Corpusfishing.com

[bulldog1935]

Just got in tonight, we had a Palm Harbor canal house, a crowd, and fished Estes Flats Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 9/24-26.
We've stayed at this house before, and knew what to expect.

We were watching Tropical Storm Beta closely, the storm tide measured in the AP water level, and of course the weather and wind prediction.
Tuesday, when Beta came ashore at Indianola, the AP storm tide peaked at 3' (above harmonic). Wednesday when we traveled, it was down to 2'
This was arriving at our Palm Harbor canal Wednesday, and this is 4pm low tide - a dock across the canal is partly swamped, and the water level is only a few inches below our bulkhead.
We staged our boats on the dock, but kept them tied overnight, just in case they floated in the high tide, which they didn't.
(those aren't our boats in the photo, but the two that came with the house)


Thur 9/24
We had good winds (NNE) predicted for fishing Trout Bayou Thursday and Friday, and back to prevailing wind on Saturday.
All 3 days, high tide was 1-3 am, and low tide 4-5 pm.
We launched every morning about 6:40, when we could make out Talley Island looking from a high point in the back yard.


Thursday turned out to be a really special day. The storm tide was still 1.5' and the harmonic showed the biggest tide swing of the trip. We launched in 8 kt NNE wind that would peak at 12 kt about 11am. It was Steve, Lou and me, and Thursday joined by our friend Randy from Kerrville.
Rounding Talley Island, and heading upwind to the top of Trout Bayou.


From first light until about 10:30 this morning, I've never seen so much life on the flats. When we approached the cut to Aransas Bay at the top of Trout Bayou, the bait was thumping our hulls and hitting rudders so hard you could feel it through your feet. After the 3-mile paddle, we normally get out of our boats and cast into the cut.


I began the morning fishing a Yo-Zuri Wake bait, Gizzard shad, which reflects green and transmits pink.
Fishing into the cut, I caught several undersized trout and a great 20" ladyfish.


Looking upwind from the cut on Aransas Bay side, saw some massive slashes, so paddled up a bit and drifted back into them. I was expecting a sow trout, but turned out to be a 25" ladyfish. I didn't care, it was a great ride. She flipped, made tailstands shaking her head. She was pulling my boat around, and when she shot across the bow, she sheared my bow a couple of feet to the side. When I finally had her controlled enough to get to the boat, she came unhooked, and that was fine, but a magnificent fish, and I didn't get a photo.

After a few more tourist trout on the second drift from Aransas Bay, we all decided to move back through the cut and begin our drifts down Trout Bayou. My friends all started at the first duck blind, but I began shallower at the mouth of the top Talley slough, throwing a red TSL grasswalker.


First cast downwind got my meat-fish of the day, a solid 23" red. You can see the first duck blind, and my friends beginning their drifts in the deeper water.


That was enough I made the drift between the slough and the duck blind a couple more times, and with the sun getting taller, to put away the red lure and switch to chicken-on-a-chain. A respectable rat on TSL chicken in the shallower water at the top of Trout Bayou.


When the normally skinny water turned off, I drifted past the duck blind to join my friends.
The lure that made my whole trip fishing the deeper storm tide flat was the Z-man Texas Eye jighead in 1/8 oz.
I had just a few TTF flats minnow tails, which matched this jighead perfectly. In the deeper water, I went back to red, and it lasted until the lizardfish got it.
Luckily, I had one more red (until the lizardfish got that one, too)
Even compared to the 25" ladyfish, this 18" red was my fish of the day, frenetic, hard to control, and really fast, running wide either side of my boat.


Until about 10:30, the farther we drifted Trout B
ayou, the more fish sign we saw. I added a solid 20" red to my stringer.
Maybe we messed up with this food and beer-thirty break at our favorite Talley "beach" - except on our next-to-the-last drift, Lou would add a fine 25" red.
We normally stop on this great hard pack with shin-deep water and this day, it was over our knees.


A very nice 14" tourist trout I released on the same lure.


After a couple of more drifts, back to the barn. Randy did get a good trout, but decided to release it.
Steve ramrodded this trip, wanting to finally get his new Outback wet. He had a day of gear frustration, both his spinning reel and baitcaster. Spool shimming on the former, and side plate opened up mid-cast on the latter - both his reels birds-nested on him.
My chore at the dock, filleting Lou's fish of the day, and my two.


Since this first day, NNE 8-12 kts is already a long post, I'll come back with separate posts for Fri and Sat...
Also noteworthy on Thursday, the water was turbid for Estes and combined with the 1.5' remaining storm tide, we couldn't see the grass we were drifting.

As for the Z-man 1/8-oz Texas eye jighead, with the right lure body, it fits in the column right between the TSL grasswalker (shallower) and the way i like to rig a cocahoe with a 1/4-oz Stazo flex jighead and double hook for fishing deeper. I would discover both next two days it was very easy to keep this rig just on top of the grass with moderate retrieves in the elevated water levels.
Also like the flex jig, I think fish hang onto it longer, because it feels more natural in their mouth.
And here's a happy and worn out Lou.

[bulldog1935]

Friday 9/25
Thursday night, the storm tide had dropped to 1' and the wind prediction for Friday 8-11-kt NNE really let us down.
We would barely have any wind, little to move us onto fish, and nothing for stealth cover.
Again, high tide was about 2 am, and low tide at 4:30 pm. Still a good tide swing, but a bit less wide than Thursday's harmonic.

We again aimed to the top of Trout Bayou, but didn't find near the life we had on the previous day.
With one great exception, the day was largely a bust, but the glassy calm was beautiful and especially a good dark-morning paddle intro to our friend Tony, who joined us for Fri and Sat. Tony and I go way back fly fishing the hill country, but he's fairly new to kayaking and spinning tackle. He's also good company, and fit right in our old-man group.
We were also joined Thursday by our friend Whitt from San Antonio, and the two Hobies left us behind.


Got this photo of Steve paddling into the sunrise to fish Aransas bay


My foray into Aransas Bay landed more tourist trout, and these two nice photos.




With my last red TTF flats minnow bit in two, I had a yellow flats minnow in reserve, and it caught my keeper 17" trout.
But I was disappointed when I filleted her and found she was a hen.


As the wind got lighter and surprisingly shifted to the west, Steve and Whitt went in.
Tony made the day his, stopping at our beach to fish.
He bottom-bounced this 19" flounder, the only good thing about Friday.
Tony promised to report the lures he was fishing to me, and I'll update or edit with those.


Before noon, the rest of us faced the building west wind to get back into Palm Harbor.
OK, we made lemonade on Friday - we made a Roy's run in the afternoon.
I picked up some DOA CAL 3" shad tails, they were a perfect match with the Texas Eye 1/8-oz jigheads, and would make my day Saturday.
We also ate at Steer Burger in Estes, and their Ranch Hand burger was the most artful hamburger I've ever eaten anywhere.

[bulldog1935]

9/26, Saturday, tide was a little milder swing, 3 am high, and 5 pm low.
The water level was just under a foot above harmonic, the water was much clearer, and we could see the grass all over Estes flats.
We had a beating SE wind from the go, 12-14 kt all day.
I'm really glad Tony had the calm paddle the day before, because heading into the dark and the teeth of the wind was a bit disorienting.

We headed first to Little Cut, found a strong tide current, but couldn't even turn a tourist trout.
Good photo of Tony fishing the Little Cut sunrise.


It took us just a few minutes to decide to paddle most of the way to Big Cut and begin drifts back toward Talley Island.
Tony began casting a red TSL grasswalker into the mangroves and pulled out a really nice red.
He measured it 19", but I saw the photo on his measuring board, it was over 19-1/2" with a relaxed tail, and was a legal fish.

Birds were working all around us, and drifting into the halfway duck-blind, I got into both small trout and just under-sized reds.
Here you can see the yellow TTF flats minnow that a lizardfish was shortly going to finish off for me.


After the lizardfish, I switched to the DOA minnow, chartreuse on top and white on bottom, and it would make my day.
A respectable but just under-size trout caught on the first drift using the DOA minnow with Texas Eye jighead.


I really liked fishing this lure, and got the hang of the slowest retrieve that would just bring up sporadic grass, putting it right on the zone.
The end of our first drift put us right on our favorite beach on Talley, and you can see how the conditions have improved since Thursday.


We made the 2-mile paddle back upwind to repeat our drift.
My first cast caught the fish of the day, a 24" red.
My next stringer red was caught about halfway between Little Cut and Talley, 21 inches, and an outrageous fight. Twice around the boat, took everything I had to get in my drift sock, keep it out of my stringer and even out of my dangling feet.
Tony saw the whole thing and though it hilarious. But it was a blast.

A great ride straight downwind to home.


My stringer for Saturday.


It can't just be about the fish. You have to love the fishing, the paddling, the place, and the company.
Everyone seemed to have a great time. We all caught something, and everybody learned something new.
I'll never be without the Z-man Texas Eye jigheads and shad tails to fit.

[Tyler]

Great report and man did you get some paddling in. Need to dust off the kayaks!
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[bulldog1935]

thanks Tyler - Saturday we paddled 8 miles and drifted another 4

Best estimate for 3 days is 22-23 miles - we were all sore and slept really well.

Also on Thursday when Lou and I paddled for our last two drifts down Talley shore - worthwhile effort, Lou caught his 25" red of the trip - Randy and Steve in Hobies pedaled through Estes Cove, out Turtle Bayou, back into Trout Bayou before swinging back to Palm Harbor. Compared to what Lou and I paddled on those two drifts, they added 3 more miles that day.



Also heard from Tony
He caught the flounder on the white Down South swimbait lure and weighted swimbait hook - he picked these up at Roy's on his drive in Thursday


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ok, one more subject
Those two spec fillets never made it out of the ice water -
- at least not until they became fish tacos

[BayFly]

Looks like a great trip, but when you first announced your plans I was little concerned what the weather would be. Glad it turned out well!

[bulldog1935]

Thanks friend, we watched it closely.
Randy and his wife first planned to take their RV to Port A on Sat 19th.
Instead, they drove it to Concan for a few days, then landed in Port A on Wed, the same day we arrived in Palm Harbor.
Steve's wife stayed at the house with us, and the four of them connected in the evenings, while the boys at the house went our way.

Considering all the logistics and communications, throw in TS Beta, everybody's plans were tenuous.
We liked the tides when we first planned this, the predicted NE wind was a bonus for Trout Bayou - we Always paddle upwind to structure to begin our days, then take advantage of the wind to drift fish back toward home.

When we saw the storm tracking east, we all firmed up our travel plans. The limit and quick ebb of the storm tide was gravy.
We've fished 4' storm tides in the past with pretty amazing results, and we fish Estes every fall with those big October tides.

What made the most difference between the three days was the clouds. The sun built nice clouds on both Thursday and Saturday, making it easy to stay out. In contrast, Friday had none, and with no wind to help the fishing, it was an easy call to head in before the sun got brutal. A great reason to have a canal house to retreat to, and probably wouldn't plan a September trip without one.



With the same group, we even have a bigger plan for Nov new moon - 5 nights at the Spencer Bell house in Arroyo City.

[BayFly]

You seem to think the Z-man Texas Eye jigheads made a difference in the catching?

[bulldog1935]

The column depth and retrieve factor of the 1/8-oz jighead.
It was easy to keep on top of the grass with moderate retrieve in that water level.

In shallower water, the TSL grasswalker would (and did) have the advantage with its neutral density. There was too much water to get the grasswalker down on our long drifts, and heavier weights with cocahoes will certainly catch fish, but you have to retrieve fast and still get regular grassballs. With this rig, it was easy to feel the grass and adjust retrieve, the same thing a Trout Support lure does in shallower water.

Also enjoyed fishing the Texas eye 1/8-oz on my lightest bait rod.
Really light in hand Toray graphite, 13Fishing Omen ML
First time to try the Texas Eye jighead - I was excited about fishing it and the result - the 1/8-oz gave me a new moderate-retrieve spot in the water column, and fished so well on my light rod.


Both the action the Texas eye jig gives to the bait, and the fact the bait is pliable everywhere like there's no hook there - must make fish hang on longer
Rigs mostly weedless, but you still pick up sporadic grass - especially if you're fishing the zone.


here's how I rig a cocahoe with 1/4-oz stazo flex jighead and double hook - unfortunately, nobody is selling these jigheads now, and I only have a half dozen


Again, Tony, Lou and I all caught keeper reds (including the first-cast red at the top of Trout Bayou) on TSL grasswalker, which is 1/4-oz neutral density. These lures dog-walk below the surface with just about any retrieve.
In shallow water, they go right to the zone.

You can rig these with a weighted swimbait hook - I just don't like fishing them that way.


I had my IM6 graphite MM bait rod rigged with Trout Support Lure, and the Texas eye on the ML - would grab whichever rod+lure was right for the water, but in this high water level it was mostly the weighted jig.