at the time. And, as much as this can be dead-on (at times), it is not ALWAYS true. Determining which bait might be optimal can be tricky, and experience is probably the best teacher for getting it right.

Sharks are some of the greatest predators to ever exist on our planet.

For millions of years they have dominated the oceans in constant pursuit of food, their appetites seemingly never satisfied. They thrive 74 | June 2014

the answer lies within a mysterious sense that something isn’t right.

What is it that triggers them to feed? We may never understand all of this but there are some things we have observed and learned through years of sharking off our coast.

Here in Texas, shark migration patterns are fairly consistent. Many species are seasonal and arrive as though on cue, in conjunction with prey. In most instances, match-the-hatch rings quite true. Let’s start with winter. Our large shark species that time of year is the sandbar shark. You may have stingray or other large baits out but often these sharks feed on what’s around. Some of the best sandbar

Jackfish rigged for tiger shark baits.

shark bait is ironically our own preferred table fare - pompano, black drum, sheepshead, and even whiting. The reason for this is likely due to the presence of these species in the surf at that time. Come spring, the blacktip sharks ravage the beach in force. They cruise the shallows annihilating whiting and skipjack which are also some of the best baits you can use for this species. Now that is not to say you can’t catch blacktips on anything else. Any fresh, bloody bait has the potential to trigger a strike.

In the summer, if you are targeting a specific species, the bait selection could vary accordingly. If you wish to better your odds at a large tiger shark, then go BIG. In all my years, there is no other “money” bait for tigers like a fresh jack crevalle. Whether this bait species is present in the surf or not; use it! You can run out stingray, bonito, or several other large baits only to have the tigers pick up the jackfish nearly every time it is available. No bait is too big for a tiger!

In contrast, a ten foot great hammerhead which is known as one of the fastest and most maneuverable sharks, requires a much different bait. A hammer of that length physically has the same size mouth as a much smaller six foot blacktip, thus requiring a smaller offering.

While large hammers are known to hunt down and chomp on giants such as silver-king tarpon, their mouth is quite small for a large rigged bait. While these sharks can and will pick up obtusely massive baits, very rarely do they get hooked. The bait of choice for hammerheads are large chunks or wing strips of stingray.

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During fall, the blacktips are once again in full force. During this time they are after skipjack, bluefish, and Spanish mackerel that are also in the surf- zone. You MUST be careful and aware of what baits you can and cannot use in your state. Here in Texas, you may NOT use gamefish (such as mackerel) as bait. However, you are legally allowed to use other non-gamefish that have an establish size/ bag limit as long as these fish fall within the requirements. Some of these eligible bait species are black drum, sheepshead, flounder, and red snapper. I have personally caught sharks on all of these fish

but once again prefer jackfish for large baits and skipjack for smaller baits. One of the biggest secrets in shark fishing is using hardhead or gafftop catfish as bait. If you cannot get a shark to hit any primo baits, try running a hardhead and you might be surprised. Blacktips devour these fish, and why? My guess is because they are quite numerous in the surf.

Throughout much of the year, bull sharks reign in our waters as our most abundant large predatory shark. They do not get as large as tigers or hammers, but their feeding ability is unmatched. Bulls have a very solid head with a large jaw structure capable of taking down very large prey. The average coastal bull shark we catch is five to six feet in length. With today’s fishery in Texas, a big bull is seven and a half to nine feet in length.

This fish is capable of being caught on the largest of baits or even the smallest. Bulls rarely pass up a meal–period. Large jackfish and stingray are your best bet for monsters, while large horse mullet, whiting, and skipjack are great baits for six foot class and smaller bulls. However, you can put nearly anything out and have a chance with these guys. Bulls are notorious for eating even other smaller sharks that have been hooked. Their large teeth are designed for cutting through the toughest of bone and are the only species other than tiger in which you have to worry about cutting through a cable leader.

Surf fishing for sharks is beyond an adventure due to the Small blacktips destroyed mysteries that keep us coming back for more. What shark will a fine stingray bait. really succumb to your bait and why? While there is no law or

76 | June 2014

Remains of a black drum washed up on PINS beach – note the shark bites.

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rule stating that the sharks I have mentioned will only take the baits stated, this article should help any young angler who is looking to get on the right path. The beauty of it is that you can experiment and it does nothing but teach you. If the bite is slow, use another bait that is present in area. Experiment with odd baits you wouldn’t think would be normally utilized for shark (large blue crab etc.).

You may just end up with an oddity such as a nurse shark when using crustaceans. If you are actually trying to target certain shark species, it would be a good bet to use baits known to attract them.

Think natural prey but also think about presentation and how it is rigged. Let it be known that freezer-burned bait is a huge turn-off for sharks. The best bait in the world is usually the freshest. Take all of these things in consideration and you will be in good shape. So on your next shark adventure; feel free to experiment, be observant, and have fun in the process!

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 runs Kayak Wars; one of the largest kayak fishing tournaments in the world.

Email Websites

oz@oceanepics.com extremecoast.com | oceanepics.com | kayakwars.com

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Cedar Bayou; donation check presentation.

C C A Te x a s S t a f f / P h o t o s b y L i s a L a s k o w s k i

T S F M ag Conser v at i on N e w s

CCA Texas Funds $225,000 for New Southern Flounder Annex Building Background: Courtesy of David Abrego and Shane Bonnot – Sea Center Texas Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) has initiated an effort to hatchery-rear juvenile southern flounder for purposes of stock enhancement. The primary goal has been to develop the capability for culturing this species on a large-scale basis so that there is flexibility to respond to changing management needs (e.g., stocking to compensate for year class failures owing to catastrophic events such as cold-kills).

To that end, Sea Center Texas (SCT) hatchery staff has made considerable progress in developing protocols to spawn captive flounder broodstock, hatch-out larvae and rear fry in outdoor culture ponds. Since 2009, the stock enhancement program has stocked over 103,000 southern flounder fingerlings into Sabine Lake, and Galveston and Aransas Bays, with the SCT contributing over 96,000 to the overall total.

Initial grow-out trials conducted by staff indicate that flounder larvae have little tolerance of temperature and salinity changes, grow slower, have strict nutritional needs and are much more delicate than red drum and spotted seatrout. Flounder must be kept indoors and housed for longer periods of time thus limiting the amount of larvae we can work with due to a lack of incubators and tank space. As such, the ability to rear juvenile flounder is contingent on having a large number of larvae for stocking in grow-out ponds or raceways.

78 | June 2014

Limiting factors at SCT that prevent large scale production flounder larvae include a lack of building infrastructure and equipment to house and rear large numbers of larvae in various stages of development, SCT’s inability to control their environment (temperature, salinity) and a limited ability to produce primary food production through the current first feeding systems.

To address these limiting factors, SCT has set aside funding in the amount of $125,000, dedicated for the acquisition/ initial start-up of a gable-style metal building for the southern flounder program.

Equipped with tanks, raceways, water filtration systems,

Excavation work at Vinson Slough.

Hydraulic dredge work in Cedar Bayou.

chillers and heaters, etc., the building, will provide additional hatchery floor space for flounder broodstock and incubation equipment while allowing SCT to have more control on environmental conditions enhancing SCT capacity to house and rear larger numbers of adult and larvae. The increased number of larvae will provide more opportunities for staff to conduct research projects and refine protocols to spawn captive flounder broodstock, culture larvae, and rear fry in outdoor culture ponds enhancing our ability to rear the species on a large-scale basis.

necessary equipment to make this project a success. Equipment to be purchased includes seawater storage reservoirs, filtration systems, circulation pumps, fiberglass fish culture tanks and heat pumps.

CCA Texas continues to step forward in ensuring a healthy coastal resource and sustainable fisheries for the recreational fishermen and women of Texas. These funds would not be possible without the continued support of our members and sponsors.

Habitat Today for Fish Tomorrow (HTFT) News CCA Texas’s habitat initiative continues to keep moving forward.

Funding Several projects are beginning construction and or nearing completion.

CCA Texas Executive Board approved $225,000 in funding for the These include the Restoration of Cedar Bayou and Vinson Slough, Bird Southern Flounder Annex Building at Sea Center Texas at the May Island Marsh Restoration in West Galveston Bay, the East Galveston Bay 2014 meeting. This $225,000 approval is $100,000 above the original Oyster Restoration and the Nueces Delta Water Control Project. request by TPWD. These additional funds will be used to purchase the Cedar Bayou is moving along. CCA Texas representatives, along with Aransas County and the RLB Construction, held a site visit on May 21st.

The hydraulic dredging is moving briskly as well as the mechanical excavation of Vinson Slough and Cedar Bayou. Weekly or bi-weekly updates are posted under the conservation tab of www.ccatexas.org for the general public to follow. As a reminder, the Cedar Bayou – Vinson Slough area is a designated work area and permission must be obtained before entering.

The East Galveston Bay Oyster Restoration project will be nearing Nueces Delta water control system. completion by the time this issue of Texas (above) Existing “test” gates at Nueces Delta Water Control Project.

Saltwater Fishing Magazine hits the news (below) New lift gates waiting to be installed. stands. Once completed, 180 acres of oyster reef will be restored in East Galveston Bay. This work includes 85 acres at Hannah’s, 70 acres at Pepper Grove, 15 acres at Middle Reef and 10 acres at CCA Middle Reef.

Nueces Delta Preserve Water Control Project began site construction the week of June 2nd. Once completed, water that is pumped into the Nueces Delta will stay in the delta and make it’s way to the bay to provide much needed fresh water and nourishment.

This joint effort between Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries and CCA Texas is another great example of NGOs working together to ensure a healthy coastal resource.

For information and upcoming events, be sure to visit www.ccatexas.org.

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Tamoya haplonema, photo by Mark Fisher.

STEPHANIE BOYD

F I S H Y FA C T S

The Box Medusa The first time I ever saw a box jellyfish, I was twelve. Our father took us to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I never forgot what he said... That it was the most deadly creature on earth.

To me, it was just the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. ~Will Smith, Seven Pounds Medusa is the word for jellyfish in Greek, Finnish, Portuguese, Romanian, Hebrew, Serbian, Croatian, Spanish, French, Italian, Hungarian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Russian, and Bulgarian (though most of us probably think of a mythological character with snakes on her head and a stony gaze, not a jellyfish). Jellies – along with corals, man-of-wars, anemones, and others – belong to the phylum Cnidaria, which comes from the Greek word “cnidos,” meaning stinging creature.

Touching one of the many cnidarians will make it clear how they got their name. These diverse animals are all armed with stinging cells called cnidocysts (also called nematocysts), and they are united based on the presumption that their cnidocysts have been inherited from a common ancestor.

Cnidarians have two distinct body plans: 1) polyp, which is sessile as an adult and 2) medusa, which is mobile. Some cnidarians, such as jellies, go through both body plans in their life cycles. Members of this phylum are essentially bags of mostly water. They consist of 80 | June 2014

three layers. They outer ectoderm, or epidermis, houses the cnidocysts (the stinging cells). The inner endoderm, or gastrodermis, lines the gut. Between the two is the mesoglea, a layer of jelly-like substance. The mouth is often surrounded by a ring of tentacles. The nervous system – responsible for tentacle movement, digestion, waste expulsion, etc. – is composed of nerve cells scattered across the body, a nerve net (so no brains for these guys).

Food stuffs are obtained in generally one of two ways, the predator way and the plant way. Many cnidarians, such as jellies, use their cnidocysts to trap prey in their tentacles. Others, such as corals, rely on symbiotic dinoflagellates within their tissues; these single-celled creatures carry out photosynthesis and pass on the nutrients to their hosts. Corals are, essentially, photosynthetic animals.

There are four major groups of cnidarians: Anthozoa, which includes anemones, sea pens, and true corals; Hydrozoa, the most diverse group with fire corals, the Portuguese man-of-war, by-the-wind-sailors, etc; Scyphozoa, the true jellyfish; and Cubozoa, the amazing box jellies.

Class Anthozoa Anthozoans are probably the most famous cnidarians.

Corals are the builders of some of the richest and most complex ecosystems on the planet. Anthozoans also have a long and diverse fossil record, extending back at least 550 million years. The oldest anthozoan fossils are from the late Precambrian, though true corals of the kind living today did not appear until the middle Triassic, about the same time that the first dinosaurs were evolving.

Class Hydrozoa Many hydrozoans are often confused for true corals or true jellyfish, but they are colonial organisms, composed of many individuals, each specialized for various functions. Most alternate between a polyp and medusa stage. Spending part of their lives as “jellyfish” is what makes them hard to distinguish from scyphozoans.

Class Scyphozoa The true jellyfish. Scyphozoans include most of the jellies familiar to beach-goers. They are 1) free-swimming, 2) polymorphic, existing in several forms or color varieties, 3) dioecious, having the male and female reproductive organs in separate individuals, and 4) carnivorous. Their life cycle involves an alternation between the sesslie polyp phase and a free-swimming medusa stage, though the medusa stage is usually dominant.

Class Cubozoa Cubozoans prefer to live in warm, shallow, marine waters near the coast. They inhabit warm waters worldwide but are particularly known in Australia, Southeast Asia, Hawaii, and off the United States gulf and east coasts. A non-threatening species, Carybdea marsupialis, enters Southern California near Santa Barbara during warm weather.

The most venomous species of this class, Chironex fleckerii, is found on the northern shore of Australia and on the coasts of New Guinea, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Good thing we don’t have that guy around here!

In general, box jellies look a lot like true jellies, the scyphozoans. But it’s not especially challenging to tell the two classes apart. Cubozoans have a square shape when viewed from above, hence the name.

The other prominent difference is the tentacle arrangement. The bottom corners of a box jelly’s bell each sport a muscular pad called a pedalium (plural pedalia). One or more tentacles attach to each pedalium, so box jellies have four evenly spaced tentacles, or tentacle bunches. Cubozoans are divided into orders depending on the number of tentacles attached to each pedalium.

On the bell, located midway between the pedalia, are four sensory structures called rhopalia. If you look close, inside the rhopalia, you’ll see a remarkable thing… looking back at you! Box jellies have eyes, and surprisingly complex ones at that. Whereas some jellies do have simple eyespots that distinguish between light and dark, box jellies are unique in the possession of true eyes, complete with retinas, corneas, and lenses, not so different from you or me. They also retain the simple eyespots, for bragging rights. It’s unclear how the images seen are interpreted by box jellies since they have no brains, and few experiments have been performed to determine just how well they can see, but they can see well enough to avoid swimming into a pole. A box jelly can look both inward towards its mouth and outward since each rhopalium dangles on a muscular stalk. Also inside each rhopalium is an organ called a statocyst, which is sensitive

to orientation, allowing the jelly to sense whether they are upsidedown, sideways, or rightside-up.

Box jellies are active and agile swimmers. True jellies are often categorized as planktonic, meaning they can’t swim strong enough to escape whatever currents they inhabit. Consequently, many true jellies wash up on beaches. However, box jellies are unusually strong swimmers (well, compared to most true jellies). Cubozoans (of various sizes) have commonly been observed to swim a 3.5 feet in five to ten seconds, though they can reportedly reach much faster speeds. Not only are box jellies quick, they are remarkably agile. Aided by their advanced eyesight, they have been reported maneuvering around the pilings of piers and fleeing would-be human collectors.

Perhaps partially due to their evasive maneuvers, it was not until about 1970 that the complete life cycle of a cubozoan was observed. Mating appears to occur once every year, sometimes in large aggregations. The male puts his tentacles into the bell of the female and passes packets of sperm. Fertilization takes place inside the females. Each egg develops into a planula. Cubozoan planulae are pyriform (that’s “pear-shaped” in scientific lingo). After a planula settles, it grows into a polyp and crawls around like an inchworm, budding off more polyps. Box jelly polyps do not closely resemble the polyps of true jellies. These differences may indicate that cubozoans have a separate evolutionary origin from scyphozoans. After a few months of feeding, each polyp metamorphoses into a single juvenile medusa, complete with four new tentacles and four rhopalia.

Not surprisingly, given their squishy nature, there have not been many fossil cubozoans discovered. Today, there are about twenty known species. The classification of Cubozoa within Cnidaria has been the subject of a great deal of debate. Classically, cubozoans were categorized as a subgroup of Scyphozoa, the true jellies.

However, when it was observed that the cubozoan polyp and life cycle were rather different than those of scyphozoans, Cubozoa graduated to its own class.

There are three native and one invasive species found in Gulf waters. Two of the natives and the invasive are listed in the Texas Parks & Wildlife database: Chiropsalmus quadrumanus, the fourhanded box jelly (locally known as “sea wasp” or the “hot jelly”), Tamoya haplonema, one of the four-tentacled box jellies, and Phyllorhiza punctata, the Australian spotted box jelly, respectively.

The other native is Tripedalia cystophora, the mangrove box jelly.

Several species of box jellies are referred to as sea wasps, but it’s usually reserved for the aforementioned Chironex fleckerii, the most dangerous of the box jellies, not one found here.

The four-handed box jelly has been documented in at least four Texas estuaries, mostly in the Galveston Bay System, and also offshore in state waters. It is a colorless, transparent cubozoan with a bell diameter usually five to six inches, and length a little less. Bundles of seven to nine mauve tentacles dangle from each pedalium. They have a very irritating sting. It’s found seasonally, August through October.

Tamoya haplonema has been documented at least twice in Texas waters, once in Corpus Christi Bay and once off shore near Port O’Connor, both times in very low numbers. The bell is tall and transparent with long, milky-yellow tentacles, one on each corner.

The sting is painful, but usually not lethal.

The mangrove box jelly is one of the smaller species of box jellyfish, growing to the size of a silver dollar. It usually lives in large groups near the surface of the water where it can prey easily on small TSFMAG.com | 81

crustaceans. Unlike other box jellies, which are usually clear or whitish in color, the mangrove has color variations from greenish gray to brownish yellow. It has three tentacles on each corner. This species’ sting seems to vary from absolutely nothing at all to a mild itch. While this box jelly’s range does, occasionally, include the Gulf of Mexico, it hasn’t actually been documented in state waters and is primarily a resident of Central America.

Phyllorhiza punctata is an Australian jelly that invaded the Gulf of Mexico in the summer of 2000. This box jelly may have been present in the Gulf of Mexico prior, but it went largely unnoticed. In their native waters, they tend to be fist-sized. In Gulf waters, they grow unusually large, upwards of twenty-four inches across. They aren’t dangerous to humans, other than occasionally mild stings in sensitive areas, but large blooms can pose a threat to trawling industries by fouling trawling nets and eating the eggs and larvae of fish. Likely they were carried here as polyps attached to ships.

Fun Fact: there are over four-hundred vast marine dead zones worldwide that are too polluted for almost all higher life, but not for jellies! The number of global dead zones has doubled about every ten years since the 1960s. During the summer of 2008, the Gulf of Mexico’s dead zone covered about 8,000 square miles, the size of Massachusetts. It is expected to soon reach about 10,000 square miles.

Out of all cnidarians, cubozoans are the most venomous. Box jellies are known as the suckerpunch of the sea, not only because of their powerfully painful venom, but also because they are almost transparent. Only a few species in the class have been confirmed to be involved in human deaths, and some species pose no serious threat, though few species of box jellies are only weakly venomous.

The tentacles are used to catch prey (fish and small invertebrates) and for defense from predators, including butterfish, batfish, rabbitfish, crabs, and various species of sea turtles. Sea turtles, however, are apparently unaffected by the sting and eat box jellies indifferently.

Each tentacle is lined with thousands of cnidocysts, the hallmark of cnidarians. Each cnidocyst houses a coiled, envenomed barb. When a tentacle comes in contact with chemicals on either prey or predator, the barb uncoils and fires, injecting the venom, a venom that is distinct from that of scyphozoans.

Box jellies produce a unique family of toxic proteins. However, the venom is complex and difficult to collect, so is incompletely understood. Though they are structurally similar, the venoms vary a bit between species, indicated by the broad range of species-specific effects. Most have components which can cause local pain and necrosis, and in high doses, some contain components that can affect heart function and breathing.

The harm caused by a sting is dependent on a few factors: 1) the amount of skin contacted by cnidocysts; if more than ten percent of the total skin area of a person is covered with discharging tentacles, that can become life threatening, especially in children; 2) where contact is made; the chest has more serious implications than the foot; 3) the species of box jelly; 4) the size of the person; small children are more susceptible to stings than adults; and 5) the individual reaction of the person; people who are allergic to the venom are, of course, in more danger when stung. Antivenom is available for box jelly stings.

Acetic acid, found in vinegar, disables the cnidocysts that have not yet fired (though it will not alleviate the pain). Common practice is to apply generous amounts of vinegar prior to and after the tentacle 82 | June 2014

is removed. To remove the tentacles, use a stick, towel, credit card, anything but your bare hands. Tentacles will still sting if separated from the bell, even after the creature is dead. Removing the tentacles before applying vinegar can cause unfired cnidocysts to come into contact with the skin and fire, resulting in more stings.

Although commonly recommended in folklore and even some papers on sting treatment, there is no scientific evidence that urine, ammonia, sodium bicarbonate, boric acid, lemon juice, fresh water, steroid cream, alcohol, papaya, or hydrogen peroxide will prevent further stinging from box jellies, and some of these substances even cause more venom to be released. Alcohol of any form should never be used for jelly stings, box or otherwise.

Eye stings should be rinsed with a commercial saline solution, such as Artifical Tears. Also, dab the skin AROUND the eyes with a towel that has been soaked in vinegar. Do not place vinegar directly in the eyes! Mouth stings should be treated with a vinegar mixture: one part vinegar to three parts water. Gargle and SPIT OUT the solution. Do not drink or swallow!

Or you could just do what the savvy Aussies do – wear women’s pantyhose when you head out to the beach. Apparently, nylon prevents the jellies from stinging since it’s a barrier to the chemicals on your skin.

Cheerio!

Where I learned about box jellies, and you can too!

Venomous and Poisonous Marine Animals: A Medical and Biological Handbook Edited by John A. Williamson, Joseph W. Burnett, Peter J. Fenner, Jacqueline F. Rifkin Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission: www.gsmfc.org/seamap/picture_ guide/Other/tamoya%20haplonema.pdf National Science Foundation: www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/jellyfish/ textonly/locations_gulfmexico.jsp United States Dept of Agriculture: www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/aquatics/ spottedjellyfish.shtml Encyclopedia of Life: eol.org/pages/200769/overview The Encyclopedia of Earth: www.eoearth.org/view/article/151566/ MarineLab: marinelabresearch.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/366/ Boundless: www.boundless.com/biology/invertebrates/phylum-cnidaria/ Lamar University: dept.lamar.edu/biology/faculty/abc/student%20pages/ cubozoa%20page%202.htm Open Water Pedia: openwaterpedia.com/index.php?title=Box_jellyfish University of California Museum of Paleontology: www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/ cnidaria/cnidaria.html University of Southern Mississippi: www.usm.edu/gcrl/fisheries_center/docs/ brochure.sea.jellies.MS.sound.pdf James Cook University: researchonline.jcu.edu.au/5682/ PawNation: animals.pawnation.com/different-species-box-jellyfish-3362.html eMedicineHealth: www.emedicinehealth.com/jellyfish_stings/page4_ em.htm#jellyfish_stings_treatment Discover: blogs.discovermagazine.com/science-sushi/2014/04/09/stop-usingvinegar-treat-box-jelly-stings-yet-venom-experts-weigh-recent-study/#.

U30yxS-iRaV CSL Antivenom Handbook: www.toxinology.com/generic_static_files/cslavh_ antivenom_boxjelly.html

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TSFMAG.com | 85

diCKie ColBurn

diCKie ColBurn’s Sabine Scene

Sabine

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

86 | June 2014

While the lower coast continues to deal with the negative effects of too little rain the catching on Sabine Lake has been stymied by more than enough of the wet stuff. I feel certain that the lower coast fishermen would quickly point out that too much is much better than too little, but the excessive runoff has altered our bite lately.

The dependable Plan B Program, “scraping the wall” or vertical jigging the deep breaks on the river, has been virtually washed out. Heavy rain north of Toledo Bend means a lot of water flowing southward to maintain lake levels. It is raining sheets right now on what is forecasted to be the fourth of five consecutive days of local thunderstorms and the SRA is currently running two generators fifteen hours a day.

The wind has been a little more user-friendly of late thus enabling us to access most of the lake. In past years, excessive amounts of fresh water concentrated the trout on the Causeway reefs on the south end, but that bite has thus far failed to materialize. We have found redfish feeding on the surface in small schools on occasion, but drifting the shell for trout with plastics has not been worth the extra gas.

The ship channel south of the Causeway has been red hot on clearing-incoming tides lately for trout and reds, but I don’t spend much time fishing that area. As

the clearer and saltier Gulf water funnels its way into the lake the trout bite on the reefs will immediately improve.

Easily, the most promising indicator of a very productive summer is the incredible amount of small shad roaming the open lake right now. Prior to the last week of May, virtually every trout, red and flounder we caught were gorging on these shad as they exited the bayous and took refuge in the shadows of the Roseau Rusty’s big red was released to fight again.

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cane. As they mature they move into the open water and it is “game on” for the fish, gulls and anglers!

A growing number of dedicated anglers focus solely on big trout, especially with the S.T.A.R. tournament in full swing, but far more fishing folks simply enjoying “catching” and let the rest take care of itself. This is not to say that you can’t dupe a big trout working these mobile buffets, but more importantly, they are the equalizer for the fisherman that has no time to scout.

The shad are easier to spot on a flat lake but I think you will find that you do better “bird dogging” them in a light chop as the trout feeding on them seem to hold tighter. The exception is schooling redfish as they exhibit no manners when they decide to crash the party.

Even if you don’t see fish striking the surface it still pays to cast in and around these pods of shad with everything from a She Dog or Spook Jr. to a 4-inch Sea Shad or Usual Suspect swimbait. For my money, provided the gafftop will leave it alone, there is no better weapon for ferreting out and exploiting this bite than a Vudu or DOA shrimp fished under an H&H TKO cork.

I have found the cork set up easiest and most effectively fished with a spinning combination. I personally use a 2500 or 3000 series spinning reel and seven foot Laguna medium action rod for cork work. Twenty pound braid is the ticket to longer casts and the no-stretch factor assures better hooksets when the cork disappears.

While wading or drifting the shallow flats both early and late should be off the charts for targeting the larger trout later this month, the single biggest mistake most visiting anglers will make is looking for fish tight against the shoreline the remainder of the day!

We will catch a world of solid trout across the summer drifting parallel to the shoreline a hundred yards or more out into the lake. The bank fishermen that walk the revetment walls will quickly tell you that most of the boaters that share the same water are sitting on the fish and ineffectively casting to the rocks.

Both finger mullet and mature shad spend much of their time suspended in this corridor of water throughout the day. The best way to find them when they are not on the surface is to simply idle along and look for the flashes just beneath the surface. Sitting gulls also ride herd on these schools of trout while waiting for them to drive the bait to the surface. Never pass up sitting birds on Sabine when they are not bunched tightly!

Sign the kids up for the CCA tournament and get them on the water today!

TSFMAG.com | 87

CaPt. steVe hillman

the BuZZ on Galveston Bay

Stiff southwest winds have given way to southeast winds on most days and fishing has dramatically improved. It’s not lights out every day but it’s certainly worth the effort. I would rate fishing around here at about an “eight” right now. Shad are getting bigger and some brown shrimp are finally showing. I don’t think we’ve had a very good brownie crop overall but there are a few birds Galveston working. The poor brown shrimp showing is directly related to drought.

We’ve had some recent rains but we need much more. What we really need Steve Hillman is a full-time is for a tropical depression or even a fishing guide on his home tropical storm to sit on top of us for a waters of Galveston Bay. Steve few days. I know that sounds horrible, fishes the entire Galveston Bay but as most know, freshwater is the Complex, wading and drifting life blood of our estuary. That emerald for trout, redfish, and flounder green water is pretty to look at but high using artificial lures. salinities are not healthy long-term.

Telephone A lot of our bites have been very 409-256-7937 subtle and I think it’s because our trout Email captsteve@hillmanguideservice.com have just been gorging themselves on shad – not really all that hungry. website www.hillmanguideservice.com Whatever the reason may be, it’s

imperative to have the right gear to feel the bites.

I won’t mention any particular brands of rods, but when I see a guy show up in the morning with a telephone pole for a rod you can pretty much count on him struggling. I usually just politely tell him that the Galveston Bay blue marlin bite seems to be below average this year so please go put your rig back in the truck. The most sensitive rod Paige Taylor, Brooke Hillman and Madison Wills took turns fighting this 27.5 inch redfish (released).

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that I’ve found is Waterloo’s Ultra Mag. Unlike other Dave Pierce similar rods it has a with a nice backbone that can East Bay trout. handle just about anything you’re going to catch in the bay. Slap a Shimano Core Mg on it and you’ve got a lightweight ultra-sensitive rig that enables you to catch more fish.

It’s that simple.

East and lower Galveston Bays have been the most productive as of late. Most of the reefs are holding good numbers of trout in 5 to 7 feet of water. When we can’t find slicks we’re working areas of rafting mullet and surfacing shad.

Sometimes you can use your troll motor to make a slick or two pop.

This helps pin-point the schools. Most of the trout are running in the 16 to 22 inch range with a few 24 to 27 inchers mixed in. The topwater bite has been really good on some days. Super Spook Jr’s and MirrOlure Top Dog Jr’s have been working the best. As usual, you can’t go wrong with the trusty ol’ Salt Water Assassin. We’ve fished a few open-water schools of reds but they’re not showing themselves every day. The bayou drains are holding quite a few flounder although about half of them seem to be undersized.

Open-water fishing in Trinity Bay has been off compared to this time last year, but I think it will begin to show signs of improvement really soon. I can’t really put my finger on the reason why it’s struggling, but it definitely is. Despite sounding like a broken record, my best guess is that it has something to do with delayed patterns we’ve seen this year following a prolonged winter. A good example is the fact that our birds didn’t even start really working until the first week in June. This normally occurs in early May. The north and south jetties have been holding fair numbers of trout and good numbers of reds for the folks chunking live bait.

Good catches of trout have come from the surf on what few calm days we’ve had.

The month of July will find us over deep shell near the ship channel and around some of the wells. Casting to slicks in 8 to 10 feet of water using soft plastics rigged on 1/4 to 3/8 ounce jig heads will usually get the job done. As the summer heat drives up the water temperatures, a lot of the trout will pull out over deep mud because it is cooler and holds more oxygen. They will usually be near shell, but not necessarily directly on top of it. Getting a very early start and playing the tides will be the best program to stick with throughout the month. On weak tide days, fishing deep spoil reefs closer to the channel also allows you to take advantage of artificial tide movement created by ship and barge traffic.

Summer is here to stay for a while. Get the kiddos out on the water as much as possible. Have fun, stay hydrated and be careful.

TSFMAG.com | 89

BinK Grimes

the View from Matagorda

Matagorda

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 www.matagordasunriselodge.com

90 | June 2014

It’s a summer day, flags are limp at the bait camp, you are already sweating as you launch the boat before sunrise and you have no idea if you should fish the bays, jetties or surf. It’s a good problem to have, but, it is still a problem.

Here is my thinking on a typical summer day.

Wake up at 4:00 a.m. and pull up weatherunderground.com to check the wave heights and wind direction offshore. If waves are less than two feet, I give the surf a thought, if the tides are right.

Say the tides are on the bottom end of the low for the day – I choose another locale until the tide begins to switch because outgoing tides normally dirty waters and push fish to the outer bars, especially if it is late in the tide.

Let’s say the tide begins to bail in around 10:00 a.m. The reefs in East Matagorda Bay are a good place to bide time; and, you need calm, green waters to fish these pieces of shell during the summer. I choose East Bay instead of West Bay because I know East Bay is not as influenced by tides like West Bay.

Not to say tides do not affect the fish in East Bay, just not as much moving water there like West Bay. I start at Long Reef and look for flipping mullet. If I see mullet, I begin wading on the far west end of the reef and work my way to the east. It usually takes at least two hours to wade it right. My bait of choice is a She Dog or Super Spook Jr. Why? I have caught numerous big trout here on these baits. If there is a chop on the water, the She

Dog is my bait, if calm, the subtle Spook Jr. gets the call.

Drull’s Lump, Halfmoon, Barefoot, Red Cone, Three Beacon and Bird Island reefs are solid choices as well.

If you would rather work West Bay, the grass flats are a good choice with a topwater. Deep shell pads around wells most always pay off with live bait.

It is almost 10:30 a.m. now and the sun is really beating down with sweat pouring through my shirt. Time for a boat ride to the surf.

I arrive and look for hopping shrimp, nervous shad and jumping mullet. Since the tide has just begun to inch to the beach, I work the second bar with a topwater while another angler tosses a soft plastic.

The Bass Assassin gets several bites from Spanish mackerel and sand trout, while I only coax speckled trout, usually when the plug creeps over the bar and lands in the gut. When we hit a fish we Power Pole down and begin fan-casting in every direction. When the bite slows, we drift closer to the beach and usually find fish staging in the first gut.

For those who don’t like leaving the boat, my July plan is to get out early and get off early. We drift East Bay before sunrise and try to work deep shell before it gets blistering hot. Trout is my main focus, but often we run in to schools of reds slicking along shoreline dropoffs on the falling tide.

It’s nice to have so many choices.

TSFMAG.com | 91

CaPt. shellie GraY

mid-Coast BaYs With the Grays

Port O'Connor Seadrift

Captain Shellie Gray was born in Port Lavaca and has been guiding in the Seadrift/Port O’Connor area full time for the past 12 years. Shellie specializes in wading for trout and redfish year round with artificial lures.

Telephone 361-785-6708 Email bayrats@tisd.net website www.bayrat.com

92 | June 2014

It is July and the heat is on. I take back all that because honestly; unless it’s illegal, I believe it’s up to complaining last winter when temperatures were low the angler to decide (without outside prejudice). and the wind chill much lower. You know us anglers, So with that being said; you should know that just always complaining about something. Luckily we are because you have a croaker on the end of your line now enjoying warm summer weather with reduced doesn’t mean you will hook-up every cast. There are wind (some days) and very thankful to be unraveling actually some “tricks” involved. the fishing patterns.

Bay shrimpers typically begin Using artificial lures has catching croakers during late-April always been my preference by and continuing through summer. far but I have many clients that But, for whatever reason, they did like to throw live bait. Now, not show until late-May this year before anybody calls me out, and some of the earliest batches I do not often discuss live bait were disappointingly small. here. Still though it is part of Most bait dealers, when time my business and, as simple and supply allow, prefer to keep as it sounds to experienced the freshly caught croakers in their anglers, I receive requests tanks for about three days before for live bait tips, especially selling to customers. Being caught croakers. So here goes… in nets and introduced to the tanks As everybody is probably is stressful and the three day delay aware live croaker can be a (when weaker individuals will very effective summertime recover, or maybe die-off ) insures Gerry Haynes getting in on bait. I will not get into the the friskiest and loudest croakers some nice trout action. “politics” of using them will be going into fishermen’s

Starting them young is a great way to “hook ‘em” for life!

livewells. At about $8.00 a dozen, the last thing you want to purchase is weak bait!

Now for the livewell; you will need adequate aeration and occasional water exchange in the well can also help insure lively bait. Oxygen systems work best but there are also a number of good bubblers on the market that should help keep them frisky.

Rigging croaker is pretty straight forward. I like a 30-lb mono leader of 10 to 12 inches, attached to my line with a #10 Berkley barrel swivel and a 4/0 or 5/0 Mustad Croaker Hook (depending the size of the bait). Depending current strength and presence of hungry sea gulls, most lively croaker will swim straight to the bottom on their own with no weight in the rigging. It can be necessary though to include a 1/16 or1/8 ounce slip weight above your swivel. I have also used a Texas Rattlin Rig (Chatter Weight) instead of slip weights; a little more “chatter” cannot hurt. Another tip; lively bait catches more trout. If your croaker is not lively on the hook it will not get the attention of a trout so replace it as often as necessary, discarding used bait, and always put a fresh bait on after each fish caught.

After casting the frisky croaker it is imperative to “twitch” it every 5 to 10 seconds, and retrieve the slack. This agitates the croaker and makes them “bark” that much more, drawing the attention of every trout within earshot. After the initial thump of a trout bite, DO NOT try to set the hook. Trout will usually hit the bait aggressively, but not often do they try to eat it right away. Give them some time to get it into their mouth. When they begin to pull away, solid pressure on the line, that’s when you set the hook. If you miss, drop it immediately and take up the “twitch” drill again. Quite often they’ll be right back after it.

Will redfish hit croaker? Indeed they will; but this bait works best for reds over sand or mud because the croaker will try to hide in grass where “twitching” becomes nearly impossible.

So now that you have read all the tips above, you should know that croaker do not magically produce trout like some think. You still need to look for structure; i.e. reefs, sand pockets or guts on a shoreline, preferably next to a drop off. And as always, active bait or fresh slicks should be present in the area as well.

While most of this information is well understood by many, I believe it is important to get back to basics, to enable novice anglers to also enjoy fishing success. The best tip I have to offer is this: No matter how you fish or whatever your bait preference might be, always respect the resource and practice good conservation.

Summer’s here, now let’s have some fun!

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TSFMAG.com | 93

daVid rowseY

hooKed uP with Rowsey

Speaking with respected guides and friends up and down the coast, May was an unusually tough month for getting bites. Between the full moon, high tides, and cold fronts, this usual high-ratio catching month threw Upper some humble pie in our faces. This cycle seemed to be Laguna/ statewide, and not just in a particular area. As we have Baffin slipped into June, fishing has improved.

The brown tide is still prevalent throughout our bays. However, there are some areas that are showing signs of clearing, allowing for some sightcasting to David Rowsey has 20 years potholes and structure. On light wind days the water experience in the Laguna/Baffin is brown, but more of a tea color. I can deal with this, region; trophy trout with artificial lures is his specialty. David has a and you can too. Just as long as we can make out the structure; i.e., sand holes, grassy fingers, rocks and great passion for conservation drop-offs. My clients asked me yesterday, “How much and encourages catch and release of trophy fish. tougher does this stained water make it to catch fish?”

I thought that was a good question and one I have Telephone let bounce between my ears for years. There are a lot 361-960-0340 of variables that can go along with that answer, but I website www.DavidRowsey.com think it would be somewhere in the 50% increasedEmail difficulty range. More on real windy days, and much david.rowsey@yahoo.com less on calm days, meaning not more than 15 mph.

94 | June 2014

In last month’s article I mentioned my top choices for lures in the stained water, i.e., Bass Assassin Sea Shad 5”, She Dog topwater, and the Mansfield Mauler.

I forgot to mention one other favorite, the Silver Spoon! The flash and vibration of this old-school lure can be as good as anything on the market and we are planning on making it fashionable again. Another upside to the spoon is that fish rarely see them anymore, unlike topwaters bombing all around them every day. It has proven to be a great way to trick some weary trout and reds of late.

I recently had the pleasure of having three brothers on my boat for a day of wade fishing. We set a record!

The Junkin brothers from Kerrville and Victoria. They ranged in age from 78 to 84, and topped out at 87.

Oldest group of fishermen that I have ever had the pleasure to work with. It was a fun day, heard many good stories (and repeated myself a lot). It was awe inspiring to watch them get out of the boat and start plugging like they were in their 40s. I had been suggesting and changing lures all morning with minimal results. At one point I looked up and saw

Craig Kiefer with another great fish. This 29 had already spawned but fought like a heavyweight.

Gear: Quantum EXO reel, Waterloo Ultra Mag rod, Red/Gold Shiner Bass Assassin. Released!

glints of gold flying through the air. The big brother went old-school spooning on me and popped two slot reds in back to back cast. The youngest Junkin followed his big brother’s lead and soon he was hooked up. I flipped though my box to find that there was no spoon for me. Lesson learned! My box now has plenty “Shorty’s Spoons” (Roy’s Bait and Tackle) rigged and ready to go for me and clients. I have always had good luck with spoons in off-colored water. I guess I just needed a humble reminder this time.

Steady 20 mph winds have kept the adventure down for me and others, as we sought the protection of Baffin’s south shoreline. The area is huge, contains a range of structures, and has more than an ample bait supply. The clarity is not great but it is more tea-color versus that terrible muddy look. If you are willing to grind you will catch some fish, and some dang big ones. When the winds are down, areas like East Kleberg Point have been and will continue to produce.

The cleanest water in the Baffin area is from Summer House (flats at the entrance to the Land Cut) throughout the Rocky Slough shoreline.

Although I have not trekked into 9-Mile Hole, reports of clearing water are from that far down south. That clean water will eventually start feeding the Yarbrough area, and hopefully we will have something we can count on, regarding green water and sightcasting.

In closing I would like to remind boaters that people are fishing on shorelines and sandbars throughout the whole bay system. Just because you have a boat that will run in inches doesn’t mean you have to. Some of the antics I witness daily makes me wonder, “Are they just stupid or a self-centered Ass/Jerk?”

Y’all be nice and play nice. Catch them good and get home safe.

Life is too short.

Remember the buffalo! -Capt. David Rowsey TSFMAG.com | 95

CaPt. triCia

triCia’s Mansfield Report I realize my report last month appeared rather dreary; it is not my nature to spin fairytales of great fishing when it isn’t happening. I can only hope my honesty was appreciated.

I mentioned that we needed a break from the relentless wind to allow access and opportunity to Port work and pattern areas that had been off-limits for Mansfield such a long time. We finally got that break and I am happy to say things are looking a lot better down here in paradise.

Capt. Tricia’s Skinny Water Within days of that report, Adventures operates out of the gusts of 30+ from north and Port Mansfield, specializing in then south seemed to die to zero wadefishing with artificial lures. overnight and temperatures rose enough to finally shuck the waders.

The fishing improved almost Telephone 956-642-7298 immediately. Hallelujah!

Email The opportunity to work deeper shell@granderiver.net grassbeds that had been virtually website www.SkinnyWaterAdventures.com inaccessible for months to wade fisherman paid off with plenty of trout and redfish action. Trout size is still disappointingly small,

96 | June 2014

the majority have been 13-14 inches, keepers are averaging 16-19, and only a handful are running 20 and above. Several trophy class trout have been in the mix while concentrating on small points and structure in traditionally rich areas of spoil banks, shorelines, and sightcasting on the skinny sand. This is certainly welcome, and some faith is renewed as regards this

Louisiana native and fishing guide, Todd Black. First visit to Port Mansfield. Got what he came here for!

Carl Stringer shows off a Lower Laguna beauty; 31 inches and 8.5 pounds.

fishery. But with that said; I am not convinced it is as healthy as it should be, even if suddenly better than expected!

When this story hits the newsstand the days of heavyweight trout will be pretty much behind us for the rest of summer, the stresses of spawning definitely takes a toll, weight-wise. None-the-less, a trophy is a trophy and we will handle and release each one with utmost care.

During July the traditional summertime patterns will be running at full tilt and getting bites in an array of areas should take our minds off the fatter fish of spring. Redfish should be roaming the flats in larger schools, and when located, can offer every type of saltwater angler loads of fun. Remember to start in the refreshing cool shallows early, and then relocating steadily deeper as the thermometer rises.

Lure choices will be many but, to be honest, my arsenal does not change all that much heading into summer. I will be pulling out my trusty 1/8 and 1/4 ounce weedless gold spoons and adding them to the lure boxes almost daily; it seems the reds just love them that much.

Downsizing topwaters in summer is also recommended, and there is something very special about the Top Dog Jr. in the green/chrome and the tried and true bone/silver Super Spook Jr. Another go-to in calmer conditions is Heddon’s One-Knocker in the Okie shad and bone colors. During breezier times, such as when the wind kicks up a bit in the afternoon, full size Skitter Walks green/chrome (again) and the woodpecker (red head/white body) are usually very effective for both trout and redfish.

You know the floating grass will continue to be an issue through summer as it is already here and this calls for swapping treble hooks for singles. Lots of anglers get the idea that this applies only to topwater baits but, trust me, they are equally effective on your suspending baits as well. That grass you see on the surface is only the tip of the iceberg, if you know what I mean.

Another good idea is to lay in a supply of weedless-style hooks for your soft plastics if you do not have some. There is nothing more frustrating than having your jighead clog with grass after only a few turns of the reel handle when you’re on a hot bite.

The Texas coast is a beautiful and unique gift that deserves our respect and dedicated effort to keep it that way, for now, and always.

The next few months we will see many enjoying the beauty, and the bounty, as it should be. Please, let’s all be mindful of the resource, and courteous to others on the water. As Billy Sandifer says, “If we don’t leave any, there won’t be any.”

TSFMAG.com | 97

CaPt. ernest Cisneros

south Padre Fishing Scene

A rr oyo C olorado t o Port I sabel

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

98 | June 2014

The middle of summer will be on us before you know it.

Calm, muggy mornings followed by hours of scorching sun will become the norm. Even with a nice sea breeze it will be blistering hot. I admit to having worried little about sun protection in my younger years; however, as you get older you tend to get wiser.

A few years ago I joined the Simms Fishing Products field-test team and during testing of their sun hoods and other garments I learned what I should have known all along. Nowadays you see me wearing Simms long sleeve shirts, long fishing pants and a sun hood – all made of highly breathable fabric with excellent UV-Ray protection. I never dreamed I’d be wrapped so completely on blistering days but they are very comfortable and you would be amazed how good it feels at the end of a long day – no burn and less fatigue!

Equally important as sun protection is a solid game plan for summertime fishing. I recommend getting an early start and approaching your fishing spots as quietly as possible, especially on calm mornings.

Cutting the engine and drifting to the point where you will begin your wade can improve your success as fish spook easily when it is calm and any unnatural noise will shut them down or scatter them from preferred

structure. Keep in mind that by mid-summer they’ve been run over almost daily for weeks, so stealth is the key here. Something else to keep in mind are the lower tide levels of mid-summer mornings – beware of sand bars and other obstructions.

As I reported last month May’s catching success was downright brutal at times but as the winds quieted in early June it has improved. Still not consistent with what we expect for this time of year but we have been able to pattern them more reliably.

Looking into July, with calm mornings, redfish should be easier to locate on the flats. Just recently we have been finding the reds schooling in early morning, but as always with calm conditions a soft-landing lure has the best chance. We have been using the KWigglers more than topwaters as they have been grubbing shrimp from grass and soft bottom more than feeding on the surface. Scattered bunches of “tailers” have provided exceptional excitement.

To experience this requires slow and stealthy wading, and of course you must be on a flat or shoreline where they are feeding. Locating them was tough in May’s wind, and thus far in June boat traffic is a factor – lots of folks cruising the flats has presented

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Samantha with a nice early-summer trout; all decked out in pink Fish-NHunt wading gear, throwing a PinkFloMingo KWiggler.

problems of another kind. Overall we are catching decent numbers but we have to search for them almost daily. The days of finding a large school that would remain congregated on a flat for days or even weeks seems to be a thing of the past.

Remember the stealthy approach and another good idea is to downsize your offerings. In topwaters this means a Heddon Spook Jr. or maybe even the Zara Puppy (with hook upgrade). The clear body color (bubble) can be very good in calm-clear water conditions.

We are currently finding lots of undersize trout and to reach a limit of decent fish usually requires considerable effort. Our best baits have been KWiggler Ball Tails in Flomingo and plum-chartreuse on 1/8 heads worked slowly near bottom. In the month of July we won’t rule out a big trout; however, they will definitely be skinny from months of spawning.

At the moment, our best trout days have come from areas in close proximity to the ICW, with tide movement incoming or falling. In the coming month, think deeper than normal and handle the small fish you are releasing with extreme care. The future of our trout fishery is in your hands!

Flounder catches should improve in July. Target them along the ICW and adjacent guts. The areas close to Mansfield’s East Cut with guts and dropoffs also have a reputation for good numbers of summertime flatties.

Wrapping up, I would like to say that I am excited about going to Orlando, Florida in mid-July to attend the annual ICAST show. I greatly enjoy visiting with all the manufacturers and reps for a firsthand look at the new products that will be introduced in the coming year. I look forward to giving you a report in my next article. As we go out and enjoy what we love to do this summer, let’s keep conservation foremost in our thoughts. If possible, release the big spawners and keep only what you plan to eat fresh. Remember the sun protection, stay hydrated, and be courteous to other boaters. Best of fishing to you!

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TSFMAG.com | 99

FISHING REPORTS

ORECASTS F from Big Lake to Boca Chica

AND

lake calcasieu louisiana Jeff and Mary poe - Big lake Guide Service - 337.598.3268 In July, most of our fishing will be done on deeper reefs in the middle of the lake as well as ship channel, jetties, surf, and at nearshore oil platforms. When fishing the deeper reefs in the lake, timing is everything. Most of the time, fish will bite heavily at the beginning of a tide movement and again at the end of one. When fishing Calcasieu in July, always think “the stronger the tide, the farther I can fish from the channel. The weaker the tide, the closer I need to be to the channel.”

Consistently catching trout on artificials in the heat of the summer is completely dependent on what the tide is doing. The jetties can be a great place to catch good trout on both the incoming and outgoing tides. Water clarity is a must when fishing the jetties. If it is dirty, don’t waste your time. The surf is much the same, water clarity and a strong presence of bait are keys. If the water on the beach is dirty, head to the close platforms. Most of the time, fish around these will take plastics, but sometimes live shrimp, mullet or pogies are lifesavers.

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James plaag Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com - 409.935.7242 James says the early-summer patterns have produced inconsistent results, sometimes really fast and easy catching, sometimes slower.

“We’re finding all our better trout and redfish in pretty deep water lately, about eight to twelve feet. When they are popping slicks and making

mud stirs, it’s possible to keep track of ‘em and the catching is pretty easy. When they aren’t, it’s much tougher, and you need more luck to stop in the right place. On the better days, we’re having a really good topwater bite on plugs like SheDogs in chrome/blue. Sometimes, that’s all we need to get out limits. When the bite slows some, we’re getting a lot more action using Bass Assassins rigged on sixteenth-ounce jigheads, making a kind of a “do-nothing” presentation, just throwing them out and reeling them straight back in without jigging the rodtip at all. The only wading I’ve done recently produced a decent number of bites, but the fish ran on the small side. Throughout the rest of the hot season, we’ll probably see similar patterns in play.”

Jimmy west - Bolivar Guide Service - 409.996.3054 Like others in the Galveston area, Jim says the weather and wind have a profound impact on the potential for easy catching, especially for lure fishermen. “We’re in that transition period when the bait chunkers start to have a little easier time catching on a consistent basis. I have had a couple of good runs lately, catching decent numbers of solid trout up to 28 inches, but when the winds get up, it’s a struggle. Low tides render the shorelines pretty much useless, and then if it’s windy, you can’t really function out in the middle to get at ‘em. We have had a good topwater bite at times, and have also been catching pretty good on Maniac Mullets out in the middle when the water is in good shape. I like throwing those out of the boat in summer. Mostly, it’s topwaters and

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tails though. The surf has been really good during calm lulls, particularly when clear water is pulling through Rollover Pass and into the Gulf on outgoing tides. In those conditions, people are catching some really heavy stringers of trout on MirrOlures along the beachfront.”

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays Randall Groves - Groves Guide Service 979.849.7019 - 979.864.9323 Windy conditions have muddied the water and made for some relatively difficult fishing at times for Randall over recent weeks. “We’re using live bait most of the time, and boxing fifteen to twenty trout a day. Good results, just not the great action we’d be having if the weather would give us more of a break. Now, when we can get in the surf, everything is different, it’s easy and productive out there. Normally, this time of year and on toward the end of summer, our morning action is steady and consistent. Lots of days, we are catching steadily during the low light conditions after daybreak up until about nine o’clock, when things heat up and the fish begin looking for cooler water. When that happens, it pays to focus on sandy areas, rather than muddy ones. I have documented a big difference in water temperatures over sand and mud with my sonar during summer. The water over the sand can be three or four degrees cooler over the sand during the bright part of the day, and that makes a big difference at these temperatures.”

Matagorda | Charlie Paradoski Bay Guide Service - 713.725.2401 “The wind has not settled down for the summer yet, so we haven’t been able to get into the surf. The Sargasso weed is thick anyway, but mostly it’s just too windy to be green to the beach. During July, that will likely change. July is one of the best months to fish around here, and the surf can be the best place going. If it’s not, we’ll be looking to drift the

open-water areas in East Bay, targeting areas with scattered shell on the bottom when we’re fishing out of the boat, and wading the shallower mid-bay reefs when winds allow. Normally, we have some good topwater action on trout when we wade those reefs. Wading is also good this time of year for both trout and redfish in West Bay. We’ll start off throwing topwaters along shallow shorelines with grass beds, and move out to deeper guts with soft plastics later in the day. Right now, we’ve got shrimp moving out of the east end of East Bay, so we might have some working birds in July too. All in all, our options are pretty much dependent on some less-windy weather.”

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam www.palaciosguideservice.com - 979.240.8204 What a difference light winds can make! Fishing has exploded in our local bays with recent light northeast and southeast winds. Trout to twenty three inches have been caught at the gas wells in West Matagorda Bay, by free-lining live shrimp, and trout up to twenty inches have been coming from the south shoreline grass beds on bone Super Spook Juniors and Egret Kicka Mullet Juniors in pink/ white. Redfish have been good on local shorelines on Cajun pepper Bayou Chubs from Egret and also ShePups in pink/chrome. These fish have been ranging from twenty to twenty-four inches. We finally got a chance to go after one of my favorite summertime fish--tripletail.

We have caught some monsters up to twenty nine pounds! They are moving into the bays a little later than usual due to our cool spring.

Live shrimp rigged under popping corks have worked best to catch these brutes. The surf normally proves a productive option in July.

We’ll work the first gut early, the second/third guts later.

TSFMAG.com | 101

Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith Back Bay Guide Service - 361.983.4434 Recent windy weather has prevented Lynn and the Port O’Connor guys from fishing the surf much, but that normally changes in July for the better. “The fish are out there along the beachfront, no doubt, and nobody has been able to harass them, so they are just waiting on us. It’s gonna be incredible once it kicks off. All we need is a little break in the wind. We’ll go after the trout with topwaters and soft plastics once the water clears and it stops blowing so much. Other than fishing the surf, I’ll be targeting trout on spoil banks and shell reefs close to the main channels. Once the water gets really hot, those areas produce a steady trout bite. The fish tend to bite well as long as the tide is moving. Doesn’t necessarily matter whether it’s outgoing or incoming, just that it is moving. Of course, one of the best scenarios is a strong incoming tide which coincides with the cooler temperatures during the early morning hours. Topwaters cast around shallow humps and spines on the spoils work great during such a situation.”

Rockport | Blake Muirhead Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894 Blake expects to fish a variety of productive patterns in July, using both live bait and soft plastics. “We’ve been catching trout steadily on open-bay reefs lately, ones with shallow areas which allow wading close to drop offs into deep water. On some days, we’re catching best on live croakers, but the curly-tailed Gulp! lures in bright colors like lime and pink have been working just about as good most of the time. I’ll also be looking to fish some grass beds in water about chest deep in bays with lots of sandy bottom like Corpus and Aransas. This pattern works well once the heat of the day settles in and the sun is high in the sky. Shallower grass beds can produce well earlier in the mornings, but lately that pattern has been kind of stale. I also hope to get into the

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surf some if winds allow. Checked out the progress on the dredging of Cedar Bayou the other day, and they are getting close to the surf already. I expect some of the best surf fishing in decades once they get the pass open and water moving through again. All these options are dependable during the hot summer months.”

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut Robert Zapata – rz1528@grandecom.net - 361.563.1160 The forecast for the month of July: the temperatures will be hot, the fishing hotter. The water in the Upper Laguna Madre is in good shape, and winds should be calmer than they have been for the last few months. This will open up many more locations where we can go looking for that trophy speckled trout. I will be starting my days looking for fish along shallow shorelines with a mix of sand and grass. A really good producer in shallow water is the four inch Bass Assassin Sea Shad in natural colors rigged on sixteenth-ounce Spring Lock jigheads. As the sun warms up the shorelines, the fish move into slightly deeper water, and then I will switch to the five inch Saltwater Die Dapper in colors like plum/chartreuse, salt and pepper and silver phantom. Sight-casting using chartreuse shrimp-flavored Fish Bites on eighth-ounce jigheads in less than twelve inches of water will be a fun game for both reds and black drum. Fishing with croakers will also be effective along the edges of drop-offs and grass lines in three feet of water.

Corpus Christi | Joe Mendez – www.sightcast1.com - 361.937.5961 Joe reports an outstanding upturn in the clarity of the water in southern parts of the Upper Laguna Madre recently, and this bodes well for fishing during July in that area. “The Land Cut, Nine-Mile Hole, Summer House, Rocky Slough and areas all over Yarbrough should produce good catches the rest of this summer, now that the clear ocean water has rushed in and replaced the brown tide that inundated the area for a while. I’ll be heading that way and fishing deep rocks, grass beds and

ledges for trout. The reds I’ll target a little shallower, working mostly knee to waist-deep parts of flats, always on the lookout for all sightcasting opportunities. Lots of times, the fish become really easy to see and target when they stage over the bright, sandy pockets in the grass beds when the water is clear like this. After dealing with the brown tide for a couple months, this change in water clarity is more than welcome; it’s a relief. We’ll throw topwaters quite a bit when working the deep structures, soft plastics mostly when we’re sight-casting.” padre island National Seashore Billy Sandifer - padre island Safaris - 361.937.8446 As of late May the Sargassum is as bad as it has been in several years and is making driving dangerous and fishing tedious at best. What kind of fishing we have in July is going to depend on what these conditions will allow. I do think it’s going to be rough driving most if not all summer. July is our month for speckled trout and topwater baits. They hit various colors combinations but most will include chrome. Fishing can be really good with reds, Spanish mackerel, whiting and skipjacks in good supply. Sharks of several species are available and it’s a good month for mature tiger sharks. Tarpon may be present. This usually depends on menhaden and anchovies being present in the surf. King mackerel come extremely close to shore during calm periods and annually some are caught on light tackle.

King mackerel and tarpon can be very good on the jetties when they stack the bait against the rocks. Turtle nesting season will be winding down but the speed limit will continue at 15 mph. port Mansfield | Ruben Garza Snookdudecharters.com – 832.385.1431 Getaway Adventures lodge – 956.944.4000 Oh yeah, the wait is over! We’re finally in our summertime weather pattern; let’s pray we don’t get a hurricane. Lately it has been light

wind in the morning, gusty by afternoon. Offshore will be about the same. It’s the time of year when you can take advantage of the weather and do some nearshore Gulf fishing in bay boats. The big bait balls will not be seen until later but you will be able to find smaller schools. Kingfish, Spanish mackerel and jack crevalle are plentiful.

Look for them blasting bait and lots of birds diving. That will be your indication of feeding fish. Sharks will also be plentiful. Bay fishing should be good. Early morning is the best time to try topwaters. As the morning progresses switch to plastics. By mid-afternoon the bite will slow down so move to deeper-color water for the late action. Deep grass along the ICW is a good bet for afternoon and early evening.

Until next time tight lines and calm seas. lower laguna Madre - South padre - port isabel Janie and Fred petty – www.fishingwithpettys.com – 956.943.2747 The past month of fishing has been half and half; the first half was super windy and muddy, and the second half was calmer and clearer. We’ve been limiting on reds when it’s windy and limiting on trout when it’s not. But, the clearer water has yielded many oversized reds and some beautiful trout. We’re throwing Cajun Thunder round and cigar corks with Berkley Gulp! Live three inch shrimp in pearl white and molting on a twenty inch leader. Freddy says, “When shopping for spinning tackle, you want to be sure that you buy a rod that is appropriate for casting long distances and popping the corks with maximum results. The long cast gets the lure to fish before they begin to move around the drifting boat. We like medium action, seven foot rods with the largest first eye possible, to allow the line to pass through the guides freely, with little or no friction.” We continue to fish muddy water, concentrating on the areas we know have pot holes that hold fish, even though we can’t see the bottom. Help stop open bay dredge disposal!

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Ty Allen Baffin Bay - 28” trout

Jessica Coreas first trout!

Beth Lewis Lower Laguna - first keeper red!

Dylan Laverdiere Jones Bay - 27” redfish 104 | June 2014

Ariel Espinoza Ingleside - 20” redfish

Chris Mariscal Quintana - 38” 25lb black drum

Deidra McCollum & Lisa Kaul POC - 31lb ling & 20lb snapper

Mason Forman Galveston - drum

Doug Hahn Galveston - 15” pompano

Aaliyah Arredondo Arroyo - 25” trout

Pablo Covarrubias Baytown - 24” trout

Alfredo Guajardo Victoria Barge Canal - 44” black drum

Megan redfish

Judy Morgan Upper Laguna - 35” redfish CPR

Alex Moreno Bob Hall Pier - 34” redfish

Jose Rodriguez Wallisville Lake - 27” first redfish!

Sarita Nelson CCA Poco Rojo Kid Fish - first redfish!

Randy Rabe San Antonio Bay - 28” speck

Phil Kucia Port Mansfield - redfish

Dan Sampeck Port Aransas - 27” 7.25lb redfish

Ruben Torres, Jr. Frank & River Rodriguez Mexiquito Flats - 23” flounder Port Mansfield - 27.75” red

Joe Simpson Smith Point - 25” redfish

Adam Troy Trinity Bay - 36” black drum

Please do not write on the back of photos.

Email photos with a description of your Catch of the Month to: Photos@tsfmag.com

Wes Rost Packery Channel - 24” flounder

Kathy Jones POC - 28.5” 7.5lb trout

Clinton Wright San Antonio Bay - 46” drum

Mail photos to: TSFMag P.O. Box 429, Seadrift, TX 77983 TSFMAG.com | 105

Pam Johnson

Gulf Coast Kitchen

Just in time for Fourth of July

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

Email them to pam@tsfmag.com or send by fax: 361-785-2844

Seafood Eggs

Deviled Shrimp Eggs 12 large eggs 1/2 cup mayonnaise or Miracle Whip or half of each 1/2 cup finely chopped seasoned-boiled shrimp 3 Tbsp. sautĂŠed chopped green bell pepper 1 minced green onion 1/4 tsp Creole seasoning 1/8 tsp each salt and pepper 1/4 tsp. Louisiana hot sauce Top with cooked shrimp

Deviled Crab Eggs 12 large eggs 1/2 c mayonnaise or Miracle Whip or half of each 1/2 cup cooked fresh lump crabmeat 2 tsp. fresh tarragon 1/2 tsp. lemon zest 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper Top with cooked fresh crabmeat

Deviled Texas Caviar Eggs 12 large eggs 1/2 c mayonnaise or Miracle Whip or half of each 3 Tbs. chopped roasted red bell pepper 1 minced green onion Preparation 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro In large pot, add water to stand at least three inches deep and add 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring 1 tsp Italian dressing dry mix water to boil. Carefully place eggs (one at a time) in boiling water with a spoon. Boil 5 minutes 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper and remove from heat. Let eggs sit in hot water for 10 minutes.

Top with canned black-eye peas Place eggs under cold running water until just cool enough to handle. Crack eggs by rolling lightly on flat surface and peel.

Slice eggs in half lengthwise and remove yolks. Mash together yolks, mayo and ingredients of your choice of deviled egg, set aside.

Coloring Egg Whites and Filling with Yolk Mixture 1 small bottle each red and blue food coloring, any brand. For each color; in small bowl or large mug, place 1 cup cold water and 1 tsp vinegar, then add bottle of desired coloring. Mix well.

With egg white halves prepared as per instruction above, place as many un-dyed halves as the solution will cover in bowl or mug. Allow to soak until desired color is achieved.

Remove from dye and drain on plate lined with paper towels.

I place the yolk mixture into a small ziplock bag, snip off one corner, and squeeze the mixture through the hole. This is a simple method for piping the mixture into egg white halves. Serve immediately or cover and chill before serving.

106 | June 2014

Vitamin Sea Charters Galveston Bay Complex Redfish, Trout, Flounder, & Shark Captain Chad Handley USCG# 3475367 CaptChadHandley@gmail.com www.VitaminSeaCharters.com 832-309-1079

TSFMAG.com | 107

Science and the Sea

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When we think of a pristine shoreline, we don’t usually picture manmade structures in the scene, but jetties and retaining walls are common sights along many waterways. Waves that continually crash against the shore release energy that can erode waterfront property. Bulkheads, retaining walls, and revetments are designed to protect shorelines by minimizing erosion. Over time, however, these structures may actually increase erosion by altering nature’s ability to replenish sensitive coastal areas.

Corpus Christi, TX 78418 Phone: 361-657-0555 Fax: 361-939-8973

Console covers and full boat covers custom fit

Salt marsh in Redfish Bay, Texas. Credit: Charles Foster, University of Texas Marine Science Institute.

Recently, a new approach to protecting shorelines has emerged. This technique is called a “living shoreline” because it uses plants instead of rocks or concrete. Living shorelines are an environmentally-friendly way to protect shorelines from erosion while also preserving these sensitive coastal habitats.

Living shorelines use plants that are native to the coast and, therefore, adapted to harsh conditions. They are able to live not only in salt water, but also in areas where the tide may leave them high and dry, or completely submerged, for several hours each day. These magnificent marsh grasses, when planted as living shorelines, reduce erosion because they absorb much of the energy of waves. Instead of slamming up against a concrete wall, the waves gradually fade out over welcoming blades of coastal grasses. Living shorelines also create nursery habitat for the small fish, crabs, and shrimp that depend on coastal marshes to complete their life cycles.

In some cases, using a hard structure, such as a seawall, may be the only solution, but when conditions are right for using a living shoreline, the result can be an aesthetic and ecological treasure that is every bit as beautiful as a pristine coastal shoreline.

The University of Texas

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108 | June 2014

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

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If you are having difficulty catching fish on a consistent basis, the clinic is designed for you. Learn Capt.Robert Zapata’s secrets to finding and catching more fish from his 25 years of experience as a professional fishing guide.

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Designer & Manufacturer of Specialized High Performance Fishing Rods Office: 361.573.0300

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TSFMAG.com | 109

CHRIS MAPP

B O AT M A I N T E N A N C E T IP S

The importance of careful engine flushing Chris Mapp, owner Coastal Bend Marine.

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A quick way to discover whether your outboard’s internal cooling water passages might have accumulated mineral build-up is to remove the thermostat cover and thermostat… and have a look inside.

110 | June 2014

Some of the boat performance puzzles we are asked to solve can be rather difficult for operators to diagnose by themselves, like this one.

Have you ever been running along at upper RPM range, say 4500 or a little higher, and out of nowhere the over-temp alarm sounds?

You have water pressure on the gauge, the water pump was changed less than a year ago, the overboard indicator flow (tattle-tell) is strong, and the motor has been running great. So as a careful operator should, you stop the boat to look for debris clogging the water pick-up, and a few other common sense checks. The alarm resets during the cool down.

You take off again running cautiously at 3500 rpm and everything seems fine. What happened?

Based on the above conditions, you may have just experienced the result of years of salt/mineral buildup acting as an insulator on the engine’s cylinder heads and crankcase assembly cooling passages. Although the water is flowing correctly, the engines ability to transfer heat, meaning allowing the flow of cooling water to carry away the heat of operation, is limited to less than optimum. The higher the operating RPM and the longer the time of operation at that speed, the more likely this situation might develop.

This high speed overheat condition usually occurs when the engine is a little older, maybe five to six years old, not often seen in newer

models; and the good news is it is very fixable. All that is required is what we call a good acid bath service.

This procedure is actually rather simple. Removing thermostats, re-securing the thermostat covers, removing the lower unit and circulating a properly diluted solution of muriatic acid through the cooling system will remove the layers of mineral buildup that are actually insulating the metal surfaces inside the engine that limit or prevent heat transfer and thereby greatly reducing the cooling system’s efficiency.

This is not something we see every day, neither is it confined to operation solely in saltwater. Any hard water; i.e. water rich in minerals such as calcium or iron, can create the same symptoms.

After the acid bath, we flush with lots of fresh water, replace the thermostats and gaskets, inspect the water pump impeller, reinstall the lower unit with fresh lube on the driveshaft splines, and the prop.

Now it is time to give the engine a hard, high-end workout. Absent any over-temp alarms you can be assured the problem has been solved.

I cannot stress enough the importance of a good cooling system flush-out following every outing. The best practice here is to use a muff-style flushing device, get the water flowing, then start the engine. Let it run at least 10 minutes at fast idle, keeping an eye on all your gages. This insures the thermostats will open as the engine warms and freshwater will make its way through ALL the cooling water passages to wash away harmful salt and other minerals.

Be safe on the water and have a great Fourth of July holiday!

Chris Mapp Coastal Bend Marine | Port O’Connor TX 361 983 4841 | CoastalBendMarine.com

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BENTLEY’S INTERCOASTALS HOUSE RENTALS Port O’Connor, Texas: 3 Bedrooms, Sleeps 6, Fully Furnished. Great Location between the little Jetties & Clark’s Restaurant. Boat Slip upon availability. Guide service available with Capt Keith Gregory. Call Steve or Lydia at 361-983-4660 or 361-482-9095. Special winter rates available.

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Shimano gives you more with the new Curado I series reels.

Now featuring the latest in Shimano fishing reel technology and offered in multiple gear ratios, Curado builds on its legacy as the ‘go to’ baitcasting reel for both fresh and saltwater action.

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TIDAL CORRECTIONS Location Calcasieu Pass, La. Sabine Bank Lighthouse Sabine Pass (jetty) Sabine Pass Mesquite Point Galveston Bay (S. jetty) Port Bolivar Texas City, Turning Basin Eagle Point Clear Lake Morgans Point Round Point, Trinity Bay Point Barrow, Trinity Bay Gilchrist, East Bay Jamaica Beach, Trinity Bay Christmas Point Galveston Pleasure Pier San Luis Pass Freeport Harbor

High -2:14 -1:46 -1:26 -1:00 -0:04 -0:39 +0:14 +0:33 +3:54 +6:05 +10:21 +10:39 +5:48 +3:16 +2:38 +2:39 +2:32 -0:09 -0:44

Low -1:24 -1:31 -1:31 -1:15 -0:25 -1:05 -0:06 +0:41 +4:15 +6:40 +5:19 +5:15 +4:43 +4:18 +3:31 +2:38 +2:33 +2:31 -0:09

For other locations, i.e. Port O’Connor, Port Aransas, Corpus Christi and Port Isabel please refer to the charts displayed below.

Please note that the tides listed in this table are for the Galveston Channel. The Tidal Corrections can be applied to the areas affected by the Galveston tide.

Minor Feeding Periods coincide with the moon on the horizon, and the last from 1.0 to 1.5 hrs after the moon rise or before moon set.

Major Feeding Periods are about 1.0 to 1.5 hrs either side of the moon directly overhead or underfoot.

Many variables encourage active feeding current flow (whether wind or tidal driven), changes in water temp & weather, moon phases, etc. Combine as many as possible for a better chance at an exceptional day. Find concentrations of bait set up during a good time frame, and enjoy the results.

Te x a s S a l t w a t e r F i s h i n g M a g a z i n e l

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