March 2012

Trophy Trout in the Wind?

Kevin Cochran says you can! – Page 16

The beat of Texas’ other drum, black drum that is.

Joe Richard targets them for fun and fine eating.

– Page 38

Awesome opportunity on Sabine Lake!

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Tips and advice from veteran guides Chuck Uzzle and Dickie Colburn.

www.tsfmag.com March 2012

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ABOUT THE COVER Stacy Schaaf shows off one of two twenty-nine inch specks he landed almost back to back while wading the clear, skinny flats of the Lower Laguna Madre with Capt. Ernest Cisneros.

Kudos to Stacy for releasing both fish. His lucky lure was a Heddon Zara Pup topwater.

Sometimes smaller is better!

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER Everett Johnson Everett@tsfmag.com VICE PRESIDENT PRODUCTION & ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Pam Johnson Pam@tsfmag.com Office: 361-785-3420 Cell: 361-550-9918 NATIONAL SALES REPRESENTATIVE Bart Manganiello Bartalm@optonline.net

CONTENTS

REGIONAL SALES REPRESENTATIVE

MARCH 2012 VOL 21 NO 11

FEATURES

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

Donna Boyd Donna@tsfmag.com BUSINESS / ACCOUNTING MANAGER

38

DEPARTMENTS 25 46 50 54 56 58 62 64 66 70 74

Coastal Birding Let’s Ask The Pro Fly Fishing TPWD Field Notes Conservation Kayak Fishing According to Scott Youth Fishing Texas Nearshore & Offshore Cade’s Coastal Chronicles Fishy Facts

Dickie Colburn Mickey Eastman Bill Pustejovsky Shellie Gray David Rowsey Capt. Tricia Ernest Cisneros

REGULARS

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100

06 Editorial 78 New Tackle & Gear 94 Fishing Reports and Forecasts 98 Catch of the Month 100 Gulf Coast Kitchen

CIRCULATION SUBSCRIPTION – PRODUCT SALES Linda Curry ADDRESS CHANGED? Email Store@tsfmag.com

Billy Sandifer Jay Watkins Casey Smartt Ed Hegen CCA Texas Scott Null Scott Sommerlatte Jake Haddock Mike Jennings Cade Simpson Stephanie Boyd

HAVE TO SAY

Dickie Colburn’s Sabine Scene Mickey on Galveston Capt. Bill’s Fish Talk Mid-Coast Bays with the Grays Hooked up with Rowsey Capt. Tricia’s Port Mansfield Report South Padre Fishing Scene

Shirley Elliott Shirley@tsfmag.com

Cir@tsfmag.com

WHAT OUR GUIDES 80 82 84 86 88 90 92

Office: 361-785-3420 Cell: 361-649-2265 PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

08 Combat Fishing II 16 Embrace the Breeze 22 Hammerheads - Part 1 26 Another One of Those Days 30 When It All Lines Up Just Right 34 Tackle Technology 38 Black Drum, Beauty or Brute?

66

Patti Elkins Patti@tsfmag.com

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DESIGN & LAYOUT Stephanie Boyd stephanie@tsfmag.com Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine is published monthly.

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HOW TO CONTACT TSFMAG: PHONE: 361-785-3420 FAX: 361-785-2844 MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 429, Seadrift, Texas 77983 PHYSICAL ADDRESS: 58 Fisherman’s Lane, Seadrift, TX 77983 WEB: www.TSFMAG.com PHOTO GALLERY: photos@tsfmag.com PRINTED IN THE USA. Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine (ISSN 1935-9586) is published monthly by Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine, Inc., 58 Fisherman’s Lane, Seadrift, Texas 77983 l P. O. Box 429, Seadrift, TX 77983 © Copyright 1990 All rights reserved.

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EDITORIAL WASTE NOT I’ve have something stuck in my craw that I want to talk about. I have been increasingly disappointed with game and fish in trash cans and roadside ditches over the years and what happened recently was simply too much.

Sunday January 29 was the final day of the 2011 duck season and Seadrift was a hotbed of waterfowl hunting as duck boats of every description filled local motels and restaurants. Traffic in the marsh hit an all-time high and lots of ducks were taken. Fishing was good too as cold weather had them hunkered down in predictable holes.

Now I live on Lane Road, the county blacktop that affords the only launch access between Port O’Connor and Seadrift, and I also hunted the bay that weekend, so I know firsthand how many hunters and anglers turned out.

Heading into Seadrift that Sunday afternoon, something in the ditch caught my eye where Lane intersects TX 185. To my disappointment I found four redhead ducks. Good enough to bag for bragging, but evidently not good enough to be taken home, cleaned and eaten. I muttered to myself at the shameful lack of ethics and tossed the ducks into the back of my truck for disposal later.

Pulling into Dick’s Food Store I noticed my buddy cleaning his boat at the car wash and strolled over to say hello. There it was again – two more redheads lying on the driveway – smashed by passing vehicles. Same story, neither had been cleaned. Now I had six in the bed of my pickup.

My blood was close to boiling. I find it disgusting that some slob would discard unprocessed waterfowl in a public place. Thanks for the thoughtful and responsible display of hunting ethic - you wretched scumbag.

I exchanged pleasantries with my friend and tended my shopping at Dick’s, and then headed back home. What I saw next just blew me away. Right at the end of Lane Road were two buzzards feasting upon a pile of fish carcasses that were not there 20 minutes earlier.

Two nice big sheepshead and a black drum of about five pounds.

Not exactly glamour species but darn good eaters. None had been filleted although the buzzards were making a job of it. Now I’m really mad.

I live by a simple rule: Fish or game - if you take it, you eat it.

Fishing is easier. Release what you do not plan to eat. In the case of a deeply hooked or injured fish, do your best to revive it and then send it on its way. It’ll have a better chance if you release it than it will in a roadside ditch. Worst case scenario – nothing goes to waste in the natural world.

Hunting is not so easy, there being no shoot and release option. But we can darn sure identify our targets carefully and take only the ones we will use on the table. If you do not eat game or plan to process it and give it somebody who will – DON’T KILL IT! I’ll get off my soapbox if you’ll promise to waste not…and that includes freezer burn!

6 | March 2012

STORY BY MIKE MCBRIDE

When you have a scene such as this unfolding the last thing you want to hear is a boat idling into “your space” – but it happens.

8 | March 2012

There must be

something peculiar in the salt air we breathe, some bizarre

element that becomes a catalyst for socially strange behavior. The closer we get to the water the more the rules of acceptable conduct seem to change. Each little coastal community becomes its own unique cartoon strip full of crusty characters, all variously afflicted by this inhaled phenomenon.

Sailboat people, for example, are certainly a “knotty” bunch, wearing funny clothes and speaking in port or starboard, even on land. This kayak craze has little folks challenging bigger ones for exclusive rights of divine access. Fly fishermen can be like righteous

cave men at times, adamant in their rejection of the wheel. Surfers don’t own shoes and commercial fishermen are not fond of them, but probably wouldn’t flinch at wearing a new pair of white rubber boots to a wedding. Yet of all these saltwater “enthusiasts” the bay boaters may have absorbed the greatest share of this mysterious and conduct-altering component.

Spring is upon us again and so is the next round of prop sparring.

Shakespeare must have launched a bay boat in March when he said, “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.”

Years ago I wrote a piece I called Combat Fishing and since then the bays have shrunk even more - Combat II may be due. Let’s first try TSFMAG.com | 9

to identify some common socially-deficient actions on the water, then perhaps look for new ways to hold onto our sanity on the battlefield.

My first study in abnormal coastal behavior came over 40 years ago. With little childhood exposure beyond caliche, catfish, and horny toads; the sudden discovery of a new universe laying scant miles beyond the goat weeds became more than just compelling. It was a vast new “ocean” of inspiration, with new critters, smells, textures, and untold beasts gliding through the restless surf. Kind of like what we do in fishing, we needed a manly excuse to experience this new world more often, so we bought some old rental surfboards and began to con rides from parents and older siblings.

One of my first “equipped” adventures came courtesy of a neighbor’s hot older sister, cramped into a VW bug with beater boards sticking out the window. Wanting to avoid any other human intervention, she drove us two hours down the beach to experience this new utopia as close to God’s pre-apple Eden as possible. It was utopia…for about 2 hours. Then an apparition appeared on the horizon, a dot growing larger. The socially unspeakable soon happened to our private planet of unspoiled sand.

A rusty car wheezed to a squeaky halt under the weight of seven souls, and within 50 feet, out flew folding chairs, tables, dining canopies and a corroded BBQ pit. Paradise was lost, and so was the rest of our hot dog mustard, Kool-Aid cups and toilet paper. Their 8-track player drowned out not only the surf but squawking seagulls rummaging through a growing pile of chicken bones and diapers. The worst part was that the “sister” had to put her bikini top back on.

Notice drifters in background… “I say, would you have some Grey Poupon?”

I thought surely it was a fluke, an isolated and ignorant lack of etiquette. Unfortunately, many years on the coast suggests that same social breach can occur anywhere people breath salt air.

We especially see it in fishing, more so from those in boats, and I think the Indians named them “boat people” right before they destroyed their private planet as well.

Typical of today, you can be the only boat on the bay and quietly slip over the side to wade fish amongst God’s finning creatures. Then, like a seagull appearing from nowhere to scoop a potato chip tossed into thin air, within thirty seconds you are covered up with laughing opportunists. Suddenly a boat roars onto the scene, shuts down, and drifts close enough to beg a smudge of Grey Poupon. That, in my opinion, is as socially unacceptable as taking the very next urinal instead of a couple down - a total invasion of personal space.

I schtick you not, last week I was unhooking a fish when a boat suddenly ripped right between me and my party of wade fishermen, close enough to see the moisture in his eyes when I questioned his ancestry. I held my hands up in a “YMCA” position, then rotated a pointed finger around my ear signaling that he was crazy in the head.

His aloof, self-justifying reply was simply “Hey it’s shallow over there.”

Well then, GO AROUND…you who would suck the air out of a party. Salt induced behavior.

Gotta be.

Another classic example was last fall when we were lined up on a little point in Port Mansfield’s East Cut. Boat traffic was politely veering, except for one. Seeing the stringers, the

Want to have some fun? Add a windmill or a clump of yuccas to the background of your fishing photos.

12 | March 2012

infected skipper did a boomerang and then idled on in to a distance of less than 100 feet.

Hurling a large anchor in our general direction he shouted a one-word question, “Whaddaycatchinemon?”

Would that be normal behavior in non-saline society?

Then there’s Capt. Tricia’s newest admirers, two young guys in an itty bitty scooter, whose only game is to buzz around until they find her wading party and then ease up just out of casting range and keep pace off her hip by dropping and weighing anchor as needed. What kind of salt are they snorting?

It’s getting harder to protect our little corners of Eden, but some of what we used to do worked very well. When Mark Holt and I were teaming up and winning the old Best-of-the-Best Galveston Plugger Series we would drag a boat around as a decoy, but at “launch time” we would hide it and just walk in to one of honeyholes. At San Luis Pass we would tie on Budweiser beer can lures before we pulled our stringers onto the sand, then chuckle when we saw them mentioned in the local fishing rag a week later.

Speaking of diversions, another tournament heavy, Mark Trevino, would “dress up” for prefishing, in a borrowed boat festooned with thick rods and popping corks and spark plugs, with his hat backwards like Cheech’s dead-bait-chunking cousin. That worked too.

Other fun was when we knew we were going to get potlicked, and all just sit down in the water when we heard the offenders approach. We’d stand up at the last minute in shin deep water to enjoy the bizarre display of evasive boat driving.

A lot of things used to work, but rarely as well as they once did with this new breed of water bullies that’ll rip you off in a heartbeat rather than develop intel of their own. Fortunately we have better tools now, and technology can often transcend genetic failures and salt air exposure. Photoshop is worthy weapon, and its fun dropping windmills into the backgrounds of big fish photos, right next to the grove of yuccas we just planted.

Disrespectors of traditional moral values, such as Mom, apple pie and personal space on the water, come in two sizes nowadays - amateur and pro. Some new tournament hopefuls can be among the worst offenders and seem to get a delicious kick out of profiting off the efforts of others. With tournaments on most summer Fridays and virtually all Saturdays, it’s like fishing on Yuppie Bay with $70K top drives, poling platforms, Power Poles, and trolling motors dominating.

Include a 40-foot rooster tail behind a 70-mph rocket boat and we often find brains directly proportionate to how fast and shallow a boat can run, not to mention that the bigger, faster and fancier the rig the more some folks feel entitled to encroach upon schools of fish others have worked hard to find. A time honored ruse is to use humans against humans, for Hell has two large gates: lust and greed. That’s where social media, like the new gossip fence Facebook, comes into play. One or two posts can easily send the masses where you want them.

Little is sacred in today’s relentless quest for easy information, but a proper ending would be to help the drug induced understand that a GPS can just as easily just make you dumber, and chasing other boats like a loose pinball is little more than a Tour de Farce. Contempt can curl like smoke, but don’t let emotions ruin your paradise. We need to learn to either outmaneuver, or play Jeopardy and take “I’m an invaded moron” for $200.

It’s the salt air I tell ya…but this is nothing new in fishing and here’s a telling quote.

“But now the sport is marred, and why you ask? Fishes decrease, and fishers multiply.” Thomas Bastard – 1598!

I wonder if he launched with Shakespeare.

Contact

Mike McBride

14 | March 2012

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

STORY BY KEVIN COCHRAN

when searching for an area in which To fish,

novice anglers often look for “pretty water”. If strong winds significantly muck up most of a bay system, such a plan may be necessary and correct, but much of the time, hiding from the wind and fishing the cleanest water around isn’t the best idea. Embracing the breeze and fishing windward shorelines and structural elements often produces a better catch.

Windward shorelines frequently hold more fish than leeward ones.

This is particularly true if winds are light to moderate, and the bottom on those shorelines is firm or grassy enough to prevent excessive turbidity from occurring as waves roll into the shallows. Hard sand, rocks, shell and grass all help water on windward shorelines remain clean, in some cases, even when wind speeds exceed twenty knots.

Wind blowing onto a shallow bank elevates oxygen levels in the water and may positively influence activity in the food-chain. While I don’t really believe in the concept of bait being “blown onshore”, I do recognize the increased activity level of many organisms along windward shorelines. Certainly, when water temperatures are in the moderate to high range, adding oxygen to the water is helpful in creating and sustaining feeding activity.

Even when the bottom along a shoreline is softer and more susceptible to turbidity in windy conditions, the catching in the dirty water can be better than on the opposite side of the bay, where the water is likely to be cleaner. Astute anglers who have located fish on windward shorelines prior to a breezy period will return and attempt to catch those fish even after the water loses clarity. Deploying loud, flashy and smelly lures often aids in this endeavor.

Extremely cold conditions are probably least conducive to fishing main shorelines on the windy side of a bay. Leeward shorelines and coves along those shorelines generally hold warmer water in such conditions, because the wind blowing off a shoreline has less effect in turning the water over. Calmer water stratifies better and remains warmer at all depths when temperatures plummet. If water temperatures dip down into the low fifties or below, these insulated leeward areas will often concentrate fish as they migrate toward the relative safety of the warmth.

Sometimes, this effect takes a while to unfold, particularly on Upper Coast bays in Texas. While prefront onshore winds fill the south shoreline coves of these bays with relatively warm water, predators sometimes follow 16 | March 2012

the bait into them. As a cold front arrives and winds shift to the north, tide levels temporarily rise even higher in these pockets, filling the coves with moving water and rolling waves.

In this situation, predators seem to sense what is coming and are motivated to take advantage of a fleeting opportunity to feed, before fleeing the shallows as tide levels and water temperatures drop under the prolonged influence of the post-front winds. Short-lived, intense frenzies can occur in these shallow, windward areas when fronts first blow in and the tide is temporarily lifted; anglers who embrace the moment and use the breeze to their advantage can be handsomely rewarded if their timing is good.

Fishing the windy side of smaller-scale structural elements is often wise too. The windy sides of coves, sand bars, reefs, spoil banks, jetties and other such features often hold more fish than the stale, calmer water in the lee. This can be particularly true if winds are light, as such conditions normally create especially stagnant conditions downwind of places like these. Of course, the veracity of this generalization can be trumped by other variables, such as the layout of bottom structures and cover elements.

If the lee side of a reef, for example, has a gentle

slope with scattered shell reaching out into a muddy bottom, while the windward side has a sharper drop off and little or no shell extending past its edge, the fishing on the lee side might be better. Similarly, if the fish are preferring water of a particular depth, and the water on the windy side of a structural element is too shallow, fishing that side will be futile.

If other factors are basically equal on both sides of a structural element, fishing the windy side is normally a better strategy, but executing the strategy isn’t always easy. Light wind speeds help make fishing the windy sides of things easier, while increasing wind speeds introduce difficulties. For instance, if the water is of marginal depth for wading on the upwind side of a reef or sand bar, strong winds will make it tougher to get far enough away from the edge of the structure

to make proper and effective presentations in the key zone.

In some scenarios, the water upwind of the desired target zone is entirely too deep for wading, making it necessary to use the boat as a casting platform. The boat will always be easier to control if winds are lighter, and the noise created by waves slapping against the hull will be minimized too. When attempting to figure out the best way to work the windy side of a bar, spoil, ridge, jetty or reef, anglers should remember another truth related to dealing with the wind.

Casting crossways to the wind generally makes for better presentations than casting directly with or into it, especially as wind speeds reach and exceed about fifteen knots. Often, I see novice anglers allowing strong winds to dictate various aspects of TSFMAG.com | 17

their strategies. These negative effects include speeding up their movements in a straight line downwind when they are wading, and encouraging them to make all their casts in a line directly downwind.

An angler walking quickly through an area and making long, downwind casts has less chance of locating fish than one who zigzags through the same area, making casts at various angles to the direction of the breeze. These issues are most important when twitch baits and floating plugs are deployed; presentations with these lures are more lifelike and erratic when made crossways to the waves. Soft plastics, whether fished with or without corks, can be more effectively deployed on casts made straight downwind, since the movement patterns of those lures are more vertical than horizontal.

Regardless of what lure is used, anglers working the upwind side of structural elements will usually benefit from staying away from the edges of those features and casting sideways toward them. Ideal casts will cause the lure to pass through the attractive zone close upwind of the structures and stay in those zones for as long as possible, all the while moving in erratic and enticing ways. Wading closer to the structure and casting directly downwind to keep the lure in this zone longer can be a bad idea, as it will cause a wading angler to walk through the fish, or will place the boat too close to the fish if it’s used as a platform.

If the water is marginally deep out on the windy side of the bar, windy conditions will make it harder to wade out there, especially when waders are necessary. Wearing a waterproof jacket on the outside of the waders can allow one to more comfortably cope with the waves in this scenario. I know many people stuff their jackets inside the waders, but doing so gives rogue waves easier access over

18 | March 2012

the top and into the bottom of the outfit!

Properly embracing the wind and taking advantage of how it stirs things up in a positive way means using the right gear and making good choices. Certain lures help one take advantage of windy conditions. Conventional topwater plugs, particularly noisy ones like She Dogs and Skitter Walks, can call up fish in sloppy waters, especially during spring and summer.

Prop-baits and chug baits work well in big waves too, making lots of slushing noises while starting and stopping, helping fish locate

20 | March 2012

optimally embracing the breeze involves much more than astute lure choice. Using the wind to enhance the catch (rather than allowing it to reduce the catch) first and foremost means confidently choosing the right general area in which to make the effort, then focusing on the most productive portions of the area while executing effective strategies and finally, properly presenting appropriate lures to the fish.

KEVIN COCHRAN

CONTACT

them and giving them ample opportunity to take them when visibility is poor. Dangling a soft plastic worm behind a floating plug like these can be wise too; dangling one under a rattling cork is another proven tactic in windy weather and/or dirty water.

If soft plastics are deployed without corks, smelly ones can make more sense in windy weather, if the wind is reducing the water clarity. Paddletails, with their vibrating qualities, normally work better in dirty water than rat-tailed worms. However, if the water is clear, the more erratic movement patterns of the rat-tails are desirable, even if it’s windy.

Similarly, if windy conditions create lots of turbidity, bright, shiny, noisy twitch baits often produce more bites than more subtle and quiet ones. The Catch 5 is my favorite loud, flashy twitch bait. I won’t generally favor one over a Corky or Fat Boy until visibility is reduced to less than a foot and a half, though.

Catching fish consistently on artificial lures in windy conditions means choosing plugs with the right attributes for the situation, but

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

Photo courtesy of Panama Sport Fishing Lodge

STORY BY BILLY SANDIFER

22 | March 2012

The wind was blowing too hard for a campfire

to be safe with everything so dry, so I sat in the dim lantern light and listened to the sounds of the wind, coyotes, and occasionally the owl. As I looked down I saw the tattoo of the hammerhead shark that has been poised there swimming towards me for the past thirty-four years and I grinned. I don’t think I ever look at it without grinning.

Hammerheads have held a very special place in my heart from the moment I first saw one and interestingly enough as the years pass many of my most profound fishing memories involve them.

As I have always considered the coyote to be my “spirit helper” on the land, over time I came to look at the greater hammerhead as my “spirit helper” of the sea - no longer just a worthy adversary to be hunted down and killed simply for the challenge and to show my peers what a great fisherman I am. It was then that I had the tattoo put on my hand and shortly thereafter lived on the beach for one and a half years. Within a year I quit killing sharks.

I guess the hammerhead is the greatest paradox in my life. They inspire a feeling of wonder and awe in me every time I see one and I’m instantly thrilled yet at the same time I instantly feel as if I’m looking at death incarnate; the living embodiment of death itself. I’ve had some really amazing encounters with them over the years and I thought I’d share a few with you.

I was in my teens and totally addicted to fishing off Bob Hall Pier. It was mid-morning on a dead calm, mid-August day and there was not a whisper of a breeze and the Gulf was as slicked off as a pool table. A number of us were gathered on the end “T” and I was standing in the center talking with friends when a loud thump was heard from the south side of the “T” and the entire structure suddenly lurched back and forth. This happened two more times during the short time it took me to walk to the south rail, and when I put my hands on the rail and looked down, my heart stopped. Everyone had been really talking up a storm but it became totally quiet as everyone starred in awe at the scene below.

TSFMAG.com | 23

A gigantic hammerhead was on the surface of the sea with its nose up against a piling. As we watched in disbelief it backed up about two feet and rammed the piling as hard as it could and then turned its head first to one side and then the other steadily chewing on the piling. We could literally hear the popping sound of the shark’s teeth as they broke on the piling as well as see them breaking. The attack was focused on only one piling; the center one along the south side of the “T”.

The MOST

She backed off and charged and attacked the piling a total of ten times.

Blood could be seen trailing from her gills and towards the end of the display it appeared she was exhausted and she lay still a moment and then, as if in slow motion, turned and swam away.

Three anglers grabbed surf casting outfits and snagged her with large three and a half ounce spoons. The line slowly disappeared off the reels at first but continued gaining speed and they were screaming when the lines broke at the spools.

The pilings were eight feet apart but the fish’s head was too wide to go between two of them. Her length was difficult to guess because she was so close but everyone agreed she was somewhere between eighteen and twenty feet and way over 1,200 pounds. No one said much for a while; as the emotions we were feeling and what we had seen was too much for words. When we did resume our normal chatter all us youngsters overwhelmed the old timers with questions about the incident.

One elder finally had enough and said, “She’s big and old and mean and the way she sees it the sea is hers. All of it. And if

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something doesn’t move out of her way she takes it personal and she moves it; even a piling. She’s death itself moving along in the sea and making up her own rules as she goes and fearing nothing.” It’s easy to see how that would stick in a youngster’s mind.

Again on a deathly hot and still August day decades later with the sea resembling a sheet of glass a couple and I were on a charter far down the PINS beach front. They were more interested in enjoying the day than in fishing and that was a good thing as the fishing was just about as slow as it gets. While awaiting a breeze to give some life to the sea I knew where a school of skipjacks had been hanging out in a place where deep water came unusually close to the shore itself.

We traveled to that location and I stood beside the customer and took skipjacks off his lure and returned them to the sea when two tarpon rolled just a few feet from us.

Soon I had seen at least five separate tarpon with two being well over 100 pounds so I rigged a leader for them on a Penn 6/0. Now realize that while we were only knee deep in the water the tarpon were in deep water although only 10-15 feet from us. Well, I got baited up and reared back to cast when without warning there was white water everywhere and a tremendous explosion immediately in front of me knocked me off my feet. As I was falling backwards I saw a shark’s tail about five feet long come up in the air about seven feet in front of me.

A REALLY big Hammerhead had snuck up on those tarpon and me and killed one only feet from me without ever being seen.

Astonished, I sat on my butt in the surf and watched a large whirlpool made by the shark’s tail when it slapped the water. And then it was as magically gone just as it had magically arrived leaving no trace other than the pictures forever burned into my memory. I hope you enjoyed sharing these memories with me and I assure you I’ve save the best ones for next time.

I always get so tickled about that tattoo. At least once every couple of weeks someone will say, “Billy, why would anyone put a shark tattoo upside down on their hand.” It cracks me up, then I can’t help but laugh and I reply, “Because I put it there for me to look at; not you, and to me its right side up.”

Lifelong shark and beach fisherman, Floyd Scroggans Jr., was killed in mid-January. He is survived by his son, Floyd Scroggans III. Floyd was as fearless on or in the water as any man I’ve ever known and a tough act to follow as a fisherman. Our condolences go out to his family and friends.

Sandhill Crane Grus Canadensis Gray overall, with dull skin on the crown and lores; whitish chin, cheek and upper throat with blackish primaries. Breeds on tundra in marshes and grasslands and winters to the south. Present in Texas from October through February. Flies with long neck outstretched and legs trailing far behind.

Feeds on small animals and aquatic life, insects, grain, green shoots and berries.

“If we don’t leave any there won’t be any.” -Capt. Billy L. Sandifer

Photo credit: Jimmy Jackson

Contact

Billy Sandifer Billy Sandifer operates Padre Island Safaris offering surf fishing for sharks to specks and nature tours of the Padre Island National Seashore. Billy also offers bay and near-shore fishing adventures in his 25 foot Panga for many big game and gamefish species.

Length: 41-inches Wingspan: 73-inches Weight: 8.0-10.0 pounds

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

TSFMAG.com | 25

STORY BY MARTIN STRARUP

when my friend mike horTon called

me and asked if my son and I wanted to come down and fish Baffin, I looked out the window at the trees bending and listened to the racket the wind chimes were making. My first thought was that he’d lost his mind.

“It’s blowing a steady twenty-five here with gusts to thirty,” I told him.

“Well the wind laid here and it’s supposed to be only about five miles-an-hour in the morning and I’m down here at the house by myself,” Mike said.

“We can leave here tonight by 9:30,” was my reply.

“Oh and Keith was looking for some place to fish this weekend do you mind if he comes along?” I asked.

“Bring him,” Mike said with quick assurance.

We waited on our friend Keith Evans to get to my home in El Campo 26 | March 2012

from Alvin, which gave us time to pack our clothes and gear and to make a quick run to HEB for groceries. Keith arrived on time and we were headed south on US-59.

We pulled into Mike’s driveway right at midnight tired from working all day and the two and a half hour drive on a semi-foggy night, said hello, stowed our gear and hit the sheets. I was so tired that I had no problem falling asleep and too early the alarm went off. When it did I was up and getting ready as was everyone else.

Mike’s forecast turned out to be right on the money. There was heavy dew on everything with zero wind and I couldn’t remember the last time I had been down there that we had calm weather in January.

We were stoked! While we were anxious or eager to get into the water, prime time wasn’t until 10:00 and, unlike summer, we didn’t need to splash the boat in pre-dawn darkness. A lot of other people did though; the parking lot at the ramp showed that plenty of other anglers were taking advantage of the weather.

We arrived at a favorite spot to find some duck hunters with decoys still out so we went on to our second favorite spot where we found no boats and a lot of bait in the green calm water. Mike stuck the Power Pole and we quickly exited the boat and spread out casting topwater baits and soft plastics. From Spooks to Skitter Walks, soft plastics, and a Corky or two or three, I fished for an hour with no blowups, no swirls (other than those made by bait I pulled my lures through) and no action at all. I had started fishing my way back to the boat and I saw Mike waving to come pick them up so once I had stowed my gear in the Mosca I idled down the shoreline to get them.

No one else had caught anything or even had a bump so it was on to our third spot.

Mike had said that there had been a lot of redfish holding at the next place we went and he was right.

Ten minutes after shutting down, barely managing a drift in the light wind, we could see redfish tailing on the mud flat we were on. I took some pictures but for some reason they do not show up on my camera and I have no idea why. I’ve tested the camera and it works fine. Probably operator error on my part but it’s never happened before. I just hope it doesn’t do it when I’m taking pictures of a trout that could put my on the ten pound side of The Ledger. We tried to entice the reds into taking our baits but only a single 21-incher was fooled.

The rest simply moved a wake towards our lures then snubbed them and continued feeding along their way. We had one more spot to try so we headed that way.

We were all puzzled at the lack of action, what with the ice cream conditions that we had, but all we could do was continue to look for fish and hope that we would find some. It’s on days like that one that I’m glad I’m not a guide responsible for putting my clients on fish; so far it had been a pretty rough day of not catching anything notable.

At our third and final spot we again found pretty water and lots of bait and I actually had a bump on a soft plastic. My son Sterling stuck a trout but it was an inch shy of being legal. Other than that all the rest of us stuck TSFMAG.com | 27

28 | March 2012

It is the attitude of my son and I and all of my friends that not catching fish doesn’t make for a wasted trip. Just being out on the water with good friends and fishing with my son on a beautiful day offsets the fish not cooperating. And while I’ll take blowups, hookups and catching all day long, I’ll always be happy to have had the chance to try.

Hunting season is over for me so I sure do hope that my catching improves pretty soon; I’ll let you know one way or another.

Be Safe.

Martin Strarup

Contact

were rocks. We quickly decided that our best course of action was to head back to the ramp, load up and fire up the pit. We talked to a lot of fishermen at the ramp who shared the same experience that we had; lots of bait, beautiful water but no fish to be caught. In fact a quick check of the cleaning table showed that it hadn’t been used that day.

While it made us feel better to know that we weren’t the only ones to have been skunked, it still had us wondering why.

As you can imagine the “whys” of not catching any fish was the topic of discussion that evening and while we had theories we had no real answers, only supposition. Plans were made to try a different area of Baffin the next morning. It’s happened to all of us before and as I have written in the past there has to be a reason for it but perhaps it’s a combination of things. All I know is that we were fishing pre-frontal conditions in gorgeous 71° water with plenty of perfect sized mullet swimming around unmolested and, the fish, if they were there, didn’t want anything to do with us.

When we got up the next morning we were greeted with completely different conditions than the day before. Strong winds were blowing and hard enough that given our experiences the day before we decided to pass on fishing and decided on breakfast, more coffee and conversation before packing up and driving home.

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

Light winds and calm seas

are often a rarity in the spring and they should always be taken full advantage of at every opportunity. The wide open spaces of Sabine Lake can be mighty harsh during the spring, but on those days when the wind socks lay still and the flags droop one can encounter some of the finest fishing anywhere. This year so far has been outstanding and rare; the fishing has been the outstanding part while the conditions on the water have been rare to say the least. Since the major hurricanes of the recent past it seems that Sabine has almost become supercharged and rejuvenated. Truth is the hurricanes did little damage to the fishery, if anything it flushed the marshes and rivers, cleaned the slate of past sins and problems, and began a very impressive run of fishing like we have never seen.

Every six or seven years it seems a pattern similar to the one we are currently experiencing repeats itself - we have very little rainfall in the northern reaches of the Sabine and Neches basins and the winter temperatures remain stable and incredibly mild. The last time we saw the lake in this kind of shape we saw crazy stuff happen like jack crevalle being caught 10 miles up the Sabine River and schooling bluefish on the south end of the lake.

The next few months could be really interesting to say the least, especially if we can avoid any weird late spring cold weather. The normal problems associated with runoff from the north will be minimal due in large part to the fact that both Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn reservoirs are still well below normal “full pool� level. The low levels will offer a shock absorber or buffer of sorts from heavy rains associated with the spring. It will take several sizeable rains to refill the lakes and make runoff a problem for Sabine Lake anglers. That’s a big bonus for all of the fishermen both on the freshwater side and saltwater as well.

30 | March 2012

Normally confined to the deeper reefs on the southern end near the Causeway, Sabine anglers have been finding bonus opportunity in the marsh areas all winter and this will only get better as we make our way into spring

Now as far as the subject of freshwater runoff goes, the lack of it this spring will definitely change the normal patterns. For years the months of January and February were almost wasted months due to the huge river inflow that just absolutely wrecked the lake. Late February and early March would find both concentrations of fish and fishermen in the deep water of the south end of Sabine over that expansive shell reef near the Causeway. Boats by the dozens would all gather up and enjoy the fact the fish were super concentrated in a relatively small area. Once the color combination and jig head size was perfected it was like riding an escalator and catching fish as the boats lined up and made long drifts. Strong tide changes and favorable winds were “money in the bank” as the fishing was ultra predictable. That pattern will still be in play this spring but it certainly won’t be the only game in town as the fish will be scattered out all over the lake instead of being hemmed up in one area.

Tried and true locations along the Louisiana

Crazy-mild winter weather has given Sabine anglers exceptional t opportunity over the pas couple of months.

shoreline and along the flats that border the river and Intracoastal canal should produce fish in consistent numbers much earlier and more often this spring as the salinity levels will no doubt hold up.

The stable water conditions have more or less given anglers two “free months” of fishing that normally don’t exist. Now don’t get confused here, it won’t be crazy like the fall, but it certainly will be better than average.

Now if an above average trout is on your to-do list for the spring and Sabine is where you plan to accomplish this goal, you need to remember a few tried and true facts that will aid you in your quest.

Beyond the average and overdone cliché’s and ultra-obvious things such as “mud and shell, mullet imitations, and grinding it out” there are a couple of things that may be helpful. A fantastic way to find a big fish on Sabine is to start with one of the many drains that empty the marshes on an outgoing tide. The water in the marshes will be several degrees warmer than the lake which makes these areas a magnet for these bigger fish and the bait they pursue. Not only will the temperature and bait make these areas desirable the very visible color change in the water will be a big factor as well. The clear water from the marsh will offer up a huge contrast to the water in the lake and that makes a classic ambush point where big trout will hang out. Once you do a little exploring you will find the drains have very defined guts and depressions worn out by the constant change of water on the tides. The expansive flats near these depressions will be perfect spots to find concentrations of fish and perhaps that one really big trout that all Texas saltwater anglers crave.

If the thought of getting out of the boat and probing stretches of water for hours in search of a stud TSFMAG.com | 31

US Patent # US 7,614,178 B2

With its unique rattler chamber, the Rockport Rattler ™ jig acts like a dinner bell.

The light reflecting eyes work well in both clear and muddy water.

The Needle-Point hook is extremely strong and corrosion resistant plus attenuates the sound out of the soft plastic bait body, resulting in a much louder rattle sound that can be heard by fish from from further distances.

6 unique color/eye combinations!

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Just add water to your favorite soft plastic bait and call’em in!

If your favorite tackle shop does not have them, ask them WHY! Chicky Tackle Company, LLC 877-514-8252 www.rockportrattler.com

32 | March 2012

lately), could be some of the best we have seen in a long time. Look for everything to get even crazier as the winds subside and the temperatures continue to climb. I personally can’t wait to see just how wild it might get. Enjoy it now because it may be a while before we see it like this again.

Setting up in the vicinity of a marsh drain during an outgoing tide is usually very productive.

Chuck Uzzle

Contact

TM

trout is something that doesn’t interest you, don’t worry because you have another option. If 2011 taught local anglers anything it was the fact that the deeper water surrounding Sabine Lake was an amazingly untapped resource. For a variety of reasons including gas prices, weather, and the fact the fishing was so easy, many local anglers almost shunned the open water of Sabine Lake for the friendly protected confines of the Sabine and Neches Rivers. “2011 - The Year of the Swimbait” is how many will remember last year without a doubt. I saw a major increase in the number of boats probing the river and they had good reason to be there as well as stay there. The numbers of redfish bordered on the ridiculous and the quality of trout that were there on a daily basis was something to behold. No ultra specific techniques were needed most of the time, just a willingness to cover some ground and do what the freshwater guys call “chunking and winding.” This pattern will be a little more difficult in the spring but not out of the question by any stretch. The fish will be a little deeper and more concentrated on the breaks and structure but they will be there. Relying heavily on good electronics is a must and patience is also a key when you target these deeper fish but the payoff is more than worth the effort. Along with speckled trout and redfish there will also be some really large stripers hanging around so if you latch on to one you can’t turn just hang on for the ride because you may be shocked at how big these fish can get.

This spring has the potential to be awfully good here on Sabine and the next few months, (I know Heavy slot reds have this sounds crazy because become gimme lately on Sabine. fishing has been so good

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

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

TSFMAG.com | 33

Editor’s Note: This is the third in a series of features detailing significant contributions to the Texas outdoor experience.

Rudy “The Plugger” Grigar points the way to the future with hollow fiberglass rod and Ambassadeur 5000 reel, 1972, West Galveston Bay.

Bob Norton, left (son of Norton lure founder Bill Norton) and Ray Fiveash compare Port Mansfield speckled trout caught on Norton Shrimp Tails. Note graphite rods and low-profile reels (circa mid-80s).

Now possessing a valid Medicare card, I am resigned to my geezer status on the water. The passage of time hardly seems possible but the card belongs to me. It’s in my wallet, tucked behind the Texas Driver License, the AARP card, and the Texas Concealed Handgun License.

But, as they say, “age has privilege.” It provides a seasoned vantage from which to view the changes in coastal fishing which have occurred during the past half-century. Tackle technology, for example.

By “tackle” I refer to the necessary tools of the trade - rods, reels, lines, lures and hooks, the gear specifically required to catch a fish (lumping accessories such as electronic devices, boats and motors would take too much space).

I was a kid during the mid-’50s, but totally hooked on fishing.

Encroaching senility aside, I have reasonably good recall of what was going on tackle-wise at that time, the post-World War II start of the “modern era.”

The decade was huge: Three major advancements marked the 34 | March 2012

Young Doggett used Ambassadeur 5000 reel retro-fitted with larger “power handle” and fiberglass rod to catch redfish from Falcon bass boat at Galveston Jetties, 1973.

STORY BY JOE DOGGETT

evolution of angling during the Eisenhower administration: The first was the widespread use of hollow fiberglass rods. Fiberglass rods are heavy and bulky and excruciatingly slow compared to today’s sticks, but they were whiz-bang stuff back when Elvis Presley first parked his delivery truck in front of Sun Record Company.

Also worth noting, fiberglass rods were durable and affordable; many were in the $10 to $30 range (compared to $100 or more for a hand-crafted bamboo rod).

The second major advancement was the production of fishing line extruded from a single nylon/polymer strand. I guess you could say the stuff was made of plastic.

By whatever terminology, the revolutionary line was called “monofilament.” Leading the push were DuPont Stren, Berkley Trilene, Shakespeare Wonderline, Garcia Platyl and Royal Bonnyl.

The early monofilament lines were springy and stretchy but the “Space Age” material helped launch the popularity of spinning tackle. It

was, however, a questionable call for traditional plug casting.

The typical free-wheeling thumb-busting casting reel often backlashed with the springy mono boiling off the spool. Classic bait casting (with, say, a narrow-framed Shakespeare Sportcast or a beefy Pflueger Supreme) was smoother with a limp Dacron or silk braid with no “memory.”

But, with monofilament, the writing was on the wall - or spool, as the case may be. Spin fishermen usually used 6- to 12-pound mono, while plug casters beefed up with 17- to 25-pound line. Fifteen-pound mono was considered radically light for casting tackle.

The third big bomb was the introduction at the 1954 New York World’s Fair of the Abu Ambassadeur 5000 casting reel. It was manufactured in Svaangsta, Sweden and distributed in the United States by Abu Garcia. I’ll go out on a brittle limb and claim that never has a single piece of fishing tackle caused such a stir.

The “Red Reel” was a beauty, utilizing a glowing red anodized frame, a lightweight plastic spool, and nylon gears. It boasted a free-spool mechanism, a centrifugal braking system, an anti-reverse mode, and an adjustable star drag.

But, most important, the 5000 could handle the tricky monofilament lines. You still needed an “educated thumb” but the skilled caster could chunk with ease and elegance. Even 1/4- to 1/2-ounce payloads were no problem (light stuff compared to most 5/8- to 3/4-ounce casting lures of the time).

The original Red Reel was shockingly expensive, retailing for approximately $45 during the late ‘50s (compared to $10 to $25 for most of the old direct-drive reels), but it was the standard of measure in plug casting.

During the ‘60s, Texas became the world’s largest market for Ambassadeur reels, mainly due to the surging growth of bass fishing in new reservoirs and ideal applications for trout/redfish along the coast.

And, on that note, the old Red Reel was rugged and reliable in saltwater.

The drag was sticky and the retrieve ratio was slow (less than 4-to-1), but it had loose tolerances and with a quick flushing and oiling you generally could keep it firing.

No major advancements in fishing tackle occurred during the ‘60s.

Seems odd, and maybe I’m overlooking something significant, but that’s

my take on the decade.

The industry mainly was focused on making proven concepts better.

Hollow fiberglass rods by companies such as Shakespeare, Garcia, and Browning/SilaFlex got better. The Red Reel continued to dominate plug casting and the Garcia Mitchell 300 was pretty much the gold standard in open-faced spinning reels (push button spincasters were partial to the Zebco 33 and the Shakespeare WonderCast).

Mono lines improved, with less stretch and memory, and braids were a thing of the past in light-tackle casting.

Perhaps the biggest push during the late ‘60s was the popularity of soft plastic baits, but most of this bottom-bumping attention was focused on bass fishing. The bullet weight and the offset worm hook and the “Texas rig” became a big deal on new lakes such as Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn; oddly, the major crossover of soft plastics to saltwater failed to happen.

Texas definitely was asleep at the wheel - and reel - on that one.

The 1970s were more progressive. Two advancements occurred during the decade. The first - a monster - was the introduction of hollow graphite rod blanks. But the early material was stiff and brittle, subject to unexpected breaks, and you could hear snapping tips from Lake Livingston all the way to the Laguna Madre.

Fenwick of Seattle, Wash., set the bar with the High Modulus Graphite(HMG) series of rods in 1973. Fenwick had a great product and the marketing savvy to target specific species; not the least of these were the two-handed 7- and 7 1/2-foot casting models aimed at speckled trout and redfish.

Numerous companies soon offered graphite rods and subsequent “generations” became lighter and stronger, but few experts will argue that Fenwick HMG made it happen. By the end of the ‘70s fiberglass blanks effectively were dead.

The other huge hit during the ‘70s was - finally - the widespread use of soft plastic baits in saltwater. Prior to the “rubber” invasion, the salty plugger had two basic choices on a green tide: a spoon or a sub-surface plug such as a MirrOlure or a Bingo.

Boone Bait Company of Winter Park, Fla., started the soft plastic craze in Texas with the Tout Tail, a stubby shrimptail imitation rigged onto a lead jig head with a large single hook. The Tout was the trickle that turned into a flood; within several years, saltwater tails were on virtually every tackle shelf from Sabine Lake to South Padre Island.

All were “killer baits” and by the end of the ‘70s probably half the specks and reds caught on lures in Texas were gobbling soft plastics.

The decade of the ‘80s was marked by low-profile reels and high-floating lures.

The concept of the round reel frame, which dates to the original Kentucky casting reels of the 1800’s, was championed by the Ambassadeur 5000.

It just “looked right.” The design was tweaked here The typical 7-foot two-handed hollow fiberglass rod had a soft full-flex action, much slower than most comparable graphite rods, Chandeleur Islands, mid-’70s.

TSFMAG.com | 35

Top, Ambassadeur 5000 and there (thumb bar for free-spool mode, reel and 7-foot Shakespeare faster retrieve ratio, magnetic anti-backlash fiberglass Wonderod with device), but the classic round profile remained Bingo hard-plastic plug was a essentially the same. classic coastal rig during the The Shimano Corporation of Japan blew ‘60s; middle, early Shimano low-profile Bantam 100 that traditional mindset out of the water by reel and 8-foot Fenwick/ offering sleek low-profile casting reels. They Woodstream HMG graphite were easier to “palm” and designed for lighter rod with Boone Tout Tail set (say, 10- to 15-pound) lines. The little reels such the pace during the ‘70s; as the Pro Bantam series were stylish, fast and bottom, Shimano Citica 200D spooled with superbraid line dependable, pretty well beating Ambassadeur and fitted to a 6 1/2-foot All at its own free-wheeling game.

Star Graphite/Titanium rod Other reel companies countered with with Rebel Jumpin’ Minnow similar low-profile products, some more represent recent tackle trends. reliable than others. But few, if any, could equal Shimano. A few round-framed reels still are available, and the good ones are functional and reliable, but the low-profile concept dominates.

And so do topwater plugs for specks and reds. Oddly, the floaters were used many years ago in various Texas bays but fell from grace during the ‘60s and ‘70s. They were acknowledged as legitimate options in the shallow, grassy lower Laguna Madre but you never saw one north of Rockport. At least, I never did. Galveston Bay - forget it.

The first floater to regain widespread acceptance was Cotton Cordell’s Jointed Red Fin. The so-called “broken back” is, in fact, a floater/shallowdiver but most of the boiling, slashing strikes are visible. The original Red Fin was, of course, a bass lure.

So was the Heddon Zara Spook, the father of the wildly popular “dog walker” genre of true topwater plugs.

Once coastal anglers discovered these zigzagging offerings were highly effective across a calm or riffled bay surface, the rush was on. Plugs such as the Rebel Jumpin’ Minnow and the MirrOlure Top Dog were early standouts. You probably need a calculator to list the current lineup of dogwalkers (probably led by Rapala’s Skitter Walk), but the momentum began with bass plugs in the ‘80s.

The ‘90s were marked by advancements in fishing lines and hooks.

The big news on the spool was the refinement of the so-called “superbraids.” Spectra (Dyneema) was one of the first. The gel-spun polyethylene braids boast superior strength-to-diameter ratio; for example, a 50-pound-test superbraid is comparable to 15-pound mono.

Perhaps more important during normal open-water casting is the lack of stretch and the absence of memory. A drawback to some of the early superbraids was a raspy feel under the thumb - not pleasant to

36 | March 2012

Galveston Bay guide Jim West harsh. combined old under heavy Corpus Christi guide Doug throw. It even sounded And, spool pressure, the Bird used jerkCordell like a “J” and new during mid-’80s: Bingo plug and Jointed Red Fin floating/diving plug to catch this coils had a bad knack of digging and jamming. hook rookie: Shimano Pro Bantam reel. Note rubberized “legit” 30-inch trout from Baffin Bay, 1993. The

I used early superbraids during the’90s for peacock bass in the fish paddle grips on reel, factory upgrade from “broken back” plug was one of the Most first popular straight wooden grips on earlier Bantams. lures during the coastal resurgence of topwater

Early evolution of soft-plastic “shrimptails” on the Texas coast is represented by the Tout Tail by Boone Bait Company of Winter Park, Fla. (circa 1973), followed by the Bill Norton Shrimp Tail, Port Mansfield, and the Texas Long John by Kelly Wigglers/Alpha Bait Company of Houston. The original Tout started the craze but note the Texas products are longer, with increased wiggle and flex.

Amazon and did not like them. They were a work in progress - no stretch and plenty strong but stiff and wiry. Quality mono was much more pleasant.

Superbraids are much better now, and a quality gel-spun line is an excellent choice for low-stretch applications such as deep jigging or working a topwater plug. So, by the way, is the old Dacron; funny the way things sometimes have a way of going around.

Adding a short length of clear leader to the terminal braid adds a measure of finesse under high-visibility conditions. On that note, fluorocarbon (Polyvinylidene fluoride) made a big splash during the ‘90s.

Fluorocarbon is durable and more-or-less disappears under water.

It’s expensive and a total re-fill usually is a waste of money. When plug casting, use the “fluoro” in a short length for a shock leader ahead of braid or lighter mono.

Hooks made a point during the ‘90s. Quality bait, jig, and plug hooks by companies such as Eagle Claw, Owner, and Gamakatsu boasted “chemically sharpened” points. I’m clueless as to how this is done, but a chemically treated point sticks like a needle and resists turning or dulling.

Truly, this a significant upgrade. Rule One: None of the other gear counts for much if a lousy hook figures into the contest over a fish of consequence.

Years ago, a fine-toothed file was used to “triangulate” the point. A true effort allowed the point to hang on a thumbnail. Filing worked but it was a major hassle; in truth, we hardly ever screwed with it (especially on trebles). Old Man Gulf only knows how many big fish were forfeited by this lax attitude.

Now you can get thumbnail-quality points right out of the box.

The acceptance of circle hooks also took off, mainly when fishing with natural baits for larger inshore species such as tarpon and bull redfish, and offshore species such as red snapper (now required by law). The circle hook has been used for decades, perfected by commercial longliners, and sport anglers finally figured out that a fish is a fish. In other words, what works on a trawler can work in a Whaler.

The circle hook has two advantages, assuming you don’t panic and

hook themselves, and most hooks are planted in the jaw.

The latter is ironic, considering the commercial origin, but rarely is a fish deep-hooked. They can be cleanly released.

The ‘90s also saw the rise of soft-plastic, slow-sinking plugs, notably Paul Brown’s Corky. Brown, of Houston, created the “soft twitch bait” some years earlier, fiddling here and tweaking there, but supplies were limited and few anglers knew much about them.

A select crew of big-trout specialists started chunking Corky plugs on shallow flats and the lid blew off in ‘96, when Jim Wallace used one to catch the 13-pound, 11-ounce state record from Baffin Bay. The typical Corky retrieve is slow and deliberate, but the payoff can be huge. One of the first times I used one, down on the Laguna Madre, I saw a long silver flash as the plug meandered across a sand pothole. The rod surged down and 12-pound line spun from the reel.

The good news is, the fish taped 31 inches. The bad news, it was a redfish. But, trout or reds, the slow-sinking, soft-plastic plugs are great.

I prefer the Corky Fat Boy, which resembles a chubby shad rather than a finger mullet. You can mix the retrieve, dog-walking on top as well as stuttering at mid-depth.

The Corky craze spawned other soft-plastic plugs as well as a variety of slow-sinking, shallow-running “hard” plugs - the MirrOlure Catch 2000 being a top-tray example.

The latest tackle trend probably would be the tremendous success of scent-impregnated soft “tails.” The Berkley Gulp! products lead the charge. They are nasty to deal with, packaged in an odoriferous sauce, but they are effective.

I guess, technically, you would have to call them “lures,” but that may be stretching it. Put it this way; when I’m reaching for a tub of greasy, smelly Gulp! tails, I certainly don’t look down at the guy rigging with a live shrimp. At least, on a slow day, he can eat his bait.

In recent years, not much innovation has hit the tackle shelves.

Mostly, it’s been refinements of existing concepts (similar in that respect to the long-ago ‘60s). And maybe that’s just as well. We have a wealth of excellent gear.

And, after more than 50 years of following tackle trends, I’ve come to the odd conclusion that maybe it can be a mistake to get too good at catching fish. If every cast produced a fish - well, think about it.

TSFMAG.com | 37

Black drum prowling deep, searching for shellfish. Barbels on its chin help search out juvenile oysters, crab and shrimp.

38 | March 2012

STORY BY JOE RICHARD

Black drum have earned a

few monikers over the years,

some of them plainly ungenerous. They were born without the cavalier persona of their coppery cousins, the redfish. They’re a bit drab, and slower. However, what they lack in beauty, they make up for in size. They’re often the biggest fish many coastal anglers will ever catch. With a state record of 81 pounds, the black drum isn’t threatened by its smaller cousin. And with a penchant for spawning in deeper, protected water each spring, these guys can be fought from dry land or small boats. As for their beauty status, that depends on whom you talk to. A shore-bound angler hooked up with a 50-pounder may consider Mr. Drum the best thing since the Internet.

March is spawning month for these brutes, and a few Texas hotspots are listed below.

First, here’s a little advice on tackle and technique.

Water depth: Black drum stay deep during their spawning rituals, but there’s no need to fish in a ship lane. It’s best to keep out of serious boat traffic and avoid the 50-foot depths.

Also avoid the flats; these fish are now geared for spawning in their favorite depths, which is 20-30 feet. Watch the depth finder, but also other boats sitting anchored with the same intentions. Safely “on the hook,” rig up tackle with a range of lead weights, depending on the current’s speed. We like to use four to eight ounces. You want a proper spread of baits both astern and on each side on the boat, without your rigs migrating in the current. Only lead will keep those baits set in a fixed pattern. Heavier lead to the sides, lighter lead astern.

Big drum, both black and red, seem to feed best during an incoming tide; there’s just something about spawning rituals that gives them a big appetite. (We also know they want their drifting eggs to settle far back in the bays and marsh where the hatched fry can hide while growing. Schedule your trip ideally around healthy water movement; an anemic tide makes for slow action. Green water helps, but drum have small chin barbells and in muddy water can certainly sniff out a juicy cracked crab laid on the bottom for their benefit.

TSFMAG.com | 39

POC’s Marilyn Giessel and her assistant Miss Lilly whip up on big black drum in March, somewhere in the vicinity of Saluria Bayou…

Bait: Serious drum fishermen with regular exposure to the bay, or who live nearby, should consider setting out a few crab traps for a steady supply of fresh bait. Back before the crab trap cleanups there was an ample supply of discarded traps, half full of sand, on bayside beaches. We would clean up four or five, dropped a redfish head in each one, and soak them in a local bayou where a cold front wouldn’t blow them away. A redfish head lasted a full week, but these days you’re not supposed to use gamefish scraps in crab traps. However a puppy (small) black drum’s head would serve as well, if it fits. If nothing else, fill the bait compartment with leftover chicken scraps. Discarded traps aren’t so easy to find these days, thanks to CCA crab trap cleanups each February, but they can be borrowed from coastal friends or even bought.

Anglers in a hurry or living further inland may have to buy their bait. Only Asian groceries and fish markets seem to sell crabs these days---they’ve become a rarity in bait stores. Hit the nearest grocery or market on Friday evening before heading for the coast, pick the meanest crabs, and they’ll stay alive in a cooler overnight. Some say crawfish work just as well, and they don’t have nearly the attitude of crabs. Just don’t let either reach ice water, which kills them quickly. They’re happy enough sitting on a towel over a sealed ice bag.

Next day, once the boat is anchored, pop a crab’s shell off (a technique called cracked crab), and also the claws, and toss them overboard for chum. Then, break the crab in half. That leaves four legs on each piece. Pin the hook through the rubbery joint of each bait’s rear paddle flipper, an appendage that allows the crab to swim in better times. You don’t want the hook buried in hard crab shell. Leave plenty of hook exposed; the goal here is to bury the hook in drum lip, instead of getting balled up in crab shell while the drum thoughtfully munches his meal.

Give these bigger drum the time to chew, before setting a J-hook. For long casts from shore, the

Black drum dearly love blue crab, ideally cracked in half for easier chomping.

40 | March 2012

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Keep a few traps baited in deep, protected waters, and you’ll have a fresh supply of ideal crab baits during the spring run of black drum.

set out four 40-pound outfits with Penn Senator reels, a little heavy for these gentle giants. Today I prefer seven-foot medium spin outfits with 20-pound line. The only problem we have is setting a circle hook with this tackle; the J-hook works better.

The winds of March should not affect drum fishermen; 20-knot gusts should be no hindrance at all. They often spawn in protected water, but still prefer depth and current this time of year. Often you’re within 30 yards of land, or even on the shore itself. You can even jam a kayak against the bank in protected waters, if water depths are 20 feet, and get busy. The only problem for yakkers is a short spread of rod holders.

That’s why I prefer to fish from my 15-foot jonboat, that has four PVC holders evenly mounted from bow to stern for summer tarpon drifts, and delivers a broadside of four baits all at once to starboard. It’s easy to park the boat and fire off four crab baits. Bull redfish may favor churning surf and jetty chops, but cousin drum plainly prefers gentle waters easily fished from aluminum boats or other small craft.

J-hook is best. Avoid stainless steel hooks---the hook may get swallowed and this is a release fishery for spawner-class fish.

If fishing within 20 feet around the boat, go with the circle hook.

With the circle, these fish have to move off and pull a sturdy rod down, before the hook sets itself. Big circle hooks easily hook big drum, but you need that heavier 30- to 40-pound gear to set the hook. Unhooking circle hooks and releasing these fish is a no-brainer, since big drum are patient during such a procedure. For lighter tackle, rearing back with a J-hook offers better insurance. Drum brought up from 30 feet or more can have their air bladders deflated like bull redfish, by inserting a thin, sharp instrument where the tip of the pectoral fin touches its side. Those that aren’t deflated and float away may still recover in 10 minutes or so and dive back down. I’ve seen it happen many times.

Historic drum spots include Galveston’s Seawolf Park on the deep harbor side, where many a drum has wrapped his lips around juicy crab bait. Only to be waylaid by someone in a crowd of long-rod (as in 12-foot) anglers deadly serious on wrestling big drum. The same goes for the Texas City Dike, scene of big drum tournaments in years past, finally curtailed when large drum became protected in 1988. Galveston’s jetties, the biggest in the country, also attract a host of drum from February to April.

Sturdy spin tackle hooked up with a big drum.

Use at least four rods: There’s no use messing around out here. This is a waiting game, and a spread of baits gets more drum attention. Tackle can range from 20 to 40 pounds, the lighter gear giving far more sport.

Back in high school a friend of mine fought a 35-pounder from the south levy in Port Arthur with a Zebco 33 outfit, an epic fight that took a long time and 100 yards of footwork. On the flip side, in later years, we Kayce Kowalczyk of Spring with her 57-pound drum at the Galveston jetties.

A green tide and foggy weather means warm and calmer weather, and drum love it during Spring.

42 | March 2012

Further south in Port O’Connor, the calmer bay side of the big jetties are a favorite of mine, protected from offshore winds. A green, incoming tide is always best here. And Saluria Bayou---with near-vertical dropoffs, reliably calm and deep even in a norther---is another favorite for giant spawning drum. Park against the shore, set out a spread of rods, sit back and do a little texting before the action starts…As in “OMG! I’m bowed up! BRB!”

Down at Port Aransas, Lydia Ann Channel offers reliable drum action during spring in depths of 20-25 feet.

At the southern end of South Padre Island, Queen Isabella Pier reaches out into prime drum water. On the pier, use a lead and sound out the depths, looking for 25 feet or so. The pier is open even after dusk, for those contemplating a night-bite of big bruiser drum without worrying about boating in darkness.

INSPIRED BY OUR FRIENDS IN THE WATER. BUILT FOR OUR FRIENDS ON LAND.

TSFMAG.com | 43 128450_CDM-12042_Texas Saltwater Fishing 1

Job#:CDM-12042 L/S:150 Size:10.75 x 8.1875

1/18/12 3:25 PM

Science and the Sea

Boat Chris Mapp’s Tips Maintenance TM

Sinister Sponges For years, scientists believed all sponges were filter feeders that trapped and fed on bacteria from water they pump through their bodies. But in 1995, researchers discovered that certain species of sponge enjoy meatier meals.

Carnivorous sponges measure only a centimeter or two and are shaped like trees or daisies, with stalklike bodies and filaments fanning out from the top.

These filaments are key to the sponge’s success as a predator. Each is lined with hook-like structures that are perfectly shaped for latching and holding onto the appendages of small crustaceans.

These tiny flesh-eaters are “sit and wait” predators that rest on the ocean bottom, ready for crustaceans to bump into their filaments. Once a creature is snagged, it quickly gets entangled and the filaments contract. Next, elastic cells from the sponge’s outer layer engulf the victim. Sponge cells flood toward the prey to break down the body and absorb the digestible elements. In the lab, carnivorous sponges have been seen “spitting out” non-digestible parts of prey, such as the hard outer skeleton. Finishing one meal can take up to 10 days!

Scientists think this family of sponges developed their meat-eating lifestyle as an adaptation to their barren ocean bottom environment. Because they remain still while waiting for prey to get caught in their filaments, the sponges spend very little energy between feedings, helping them survive in a place where food is scarce. Several species of carnivorous sponge are now known, and scientists expect there are even more lurking in the vast deep ocean.

The University of Texas

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

44 | March 2012

Outboard motor engineering and design have come a long way and the topic of four stroke versus two stroke outboards gets aired often.

Opinions on performance and cost of operation range all over the map.

Two stroke price tags are easier on the budget but four strokes cost less to operate – or so we’re told. Let’s see if we can unravel the puzzle.

Start with fuel consumption. Marine outboard manufacturers base fuel consumption on gallons-per-hour (gph), not the miles-per-gallon (mpg) formula we are more accustomed to seeing. While the gph rating may be useful for the manufacturers, I prefer to stick to the good old mpg rating because it is easier to relate to.

Here’s an illustration…

A four stroke of 150 to 250 HP will usually be most efficient at around 4200 rpm with an average mpg rate of 3.5 to 4.0 - provided the boat is propped correctly, the trim is adjusted, and load (passengers and ALL gear aboard plus fuel load) does not exceed the capacity recommendation. Throw in a T-Top or overload the boat slightly and all fuel mileage bets go out the window. Interestingly - all the above is also true for a two stroke outfit but with reduced fuel economy roughly 3.0 mpg or thereabouts.

Now let’s look at what happens if we push the engine harder.

Did you know that at wide open throttle that same outboard could consume 20-25 gallons per hour? That’s what I was getting at when I said the gallons-per-hour rating can be a little confusing for boat owners who are more accustomed to calculating fuel usage in milesper-gallon.

Now that we understand fuel consumption a little better let’s dig into other costs of operation. Four strokes are more fuel efficient but they require more regular servicing, especially crankcase oil changes.

Two strokes are not totally immune here, they inject engine lubricant as they burn gasoline. Which costs more?

Actually, the costs of operation are not all that different although you spend it in different ways. Let’s assume a four stroke rig and a two stroker are both driven 600 miles.

The average four stroke maintenance cost for oil changes and such will be about $200 out the door, parts and labor included. Premium name-brand two stroke lube runs about $35 per gallon. At average 3.0 mpg you will burn 25% more fuel (200 gal vs. 160) and probably spend about $150 for two stroke lube. You spend a tad more as you drive but the four stroke operator paid more for his engine when new.

As you can see there is actually little difference in the total cost of ownership. What will definitely change the picture is if you run cheap oil. You may think you are saving a few bucks but you will pay the difference and then some down the road. And don’t forget the fuel additive to prevent ethanol fuel problems with every fill-up.

Have a great spring season!

Coastal Bend Marine – Port O’Connor, TX – 361.983.4841 coastalbendmarine.com – ChrisMapp@Coastalbendmarine.com

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J AY WAT K I N S

ASK THE PRO

As I work on this article the temperature outside is hovering around 42° and the wind is out of the NE at nearly 25 mph. Not the best of conditions by any means.

The forecast calls for an afternoon high of 55° along with steadily decreasing wind, so we are delaying until noon in hope that it will improve. Another factor influencing today’s fishing prospects is the full moon phase we are currently under. Actually it is the day after the full moon so I am expecting a tough bite and the best of it, if you want to term it such, should occur during late afternoon.

I’m hoping the feeding pattern will coincide with the improvement in the weather and the combined effect will improve our overall chances.

I make no bones about my feelings toward the actual day of the full moon and the two days that follow. My records indicate tough feeding behavior and brief windows of opportunity within the tough feeding period. The plus side to all this is the size of the trout we typically catch. I am of the opinion that three to four days before and three to four days following the full moon are excellent times to get shots at some of the best trout 46 | March 2012

in any given bay system. The day of the full moon is the toughest of the seven to eight day full moon swing.

I make it known that I have always been a shallow water enthusiast. My expertise, if I have acquired any, lies in the ability to read and interpret the daily movement of predatory species based on the prevailing conditions.

Trout are at the top of the food chain and to better understand them one must be able to relate to how predators operate. I have always believed that trout prefer to feed in shallower water when available. Simply put, less water means less area to cover, which results in more energy saved. Trout are not looking for the thrill of the hunt, it’s all about harvest. They want to eat and then ease up into the best “hideout” structure in the area and lay up until the next meal is required.

When formulating a daily game plan for the middle to lower Texas coast, we must consider water movement (whether created by tide or wind), wind direction, wind velocity, water temperature, structure, and of course the availability of bait. This probably seems like an awful to digest if you’re just beginning to target trophy-class

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trout. Good news is this magazine offers detailed instruction from those willing to share a lifetime of knowledge with those willing and wanting to learn.

“The wind is your friend” comment that I have made so many times over the years turns out to be true more often than not. Wind-driven current running across shallow grass is a tool that we use almost daily. I can’t tell you how many anglers I have disappointed by putting them out on windward shorelines in less than “pretty” water. In Rockport we always have some protected water no matter the wind direction or time of year and, we certainly catch some really good fish in the clear stuff, but the biggest and best days are usually recorded in water the average angler would never have selected on his own. I think you will notice in the photos accompanying this article, the water is dirty and the wind is the culprit.

Of the seven factors I mentioned above, I rank their importance as follows: water temperature, bait availability, wind direction, currents and structure within the specific area. We will experience many windy, cold and overcast days over the remainder of winter that could afford some of us the opportunity of catching that trout of a life time. By no means am I suggesting that one bypass the calm sunny days of winter, these too can be very productive after pro-longed periods of cold with virtually no warming.

I know everyone must grow tired of hearing my continual harping about the importance of locating bait during the winter months. Right now, today, I will go to areas that I know contain the proper bottom structure and ease in and look for signs of bait. If I see them I’ll be confident to spend the remainder of the afternoon working this area. Signs of bait could be pelicans sitting or diving, osprey hovering or diving, and of course actual sightings of bait flipping or pushing

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Citrus

Red Head Flash

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Greenie

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TSFMAG.com | 47

bodies with light colored backs and silver or gold flash. Your wading box should have the following: 5-inch Bass Assassin shad in plum, bone diamond, morning glory, 10W40, Chandeleur Isle and root beer with red glitter. In the Die Dapper line I like sand trout, limetreuse, morning glory with chartreuse and pumpkinseed with chartreuse.

The 5-inch shad Assassin should be rigged with a Bass Assassin Jighead with Mustad 2/0 or 3/0 hook weighing 1/16 or 1/8 ounce.

The 3/0 works best for the Die Dapper series. I really like the Mustad black nickel hooks. Moving on to the Corky and Fat Boy, you will need floaters for shallow and clear conditions. I like pearl and chartreuse, electric chicken, dayglow, mossy back mullet, and hot pink, pink with pearl, and chartreuse. Dark red and purple can be great as well on very overcast days when fishing clear water.

As always I hope you learned a little something from this month’s article. I discover something new everyday. Each trip should be a continuation of the learning process for us and I honestly think the day wasted if we did not at least look for something new that helps us better understand what it really takes to get the job done.

May your fishing always be catching. -Guide Jay Watkins

C ontact

water. Predators seldom lose awareness of where their next meal is finding refuge.

I do not get hung up on water clarity. I believe that dirty water creates a more natural and instinctive strike from the trout. In my last article I tried to describe the mental picture and mental toughness it takes to stand in an area and allow your day to develop. Trophy-sized trout make up less than 3% of the total trout population so our odds are slim at best. By positioning ourselves in areas with proper bottom structure, ample bait, and quick routes to deeper and warmer waters, we increase the odds sufficiently to justify investing effort in the area.

Confidence supports dedication and dedication is rewarded with positive results.

As a guide I am not always fortunate to have clients with the focus and mental toughness to work small areas for long periods of time with little results. As the clock is running down on the day, our patience sometimes runs low as well. This is when a move to another area can renew confidence. So far the winter of 2011/2012 has provided reasonable numbers of fish along with the possibility of a big fish as well. This certainly makes my job more enjoyable and it enables my clients to maintain a higher confidence level in the area as well as yours truly.

As for lure choices, mine will be Bass Assassins in the standard 5-inch shad, the 5-inch Die Dapper, the Paul Brown Original (Corky) and Fat Boy now made by MirrOlure and the MirrOlure Catch 5 series of suspending baits. I prefer darker lures in off-colored water and I also find that extremely bright patterns that include loud colors like pink and chartreuse work well there. In clear water I prefer baits that have clear

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

Close-Out Specials!

203 W. MT. HOUSTON (1/2 mile east of IH-45) (281) 447-7689

B

48 | March 2012

361-729-9596 Jay@jaywatkins.com www.jaywatkins.com

CASEY SMARTT

F LY F I S H I N G

CHOOSING THE

RIGHT GLUE Outdoorsmen use glue. We like glue. Glue holds together the stuff we build and fixes the stuff we break.

It binds flies, repairs broken tackle, mends tears in tents and waders, and prevents leaks in watercraft. In fact, I haven’t met an angler yet who doesn’t appreciate really good glue (come to think of it… good tape too). The problem, though, is there are a lot of different glues and adhesives out there, and selecting the right one for a specific job can be confusing. So this month, let’s take a closer look at a few proven glues and when/where you should use them.

Epoxies Epoxies are two-part resins that, when mixed together, “cure.” Unlike conventional adhesives that harden through a process of evaporation, epoxies undergo a catalytic reaction causing the two mixed resins to harden. This reaction occurs over a matter of minutes and produces heat as a byproduct. Epoxies form a very hard, almost glass-like bond. Because no evaporation of

video 50 | March 2012

Check out Casey’s Fly Fishing Video Library at www.caseysmartt.com

www.froghairfishing.com solvents occurs as epoxies cure, the start-to-finish volume of epoxy does not shrink. Epoxies are suitable for use as protective coatings on the bodies and heads of flies and are often used on spoonflies. Epoxies are also good for gluing ferrules together, repairing tackle and general construction where a strong, rigid, gap-filling bond is required. There are a variety of epoxies on the market.

The most common are those labeled as “5-minute” and “2-ton.” The 5-minute epoxies catalyze quickly and have a working time of around 3-4 minutes, while the 2-ton epoxies allow for a working time of approximately 15 minutes and form a more durable bond. Most epoxies will yellow quickly from exposure to UV light and although cured epoxy is glassy-hard, it’s brittle and can crack or break under impact. Uncured epoxy resins are hazardous so users should follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully when using them. Widely available brands include Devcon, Gorilla, and Loctite.

UV-Activated Resins UV-Activated Resins have been used in dentistry and

Characteristics of Different Waterproof Glues (refer to mfg. material safety data sheet for exact specifications) Adhesion Strength

Flexibility

Excellent

5 min

Clear

Yes

Yes

Fly tying Tackle repair Boat repair

Uses

Gorilla 5-minute Epoxy

2-part epoxy

Excellent

Rigid glass-like brittle

Clear Cure Goo

UVactivated Resin

Good

Rigid or Flexible

Excellent

30 sec

Clear

No

Unkown

Fly tying Tackle Repair

Wet-a-Hook Tuffleye

UVactivated Resin

Good

Rigid or Flexible

Excellent

30 sec

Clear

No

Yes

Fly tying Tackle Repair

Loctite Gel Super Glue

CA Adhesive

Excellent

Rigid Brittle

Fair

2 sec

Milky

Yes

Yes

Fly tying Tackle repair

Dap Kwik Seal

Adhesive Caulking

Excellent

Highly flexible

Excellent

36 hrs

Clear

No

Yes

Fly tying Tackle Repair Wader repair Boat rigging Kayak rigging

Aleene’s Fabric Fusion

Fabric Adhesive

Excellent

Slightly flexible

Good

72 hrs

Clear

No

No

Fly tying Fabric repair

Sally Hansen’s Hard-as-Nails

Clear Lacquer

Excellent

Slightly flexible

Good

10 min

Clear

Yes

Yes

Fly tying, Tackle Repair

other industries for many years. They have recently become available to the public for use as specialty adhesives. UV-activated resins are applied to a surface (such as a fly or tackle component) and cured by exposure to intense UV rays emitted by a special flashlight. UV rays catalyze the resins and, curing them in approximately 15-20 seconds. A protective UV shield is generally positioned between the light and the user to avoid eye-damage from the rays while the light is shined on the resin. UV resins are available in both thick and thin viscosities and are applied with either a syringe or a small brush. Cured finishes range from flexible to hard. UV resins do not yellow over time and are resistant to degradation by water, fuels, and solvents.

These resins have become extremely popular with fly tyers because their rapid cure times make it possible to quickly and cleanly build fly parts and patterns with exceedingly durable finishes.

Two of the most widely used brands of this product are Tuffleye and Clear Cure Goo. Users of UV-activated resins should follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully to avoid exposing their eyes to the UV light and their skin/eyes to the uncured resins.

CA Adhesives (superglues) Cyanoacrylate (CA) adhesives have been around for many years. These are commonly known as superglues. They will instantly bond together a wide variety of materials (including fingers) and are often used in fly tying to attach eyes and secure thread and materials to the hook shank.

CA adhesives are also used to repair fly lines, secure knots in leaders, and other miscellaneous applications where an instant ready-to-go bond is required. The gel CA adhesives are perhaps the most user-friendly and easy to work with. Cured CA adhesive is fairly strong, but will become yellow and chalky quickly after exposure to light and water. The fumes from CA adhesives are toxic, and some users (including yours truly) are allergic to them. If you plan to use these adhesives be extremely careful not to get them on your skin. Also, use very good ventilation to avoid respiratory complications. Due to my personal experience with CA adhesives, I am hesitant to recommend them, but they are widely popular and highly useful for a few applications. The most common brands are Loctite and Zap-a-Gap. Dap Kwik Seal Dap Kwik Seal is a clear, flexible, waterproof bathroom caulking/adhesive that forms a very strong, flexible, almost indestructible bond. The texture of Kwik Seal is similar to standard caulking (paste-like) and it can be a little difficult to work with, but the results are very good. I have used Kwik Seal to coat the heads of flies, form waterproof gaskets around kayak fasteners and accessories, and to repair waders and camping gear. It is good stuff. Kwik Seal requires 36 hours to cure and will become milky and weak if exposed to moisture sooner than 36 hours after application. Kwik Seal comes out of the tube white and becomes clear as it cures. It also shrinks slightly as it cures. Although many-a-tile setter has applied Kwik Seal by bare hand, it contains

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Suspending Twitchbait MirrOdine® 17MR-EC 2-5/8" Long, 3/8 Oz.

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Type of Glue

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ethylene glycol and formaldehyde. DAP recommends using gloves and adequate ventilation with this product. Kwik Seal is available in most hardware and department stores.

Aleene’s Fabric Fusion Aleene’s Fabric Fusion (AFF) is one of the best adhesive products I have come across in a long time. This non-toxic water-based adhesive has a syrupy texture when wet and a finished appearance similar to cured epoxy. Once it completely dries (72 hours), AFF forms a very strong, durable, clear, waterproof bond. Although AFF shrinks substantially as it dries, it is an alternative for fly tying applications that typically required epoxy. AFF cleans up with water and because it is non-toxic it’s safe for kids to use. I have used AFF as a protective coating on spoonflies and Deceivers, as a body-builder for Surf Candies, and as a clear-coat for shrimp and baitfish eyes. It also makes a great adhesive coating for thread wraps and barbell eyes and can be used to repair luggage and clothing. Aleene’s Fabric Fusion is available in a 4-oz. squeeze bottle for broad applications or a small squeeze pen for fine applications. It is sold in most craft and department stores.

C ontact

Sally Hansen’s Hard-as-Nails No article on glues would be complete without mentioning Sally Hansen’s Hard-as-Nails (even though it technically is a lacquer). This ubiquitous nail polish product with a familiar acetone aroma has been used by fly tyers for everything from head cement to clear coat. Hardas-Nails dries quickly to a wonderfully reliable crystal clear finish and is perfect for coating thread wraps or polishing epoxy patterns. I have used Hard-as-Nails to secure materials on flies, freshen up old lures, coat fly line end-loops, and for a variety of other applications where a quick strong clear coat is required. Hard-as-Nails is available in small 4.5 oz. bottles red/white bottles in nearly all grocery stores, department stores, and pharmacies. If you can’t find it there, just swipe some from your spouses’ makeup bag!

52 | March 2012

Casey Smartt has been fly fishing and tying flies for 30 years.

When he cannot make it to the coast he is happy chasing fish on Texas inland lakes and rivers.

Telephone Email Website

830-237-6886 caseysmartt@att.net www.caseysmartt.com

One cast — yOu’ll be hOOked.

Get ready for the fishing trip of a lifetime.

Houma, Louisiana is the gateway to the Saltwater Fishing Capital of the World®, where the fish are always biting and the adventure is always on. Whether you charter with one of our 30+ charter fishing services or bring your boat, the limits are high and every cast is another chance to reel in a trophy.

1-800-688-2732 lasaltwaterFishingcapital.com

OffshOre, inland (marsh Or bay) and fly fishing…all available with experienced guides TSFMAG.com | 53

By Ed Hegen | Regional Director Coastal Fisheries Division | Rockport

FIELD NOTES

FISHERIES IN BERLIN Dateline: Berlin, Germany, August 2011.

Germans and Berliners are remembering the 50-year anniversary of the erection of the wall that divided a city within a divided country. Germany is now united (since 1989) and Berlin is a vibrant international city. Humboldt University of Berlin, founded in 1810, is the site of the 6th World Recreational Fishing Conference, hosting over 350 participants from 32 countries from around the world.

As part of my vacation, I was honored to represent Texas at this conference. The following is an abstract of my presentation focusing on the driving forces that have affected the evolution of Texas’ great saltwater recreational fisheries.

Geography, Climate and Habitat Texas is known for its size, and thus has a wide range of geographic, climatic and environmental features that contribute significantly to the diversity of habitat and subsequently the diversity of fish species. The span from 54 | March 2012

north to south and east to west is over 300 miles each way, encompassing over 4 million acres within 8 major bay systems behind the coastal barrier islands, with jurisdiction in the Gulf of Mexico for the State out to 9 nautical miles (nm) and to 200 nm for the Feds.

The major forces of change in this arena are those of climate and anthropomorphic changes. The most significant change was the dredging of the Intracoastal Waterway in the 1930s, spanning from border to border.

Increasing human population growth along the coast has brought about other alternations affecting habitat and water quality and quantity. Seemingly increasing impacts of hurricanes, harmful algal blooms, climatic changes, such as drought, and continued man-made changes are impacting the coastal fisheries.

Governance and Enforcement Even before receiving statehood in 1845, Texans had derived consumable and economic benefit from their

coast. The creation of the Oyster Commission by the Texas Legislature in 1895 was the first step in delegated authority to oversee and protect the commercial harvest of that resource and subsequently protection and management of most living coastal resources. Evolution of many name changes has resulted in what today is known as the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), within which are both the Coastal Fisheries (management and research) and Law Enforcement divisions. The enforcement officers of the later division are recognized and ranked among the best educated, trained and equipped in the nation. A number of other state agencies, such as the General Land Office and the Commission on Environmental Quality, were also created to help understand, protect and regulate Texas’ abundant resources.

The Federal government has created a number of agencies that have certain operational and/or jurisdictional roles in the Texas’ coastal fisheries understanding and management: US Commission on Fish and Fisheries (1871), Gulf of Mexico Compact (1947), Coastal Zone Management Act (1972), Magnuson Fisheries Conservation Act (1976), US Fish and Wildlife Service (1939) and US Environmental Protection Agency (1973).

Increasing human demands on the coastal resources may require the governmental drivers to seek changes in the way issues are addressed and resolved: legislative authority and appropriations; federal jurisdictions versus states’ rights; licensing and permitting; and regulations and allocations.

Recreational Fishery Texas’ earliest coastal fishery was largely commercial with some concerns published as early as 1893 regarding “those interested in developing the sporting fisheries of Texas.” Today the saltwater recreational fishery exceeds the commercial fishery in both participants and value: commercial finfish fishery of 940 participants with landings valued at $1.6 million and recreational fishing with over 1.1 million participants and $18 billion in value.

The recreational fisherman profile is very complex: locals and tourist; hand liners and flying bridges; kayaks and head boats; inshore and offshore; table fare and tournaments; and amateur and professionals. Activity ranges from the always present subsistence fisherman to high profile fishing, such as tarpon catching President Roosevelt.

Numerous measurable changes have occurred since post World War II: population growth along coastal regions; increase in “disposable income”; and evolution in quality and variety of motors, boats, and fishing gears. Along with the fore-mentioned changes, there has also been an increase in educated, active, diverse recreational groups, organizations and special interests that have taken an interest in the recreational fisheries. An example of such is the Coastal Conservation Association established in 1977.

Science and Management It has been the Coastal Fishers Division of TPWD that has had the primary responsibility for the scientific research and management of the living resources of the coast. The study activities have evolved from understanding habitat and species diversity in the early 1900s; single species life histories, spawning and harvest activities in the 1930s; understanding impacts such as pollution, pesticides and harvest impacts in the 1950s; further understanding of coastwide processes and establishing ecosystem based management practices in the 1970s; and employing stock assessments, enhancement practices, and state of the art genetics in the 1980s.

Coastal Fisheries Division has taken advantage of the use of the exponential advancement of technological tools and employed the evolution in the use of social and economic sciences.

The division has collaborated well with other agencies, non-government organizations, and universities. It has always tried to maintain an understanding and dialogue with the recreational constituency via the open regulatory process, participation of various committees, and many other less formal avenues of communication. The division has remained a leader in resource research and management among comparable divisions of conservation agencies within the United States and worldwide.

Texas’ saltwater recreational fishery is extremely complex and diverse. It drives a significant economic engine yet it will require continued economic input to maintain its high quality while being driven by many internal and external forces. It is all of our jobs to manage and conserve the fishery resources and provide fishing opportunities for use by present and future generations.

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

TSFMAG.com | 55

C O N S E R V AT I O N

WHAT’S HAPPENING AT

CCA TEXAS

Habitat Today for Fish Tomorrow increases commitment to new Matagorda nearshore reef to $200,000 CCA Texas’ habitat program, Habitat Today for Fish Tomorrow (HTFT), recently announced that the program is increasing its commitment to the Matagorda nearshore reefing site to $200,000. This new nearshore reef in Texas state waters is located between Matagorda and Sargent and is a 160 acre site located 25 nm southeast of Freeport in 60 ft of water. With $115,000 already committed through a combination of funds from a private Houston foundation, Shimano American Corporation and CCA National’s Building Conservation Fund, this additional funding by HTFT is possible through the additional grant of $85,000 from the Building Conservation Fund.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) Artificial Reefing program is in the process of putting together the necessary project packages in preparation for bids and hopes to reef approximately 600 pre-designed pyramid structures at the site by the end of summer 2012. HTFT has partnered with TPWD’s Artificial Reefing program on two prior projects, the Vancouver site out of Freeport and most recently the Port Mansfield site located out of Port Mansfield. With this addition in funds to the TPWD Reefing Program, HTFT has now contributed $300,000 to nearshore reefing projects in Texas state waters and remains committed to helping TPWD populate currently permitted sites with materials and the creation of other nearshore sites along the Texas coast.

2012 off to a fast start When this issue of Texas Saltwater Fishing hits the news stands, CCA Texas volunteers will have already held three banquets, participated in four boat/fishing shows and taken part in two conservation efforts to keep our coastal resources pristine. The Houston Real Estate Chapter kicked off the year with a great event at the Houston Country Club and was followed up by the Texas State Chapter in San Marcos and the San Bernard Chapter in East Bernard. All three events were great successes and many thanks to the volunteers that put these together.

Volunteers were also busy away from the normal fundraising activities and participated in the 11th Annual Crab Trap cleanup on February 18th and the Billy Sandifer Big Shell Beach Cleanup on February 25th. Both of these events are fueled by great volunteer support and 56 | March 2012

sponsors, and would not be possible without them. Many thanks to TPWD for once again organizing the Crab Trap Cleanup and to Billy Sandifer and Friends of Padre for leading the charge in the monumental effort to keep Big Shell Beach clean.

Be sure to visit www.ccatexas.org and see what events are coming up on the calendar in the near future. March events include the following banquets: Sabine/Neches: Thurs, March 1, Port Arthur Civic Center Brazos Valley: Thurs, March 8, Brazos Center in Bryan Colorado Valley: Thurs, March 22, K. C. Hall in LaGrange Texas A&M: Friday, March 23, Brazos Center in Bryan West Texas: Monday, March 26, Midland Country Club Corpus Christi: Thurs, March 29, American Bank Center, CC Bay Area: Thurs, March 29, Bay Area Community Center Brazoria Cty: Thurs, March 29, Civic Center in Lake Jackson Be sure to check out these great events in you local community and support the effort of these volunteers the make sure our coastal resources are available for future generations. ...CCA continued on page 69

Port Mansfield East Cut & Beach Cleanup The Fourth Annual Port Mansfield East Cut & Beach Cleanup will be held Saturday March 17, 2012.

Registration of volunteers and free breakfast will begin at 7:00 AM at the Port Mansfield Chamber of Commerce Pavilion. A free box lunch will also be provided. A celebration and chili supper will conclude the day’s activities at Pelican’s Pub in Port Mansfield.

We need boat captains willing to provide ferry service, volunteers to do the work, and sponsors to help pay for food and lodging. Free housing will be provided by our generous sponsors on an as-available basis with priority given to youth groups.

Last year was a tremendous success, thanks in large part to all the CCA members, Port Mansfield volunteers, local business supporters and sponsors who cleaned a huge area of the Mansfield East Cut and PINS beach and provided food and lodging. Join us again for lots of fun and a commemorative Sam Caldwell tee shirt. To guarantee you will get a tee shirt, preregister with the Chamber of Commerce or at kathieb@ basslerenergyservices.com.

Contact Miller and Kathy Bassler 979-535-4593 or cell phones 979-204-5185 or 979-324-5555.

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TSFMAG.com | 57

Somewhat traditional on the underside, the Diablo Adios should offer a very stable platform for stand-up fishing.

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

K AYA K F I S H I N G

NEW DESIGNS FOR

STAND-UP SIGHT-FISHING With the arrival of spring I start getting questions from folks looking to get into kayak fishing. Most have been thinking about pulling the trigger but find the vast array of kayaks now available too much to decipher. It used to be fairly simple to narrow their choices by just asking a few questions about the way they intend to fish. In years past I had paddled pretty much every available kayak suitable for fishing.

That isn’t the case any longer.

I’ve written about several of the upgrades to the classic models as well as some of the newly introduced kayaks that have come out over the past couple years.

While I applaud the thought and effort put forth by the kayak industry to make their boats more useful to anglers, most changes have been minor tweaks and 58 | March 2012

variations on the standards. It’s hard to come up with something really new for the sit-on-top kayak. During a recent stroll through Fishing Tackle Unlimited’s kayak department I stumbled across a couple new boats that

The KC12’s hull configuration is unique compared to other designs. Should be a tracker and very stable.

piqued my interest.

Both have somewhat similar histories of development and come from small companies right in our own backyard - Kajun Custom Kayaking Company (KC Kayaks) of southern Louisiana and Diablo Paddlesports of Austin. Both companies were started by kayak angling buddies who wanted something to suit their specific needs that weren’t being met by the big guys. Fishermen just like most of us, but instead of wishing for a better boat the way I tend to do, they set out to build their own. It is really interesting to me that they both had the same basic end goal, a kayak for stand-up sight-casting.

The guys at KC Kayaks came up with the K12 for plying the marshes of south Louisiana. They are marsh rats like me and love sight-casting to redfish. The higher your line of sight, the easier it is to spot your target and they sought to raise themselves as high as possible without chancing the unexpected splashdown that standup kayakers have been known to experience from time to time. To achieve their goal they came up with a rather unique looking craft that employs a sort of catamaran design. Or maybe it’s a tri-hull.

The bow starts off in the standard manner to cut through the water.

The cat hull comes into play just behind the bow making it a tri-hull.

Towards the rear of the boat the center V disappears making it look more like a catamaran at the stern.

The result is a super stable boat that can be paddled as a regular SOT or poled/paddled while standing. With that in mind they designed it with a large flat floorboard making it easy to move TSFMAG.com | 59

60 | March 2012

C ontact

around a bit instead of being restrained to the relatively small space afforded in most SOTs. The seat is somewhat elevated and rides on a sliding rail to allow you to move it out of your way while standing.

They also designed the seat to be flipped over on the rails for use as a mini poling platform placing your feet about sixteen inches above the water’s surface. I guess you could call it a micro-flats skiff.

In addition to these unique features, they put in plenty of open storage space as well as access hatches for dry storage and a couple of flush mount rod holders. The guys at KC have kept it pretty simple with regards to accessories. They offer an extra seat which can also be mounted on the rail system to turn the boat into a tandem and a trolling motor mount if you are inclined to let the battery do the work.

The founders of Diablo Paddlesports grew up paddling the waters of central Texas. They wanted a boat that could float through the shallow rocky streams as well as afford them the ability to stand up and sight-cast in the clear waters. Their idea was to combine the attributes of the sit-on-top with the new craze of stand-up paddleboards. The guys sought the assistance of long-time kayak designer and founder of Ocean Kayaks, Tim Niemier. It’s hard to go wrong when you get Tim to help design a kayak, paddleboard, or in this case, a stand-up paddleboard-kayak.

The result of their combined effort is a pair of unique tools for the kayak fisherman. The Adios is a twelve and half foot craft with a thirty-six inch beam and the Chupacabra is ten and half feet with a thirty-two inch beam. The two are very similar outside of the size difference. They are low profile boats with shallow tri-hulls designed to float shallow and paddle well from either a sitting or standing position while providing outstanding stability. Like the KC12, these models have a large flat floorboards with nothing in the way of your feet. The built in seat is similar to other SOTs as are the adjustable footpegs.

They also offer an optional raised folding seat similar to those found in Native brand kayaks. This seat elevates you ten inches providing a more comfortable ride as well as making it easier to go from sitting to standing. Another feature to aid the process of getting to the standing position easily is a pull-up strap attached to the front area of the cockpit. Both models have rear tankwells for wet storage and large hatches on the bow for access to dry storage inside the hull.

While I haven’t yet had the opportunity to paddle any of these new boats, I can say I’m intrigued. If you’ve read my ramblings on these pages over the years you already know that I frequently stand up in my kayaks and these models appear to be perfect for what I like to do. In the coming months you can expect to see at least a couple reports on trips employing their use along with a breakdown of my thoughts on their practicality for our coastal fishing.

If you can’t wait that long you can always go to your local dealer to see if they have a rental option or perhaps an upcoming spring demo day. Fishing Tackle Unlimited has both brands available for rent and I’m sure they will have them at their April 28th demo day event. And if you are like the folks mentioned at the beginning of this article, there is no better time than an on-the-water demo to sort through all the choices to find the kayak that best fits your needs.

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

Telephone Email Website

281-450-2206 scott@tsfmag.com www.captainscottnull.com TSFMAG.com | 61

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

ACCORDING TO SCOT T

CUSTOM DESIGNED & BUILT One of the things I truly love about my job is that, not only is the view from my office (poling platform) pretty damned nice but, I have the opportunity to do so much more than fish. For me, the creative side of my business really keeps me going when the weather is bad or fishing is slow. If you are reading this, it is obvious that I get to write about the things that I love and, it is no big secret how much I love photography, even though I rarely pick up a camera any more. And, while these things do keep me occupied and help pay the bills, one of my biggest passions has become product design and development.

Not so long ago I wrote in these pages about the push pole foot that I have been working on.

Unfortunately, even though there are several being used and the molds are cut, I still haven’t been able to bring it to market. Remember, I am just a dumb old fishing guide and know nothing of engineering 62 | March 2012

and polymers. When we set out to design it, we had no knowledge of the injection molding process and did allow for the “shrinkage” once the super hot materials had cooled. In short- the shank of the foot was just a little too small which meant if it is not bonded perfectly, water can seep into the pole. The mold is being modified but, as you can imagine, it is hard to find someone good enough to make this change without having to start all over from scratch.

A costly error on my part but fortunately, I have the ability to learn from my mistakes. In fact, this ‘learning’ experience I speak of has already been put to good use and applied to several other products that I have designed and prototyped to accompany the Skiff Gear brand should the concept ever come full circle.

Outside of the products that I have designed from my concepts, I have actually had the opportunity to work with other manufactures (mostly in the boating

industry) as part of a team of select individuals to either help design or at least give feedback and input that would enhance current designs. For me, it has been rewarding and educational beyond my wildest dreams. I have gained insight not only into design, but into construction, materials and marketing. What more could an uneducated, dumb old fishing guide ever want in life? Health care and a retirement plan, that’s what. Of course I am just joking- but very serious at the same time. Moving on….

While I cannot actually say it is the most recent project I have been involved with, it is the most recent to come to fruition. A few years back I was visiting a friend in the Florida Keys by the name of Tim Borski, who not only is a world-class fly angler, but a world renowned artist. We had just gotten in from a most excellent day of fishing the back-country of the Everglades and were unloading the skiff when Timmy’s new neighbor came over to introduce himself. The gentleman introduced himself as Tom Kapusta and through further conversation revealed that he was a soon to be retired machinist. Timmy was quick to ask, “What kind of stuff do you machine?” The reply was simple, “Just about anything you could imagine.”

Timmy quickly excused himself and retreated to his house to come out holding an old tattered custom fly reel. “Could you make one of these?” Tom took in his hand, looked it over and said, “Sure can.”

As they started talking about the reel and why Timmy wanted another one, I had the chance to look it over and decided I had to have one too. I just love having custom toys so I inadvertently blurted out, “Hey Tom, if you are seriously going to make one of these I’ll gladly pay to have a second one made.”

A few months later I get a call from Tom and he is asking me for my address and tells me he has a reel to send me. “I’m really curious to hear what you think about it. Timmy suggested a few changes so I incorporated them. I think this is reel number five.”

Then a week later I had my first of what would eventually become several of these reels and I was floored. I instantly picked up the phone and we started talking more about the reel and at the end of the conversation he told me that he was thinking about building more and was even considering starting a custom reel shop. “I would really like for you to be involved in the development of the product,” he said. “Tell me what you like, don’t like and what you feel needs to be changed.”

I was jacked! We got started right then….

Now, here we are four years later after several major and minor improvements and Kapusta Reels are now a reality. The build of these reels is based on a more traditional, tried and true design than some of the newer designs that have come out as of late and, to say the least, being built to last a lifetime. In fact, I consider it to be something that can be passed down from generation to generation. But what makes them really special is the fact that these are not your everyday reels- they are custom ordered and built one at a time. You can choose the color you want and even get custom porting on the spool to match your personality. The short version is, you could have twenty guys standing at the dock and they could all have the same reel but not a single one would be alike. That is what you call custom and I like it!

All said and done I have found the prototypes that I have in my possession to be nothing short of bullet-proof and at the same time, just outright classy. And, I cannot overemphasize how much I’m looking forward to receiving my next reel that is currently being built- a reel that I have specified to be built very narrow for backcountry redfish and snook.

I will have to say, if there is any one thing in life that will do me in, it is my love for custom, built-just-for-me kind of stuff. Boats, guns, bows, rods and now- REELS! If you are the same way, go check out kapustareels.com or give me a call, I can fill you in on all the little details that you might not get from the website.

C ontact

Until next month… be good and stuff like that!

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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 | 63

Breaking in a new Bad Bull Fishstick the right way on a cold February morning.

JAKE HADDOCK

YO U T H F I S H I N G

GEAR UP! What does the month of March tell me? Well, the fishing new year or, the spring equinox, of course. I know you’re thinking that New Year’s was way back on the first of January, but some fisherman may not think of it that way.

So why do you think that the spring equinox is thought of as the fishing new year? If you say anything like, regeneration of aquatic grasses or baitfish hatches you would probably be correct. It’s also a new turn of seasons and weather patterns.

Additionally, this is a month that the seasons are trying to change. Therefore, the wind may be 20 mph out of the north one day, then 30 mph out of the south the next. This means trying times on the water. Who knows what will happen with the crazy Texas weather this March? So far in 2012, there hasn’t really been a consistent weather pattern yet. I think this month will only be worse too.

I really don’t like fishing when the wind can’t make up its mind 64 | March 2012

which way it wants to blow, but like that’s going to stop me? Spring break is just too tempting to not spend a few days on the water, wind or no wind. On the bright side, any time we can get a steady south or southeast wind for a few days, I believe the fishing will be glorious.

I’m going to go ahead My buddy Garrett and make a prediction about fighting the the fishing in the upcoming elements to get months, or “warming months.” in the action with another nice red.

Last year was really dry, the water had super high salinity, and a lot of fish evacuated the bay waters to seek refuge in the surf. This year we have been blessed so far with a good amount of rain. This is balancing the salinity and will greatly help the marsh. In turn, this will help the bait hatches this spring.

Also if you remember back, red tide in the mid-coast killed a lot of baitfish in the fall and early winter. The point I’m trying to make is that I think once all the shrimp and baitfish young grow to edible size for game species,

the fishing will be on like Donkey Kong. I believe this will all fall into place around the first of May. You can always go out and catch a good share of fish, but I think this year is lining up to be exceptionally good. I could be wrong, but that’s just my prediction.

As unpredictable as the March weather is, you should always plan on spending a few weekends sitting out when you thought the weather was going to be perfect. Hopefully this doesn’t happen, but when it does, this would be a good opportunity to work on your fishing gear. Some of the best fishing of the year is right around the corner, and will be here before you know it. I already have a pretty good jumpstart on my gear and I will be 100% by the time it warms up enough to get out of waders. You and I both know there are some essentials in your fishing gear arsenal that needs some work, and maybe even a full-on upgrade.

Fishing gear is one thing that we expect to be nothing less than perfect. For years I have looked for the perfect lure, line, reel, rod, wading belt, tackle box, etc, some I have already found, some I have not. One thing is for sure, I will no longer search for the best rods on the Texas coast. I believe I have found them, and they are known as Bad Bull Fishsticks. They are well balanced, well aligned, but most importantly they sit so well in your hand it feels like a natural extension of the arm. You just won’t understand unless you have used one. I have been fishing with mine for a year now, and I can’t go back to any other rod. I am just too spoiled with this high quality fishing rod. As of now, the only store stocking them is The Treasure Chest in Port O’Connor.

They are not a big name brand yet, but there is great potential for Bad Bull. Next time your in the area stop by The Treasure Chest and check them out. You won’t be disappointed!

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2/3/12 8:16 AM

Run 70 miles hoping to find wahoo or hit the nearshore platforms for guaranteed line stretchers…what’ll it be?

MIKE JENNINGS

TEXAS NEARSHORE & OFFSHORE

MAKING THE MOST OF

MARCH'S OPPORTUNITIES With spring in full swing I look forward to March every year, it brings with it the long-awaited Spring Break.

For me, as I’m sure it does with many, it marks a major return to the water. March can be and often is a month that we start to see the offshore water temperatures begin to change. The amount of change can be a good indicator to the speed and timing of fish movements leading into the summer months.

Changing water temps and length of daylight are two major factors in just exactly when we will see the wahoo move from their breeding aggregations along the continental shelf and into more “reachable” waters. It will dictate when the kingfish scatter from large groups 66 | March 2012

along deep live-bottom structure and up from Mexican waters to eventually meet us within sight of land.

Water temp will even slightly influence just how early or late we see the cobia arrive from east of the Mississippi. With most we need a temperature above 68-69°F. I find that 70-71° usually means game on. If you fish often enough and pay close enough attention, you can almost mark their movement as the surface and beachfront water temperatures rise.

These rising water temps can also have the opposite effect on some reef species, leaving us running further as the year progresses into summer. I know that you can find a few scientists and experts that will tell you

Unlike red snapper, mangrove snapper (on left) can be targeted year round.

Gain the competitive

that all reef fish are structure dependent and do not migrate. But this aging fisherman can tell you that they will be on a certain structure in the winter and not be there in July. So in my humble opinion they most defiantly move to deeper water as the temps change. I guess you can decide if that’s migrating or not.

Greater amberjack will move as the water temps rise as will some groupers. Even our own Gulf of Mexico red snapper can be found with some consistency in the cold times of the year as shallow as 45 or 50 feet and be nearly nonexistent within 15 miles of that same location in the summer. While some of this shallow water movement may coincide with water quality, algal blooms and hypoxic zones, it also happens with major shifts in water temps - due mainly to many of the more highly-sought reef fish preferring water temps just slightly below 71° F. So how does all this fit into March fishing, you may ask. Well it doesn’t, except maybe to help us all understand why we have the fishery we do this time of year and how it progresses as we move into the next few months.

What it also does is forces us to use our little bag of tricks so to speak. Chase a few fish that are overlooked by many and ran past by most. Only to pull up short of the deep water species, find ourselves catching and releasing out of season red snapper and wondering when the fishing will get better.

So for this time of year, short of long, arduous runs and chasing the changing water temps, what do we do in March? Red snapper season is closed; the kingfish, cobia and dorado are still some time from making a showing for the average fisherman’s range on a day trip. But - there are a couple of options that many fail to ever take advantage of.

These options would be red drum and gray snapper (AKA mangrove snapper). It is not legal to retain redfish in federal waters, (outside of 9 nautical miles) at any time of the year, and most think of the slot-sized, keeper fish as an inshore fishery only. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. A large number of these fish spend the winter and spring offshore where the water temps are more consistent. They will hang to just about any kind of structure, but I find the most success on rigs. Many of the rigs in the 40 to 50 foot depths that sit well within state waters will hold redfish well into April.

You can target these fish in much the same way you would a red snapper using a single hook rig with just about any type of oily bait, or even large shrimp. I prefer to use as little weight as I can get away with and consider about three ounces to be as heavy as I will tolerate.

Concentrate your presentation as close to the rig (or rig legs) as you can safely accomplish.

Begin working from the middle of the water column to the bottom. Some structure will seem to hold a lot of fish while others in the same depth will be almost devoid of life. Rig hopping as we call it, moving around until we find them, is the general way this game gets played.

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me to use about 2 to 3 feet of fluorocarbon, small 5/0 circle hooks and absolutely no weight. I will pull up on a spot, just up-wind, with a few pounds of precut chum and I will make 2 to 3 drifts doing nothing more than tossing small handfuls as I cross over the structure. If the mangroves are there and ready to play they will usually come right up to meet you. Many times high enough that their color and that distinctive stripe across the eye becomes apparent. On the next pass I will toss a handful along with a baited line. The only thing then is to strip line at a rate that it doesn’t come taught, allow the bait to fall naturally with the chum and hang on tight.

March is definitely a finicky offshore month for us all, but it doesn’t mean you’re automatically relegated to sitting on the beach or running 70 miles either. And if you should decide to make one of those long runs, just keep in mind that you left a couple of fish behind you that are defiantly worth pulling back on the throttles for.

Oversize red drum often provide great angling sport for Spring Breakers.

C O N TA C T

Why certain structures are obviously so different in the number of individuals and also the species they will attract and hold has always been a mystery to me. If you might ever figure it out, I would greatly appreciate if you would let me in on the secret.

Second on the spring time list and one of my favorite fish to target is the mangrove snapper. We all occasionally catch these fish while fishing for red snapper but, targeting them specifically and catching this fish with consistency is altogether different. I will target these fish on just about any structure that holds other snapper species. Your approach and presentation need to be somewhat different, though.

Mangrove snapper dislike two things: fishing line and fishing weights. They are extremely line-shy causing

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

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

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68 | March 2012

BOATS MOTORS TRAILERS SALES SERVICE PARTS & ACCESSORIES

...continued from page 56 Other conservation highlights Rigs to Reefs CCA National is continuing to work with Sen. David Vitter (R-La), other legislators and the presidential administration to find common ground to keep critically important habitat in the Gulf. This is an ongoing process and CCA in committed to staying in this fight to make sure this habitat stays in the gulf. For more information, please visit www.joincca.org or our working partners, Save the Blue, at www.save-the-blue.org/ Goose Island reef bagging and reef building project Led by Jennifer Pollack at Texas A&M Corpus Christi (TAMUCC), there will be (3) shell bagging events and (1) oyster reef building event for an educational oyster reef near the fishing pier in Goose Island State Park. This event will be a great opportunity for volunteers to come out and help bag shell and then work on building the educational reef. The shell bagging dates have been set for March 10th, March 31st and April 28th. The date for the reef building event is set for May 19th. CCA Texas will have more detailed information at a later date and will call for volunteers through email communications. For more information and details, please contact Jennifer Pollack at TAMUCC, (361) 825-2041 or John Blaha at CCA Texas, (713) 626-4222.

TSFMAG.com | 69

C A D E ’ S C O A S TA L C H R O N I C L E S

CADE SIMPSON

Hi, I’m Cade. I’m just your everyday do it yourself kind of guy with a great passion for the outdoors. Like many of you, I have often found myself a little lost when planning a fishing trip to a new area. Well, break out your HookN-Line Fishing Map and follow me each month as I travel along the Texas coast, learning the ins and outs of fishing the salt waters along the way.

Where Often referred to as East Matty, East Matagorda Bay is located approximately 1.5 average driving time from Houston, TX. East Matagorda Bay is most commonly accessed through the town of Matagorda which is nestled on the ICW and the westernmost corner of the bay, but East Matty can also be accessed via the communities of Sargent and Chinquapin. East Matagorda Bay is separated from the larger West Matagorda Bay by the Colorado River and marsh land on either side of the river. There is road access to the eastern end of the bay and accessing the marshes and south shoreline 70 | March 2012

is popular from the Gulf beach by fisherman and duck hunters alike.

When and Weather I turned to the input of my friends on TexasKayakFisherman.com in helping me select East Matagorda for some early spring season fishing. The fishing reports and direct input from the website users

really got my friend Cory and me pumped for some good fishing action. It is still the early part of the year and air temps never got above the mid-60s. For the most part we had sunny skies and a pretty steady NE wind from 10-15 mph.

Tackle and Gear ROD: Castaway Skeleton 7’ M REEL: Shimano Curado LINE: Berkley Trilene 15lb monofilament, clear LURE: TTF Big Mino, Pumpkin/Chartreuse. 1/8oz jighead If you show up in Matagorda and realize you forgot some of your tackle, Stanley’s general store has you covered. For bait, stop by Rawlings on south FM 2031, also Russell’s Bait and Tackle is located in the Matagorda Harbor and has a surprising selection.

Hitting the water Cory and I had two days to fish and we focused our effort on two separate areas. On Day One we concentrated on what is known as the Old Gulf Cut, launching from the side of South Gulf Road. Old Gulf Cut is a channel that runs between the ICW and East Matagorda Bay and is known to be a good year ‘round spot for trout, reds, and flounder. I hooked a flounder first cast at the cut but to be honest being near the opening of the cut was not ideal for a kayaker in my opinion. I learned

Matagorda Bay Nature Park

Relax and explore 1,600 acres of beaches and marshes.

Birding • Recreation • Educational activities

quickly that the cut is the primary corridor for all classes of vessels accessing the bay. Cory and I decided to get away from the crowd and traffic and headed to some nearby reefs further out in the bay.

Day Two we moved our efforts down to the southwest corner of East Bay. Rawlings Bait Camp has a kayak launch site directly across the street and with a short paddle through the marsh bayou you are in the bay. The wind was coming directly into our face as we reached the bay.

A handful of other kayakers had beaten us to the water, positioned up the shoreline to our left. We set our sights on paddling to what’s called Three Mile Reef, and then let the wind drift us back toward the shore where the other kayakers were.

The majority of our lure technique was bumping soft plastics across the bottom and over shell and mud. On the drift we picked up a couple of sand trout, using the popular TTF Hackberry Hustler. As we reached the area the other kayakers had previously been, I tied on

Programs or RV reservations: 1-800-776-5272, Ext. 4740, or parkinfo@lcra.org • www.lcra.org/matagorda

Hand-Dipped Blue Bell Ice Cream!

TSFMAG.com | 71

a TTF Big Minnow. Second cast and I landed a good red. Shortly after that a speckled trout took the lure. Unfortunately as the action picked up it was time to head home.

With 4wd you could access the south shoreline through the marsh, from the Gulf beach. A couple of duck hunters that passed us while we fished the Old Gulf Cut mentioned seeing redfish on the south shoreline while they hunted.

Where to eat and where to sleep Before we hit the water, Cory and I stopped in Stanley’s Food Market to pick up some water and snacks. I ran into Jerry, the owner, and John, the manager. After a few minutes of discussion I felt I had two new friends. John is an avid angler and was able to give us a couple of tips.

It was not hard to talk ourselves into a nice sit down meal after nearly ten hours on the water Day One. River Bend Tavern and Restaurant

was recommended to me and fully met all expectations. They have a complete menu from seafood to burgers; the atmosphere is fun and friendly with billiard tables and shuffleboard. Snapper’s Bar and Grill and Waterfront Restaurant are a couple of other good choices.

Cory and I made a primitive camping trip out of this adventure.

We opted to make camp at the LCRA Matagorda Nature Park camping facility. RV and general camping are allowed on the grounds. The facilities are in immaculate shape and the employees are very friendly.

The nature park can accommodate the entire family, with clean facilities, easy access fishing piers, and a natural science center to learn about the area.

If you are seeking a motel, the Shell Motel located just behind Stanley’s and the Fisherman’s Motel have got you covered. For a more luxurious stay, The Lodge at Karankawa Village has very nice accommodations. Full Stringer Realty can assist with house rentals and real estate sales and KW Luxury Homes has listings in the area.

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john@richeyproperties.com 72 | March 2012

BLACK PEARL

The Other Angles East Matagorda Bay and the surrounding area provide an abundance of fishing opportunity. At the LCRA campgrounds there are two lighted piers over the Colorado River, not to mention the large pier stretching out into the Gulf from the LCRA picnic area. A quick walk from the picnic area to the beach running along the Colorado River, night fisherman set up lights and fish until sun up. For surf fishing, the Gulf beach runs along the south shoreline of the bay.

While you are in Matagorda you might also want to check out Lena’s Landing Gift Shop for a generous helping of hand-dipped ice cream and an assortment of coastal gifts. B&K Driftwood Art Studio is another place to check out if taking home something special helps earn your next fishing pass.

Like I mentioned last month for Christmas Bay, East Matty is well set up for kayakers with plenty of skinny water and easy access launch points.

C ontact

Wrap up I truly enjoyed my visit to Matagorda. Maybe it was the sense of community I picked up on or maybe it was the beauty of East Matty itself – regardless, my experience was very good and I highly recommend the area for DIY anglers seeking to expand their fishing horizons. If you have never been to Matagorda you need to put it on your list.

Thanks again to the guys at TexasKayakFisherman.com. With the recommendation from some of the seasoned anglers, I came about selecting East Matty as my destination. If you are a Texas kayaker, check out the website. You can get a lot of kayak and fishing info, fishing reports, launch sites, as well as meeting new friends.

Telephone Email

936-776-7028 Cademan11@sbcglobal.net

Find me on Facebook to follow along in my outdoor adventures TSFMAG.com | 73

Photo credit: Billy C. Padgett

STEPHANIE BOYD

F I S H Y FA C T S

CHS Fighting... Blue Crabs?

Crabs are a well-known and often popularized part of the coastal ecosystem. Being a Port Lavaca Clahoun High School graduate, I thought a spotlight on sand crabs would be appropriate. However, while there is, in slang fashion, a “sand crab,” it does not occur on the Texas Gulf Coast (though it is sometimes found on Florida’s Gulf Coast). It’s called the mole crab, or sand flea. There are two types found in North America: Emerita talpoida, the Atlantic mole crab (found from North Carolina to the Florida Gulf Coast), and Emerita analoga, the Pacific mole crab (found from Alaska to Baja California). And they bear almost no resemblance to the CHS mascot. Therefore, in lieu of a native sand crab, we’ll take a look at the popular blue crab.

All crabs are members of the: • Subphylum Crustacea (five fused segments; five pairs of appendages and two antennae; gills; most marine with some in freshwater and few on land; 42,000 species), • Class Malacostraca (head, thorax, and abdomen; such as lobsters, shrimp, and krill; 18,000 species), • Order Decapoda (five pairs of legs; such as shrimp, crayfishes, and lobsters; 10,000 species), and the • Infraorder Brachyura (meaning “short tail”; these are the true crabs and most advanced decapods; body short, 74 | March 2012

wide, and flat; abdomen flap covering reproductive organs; five pairs of walking legs; 5000 species).1 The blue crab’s scientific name, Callinectes sapidus, is its best description. Literally “savory beautiful swimmer.”

A fully grown blue crab can be over eight inches wide, from spine tip to spine tip and weigh up to two pounds.

The top of the shell is typically green or brownish green, legs are white, and claws are varying shades of blue.

Females’ claws are tipped in red. We’ve all had red nails at some point, right girls?2 Blue crabs aren’t terribly particular about what they partake of during meal time. They’ll eat clams, oysters, mussels, almost any vegetable or animal matter, and even young crabs. Despite having nearly 360-degree vision (courtesy of stalked, compound eyes), predators are plentiful and include black drum, red drum, Atlantic croaker, herons, sea turtles, Whooping Cranes, and yours truly. Although they can sometimes be found at the surface swimming along with the currents, blue crabs are bottom-dwellers and can be found in nearly every type of marine habitat from super salty, very deep waters to almost fresh, tide line waters. They live all along the east coasts of North and South America and have also been seen in the coastal waters of France, Holland, and Denmark.2

Male blue crabs mate often. However, females mate only once, directly on the heels of their final molt. While the female’s shell is still soft, the male deposits his sperm into the female’s personal cold storage, so to speak. For most marine species, mating and spawning are synonymous. Not so for the blue crab. The female can, and usually does, hold onto that sperm for up to nine months before fertilizing her eggs.3 After mating, the male continues to protect the female until her shell hardens. Once this duty is over, the female returns to the higher-salinity areas of the bays, and once her eggs have matured, she migrates to the Gulf to spawn. Males remain in the estuaries, waiting for the next soft female. From this single coupling, females may spawn two or more times before they die. The typical spawning season on the Texas coast peaks in spring and summer, though with warm winters, spawning may occur year round. A single female will lay up to two million eggs, which she carries on her abdomen. An egg-bearing female is often called a “sponge” or “berry” crab. The eggs, which start out orange and darken progressively, hatch in two weeks, turning dark brown or black just before hatching.

Of this two million, only one or two will survive to adulthood.2 Blue crabs go through three main life stages before reaching adulthood. Newly hatched larvae spend about their first forty days as zoeae, a sort of drifting, surface-dwelling, planktonic form bearing almost no resemblance to the adult form. They start out at 0.25mm, and in four to seven molts, end up at about 1.0mm. Next is the megalops stage. This is a free-swimming, bottom-dwelling stage in which the larvae take on a slightly more crablike appearance, including the all-important claws. The megalops stage lasts anywhere from six to twenty days; no rushing these things, you know. Finally,

the juvenile stage. Here the larvae have pretty much reached crabdom. They look like miniature crabs, and they have almost made it to their estuarine homes (if they haven’t reached them already) to finish getting bigger, which is really all they have left to do before blossoming as adults. By adults, I of course mean sexually functional which happens at about one year of age. Average lifespan is three years. Average limbspan… not so long. Luckily, crabs can regenerate pinchers or legs lost while fighting or protecting themselves. The lost limb will be replaced after two or more molts.4 The blue crab’s ecological roles include • litter cleanup (scavenging a degree of detritus, even when not quite fresh), • benthic population control (consuming some quite prolific organisms), • commensalite housing (by allowing barnacles, worms, and leeches to attach on the outer shell; isopods to live in the gills or on the abdomen; and small worms to live in the muscles. Commensalism is a relationship wherein one organism benefits and the other is not affected, positively or negatively), • “savory” prey for larger interested predators, and • mass mortalities (the duty of any good indicator species) when pollutant levels reach objectionable levels, oxygen disappears, or a parasite is unusually detestable.2 Economically, the blue crab is the most commercially important crab species harvested on the Texas gulf. Recreationally, blue crabs can be enticed by a number of methods. Baited drop lines are often used during the summer months to lure unsuspecting crabs close enough to a boat or dock so that they can be summarily scooped

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with a net. A popular bait used for drop lines is chicken necks. Thus, a person crabbing with this bait might be dubbed a “chicken necker” by other fishermen.5 Currently, there is no daily bag or possession when fishing for blue crabs recreationally. However, there are some other rules to follow when harvesting this species including 1) not more than five percent by number of undersized blue crabs may be possessed for bait purposes only and must be placed in a separate container; 2) you may not possess egg-bearing crabs or female crabs with detached abdominal aprons; and 3) minimum length is five inches when measured across the widest point of the body from tip of spine to tip of spine.

And there you have all the basic information of the most tasteful crab on the Texas coast.

Stay crabby!

Footnotes 1 Wesley Rouse, “Crabs,” Marine Biology & Oceanography, 31 January 2012 <http://wesleyrouse.suite101.com/crabs-a23954>.

2 “Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus),” Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, 31 January 2012 <http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/bluecrab/>.

3 Harriet M. Perry and Thomas D. McIlwain, “Species Profiles: Blue Crab,” (U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 1986).

4 Steven C. Zinski, “Blue Crab Life Cycle,” The Blue Crab Archives, 31 January 2012 <http:// www.bluecrab.info/lifecycle.html>.

5 “Blue Crab,” Texas Gulf Coast Fishing, 31 January 2012 <http://www.texasgulfcoastfishing. com/blue_crab.html>.

76 | March 2012

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NEW

TACKLE & GEAR

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Alumacraft

Pro 175

Alumacraft�s pro is a tournament-style boat that is well-equipped with tons of storage and raised fishing platforms for a full day of leisure or competition.

The pro 175 has two large livewells both twenty gallons bow and aft. Large lockable rod storage and also comes standard with five seats.

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ForEverlast ReelGirlGear®

New for 2012, ForEverlast will be launching our ReelGirlGear® Lineup of products which will include many of our popular wading products with that extra special touch of class for the lady in our family and yours. First in the lineup will be our New ReelGirlGear® Wading Belt Kit including all the gear you need to hit the water a tackle box, pliers with sheath, 15’ stringer, removable back support, drink holder and specifically our new and improved Velcro buckling system. MSRP $44.95 See us at the Houston Fishing Show with all our new gear.

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Montauk Montauk Tackle Company’s Women’s MTCdryprotect System offers the finest technical fishing performance shirts that have a classic fashion sense that embodies the Hampton’s and Montauk lifestyle.

The MTCdryprotect System incorporates a built in 50SPF sun protection, moisture wicking transporter for quick drying, anti-microbial treatment that prevents odor-causing microbes and stain release technologies.

Montauk Tackle’s MTCdryprotect System apparel is 100% made in the U.S.A. Montauk Tackle Co. offers its new line of women’s apparel in three styles, ¼ zip long sleeve with yoga style thumb hole cuffs for sun protection of the top of hand, a light weight hoodie, and a short sleeve crew-neck T. Visit www.montauktackle.com 78 | March 2012

P R O D U C T S

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Pradco Heddon Chug’n Spook For a half a century the world has known the Heddon Spook as the finest topwater walk-the-dog lure on the market. Now anglers can add another version of this fish-producing lure – the Chug’n Spook – that will spit tremendous amounts of water while producing the classic sideto-side sashay that drives fish wild.

Great for speckled trout, redfish and snook, the saltwater Chug’n Spook features super-strong #1 2X Saltwater Hooks that resist rust and stand up to the punishment big and toothy brutes dish out.

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Anglers love all the benefits that original Berkley® Trilene® XL® has to offer. Easy casting, versatile, low memory. But sometimes you need line that is a bit tougher. With the Bi-Component Technology offered with the new premium grade Trilene XL Armor Coated™ monofilament anglers can now enjoy all of the benefits of smooth casting Trilene XL with extra abrasion resistance!

Trilene XL Armor Coated provides an abrasion resistant sheath and a flexible core, in effect two layers created via a process called Bi-Component Technology, giving anglers all the benefits of XL with added strength. In testing, Trilene XL Armor Coated has proven to be 40% more abrasion resistant than regular XL and 30% more flexible.

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DICKIE ColBuRn

DICKIE ColBuRn’s Sabine Scene

Sabine

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

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

80 | March 2012

This is traditionally a feast or famine month for trout fishermen on Sabine and it should be no different this year. The approach to catching them, however, may be much different. Unprecedented salinity levels in the rivers was a game changer for us all of 2011, but the more frequent rains of late may see a return to more normal patterns.

The sixty-four dollar question is “How many days will we lose to the wind this spring?” Prior to a heavy dose of much needed rain, the fear of losing days to gale force winds this year was less of a concern for local anglers. The trout had no reason to abandon either of the rivers and both the redfish and flounder stay there year round anyway.

Numbers have not been the only calling card as an impressive number of 7-pound plus trout have been taken by anglers drifting the 12 to 15 foot breaks with Corkys and Maniac Mullets. The key to success was, and still is to a lesser extent, fishing painfully slow and keeping the lure on the bottom. To confidently fish this technique I am constantly reminding myself that the deeper water is both clearer and saltier.

The big three are all on a steady diet of finfish right now so locating bait activity is far more critical than water clarity when fishing in the lake. When incoming

tides flood the shallow flats, schools of finger mullet and juvenile shad stack up on those flats adjacent to the ICW. If that tide change coincides with the warmest hours of the day…so much the better.

I will spend a lot of time fishing the flats on the north end of the lake as well as Old River Cove and Hickory Cove on high tides over the next two months.

Pockets on the Louisiana shoreline not directly impacted by tidal flow like Game Warden’s and Coffee Ground Cove can also be very productive.

On an outgoing tide, more especially at the beginning of one, look for the best bite to take place anywhere a bayou or marsh cut drains onto a shallow flat. Not only will the bait be on the way out, but the backwater dumping into the lake will be warmer as well. That pattern is easiest exploited from Bridge Bayou all the way to Green’s.

I personally think that anchoring systems like the Minn Kota Talon have reduced the number of waders as they now have the capability of quietly and quickly stopping a drift to more efficiently fish a specific area.

While either approach is different but effective, our choice of lures will remain the same.

The longer tails like Assassin’s Texas Shad or a TTF Trout Killer rigged on an 1/8 ounce head are more

productive for me than the shorter Sea Shad until the shrimp start showing up.

They are excellent baits to hunt fish with and big trout and redfish will eat them as quickly as they will a mullet imitation. If the water is overly dirty, the larger profile of the Die Dapper can be an even better option.

The fish will eventually dictate what works best on a given day, but I will not leave home without my Corkys, Maniac Mullets, Catch Vs and MirrOdine XLs. Each of them mimic a baitfish and they are easy One more slot red to keep suspended in what can be a very caught and released! narrow strike zone on a cold afternoon.

Color is all about confidence, but pink, electric chicken, pearl-chartreuse and red shad are solid choices right now.

When the fish are chasing mullet to the surface and crushing topwaters, I have done well with both a She Dog and a Skitter Walk. My best three colors of late have been the Geaux Daley (black-white ribs) that MirrOlure is making exclusively for Daley’s Hunt-n-Fish, GCRRH (red head-gold spotted body), and the HP (hot pink) Skitter Walk.

I have been fishing with Laguna rods for a year now and I have never fished another rod that was any lighter or more sensitive without sacrificing durability. Any rod that can survive daily barrages

of errant back casts while standing in a holder is tough. While their line-up covers a variety of angler needs and wishes, both the Wader I and Wader II will handle everything from light jigs to topwaters.

Hopefully one of your New Year’s resolutions was to take more kids fishing in 2012. Aren’t you glad someone took you!

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TSFMAG.com | 81

mICKEY Eastman

mICKEY On Galveston

Galveston

Mickey Eastman is a full-time fishing guide out of Baytown, TX. Mickey has 26 years guiding experience on the Galveston area bays and is the founder of Gulf Coast Troutmasters, the largest speckled trout tournament series of all time

Telephone 281-383-2032

82 | March 2012

Howdy folks, Capt. Mickey here to bring you the lowdown on fishing around the Galveston Bay region.

Looks like nothing much has changed over here although we did receive some much needed rain recently. Even though some areas had several inches you have to remember how dry the whole countryside has been and it really soaked in more than found its way into the rivers and the bays. The Trinity and the San Jacinto River have both come up a bit but nowhere near enough to change the bay fishing picture. Some of that trout and redfish action I’ve been telling about up in the rivers will likely change but I haven’t seen anything yet to alter the bay patterns.

The fishing patterns have been stable for the longest period in my memory. You could almost say they are exactly where they were in October and all through the winter. We are beginning to see a few more fish in the shallows and we are wading, trying to catch some big ones, but it seems that most of the bigger and better fish are still out deep.

The pattern for drift fishing has been to key on the streaks and tide-current lines, schools of mullet and maybe a pelican or two sitting on the water is kind of how we are finding them. There has not been a lot of slicking going on. I have been making long drifts to start and punching the GPS when we get a fish. This is in open water and unless your GPS can show you

the structure such as reefs and other features, you pretty much have to go by memory or rely on feeling the bottom with your lure to know what’s down there.

Scattered shell (clam and oyster) mixed with soft mud has been most productive for us. Once you make several drifts and then go back and look at your tracks and MOB punches, and hopefully see the reefs etc. on the chart, you can pretty much piece the rest of it together to decide how to continue. Once you find them it’s a nobrainer to hang on them and get a limit.

The 52M MirrOLures and various soft plastics are producing the majority of our fish right now. The MirrOlure bite is a lot of fun once you get them figured out but the soft plastics are definitely better for finding them as you can cover a lot more water. We are currently throwing 1/8 and 1/4 ounce heads in 4 to 6 feet of water and the reds and trout are kind of grouped together right now when you find them. Especially in the back of Trinity Bay, places like Jack’s Pocket, Booth’s Pocket, Anahuac Pocket, all those river mouth areas have been holding these fish for a long time. I don’t know how many fish are back there. They have been pressured and caught for months now and there is just no end in sight on them. It is just an overabundance of fish, I think the majority of our fish are as close to the freshwater as they can get and sticking with the bait.

Another bait to look at is the Maniac Mullet from Tidal

Surge Lures. In just a couple of months this bait has turned out to be one of my favorites – it works that good. The trout seem to like them in MM3 pearl pink, MM4 pink, and MM11 dayglow. Check out their website for a look at all their products and the retailers that are carrying them.

Topwater action is pretty spotty but always worth a try. About one day in a dozen you’ll find them feeding high enough in the water column and they’ll just go ape for floaters.

Something that seems strange to me this winter, based on how good the fishing has been all year, parts of Upper Galveston Bay just haven’t turned on for us. Maybe it’s the lack of freshwater inflow or maybe the relatively mild temps but, areas that are traditionally really good through January and February, like Sylvan Beach and Seabrook Flats, just haven’t taken off. You know you can go over there and grind around and catch some fish but it is just not hot and heavy like you expect it to be this time of year. My guess is that a lot of the fish we would normally find there are still up in the San Jacinto watershed scattered out in all your small back bays like Burnett, San Jacinto, Scott Bay, and places like that. There is just a not a big concentration of fish on the flats due to lack of freshwater.

Fishing remains good over in East Bay. Like Trinity Bay; the areas in East Bay that had good numbers of trout back in October and November are still holding good numbers. I’m guessing that more heavyweight trout will show in late-February and March as we get further into the spring warm up. Basically what it is going to take is fewer fronts out of the north and more days of sunshine and sustained south wind. This will also mean increased water levels in the bay. Guys that rely on drifting as their primary method will not be too keen to see the strong southerly flows messing up the water clarity but the wade fishermen in the crowd will be smiling when those big old sow trout pull into the shorelines. You just have to pick your days and how you’re going to fish.

There is still a lot of controversy over the disposal of ICW dredge spoil that covered a bunch of the grassbeds and grass flats on the north side of West Bay in a thick layer of silt. I know that area is designated for spoil disposal but I wish more could have been done to keep them from destroying that seagrass. Seagrass is really hard to come by up here in the Galveston region.

I know you guys down south have a lot of seagrass and some might even take it for granted but, up here we finally got that entire north shoreline with beautiful pristine grassbeds and potholes just like you see in South Texas and, the next thing you know that dredge project comes in and puts the kibosh on everything. Hopefully it will bounce back and will not be ruined permanently. A lot of people are disappointed in what the Army Corp of Engineers have done over there. The Galveston Bay Foundation halted it for a while but I had more callers this weekend telling me that they are putting a tremendous amount of spoil in a lot of areas that is just covering the grass too thick it may never recover. Only time will tell on this one. FYI - West Bay trout fishing has really taken a dive and I’m going to say it is because the salinity rates are so high and the fish are up north around the river mouths.

It won’t be long we will be talking about a drum run entering Galveston Bay through the jetties and down through Texas City. That is when our trout fishing gets really good and that is when wade fishing kicks off in Galveston Bay, we get those water temperatures stabilized and then we have some really cool fishing for the spring.

That is pretty much where we stand right now. We’ve had a great winter season, thanks to the mild weather, and that is a big plus. Keep an eye on the weather, go fishing when you can, take a kid, and good luck to all!

PFL-PRESIDENTAD-Texas Saltwater Fishing.indd 1

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1/23/12 1:23 PM

BIll PustEJoVsKY

CaPt. BIll’s Fish Talk

Matagorda

Bill Pustejovsky is a full-time guide at Matagorda, TX. Bill fishes year-round for trout and redfish in all the Matagorda Bays.

Wading and drifting for trophy trout and reds are his specialty.

Telephone 979-863-7353 Email CaptBill@GoldTipGuideService.com Website www.goldtipguideservice.com

84 | March 2012

Our 2012 fishing season started out with a bang!

January was a great month with a lot of 3-5 lb trout caught in East Matagorda Bay along with a few 2729 inchers caught and released.

Warmer than usual temperatures were noted leaving questions as to what the rest of February and March will look like. In fact, East Bay water temperatures were documented on January 24 as pushing toward 75° which is awfully warm for this time of year. Since we Ralph Aulds – 29” from write our articles East Matagorda Bay – to print a month 52M MirrOlure. ahead of time, it can be a little tricky predicting

upcoming fishing patterns. If, in fact, the warmer trend continues, March should be extremely good.

East Matagorda Bay’s water clarity has been

almost too clear in most cases. As a matter of fact, I don’t remember it ever being this clear. We have been trying to find dirty, streaky water to fish out in the middle of the bay. Along that same note, not as many fish have been caught wading because of the clear water; however, there have been some big mamas brought in using MirrOlures and Corkys by the guys that were there at the right time. For the most part, fishing over scattered shell with a lot of bait fish in the area has proven to be the best case scenario for catching fish.

Hopefully, March will allow us to wade fish the shorelines and reefs, all of this will depend on water clarity. If you happen to be wading chest deep and can see your feet, more than likely you’re not going to catch anything except a few reds.

March could be cold and windy, so we’ll have to follow the weather to plan our fishing trips. If, by chance, this is the case, try to fish 2-3 days before a cold front hits the coastline. If you choose to wade fish, look for mud with a little shell and plan to be close to some deeper water

in the area. Wading reefs will pay off as well. Drifters will want to be over scattered shell in 4-6 ft of streaky, off-colored water when it can be found. It will be very helpful to have an abundance of mullet around, as always.

I will be using 52M MirrOlures in the 808, Catch 2000 in the 808, an assortment of Corkys, and of course my trusty old Eddie Douglas Broken Back Specials. As far as Bass Assassins, you might try Hot Chicken, Chicken-on-a-Chain, Plum, Woodpecker, Chandelier Isle, and the Panhandle Moon all in the 5-in shad. Also, Bass Assassins has come out with something called the Armed Assassin. I haven’t seen one yet but have heard it works and there will be one displayed in the Bass Assassin booth at the 37th Annual Houston Fishing Show, George R. Brown Convention Center, February 29th-March 4th. They have also come out with a new chicken 5-inch shad called the Slammin Chicken and we will have some of these at the show, as well. With the upcoming fishing show and spring breakers, March looks to be a very busy month.

Sarah Heath tricked this one with a MirrOlure drifting East Bay with Capt. Bill.

Until next time, God Bless. -Capt. Bill

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CaPt. shEllIE 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

The month of March tends to be one of the toughest months to plan a fishing getaway for anglers that only have the opportunity to fish one or two days a month. Wintertime weather is on its way out making room for springtime changes.

So, what does this mean for anglers? Probably a bunch of wind, maybe gale force wind and, hopefully, some much needed rain.

In this article I want to talk a little about water levels and how they affect fishing. Many anglers refer to tide and currents as if the two occurrences are the same thing. Tide is defined as the vertical movement of water and this is caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and to a lesser extent, the sun. Currents, on the other hand, are defined as horizontal movement of water. Some currents

are caused by the tide. When the tide increases in height it moves inshore spilling into the bays and eventually into the back lakes and marshes. The shoreward movement of water creates a tidal current – the “incoming” tide. The This backwater “outgoing” tide is exactly red had a full belly but never the reverse of the process – hesitated to take water flows seaward as the our offering. tide falls.

There are other factors that create currents and it is these factors that tend to affect the waters more so this time of year because of the unstable weather.

Wind-driven currents occur when the friction of wind movement forces water ahead of it. When wind and tide are in the same direction, much higher and much lower tides can result. A hard north wind always pushes the water out creating lower water levels that are obvious

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when running through back lakes. Some drop out from under them, baitfish naturally Hooking up with a few fl ounder anglers will notice lower levels at the boat ramp move into deeper water. And we all know that was no problem for Bill. when launching their boat while many others redfish and trout stay in pursuit of the baitfish. wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even think to look. If the wind happens to The opposite is true when water levels are be coming in from the south, then higher water higher than normal. Fish are opportunist and levels will be observed and usually the stronger will scatter to look for food in areas that might the south wind, the higher the water. have been off limits to them a few days before Another factor that can create current because of less water. This is the reason it is flow is atmospheric pressure. Low pressure advantageous to work your offerings up close can result in higher tides and higher pressure to the shorelines of the bays and back lakes. can result in lower tides. It is well known that Redfish are famous for venturing as far back the feeding frenzies we have experienced into the marsh as the water allows. The fish you as a front approaches are related to the will find in these areas are typically feeding additional current speed generated by falling very aggressively and are downright fun to atmospheric pressure. target because they are not hesitant to strike By now you are probably wondering why I whatever you put in front of them. I personally am talking about something as simple as water love it when water levels are super high levels. Well let me tell you, water level is a very enabling me to explore new back ponds and important piece of the fishing success puzzle, creeks. I have learned more about our waters yet you might be surprised how few of my when the levels where at their highest than any fishing clients take this into consideration when other time. they are planning their fishing trips. The lures we have been using, Oyster season finally opened on 26 January. As of this writing, locations, preferred structure, along with presentations are almost Espiritu Santo and San Antonio Bay are the only waters open to always discussed while water levels tend to be overlooked. harvest in this area. I am ecstatic to say the least. The red tide is gone When I am fishing under low water level conditions I usually and fresh oysters out of San Antonio Bay are hard to beat. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all concentrate my efforts towards the middle of the back lakes instead keep praying that our rainfall levels return to normal this year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for the of up tight on the shorelines. If water levels drop dramatically look for health of our bay systems and the creatures that depend on them. fish to fall off into nearby channels and holes. Why? As water levels

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DaVID RoWsEY

hooKED uP WIth Rowsey

This big trout season is flying by and we have been taking the good days with the bad. This has been the warmest winter I have fished since I started guiding, and has made the trout do some pretty Upper unconventional things. Establishing a true winter Laguna/ pattern actually means that we have to have some Baffin winter weather to hold the water temperatures in the 50s. I am recording week long stretches of temps in the low-70s range on a regular basis, fishing in a t-shirt, and occasionally sweating in January and February.

David Rowsey has 20 years Maybe global warming is real? Joke. experience in the Laguna/Baffin With the warmer than average temperatures, trout region; trophy trout with artificial have been scattered, to say the least. Typical winter lures is his specialty. David has a wades require very little movement when you locate great passion for conservation the fish. This season finds us moving quite a bit as and encourages catch and the fish are scattered from knee deep to five feet of release of trophy fish. water. The old cliché “Every day is different” has never Telephone been truer for me while on the water. If there is one 361-960-0340 thing that always has, and always will be a constant, it Website is baitfish. Regardless whether the trout being more www.DavidRowsey.com Email scattered than normal, they are always near their food david.rowsey@yahoo.com supply. Making sure there is bait in an area that you are planning on fishing is as critical as having your

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The water clarity in Baffin is below average this year. Unfortunately, there is some kind of algae bloom taking place. The bloom is not as severe as it has been in years past, but it is there, and can add to the difficulty level when trying to locate structure where the fish are held up. Saying that, when the sun gets up a bit, and if the wind is not blasting, you can still see the grass and rocks. The Upper Laguna Madre (ULM) has just the opposite issue, crystal clear water, in fact, too clear on most days. In all of my years fishing these waters, I have never seen more grass growing on the bay floor than I have seen this year. The grass has taken over, which makes for clear water, but it also fills in the fish-holding structure we refer to as potholes.

Unbelievably, I look forward to days of cranking winds that sustain themselves over 25 mph. As I sit here and write this column the trout are a little slow to move into the King Ranch shoreline and shallow flats of Baffin. Regardless of potholes or water clarity, they will be moving in knee deep water throughout our bay system during March in anticipation of a first spawn.

I look forward to these days as shallow water trout are some of my favorite to target, and they are fat to boot.

Previously mentioning all of the grass growing in the Upper Laguna, we just dodged a “Hail Mary” thrown at us by TPWD. They were considering shutting down over 15,000 acres of the Upper Laguna due to prop scarring from boats that draft too deep and have left (minimal) scarring over the past couple of years. The local Indians went wild at the thought, and I do not think TPWD was quite ready for the uprising they received.

The TPWD has since decided to spend more time on education to detour this activity versus shutting it down except to the use of kayakers and poling skiffs.

This whole deal was a land grab, at best, by a special interest group and, just wrong on many levels. If there is anything we have a surplus of in the Upper Laguna right now it is seagrass. Dredging some openings along the ICW to allow better access onto the flats would prevent 90% of the scarring along the

ICW, which is where the majority of the scarring takes place.

Back to fishing - Lure selection, in my opinion, is directed entirely by water clarity. My favorite colors in Baffin have been the morning glory (black) and the red shad (black/ dark red) in the 5-inch Bass Assassin. The MirrOlure Corky has produced very well in the brighter colors such as Texas chicken and pearl-chartreuse.

We are utilizing the same lures in the Upper Laguna; however, Michael Aubuchon we are switching to more with his recent 8.5lb “career best” Baffin natural colors due to the crystal trout. Michael’s trophy clear water. Colors like baby ate a Bass Assassin Die bass, Panhandle moon, and Dapper lure. albino shad have been great choices on the Bass Assassin, while the Corky lures are best in dayglow, silver hologram, and pumpkinseed.

All of the female trout will have eggs in them starting in March.

Give them a chance to spawn, and handle them gently.

Set ‘em loose. -Capt. David Rowsey

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tRICIa’s Mansfield Report CaPt. tRICIa

Seems Ol’ Jack Frost decided not to visit South Texas the boat slips during late January and early February this winter and even though we are doing consistently have been literally teeming with all sorts of microwell, the relatively warm water temperatures have sized life, and we evidently saw some related effects presented some challenges compared to what we saw on the flats. during prior winter seasons.

Despite the unseasonable warmth, catches have I’d say the overall outlook for March is as promising been pretty steady working scattered knee-to-shin as ever, and some of y’all could end up catching deep grassbeds, mostly near long stretches of clear Port your career-best trout, I might even catch mine. But sand. We have found it necessary to change up our Mansfield even without achieving that lofty goal we should presentations a bit recently. Bigger baits are still all do quite well and are certainly blessed for the getting whacked during obvious feeding periods, but extraordinary opportunity. In fact, “opportunity” is the very word I would use March promises to Capt. Tricia’s Skinny Water to describe your next trip down here. be a great month Adventures operates out of As of this writing we have yet to see for heavier than Port Mansfield, specializing in normal trout. the traditional cold-water big-fish pattern wadefishing with artificial lures. emerge. Except for a few short days, the water temperatures since Christmas have Telephone routinely hovered between the mid-60s 956-642-7298 and into the 70s. How crazy is that?

Email Besides catching fish off the shallow shell@granderiver.net sand virtually all winter, we actually had Website www.SkinnyWaterAdventures.com bananas growing in our backyard in midJanuary. Other attention getters were earlier-than-expected swarms of juvenile forage species showing up. The lights in

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smaller lures have by far been the steadiest into a solid bite. Do not be discouraged if producers – day in and day out. Bigger reds the size of the trout is just “average” at first, have been packed with dime-sized crab and the bigger ones could be there too but just some really tiny shrimp. I’m talking whiskers playing shy. and eyeballs tiny. Most of our trout, and Equinox is March 20 and trout should unfortunately even some Big Mamas that start spawning in earnest shortly thereafter were not good release candidates, have - which means the longest specimens been gorging on the tiny stuff same as should achieve their heaviest weight during the redfish. This is the kind of feeding we the days leading up to that event. Make normally see in April – a more traditional sure to carry a waterproof digital camera month for bait this size in our bays. The to make photos for your taxidermist if you mullet population is still exceptional, but are planning a replica mount. While you with so much more to eat out there, don’t can bump into a school of heavyweights be slow to downsize. just about anywhere, the best chances may Strategies for March shouldn’t change be tighter to recently flooded shorelines as much, except as might prove necessary we approach the equinox, smaller sloughs, with stronger wind and increasing water backwater lakes, and shallow grassbeds in Even without the trophy potential, you levels. I expect to see an additional foot of generally sandy areas. just have to love the number of solid water across the Lower Laguna system by As for me, I just like to get out there, four and five pounders we’re seeing. month’s end. Spring also brings prevailing put my boat and brain to work, and catch south and southeast winds at a pretty steady clip, which will also whatever nature has to offer for the day. That could be anything from move water into places we haven’t seen in a while. Still, the patterns sight-casting a bunch of thug redfish in the clear shallows – “topfor most of the month should remain consistent with what we’re watering” big trout over schools of shallow mullet - or finessing a doing right now. paddletail through the grass or perhaps “stalling” a Corky over sand Birds (those actively fishing and even those resting on the water), pockets. To me it’s just all good, and my trophy expectation may water color changes, rip lines, and rows of flipping mullet are the signs not be exactly what you have in mind. I’m just glad to be alive and we seek on a daily basis - no matter the season. The more of these you allowed to experience this wonderful place called the Laguna Madre. can put together in a given area the better your chance of walking The opportunities seem never ending.

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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

92 | March 2012

Sitting here to write this article I am suddenly gloomy realizing the cooler weather is now behind us for another year. The hours of daylight are increasing and the temperature is creeping higher each day. Soon the boat traffic of summer will return to our quiet Laguna.

I go through this every year, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d think by now I would have learned to deal with it, but winter is my favorite fishing season and I really hate to see it end.

As we enter March the cold fronts will be fewer but will still have great impact on our fishing patterns, mostly in the form of very strong southerly wind as each new front approaches. South wind tends to churn up most of our bay waters except for some areas with very heavy seagrass on the east side of the ICW, closer to the barrier island of South Padre. Despite the windy conditions that we should expect with the commencement of spring, the fishing should continue to improve as our bay water temperatures start to rise.

Currently, trout fishing is very good with easy limits and lots of solid fish to be released. Our main focus has been around spoil islands, drop-offs from

shallow flats to waist deep water, muddy depressions near the ICW and waist deep potholes, but the bigger trout we are seeing have been up real shallow in gin clear water.

We are seeing good numbers of large trout laid up in the skinny and as always getting them to eat is usually much more difficult than finding them. These fish can be very spooky and any mistake in casting to them or sudden noise or movement will send them packing.

Having a good pair of Costa's sunglasses (Man O War) will allow you to see what you pursue.

In sunny conditions they will not even look Cindy Cortinas twice at a topwater. Gambler Flappin’ Shads caught this beauty rigged weedless have enticed a few to bite. on a topwater in What works best is to leave them alone when knee deep water. they are unwilling to eat and then come back in a few hours and try again when they are feeding. Keeping an eye on tidal movement, moon activity and lively baitfish action can certainly increase your chances of landing that trophy.

Over the last couple of months our best days included low or falling atmospheric pressure and cloudy skies. Cold, misty days were the best of all. During high pressure and warming trends, we have found the fish a bit more scattered, the bite was generally tough, and we caught smaller fish on average.

In recent weeks I have fished from the Land Cut up north of Port Mansfield to the crystal clear flats of South Padre Island and trout numbers have been steady everywhere. Last month I mentioned that our redfish catches became more sporadic as you made your way south toward Port Isabel/SPI. That pattern continues to hold true for us. Redfish action has been very good north of the Arroyo.

What should we expect this month? For one, our water levels will rise as well as bay water temperatures. Expect the wind to be relentless. With the onset of rising water levels, fish will begin to

migrate to flats that were just recently almost dry. Baitfish will become more visible and active on the surface. Trout especially will go on all day feeding binges as Mother Nature gets them ready to begin spawning. The main catalysts for spawning are increasing hours of daylight and warmer water temperatures with definite peaks occurring around new and full moons. These moon periods will also be your best chances to land a trophy fish.

This month also marks the Houston Fishing Show – an event I look forward to all year.

Meeting lots of good people and seeing old friends again is always a lot of fun. This year’s show is scheduled to run February 29 through March 4 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in the downtown area. I will be working at the Fishing Tackle Unlimited booth helping demonstrate and explain all the great tackle they have on display, especially my favorite FTU Green Rods. Come by and say hello. Give me an opportunity to show you some of the great products that I have been using and highly recommend… like the Costa Del Mar Man-O-War sunglasses, Simms waders, outerwear and clothing, and also all the fine wade fishing gear from ForEverlast Products. If I don’t see you there, remember the pursuit of excellence is to fish hard, fish smart and fish every day you can.

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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 March is THE time to catch trophy trout. The best way to target these monsters is to get out and wade. With recent rains, look for larger trout to seek areas with higher salinities and lots of food. West Cove and Joe's Cove are definitely places of interest. These two areas produce more monster trout than anywhere else in the system. Flats adjacent to deep, salty water (Calcasieu Ship Channel) will be very productive. The Ship Channel is the key. It's like a highway for ocean water. Stick to it and your trips will be more productive. Topwaters will produce big fish, but don't put your suspending baits down yet. Every day is different; the fish like Super Spooks one minute, Corkies the next, and then MirrOdines soon after that! Let the fish dictate what to throw. Changing lures to fit the changing mood of the fish is key. Don‘t spend much time thinking about color!

Put on the most beaten up lure in the box. If it's beaten up, it‘s probably caught lots of fish. Confidence in the lure on the end of the line matters more than what color it is!

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com - 409.935.7242 “From what I can see, fishing in Galveston is great right now, better than in Louisiana even,” James says. “We had a really good run over the last week or so. Caught about 30 trout per day on average, with lots of solid fours and fives and a few over seven pounds. We are keying on wind-blown shorelines and wading. We look for areas with lots of bait blown into the shoreline and maybe some pelicans floating around and looking. As far

as lures go, we’ve been using 5 MirrOlures a lot, in pink/silver and gold/ chartreuse. Catch 5s are also working great, especially the red/silver/ white one. On some days, the topwater bite has been hot too. We were catching best on bone Top Dogs and chartreuse Top Dogs. I look for the spring fishing in Galveston to be awesome too. I’ll keep on the same sorts of areas and will keep wading as much as I can. As long as the wind isn’t messing up the water too bad, it’s a good idea to stay on the windy side and throw loud, flashy lures. It should be really good.”

Jimmy West - Bolivar Guide Service - 409.996.3054 Fishing has been good this winter in East Bay, and Jim predicts more success in March. “We had a good week last week, catching good numbers of trout in the bays, lots of solid fish from two to maybe six pounds. Best trout was twenty seven inches. We’ve been wading out there and catching best on Corkies and Maniac Mullet. There’s been a little topwater bite, but the slow sinkers are working better. And it’s been an afternoon bite thing too, with the action lingering into the night. For wading, all those things should stay true well into March. There’s also plenty of fish in the marshes right now. We’re catching a good variety in there, including plenty of redfish and flounder. Seems these warm water temperatures have brought more flat fish than normal back into the bays early. Fishing the guts in the marsh should be productive in March too. I’ll be keeping an eye on the freshwater coming down the Trinity River. It could move fish around some. Most likely, the upper parts of Trinity Bay will be wiped out if they keep the gates open for long.”

Unsurpassed Fishing.

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94 | March 2012

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays Randall Groves - Groves Guide Service - 979.849.7019 - 979.864.9323 The quality trout have been biting lately for Randall. He’s not catching numbers on most days, but the average size is good. In fact, he and a partner recently won a tournament in West Bay with several big trout on a marginal weather day. “We’re catching best on Corkies in emerald silver, copper top and dayglo. Also getting a few good ones on topwaters like the chrome blue Super Spook and the One Knocker. They seem to work best when it’s warmer and a little breezy. The topwater action should pick up as we head into March. I’ll be looking for the annual migration of the glass minnows to start. When it does, we’ll start keying on areas with lots of schools of those and try matching the hatch. Our redfish action should heat up in March too. It’s a great month to target them around here.

They will attack the topwaters with a vengeance at times, but in general, catching them regularly means throwing the Norton Sand Eels. A Sand Eel is a great lure to use when trying to imitate glass minnows.”

Matagorda | Charlie Paradoski Bay Guide Service -713.725.2401 Charlie emphatically states, “March is one of the best times to target trophy trout on the coast. And Matagorda is one of the top destinations for doing it. We expect to see more and more of the fish heading to the shallows along the shorelines. Here lately, we’re still catching more fish out in the middle, drifting around over scattered shell and using soft plastics.

But as we get into early spring, especially if we don’t have any late-season cold fronts, the wading will become more productive than the drifting.

When wading either West or East Bay, we’ll favor slow-sinking twitch baits like the Corkies and Catch 2000s and of course, Bass Assassins. When conditions are favorable, meaning it’s warm and winds are somewhat light, we’ll throw a lot of topwaters too. As we speak, the Colorado River is running high and when it does, fish move toward both of the bays. It should only help us in our annual quest for some big trout this spring. It’s not that fish can’t be caught out of the boat, it’s just fun to take advantage of the right opportunity to wade.”

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam www.palaciosguideservice.com - 979.240.8204 Unfortunately, fishing has been slow in the local waters lately. We have been working hard to figure it out, fishing rivers, shorelines, deepwater wells, and points in between, but we are just having a hard time patterning the fish on a consistent basis. With the temperatures going from seventy five one day down to forty the next, it seems like the fish don't know where to go. Hopefully, we will get into a better weather pattern in the upcoming months, and will see the return of a good bite. March is usually a good month for us, with spring on its way and an early run of bait coming back into the bays. East and South Bays, along with Turtle Bay are good spots to look for birds working over schools of trout intercepting the shrimp as they move in. Oyster Lake and Mad Island Lake are good backwater areas in which to find reds chasing bait along shallow shorelines. Look for white egrets standing in the shallows adjacent to the shorelines; they’re usually close to the schools of reds this time of year.

Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith - Back Bay Guide Service - 361.983.4434 Lynn expects to keep fishing his cold-weather hours throughout the month of March. “I hope we have some warming weather, but I’ll still be fishing from the middle of the morning on through the afternoon, letting the flats warm up. I’ll focus on flats adjacent to deep water in bays like Mesquite and Ayers, bays with lots of mud and shell. Of course, I will be looking for concentrations of bait. I won’t even stop if I don’t see any bait.

We’ll throw soft plastics most of the time; dark colors are best. Red shad is a great old standby color. I also like plum/white and plum/chartreuse.

We’ll also throw slow sinking lures a bunch. I like Paul Brown’s Original Lures the best overall. I can bend the tail and control what the bait is doing with them. If I want it to run shallower, I bend the tail up to keep it close to the surface. If I want it to run deeper, I bend the tail down so it will stay closer to the bottom. We should be catching both trout and

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redfish in good numbers in these bays this month; it’s a great time to catch both species.”

Rockport | Blake Muirhead Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 - 361.441.3894 Blake says he’ll be staying mobile in March, for a variety of reasons. “I like to switch my focus over to hard sandy, grassy bottoms this time of year.

I’ll be fishing in different parts of the area, all the way from San Antonio and Aransas Bays to Corpus Christi Bay. The menhaden usually migrate in sometime during this month, so I’ll keep watching around the pass areas and try to take advantage of that. Usually, they can be found under diving flocks of pelicans, or the presence of lots of smelly slicks will give away the fact that the fish are feeding on them. At times, we’ll see pelicans diving in a line for miles and slicks popping all around. That’s a dead giveaway to the run of menhaden. As far as lures go, I’ll be trying to catch as many as I can on top waters, and I’ll still throw a few Corkies too. When the bite is a little tougher, I’ll take out my go-to lures, the Norton Sand Eels in plum/chartreuse

96 | March 2012

and pumpkinseed/chartreuse. It should be a great month to catch some big trout and of course plenty of redfish and the occasional flounder too.”

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut Robert Zapata – rz1528@grandecom.net - 361.563.1160 March is here in South Texas, so windy days are common. The air temperatures are up and so are the water temperatures, but don’t store away the waders and Ray Guards just yet. According to my fishing logs, the trout will be moving up into water that is three feet deep or less.

Follow the bait, because this is what the trout are doing at this time. Look for bigger concentrations of mullet and shad up on the water’s surface, also keep an eye out for fish slicks, working sea gulls, or diving brown pelicans. Bring out your favorite topwater baits like the natural colored MirrOlure She Dogs. Also, bring along one of my new favorite plastic baits, Bass Assassin Die Dappers in chartreuse dog, pumpkinseed/chartreuse and plum/chartreuse, rigged on sixteenth ounce Spring Lock jigheads.

Call me if you want to do some sight casting in less than twelve inches of

water. It can be a lot of fun spotting a fish, casting an artificial lure at it and then watching the fish hit Die Dappers, Berkley Gulp! Shrimp or Fish Bites.

Corpus Christi | Joe Mendez – www.sightcast1.com - 361.937.5961 March is a good month to catch both trout and redfish in shallow water, Joe says. “It’s a great time for sightcasting. The fish seem to want to stay shallow much of the time. In some areas, we have super clear water, which helps give us plenty of opportunity to see the fish before we throw at them. A couple of other options make a lot of sense this month too. There are plenty of trout to be caught on the deep edges of the grass in both Emmord’s and Beacroft’s Holes. Fishing for them by drifting is easy. Most of the time, a quarter ounce jighead and a dark worm of some kind will draw strikes regularly. If it gets windy enough for two or even three drift socks, a heavier jighead might work better. I also generally make some runs down south into the Land Cut this time of year. Normally, there is clear water in there and a migration of shrimp. Keeping the boat in the middle of the channel and throwing soft plastics at the west edge is the primary way to catch fish in there. Quarter ounce jigheads are the norm; heavier ones work better when it’s windy.”

Padre Island National Seashore Billy Sandifer - Padre Island Safaris - 361.937.8446 March brings the spring equinox tides and generally higher water levels are to be expected throughout the month. Conditions can often be unfishable but fishing can be great when they are. Keep an eye on internet surf fishing message boards to see if sargassum has arrived or not as it will almost certainly be a major factor in March. Large jack crevalle usually arrive somewhere around the first weekend and will be present when conditions allow. Fishing for redfish will improve and bottom fishing for sheepshead, black drum and whiting is good with fresh, peeled, dead shrimp and “Fishbites.” Lesser blacktipped sharks are often available on cast baits and bull sharks and other species are possible all throughout the month. Paying close attention to tide forecasts and weather reports is imperative to successful surf fishing in March. Remember that as far as we know right now the speed limit for driving on the beaches of Padre Island

National Seashore will be reduced from 25 mph to 15 mph on March 1st.

Port Mansfield | Terry Neal www.terrynealcharters.com – 956.944.2559 Have you ever wondered why big trout start to show up in March and April or why giant black drum move into the bay? This is also the season when we see Mr. Tom Turkey strutting around doing strange things. Do you suppose it has anything to do with the spring equinox? Spring equinox brings us strong tides of beautifully green Gulf water. There is a great awakening in the natural world and if you are lucky to be outdoors during this time, just take time to smell the roses. Fishing in the Land Cut and the East Cut can get really exciting this time of year as the strong currents push water and bait through these channels. With mullet from the Gulf and shrimp from the bay system up north, there’ll be lots of bait to attract the fish. It’s just a great time to be outdoors. The head boats are doing some trips out of Port Mansfield; nice snapper being caught. Remember: it’s not all about the catching and killing; enjoy what you got; a gift!

Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel Janie and Fred Petty – www.fishingwithpettys.com – 956.943.2747 We’ve been experimenting with presentations that normally work in the spring, taking advantage of mild winter conditions, with good results.

Switching the Cajun Thunder round cork for the cigar shape, and using a faster retrieve, stopping occasionally to let the Gulp! drop, has paid off well for reds and trout. The flounder continue to prefer the slower CT round cork trailing Berkley Gulp three inch natural or new penny shrimp on a quarter ounce jighead. Water clarity has been excellent when it’s calm, but clouding up quickly when there’s wind, making the cork an option that will work either way. Freddy says, “Half of the fish we’re cleaning are empty, and the other half are predominantly filled with crab and the occasional shrimp. What’s unusual is the fact that we’re seeing crabs in trout!

Normally when shrimp are scarce, trout will eat more mullet, but this year is different. There’s not much bait, due to the lack of grass.” Another factor in preparing for a trip has been the morning fog, not just an impediment to catching, but dangerous for navigating.

Port Mansfield

38th Annual

Fishing Tournament July 26th – 29th, 2012

Registration: 26th at the pavilion. Awards: 29th

Please visit website for info.

Website: Phone Number: Fax Number: E-mail Address: Mailing Address: Event Center:

portmansfieldchamber.org 956-944-2354 956-944-2515 pmft@granderiver.net P.O. Box 75 Port Mansfield, TX 78598 101 E. Port Drive Port Mansfield, TX 78598

TSFMAG.com | 97

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Suzanne Helm - POC redfish

Roy Hernandez Hog Island - 28” 8.6lb personal best red!

Desmond Rivas Port Aransas - 40” bull red

Raj Maharaj South Padre - 25” redfish 98 | March 2012

Alexis Garza Saint Charles Bay - first flounder!

Brendan Bond Corpus Christi Bayou - first redfish!

Miguel Aguilera Matagorda - 25+” 8lb first jack!

Melea Theresa Price Matagorda Bay - 17” trout

Luis Rueda Port Mansfield - 26.5” trout CPR

Sally Kurtz Palacios - 23” redfish

Josh Barletta Tiki Island canal - 2’ eel

Whitney Pinson Port O’Connor - 29” red

Blanca Rodriguez 23” trout & 25” red

Greg Valle Port A Jetties - redfish

Iliasis Muniz South Padre - 31.5” first tagged red!

William Graber first red!

Andrew Graber first speck!

Paulina Sanchez Port Aransas - 38.75” bull red

Brittney Milberger Lavaca Bay - 50-55lb black drum

Israel Gaedke Cullen’s Bay - 28” redfish

Brent Mayes June Krenek Texas City 25” first keeper red! CPR Cow Trap - 42” first drum! CPR

Dave Smith Bryan Lake - 32” red CPR

Joe & Marcus Molina Port Isabel - 26” & 24” trout

Nathan Bebout Mesquite Bay - 27.25” 7lb 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

Orlando Ochoa, Jr. Port Mansfield - 44” redfish

Alfredo Navarro South Padre - 31” 13lb jack cravel

Mail photos to: TSFMag P.O. Box 429, Seadrift, TX 77983 TSFMAG.com | 99

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

1-1/2 lb fresh shrimp, 10-15 count, peeled and deveined 12 wooden skewers six inches length 1/2 cup flour for dredging, seasoned with salt and pepper 3/4 cup corn meal 1/3 cup flour 1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

In mixing bowl combine cornmeal, flour, baking soda, honey, buttermilk, water and egg.

Stir batter until smooth. Skewer shrimp lengthwise, starting at tail. Dredge shrimp in seasoned flour, then roll in batter and fry in 350° oil until golden brown.

1/4 cup finely chopped green onion 2 tablespoon finely chopped celery 2 tablespoon finely chopped parsley 2 tablespoon horseradish 2 tablespoons ketchup 2 tablespoons Creole mustard 1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard 1 tablespoon white vinegar 2 teaspoon lemon juice 3/4 teaspoon paprika 1 egg 1 clove garlic minced 1/8 teaspoon salt 6 tablespoon vegetable oil

100 | March 2012

1/8 teaspoon salt 1/2 tablespoon honey 3 ounces buttermilk 1/3 cup water 1/2 egg

2 pounds fresh fillets 1 cup creamy Italian-style salad dressing 1/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese 1 cup crushed potato chips Preheat oven to 500° F. Coat 9x13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Marinate fillets in the salad dressing for a few minutes.

Toss the shredded cheese and crushed chips together. Place the marinated fish fillets in the prepared baking dish and top with the cheese/chip mixture. Discard the leftover marinade.

Bake uncovered 8 to 10 minutes or until the fish can be flaked with a fork.

Place all ingredients, except oil, in blender and mix at high speed until blended. With blender running, slowly pour in oil in steady stream.

Sauce will thicken to creamy consistency. Adjust seasonings to taste.

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TSFMAG.com | 101

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galveston tides & Solunar Table Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine March 2012

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