June 2013

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TIDE PREDICTIONS & SOLUNAR FEED TIMES INSIDE!

ABOUT THE COVER Bart Yakupzack admires his sailfish just before its release off the upper Texas coast.

(Will Drost photo)

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

CONTENTS

NATIONAL SALES REPRESENTATIVE Bart Manganiello Bartalm@optonline.net

JUNE 2013 VOL 23 NO 1

FEATURES 08 Getting into Gear 14 Three Tough Bite Busters 20 Surf Fishers How-To Series 26 Why Get in the Water 30 Proud to be an Upper-Coaster 34 Salute to the Gar

62

Mike McBride Kevin Cochran Billy Sandifer Martin Strarup Chuck Uzzle Joe Richard

DEPARTMENTS

PROdUCTION COORdINATOR donna Boyd donna@tsfmag.com

34

40 Let’s Ask The Pro Jay Watkins 44 Shallow Water Fishing Scott Null 48 TPWd Field Notes Zachary Olsen 54 Fly Fishing Scott Sommerlatte 56 Youth Fishing Marcos Garza 58 Texas Nearshore & Offshore Mike Jennings 62 Kayak Fishing Chronicles Cade Simpson 66 Extreme Kayak Fishing & Sharks...

Eric Ozolins 70 Fishy Facts Stephanie Boyd 103 Science & the Sea UT Marine Science Institute 104 Boat Maintenance Tips Chris Mapp

WHAT OUR GUIDES HAVE TO SAY

78 dickie Colburn’s Sabine Scene 80 Mickey on Galveston 82 The View from Matagorda 84 Mid-Coast Bays with the Grays 86 Hooked up with Rowsey 88 Capt. Tricia’s Port Mansfield Report 90 South Padre Fishing Scene

dickie Colburn Mickey Eastman Bink Grimes Gary Gray david Rowsey Capt. Tricia Ernest Cisneros

REGULARS

98 4 | June 2013

06 76 92 96 98

Editorial New Tackle & Gear Fishing Reports and Forecasts Catch of the Month Gulf Coast Kitchen

REGIONAL SALES REPRESENTATIVE Patti Elkins Patti@tsfmag.com Office: 361-785-3420 Cell: 361-649-2265

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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78

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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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine, Inc., P. O. Box 429, Seadrift, TX 77983.

EDITORIAL

JUNE

No doubt about it; June is an awesome month for saltwater fishing in Texas.

Hardcore grinder-types may disagree, preferring instead the cooler months for inshore trophy hunting, but if you consider everything June has going for it, I’ll be willing to bet this month might end up topping your list too. Everything from bank fishing to billfish comes into play.

The fishing forecasts from our guides and other writers are the most encouraging I can recall since we began publishing. There are some trouble spots; Baffin has a disappointing brown tide and specks have been somewhat on the slow side in a couple of the middle coast bays.

I cannot help but believe a few tropical systems parking over these regions will make all the difference in the world. And – if you give that Baffin situation a bit of thought, it is not all doom and gloom. Rather than moan about how bad it is I prefer to look forward to how great it is going to be when the water clears – and it always does eventually.

Consider the number of potential state-record specks lying unmolested in that brown soup getting bigger and fatter by the day.

When longtime upper-coast guides tell you they cannot recall anything that rivals current patterns you really need to take note, and maybe head that way to get in on the action. dickie Colburn has been guiding on Sabine Lake 30-something years and in his words, “I know this is going out on a limb…but I do not believe there is a hotter body of water on the Texas coast right now than Sabine Lake!” Capt. Mickey

6 | June 2013

ON THE

TEXAS COAST

Eastman’s comments on the quality of opportunity all across the Galveston system are similarly glowing although that system has been held back a bit by this spring’s late-arriving northers. dickie went out on a limb and I’m going to do the same right here and credit the series of tropical storms and hurricanes that slammed our upper coast between 2005 and 2008. ditto the incredible run of inshore fishing, especially the trout rebound, that started in the Lower Laguna Madre with dolly in 2008. I think you can narrow it down to the magic of freshwater. More on the Lower Laguna; when the seagrass beds between the Arroyo and the Landcut recover to their pre-summer 2010 levels, Port Mansfield is going to bust again at the seams. That’s my prediction.

I’m also personally excited to see the kings, bonito and tarpon tearing up the jetties and surf regions. Nothing beats tangling with these migrants when the summer weather flattens the nearshore Gulf.

I also want to mention the CCA Texas STAR Tourney that gets underway Memorial day weekend. This event is the best of its kind and continues to enroll new CCA members each year – a powerful boost to insuring this organization will continue its phenomenal list of conservation activities and projects so vitally necessary to the future of our great pastime. Sign up today; a summer trophy could land you an incredible prize, maybe a scholarship for one of your children.

Take a kid fishing!

STORY BY MIKE MCBRIdE

We Can neVer Learn eVerythInG

about our fish but we can at least try to learn everything we can about our fishing. One easy topic would be our gear, tackle and trim, especially where wade-fishing is concerned. Leonardo had it right when he said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” For newbies as well as veteran anglers let’s look at a few simplicities to help make our adventures on the water more fun than frustrating.

I well remember early wade-fishing and have scars to prove it.

Button-up Levi’s and tan khakis would keep on wearing, with wade rashes in all the wrong places, and my neck still cranes from a pith helmet so full of MirrOlures it often weighed more than my fish did. Never mind tennis shoe bunions or baggies full of spare parts like worm gear pawls, extra spools of line and leaky lube bottles.

We had to carry stuff like that because becoming non-functional miles from the boat or down the beach wasn’t fun, especially when fish are tearing up the water around you and all you could do was watch. That’s probably why I started carrying two rods, but hey, necessity is the mother - right?

With the quality of reels nowadays we don’t have to be quite

8 | June 2013

so prepared but we still need what we need. As in any outdoor sport, having the right stuff is important but we don’t have to look like a WWII radio man while packing it. The more stuff you carry while wading, well, the more stuff you carry. Everybody has their methods but after many days of slugging through the water I know what works for me. Here are a few of the things I ended up with.

Shirts Long sleeves are not only for sun protection but actually keep you cooler and can help reduce dehydration. Those old ranch hands had it right all along. Beware though, some so-called fishing shirts will dump everything you carry every time you bend over, especially while leaning over the gunwale. Avoid shirt pockets that are designed more for logo than cargo, best choices have zippers.

Phones and cameras come instantly to mind. And not just any zipper will do; noncorrosive, please.

Leg wear It’s a personal decision to wear shorts or pants while wading, but please consider your fellow man in this. Some of y’all just don’t need to be wearing shorts in public…ever. Again though, wading-rash is not fun, especially in certain areas, and cotton has to be one of the worst offenders. Those cute little water pants with mesh panties inside can make some real interesting

TSFMAG.com | 9

How many lures do we really need to carry?

If you think you need a net – get a good one!

patterns and one way to prevent inner thigh flame is to wear a pair of bicycle shorts underneath. Just don’t wear them solo – OK? footwear Seeing that wading involves walking; let’s be smart here.

You wouldn’t want to wear high heels to cross a cattle guard, nor would you want to wear flip-flops to a mud wrestling event. The reason you want specially designed booties is because, well, they are specially designed. Pick ones that fit.

I’m not even going to mention stingray guards because you already know you should wear them.

Lure Carry We have to pack our stuff somehow, and whether you are a European shoulder bag guy, a fanny packer or belt man, the system needs to be efficient. Much depends on the area you fish. For example; a belt may not be first choice in belly deep water. I am mostly knee to thigh deep so a belt makes sense for me. There are many

store-bought options available however hacking your own “wear to work” system is also an option. Here’s some of what I came up with after years of walking around like a telephone lineman.

Belts What do we really need?

Basically, we need a lure container, pliers, stringer, and a rod holder if you ever want to carry two or for times when you need both hands free. Now some things work, some not so much. Let’s look at the major components.

Rod holders are supposed to hold a rod upright but some will flip and flop like a politician until eventually dumping your rod in the water. I tie-wrap mine to where it’s firmly upright and, just inside my off-casting shoulder, you won’t notice a second rod until you need it, and it will still be there when you do.

Pliers are very elementary but so is The Boga Grip is perhaps a rust. The newer aluminum ones are light, wade-fisherman’s best tool strong, corrosion resistant, and some – always attach a float! will actually cut braid. A good lanyard to keep them attached should be elementary as well. gripper-type landing tools such as an official Boga Grip are ER Room savers if nothing else, especially considering a mean fish shaking three sets of treble hooks your way. A good d-ring is necessary for good carry and a good float is necessary for continued

Simple yet complete wade belt setup.

10 | June 2013

THE COOLER YOU’VE

ALWAYS

WANTED THE LAST YOU’LL

EVER NEED

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From Homestead to Houston “If you put all the coolers that I’ve bought end to end, you’d have coolers from Homestead to Houston... Now why would YETI come along and ruin a perfectly good consumer like myself?”

– Flip Pallot, Legendary fisherman

Lifetime Investment “I used to buy coolers frequently as the lids would be destroyed and they would no longer hold ice. No more! I have a YETI now; a lifetime investment.”

Perfect Shape “I bought 3 YETI Coolers

– Tom T Rowland, Saltwater Experience

– Larry Dahlberg, Hunt for Big Fish

several years ago, and they’re still in perfect shape. Plus, they hold ice for days.

Sure wish they’d been around 20 years ago, it would’ve saved me a small fortune!”

WILDLY

Day In, Day Out “As hard and as much

as we fish in the Florida Keys, I need a cooler that performs day in and day out.

Other coolers would only last one season.

My YETI is on its third season - it still looks and works like new.”

– Steve Rodger, Into The Blue

T-Rex ™

Lid Latches

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ColdLock™ Gasket

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So, they’re tough! With thicker cker walls, tion more than twice the insulation and a full-frame gasket, YETI’s ice retention is unmatched! ®

NeverFail™ Hinge System

DoubleHaul™ Handles

Vortex™

YETI Coolers are certified bear-proof by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee! ®

Drain System

BearFoot ™ Non-Slip Feet

The YETI “Don’t Worry” 5-year Warranty ®

If any part of your YETI malfunctions or breaks, simply contact us for prompt repair or replacement. Don’t worry, it’s a YETI ! ®

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carry. It’s hilarious though, to watch newbies doing a bobbing for apples dance, when trying to land a fish with one. I won’t go there now but there are ways to tie your shoe without falling over. nets The same way rod holders are supposed to hold rods, a net is supposed to net a fish. I saw the opposite for the umpteenth time the other day when a trophy class fish was lost on the outside while the lure was saved on the inside.

If you feel the need for landing security, make it more secure by using one of sufficient size with a rubberized hook-resistant mesh. A bungee-style lanyard is helpful on this tool too. Hand grabbing is a right of passage in my opinion, and a lot easier to carry.

Stringers Huge pet peeve here. If chosen poorly, they can make you cuss the act of stringing anything at all. Poor choices are those so flaccidly limp they soon look like they got tangled up in

Quality braid cutting pliers and Boga with float – don’t wade without them.

a drive shaft and others are so unruly they resemble the art of taming a Slinky. I’ve done more than one face-plant after a wimpy stringer tied my knees together with a fish in-between. We simply need something of stiff gauge with a good sharp spike, and of a manageable non-tripping length.

Pay for this one and it will pay you back in sanity, I promise.

Lures The first question is how many do we really need? If we already know what they are biting then not too many, but heck I never know so I just carry a few that should cover most situations.

For me, it’s usually in threes as mentioned in an earlier article; three topwaters (little, loud and louder), three tails (light, dark and natural), and perhaps three Corkys (floating, fat, and straight). The biggest variation will be jigheads for depth control - 1/16, 1/8, and maybe 1/4 ounce.

Xtrassentials There is no doubt

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A quality “slick” stringer.

that little things can matter, especially on extended wades where re-supplying takes you off of opportunity. Leader material, especially if you use it with braided line, will save even more cussing because you know you are going to throw yours off eventually. ChapStick for the overly-conversant types (like Jay Watkins) and extra cutters because you know the ones on your $49 pliers don’t last long. A small hook sharpener doesn’t hurt either, especially after your rusted pliers mess your hooks up. You might even want to include a chicken or rabbit’s foot for good luck but how do you carry all of this? It might look a little retro but a beaded necklace works for me and also makes a great place for carrying a Power-Pole remote, along with everything else.

There’s much we could talk about as far as functional gear goes but the bottom line is to wear what works for you. don’t ever be skeered to invent your own system - which might actually be as much fun as using it. In the end, it’s often about how we do what we do as much as what we do. Y’all have fun, try to make Leo proud, and try not to trip on your stringer.

CONTACT

MIKE MCBRIdE 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 TSFMAG.com | 13

STORY BY KEVIN COCHRAN

14 | June 2013

When the BIte Is hot,

it’s often possible to use favorite lures presented in various “generic” ways and catch plenty of fish. But when fish become lethargic or tight-lipped, the specifics of lure choice and presentation become critical components in the quest for more bites. Consequently, serious-minded lure chunkers constantly search for plugs and methods capable of generating strikes during tough conditions.

Over the years, I’ve identified three lures which stand out prominently because they often produce when others won’t.

Though they are radically different in some ways, they share several common attributes, especially when consideration is given to the presentations with which they are most often deployed.

One of these three “lures” is not merely a lure; it’s a combination of a lure and another device. I refer to it as “the cork and the jig”, because it involves dangling a soft plastic worm under a float. Some anglers recognize the deadly effectiveness of the combination and use it almost all the time, but I use it sparingly, mostly when I perceive it to be the only way to catch a fish.

The thing I don’t like about fishing with a cork and a jig is its tendency to limit my creativity. The method essentially eliminates the potential for using rhythmic twitches of the rodtip to create side to side movement in the head of the lure. In other words, the presentations which work with a cork and jig are somewhat “crude”, causing me to lose interest and focus easily, and taking away what I love most about lure fishing.

Basically, deploying a soft plastic under a float involves twitching the rodtip vigorously enough to create splashing and rattling noises with the cork. This is best done using sharp strokes of the rod to activate the flex of the blank. When the tight line yanks the cork forward through the water forcefully enough to

create noise, the soft plastic riding a couple of feet beneath it is jerked upwards and forward, before it flutters back down and settles under the float.

Some potential creativity with the method does exist, of course. An angler can adjust the intensity of the twitching, alter the number of twitches between pauses and change the duration of the pause. Obviously, one can also use different types of corks and soft plastics, as well as different sizes of jigheads. Additionally, the length of the line between the cork and the jig can be altered, from a few inches up to maybe three feet.

All these subtle adjustments to the system can be important.

Generally, in windy conditions and murky water, louder corks and more vigorous presentations are preferred, whereas calm conditions call for quieter, more subtle methods. Lighter jigheads tend to work best in less windy conditions and shallower water; heavier ones make more sense in sloppy chop and greater depths.

The key to the effectiveness of the combination of a cork and a jig is most likely a product of the way it attracts and triggers fish. Predatory fish are attracted to splashing and clicking sounds, which mimic feeding activity. After they are drawn in by the sound of the cork, the soft plastic is found dangling enticingly in their face. Especially in high winds, the worm will be moving a little, even during a pause. Fish which might not pay attention to other offerings seem motivated by the perceived easy opportunity this method suggests.

The same thing might be said for the second of the three “tough bite busters” I regularly use, a topwater endowed with spinning propellers. I learned how productive these “prop baits” can be years ago, and have more recently rediscovered them, mostly in the form of the MirrOprop. For years, I neglected them, because they are much like the cork and jig; they cannot be

TSFMAG.com | 15

deployed with the same amount of finesse as can other floating plugs and twitchbaits.

The whirring blades riding on their ends make it impossible to walk the dog with these flashy lures.

Because this is true, the methods most useful with them appeal to me less than those I employ with conventional topwaters and lipless twitchbaits. It’s difficult for me to maintain focus and intensity when I’m throwing prop baits, unless the fish are biting them regularly.

In many cases over the last couple of years, I’ve seen prop baits (or slush baits as I also call them) transform a seemingly dead bite into something pleasantly productive. Normally, this occurs in warm weather, when skies are bright, and wind speeds are in the moderate to strong range. I like them best in the heat of the summer, and usually bring them out after the morning bite on conventional topwaters like Super Spook Juniors begins to wane, while winds pick up and light penetrates deeper into the water column.

In a couple of significant ways, these noisy plugs are similar to the cork and jig. First and foremost, they make sounds which resemble feeding fish. Secondly, they float when they are paused, so fish attracted to them tend to find a somewhat stationary target to strike. Third, they have triggering attributes which work when they are sitting still. Especially when winds and waves are up, the blades on these plugs turn slowly and twinkle when the lure is bobbing on the surface; fish sometimes seem incapable of resisting such an attractive “sitting duck”.

Many of the strikes enticed by these plugs come in the form of foamy, acrobatic attacks which involve the fish flying out of the water. Nothing excites a lure-chunking junkie more than watching fish champing at plugs on the surface. When prop baits turn a slow bite into a blow-up festival, they are among my most16 | June 2013

Aaron Hooper used a MirrOprop to entice this solid trout on a hot day last summer.

Watching the mouths of hungry trout champing at topwaters stirs the heart of every lure-chunker.

cherished possessions.

Another family of plugs is also capable of bringing a seemingly dead bite back to life. Floating/ diving broken-backs have done this for me numerous times, especially when water temperatures are moderate in the spring and fall.

My old partner John Gill and I experienced a real epiphany related to broken backs years ago, while fishing a pile of rocks in Baffin Bay. The bite was slow until I tied on a Bomber Long-A; then we found out how selective the fish in front of us were that day. I caught about a dozen trout on the wiggling plug while John tried everything else he had in his box, in an effort to prove some other plug could produce the same results. He got virtually no bites on his conventional topwater, sinking Corky and soft plastics.

Eventually, he walked back to the boat and dug a Long-A out of his box, and both our rods soon became regularly bent.

We caught fifty or sixty trout that day on the Long As, occasionally switching over to our other favored lures without any success at all. For some reason, the fish were strongly motivated by the attributes and movement patterns of the jointed plugs; the color of them didn’t seem to matter much.

I now realize the Long A and other jointed crank baits like the Cordell Red Fin are similar to the cork and jig and prop baits in a couple of ways. Though they don’t make a loud splash on the surface, they do generate considerable noise and water displacement, especially when deployed with rhythmic, sharp, short twitches of the rodtip. Making a couple of jabs to activate the rattles in the plugs while they dig down into the water column in a zig-zagging fashion seems to be the best way to attract the attention of nearby fish.

Most of the strikes come on the pause following the jabbing strokes, while the lure is rising slowly in the water column. It now occurs to me this is much like what

When large trout are actively feeding, they can be real gluttons. Riley davis watched this 7 pounder spit out a large mullet while he was attempting to catch and release it. The captain couldn’t resist posing the trout with the mullet sticking out of its mouth!

taking a plug with little or no “built in” action and using rhythmic twitches of the rodtip to trick fish into striking it. With these lures, my style and creativity are somewhat muted, so my attention span with them is normally limited.

But when they speed up a slow bite and produce quality fish when other lures won’t, they rightfully earn my favor.

I now believe these three lures (and the methods used with them) work well in tough conditions for the specific reasons listed above. They all seem to work best when presentations involving starts and stops are deployed. When they are moving, these lures create plenty of attractive, enticing noise and water displacement, which seems to garner the attention of predatory fish in the area. When they are paused, they present the fish with a seemingly easy target, one which lingers invitingly in the strike zone.

happens with the other two aforementioned lures--vigorous, noisy movements cause the fish to show interest, and when they do, they find something which is nearly motionless, but not entirely so. The diversity of this movement pattern creates a brilliant combination of attracting and triggering qualities.

None of these three lures would appear on my list of favorites in terms of how I prefer to fish. For me, nothing is more satisfying than

18 | June 2013

CONTACT

KEVIN COCHRAN

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

I sPoke aBout WearInG

Waders In the surf last month

but decided I needed to say more. I told you that my personal preference is the breathable style and how they are inherently much safer than the heavier boot-foot models, but there is more to the story.

I also want to make sure that you understand the basic year around versatility the breathable waders afford.

I can choose anything to wear inside my breathable waders from shorts on hot days, to layers of warm clothing on really cold days, thus making the breathable wader the choice for all seasons. While staying warm is the first thing that pops into our minds when we think of wearing waders it is by no means the only reason for wearing them. I don’t know about you but it seems I stay banged or scratched up about half the time, and smarter now than I used to be, I’m not going to wade “wet” in water that may contain flesh-eating bacteria if I have open cuts, punctures or blisters. I’m going to put on a pair of lightweight waders over a pair of shorts and know I can concentrate on my fishing rather than worrying about winning a darwin award.

Another valid reason for wearing waders or at least long wading pants is what we call burning jelly. When somebody mentions stinging jellyfish most of us immediately think of the Portuguese man-o-war but it’s not the only game in town. The sea nettle is quite common 20 | June 2013

and we also occasionally see the box jellyfish, neither is as easy to spot when you are fishing as the man-o-war, and when the surf waves wash back out from the sand these jellies can wrap their tentacles around feet and legs. There are times and tides when these pesky creatures can be abundant. It’s interesting; the book says these are mildly toxic and that is true for the ones I encounter in the surf but the ones on the west end of Baffin Bay burn more and will make for a short day’s wade for any angler wearing shorts. Maybe it is the higher salinity back there. I’ve had anglers wearing shorts have to get completely out of the water and fish from the dry shore due to the presence of jellyfish.

Obviously you don’t pay a guide’s wages to fish off the shore so give it some thought.

On one occasion I was hit by a very small species of jellyfish that was far worse than the others I’ve encountered. The first time I ever took Tyler Thorsen and david Gardner surf fishing I was knee deep and felt a sharp burning sensation and looked down to see a totally clear, oval-shaped jellyfish a little over an inch long bump off my leg behind my knee. I stumbled out of the water and knelt on the shore in severe pain. Tyler came up and asked what was wrong and I told him I didn’t know what it was that had stung me but it wasn’t supposed to be in the Gulf of Mexico.

A large welt appeared across the inside of my knee and a large

James Clark photo.

TSFMAG.com | 21

Peregrine on PINS about to devour seagull. James Clark photo.

kernel instantly formed under my arm. I was sick at my stomach and dizzy and the pain was intense. I told Tyler I was going to have to walk constantly to bear it and I did for the next several hours when not driving to another fishing location. At times I’d have to drag my leg as I couldn’t bend it.

Tyler is a great guy and badly wanted to help. I told him, “We’re 37 miles from the pavement and there’s nothing to do but live or die. You know how to drive a 4-wheel drive so if I die just throw me in the back of the Suburban and keep fishin’. Take me to town before dark and pay my wife my wages as I’ve earned them.”

I never knew what it was that stung me that day but have always felt it was a stray exotic not normally found in the inshore Gulf and I sure don’t want another one to sting me. That would have been a great time to have been wearing waders.

22 | June 2013

While on the subject of burning jellyfish I’ll take the time to tell you that in my experience the best product we’ve found to reduce the pain is not meat tenderizer as so many claim but acetone. We have used acetone for decades since an old wind sailor told me about it. Saturate a paper towel thoroughly and gingerly clean the affected area. Then throw the towel away and wet down another one and do the same thing.

Never use the same towel twice to avoid spreading venom and it may take three or four cleansings but it relieves the pain better than anything else I’ve seen or heard of.

I guess I should be an authority on skin cancer. All the way back to my high school years growing up on Bob Hall Pier; our uniform consisted of hat, trousers or shorts, and no shirt or shoes. The hat was not intended to protect us from the sun but rather to enhance our ability to make out objects in the water in the bright sunshine.

The lack of shirt and shoes was a cultural thing.

Cool guys didn’t wear a shirt or shoes, and God knows that above all else we were cool. Much cooler James Clark in PINS surf. CPR! than when they gave me those thirty-two shots of Lidocaine last year between my nose and upper lip prior to removing a skin cancer.

The statement I have heard too often from the dermatologist is, “This isn’t the result of anything you’ve done recently.

This cancer is the result of over exposure to the sun years ago.” So, the bottom Happy angler, fished with Jeff Wolda.

Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus The Hooded Merganser is a small diving duck, the only member of the genus Lophodytes.

Unmistakable for its colorful plumage and prominent puffy crest. White head patches are fan shaped and conspicuous when crest is raised. Winters in fresh or brackish water. The small pond at Hazel Bazemore park on the banks of the Nueces River is the best viewing location in the Coastal Bend.

Jim Johnson group with PINS jacks, fishing with Jeff Wolda.

line is that wearing appropriate protective clothing in our early years is extremely important.

As I drive along the beaches of PINS I observe that the younger generation now days is just as bullet proof as we were during that time of our lives so I guess skin cancer will continue to provide the dermatologists job security. Forearms and backs of the hands seem to have more skin cancer than other body parts. They develop a scaled appearance with numerous small protrusions visible. They dry and peel away leaving tender spots and aloe vera or some other good skin moisturizer will lesson this drying and peeling effect and the itching that accompanies it as well but you really need to have them checked by a skin doctor.

I very rarely wear work gloves (to a fault) and the idea of lure fishing wearing gloves is totally alien to me but as years go by I’ve noticed the back of my hands get exceedingly hot during the day. And I realized it was a simple case of my skin having gotten thinner as I aged and I started wearing gloves because I was more comfortable and could concentrate better on my game wearing them than not.

Reading back over this it at first seems a very negative article but actually it isn’t at all. If we are going to do a “How To” series it’s high priority stuff to explain the dangers and steps that we can take to protect ourselves from them. We’ve got a few more to go and then we’ll get back to catching fish.

If we don’t leave any there won’t be any! -Cap’n Billy

Contact

Billy Sandifer

24 | June 2013

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.

Phone 361-937-8446 Website www.billysandifer.com

STORY BY Martin Strarup

26 | June 2013

I had a friend ask me the other day

why I would get out of a perfectly good boat, get all wet, mingle with sharks, jellyfish and stingrays, just to catch some fish. I answered that I just liked to be one with nature and laughed. I added that wading was actually a combination of hunting and fishing, and I really enjoy that aspect.

But he was serious and he just didn’t understand why I didn’t just stay in the boat and drift, so I proceeded to explain further to him why I like to wade.

I told him that I like drifting and do it quite often when over bottom that my knees and back can’t tolerate, i.e. soft mud bottom – or when fish are holding in deeper water that can’t be fished any other way. I pointed out that my feet can take me where my boat can’t and I can’t find the small changes in bottom structure if I’m in the boat. I also explained there are times when the fish are holding on structure that I would likely zip across while drifting, catching only one, whereas when wading I can stand perfectly still and take greater advantage of my good fortune.

I explained that there is a stillness when wade fishing that you can’t get if fishing from a boat. Stillness equates to stealth and adds to the odds that if fish are where you are; you’ll catch them. I can cover a lot of ground quietly and I don’t have to move with the wind to do it as I would if I stayed in the boat. If I see bait get busted upwind I can wade to within casting distance and with a boat unless I had a trolling motor I’d be out of luck. Even with a trolling motor though, going against the wind is going to cause some hull slap, which is noise, which isn’t stealthy.

I told him that by being in the water I was less visible to the fish than I would be if I were fishing from a boat and that by being lower to the water I could cast a little better than from the boat.

He asked me about sharks, jellyfish, stingrays and other nasty creatures being in the water and

Caught this one drifting; too bad we weren’t in a spot pot.

“Drifting ain’t all bad!”

TSFMAG.com | 27

Wade fishing provides the solitude and communing with nature I crave.

how I dealt with knowing that they were there. I replied that I slide my feet for the stingrays, wear long pants and long sleeve shirts for the jellyfish and for the sun, and that I watch carefully for the sharks. I told him that when a small to medium size shark gets too close I simply whack him with my fishing rod and it usually goes away. He then asked me what I did if it was a really big shark that got too close and I told him that I usually gave the shark plenty of room and moved away from it. If the shark became aggressive I would make my way back to the boat and toss a fish to it to keep it busy. I told him I would give him my stringer with all the fish on it to keep the big shark away from me.

Nice Baffin trout wading in the rain…it used to rain in South Texas.

someone left in my boat one day that would fit him, I had an extra wading belt or two or three that he could use along with a stringer and box to hold the lures he would want to fish with.

I’d like to say that he took me up on my offer and that I took him wade fishing and that he had a great time. I’d like to say that he caught fish, saw no sharks or stingrays and that the jellyfish weren’t in the bay that day but I can’t.

He looked at me, laughed, and said “Oh hell no.”

He said that he would fish the way he wanted to fish and that I could do the same. He said that if I wanted to use a perfectly good boat as a taxi to a spot where I could jump into the water, lower myself on the food chain and be bait for Jaws…I could just go right ahead. He would be in the boat where he could stay dry, not get eaten, stung or stabbed by any sea critter, and where he could be close to the beer and the snacks where he enjoyed being.

And really, he had a very good point. Fishing is supposed to be fun and stress free. If getting into the water stresses you out; don’t do it. If wade fishing is what decompresses you from a week in the office, then great, have at it.

But however you fish, be it from a boat, from belly deep in the bay or from the bank, have fun while you’re doing it.

After all, if you can’t have fun when you’re fishing why go?

Be Safe.

He actually got goose bumps when I told him that and said that he would never give up being at the top of the food chain just to be able to sneak up on fish.

I had explained to him all that I really could at the moment. I’d run out of reasons that I like to wade fish, well those that I could think of anyway, and simply told him that he needed to try it with me some day and see if he liked it. I offered him some wading boots that 28 | June 2013

CONTACT

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

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

Email

Trouthunter@swbell.net

STORY BY CHUCK UZZLE

30 | June 2013

Like many of our readers,

I anxiously await the arrival of the next issue of TSFMag. I cannot wait to see what’s happening along the Texas coast and there is no better place to get that kind of information than from the pages of this magazine. Like many of you I have favorite writers that I tend to read before continuing to read the issue cover to cover, and one of those is none other than my good friend Mike McBride. I have a ton of respect for Mike; he’s easily one of the best fishermen I have ever had the chance to share time on the water with - the guy is good.

In the last issue of TSFMag, Mike used a descriptive term when he was talking about some of his clients that caused me to do a double take and I had to read carefully lest my regional pride allowed me to be offended. The term uppercoaster, as it was used in the article, seemed to imply a semi-derogatory flavor (at least to me), and that being such was to be beneath middle-coast or lowercoast anglers.

As I read the term I immediately did my best urban female impression and said “Oh no he didn’t!” Now I know McBride meant nothing by it, in fact he referred to himself as an upper-coaster later in the article, but I certainly got to thinking about what exactly is it that makes one an upper-coaster, middlecoaster, or lower-coaster?

Generally speaking there is no greater debate within the Texas fishing world than the worn out subject of live bait versus artificial. Stop in at an internet chat site that focuses on fishing and just look around, it won’t take long before the subject rears its ugly head. More often than not it gets out of hand and the rabid members of each camp wind up making outlandish accusations that hold no water. So, my first impression was the ludicrous thought of segregating the Texas coast and giving one group the nod as being better or ahead of the pack; somewhat akin to the psychological experiment comparing blue-eyed people to the ones without blue eyes. Somebody is likely going to get their feelings hurt.

If anyone was to sit back and look at a few things objectively, it would be hard to deny that there are some things that originated on the lower-coast that wound up migrating to the middle-coast and ultimately found their way to the upper-coast.

Take for instance the technique of wade-fishing, more specifically, wade-fishing for big trout. Impossible to deny the effectiveness of the technique and how it changed the saltwater scene forever. In fact the Texas wade-fishing phenomenon has crossed the Sabine River and is now heading east across Louisiana as an accepted method of fishing. I for one have always tipped my hat to the folks from down south who opened our eyes “up here” as to how effective wade fishing can be, in fact I’ve referenced that feeling in several previous stories so my feelings are well documented. But not everything in the fishing world evolves south to north, it occasionally goes the other way.

A perfect example is the freshwater technique of “drop shotting” that has become a favorite of many folks here on Sabine. The technique proves quite useful when fishing vertically in deeper water for suspended fish. A variant of the method that has gained its own popularity locally is called “scraping the wall” and this involves a near vertical presentation of a lure such as the Corky or Maniac Mullet (normally fished as slow-sinkers in shallower water) on the same types of steep edges and dropoffs found in the ship channels and rivers. Both dropshotting and scraping the wall are incredibly productive for both big fish as well as big numbers of fish.

I certainly understand that accepted techniques and methods are derived from necessity and refined over time by anglers in specific areas. Like the aforementioned wade-fishing, the abundance of shallow water basically forced TSFMAG.com | 31

Reds will eat bass baits! (right)

32 | June 2013

than the other on any of these subjects; I prefer to give each group respect for their area of expertise and thank them for giving me another weapon for catching fish. I can only imagine how different my fishing career might have been had I not learned some valuable lessons from anglers all along the coast. There is no doubt in my mind that my days on the water would have been far less productive then and into the foreseeable future.

I guess when you really get down to it everyone has something to offer no matter where you fish or where you’re from. Being closed-minded to alternate techniques and methods will eventually cost you some success on the water, that’s a certainty. I enjoy learning things from the people I share the boat with and it never ceases to amaze me how so many simple things I have overlooked for so long are taken for granted by others as everyday occurrences. I hope something in this column triggers you to take a look at a new technique and opens a door to better fishing.

And if anybody’s making notes; I will always be proud to be called an upper-coaster.

CHUCK UZZLE

CONTACT

anglers to get out of the boat to reach fish in areas that were not otherwise accessible. Also, it allowed anglers opportunity to make a stealthy approach to fish that were infinitely spookier in the shallow water. An angler that has miles upon miles of water that’s two feet deep or less will naturally not become instantly proficient at “Scraping the wall.” catching fish in a river or channel because that’s not what they do.

On the other hand an angler who can catch fish in deep water can make the transition to shallower water with a little less difficulty.

Same can be said about anglers who fish places like Galveston, Trinity, and Sabine where water clarity is always an issue. If an angler can find fish without seeing them in muddy or murky water, one can only imagine the success they would have in clear water when fish are visible. Longtime outdoor writer and radio personality, doug Pike, has always told me, “I’ll bet money on a guy from Galveston Bay who catches fish to be able to fish with anybody along the Gulf coast. You give those guys the opportunity to see fish or structure in clearer water and it’s almost like cheating for them.”

Pike’s words bring me back to Mike McBride and his origins as an upper-coaster. Mike was so good in the venues of Galveston’s bay systems, it was almost an absolute certainty that he’d be good when took up residence in Port Mansfield. I cannot help but believe that for him it was like having a blindfold removed and turning on the lights.

Now I am by no means an advocate of saying one group is better

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

STORY BY JOE RICHARD

34 | June 2013

Shannon Tompkins caught this alligator gar on a Rat-L-Trap.

In my youth

I whaled away on many an alligator gar, since they were numerous and pests on the upper Texas coast if you were a bait fisherman. Eventually we became pretty good at catching gar and sold the big ones for a nickel a pound, which doesn’t sound possible today, but then gasoline and other items were cheap as well. Catching that first big gar became a quest, after moving from the cruel environs of Lubbock down to Port Arthur, following the 8th grade, and suddenly finding myself in serious gar country, since Texas/ Louisiana remains the world’s population center for this fish.

Getting primed for the 9th grade that summer (or not), I was shocked to see ponderous, olive-green monsters prowling the ICW near my house, cruising by with indifference. In the distance, feisty huge ones smacked their tails like beaver, loud enough to be heard a quarter mile away on a calm day. While casting jigs from the Port Arthur drawbridge at schooling ladyfish each afternoon, I could often see big gar lurking below.

At the drawbridge I soon rigged up a dead 6-inch mullet on the spin rod, and actually sight-cast to a hulking brute lazing on a latesummer’s outgoing tide. He snapped it up without a second thought, and a long and savage fight ensued, the spin rod bent to the butt. I fought him like a pro, not like some potlicker from Lubbock. Passing cars stopped and a small crowd gathered; they had to see the finale.

Shouts of encouragement around my ears went ignored. I was ready

for the winner’s circle, well prepared, even had 200-pound mono leader. I finally coaxed the huge fish into shallow water. A motorist climbed down the steep bank, waded in, grabbed the 4-foot leader and, mindful of wicked teeth and serious attitude, towed the thrashing gar shoreward. Whereupon the hook came untied…For a moment nothing happened, then this huge fish, realizing it was free, turned around with some dignity, and headed back into the deep. Behind me there was this awful chorus of groans and a scattering of sighs. My victory was denied, I’d gone from champ to chump, and the crowd soon drove away. It seems my knot-tying skills needed improvement.

Sight-casting to tarpon-sized gar was cool, but the drawbridge burned soon after in November, 1967. But there were gar everywhere in Port Arthur’s tidal waters, including Pleasure Island, where we had the run of the place for the next three years, while they built the towering bridge that stands today. (At the same time, Brown and Root was building the two big silt-retaining levies north and south of the marina that people drive on and fish from today, which I will recount at another time.)

Anyway, with better equipment, we were soon catching and even selling 50- to 70-pound gar, and releasing hundreds of lesser size.

There were so many out there, you might catch 15 gar on live mullet, while waiting for that first redfish. We sold the biggest gar around town, even tried the big pool hall on Houston Avenue, where at the TSFMAG.com | 35

time it was surmised that no white man had ever trod. The place inside was lit only with black lights, and all you could see in there were white shirts, grinning teeth and blacklight posters of Jemi Hendrix and the like. Nobody in there wanted our gar, that lay patiently in the pickup truck, but we soon found a buyer a few blocks north on Seventh Street.

While firmly entrenched on Pleasure Island with an old Plymouth Belvedere station wagon, no fish and game limits, or seasons, I devised a means of catching the big gar that were always rolling and gulping air. I’d read about jug-lining for catfish up north, so I built a jug line that kept the mullet bait well above bottom, away from big blue crabs that were a complete pest in those days. Baited it up at sunset, and set out the jug. Next morning, that jug was gone from the boat basin. I drove to the seawall, scanned Sabine Lake with binoculars and there it was, a white gallon jug plowing along partially submerged, about 400 yards out. Back at the marina I untied the jonboat and gave chase, eventually subduing a thrashing five-footer. Towed it back to the shell boat ramp

Mike Kirkhart, founder of New Wave Taxidermy, and part of his crew readying a fiberglass mount of the current world record alligator gar, for a museum.

36 | June 2013

World record gar from Mississippi must have chomped lots of critters, during its 50- to 70-year lifespan.

that sat right in front of today’s Salt Club building. Got out and pulled it right up on the ramp; I’d used a stout line. That’s when Willie the marina master came running out of the house, a long-barreled .22 Magnum pistol in his hand. I backed off pretty quick while Willie emptied the pistol from 20 feet away, bits of oyster shell exploding around the gar which took hits, but kept snapping and thrashing. Lucky there were no ricochets reported; downtown Port Arthur was across the ICW maybe 400 yards away. Finally the heavy-scaled beast lay still and was carted off to Judice Grocery—again for a paltry amount, a few pieces of silver.

Such adventures were fun in my youth, but as we’ve suspected for decades and found out more recently, the alligator gar is in trouble.

Throughout its range, as it turns out. Like any other fish in the world it can be overharvested, and gar in Texas had no real protection until 2009. Just as bad, it takes about 14 years for a female gar to mature enough to lay eggs. Another negative factor: gar prefer floodwaters and shallows to spawn, and floods are discouraged by any means, these days. And that’s if it even rains; drought years are said to halt spawning efforts, because gar won’t lay eggs in low, muddy water. Add millions of new fishermen and hungry mouths (it’s a tasty fish, depending on who you talk to) and the gar has major problems dodging hooks and arrows long enough to reach spawning size. At least gillnets and beach seining were curtailed in the early 1980s, which helped the gar.

And yes, we ran into big gar while pulling beach seines; it seems that alligator gar don’t mind the Gulf, or prowling past dog-paddling tourists in Galveston, who have no clue that a prehistoric “monster” is among them. Back in the day, if a five-footer slammed into our mesh during a beach seine party, with a bunch of gals helping us out, and everyone waist- to neck-deep in breaking surf, our merriment turned to anxiety, at a powerful but unseen intruder yanking the net around, only feet away. Usually it was a big gar with a wicked smile that could be towed ashore, untangled and pushed back into the surf. These encounters weren’t accidents; in more recent years I photographed big but dead gar at Surfside beach near Freeport, victims of red tide.

Catching and selling a few gar, back when they were a nuisance, is one thing. But knowing what we do today about TSFMAG.com | 37

this fish, I can’t understand people who target the biggest female gar during spawning season, and shoot them with arrows. Posing for pictures with a giant, 40- or 50-year old female gar seems questionable these days. The gar is ancient (100 million years) and very tough, but shooting and releasing them is problematic even for this fish. Catch and release probably doesn’t hurt them much.

Like primitive tarpon, gar can rise and gulp air from the surface, when dissolved oxygen levels are too low in the water. If an oxbow lake almost dries up, for instance, gar can live in the mud until the next blessed rain arrives. A fish that tough would be happy with salty bay water, very happy.

Alligator gar are mostly homebodies in freshwater, and a number of

This world record alligator gar weighed 327 pounds and was eight feet, six inches long, according to folks at New Wave Taxidermy.

them up to seven feet long have been tagged with external radio transmitters in the Trinity River, where big ones still lurk and prowl.

But not far, apparently. It’s easy to fish out a favorite river gar hole, and a number of reliable spots today are empty, where big ones used to bite. I suspect that single gar cruising along the beach, or in major bays, tend to move around a lot more. But if memory serves, TP&W hasn’t made an effort to tag gar in coastal waters. One more mystery: coastal alligator gar wanderings.

The current world-record alligator gar was mounted in 2011 by New Wave Taxidermy in Stuart, Florida, where Mike Kirkhart and family has been doing great work for decades on many species of fish. He still has the mold, for those who need an alligator gar eight feet, six inches long, with a reported girth of four feet, hanging in their pool room. If so, look up Mike’s web site. That mind-blowing gar came from Mississippi and Mike’s family says it was still full of eggs, on arrival. And an estimated 50 to 70 years old.

Gar have been vilified for generations, accused of eating prime gamefish, but their diet consists mostly of gizzard shad and other lowly items on the food chain. Heck, I’ve had them snatch blue crabs right off our lines. Back when gar and crab were a hinderance to catching bay redfish.

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Brett Nedry’s patience and experience provided success in very dirty water as well as 25 mph sustained winds.

J AY WAT K I N S

ASK THE PRO

Downright Dirty

Confidence

Didn’t when I was younger but I now believe it is true what they say about time flying by faster as we age.

Seems just yesterday I was packing up for my two month winter stint in Port Mansfield and just today I have washed and dried my Simms waders and wading jacket and put them in the closet for the next five or six months.

Spring is just about gone and the hot days of summer are closer each day by a few degrees. Already experienced some 90° days and rain is still needed in a big way. We had a long-awaited couple inches last weekend in some places locally but it soaked in almost overnight – drop in the bucket to what we really need. With summer approaching I fear our next good chance will likely be something tropical in nature. I’m sure everybody is praying for relief from this drought that has been categorized as severe or nearly so for the last five years.

I am concentrating more and more on wind-driven or wind-created possibilities as well as water changes 40 | June 2013

that occur and develop OVER the preferred structure one is fishing for that given day and area. It seems very curious to me now that I am aware of the tremendous opportunities that DIRTY water provides.

First I want to make it clear; no pun intended, that it has taken many years of observation to gain the confidence that I have in fishing water with almost zero visibility. On many occasions I make a point to search out areas along the shorelines that I fish that hold water that is noticeably more off-color than all the remaining water around it. I make it a point to tell my clients to watch how many boats run past the dirty stuff to fish in the clear stuff. Just about all of them do this in our area along the coast. I think anglers that have experience in the dirty stuff are definitely attracted to the Cozumel looking water that we have so much of the time. Course grained sand and an abundance of sea grass results in water much too clear many times.

Author with solid trout off shallow water color change created by strong SE winds.

This is not to say that there are not instances when we catch fish in the clear stuff. It’s just easier day in day out to generate a bite in dirty water. Fish are more aggressive and the strike zone is decreased due to the lack of clarity. This is especially true in shallow water areas. For the record, dirty water that covers shallow preferred structure is where it is at as long as a food source is residing in or around the dirty water as well. Simple thinking here, which I am good at, says that the bait fish think the game fish can’t see them and the game fish think the bait fish can’t see them. The two are swimming in there together and nothing positive ever comes of this situation for the bait fish – I promise.

Predators need cover in order to hunt successfully. Take the tall grass and mottes of trees off the Serengeti and the lions starve. Water too clear allows the prey to see the foe as it approaches.

The man upstairs provided bait fish with forked tails for speed and the predators with broad tails for power and maneuverability. In clear water the food sources see the predators coming long before a kill can be made. I think this can even be true when good bottom structures are in place forming ambush points for the game fish.

TSFMAG.com | 41

42 | June 2013

might be holding there. Repeated casts to likely looking and feeling areas are of extreme importance in my book. I have a tremendous amount of confidence in shallow dirty water when a viable food source is present. I often leave and return to areas of dirty water as the Solunar tables go from minor to major feeding periods. I personally find that feeding activity is heightened more in dirty water than clear during the majors and minors of the day. The Solunar insert in this magazine should always be consulted while planning your day.

So the next time you run along San Jose Island and observe an area of off-colored to downright dirty water, take the time to slowly idle and see what is happening. If there are mullet jumping, pelicans diving, slicks popping or a gunmetal grey and black Haynie High Output are anywhere around, you might want to stop and make a wade.

May your fishing always be catching. -Guide Jay Watkins

C O N TA C T

In deeper water the dirty stuff becomes harder for me to fish. I am accustomed to the shallow water dancing so my timing is off a bit when I have to start trying to catch fishing in water depths much more than four feet. We simply have to allow the lure to get down into the zone where the fish are holding and feeding. A heavier jig head is recommended when fishing with Bass Assassins or any other soft plastic baits. I am a 1/16 to 1/8 ounce believer and one probably needs a minimum of 1/4 ounce in the deeper stuff. Long time pro and friend Blaine Friermood jokingly says I don’t even own a jig head of the right weight to fish his home waters of Trinity Bay. One of the biggest problems with fishing dirty water is something I go back to in most everything I write or try to teach, and this is confidence. When all the ingredients for success are present then one has to simply believe that the fish are there and that you can catch them. For sure this only comes with time spent on the water in every imaginable condition one might think of. Most all experienced anglers you ask, whether salt or fresh water, would agree that there is no substitute for experience.

Another problem many have with working dirty water, this is especially true and observed by me daily, is fishing the area too fast. Fast mostly applies to the speed in which one moves through a designated fishing zone, not the speed in which you work the lure. When the water is dirty it is even more important that anglers maintain a higher degree of diligence with casting, lure presentation and repeated casts to areas of known structure. In dirty water it is highly possible that casting to structures holding fish could be slightly off target and no strikes received from possibly numerous fish that

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

Jacks from a yak can be very interesting… long sleigh ride!

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 ING

Jacks for Fun The pre-dawn coastal marsh mosquitoes were out in full force as I rushed through the launch sequence trying hard not to forget anything important. The hurried drill was in part to get away from the blood suckers, but more so because the incessant wind had finally stopped blowing. It was dead flat calm for the first time in a very long while and I couldn’t wait to scoot out across the open water instead of ducking for cover.

Busting out through the Little Jetties the entire surface of Matagorda Bay looked like one large mirror reflecting the orange glow growing on the eastern horizon. Cade Simpson and his dad were aboard looking to hunt reds on the sand and grass flats behind Matagorda Island. Midway through the journey I shut her down. Cade and his dad stood to ask if there was something wrong. As I pointed towards what looked like a boat wake headed our way I replied, “Nah, just thought y’all might want to see this.”

“What the heck is that?”

“Jacks.”

“That’s all jacks?”

“Yep. Wanna have some fun?”

The guys looked at each other and shook their heads in agreement. Neither had ever tangled with a jack 44 | June 2013

Cade’s Matagorda Bay bruiser.

Jack school terrorizing large mullet in Matagorda Bay.

crevalle. This was just about the largest school of jacks I’d ever seen and they were pushing hard. As I tied on a couple large topwaters I told the guys to keep watching the school because they were about to run into a big school of mullet. Seconds later the collision of predator and prey exploded. Foot long mullet were flying all over the place with small packs of large jacks in hot pursuit.

Ready, set, go! Topwaters landed amongst the mayhem and drew immediate attention.

The fish followed the lures slashing and missing all the way to the boat. One finally got a good bead on Cade just a few feet from his rod tip. Crash, zing, pop! It happens like that with jacks – quite often.

The big school had now busted into several smaller roving packs. I bumped the boat ahead to intercept one of the schools as they closed in on another wad of bait. Pops launched his topwater ahead of the lead fish and got bit hard. The fight was typical of jacks, a big run or two and then settle in for a tug-o-war. All the while hundreds of the fish’s buddies continued to blast bait in every direction. About the time it looked like the fish was done, he made one last surge and the line parted.

Cade, being the polite son, tried to hand his dad a freshly rigged rod for another shot. Dad looked at him like he was crazy and declined. Once again I bumped the boat in front of a school as it herded a pod of bait and Cade put the lure into the strike zone. Several raging jacks shoulder each other out of the way until one was able to surge forward and grab the topwater right next to the boat. A seriously cool eat.

Cade and this jack went round and round. Every time it looked like the fish was done he’d bust off another dogged run. The jack finally gave up and rolled on its side allowing me to cleanly snatch him up by the tail. Following high fives and photos the beast was released to thrill another angler.

The scattered schools were still terrorizing baitfish all around us. I asked the guys if they were ready for another one. Cade replied that the next one belonged to dad. Pops responded with, “Maybe we should go find some reds.”

I really enjoy putting people on their first jack crevalle, yet among the sportfishing crowd jacks generally get no respect. Most anglers seem to consider them a nuisance, but I can’t for the life of me understand why. Some will claim it’s because you can’t eat them. Nobody eats a tarpon, yet people spend countless dollars and hours pursuing them. They don’t jump. Neither do bull reds, yet people spend quite a bit of time chasing them every fall.

I think jacks just need a better PR person. If you are into sightcasting it’s difficult to summarily dismiss intentionally hunting for jacks. They feed aggressively, eat most any fly or lure with reckless abandon and fight well beyond their weight class. Even without the fight, just the aspect of watching one of these big fish chase down and inhale your offering is an awesome experience.

Jacks generally start showing in decent numbers once water temps reach the 70° mark and hang around until the cool fronts push them out. They can be found in the bays, along the beachfront and offshore. Locating them is a fairly easy task. Feeding jacks aren’t shy. Large TSFMAG.com | 45

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schools can be found crashing is getting your cast in front of them Having the right tackle rigged and at the ready through baitfish sending them as they cut back and forth with no is one of the keys to getting a jack hooked up. showering in every direction. From apparent destination. there it’s just a matter of getting in

I’ve had jacks eat most every position ahead of the school and lure you’d normally throw for specks keeping your cool long enough to or reds, usually because they just get your lure in front of them. show up and you don’t have time In the absence of obvious to change. But when I go hunting feeding schools, jacks can often specifically for them I’ll usually tie be found in smaller groups roving on a large topwater or some type of along the jetties and along the mullet/shad imitation. A mediumedges of flats within the bays. Most heavy rod with a little more line often these schools will show up unexpectedly and disappear just capacity than your standard bay gear is plenty for most encounters. as quickly. They’re difficult to specifically target, but you can usually When hunting them on fly gear I’ll typically throw a large profile get off a cast or two. baitfish or a really big popper on a 10wt. A quality fly reel with a Another good place to look is behind shrimpers culling just off good drag and plenty of backing are a must for these hard chargers. the beachfront. Jacks will often be there along with kings, sharks If you’ve never tussled with a jack crevalle I hope you give it a shot and the occasional tarpon. Many folks bypass the shrimpers working this summer. And if you’re one of those who start cussing and trying nearshore, but for those with smaller boats this can be a bonanza of to break them off when one jumps between you and your intended sightcasting to big fish with either conventional or fly gear. target, I hope you’ll rethink why you go fishing in the first place. Quit The less common encounter involves small roving packs or even taking yourself so seriously and soak in the awesome power of this single fish up on the shallow flats. Throughout the summer months great sportfish. while I’m stalking reds I’m always scanning ahead for the telltale zigCapt. Scott Null is a devout shallow water fisherman offering zagging wake of a big jack. I’ve seen it all up and down the coast, guided adventues via kayak, poled skiff, and wading. but it seems to happen more on the flats around Port O’Connor Telephone 281-450-2206 than any other area. I can generally count on at least a couple Email scott@tsfmag.com encounters a day if I’m paying attention. The shots are fleeting, but Website www.captainscottnull.com these fish are really revved up and ready to feed. The hardest part

46 | June 2013

Figure 1: Baffin Bay is a secondary bay system connecting to the upper Laguna Madre located on the south Texas coast. Its high salinities and low circulation seem to make it prime habitat for Aureoumbra lagunensis, otherwise known as the brown tide.

By Zachary Olsen Upper Laguna Madre Ecosystem Biologist | Corpus Christi

fiELD nOTES

BROwn TiDE in BAffin BAy:

A LOOK AT wHAT wE HAVE LEARnED AnD wHAT THE fuTuRE MAy HOLD In the early 1990s the Baffin Bay area of the Laguna Madre was plagued by what turned out to be one of the longest algal blooms ever recorded (approximately ten years) and left scientists from Texas Parks and Wildlife department (TPWd), the University of Texas Marine Science Institute, and Texas A&M Corpus Christi scrambling for answers.

The algal bloom was affectionately termed the “brown tide” due to the chocolaty color it turned the once gin clear waters of the upper Laguna. But when the bloom began to loosen its grip in the late-90s and the waters began to settle, the brown tide never actually went away.

Talk to any seasoned fisherman familiar with these areas and they’ll tell you that the brown water is still there and still spreads its stained fingers out into the bay at certain times of the year. Most recently was in spring of 2012 where it was spotted at various locations from the JFK Causeway to the Landcut but seemed to disappear

by August. In the years that followed the initial bloom, much work was done by the local scientific community.

So what have we learned about this mysterious brown tide since its initial début over twenty years ago and what 48 | June 2013

does it mean for the future of the Mother Lagoon?

The so-called brown tide actually consists of millions of tiny phytoplankton whose population grows out of control during a bloom event. Phytoplankton are microscopic, free floating plants, and the species specific to the brown tide is known as Aureoumbra lagunensis.

The brown tide organism does not produce a harmful toxin as does its well-known algal cousin the “red tide” (known as Karenia brevis) which can seasonally bloom along the Texas coast and throughout much of the northern Gulf of Mexico. The issue with brown tide is the potential long term impacts the bloom may have on its resident ecosystem, many of which are still under study.

The brown tide species was first discovered and described during this 1990s bloom in the upper Laguna Madre/Baffin Bay area though it had most likely been a resident of the Laguna for years prior. According to chemical analysis of sediment cores from Baffin Bay, it may have dominated the water column on and off over the past thousands of years. Similar algal blooms were observed in New England in 1985, though the conditions

The effect of brown tide on water clarity: These photos were made recently during calm conditions on Cayo del Grullo, a tertiary bay within the Baffin region. The water was not wind-stirred or otherwise murky with suspended silt. The hooks on a surface plug, barely an inch below the surface, can hardly be seen. ~Scott Murray photos

and impacts of these blooms weren’t quite the same as that in south Texas. It seems that this initial bloom may have been caused by a variety of factors including the severe drought of 1988 and 1989 that raised salinities in the Laguna and Baffin Bay to extremely high levels in which the brown tide organism thrives. Additionally, a series of fish and invertebrate kills that occurred in the area during the previous winter due to low water temperatures (including the famous freeze of 1989) provided nutrients which were essential to the bloom dominating the phytoplankton community. The brown tide is unique in the type of nutrients (more specifically nitrogen) that it is able to utilize. Ammonium, a form of nitrogen that can be introduced by decaying fish and invertebrates, just so happens to be one of those preferred by the alga. While agricultural and residential runoff laced with animal waste and fertilizers are generally implicated in increased nutrient levels responsible for algal blooms, studies done specifically on the brown tide in Baffin Bay have shown that this does not seem to be a likely cause in this case. Finally, Baffin Bay populations of benthic (bottom dwelling) bivalves (clams and the like), most notably the dwarf surf clam (Mulinia lateralis) showed a large decline around the time the initial bloom set in, though scientists are unsure if this decline is related to the bloom. In the early 1990s scientists noted record high populations of black drum (Pogonias cromis), a major predator of the dwarf surf clam. This may have lead to increased predation on the surf clam and the resulting decreases in population observed.

On top of it all, it seems that the other naturally occurring predators of phytoplankton, the zooplankton, simply do not prefer to feed on the brown tide organism. This may be because 50 | June 2013

Microscopic imagery of Aureoubra lagunensis. (Nu- nucleus,

it does not provide needed sustenance or and paper mussel (Amygdalum papyria) n- nucleolus, er- endoplasmic reticulum, c- cytoplasm, bbpossibly because of a chemical defense have thrived in the sandy/muddy bottoms basal bodies; Photo courtesy of Tracy Villareal). produced by the brown tide. This chemical of Baffin Bay and its tributaries. However, defense may deter certain species of since the initial decline in abundance of zooplankton from feeding and also inhibit the dwarf surf clam, little has been done to zooplankton reproductive output leading monitor the status of these oft forgotten to all around smaller numbers of these creatures. It does seem unlikely, though, potential predators. that it was the bloom that caused this The question now is, has this decline since M. lateralis has been shown microscopic invader had a permanent to readily feed on and potentially regulate impact on Baffin Bay and our Laguna the brown tide bloom. As these organisms Madre? It seems that the initial bloom of are very important, it seems imperative to the brown tide in the early 1990s did result assess and monitor the benthic community is a large seagrass die-off, especially in the of Baffin Bay and to understand this deeper areas of the upper Laguna, due to ecosystem from the bottom up. the cloudiness of the water which reduced The hypersaline conditions of this the amount of sunlight that seagrasses ecosystem subject it to some of the most depend on. However, researchers were extreme salt concentrations along the surprised by how long it took the seagrass Texas coast which results in its unique and to be affected by these low light conditions: significant die-offs dynamic nature allowing for the brown tide to exist. While extreme weren’t observed for the first three years during the initial bloom! events such as drought, freeze, or tropical storms may interrupt the This is good news for the seagrass since the most recent brown tide balance of the flora and fauna, this resilient ecosystem, as a whole, events don’t seem to last as long as their 1990s predecessor. But this continues to thrive and produce some of the best fishing on the doesn’t mean that a similar extensive bloom couldn’t return especially Gulf coast.

Check the TPWD Outdoor Annual, your local if current drought conditions continue to worsen in the south.

TPWD Law Enforcement office, or www.

Less is known about the lasting impacts of the bloom on the benthic community. Historically, bivalves such as the dwarf surf clam tpwd.state.tx.us for more information.

Tournament: July 25th-28th Awards: July 28th Registration begins July 25th @ the Chamber of Commerce Pavilion.

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Please call 956-944-2354 or visit www.portmansfieldchamber.org for pre-registration or more info.

We invite you to come participate in the 39th Annual Port Mansfield Fishing Tournament!

52 | June 2013

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

F LY F I S H I N G

Equipment So how does one prepare for the moment when he or she has the opportunity to throw a fly to the fish of a lifetime?

Well the first thing is to make sure you have the right equipment. For example- if I was going somewhere, say like the Florida Keys, to fish for migrating tarpon or for permit where long, accurate casts are a must; I would pull out my faster action rods and would consider downsizing my fly lines (this allows you to carry more line in the air). However, if I was going down to the ‘Glades to fish for tarpon and snook, I would probably choose to take rods with a more moderate action and use fly lines with short heads for quicker loading on shorter casts.

When I speak of action, in regards to fly rods, I am talking about the point at which the rod loads. Faster actions mean that the rod loads at the tip. This is a rod that requires more skill to cast because usually, the 54 | June 2013

beginner caster has not developed a feel for the rod loading. As for a slower or moderate action rod, well the rod loads deeper into the midsection and it is easier to feel. The slower rods, in my opinion are easier to utilize for the beginner and are deadly in the hands of a more experienced angler in a situation that requires short delicate casts such as throwing to a laid up tarpon.

After choosing my sticks, I would carefully inspect them for any damage to the blanks, ferrules, reel seat and guides. Believe it or not, just the slightest crack in a ceramic guide or burr on a snake guide can cost you that one fish.

From there I would check my fly lines including my line to backing and line to leader connections for damage or wear. If everything checks out okay it is then time to clean and dress the fly line. If it is truly the trip of a lifetime, I would probably consider replacing

to a fish and have it follow the fly, only to turn off and then refuse it because the tail of the fly was tucked into the bend of the hook.

Also, consider having numerous numbers of each pattern so if the fish are finicky and only eating one certain pattern, you are not left holding the bag because you only have one.

In addition, in regards to flies, and I cannot emphasize this enough, make sure that the hook of each and every fly has NO RUST and is sharp. If it has the slightest bit of corrosion or the hook point is not needle sharp, throw it away. The exception would be in the case of a wire hook. Wire hooks can be sharpened and for this I recommend carrying a quality hook file. However, most of the hooks we use now are forged and then chemically sharpened at the factory. In my experience, these hooks corrode easier and it is near impossible to put a decent point back on one with a file.

Anyway, these are but a few things that I have learned after nearly two decades of guiding and traveling. I hope they come in handy when you are out there chasing the fish of your dreams.

Be gude and stuff like that.

C ontact

my fly line and leader outright and then pack some spares.

As for reels, I choose to utilize high-quality reels with cork or carbon fiber drags. It is important to inspect and lubricate them as per the manufacturer’s specifications. Check to make sure that when the drag is tightened the start-up (when the line is initially pulled from the reel) is smooth and uniform. If the drag jerks or seems to skip in the slightest, it needs to be replaced. I have seen a great number of fish (especially large or fast-running fish) lost because of a poorly maintained drag. A good way to prevent this is to completely loosen the drag after every day of fishing. This allows the drag washer to expand to its original form prior to recompression. Some drags, cork especially, when left compressed, will not completely expand causing the drag to be uneven which causes the spool to jerk or skip.

Next on the list is your connection to the fish. It is important, when building your leaders, to utilize leader and tippet materials that match well. If you take soft mono and try to join it to hard fluorocarbon, your knots may fail during the heat of battle. As a rule, I choose to build all of my leaders out of mono of the same kind (brand) and only use flourocarbon for my bite tippet. And, I always test the knots between the mono and flourocarbon to insure that I have a good connection that will not slip, nor will the harder flourocarbon cut through the mono when the knot tightens during the fight.

From there it comes down to the flies. I cannot begin to stress the importance of having your fly box loaded with flies that will not foul. Nothing can be more disheartening than to make a perfect cast

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

TSFMAG.com | 55

MARCOS GARZA

Y O UT H F I S H I N G

Lucky Fisherman I think luck is a big part of fishing. I don’t care what anybody says, there is always some type of “mojo” linked to fishing. For example: You go fishing with your friend and he/she is catching fish but you aren’t. You can be standing right next to him/her, have the same lure, work it the same, but you still can’t catch a fish. This is when you have no luck. I experienced a similar situation this past trip, but I was the one catching all the fish.

I went on a trip with my dad while he was guiding a group of guys for a small tournament that their friends put up every year. We met the guys at the dock and loaded up the boat. The host of the tournament, Dr. Ken Ellis, said “The youngest one on the boat is going to kick all of your butts” and that meant me.

My dad had fished up north the day before so that was where we were headed. We get to our first spot and start wading out. My dad told me to stay deep so I moved out and he and the guys stayed up shallow by the spoil island looking for reds. After about 30 minutes we hadn’t gotten a hit at all. We picked up and headed to the next 56 | June 2013

spot. Our next spot was the same spot that I had fished last time with Sonny, Derrick, and Aaron. The last time I had fished here, Aaron and I had caught trout over five pounds. It took us a while, but when we waded close to the shoreline we finally started to catch some rat reds. We then started to wade down the shoreline to the end of the spoil to a gut that usually holds fish. I was about 150 yards from the gut when I cast right up against the shoreline.

When my lure hit the water, I hooked onto something that immediately peeled drag and thrashed in the water.

I fought the fish and brought it in. To my surprise; it was another five pound trout. I had just gotten a new Sarge Customs rod and put it to the test with this fish.

After we took pictures and released the trout, we moved to another spot. This time I stayed shallow and the guys went deep looking for trout. The guys had better luck out deep than I did in the shallows because I didn’t get a hit. My dad and the guys caught some keeper trout, but because they were fishing a blackjack tournament (the fish that is the closest to 21 inches is the winner), they

didn’t want to keep any fish that they couldn’t enter.

Since we hadn’t had any luck with getting the right sized trout or red, my dad took us to his flounder spot to see if we could pick up one big enough to enter for the tournament. This spot is in an oilfield cut up north that is really shallow. My dad walked us around the cut and had us walk down it back towards the boat. On the first cast, Jay catches a twenty-three inch red fish which is the only fish we see while wading down the cut until we reached a cove at the end.

The entire time we walked down the cut, we saw fish blowing up in that cove down at end of the cut. We walked slowly and were patient to get to the cove but we couldn’t wait to get over there. We all lined up in the cove and started casting into it.

The first to land a fish was my dad and then everybody started getting hits except Jay. I started to catch fish on every cast while Jay was standing right next to me not even getting hits. He got so frustrated and it was funny to the rest of us. Finally, I told him to stand next to me so that he could catch some fish but then he broke off and had to go back to the boat to re-tie. By this time, I was only catching small fish and everybody was already at the boat so I decided to go back so that we could move to the next spot but the guys wanted to go back in so we did.

When we got back to the dock everybody was happy and laughing because of the day’s events. Although none of them had a fish to enter in the tournament, they were all pleased with the day. And I would also like to say that Dr. Ellis called it, so don’t be to mad Jay.

Product of red snapper rebound – June 2012.

MIKE JENNINGS

tEXaS NEarSHOrE & OFFSHOrE

rED SNappEr

& OtHEr puZZLES

June marks the beginning of our summer fishing season.

The kids are out of school and the water has finally warmed enough to set the fish into a summertime pattern. The migratory species are here in force and it’s the time of year that makes us want to go fishing every day. For the last few years June is also the month that rings in the start of our red snapper season, and with their numbers rebounded to the point they have, the fishing is as good as anybody can remember it.

Actually red snapper are currently in such abundance that they have begun to inhabit places that no one has ever seen them. They have moved into waters all along the lower Florida Coast where they have never been seen or recorded in the history of recreational or commercial fishing the Gulf of Mexico.

They have moved into harbors and along jetty systems of our own Texas coastline. I can personally attest to the fact that small red snapper have recently been caught form the South Jetty in Freeport Texas and in the Freeport harbor. And it’s not just a Texas thing - I hear similar stories as I travel throughout the Gulf coast.

These recent catches of red snapper, the stories I hear and my own firsthand experiences of catching them in places they don’t typically inhabit, has caused 58 | June 2013

Nice beeliner taken from a small hump in about 200 feet; primary target for bottom fishermen when red snapper season is closed.

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60 | June 2013

C O N TA C T

AG G E T F R E E E -M OPY W I T H H A R D CE !

P U R C H A S th

me to ponder what this all means for the overall health of our fisheries.

I target vermillion snapper (beeliners) when the red snapper season is closed. One of the things I can tell you from years of trying to perfect the art of consistently catching the finicky beeliner is that even though they inhabit the same bottom types as red snapper, the two species don’t necessarily prefer the same places. What I mean by that is red snapper seem to like large structure in about 50 to 200 feet. Beeliners seem to like deeper water, say in excess of 150 feet, and readily inhabit very small pieces of live bottom. When I say small; I have caught hundreds of them off of stuff that didn’t mark any bigger than a typical living room end table.

From my experience I can usually escape the red snapper bite when that season is closed by working very small humps lying in anything close to 200 feet. Evidently these pieces of live bottom are just too small to attract and hold red snapper with any consistency yet we find the beeliners stacked on it. I could also depend on the same or similar areas to hold amberjack and some grouper.

Now I’m not saying that these places are always completely barren of red snapper, but when you are targeting beeliners and trying to avoid red snapper, this is where I fish.

So, this trend we’ve been seeing develop – so many red snapper in so many places we’ve never seen them before – it really makes me wonder. Other species are becoming more difficult to catch to the point of downright impossible some days while we’re overrun with snapper. Is it possible we have been overfishing other species while the red snapper population explodes through over-protection?

I hear people making off-the-cuff comments about red snapper taking over the Gulf. Or jokingly talk about them eating all the other fish out there. While those comments may be a little farfetched they may not be completely inaccurate.

Now understand this - I’m not a scientist or fisheries biologist by any stretch of the imagination, nor have I ever claimed to be, but I don’t think it takes a scientist to see that many things have coincided with the unexpectedly rapid rebound of the Gulf red snapper. We have seen the gray triggerfish all but disappear in the western Gulf. We are running further every year to consistently catch amberjack. Blue runners and other baitfish are getting harder to come by with each passing year. All the while we have seen the red snapper filling the void and inhabiting the places these other species no longer seem to exist. With the threat of sounding a little kooky, it’s almost as if the comments that refer to red snapper taking over the Gulf – may not be all that far off-base after all.

Some may argue that this rapid recovery of a recently overfished species demonstrates the great job done by fisheries managers; but how would they explain the disappearance of the other fish?

Some refer to it as effort shift. Effort shift occurs when fishermen lose the ability to target a preferred species and then shift their effort to targeting another, beyond what would normally be seen if the preferred species was still available. There is no doubt that this has happened. As I mentioned earlier, I am personally targeting beeliners that I hardly ever fished for when we had a six month red snapper season. Can it be that this one simple phenomenon would result in multiple species suffering? I have my doubts simply because the effect has also been seen in fish that are not regularly targeted by recreational fishermen here in Texas. The nuisance triggerfish is a great example.

I think just about anyone can understand what happens when the population of a given species grows to the point where its habitat and typical food sources can no longer sustain its numbers. It either moves and it finds new food sources or it starves and the numbers crash. Have we come to a point of seeing a once overfished species reversed to the point of overpopulation in the western Gulf of Mexico?

It seems that I have a lot of questions and very few answers when it comes to some of the current trends we are seeing in this fishery. This is very likely my lack of formal education on the subject showing itself but, formal or not, I have spent a lifetime on the water learning this fishery though observation. This lifetime education has left me convinced that even the experts involved in red snapper management still have a lot to learn.

Captain Mike Jennings is a professional charter captain with more than 25 years offshore experience. Mike is the owner/operator of Cowboy Charters in Freeport TX and is known locally for running further and fishing harder for his clients.

telephone Email Website

979-864-9439 texassportfishing@gmail.com www.cowboycharters.com

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CADE SIMPSON

KAYAK F I S H I N G C H R O N I C L E S

Prime Time for Kayak Fishing “Why a kayak?” I hear this often from all kinds of fishing people and even some who do not fish and I have come to believe they have a very different appreciation of nature than mine or maybe they’re just too busy-minded to see the benefits of being the tortoise of the watercraft world. I think it is safe to say that across the board you will consistently find many nature/outdoors enthusiasts partly enjoying whatever activity they are participating in for the sheer reason of being away from the hustle and bustle of every day life. Escaping to the outdoors opens up the senses and brings a feeling of joy and pleasure to its admirers. In my case, I get that escape through fishing,

62 | June 2013

specifically from a kayak.

I wrote last month about battling winds and overcoming them as best you can. Through the winter and the spring they are just an inescapable reality in the picture of any angler’s day. Of course the winds don’t completely disappear even in the summer and fall, but it seems they become a bit more manageable. The wind can be our friend, on strong southeast and south the tides rise and the water fills the marsh grasses. When this happens kayaks as fishing boats come into their prime – master crafts of the skinny water.

I always get a kick out of paddling through an area.

Let’s say, for instance, I am headed to my spot and get passed by a boat in the open, deeper water. Perhaps a couple of hours later I come across this boat again and it is I who is then passing the boat as they have reached their maximum draft and I continue on to shallower water with fish that have yet to see a lure on that day or perhaps many days prior. I would say that the time is now, when the redfish are spending most of their time cruising the grasslines regularly, in the shallowest water they can find. I love this time of the year as the weather is still mild enough to not cook you out on the water. Chasing tailing reds should be good straight through and continuing during the fall, and the kayak is the perfect tool to get in and amongst ‘em. Primo kayak season is here, no doubt. I hope all of you readers are dusting off your kayaks if you haven’t already. It is time to get out and get ‘em wet.

In other news: April marked the kickoff of the second year of the Castaway Lonestar Kayak Series Fishing Tournaments. Dustin Koreba is the series founder and organizer and has done a great job. It has proven to be a great series of events. His main goal is promoting the sport of kayak angling amongst Texas kayakers. I fished the tournament but did not place.

However, it was a blast watching the ‘yakkers come to the weigh-in and everyone sharing stories and making friends. Out of 73 fish weighedin for the tournament an amazing 69 were released, talk about a great conservation effort. Queen of the kayak, Kaylin Barlow, took top honors with an adjusted weight of over 16 pounds! Congrats Kaylin.

Throughout the last month I have been receiving increasing reader feedback. First of all, thank you to everyone who emails me! Keep the

TSFMAG.com | 63

C O N TA C T

inquiries and pics coming. One recent question was in reference to the safety of being in the water with alligators. Please note that I am not a trained or licensed wildlife professional and that the following is purely my opinion. My experience has been that the alligators are more afraid of you than you are of them. I have yet to have anything faintly resembling a close-call encounter while on the water. With that in mind, if I did run into a sticky situation where an alligator was too close for comfort, I would simply leave the area. Ironically, not a week or so after getting the question on alligator safety, I came across a good sized gator sunning on the bank of a marsh just a few hundred yards from a launch spot.

This month’s featured kayaker is David Rodriguez. I actually met David in person at the Houston Fishing Show in 2012 and shared some yakking pointers with him. Ever since I have been his Facebook friend and have watched him post photos of some great days on the water.

I asked him to share a photo of himself with a fish on his kayak and unfortunately all he had available at the time were photos of himself freshwater fishing. No matter though, it’s good to get after bass now and then, it is all in good spirit of kayak angling. Thank you David for sharing your photo with us, keep on paddling! Send your questions and kayak angling photos to my email address. We will try to feature as many as we can in future articles. telephone Email

936-776-7028 Cademan11@sbcglobal.net

Find me on Facebook to follow along in my outdoor adventures

EL CAMPO BOATING CENTER 3598 W. BU 59S Hwy, El Campo, Tx, 77437

Toll Free: 1-800-843-2201 or 979-543-2201/www.elcampoboating.com

• • • • • •

64 | June 2013

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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

ERIC OZOLINS

Shark Fishing's

Ultimate Bycatches One of the most alluring aspects of shark fishing is that quite often you have no idea what might pick up a bait. During June there is an abundance of shark species cruising the PINS beaches yet many lengthy and backbreaking battles end with the discovery that your fish was not a shark at all. The term bycatch originated in commercial fishing to describe the unintentional capture of a species they were not targeting; bycatch is usually discarded. Bycatch though takes on a whole new meaning when applied to shark fishing. Given the type and size of baits deployed and the tackle commonly used, a shark fisherman’s bycatch can include some real sea monsters as well as lifetime trophy sport fish.

I have been fortunate to have caught a lot of trophy fish during my relatively short career. I can also say that I have caught several astounding fish by mistake while fishing for sharks. Over a decade ago I had my first encounter with a massive yet accidental “nontoothy”. In the heat of summer I was blasting out small/ medium baits hoping for a cruising hammerhead one night. Munching down on a generous portion of ramen noodles during one mosquito-ridden evening, I had a bait get rocked. I was confident that this was the hammerhead I had been anticipating. The speed that the fish ran after picking up a large skipjack helped support my theory. Doing battle on medium shark tackle was fun yet not easy. After a solid half hour I finally get the fish in the wade gut. While still confident in my opinion

66 | June 2013

that it was a hammer, I walked out to leader the fish.

Interestingly enough I could not detect the large dorsal or caudal fin that should be present. However, I definitely felt a good portion of weight at the other end of the leader.

Managing to finally pull the leader up on the sand I look back and there lays the largest tarpon I’ve ever seen – a remarkable 7-foot class monster. My eyeballs were larger than the truck’s headlights that were shining on the fish.

That fish was responsible for a great deal of unintentional yet beneficial publicity towards me. Even though the fish that was released was a tarpon, I was locally issued the stamp of approval as a shark fisherman.

As a young, broke college kid – this gave vintage Oz even more fuel for the fire. Ironically, some of the largest tarpon I have seen caught have actually been during the process of shark fishing. When conditions are just right, the chances of a hungry silver king crossing paths with your well presented bait make a unique catch a possibility. It was several years later when Gabe Goodman and I were banging out some October blacktips one evening when he hooked into what we thought was a quality shark. At the end of the battle I go out to leader the fish and once again - no visual signs of a shark. I am knee-deep searching and the light from my headlamp eventually reveals two large reflective glowing eyes. In all honesty, at the time it was a very creepy feeling. That fish ended up being a tarpon that even eclipsed the size of my beast. Once again, the unlikely

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suspect picked up a medium-sized bait deployed for a shark. Yet, in the end the fish was a superb trophy which big game enthusiasts search and travel the globe to attain.

We have many respectable game fish in Texas, and many get quite large. In truth, while utilizing small to medium baits for sharks, you have the possibility of catching several different species of these. Another welcome surprise from my surf archives happened during a menacing sargassumfilled spring. The weed was a horrible nuisance, but with the weed comes predators. A couple of us were enjoying the blacktip action that we certainly had to work for. Maintenance of clearing the lines of the seaweed was tiring but also rewarding. While reeling in what I thought was just another five foot blacktip shark, I notice something different when up close. The water was fairly clear yet the scattered clumps of weed helped camouflage the fish. My buddy John went out to handle the leader and yells “Hammer!” I then too was able to see the hammerhead and that got my adrenaline pumping. The shark though is NOT on the end of my line, yet is following what actually is. John drags the leader up and flopping at the edge of the surf is a large cobia.

I have caught many cobia (mostly offshore) but this one ranked amongst one of the largest I’ve landed. This was yet another example of a delightful bycatch while targeting sharks. It is true that the smaller the shark bait you have out, the greater the likelihood of a fish such as a cobia – or even something else that might pick it up. On the upper coast, surf anglers attempting to catch sharks on cast baits are often fooled as well. While shark fishing, these anglers will catch some of the largest red drum you will ever see. It is not uncommon for a healthy breed-stock redfish taping out at nearly 50 inches to suck down a shark bait. These fish of a lifetime are more of a nuisance than recognized trophies for shark anglers. An equally unsuspecting foe that is notorious for picking up shark baits in the baking doldrums of summer are enormous stingrays. If you put out a whole whiting for bait, you better hope that a shark finds it before the rays do for they have an uncanny taste for these smaller fish.

Perhaps one of my most shocking and surprising moments behind the rod happened also from the surf, but this time in the Sunshine State. On a strategically planned fishing trip to Florida with a few good fishing buddies several years back, one of our main goals were to target large sharks from the beaches. We would kayak our baits out starting around dark and wait for the sharks to arrive. The blacktips and bull sharks were present and we had just released two decent lemon sharks back to back. Late and out of bait, I stitched up a previously used jackfish that caught the

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last lemon. It was a Frankenstein bait of sorts, but it was all that I had.

It was not very long and a fish picked up the already mangled jack crevalle. This was a brute. Immediately I thought - massive bull. The power displayed was rivaling anything I had fought before. Could it be a Florida tiger shark I was thinking to myself? I was being led up the beach battling this creature. Despite not being harnessed in, I did have a fighting belt. This I can honestly say was the only fish to have ever brought me to my knees - but I did not give up.

The battle waged on for what seemed like hours when in reality was approaching less than 60 minutes. The feeling of excitement to

see a massive shark for the first time and to reveal its identity cannot be described. My good friend Todd went out to leader the fish, which was thrashing violently in thigh deep water. We could tell even in the dark that this was a huge fish with obtuse proportions. Being led away from camp and directed up the beach, we were limited on light with most of it being from the moon. Todd grabs the leader and struggles. With the help of a few gentle swells from the surf that help push the fish closer to the beach, he discovers that it is not a shark – it is literally a goliath! The enormous fish now resting on the sand was a huge goliath grouper we estimated near 400lbs. We have never seen one in person before so this was truly a magical moment. I can vividly remember this fish beating its tail on the sand and sending a shock-wave through the sand. Simply incredible. After a few quick photos and measurements, we walk the giant grouper out for the release. This totally unexpected fish was a result of yet another accidental bycatch turned epic, all due to pursuing sharks.

For the past decade, Eric ‘Oz’ Ozolins has been a key figure promoting catch and release with sharks and assisting various shark-research programs. Oz is renowned in the kayaking world for extreme biggame fishing and runs Kayak Wars – one of the largest kayak fishing tournaments in the world.

Email Websites

Oz@extremecoast.com extremecoast.com kayakwars.com

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Found these guys chowing down on some algae off the Port Aransas South Jetty.

STEPHANIE BOYD

F I S H Y F ACT S

Sea Turtles A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits around the center of a vast collection of stars called our galaxy. At the end of the lecture, a little old lady at the back of the room got up and said, “What you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant tortoise.”

The scientist gave a superior smile before replying, “What is the tortoise standing on?”

“You’re very clever, young man, very clever,” said the old lady. “But its turtles all the way down!” ~Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time, 1988 The notion of the world residing atop a turtle’s back is a common one in creation mythology. In Cheyenne legend, before humans existed, the world was covered in water. The Creator, Maheo, placed the first land (and all subsequent land, I assume) on Grandmother Turtle’s back. You can guess where earthquakes come from…

But while the original turtle in this story is obviously a sea turtle, it is believed that turtles first appeared on land.

Two-hundred million years ago, the first reptiles set out to explore the land, uninhibited by their amphibian ancestors’ habit of drying out. These reptiles were the 70 | June 2013

tree trunk for all vertebrate evolutionary experiments above the amphibian level. One branch developed into a most improbable creature that, since its inception in the fossil record, has rarely changed its body plan through the course of (a very long) time.

Not much is known about how the turtles first acquired their shells, though at least one intermediate form has been discovered: Odontochelys semitestacea appeared in the Triassic period, circa 220 million years ago, and has a complete plastron (belly shell) but only a partial carapace (back shell). A turtle’s shell is actually the animal’s backbone and ribs that have flattened and fused together and are covered by scaly plates. The earliest complete turtle is also found in the Triassic, about ten million years after O. semitestacea.

Proganochelys quenstedti very much resembled modern turtles, if modern turtles had to contend with dinosaurs.

Like today’s sea turtles, P. quenstedti couldn’t retract into its shell to hide from predators. Instead, he came fully equipped with a spiked neck and a spiked tail ending in a club. These eventually went out of style, but the basic dress was set, and the early turtles had settled on a design that allowed the fullest expression of meditation and passive resistance, a new philosophy for reptiles.

Through the rise, spread, and eventual fall of dramatic

new body plans (pteranodons, mososaurs, brachiosaurs…) they remained conservatively turtles, though some took to the sea, sacrificing parts of their time-tested shell for greater buoyancy, but always clinging to the same structural plan.

There are seven species of sea turtles alive today. All species except the leatherback sea turtle are in the family Cheloniidae. The leatherback is the sole member of family Dermochelyidae. Species are primarily distinguished by anatomy. Leatherbacks are the only species without a hard shell, hence their relegation to a different family.

Since sea turtles live most of their lives submerged, they have developed an anaerobic system of energy metabolism (anaerobic = no oxygen). All sea turtles need to breathe air, but under dire circumstances, or if the water grows very cold, they can adjust their metabolic rate and remain underwater for hours. When they are active, they typically need to breathe every few minutes. If needed, they can also go two to three months without food (perks of being a reptile).

As you might guess, they drink exclusively sea water, but just like us, excessive salt intake can be a health risk. Sea turtles have evolved special glands to excrete the excess salt; they cry salty tears. Despite frequent crying, these animals have fairly good eyesight under water, though they are shortsighted in air. They also have a good sense of smell and are sensitive to touch on the soft part of their flippers and shells. Sea turtles don’t have an ear opening, but like other reptiles, they have a single bone in the middle of the ear that conducts vibrations to the inner ear. They hear low frequency sounds and vibrations. Taste? Well, there’s no accounting for that.

A sea turtle’s day typically consists of eating and sleeping, and possibly migrating. They may sleep floating at the surface or wedged under some rocks or coral. Hatchlings typically sleep while floating with their front flippers folded back over the tops of their backs. For the most part, they are solitary creatures, though some do congregate in large numbers during nesting, feeding, and migration. But even then, there is almost no social interaction.

Sea turtles return to land only to lay eggs (so most males never return). How the females find the beach they hatched on in order to lay their own eggs is not fully known. Some scientists hypothesize that baby sea turtles imprint on the particular smell, chemical make-up, or magnetic location of the beach where they hatched. They do have an iron ore, called magnetite, in their brains that makes them sensitive to the Earth’s magnetic fields. Why they don’t nest on beaches identical to, or even better than, the ones they hatch on is unknown. It may be that they use the same beaches that were ideal for nesting centuries ago and have not adapted to the new conditions on some beaches.

Temperature determines the sex of the hatchlings. Cooler temperatures favor the development of males; warmer temperatures usually produce females (hello global warming). Even minor differences in temperature can have an effect. Example: the center of the nest is warmer, so those eggs will likely hatch into females, while the cooler eggs on the outside are more likely to be males.

Hatchlings must dig themselves out of the nest and execute a mad dash to the ocean. Many are TSFMAG.com | 71

snatched up by shorebirds before they reach the water, and many more are eaten by watery predators just when they get their flippers wet. The obstacles are so disproportionately against hatchlings that only one in a thousand will survive to sexual maturity.

There are five species that can be found on the Texas coast: Kemp’s ridley, hawksbill, loggerhead, leatherback, and green. All except the loggerhead are endangered (and even it is threatened).

Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle Known as tortuga lora (parrot turtle) in Mexico, this is the smallest, and most endangered, of all sea turtles. It can grow up to 32 inches long, 100 pounds, and live up to 50 years (reaching sexual maturity in 10-15 years). The carapace is dark gray to gray/green, the plastron is cream to tan, and the head and flippers are dark and spotted. They are carnivores, preying mostly on crabs, but will also take shrimp, snails, clams, jellyfish, sea stars, fish, etc. Kemp’s ridleys are one species that nests in large congregations, called arribazones, and one of the few that lay their eggs during the day. The nesting beach at Rancho Nuevo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, is the primary, and only known major, nesting site for this species. A secondary nesting population was successfully established on Padre Island National Seashore in 1992, after 14 years of work. A female can lay up to 100 eggs in a season. If you happen to see some nesting, let your local park ranger or game warden know!

And let them be; egg laying is kind of private… Other than nesting, you can sometimes see these turtles hanging out in the bays.

Hawksbill Sea Turtle Hawksbills are the most tropical species of sea turtle. Though they are occasionally found in coastal waters, they stay offshore more often than not. They can reach 36 inches in length and live up to 50 years, reaching sexual maturity at three to five years (in captivity; may take longer in the wild). They are carnivorous, feasting mostly on invertebrates, including sponges, jellyfish, crustaceans, sea urchins, mollusks, etc. Females nest at night in the spring, laying about 200 eggs per nest, and several nests per season. The hawksbill’s brown shell with brightly colored spots and streaks is the source of “tortoise” shell jewelry. Tortoise shell artifacts have been recovered from several ancient cultures, and harvest of this turtle for its shell is still a threat to its survival in some areas of the world.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle Found worldwide, loggerheads can live in coastal lagoons, river mouths, really any non-freshwater above 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

Though they often stay offshore, they do winter in shallow waters.

They have characteristically large heads with powerful jaws, can reach 45 inches long, weigh 500 pounds, and live up to 50 years. Though feeding behavior may change with age, they are carnivorous, and at some point in their lives will consume conchs, clams, crabs, horseshoe crabs, shrimp, sea urchins, sponges, fish, squids, octopuses, jellyfish, floating mollusks, egg clusters, and flying fish. Loggerheads are the only sea turtles that nest successfully outside the tropics, and also the only ones who don’t mate by their nesting beaches. It’s assumed they mate along migration routes between feeding and breeding grounds.

They nest during spring and summer nights. Each female lays about 190 eggs per nest, several nests per season. Hatchlings of this species are frequently found in sea fronts, downwellings, and eddies, where floating open ocean animals seem to end up. The time spent in these 72 | June 2013

areas, feeding and growing, is called the ‘lost year’ because tracking them during this time is difficult, and their whereabouts are often a mystery. They spend this “year,” which can actually last several years, floating on rafts of seaweed, feeding on other creatures associated sargassum mats. While the meat and leather of this species aren’t as valuable as the green sea turtle, and the shell is not as highly prized as the hawksbill’s, overharvesting and incidental catch are still taking their toll. Loggerheads and Kemp’s ridleys are especially likely to be caught in large shrimp trawl nets because of their shallow water habits. However, today’s shrimp boats are required to have turtle excluder devices, which help reduce mortality from net entanglement.

Leatherback Sea Turtle Leatherbacks are the largest, and fastest growing, of all sea turtles, growing up to eight feet long and 1300 pounds. They are one of the largest living reptiles, surpassed only by some species of crocodiles.

Sexual maturity is reached in three to four years (in captivity), and they can live at least 50 years, possibly longer. They have a smooth, unscaled, leathery skin covering the carapace, which shifts them into a different family than all the other sea turtles. The menu is a little more varied in this species. They mostly eat pelagic invertebrates, especially jellyfish and tunicates, but they are omnivores and will also feed on fish, crustaceans, algae, floating seaweed, etc. Though they are found in the Gulf, they rarely visit coastal waters. Nesting occurs in the fall and winter in arribazones during the night. A female lays about 100 eggs per nest and can have several nests in a season. Leatherbacks are listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species as one of the most highly endangered animals worldwide and are protected in most countries. In the past, leatherbacks were killed for the abundant oil they yielded, which was used for oil lamps and caulking wooden boats. Though poaching does exist, the most serious threat to the species is disturbance of nesting grounds, i.e. egg harvesting. Captive breeding has been attempted, but so far, has been largely unsuccessful.

Green Sea Turtle Green sea turtles are the largest of all the hard-shelled sea turtles, but have a comparatively small head. They grow up to 55 inches and 850 pounds, and live up to 50 years, reaching sexual maturity between eight and thirteen. They are named, not for the color of the shell (which is normally brown or olive), but for the greenish color of their skin. Adults are strictly herbivorous, feeding on seagrasses and algae. Unlike most sea turtles, who sun themselves by swimming close to the surface in shallow waters, greens will actually bask on land. They are one of the few marine turtles known to leave the water for reasons other than nesting. Nesting occurs in the summer; females can lay up to 145 eggs per nest, and several nests per season. Greens have long been harvested as a food source. Though international trade is illegal, local consumption still exists in many areas of the world.

Ecological Impact Sea turtles eat jellyfish, even the stinging kind, helping to prevent large blooms that wreak havoc on fisheries, recreation, and other maritime activities. They are also an important attraction for coastal tourism, but probably the most important role they have is as a keystone species: a species whose presence and role within an

TSFMAG.com | 73

ecosystem has a disproportionate effect on the environment relative to abundance. A keystone species is often a dominant predator whose removal allows a prey population to explode, resulting in a decrease of overall diversity. Research has shown that sea grass beds grazed on by green sea turtles are more productive than those that aren’t.

Hawksbills specialize in eating sponges, preventing the sponges from out-competing the slower-growing corals. Both of these grazers do their part in maintaining the natural balance of those ecosystems. If they were suddenly removed from those systems, the balance would be changed, possibly with negative effects for the species that depend on the status quo of seagrass beds and coral reefs, which could include species that we harvest. Danger, Will Robinson! …and we’re off! Like a herd of turtles...

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

TPWD (assorted turtles) Kemp’s ridley: www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/ridley/ Hawksbill: www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/seaturtle/ Loggerhead: www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/logghead/ Leatherback: www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/lethback/ Green: www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/greentur/ NOAA Fisheries www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/#species www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/green.htm

74 | June 2013

The Turtle Nest www.kiawahturtles.com/Cowgill/Evolution%20of%20Turtles.htm Science 2.0 www.science20.com/news_releases/odontochelys_ semitestacea_220_million_year_old_triassic_turtle_tells_us_how_it_ got_its_shell Sea Turtle Conservancy www.conserveturtles.org/seaturtleinformation.php?page=behavior Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire www.bonaireturtles.org/explore/are-sea-turtles-worth-saving/ Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research accstr.ufl.edu/accstr-overview/accomplishment-highlights/ Mythical Creatures Bible: The Definitive Guide to Legendary Beings, by Brenda Rosen Four great rivers to cross: Cheyenne history, culture, and traditions, by Patrick M. Mendoza, Nico Strange Owl A Cheyenne Myth, retold by Alice Marriott & Carol K. Rachlin Sea turtle identification: SeaTurtle.org, www.seaturtle.org/ documents/ID_sheet.pdf Sea turtle: resuscitation guidelines: NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center, www.sefsc.noaa.gov/turtles/TM_580_SEFSC_CRP.pdf

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DICKIE ColBuRn

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

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78 | June 2013

I know this is going out on a limb, especially considering the fact that I rarely fish other venues, but I do not believe there is a hotter body of water on the Texas coast right now than Sabine Lake!

The cover of last month’s magazine alerted folks to the fact that we were catching big trout and even the added pressure (lots of fishing folks apparently read this magazine) has had little or no affect. Most every night at the ballpark one of my grandchildren shows me one more time how to open a text message or photo on my phone and more often than not it’s the report of another big trout.

A very good friend that prefers to remain anonymous has caught five trout over nine pounds since February and released four of them. The first one died due to a hook wedged in her gills. He has caught his share of big trout over the years, but hadn’t caught a fish over eight pounds since 2007. Personal bests have been an everyday occurrence thus far in 2013.

No one, except perhaps the anglers that caught them, is getting overly excited about six to seven pound trout. The exceptionally high tides this month buried the flats in an extra foot of water and the egg laden females followed the mullet and shad right into flooded grass. She Dogs, Skitter Walks, and Spooks are

hard to beat but we are still catching fish on Corkys and Maniac Mullets as well.

About the only area I can eliminate with any credibility is the middle of the lake and even that real estate has been good for numbers of trout and schooling redfish when the wind allows. There is no doubt that wading has accounted for the majority of the eight-plus fish and the list of areas that Lee Ford celebrated his birthday with a personal best 7 pound speck – released!

have coughed up bragging size specks is ridiculously long. The Louisiana shoreline from Garrison’s Ridge all the way to Coffee Ground Cove and the flats bordering the ICW on the north end are all yielding big trout.

At least for one more month you can add the revetment walls to that list for both boaters and the legion of folks that walk the rocks and you get a better sense of just how insanely good it is right now. Traditionally, the Catch 2000, Swim’n Image and five inch tails like Assassin’s Texas Shad have ruled those rocks, but this has been the year of the swimbait and plastics fished under corks.

Both the three and four inch H&H Usual Suspect in opening night-chartreuse and silver shiner have been very good. Topwaters are also lethal when the trout start popping slicks within a cast of the rocks.

Four inch paddle tails like the Sea Shad, Flats Minnow and DOA shrimp are all productive choices under the cork on 24 to 30 inch leader, but Egret’s VuDu Shrimp is the new dog on the block and it has ruled the roost.

While it is very much on the small side compared to other imitation shrimp, it consistently dupes big trout as well as numbers and is tough as nails.

This incredible bite has taken place in spite of a howling wind that has eliminated the middle of the lake and one shoreline or the other

most days. For those anglers more interested in non-stop catching than the pursuit of a Gene Locke fooled this nice flounder trophy, the gulls will lead the way on calmer with an H&H Usual days. Based on how good it has worked thus Suspect swimbait. far, I can only imagine how effective the Cork-VuDu Shrimp combination will be when the trout and reds start hustling shrimp in the open lake.

The other bite that started earlier than usual and has continued to improve is the flounder bite in both the lake and the bayous. Not unlike last year, the average size of our flounder has been very good with fish over five pounds not that uncommon.

Points lined with cane on the Louisiana shoreline and the small drains and bayous have been especially good as have Willow and Three bayous. For the artificial lure fishermen I would have to rate a Gulp curly tail as the number one choice, but a pumpkin-chartreuse Assassin Sea Shad on a 1/4 or 1/8 jig isn’t far behind. Tipping the Sea Shad with a small piece of shrimp or spraying with Bang garlic adds to its effectiveness.

While this all has to slow down at some point, I can still hope that next month’s report mirrors this one. Until then we are just going to count our blessings and keep on keeping on!

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mICKEY Eastman

mICKEY On Galveston Fishing in the Galveston Bay Complex has been very productive considering the unprecedented string of late-season cold fronts moving through Coastal Texas and the unusually tough weather and water conditions anglers have had to contend with. Traditionally, April is a windy month with changeable weather that most fishermen are content to grind their way through, Galveston however come May we really expect to see milder and more stable weather. May 2013 began with another powerful norther…oh well.

This year has been exceptional for big trout and also for good numbers that provide easy limits for Mickey Eastman is a full-time fishing guide out of Baytown, TX. anglers seeking them. The fish began committing to Mickey has over 30 years guiding the shorelines as expected back in late-February, and experience on the Galveston when the weather settles it’s been nonstop through area bays and is the founder the rest of the spring. I’ve been amazed at the catches of Gulf Coast Troutmasters, and beautiful stringers I’ve seen so far in 2013. If this is the largest speckled trout any indication of what’s to come, our summer may be tournament series of all time. one to remember – and the tide-runners haven’t even checked in yet. telephone 281-383-2032 Right now the specks are heavily concentrated along shorelines and areas with lots of oyster shell.

Early morning finds them over shell in 2-3 feet of water

80 | June 2013

and later in the day in 3-5 feet of water over shell and mud mix. We are seeing heavily egg-laden females of all lengths – a sure sign of a positive spawn for May and June over our mid-bay reefs throughout the complex. If we can get calm conditions during early summer anglers will reap the rewards of what the old-

Cole Haring fishing Trinity with father Mike Haring – MirrOlure Lil John.

Young Capt. Brian Fikes with a nice speck on a Spook Jr while wading with me the other day. We released several specks in the 25-28 inch class that day in Trinity Bay.

timers called a “crescent summer”. I’ve been around a long time and I would have to say that so far this spring ranks in the top five of all-time.

West Bay and the Tri-Bay area are already seeing good numbers of trout starting to show up behind San Luis Pass. West Bay should have a great summer as these fish start their movement and spread throughout the bays. Deep shell structure all across that region should provide lots of action in late May and through the month of June.

East Bay is currently producing solid trout over shallow and deep oyster shell. As the summer season gets fully underway popular spots like Hannah Reef, Dollar Reef, Campbell’s, Dollar Flats, Pepper Grove Reefs, Elm Grove Reefs, Deep Reef, Middle Reef, Whitehead Reef, Moody’s, Windmill, and all the East Bay and middle Ship Channel reefs will all come into play. This will be a blessing for everybody because it will spread out all the anglers and take a lot of the pressure off the shoreline schools that have been very heavily targeted all through the spring months. Once the brown and white shrimp start to move through the main bays bird action will pick up - especially in Campbell Bay, West Bay, East Bay, Ship Channel, and Trinity Bay. The Jetties at Sabine, Galveston, and Freeport are already producing loads of redfish and some very nice trout. Rollover Pass has been producing steady big trout action and this will only get better.

Trinity Bay has been generally slow for redfish but trout action has been excellent, easily taking up any slack. Better redfish action has been found over the past several weeks in East and West Bays and their back lakes. Soft plastics like the Tidal Surge Split Tail Mullet and MirrOlure Lil John in various dark colors along with the old reliable H&H Cocahoe Minnows have been working really well. Topwaters have been a little inconsistent but we do have some decent days.

Stable and calm weather to begin the summer should make for outstanding fishing. There are fish everywhere and the bay system seems healthy and thriving. I wish all the anglers the best of luck throughout the year and please be considerate to other fisherman and if you don’t need fish to cook fresh for a nice meal; please throw them back. Catch and release is really starting to pay off here in Galveston, I can see the difference. -Capt. Mick TSFMAG.com | 81

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.binkgrimesoutdoors.com

82 | June 2013

If late-April and early-May can be seen as any indication of the state of Matagorda Bay, we look forward to a solid summer. When we finally received multiple days of consistent, warm, light winds and green water, good fishermen found out what was lurking beneath the surface of Matagorda.

We had been told by TPWD biologist that fish numbers looked solid in our bays.

TPWD runs gillnet surveys throughout the spring to determine the health of the fishery in our bays. They collect data from traditional sites and plug those numbers in a formula that determines the state of our fishery.

When biologists determine “good,� they are normally talking about the state of speckled trout.

Generally, when lots of speckled trout are being

caught, fishing is good, when trout are tough to come by, fishing is slow.

It (bays) has not always been good; and, when I have been told that by biologists, our catch rates suffered. However, in the past, when TPWD biologists have told me the bay was in good shape, our catch rates were steady.

As a fishing guide, it goes without saying I am on the water a lot; and, as fisheries biologists, they are on the water a lot too. Our paths cross regularly and we chat in passing. I also talk to shrimpers regularly. Information gathered from this group gives me a clue where fish might be since fish follow shrimp.

Last spring a biologist told me there were tons of redfish in East Matagorda Bay after completion of net surveys.

Guides wondered where all these redfish were hiding because we certainly were not catching them regularly. Then June rolled around and with it came better weather. Winds subsided, waters greened and thermometers rose. We found the redfish - lots of them. Large schools began slicking over deep reefs. It was a good summer for redfish.

In late April I ran in to a biologist and she told me that Matagorda Bay was in good shape. The first week of May, after the winds subsided, waters greened and thermometers rose. We found speckled trout, lots of them. Large schools began slicking over deep reefs. I can’t remember a better week for trout pushing five pounds or better.

One trip in particular I released a 30, 28, 27, 26 and two 25s, and brought to the dock over two dozen of the healthiest fish I have caught in five years. During that five-day period, I released 10 fish over five pounds in East Matagorda Bay. So what does June hold? Promise.

Promise of wading over West Matagorda Bay grass beds with topwaters; promise of hungry trout and reds over deep scattered shell in East Matagorda Bay; promise of wading and working the edges of mid-bay reefs with Bass Assassins for specks; and, promise of tide-running trout roaming the emerald waters of the surf. When all of the above are players, it is a tough choice to choose a pattern.

But it is a good problem to have.

With more people on the water during the summer, patience is of the utmost. Everyone deserves respect, whether it be a boater, wader or guy soaking a line from the bank. It’s all fishing - it’s suppose to be fun and relaxing. There’s too much concrete in this world.

Don’t bring it to the bay.

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CaPt. GaRY GRaY

mID-Coast BaYs With the Grays

Port O'Connor Seadrift

Captain Gary and Captain Shellie Gray fish year-round for trout and redfish in the Port O’Connor/ Seadrift area. Gary started his Bay Rat Guide Service 20 years ago.

The Grays specialize in wade and drift fishing with artificial lures.

Gary and Shellie also team up to fish many tournaments.

telephone 361-785-6708 Email Gary@BayRat.com Website www.bayratguideservice.com

84 | June 2013

If our fishing in May is any indication as to how our June fishing will be, it should be wide open.

Fortunately in May the wind laid enough days for me to be able to fish the open bay reefs of San Antonio Bay, and any of the major bay shorelines of San Antonio, Espiritu Santo, Ayers and West Matagorda Bay were also options so I took full advantage of the situation and tried them all.

You may be wondering why I fish so many different bay systems this time of year. The reason I will be trying different locations is sometimes due to wind direction but more often than not it is to find the largest concentrations of quality fish. By fish I mean speckled trout. Sure redfish count too and account for a lot of my client’s daily catches, but I do not have to travel very far from my normal launch site of Charlie’s Bait Camp to catch quality redfish if that is what my clients are in the mood for.

My plan for June fishing in

priority order is to fish the surf off Matagorda Island whenever the wind and waves allow. If the weather doesn’t cooperate for the surf stuff I will be in San Antonio Bay, big surprise there. But really on my many scouting and charter trips we were able to land above average fish during the months of

David Denbow convinced this nice trout to eat a topwater.

April and May when the wind allowed us to fish the many different shorelines of this bay.

When fishing the reefs in San Antonio we were doing a lot of catching but not a lot of quality fish were caught. A couple reefs were holding good specks but most were holding a lot of undersize to barely keeper. A word of caution on measuring fish – always close their mouth and use a Check-It Stick. I hear people say they shrink on ice but most of that is measuring error on the way into the cooler. I have found it better for my customers and easier on the fish if I just keep my guys out of the dinks. Anytime they’re running short to barely keeper – move on! Nobody wants to limit out on “liner 15s” anyway and those small trout are tomorrow’s big ones. Okay enough of that.

As for the lures we have been throwing not a lot has changed from earlier in the spring. I am still throwing the Bass Assassin 4” Sea Shad the majority of the time whether we are fishing shorelines or dropoffs or any reef in the bay systems. We have been playing with the colors we throw in the Assassins and we normally return to the Bone Diamond, Slammin Chicken and Hot Chicken. The rest of the time is split between the Bass Assassin 5” Saltwater Shad and MirrOlure She Dog in GCRRH or CHPR. Another lure that I have reintroduced back into my ForEverlast Flip Flop wading box is the MirrOlure 51 MR. I am not sure why this lure was ever bumped from my wading arsenal. I’m sure there wasn’t a good reason, it probably just got forgotten like most lures do over time. In any case it’s back in my box and starting to get a workout again. I had forgotten how easy they are to chunk into a stiff breeze and how much water you can cover while looking for fish, not to mention with its flash and rattles it will get the attention of some reluctant to feed trout or reds. I normally have two colors in my box, 51MR18 (green back, white belly, silver scale sides) and the 51MRCH (chartreuse back and belly, gold scale sides).

Another word of caution - you wade fishermen need stingray protection every time you step out of the boat. Seriously! I see guys wading unprotected every day and I can’t help but think they’re rolling the dice. Risking a stingray wound is foolish and I never leave my Shallow Sport without my RayGuard Reef Boots and Ray Guards on. All I have to worry about is catching fish!

Fish hard, fish smart!

TSFMAG.com | 85

DaVID RoWsEY

hooKED uP WIth Rowsey

The weather patterns have been crazy down here, as they have been for the rest of the Gulf coast. This is this first time in memory that I have been sporting Simms waders into the month of May, with another Upper cold front fixing to hit us in a few days. To say that it has had an effect on consistent fishing would be Laguna/ an understatement, at best. Just when you think Baffin you have it all figured out, mother nature throws you a curve ball of gusty north wind that changes everything regarding what the trout are doing. The upside is that I have had 1.5” of rain in a week’s time, David Rowsey has 20 years and my grass is very grateful for that. experience in the Laguna/Baffin The small rains we are getting are not doing region; trophy trout with artificial anything to fight off the brown tide in Baffin. In fact, lures is his specialty. David has a the small amounts of runoff seem to have a more great passion for conservation and encourages catch and negative affect than a positive one to the naked eye. release of trophy fish.

Salt counts in Baffin are super high due to the drought we have been fighting for the last couple of years, and telephone short of hurricane or tropical depression, I do not see 361-960-0340 it clearing up any time soon. As mentioned in last Website www.DavidRowsey.com month’s article the water is of much better quality Email in the Upper Laguna, and this is where I continue to david.rowsey@yahoo.com spend the majority of my time. Like an addict, my

86 | June 2013

mind and body want to be in amongst the rocks of Baffin, but I know it is not the best place for me to be successful with my clients. A good tropical depression is much needed!

The spring tide that rolled in brought all of the bait as promised, and game fish as well. If you are adamant to fish your favorite spot, and you find that there are no mullet flipping around in it, you’d be best served to crank up the outboard and move along until you find them. With all of the bait in the bay system, fishing dead water is not going to fare well for you. Whether on the flats, a shoreline or sandbar bait has to be present to have great success down here, especially during this time of year. Fish with your eyes before you ever make a cast - it works!

I expect to continue catching fish on large expanses of flats here in the Upper Laguna through June, and hopefully into July. The King Ranch shoreline (KRS) has some real stud trout on it, and will continue to produce throughout the summer. The one thing about the KRS is that you need to fish it early, during low light conditions. The water on the KRS is super clear, and they just get really hard to catch after the

While I prefer not using photos of myself in my articles; a 32”+ is worth sharing. She weighed 9.50 and ate a MirrOlure She Dog in knee deep water.

sun comes up. Saying that, it is dang sure worth a try as some of our largest trout of the year have been taken during the early morning hours, say before 8:30 AM. From there I am moving off to mid-bay breaks and dropoffs and flats that have milky green water, and mullet.

This recipe has worked well for me of late, and if history repeats itself, it will continue on into the summer months.

Lure selection has not changed much. The 5” Bass Assassin in “Houdini” is my top choice in clear water conditions when throwing plastic. As the water murk’s up, I like darker shades like plum, red/ gold shiner, and morning glory. High sun, and murky water is the perfect opportunity to throw solid white or “Alwife” at them. The topwater bite can be good throughout the day, as long as you have a lot of bait present. My top choice is the MirrOlure She Dog when its choppy on the surface and the Paul Brown Fat Boy (floater) when is relatively calm.

As June and the rest of summer creeps up on us, it also begins croaker season. I could care less what anyone uses for bait as they enjoy a day of fishing, but one thing we all need to consider is the resource. If you think it’s an endless supply, you need to be living in a cave making arrowheads to hunt with and feed yourself. The bottom line is, regardless of how you choose to catch them, we need to put some back. Keep enough to have a good meal or two, and practice catch and release. A photograph is much more memorable two years down the road than a bunch of freezer burned fillets.

Remember the buffalo. -Capt David Rowsey

TEAM SALT LIFE Capt. JIMMY NELSON

TSFMAG.com | 87

CaPt. tRICIa

tRICIa’s Mansfield Report Change is always a certainty on the water, every hour We have been enjoying a fairly steady topwater can be different during a day of fishing and month to trout bite. Skitter Walks in green chrome, blue chrome month, you’d swear sometimes you were on a different and pink have been living up to their reputation as planet. I was getting excited to ditch my waders back good producers, as have One Knockers and the Spook in late-March and here I am still wearing them on May Jr. Academy has a new bait in their H2O Express line 10 – now that’s crazy! called the Top Notch. This 4” plug in natural seatrout Port If I was allowed only one word to describe the color pattern has proved itself to be a great finesse Mansfield fishing of the past month I’d probably say decent.

Dawn Axtman-Hare and I were wading We’ve had some slow days but enough days side by side and the bites came but with good numbers and a generous sprinkling a few seconds apart. Hers taped an honest 28 and mine near 30; we were of exceptional trout to keep the excitement level both very happy!

Capt. Tricia’s Skinny Water elevated. Depending on conditions we have been Adventures operates out of fishing shallow grass, soft mud and clear white sand Port Mansfield, specializing in from the Arroyo area all the way up to the Landcut. wadefishing with artificial lures.

Patterns as we normally refer to them have not been holding very long with the instability of the weather.

The best trout have been found about knee-deep telephone 956-642-7298 over spongy sand dotted with clumps of grass.

Email Several clients landed career-best fish between 28 shell@granderiver.net and 30 inches and I was blessed with a record fish Website www.SkinnyWaterAdventures.com as well – thirty-three inches and 9.5 pounds on a Skitter Walk. The blow-up was tremendous and the sight and sound of it will be etched into my memory for as long as I live.

88 | June 2013

My best-ever trout; 33 inches and 9.5 pounds. I always pray my clients will catch the fish of their dreams; sometimes the guide makes the lucky cast.

bait, getting slammed repeatedly in clear shallow water.

When the fish won’t come all the way to the top, they’re just plain stubborn that way at times, Kelley Wigglers Ball Tail Shads along with their 4” Paddle Tails (darker shades in off-colored and lighter in clear) on 1/8 ounce jigs remain my personal favorite soft plastics. To correct a misprint last month; I use Kelley’s new Flomingo color in clear to cleangreen, not murky.

My fishing program will take on a new face this month as the daily nerve-wracking trophy pressure gives way to simply having a fun day of catching. June is fun fishing, and quite simply, a good “get bit” period for the adventurous hardcores as well as less serious types. Everything the Lower Laguna is famous for should be in play from sight-casting reds on the flats to wading shoulder-deep for trout. There will still be opportunity for trout breaking the eight-pound mark which is certain to be welcomed by the legions of STAR anglers that come to Port Mansfield each summer. School trout should be voracious on deeper grassbeds and spoil bank edges, but don’t think that big mama can’t show up anytime without notice. Down here we can still catch heavier trout through summer, and good places to look are along Intracoastal spoil banks, windward shorelines, remote backwaters, and as an exotic bonus – sight-casting to them in the midday shallow white sand.

Drifters, folks who like to anchor, waders and polers, everybody should be able to target their passion in June.

It can still be quite windy at times but that shouldn’t bother the enthusiastic outdoorsmen all too badly. We actually need some wind, as long as it stays under 20 mph sustained, and preferably from a true southeast direction. Most of the eastern third of the bay will still hold clear enough for great fishing (sometimes too clear) even with a few gusts greater than 20. Chop on the water will encourage fish to stay shallow longer however, so as always, a good plan is to start shallow and eliminate water going deeper until you find them. A true south wind can present a few problems though, as several areas are still lacking their historic grassbeds and the water becomes “too colorful” rather quickly. But don’t be fooled. The fish do not leave the area when this happens; clarity is a far bigger issue for us than them.

The bottom line is that fishing, just like life itself, is always better when we really go for it. The fish are waiting if we cast for them and being on the water is always better than being stuck in a world of freeways, time clocks and deadlines. I am looking forward to the beauty of early summer on the Laguna Madre and I hope to see you out there.

Always remember to fish conservatively, be courteous to your fellow anglers, and above all be safe!

TSFMAG.com | 89

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

90 | June 2013

I know I say this every year but it amazes me how quickly summer has arrived. I am happy that spring is just about done because of the relentless wind that was either hard out of the south or gusting abnormally late for the season out of the north. The good news is that the winds traditionally begin to settle and become more stable in June. Air temperatures will soar and there will be tons of boat traffic and these can have a negative effect on fishing, but there is nothing we can do to change either. My plan is to get an early start and possibly also take advantage of evening tides when the air and traffic temperatures will not be quite so hot.

I wish I could give you a really good report by saying our fishing is as hot as our air temperatures, but that has not been the case. Despite the present conditions we are still catching fish, and even experiencing a few exceptional days.

Patience and relentless effort have turned what could have been mostly mediocre days into good ones. Never give up!

Redfish continue to be generally

scattered. On occasion we find small schools tucked away from heavily traveled areas. However, one day you find them and the next day they are gone. If you want to consistently find redfish this time of the year, a good place to start is on the sand flats on the east side of the ICW. Redfish will tend to cruise the crystal clear sand flats early in the morning. That’s until the water warms up past their tolerance, and then they relocate

Kevin Beck fooled this nice redfish on a Kelley Wiggler ball tail shad.

Trout like Kelley Wigglers too!

to slightly deeper water. It is not unusual to find redfish trailing stingrays and cownose rays on the sand flats this time of the year.

As the rays flap their wings they stir the water and expose critters that redfish love to eat. During midday to afternoon, do not pass up the sand to grass transition, quite often we find them cruising these areas. Redfish will also lay low in potholes until the tide rolls again.

Tidal current is very important down here.

Currently, we are catching good numbers of trout in the mid to upper twenties and limits of nice keepers. The most important key to getting on a good trout bite has been the presence of bait. We have done well on grass flats riddled with potholes and lots of active bait.

A moving tide is essential for the trout to feed aggressively. At times we have had to leave an area where we know there’s fish present but not feeding and then return later with a moving tide.

As I write this our water temperatures are much cooler than normal because of the late-arriving northers. Also, by the time you read this you will find the big trout are not as heavy as they were, spawning has been underway for nearly two months down here.

Even so the big ones are always fun to catch.

Our best technique has been rigging the Flomingo Kelley Wigglers Ball Tail Shad weedless with Gamakatsu 5/0 weighted or non-weighted worm hooks. When rigged this way these baits can be dragged right through the grass without getting hung up. The only thing you have to be ready for is making a really solid hookset at the slightest bump. Since the hook point is barely sticking out of the plastic you’ll need a firm hookset to stick them. The best depth for trout has varied from waist to knee-deep but don’t be shy to try fishing shallow at midday. When the traffic slows toward midday we find the trout more willing to feed and we’ve made some excellent catches over shallow grass with the weedless Kelley Wigglers worked across small potholes.

In closing, I would like to mention that during June we should start to see more flounder appear along the ICW, small channels and guts leading off the ICW, as well as the flounder rich East Cut up at Port Mansfield. You need lots of patience and a slow retrieve to catch these saddle blankets. Work your bait slowly along a dropoff. Once you feel he’s on, don’t give the flounder any slack, or you will never see him again. When targeting flounder, a net is a must if you want your landing ratio to be higher than your lost ratio. Wherever you fish and whichever species you pursue this summer, have fun and don’t be afraid to try new spots. Good fishing to all!

TSFMAG.com | 91

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 The last couple of weeks things have really been heating up. Water temperatures are in the mid to upper 70s and the fish are really biting well. One of our guides was lucky enough to experience the spawn yesterday afternoon. The result was the best box of fish of the season so far. All 40 of his trout were caught in less than two feet of water on Paul Brown's Original FatBoys. They ranged in size from two to six pounds. Topwaters are also starting to produce some really nice fish.

We really haven't seen them produce lots of fish yet, but their time is coming. June should be excellent. The lake is loaded with mullet this year and we usually catch our biggest trout whenever we have lots of mullet. We've got solid trout in the lake this year. Their diet consists mostly of finfish so we are expecting to fish lots of slicks this summer.

These are usually the fish you want to target because they will be larger than the ones under birds eating shrimp. trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James plaag Silver king adventures - silverkingadventures.com - 409.935.7242 James mentions good results from wading in both Trinity and East Bays. “We have been catching 'em pretty good lately in several places.

The surf has already coughed up some decent trout, and both Trinity and East Bays are holding lots of solid fish. We are seeing incredible numbers of trout from the upper four-pound class to the light-sixes.

They are biting on a variety of things. Probably the most consistent producers have been Bass Assassins in smokin' chicken. We've been rigging them on sixteenth-ounce heads and just reeling them straight in, without jigging. Also catching pretty good on Catch 5s, the natural ones in green/white/silver. On a couple of days, we had great topwater action and caught 'em on pink/silver/pink TopDogs. We're already seeing a “summer” pattern start up. We'll be hopping slicks around the reefs out in the middle a lot over the next month. This is arguably the best run of fishing Galveston has seen since the early 80s.

It's just off the charts!”

Jimmy West - Bolivar Guide Service - 409.996.3054 Jim was talking up the fishing in Galveston in a big way when he gave this report. “We have been on a great run lately. There have really been some big fish caught. Just today, I stopped off at Rollover Pass and watched a few guys just whacking the trout over there. They have had a good run like they always do in the spring. We've been fishing out of the boat and wading too. Best day we had lately was just phenomenal; we had 11 trout between 5 and 6 pounds including a 29 1/2 inch fish that weighed well over 9 pounds. The fish are super fat right now with all the egg weight and the water being a little cooler than normal. That will likely change by the time this issue of the magazine comes out. When the water heats up, the trout will dump their eggs and lose body weight because they are more active. We'll

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be targeting them out of the boat on the mid-bay reefs. That's been good lately too. And we'll keep wading when we can. The early part of the summer is set up for some hot action.”

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays Randall Groves - Groves Guide Service 979.849.7019 - 979.864.9323 Randall reports excellent action in his area leading into the time of this report. “Today we had thirteen and thirteen. That's thirteen trout and thirteen flounder. The flounder fishing has been on fire lately; we've had as many as seventeen in one day. Best lure for the flat fish has been Gulp! products, but we're catching good numbers on red magic Sand Eels too. In fact, that's what we are throwing almost exclusively lately. On some days, the pink/chrome One Knocker Super Spook is really working. I had one day lately where I literally wore all the paint off one and caught easy limits of solid trout on it. The action on topwaters is more of a day to day thing though. Next day was not the same. Things are shaping up nicely for the beginning of summer in general. We have a huge crop of shad blooming right now. They are about the size of a shirt button. When the fish are full of the little button shad, they throw a lot of slicks and are fat like footballs. Our pelagic fish have showed up already and we're champing at the bit to get into the surf.”

Matagorda | Tommy Countz Bay Guide Service - 979.863.7553 cell 281.450.4037 Tommy likes to wade the shoreline grass beds and reefs in West Matagorda Bay in June as a primary option, but he mentions several other things that work well too, depending on the weather. “If it's calm, we will try to get in the surf as much as we can. With all the lateseason cold fronts, everything is kind of behind time, but by June, the

surf will have tremendous potential. Wading the mid-bay reefs early in the morning in East Bay is another good option. When doing that, we normally throw topwaters and some slow sinking twitch baits like Paul Brown's Original Lures. If it's a little windier, we will drift the west end of East Bay with soft plastics on quarter-ounce heads, bouncing them off the bottom and keying on areas where slicks are popping. The other thing that is right around the corner is tripletail season. As long as wind speeds are around fifteen knots or less, we have great luck targeting tripletails starting in June.

Overall, it's a great month. Things usually settle out and become more consistent in June.”

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam www.palaciosguideservice.com - 979.240.8204 What a spring! It has been tough for us to stay on a consistent bite with all these crazy weather changes. Thank goodness for redfish, because the trout have been hard to pattern with water temperatures swinging 10 degrees every other day. Reds have been plentiful on local shorelines and have been biting very good on big topwaters such as clown SheDogs, black/gold/orange TopDogs, and chartreuse Skitterwalks. We have been finding most of these fish in less than three feet of water, wading shorelines with scattered shell and sand.

Trout have been hit or miss; one day they will be over deep shell, the next day gone. I think when temperatures settle out, we will get back on our regular routine of hitting wells and rigs, and catching numbers of trout consistently. The surf will hopefully turn on soon. We have a good hatch of bait in the bays, so I am looking forward for good things early in the summer.

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Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith Back Bay Guide Service - 361.983.4434 Lynn expects to be spending most of his time fishing a pattern involving hard sandy pockets in grass beds. “We'll key on sand and grass and throw topwaters most every day. I especially like the Super Spook Junior in white with chartreuse head and the pink/ chrome Baby Skitterwalk. When fishing in the bays, we'll also hit some spoil banks along the ship channels. Best time to fish those is when the tides are coming in during the morning hours. Topwaters will work there too when the water is moving good. Soft plastics are a good bet around the shell humps too. We do spend a little time fishing reefs during June, especially on calmer days when the water in the middle of the bays clears out. Mostly though, when it gets calm, we head out into the surf. Last year, we did great in the surf several times during the month of June. The best plan out there is to stay close to the beach, keying on bait and slicks and bird activity in the first gut and throwing topwaters. There's really nothing like catching trout at the edge of the wide open ocean.”

Rockport | Blake Muirhead Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894 Blake expects to be fishing in areas adjacent to the main passes and along shorelines with sandy, grassy bottoms in bays like Aransas, Corpus Christi and Redfish Bay during June. “This is the month when I typically transition over to using live bait some of the time. We'll be wading mostly, using lures like Norton Sand Eels and Super Spooks when the bite is hot, and switching over to croakers when it is tougher.

The fishing has been good lately, and we're catching fish pretty easily on topwaters on some days. On other days, the bait is definitely producing better. We are also keeping our eye on the surf. It hasn't been a really windy spring, and I'm hoping to get more of a chance to

94 | June 2013

take advantage of the surf fishing this year. June is typically a great month for tossing topwaters along the beach front. This is what I like about the first part of summer; the weather usually settles down a bit and the options are many. We'll try to take advantage of whatever looks like the best idea for the moment.”

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut Robert Zapata – rz1528@grandecom.net - 361.563.1160 June is such a consistent month for fishing. My fishing log reveals that I consistently bring in very good catches of fish during the last month of spring, first month of summer. The water temperatures are usually still cool enough to keep the trout and redfish in about two feet of water. The trout will be chunky because of feeding on finger mullet and perch. This is a great time to fish with MirrOlure Catch 5 suspending baits. If the water is semi-clear, I like to fish with the Catch 5 in color CHBL. The Bass Assassin Die Dapper in colors like plum/chartreuse, sand trout and chicken on a chain will imitate a finger mullet perfectly when rigged on a sixteenth-ounce Spring Lock jighead. The redfish will be running in schools, and I like to run slowly across flats with three feet of water and look for the schools to make wakes as they hear my outboard getting closer. I like to cast halfounce gold weedless spoons or my favorite plastic baits at the outside edges of the schools in order to prevent spooking the fish too much.

Corpus Christi | Joe Mendez – www.sightcast1.com - 361.937.5961 Fishing in the Land Cut was productive in the time leading up to this report, Joe says. “The water in the south end of the cut has been pretty all spring. The fishing is steady, sometimes spectacular. We are doing the typical drill, keeping the boat in the channel with drift socks and the trolling motor and casting at the edge of the ditch. On most days, the fish will be hanging close to the grassy ledge. If the tide is low, they will usually be a little off the edge. If it's really high, they sometimes

get up on top of the ledge and venture a short distance onto the flat. Topwaters and soft plastics are the best lures to use. Mostly we use topwaters early in the morning, and switch to jigs later, adjusting to heavier heads when it gets really windy. With any luck, the clear water will move further north as we head into summer. Usually, if the southeast wind starts cranking consistently, the water will move from south to north. If and when it does that, the areas all around the north end of the Land Cut should become more productive.”

Padre Island National Seashore Billy Sandifer - Padre Island Safaris - 361.937.8446 June is one of the most dependable months for fishing the PINS surf with typically moderate wind conditions and clear water. Sargassum amount varies from year to year depending on how much northeast and/or east wind we get during the month. All shark species are present throughout the month and the greatest number will be caught on baits kayaked several hundred yards offshore. Jack crevalle, ladyfish, stingray and bluefish will all make very good shark bait.

Tarpon, kingfish, jack crevalle, ladyfish, Spanish mackerel, speckled trout and whiting should be in good supply all through the month.

Silver spoons, Rat-L-Traps and topwaters are good producers for lure fishermen and Fishbites and fresh-dead shrimp for bottom fisherman.

Turtle nesting is at its peak level and speed limit is 15 mph for the entire length of the beach. June is a period of heavy family beach use with lots of traffic so be extra careful and always be kind to each other.

Good Fishing! -Cap’n Billy Port Mansfield | Terry Neal www.terrynealcharters.com – 956.944.2559 The calendar says spring but some days it is hard to tell if it’s spring, summer or even winter. Take your pick because you really couldn’t miss by much. Our last front came through with high 40s temps and

50 mile-per-hour wind. Hopefully this will be our last major front.

For good news; that front blew the water out and when the wind settled the Laguna Madre filled with beautiful water from the gulf.

Tides have been super high, which should be good for the ecosystem.

Don’t mean to be Mr. Doom and Gloom, but 2013 has not given us normal fishing patterns thus far. Lots of wind direction changes and constantly strong wind speed have kept the bay system stirred up.

Fishing as a whole remains uncharacteristically slow. Look for bait and you should find fish. The sea grass has yet to recover in many areas so without this structure the fish are on the move constantly. Enjoy the outdoors and maybe one day it will all go back to normal. Keep what you will eat; release the rest.

Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel Janie and Fred Petty – www.fishingwithpettys.com – 956.943.2747 At the time of this writing we’re experiencing a fall-out of many species of birds. The reason for this event is a couple of late-April fronts that affect migration. Heavy winds and some much needed rain have changed the weather patterns and brought us a bounty of trout.

Freddy says, “When there is a lot of rain, and run-off of fresh water is causing brackish conditions, the best approach is to fish on the bottom, where the water is salty, especially if your target is trout.” We’re picking up good catches of nice trout, in the twenty to twenty-five inch range, throwing Cajun Thunder round corks with Berkley Gulp! shrimp. Although our aim is to hit the reds first, unless it’s really windy, we’ve had more luck with specks early on deeper drop offs. We’re still limiting on reds a couple of days a week, but boat traffic is messing with the shallow drifts, especially on weekends. We’re starting to see a little more bait than earlier in the year, but most of the grass is still concentrated on the east side near South Padre Island. Help stop open bay dredge disposal!

TSFMAG.com | 95

Bradley Gossett Laguna Madre - personal best black drum!

Billy Anthony Bryan Beach - black drum CPR

Nancy Atkinson Green Island - 27.5” trout

Brittany Hebert Port Mansfield - 28” trout

Capt. Kyle Partridge Laguna Madre - 38” 18lb redfish

Damian Torres Brownsville Ship Channel - 32” black drum 96 | June 2013

Joel Niño POC - first keeper red!

Mac Jank Sabine Lake - 26.75” 7lb trout CPR

Keith Sullivan Galveston Bay - trout CPR

Jenna Gargotta Dagger Island - 29.5” redfish

Loren Cristelle Alonzo Rockport - 12” sheepshead

Cherie Landry Galveston - 24” 4lb flounder

Chris Farney Palacios - 42” black drum

Baer Counce POC - 24.5” redfish

Jacob Flores Fish & Fun II - ling

Scott Radke East Matagorda - 29.75” 8.5lb trout

Minnie Flores South Padre Island - 18lb black drum

Taylor Anderson Port Isabel - first speck!

Jack Stallings POC - 26” black drum

Abel Flores III POC - 25” trout

Ryan Moody POC - trout

Madison O’Neil Matagorda Bay - 13lb first tripletail!

Mike Powers POC - redfish

John Bass Galveston Bay - 28” 8lb trout

Allison Roque Goose Island - best trout!

Please do not write on the back of photos.

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

Cliff & Dowden Matagorda Bay - trout

Riley Critendon 26" first fish!

Mail photos to: TSFMag P.O. Box 429, Seadrift, TX 77983 TSFMAG.com | 97

Pam Johnson

Gulf Coast Kitchen

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

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

Redfish Loaf OlE We are always searching for new ways to enjoy seafood and Everett and I teamed up for this creation. The Roasted Tomatillo Sauce added to the Mexican zest, and complimented the loaf very well. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did. ~Pam

1.5 lbs. redfish fillets – cut to 1/2 inch cubes 3 eggs 1 cup heavy cream Preheat oven to 350° 1 cup chopped onions Combine all ingredients in large bowl, mix 1/2 cup chopped carrots well. Form a loaf in well-greased roasting pan.

1/2 cup chopped pablano pepper Bake at 350° one hour covered, then 30 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper minutes uncovered.

1/3 cup fresh chopped cilantro 1/3 cup fresh chopped parsley Serves six to eight.

1/3 cup chopped celery 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese 1 sleeve wholegrain saltine crackers - crumbled 3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs 3 Tbsp. soy sauce 2 Tbsp. Knorr chicken base powder 2 Tbsp. coarse ground black pepper 1/2 tsp. ground comino 1 jar Central Market Roasted Tomatillo Salsa (get it at HEB) 2 tsp. salt ½ cup heavy cream Heat salsa in pan, add cream Juice of one whole fresh lemon ¼ tsp baking soda and mix together, add baking soda. Cook on medium heat for about five minutes. Spread on serving plate and add slices of fish loaf, (drizzling a bit over the top is very good too.)

Sauce

98 | June 2013

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TSFMAG.com | 99

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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.

For Information Call 361-563-1160

tEXas saltWatER fIshInG holEs 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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It can move almost as fast as a speeding bullet and packs a punch powerful enough to break aquarium glass. Mantis shrimp aren’t your average cocktail shrimp – technically they’re not even shrimp.

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Science and the Sea

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The approximately 400 species of mantis shrimp are divided into two groups, the spearers and the smashers. The difference is the kind of formidable claw they use to catch their prey. Both types of these often colorful crustaceans are excellent hunters, but the smashers are a lot faster. They lie still waiting for a snail, crab, clam or oyster to come within range. Then, the mantis shrimp pound their prey with an acceleration up to 10,000 times the acceleration of gravity, reaching speeds up to 50 mph in as little as 2.7 milliseconds! Though not the mantis shrimps’ usual meal, even octopus and larger fish can be stunned to death by the shrimp’s smasher claw.

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Some mantis shrimp smash their prey with a powerful claw.

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The secret to this power and speed is a saddle-shaped structure in their arms which acts like a spring. It’s compressed when the arm is “cocked” under the shrimp. When the shrimp is ready to pounce, this spring mechanism releases its stored energy in a burst that propels the claw out, similar to a catapult launching its goods.

But the claw’s power also takes a toll. During its punch, the claw’s speed heats up the surrounding water, causing a pressure drop that forms bubbles, which then immediately implode when the pressure normalizes – a process called cavitation. Cavitation is so destructive that it can wear down boat propellers, and it wears down the heel of the smasher claw. So, the smasher mantis shrimp molts every few months.

Each molt provides it with a brand new claw surface, ready to pulverize its next meal.

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TSFMAG.com | 103

CHRIS MAPP

B O AT MA I N T E N A N C E T I P S We see quite a few wheel bearing failures on boat trailer axles. There are times when you can pull into a repair shop and there are times you may have to handle it yourself on the side of the road. Tandem axle trailers have an advantage over single axle trailers – losing a wheel bearing can be easily dealt with by removing the casualty wheel-tire assembly and placing a jack under the axle, lifting the axle as high as possible, and then securing the axle well clear of the road surface (so it won’t drag) with chain or rope around axle and frame.

This will allow emergency travel to a repair destination.

Single axle trailers have to be repaired on the spot and here are the critical points that can make the job a great deal easier.

Jack up axle directly under the spring or end of axle where it meets the spindle, remove Spindle and bearings highlighting correct the wheel-tire assembly, place this under bearing positions. the trailer as safety device in case of a fall, remove the cotter pin or keeper device, remove nut, remove hub.

Spindle surfaces should be smooth. If you see any metal rings on the shaft, this is a bearing race and has to be removed.

Bearing races are hardened to resist wear to the point of being brittle; tapping

104 | June 2013

on the back to remove is one way Wheel spindle should be free of but not always nicks, burrs, grooves – and clean successful. Striking before bearing installation. hard with the face of a hammer on opposite sides will crack the race and allow for removal. Whether you have a bearing kit or a new hub assembly, the most important thing to do is feel the bottom of the spindle for grooving. These grooves have to be removed by filing aggressively to make the spindle smooth, if not new bearings will not go all the way on and you will not understand why.

(Grooves are always on the bottom where you can’t see them).

Carry a spare hub assembly, lug wrench, file, hammer, crescent wrench, emery cloth and rags.

These will prove to be invaluable in a bad moment and remember to inspect wheel bearings for smoothness and quiet operation once a year, it is cheap and can bring peace of mind.

Have a safe season, Chris Mapp Coastal Bend Marine – Port O’Connor, TX 361-983-4841 – coastalbendmarine.com

l

l

galveston tides & Solunar Table Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine June 2013

The BEST Choice‌ Any Place, Anytime!

To find a location near you, please visit us at www.speedystop.com

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 are in green, coinciding 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 in orange, 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

w w w. t e 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 . c o m