6/27 - 6/24 Report from Tightrope - Went down to Baffin this morning with my son, Garret, and brother, Roger, to fish Tide Gauge Bar. We fished it about a week ago and had some luck so decided to return. Wind and waves were cranking pretty good when we anchored up out from the bar and proceeded to get out and wade. Ended up with 3 reds(1-23" and 2-28") also kept 6 trout around 17" and one flounder. All fish were caught on live shrimp and croaker. A good day on the water.
6/23 Capt. Black says Baffin is Hot! - I usually reserve time for my fishing reports evry three to four weeks due to time constraints and I like to make sure I have enough material, ie., pics, and videos to warrant the effort. Well, lets just say this week was a little different. It just had to be in a report all its own.
For quite some time now, I've been fortunate enough to "be on some fish". The clearing waters of Baffin and the rising water and air temps have really turned on the fishing. It seems the word is out because the number of boaters on the water this past Saturday was unreal. Granted 90% of them were camped out along the Tide Guage Bar which is historically the place to be this time of year.
Several times this week has found me in the same area. We have had trips of varying success here and have picked up some nice fish. But, its nice to know that when things get just a bit too crowded, the fallback plan is a proven winner.
Our hot colors this week have been Dark Strawberry, Pink Lemonade, Rootbeer/red glitter Brown Lures Devil Eyes along with some that my clients had confidence in such as DOA's and Berkley Gulp Shrimp. I have always been a proponent of using "confidence lures" by my clients and its always interesting to see what these folks hang their hats on when it comes to catching fish.This week its been all trout which doesn't bother me one bit. I love stalking and catching skinny water redfish but when the trout bite is this good, I just save them for another time.
We have been catching several trout in the 28" range virtually every trip. With numerous Big Girls topping the 24" mark. I managed to catch this rather thin trout (as most are this time of year) early one morning this week.
I followed up a short time later with this little beauty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtDjjYaMPlU
I even let my trusty photographer get in on a little action LOL.
And then there was Saturday. I had a trip scheduled with a good friend from Houston and he had to cancel at the last minute due to his job. So the phone call I got on Thursday asking if I was open by any chance came at an opportune time. Brad brought down most of the offshore fishing crew that had been fishing on Friday around 60 miles out. They had had a good trip with lots of fish but were looking for more. They seemed a bit tired when they arrived at my place Friday night around 10:30. In fact, I'm not sure we even got proper introductions out of the way before heads hit the pillows.
I'm sure some of these guys thought I was crazy when I flipped on the lights at 4:30 telling them that breakfast was ready. It was a sad sight seeing all those guys with dark circles under their eyes and still a little stiff and sore from their offshore adventure. Gotta give em credit though, they hit the ground running and we were loaded up and at the boat ramp by 5:30. It was flat calm out there and the air was cool. The boat ride was very comfortable, almost too comfortable for some as I noticed a few bobbing heads on the way out.
We piled into the water at our first stop. Carl, Ben and I managed some quick action right off the bat and then two things happened for us. First, we had boat after boat file into the general area we were fishing and second, our bite just stopped. I don't mean trickled off I mean it stopped like a slammed door. We prodded the water for another hour with every offering we could come up with and no takers.
Anyone that fishes with me on a regular basis knows I don't like to move around a lot on weekends. Its almost a guarantee that any area that likely holds fish on a weekend will have boats on it. But, reluctantly I decided to hit one of my lesser known spots and see if things were happening there. I was slightly surprised to find no boats within 1/2 a mile of one of the spots I had in mind but I was grateful.
We motored the boat into place and I secured it with the Stake-Out Stik and we eased into the water with high expectations. Brad was first to hook up and it was looking like it might be a good choice of fishing spots when this one came to hand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXVu-FrkZW4
And the release
Just a few casts later, Ben got in on the action, trying his best to top Brad's fish in a "friendly(?)" competition.
Brad quickly answered back
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zNbOfY-CdY
I got to play a little bit as well.
All this time, Jason was just quietly plugging away. He had a few fish on the stringer but was intent on the task at hand. With all the whooping and hollering going on from everyone else, it was luck that we caught anything at all. I happened to be looking Jason's direction when I saw him set back hard. The pronounced "bow" in his rod indicated that this might be a rock. That is until the "rock" broke the surface about 40 feet in front of him doing its best tarpon imitation. I immeadiately grabbed the camera and started filming. I knew this one was going to get good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM4HnqqnCok
We caught and released 6 trout over 25" and had a whole slew of solid fish between 18" and 24". It was a very memorable day to say the least. We topped it off with a dip in the pool, some delicious margaritas (thanks John) some shrimp and fajitas and then it was almost comical watching the heavy heads and heavier eyelids as we all sat around the living room. I finally woke up at 2:30 and realized I was still sitting in my recliner and I wasn't the only one. Had a great time and a great week of fishing. Looking forward to another one as our weather pattern looks stable and the winds look to be light for a while.
Don't forget to give me a call about our night time wadefishing trips. Its a great way to beat the heat and feel the excitement of topwater bite in the dark. Remember to practice conservation and just keep 5. Later, Aubrey6/22 Baffin Bay Brush Country Kidfish 6/21 - I received this nice email and photos from Denise Parr who wrote "I just wanted to submit a couple of pictures of our 6 year old daughter, Madison Parr, who brought in the biggest Red fish in the Brush Country CCA Kid Fish 2008 on 6-21-08. This was her first catch. This fish measured 23 inches and was caught in Baffin Bay. Not sure what your guidelines are for submitting pictures to be posted on website.
We fish Baffin Bay and frequently visit this website. Great Work!"
Thank you,
Denise Parr
6/16 Baffin Bay via Captain Black for the past month - Hot time in old town tonight"! Hot is the name of the game down here in the summertime and mother nature has been living up to expectations. 90 degree + days are rolling off consecutively with no end in sight. Fortunately, the fishing is just as hot as the temperatures. Good size and good numbers along with consistent patterns have made for lots of memorable days on the water.
Hot lures this month so far have been some of the usual standbys. Dark Strawberry, Rootbeer/Red glitter, Amber/chartreuse Devil Eyes have been working well along with the red/white Saltwater Assassin Sea Shad (4") and the occasional Tequila Gold Norton Bull Minnow. All of these lures have been catching both redfish and trout with some really surprising size on the Big Girls for this time of year. One of the new baits that I tried out this month with very good success was a pink/chartreuse Devil Eye. I'm not certain what the Brown boys will call this one but I have been calling it my redfish killer for the past two weeks.
The bigger trout are still very shallow early hanging out around potholes in clear water. When its cloudy or before I can see real good, I have been using the paddletail lures and making multiple casts around any visible potholes. Once the sun gets up (9:30 or so) I have been sight casting to the trout and some redfish in knee deep water around grassy flats and potholes. Its been good. This Big Girl went for a red/white Sea Shad in about a foot of water at 2:00pm.
Th redfish have been very aggressive and leaning to the upper slot size. The bronze back bruisers are knocking the fire out of the pink/chartreuse Devil Eye along with just about any paddletail lure you throw at them. Here's my buddy CT with a good example of what we have been catching.
Had a great Father/Son outing with two good friends and their 13 year old sons. Getting them out there and watching them wrestle with some good fish was a lot of fun. Good to see these two guys bringing along their boys the right way. Todd and Tyler got into some steady action on just keeper size trout.
Brad and Tim were doing pretty good themselves.
The results from a great day on the water.
Made a little side trip to Port Mansfield this weekend on an annual trip with a group of friends. We had an absolute blast in Capt. Tricia's and McTrout's backyard both figuratively and literally. We had some decent trout on this trip but it was the redfish that stole the show.
Scott and I located a huge school of redfish on a grassy flat and proceeded to hammer the heck out of upper slot redfish as fast as we could get a line in the water. In fact, at one point with the huge school completely surrounding the boat, we got the bright idea to hook up with one red, grab another rod and hook up with a second red. It worked!!! For both of us!!
We both had a rod in each hand hooked up to a redfish for a total of four reds at the same time. After a brief minute or two, one of mine got off the hook and I decided to fill my free hand with my video camera and film the last three reds. So hear is the video for your viewing pleasure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1fenNFPJg0
Right after we landed these three, we noticed a familiar boat close to us, they too were enjoying a tussle with the big reds in the school. It was Capt. Danny Neu with three guys from our group. Danny is one of the guys that joins us each year as a participant so we can use his local knowledge to find some fish.
We all piled into the water and had an absolute blast for the next hour or so catching and releasing redfish after redfish.
Danny
Mike
And Doug
We headed in for showers and adult beverages and ate like kings with boiled shrimp and King crab legs before heading over to Tricia and McTrout's hacienda. They have an absolutely fantastic set up over there and I would highly recommend y'all go see them when you can.
Mike finally found a use for an old wading net laying around the house LOL.
And Tricia still looking good.
We had a great time with old friends and the fishing was good so what more could you possibly ask for. The heat is on but the fishing is hot. I am gearing u for some night wades in July and August so y'all come on down and help us keep the big Girls on the run.
Remember to practice conservation and just keep 5. Later, Aubrey5/22 Baffin Bay via Captain Black - Man! Has it been a month already?!?! Time flies when you are having fun. And boy are we having fun down here in God's country. Warm temps have the fish feeling fiesty and aggressive and the parade of good folks willing to grind for a few hours for their reward have been streaming through my door.
Fishing is good right now, bordering on great. Good numbers and size are showing up on a consistent basis. Our biggest obstacle these days is the unusually windy conditions. I say "unusual" because as you all know, on a normal year, we often have days with winds in excess of 25mph. That s just considered a nbormal day around these parts. However, this year we have seen more days with winds over 40mph than I can remember in quite some time.
Being hardcore grinders, we often head out when most are staying at home. But we are also safety conscious and try to stay on the right side of the hardcore/ foolhardy line. Re-scheduling is a better option than a visit to the chiropractor and the dentist after rough boat rides.
But before you think its just one windstorm after another, let me tell you we have seen some beautiful, pristine Baffin mornings that you only hear about in fishing reports and magazines. And fortunately for us, the fish are cooperating. Hot baits for this month have been various topwaters but mostly the bone Super Spook Jr and pearl Skitterwalk. Brown Lures Devil Eyes in Rootbeer/Red Flake, Dark Strawberry and Morning Glory along with Saltwater Assassins' Red/White Sea Shad and Norton's Tequila Gold Bull Minnow have been working wonders for us. Various Corkies have been working as well with pink and pearl/chartreuse being top producers (sorry no pics of these as the fish have destroyed them LOL).
Topwaters are working best with a slow to moderate walk-the-dog retrieve. Be sure to vary your retrieve and throw in a long pause from time to time. This seems to really agitate the Big Girls and make them hit when they otherwise wouldn't. Be sure to make certain that your drag is set fairly loose. We have had a couple of heartbreaks this year due to parted lines from too tight drags.
The "rat-tail" baits have been working best around the rocks rigged on 1/16 oz Hogies Springheads and bouncing them slowly around and over the rocks. Make sure you have plenty because the rocks here in Baffin are not very forgiving. I am quickly going through my supply of Rootbeer/Red glitter Devil Eyes and the trout are absolutely hammering them right now. Dark colors are working best (now where have you heard that before?).
The paddletails have been my #1 bait for shallow redfish as I can reel it in just fast enough to clear the grass and slow enough to entice an aggressive bite with that little wiggle. But don't think that the paddletails are only for redfish. I caught two 28"+ trout this week on the little red/white Assassin.
And the video of the second one. You will note that I had to get creative while videoing this fish as no one was close enough to help.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7z-73XzKOY
One other quick note, in keeping with my policy of artificial only charters, I occasionally encounter young children, elderly and some physically handicapped individuals. I always do what I can to accomodate them and give them the best fishing experience possible. I want to endorse the use of Berkley's Gulp products. Sometimes rigged under a popping cork (Cajun Thunder) ar on a plain jighead, this lure has worked very well for the folks who just can't grind like we all do. Even "Designer Cut-Bait" as my buddy McTrout calls it, has a place in my arsenal.
But back to what we all love to do. Chasing Baffin Big Girls. I had the privilege to fish with lots of new folks this month and also a few old friends. Including my good friends from Thermon. We had a couple of 3 day trips we ran with Capt. Jim Onderdonk (www.pocolocolodge.com). These trips are something I look forward to each year because this group really gets into the spirit of things. Side bets on big fish and lots of friendly banter amongst boats is common and sometimes hilarious. We actually ahd a couple of days that were blown out but when we did get on the water, the guys did what they do best..................... Catch Fish!!!
Andy was on my boat and had a career day bouncing some plastics around Baffin's famedrock formations. While not quite a personal best, this Big Girl came awfully close.
Moments later he was hooked up again with yet another solid trout. WTG Andy and thanks for the releases.
On our second trip, Scott had the hot hand on my boat as he landed this near personal best trout on a plum Saltwater Assassin.
Our buddy Mr. Green managed a trophy MULLET on the same lure LOL.
On the last day of the trip, we had a good wade going and hung some quality fish. Even the saltwater rookie had some fun.
Paul managed a few nice trout including this one on a dark strawberry Devil Eye.
Even the guides got in on the big fish action as I hung this beauty.
And Jim topped it off with this Fat Girl.
Needless to say, with all the hoopin' and hollerin' from such a large wadefishing contingent, we attracted a little bit more attention than we wanted. (Next time guys....... Sssshhhhhh!!!)
Thats Jim's boat in the middle in relation to my boat and our two new potlickin' friends LOL. It was all good though. We just found it humorous is all. Even had the same folks move in on the next two trips. Smiles and friendly waves are always better than confrontations. Y'all keep that in mind.
Sandwiched between Thermon trips was a most memorable trip with 11 county judges, retired DPS nad Land men from West Texas, my old stomping grounds. Can't remember ever having so much fun with such a likable group. We ran the gamut and and had plenty of laughs, most of which I can't tell you due to my fear of what might happen to me next time I head out west. Our first day was a little tough as the winds howled (did I mention its been a little windy this year???). My boat was loaded with hardcore guys who never met the words "Give Up".
Allen was a little rough on equipment as he shows off his new "2 piece" rod LOL.
We managed a few fish despite the conditions but overall it was tough the first day. What we call a character builder. And boy were these guys a bunch of characters. This must happen to them a lot. The other boats did about the same as we did with Capt. Bruce Miller and Capt. Mike Hart ( www.brushcountrycharters.com ) running ther respective boats. We headed in that afternoon in anticipation of a great steak dinner and I even got roped into a "friendly" poker game.
The next morning found us with much better conditions and even a few more cooperative fish. Allen took top honors for the day and the entire trip with this chunky redfish.
Roy had my favorite catch of the day with a 19" flounder.
Allen proved his angling prowess by hanging this nice trout. Notice that same red/white paddletail again.
Roy was just a redfish shy of a great slam after wrestling in this beauty.
It took me almost three days but I think I finally got them to call "Uncle" LOL.
This month has been especially good and very humbling at the same time I had the opportunity to fish with the very young
And the "seasoned" citizens
I find it quite a privilege to be allowed to take part in the activities that these folks love so much. While I get tremendous enjoyment out of fishing and catching trophy trout and redfish, it pales in comparison to the happiness and sense of accomplishment I get when I see others enjoying what many of us take for granted. Shayne (the youngster pictured above) has never let his handicap overwhelm him in the short time I've known him. His enthusiasm and zest for life is evident when he is fishing on the boat with his parents, sister and I and when he is pestering my labs in the swimming pool. Shayne is truly one of my heroes.
Joe (the gentleman strapped to my front deck) epitomizes what I would someday like to achieve. I hope to live a long vibrant life and maintain good friendships as long as he has. We laughed so much on this trip that my sides are just now beginning to feel better. Thanks Joe and crew for making my week.
And then there were the trophies of the month. I almost got to add another 30"er to the list but this Big Girl fell just a 1/4" short.
And Michael landed one of the thickest bodied trout I have seen. When they say a trout has "shoulders" this is the type of trout they are talking about. The pics and video really don't do this fish justice. She was 28 1/2"+ and weighed 8 lbs.
And the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6faiWcqzKAE
Its been a wild and wonderful time down here and the spring and summer are only going to get better. Give me a shout if you want to experience what Baffin has to offer. We'll be doing some night fishing trips this summer to escape the heat and experience the thrills of night time topwater action.
Remember to practice conservation and just keep 5. Later, Aubrey5/20 Baffin Bay - Lots of big fish reported over the weekend.. Here is R.Arnold's report : As much as I've been wanting to find a trout for the FIRST time in 08 down PINS, I was not looking forward to the North wind, so I figured inshore may be the best bet.
We met up at Whataburger in Calallen at 3:30am as planned, ate breakfast, stopped at the store and got a few necessities, launched the boat and were fishing in the night by 5:30am.
Not much action until sunrise we got a few trout. Around 9:00am it started to pick up a little as anticipated with the full moon and we got a few more trout and a 28" red.
Around midday it went off! We went from a hand full of nice trout to about 25 trout and a red, with 3 of the trout being 30" class I normally throw a big topwater all day at this spot, but I decided to match the hatch today as I saw shrimp skipping across the shallow water all day trying to avoid being eaten. The topwater bite was good, but the 4" Natural Gulp shrimp was what the big girls wanted. I caught 2 trout right at 30" and my friend jason got one a hair over 30". 1 of mine and his big one came from the exact same spot about 5 minutes apart.
The conditions got better and better as the day went on, the water got greener and greener, if we'd been able to fish the evening, I believe it could have been very interesting to say the least. I have a bunch of pics, but I am struggling to get them to upload for some reason, but I did manage to get this one to upload. Here's a pic of one of my Baffin girls.
Here's a pic of my friend Jason holding 2 of the 3 caught
He makes them look as big as they really were5/6 - Land Cut and Upper Laguna Pics from Capt. Bill Sheka - The bait of choice has been croaker. Here is Colonel Pete Perkins with a Landcut Trout
And Don Lewis with another nice one.
Brittney Russel with another solid Land Cut Trout.
And finally P.J. Pfeiffer and Capt Bill Sheka with a 29" Trophy from the Laguna.
5/1 - Baffin Beauty - Paulette Nurray with one of 20 plus nice trout caught and released with husband Scott Murray 4/28 -4/29 .
4/24/08 - As I type this report, I am listening to the local weatherman recap the events of the day......... Windy with gusts to 44 mph. This forecast seems to be the norm these days rather than the exception. Its enough to give you a complex. Fortunately we have had a small window each morning where we can get out and give it our best shot before the winds get out of hand. And even more fortunate, the fishing ............. IS ON!!!
April has been going gangbusters all month long with no signs of letting up. Many clients have reeled in personal bests and many "firsts" as well. Even guys used to catching bass in freshwater are putting a hurt on some Baffin trout.
Repeat clients checking in for a refresher course and brand new students of the game have all met with success despite the high winds and murky water conditions.
The middle of the month was starting to look like Ladies day around here as the women made quite a show of putting it on the guys. Sherri is no stranger to catching Baffin Big Girls but this one, her personal best, fell for a bright orange Skitterwalk on a very windy morning after a cold front blew through. I told John, her husband, that if she catches the big trout once you might be able to write it off as a fluke. But when it happens again, well..................
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZEenVv9vD4
You will have to excuse the odd angle for part of the video. John was just learning how to use my camera. From the way Sherri has been fishing lately, it looks like John better get good real quick LOL.
Hurricane Mike showed up with his girlfriend Cynthia in tow. Our goal was to put this wadefishing newbie on a few solid trout on artificials. After a little coaching, and a lot of persistence on her part, I think we can say............ Mission Accomplished. And a personal best to boot. WTG girl!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF9I5m-J060
My buddy Bill got in on a last minute scouting trip with me when he and his partner failed to qualify for the second day of a local redfish tournament. He made up for lost time by hooking up with this hefty trout.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQSy-lC3frI
Whats becoming a rather common occurence this year, a flounder or two has been caught on most of my trips the past few weeks. I hope this trend keeps on keeping on. I really like these tasty flatfish and they seem to really like the soft plastics we have been tossing. Here's Mike with one of these feisty fish.
Speaking of the lures we have been chunking, Our hot soft plastic baits for the month are pictured below:
The new pearl/black Devil Eye has been an exciting new find. My first five casts with this new color produced four trout with three of those topping the 20" mark. Can't say I've had too many lures make that kind of debut. So if you are reading this Jake or Jason, please send more LOL.
A little more recent, we had a multi-boat trip with Capt. Jim Onderdonk www.pocolocolodge.com . The weather was the usual small window in the morning and howling out of the southeast by noon. Fortunately for me, I had a hardcore group that was willing to grind it out in tough conditions. They were rewarded with a couple of days of tremendous catches as we probably had 40 fish over the 20" mark topped by Steve's new personal best. WTG guys!
I managed this trout which was not outstanding for her length but rather for her girth. This 24" trout weighed in at a whopping 5 1/2 pounds. There truly are some big ol' Fat trout down here right now.
Yesterday, we had another great outing looking exclusively for big fish. Gino got his 30"er. Unfortunately it was a redfish rather than a trout but proved to quite a thrill and a heck of a good fight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M19URFIpv4
Gino ended up with a real nice 27"+ trout but I was too far away for a pic and he wanted to release her unharmed as quickly as he could. I personally thank you for your conservation ethic my friend. Its reward in itself just to watch those Big Girls swim off.
Then, I got to play a bit with an aggressive Big Girl who just couldn't live without my pearl Skitterwalk. She didn't go 30" either but was as close as you can get. It pays to have that drag set a little light when fishing for these sows with topwaters. This one was barely hooked in the side of the gill plate and if I had cranked down and tried to horse her in, I would have certainly lost her.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFmvxMX9c6Q
We are wet wading now and I will admit, that first dip in the morning will really get your attention. Be aware if you plan on fishing down here anytime soon, there are lots of jellyfish (sea nettle) in the water so wear the long wading pants and you will be fine. The waters are looking good with some areas showing almost two feet of visibility. The baitfish are plentiful and the trout and redfish are plenty aggressive. Praying for light winds and maybe a little rain wouldn't hurt. Looking forward with great anticipation until the next chance to get on the water.
Remember to practice conservation and just keep 5. Later, Aubrey4/4 Baffin Report from Captain Black - What's the old saying........." In like a Lion, out like a Lamb" ?? Or is it "In like a Lamb, out like a Lion" ?? Whoever coined that phrase wasn't from South Texas for sure. This has been one of the windiest stretches I have seen in quite some time. Not only windy, which we kinda get used to after a while, but borderline violent and dangerous. We had a stretch last week with six consecutive days of wind gusts topping 40mph. and two days with winds over 55mph. Thats just brutal.
Through all of this, you would think that the fishing had suffered greatly. Well, it really hasn't. The brave and hardy souls that have managed to stick it out and grind through these conditions have been rewarded. Those little 2 hour windows of decent weather we have had on some mornings afford us the opportunity to get to our spots and concentrate some quality effort with good results. Many personal bests and firsts this month as we navigate what Mother Nature throws in our path. A lot of fun and some very memorable trips. After all, thats what its all about.
Now I will admit, there were a few days this month when we got the rare "dead calm" conditions and we definitely took advantage. One such trip was with Jake and Jason Brown and their Dad, Larry. You can check out their version of the trip on their website. Be sure to check out the "Turtle Video" http://brownlures.com/baffin-report-videos-aubrey-black/
John, Sherri (sp) and their son also took advantage of the nice conditions one morning to catch a nice trout
And a jumbo redfish
Soft plastics and paddletails were the lures of choice and we had a great time on a post front, blue bird day. The fishing was a little slow but one of the great things about being down here is the quality of the fish on even the toughest days.
And then there were these guys
You just gotta love it when the trip starts out with lots of mudbugs and lots of ice cold adult beverages LOL. In about an hour and a half, Hugh, Kenny and crew were a part of our extended "family". We had an absolute blast for two days and got to watch the "old guys" put it on the "young guns". Hope to see these guys down here again soon.
Another "morning window" produced another fantastic trip with some certifiable Big Girls
And one serious heartbreak. When you watch this video, if you can, stop it frame by frame when the big fish comes to the surface and get a load of the size of the tail end of this behemoth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKp6yfwKE-U
John Michael had a career day anyway with a personal best trout and redfish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9zqZv2vynU
The action was hot and heavy early for Billy and John Michael. Topwaters and TTK's were working for this pair. My Big Girl (above) fell for a rootbeer/red glitter Devil Eye.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teKrboXd3d0
In order to extend our fishing windowm we have been getting an early start each day. Herb showed that you can't get up too early to hang a personal best trout. The dance he did with this Big Girl would have won first place on Dancing With The Stars LOL.
The fishing was steady and they were literally hitting everything we threw at them. Mark snagged this one on and amber Devil Eye.
And I took this chunky trout on a pink Solo
Dark Strawberry Devil Eyes were also very effective
Then Bert managed yet another personal best with this Baffin Beauty.
I shot a little video clip of the figh with this one but the first few seconds of this battle were as awesome as anything I've seen. This fish didn't take kindly to feeling the hook in her mouth and did a most spectacular tail walk and surface thrashing for a good fifteen yards across the surface. It was quite a sight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhlnsEEua58
After a few pics, this Big Girl was released hopefully to propagate the species and give someone else a thrill like she gave us.
The water in Baffin is still stained with brown tide and the winds have kept it churned up for the better part of the last month or so but the fish don't seem to mind if you don't. Its been good and seems to be getting better each day. Springtime fishing is about to kick off full force and the future looks bright. Y'all come on down and we'll chase a few Big Girls together.
Remember to practice conservation and just keep 5. Later, Aubrey3/13 Baffin Report from Captain Black - "Fishing has been very good lately between fronts. Trout up to 29" are going for dark colored plastics like the Brown Lures Devil Eye in dark strawberry and rootbeer/ red glitter. We even had a bit of a topwater bite shallow with pink Skitterwalks working best. Redfish are holding in good numbers and all size classes over shallow muddy bottoms. Paddle tail plastics like the 4" Gambler Flappin' Shad in red/white have been good producers. Just cast and reel and let the tails natural action do all the work. "
3/7 Baffin report from Captain Black's Clients Courtesy of Aubrey and Alamo Area Anglers - Just wanted to let everyone know to head down and go see Aubrey. We got lucky in between windy days and it turned out nice for us. We caught plenty of trout ranging from 18-24". I think the heaviest was over 5lbs. Here's what is out there. Give the Capt a call.
2/24 Baffin Report from Captain Black - Back in business!! After dunnking my last camera, I've been having a few problems with it and so very few pics have been taken. I've heard all your voicemails and read every single e-mail as well and will try my best to get a few reports up in a more timely manner. The fishing has been good so far this trophy trout season. Not a blockbuster year but not bad either.
I think I know what my new pet peeve is now. It has to be questions about the brown tide. Yep!! Its here, Yes it looks terrible. Nope, the fish aren't dying in it. Yes, we are catching good fish in it. No, we are not catching big numbers of fish. My question to the folks asking the questions, Does it really matter??
Many of us full time guides have to put up with the dirty looking water on a daily basis and each has developed his own way of dealing with it. Like the old credo "Adapt and overcome", has become the new mantra for us down here. And overcome we have. Basically we fish a little shallower than we used to. We fish a lot more methodically and slowly cover areas that have been productive for us in the past. Many of the same tactics we have used still work with only minimal modifications but patience and persistence are essential.
As of late, our water temps have really been on the rise and its beginning to look a lot like spring and early summer down here. I along with several of my clients have pushed the envelope in some of the water we fish knowing if we get water in our waders, it really won't be all that uncomfortable. I have seen wate temps this week as high as 75 degrees. Thats well into my comfort zone for wet wading.
Hot lures this month have been my usual standby lures like the Brown Lures Devil Eyes in just about any dark color you can find. Corky Devils and Fat Boys have done well and with the warming shallow waters, or topwater bite has really kicked in. Pearl and Pink Skitterwalks, Bone She Dogs and just about any color Super Spook Jr have lead the pack.
I won't go into a lot of detail but I will say that we are catching more fish in the Upper Laguna but our big Girls are still coming from Baffin. Many in the dirtiest, ugliest brown tide looking water in the bay. So don't be skeered LOL.
Here are a couple of pics of some of the fish we have been catching this month, like this 7 pound + Big Girl that went for an amber Devil Eye
This FAT trout was caught on a drift on a very windy morning as a front blew in. Fred took great care to handle this Big Girl as gently as possible before releasing her.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of fishing with an old time 2Cooler and good friend Brad (aka Monarchy). We fished with two other gentlemen John and Ben on an excursion looking for Big Girls Gone Wild on topwaters. Ben took top honors the first day with a 24" trout that was just under 5 pounds on a pink Skitterwalk. A little smack talk around the dinner table that night must have steeled Brad's resolve as he had a very determined look on his face the next morning.
We witmessed anothetr beautiful South Texas sunrise as we piled out of the boat and headed to our first wade destination.
I manged a couple of decent size trout up to 18" on a pearl Skitterwalk. I glanced over at Brad and noticed a very pronounced bow in his rod. I quickly waded over just in time to witness him land this chunky trout and then carefully release her.
About an hour later, I saw him doing quite the "graceful" dance as he hooked up with another Baffin Big Girl again on a Bone She Dog.
Here is a little video clip I took as Brad prepared her for release. Very nice fish my friend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bW-qZXov8M
It was just another great time with good friends and its becoming quite habit forming for me lately. The fishing is good down here and y'all are invited to come down and partake. Spring and Summer are shaping up to be very active and I'm still seriously stalking that one big fish. Come join me on my quest.Remember to practice conservation and just keep 5. Later, Aubrey
2/21 Baffin Report - Pretty muddy still at Baffin. Redfish are showing up in the Badlands accorind to Captain Mike Singleterry.
Gcoppin filed this report 2/12
Well I decided to brave the wind and weather and try out Baffin for the day. I got down there around 7:30 and it was howling 20 plus out of the SSE which was good for our drifts. we put a few trout in the box but then the wind started to lay and the fish turned off. all day it switched from SSE to NNW to E to WSW to W to North. But when the front started to blow 20-25 out of the north it turned on hot. We boated eight keepers real quick put a 24 inch 5 pound trout in the box and and I caught a 37" bull red on my curado which was fun. now is when it got scary. We saw some dark clouds to our NW and it was blowing NNE at the time. With the fishing so good I said I think it is going to blow on by but I was sadly mistaken. It built right over us and we ended up right at penescal when the storm hit with 30-40 mph winds and it was pouring and hailing. So instead of doing more studid stuff like trying to cross the mouth of baffin in a 40mph hail storm I took shelter under a near by cabin and we waited it out. after about 45min the storm had passed and we were safe. I think I learned a valuble lesson and that is even though the fishing is great it is better to make it home safe. well at least we made it home with a few fish. until next time.
Fish Hard,
Capt. Grant
www.backlashcharters.com
2/1Captain Black' says it is On - The water clarity is still bad but they are getting some spots from 6 to 18 inches of visibiltiy and working over the rocks and the mud with dark colors producing best. No monsters but they have been getting some 28 inchers over 8lbs. Corky Fat Boys, Corky Devil eyes and bass assassins worked slowly over the rocks and mud have been producing especially later in the day when it warms up.
12/27 Captain Black's Christmas Cast and Blast - "Hadn't really planned on doing much this morning but when I got up around 5:30am to put the turkey in the roaster, I noticed it was just too beautiful and calm outside to stay in the house.
No one at home but the wife and dogs and I knew my wife wouldn't be up for a morning of fishing or duck hunting so I loaded up both dogs and headed out.
I headed out to a calm foggy morning (my favorite) and hit a nearby Big Girl haunt. The dogs were a bit impatient when they realized they would be staying in the boat but I wasn't planning on fishing for long.
I started out with a red/black back Corky Devil and had action almost immeadiately. A couple of nice eating sized trout (18" - 20") came to hand and then I saw a small mullet clear the water three times in quick succession about 40 feet away from me. I flipped the Devil just past the spot and immeadiately saw a swirl and felt that familiar THUMP as she grabbed my lure.
As soon as I set the hook, I knew it was a good fish. She thrashed the surface and did one of those patented Baffin "Maytags" you know the headshake, tailwalk with her body half out of the water, whipping the whole surface of the water into a frenzied foam.
She made two hard runs before I got her under control. I didn't have my camera with me (in the boat) but I did weigh her on the Boga grip and measured her against the marks on my rod. She was a hefty 8 1/4 pounds and well over the 28" mark on my Waterloo.
I removed the hook from her lower jaw and wished her a Merry Christmas as I turned her loose.
A few more casts produced one other fish about 23" and then I decided to take the dogs for a little duck hunt.
The water was low in the area I planned to hunt but the birds were abundant. In fact I ran some off when I approached my blind. Rocksy was getting very excited and Whiskey was excited that Rocksy was excited. This was Whiskey's first duck hunt and I was interested in how she would react. Lets just say its going to take a little longer with this one LOL.
I set out 3 dozen decoys and eased into the blind with both dogs. Again the action was immeadiate as a lone lesser scaup drake flared right in front of me. 1 for 1 as the drake dropped in the spread and Rocksy piled into the water with Whiskey hot on her tail.
Any of y'all that have seen Rocksy and Whiskey play in my back yard knows how my little chocolate lab is always in Rocksy's way and while she never takes a retrieve away, she pesters the heck out of my hunting dog from the moment of pick up until the final drop. Well, its no different during the hunt.
I didn't have the heart to scold her because she looked like she was having the time of her life and Rocksy didn't seem to mind much either.
After gathering them both back in the blind, the action got hot and heavy again as a large flight of redheads approached. I quickly got my two redhead drakes and as Rocksy got to the blind with the second bird, two mottled ducks headed for the spread. I only had two shells in the gun when they approached and it took both to drop one.
I have been pleasantly surprised at the number and variety of ducks we have this year. That is the fourth mottled duck we have taken this year and we have had ten different species taken so far.
It was almost 9:00 and I figured I better get back to take care of Christmas dinner, so I loaded the dogs and decoys and headed back in. What a wonderful way to spend Christmas morning. Wish y'all coulda seen that foggy sunrise.
Looks like the Big Girls are definitely here and the duck action is the best I've seen since I started doing this. Hope to see some of y'all down here soon.
Merry Christmas to all of my Corpusfishing.com family. Later, Aubrey"
12/12 Fishing Baffin with Captain Rowsey via Dobro - From the message board Dobro says: Trophy trout fishing is starting to really get into my blood and my wife is becoming very annoyed thanks to Captain David Rowsey. My buddy Russ and I have fished with David several times over the last year and the experience is consistent – outstanding. If you haven’t fished with David you should, there is no question my knowledge and success rate has increased due to these outings to include the latest adventure.
Russ, Paxton and I fished with David last week targeting the famous Baffin Bay. Conditions were going to be tough due to a remaining brown tide and the frontal passage that had occurred the day prior. David was keen to make sure he knew what our goal was for the day. We made sure he knew it was big trout we were after.
The day began and David positioned us on a “big fish spot” and coached us to be patient. The key to this day was the minor feeding period or moon phase that was scheduled for 11:25 am. Bait was present in all directions and I cast my bait 2,200 times. We caught three smaller fish before the magic feeding period arrived, then, as predicted, big fish decided to feed. Within the first twenty minutes of the minor we all caught fish in the 3 lb – 4 lb class. I then captured my big for the day which went 6 lbs. followed shortly by Russ who captured his personal best that went 8 lbs. on the Boga.
David took the following pictures and shared with us that this was his fourth consecutive trip with a fish being caught over 7 lbs. and it was his 14 time this calendar year he had a client catch their personal best. Catching the fish was great but the true value of the trip is that David willingly shares why the fish are there and what structure they are keying on. In the afternoon David positioned us on a spot to finish the day that held as many 10” – 16” fish we cared to capture. Captain David is all about quality of fish and quality of experience. He is a great guy and is the best! Check out his website and give him a call: wwww.DavidRowsey.com
P.S. I live in SA and do envy you all that live in the area and get to fish the Laguna and Baffin regularly. Also I have posted this on other sites so sorry for the lack of originality...
11/27 Cast and Blast Baffin Report from Captain Black - Well, this report is gonna be a little different. Yes its getting real close to Big Girl time down here and I am anxiously awaiting those cool crisp morning wades anticipating that telltale thump that might just mean that new personal best.
The outlook for this bay system is looking real good right now. Our water clarity is still somewhat off but most places you can see down 18" or so pretty easily. You can make out grass patches and sand pockets in shallow water and on sunny days you can even make out the outlines of the rocks.
There has been little pressure this year, I assume due to the water clarity. But I'm here to tell you that it hasn't meant anything to the trout. Most days we are catching 12 to 15 keepers with 6 or 7 topping the 20" mark and 1 or 2 of those over 25". I haven't seen anything over 29" in a month or so but we have had several close calls and "UFO's".
Hot colors this month have been my go-to plastics which is any dark colored Devil Eye. To be more specific, dark strawberry, morning glory, rootbeer/ red glitter and grape. When they hit on top, the smaller topwaters have been working best FLW Black SS Jr., Bone SS Jr., and White/ Pink head SS Jr. are killer baits right now.
Bigger redfish are still hot and heavy mostly in the Laguna and 9 Mile Hole area but we are picking up fair numbers of slot reds in Baffin as well. Paddletail plastics like the 4" red/white Gambler Flappin' Shad and weedless gold spoons are working great.
Now, what's so different about this report you might ask. Well, I have to admit, my time fishing has taken a serious hit the past three weeks as I have developed a severe case of DUCK FEVER.
The first half of the split season is over and I have a little time before the second half starts. This season has started out fantastic with lots of birds showing up early. Best of all, they appear to be pretty dumb.
I am relatively new to the game but have been getting advice from lots of folks. Some good and some bad but its all starting to come together. We are seeing huge numbers of pintails and redheads which is to be expected. But, we also have had our fair share of blue wing teal, scaup, spoonbills, buffleheads and widgeons.
Rocksy has been getting a tremendous amount of @#%$ and is turning into quite the hunting companion. She didn't forget a thing from last season and has made this so much more enjoyable for me.
Had many memorable hunts with good friends including one right before this last cold spell.
Ray and Randy came down open for anything. The fishing had been good just before their arrival but I was itching to get after some ducks since I knew I would be with a couple of guys that can shoot!!
We headed out the next morning to beautiful clear skies and no wind. Perfect for fishing but not that great for a duck hunt. My plan was to see if the birds were flying and if they weren't to head back and grab our fishing gear while it was still early.
Fortunately the birds were very cooperative. Ray and Randy traded great shot after great shot. Randy's new Benelli was treating him right and we had our limits in no time. A nice mixed bag of redheads, spoonbills, pintails and scaup.
I even got a little video of one good shot. Rocksy watched the birds coming from a hundred yards away and was seriously locked in on them. When the shot rang out, she was off and after the bird before it hit the water. Man, I love that dog.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gJcHBR4W9o
We did squeeze in a day of fishing after that but didn't catch much to write home about. A pleasant afternoon catch and release fishing with good friends is still hard to beat.
Then came the front. It was a blustery cold front that kept things cold, wet and windy for several straight days. I remember as a kid when the weather would get like that, someone would say in a facetious way "Its nice weather out there ........... for DUCKS". I never really understood that back then but after taking up the sport, I am now a believer that they knew exactly what they were talking about.
The action this week has been incredible. The two biggest challenges have been keeping warm and dry and identifying birds on the wing (which I have gotten much better at by the way).
Had another memorable hunt with Bruce, Travis and Capt. Michael Hart.
We had a full blind with 4 hunters and three supercharged labs. Here they are from left to right Sunny, Fred and Rocksy.
Once again we had our birds and were back at the house in time for breakfast with the wives. One comical moment was when the first bird went down, all three dogs charged out of the blind (like we were really going to be able to hold them back LOL) and ran right at the winged redhead drake in the water. I bet from his perspective, that was quite a sight seeing all three thrashing the water headed his way.
Next morning proved to be the coldest but it was relatively dry for a change. We relocated to another area and literally had birds landing in the decoys as we were setting them out. The shooting was fast and furious and Rocksy again got quite a workout. I snapped a few more pics on this hunt and even added a couple of decent videos. Language prevents me from posting a couple of others LOL.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmAMZFHQSm0
This clip will give you an idea of just how well the birds were flying. And this was after we already had most of our limit.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYE8fIr9I4E
We made some great shots and made a few that we were a little embarassed about. but one thing was certain, we had an awesome time.
After everyone left around noon, I got an invitation I couldn't refuse from Capt. Hart and his dad John Hart................ a little south Texas quail hunt. Mike and I loaded the dogs and headed south to San Manuel. We picked up John and headed for the brush.
I have hunted quail a lot in West Texas but have only had one or two opportunities to hunt birds in the Mecca of quail hunting. I now know why presidents and VIP's everywhere come to south Texas to hunt these little rockets.
Mr. Hart guided us and used his expertise to put us where we needed to be at the time we needed to be there. The shooting was steady all afternoon and the dogs stayed busy constantly searching for downed birds.
Rocksy had retrieved quail before on hunts in north Texas but had never hunted like this. I was very interested and pleased with her progress as she slowly started learning what it was that was expected of her. Fred lead the way and Rocksy was soon picking up on his actions.
My shooting was erratic as usual. I made a couple of doubles and even one triple. I also threw lotsa lead in the general direction of some birds as they just laughed at me.
I have to personally thank John and Mike for thinking of me for this hunt and I am eternally grateful.
Time for some hardcore fishing as the season for chasing the Big Girls is officially here. But, I will be keeping an eye to the sky and eagerly await the second half of the split season Dec. 8. Y'all come on down and we'll have an adventure together.
Remember to practice conservation and just keep 5. Later, Aubrey11/15 Baffin and Land Cut - The water remains too dirty in Baffin for lures. Some Black Drum , Redfish and a few keeper trout coming from the Land Cut. Black Drum also reported along the ICW on live shrimp.
10/22 Baffin Report from Captain Black - Fall..!! It conjures up images of struggles with broad shouldered bronze beasts in skinny waters, cool dry mornings, fast moving grey missiles we call dove and of course the arrival of some of my favorite feathered friends, geese, ducks and sandhill cranes. Its just a wonderful time to be alive and living in South Texas.
Our dove populations in this area are some of the best I've seen and the few times we haven't got our limits were not due to lack of birds. We are inundated with pintails, redheads and teal right now. But, our main focus has been on the redfish. And oh what a great time we are having.
Many calm cool mornings have greeted us as we head out each day. The reds are ganging up in shallow water chasing shrimp and blue crabs. Flocks of hungry seagulls have pointed the way for us to the pods of tailing reds as they forage across the flats.
These sights and sounds just never get old for me and I feel like a kid again each morning as soon as I spot the first V-wakes a fleeing shrimp or other telltale signs.
Our tactics have varied from the usual topwaters and paddletail plastics and spoons to various plastics rigged under maulers and tiny curl tail grubs rigged weightless and weedless to get into the heavy grass.
Most days we are seeing many small groups of redfish but so far no large schools. Our catch rates are fair to good and we seem to manage a few reds on even our worst day. On the good days we are catching and releasing numerous oversize reds and easy limits of chunky keepers. Our redfish numbers seem to be in excellent shape and the fishing pressure is minimal with lots of folks turning their attention to hunting.
I have a ton of pics and videos from the past two or three weeks and will put some of the more memorable ones up on this post. Suffice it to say we have been doing well down south and with the first real cold front blowing outside as I type this, it looks to get even better.
I had two good friends come down from Mississippi for three days to chase a few redfish. Roy and Winston came prepared to wade, drift or whatever it took to to get their line stretched. Roy struck first with this solid keeper.
A short video of the landing. Seems my video skills are getting worse instead of better, but I'm having fun LOL.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6A5b7ZN8yU
Roy, Winston and I chased little schools of reds around for the best part of two days before I came down with a really bad upper respiratory infection which put me out of commission for three days. Winston had a pinched nerve in his hip that kinda put a damper on his trip as well so Roy had to do all the catching.
Everyones health was a little better on the next trip. Shane almost didn't make the trip as he had an accident in San Antonio as he was leaving town to head this way.
I guess the fishing gods felt sorry for him because the man was on fire virtually all day.
And a little video clip to go along with that.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEdg3ruEOxo
He kept up the pressure on us with chunky redfish after chunky redfish.
And another clip.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_hrlzZWlgg
The biggest fish of the day was seen but not landed. No still pics of course but some interesting video. I saved the last little bit of a long extended battle with an oversize red. Unfortunately the line parted just above the hook. At least he managed to find a little humor in the situation.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kSu_YEVsgA
Next up were my buddies Oscar, George and Jud. The fishing was a little slow for us but Jud did manage to carry the load with this nice redfish and several trout for the box. Gotta love the celebratory cigar LOL. Nice fish Jud.
Jeremy came next with a group of old and new friends. My buddy Norman told me that this guy was a fish catching machine. The fishing proved to be tough on these two days but as billed, Jeremy topped everyone with the big red and big trout. (They wouldn't let me play LOL)
Then came a few days with my good friends Ray and Randy. They were down to celebrate Randy's birthday(the big 5 0 ). We had spectacular conditions and theses guys know how to take full advantage. On the way to our first stop, Randy told me how its funny but usually one of them will almost always have a bang up day and the other will get almost shut out. I guess the fishing gods were listening and offered up a great birthday present for Randy.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQaAxrva2n8
And the release
Randy and I both picked up a couple of nice redfish while wading in knee deep water. They all fell for topwaters and were sightcasted.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OzBA8m6sFU
And another safe release
That evening, my BIL Bruce showed up with his kids Meagan and Travis and their brand new boat. We decided that all of us including Ray and Randy would participate in the maiden voyage and help with the break-in of the new motor.
Of course we planned to take our fishing stuff with us LOL.
We headed out at sunrise and ran the boat as instructed which took us a little longer to reach our destination than we thought. We did arrive after all the heavy boat traffic had gone through and the little flat where we had been sightcasting looked to be a little muddied up.
As we waded further onto the flat, it cleared up nicely and the reds were there! I sightcasted to two reds and got reactions but no takers. I finally went to a 4" Gambler flappin' Shad in red/white and that proved to be the ticket.
I hooked up on a solid redfish and quickly turned to find Meagan so she could reel it in. However, as I headed towards Bruce and Meagan, I saw Bruce set back hard. The pronounced bend of his rod told the story. Another big redfish on the hook.
I heard Bruce tell Meagan to reel her line in so she could fight the fish he had just hooked up. Much to our surprise, she was hooked up too!! A triple hookup. The quality of this video isn't that good because I was wading towards them with a red on my line trying to capture as much as I could of their action so be gentle with the critique LOL.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGDN66pFXZA
A great Father/Daughter moment
A short time later, Meagan was hooked up again. This time the fish was a little bigger. For a 13 year old girl on her first wade, she was making this look easy WTG girl!!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGDN66pFXZA
This one measured 27 7/8" and weighed 8 1/2 pounds not bad for this young lady.
Well, we headed in early so we could hook up with Capt. Jim Onderdonk www.pocolocolodge.com for an afternoon dove hunt.
We got back to the house in time to change into our hunting clothes and load Rocksy into the truck for the ride to Falfurrias. A few quick practice shots at Jim's skeet range and we were ready for some grey feathered missiles.
The ride out we saw very few birds and I have to admit I was a bit concerned. However as soon as Jim put us on our spot, it seemed as if someone turned on the light switch and the dove really started to fly.
Randy carried his hot hand at fishing over to the dove hunting and made several great shots. Ray did well too and we won't mention how Bruce did LOL.
Rocksy did great and found several downed birds that we had all but given up on. It was a fun time and a great way to end the day.
Rocksy did a great job and I think I'm really starting to like this little black dog.
A quick stop for supper in Premont at the Oasis ended our hectic day. I think we all slept well that night. Looking forward to doing it again real soon. Duck season is fast approaching and I hope to see a bunch of y'all down here.
Remember to practice conservation and just keep 5. Later, Aubrey9/26 Baffin Report from Captain Black - Whew!! Excuse my while I wipe the sweat from my keyboard. Its Hot!! Real Hot!! Summer made its final appearance just as Fall officially arrived. And right on cue, the redfish have started gathering and the whitewings are flying.
Things have been interesting down here the past 4 or 5 weeks. I have been a little lax on my reporting for various reasons but I know when that first cold front arrives, everything will be back on schedule, including my reports.
Lots of tournaments down here in August and September and with some of the best fishing happening in my back yard, I have been a little hesitant to shout that out to the world.
For me and my business, historically, this is my slow time of the year. Folks have used up their summer vacation, the kids are headed back to school. Some folks are getting geared up for hunting season. Whatever the excuse, its just a slow time for me.The fishing has been good so some folks have been really missing out.
A few skinny August trout and some really fat Sept. trout have made appearances.
David (Dale) Shafer wuith 30"+ trout
Bruce with a 29"+ 8 1/2 pound Fat Girl
Numerous tournament size redfish punctuated with a few exciting pulls from oversize reds and a couple of UFO's (unidentified fishy objects) have been the norm as well.
And as usual, something we are becoming famous for down here........... Food Porn!!
The fishing has been good with occasional days that border on great. Some days the numbers are down but we make up for it in some serious Baffin Big Girls and hefty broad shouldered redfish.
Linda with solid tournament size redfish (27")
Hot baits have been weedless gold spoons, red/white 4" Gambler Flappin' Shad, various topwaters for redfish and the usual Brown Lures Devil Eyes in dark strawberry, grape, amber, and morning glory, small topwaters such as the bone colored Super Spook Jr., and even a few on dark colored Corky Devils for our trout.
I've been rigging my plastics on 1/16 and 1/8 oz. Hogie Screwlock jigheads and fishing slow, almost painfully slow around the shallow rocks in Baffin. The reds are shallow. By shallow, I mean if your knees are wet, you are way too deep. Even with the off colored water we have, we are still sight casting to some of these brutes.
South zone dove season opened with a bang, make that a whole barrage of bangs in our neck of the woods. We had a large contingent from Applied Finishes come down for a good old South Texas Cast & Blast on the opener. The fishing was a little on the slow side but we were able to take out our frustrations on plenty of the little grey missiles.
Danny picked up his personal best redfish on a plum saltwater assassin just minutes into our first wade of the day. Yes he is wet from head to toe and there is a great story behind that but I'll leave the man a little shred of dignity LOL. Very nice catch Danny.
We managed a few solid trout for the box until around 9:00am when somebody turned off the feed switch. After that it was just the ocasional dink trout until we decided to head in for lunch and get ready for an afternoon dove hunt.
My thanks to the Cherry family of Premont for making sure we all ate well at their restaurant in Kingsville (Cherry Tree Tea Room), and that we were in a great place to intercept lots of white wings and a few mourning doves as well.
The shooting was fast and furious almost from the moment we got in the field. Capt. Mike Hart ( www.brushcountrycharters.com ) and his two labs, Fred and Sunny along with me and my lab, Rocksy, were kept busy making sure downed birds were retrieved and everyone was comfortable and hydrated. ------ Did I mention it was HOT!
After slinging plenty of lead shot over the field, we cleaned birds and discussed everyone's shooting skills or lack thereof.
The motley crew
Bub and Fred
My hunting buddy
I think Mike is trying to teach Sunny how to breast out a dove.
We were tired and hungry by the time we got back to my place. I made world record time getting supper ready. 25 minutes after we walked in the door, we had supper for 12 including 1 1/4" thick ribeye steaks, baked potatoes, and salad. A few cold brews and a dip in the pool finished off a great day.
Next morning, everyone was moving a little slower. Those walks across the plowed field were taking their toll on knees and backs. I heard a few groans as guys headed for the coffee pot that morning.
We headed out to an absolutely gorgeous wind-free morning. Surely the fish would cooperate with us today.
We hit our first stop and it was 45 minutes into the first wade before we had any action. Mike hooked up on something that felt pretty good to him. The bend on his new Waterloo was looking good too. I broke out the video and.............
www.youtube.com/watch?v=f38_kIDiLqc
WTG Mike!! That is only the second sheephead I've seen caught on artificial. Gotta be some kinda fisherman to do that LOL.
We managed 3 decent trout and another ceviche sized redfish for the box before the bite died again. We headed in a little early to get ready for another bang up day in the field. The hunting was even better the second day as we again had our limit with daylight to spare.
I shot this pic which doesn't do the sunset justice as I glanced in my rear view mirror with the rest of the group close behind.
Its still hot down here but Fall fishing is almost upon us. The dove population seems to be above average in our area and we have actually had a few early flights of pintails in the bay. I am excited about the rest of this year and our winter/spring fishing and hunting. Its gonna be a great year to be on the waters in Baffin.
Remember to practice conservation and just keep 5. Later, Aubrey
Reports - Please post your reports on our message board or send them to me along with your photos to Tyler@corpusfishing.com
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