Another Port Mansfield report w/pics, not fly

[THE GAME]

Once again we waited until the last minute to decide the weather would be nice enough to go take the kayaks out and do a little fishing.At 8:30 am NOAA said it would be southeast winds at 10 to 15, with a light to moderate chop on the bay. Partly cloudy and 72 for a high. Sounded good so after I got breakfast cooked for me, my lazy wife and daughter, got all dressed and loaded up all of my fishing/yakking paraphernalia it was 10:00 am. It takes 1hour and 20 minutes to get to Port Mansfield if you keep it on 70 mph. So I tried.
Pulled up to my partners house in Port M at 11:30.A little while later we was paddleing and Glen says he wants me to decide where to fish today, being he made the decision last time. Last time we paddled for close to 10 miles round trip and fished only about 2 hours so I decided to hang close and fish more. We paddled straight out to the shipping channel spoils, about a mile, and started fishing the edge of them as we drifted back west. The spoils run north and south so we would drift away from them and then paddle back to them and then drift again. A slight zig zag pattern. I had a 3/16 oz red jig head with a strikeking 3X pearl white Zulu on one reel and a Storm corky mullet in chartreuse and bone tied on the other.I spent most of the time throwing the jig,. Thats a lure confidence thing.



On one of my drifts I had floated a pretty good way from the spoil area . I was hopping the jig on the bottom when I felt this tiny tap like a pearch. So I leaned back and crossed it's eyes . Instead of moving the fish on the hook set it was solid. For a few seconds I kept preasure on it trying to decide if it was hung in an oyster bed. Then it happened. It started moooooving. It was moving real slow so the first thing I thought was, big sting ray. I did not want to have to deal with one of those in a kayak. I don't like messing with them on the beach with plenty of room. But it ended up being a "Big Ugly"Black Drum. I did not measure or weigh it but I guess it to be well over 30 inches and around 25+ pounds. It took what seemed like forever to tire the hog out enough to get it up along side the yak. I would think I had him tired and about the time I could see color it would make another run to the bottom or under the yak. Glen paddled over and lent me his dip net. Its head is all that would fit in the net but that was enough. There was not much danger of the hook pulling out. It was right in the top of its mouth. I gave Glen my camara and he took a couple of shots before I slid the big ugly back in the water.

Not a bad catch for light spinning tackle with 8# line.( 8' M action 1 pc. Falcon Coastal rod{the name on the rod is " Out a Sight "} with a Okuma Fina 30 spooled with trilene XT) When you are out in open water like that its best to take your time and let the rod and drag ware them down.
Well after that little fight I stoped take a water break. Then went back to fishing. A while later i was casting a Storm Corky mullet lure in chartreuce and pearl when something knocked the #$&@ out of it. I set the hook with nothing there. I reeled in and noticed that one of the big red eyes had been jurked out of the lure.

And I just gave 4 bucks for that bait. I made a few more casts with no bite. In my mind I just knew it was because one of the eyes was gone. LOL You know how things like that work on your confidense
I switch back to the rod with the jig on it. About that time Glen calls on my 2 way radio." I just caught an 18 inch speckled trout" I replied, good,.Remember where you cast, there may be a whole school . Then I got bit. I caught a 18 incher, then a 15 incher. Here is one of the undersized ones.

I must have hooked and/or caught 15 out of that spot. All the other were about 1/4 inch short. Every cast either on the drop are the first bounce I would get a hit. The fish was picking up the jig and running toward me. It was a tricky job trying to speed reel to catch up with the fish, Then get a hook set without them spitting the lure.Several of the fish didn't get a good hook in them and came off at the side of my yak. That was OK due to them being under sized. It was a quick release and make another cast.
Well the school finaly played out and a thick fog started rolling in. It was 5:30 and neither of us have lights on our yak. So we started out paddle back to land. Back at Glens house he had already took his fish and put it in the cooler. So I got him to pose with mine,
(notice what fog does to a throwaway camara)

which I let him have for a fish supper with his wife. I still have fish in my freezer that needs eating . It was a nice trip and we both got to see a little action. I am looking farword to the next trip.
Until then
FISH ON

[ruge13]

Great report. nice Drum...

[Animal Chris]

The thing about fishing the Third Coast this time of year is that there is no telling what you might find on the end of your line. Aside from the big 3, specks, reds and flat fish, the sheepshead and the "Big Uglys" (black drum) are pretty thick. It is not too difficult to hook a BU on a fly, but we get a lot of 20, 30 and up to 40#+ drum and they will give you all you want in 8-10' of water (I break out the 10wt). The sheepshead will move up on the flats and you talk about a challange. I have a little black "nymph" looking critter I throw at them, when I can get close enough. When you get the fly in front of them, they will take it easy enough, but getting a solid hook set is another thing. If you do, "hold on Newt, she smells alfalphee'". They also are good on the table, if you have a chainsaw to clean them with.
That's one of the things I have really learned to appreciate over the years, to take advantage of the opportunities at hand. These species might not be as glamorous as the bonefish, permit, tarpon or snook, but in the dead of winter in about a foot of water, a 3# sheepshank is all you want on an 8 wt.
Oh, by the way, did I also mention that the "sow" trout are starting to show up around Baffin and Lower Laguna Madre? OK, well they are.
Tight Loops, AC

[THE GAME]

Yep AC those grazing sheephead are fun to throw a fly at. Yes the sow trout have been moving up and out with the change in weather for a while down here from port m to south bay.I plan on concentrating on som of those in the near future. But I am going to be gone through spring break.

[Animal Chris]

I'm heading to Rockport this weekend, but it looks like the weather will not be cooperating again. We have a team meeting at the Yak Shack tomorrow, so if I am able to fish, it will have to be Sunday. That is when we are supposed to get some more liquid sunshine. But you never know, that's why I am throwing in my waders and 8 wt. Tight Loops, AC

[bones]

I certainly hope the trout fishing is better this year. The spec catching has not been up to par for the last 2 years (according to TP&W dockside surveys) and no one knows why. The creel surveys have indicated very bountiful spec populations, so it seems the bays oughta be choking with big specs but no one in my fishing gang of friends know where to find them. A limit of reds is childsplay....all before midmorning.

Was at Tres Amigos fishing tourney last fall (Charlies Bait Camp, a little north of Rockport)....3 anglers to a boat..................one day contest...........limit 3 reds and 10 specs per boat..........40 boats ............and only one boat wighed a limit of 10 specs!!!!!...that's with 3 anglers contributing!!! Pretty dismal.

All this tells me we might have a great summer on the specs this year.

Got those boats outa the mothballs yet? Mine will be rolled out next week or 2 to outfit, gas her up, and see how she runs.

AC.....there is an open window this weekend whereby all crabtraps can be pulled out of the bays and smushed flat..........LEGALLY. Betcha there is a CCA sponsored station somewhere in Rockport area to deposit those eyesores. Your yak gang gonna help clean out the bays?

[Animal Chris]

The big clean up was last weekend, that is why we are partying this weekend. Actually an airboat is the best for that, along with a full length body condom. I participated the first year they had it. The night before we had a strong norther blow through and take most of the water in the bay with it. Easy to spot, a bugger plodding through the mud and muck to get to them. I am still washing mud out of my boat. I will never use my boat for that again. I'll go with a buddy that has an airboat. It is a mess, but well worth the trouble.
As far as the fishing, I didn't think it was real bad last summer, of course it can always be better. I was able to put enough filets in the skillet (doesn't take many for just 2 of us), and that's all I care about. As many of us can probably attest to, there once was a time when having a limit in the cooler was what was important. Many times I've stayed out as long as I could to get that last fish. Now, that is the least important part of the trip. Oh, don't get me wrong, if I have an immediate need I will pull the stops and revert back to a meat fisherman, but that is usually no more than 2 times a year, the guests have to be special and I will only keep what we need. The new slot the TPW put on specs for this year (only 1 fish over 25") is for the most part what I have been doing for several years now(not that I catch that many fish 25" or better, but it does happen). If I want fish for the table, I like the 16" - 20" specks and any slot red or drum (and to be honest, I have gotten where I prefer the drum).
I think that the overall population of specks along the Texas Coast is healty. I think the management needs to go into the bottom of the bays and what grows there. If we can keep the sea grasses alive and bring them back to areas they originally were, this will go a long way to producing a better (quality and quantity) fishery for all.
Sorry about the soap box speech. Sometimes I just get long fingered. Good luck in '04 and go catch (and release) a 30 incher ('cause they're still out there). Tight Loops, AC

[bones]

Ditto to everything you said, AC. I am not a great fan of trout either.......I routinely toss back the 17" and under. If I do snatch a sow outa the water I chunk it back..........those are the breeders.

Fishery management is certainly the ticket to the future. Again, I recall the days at Rockport around the early and mid 80's when the daily occurrence was 80-90 shrimpers gleaning all life out of the bay just 5 minutes from Key Allegro. That is one of the big reasons Rockport died back then, that and the economy. Father-in-law had a 3 bedroom condo on Key Allegro, had to practically give it away for $70K back about 10 years ago......the fishin' was so terrible Houston abandoned Rockport. Hopefully, some day, we can get every one of those marauding shrimpers off the water. I think that day will be soon, as, I keep reading about the plight of the poor starving
shrimpers due to the success of shrimp farms all over the world. Did you know that west Texas has a lot of those shrimp farms?.......yeah, for sure. A lot of the ground water out there is high-saline......can't grow watermellons with that stuff so they grow the only thing that will....SHRIMP!! No shrimp dredges on our bays means more lower food chain baitfish and re-growth of bay grasses.

I would be in favor of filling the holds of all the shrimperboats with rocks and take 'em off shore about 15miles, sink 'em to make artificial reefs up and down the Texas coast..........thus producing another fishing paradise.

Let's keep each other posted. Fishin season is just around the corner. Don't forget to change-out the water pump on your outboard....it's a cheap insurance policy to assure a pleasant fishin' trip.

[Animal Chris]

That's why orginizations like SCA, Saltwater Conservation Assn., are so important. They recently retired shrimper license #11. They have also decommissioned 3 (I think that is the correct number) shrimp boats. I give them a lot larger portion of my support $$ than any other organization. If you look at the SCA, it can prove to the world what a dedicated grass roots organization can accomplish. And they have great meetings, too. If your not a member, look them up and go visit their next meeting in your area.

[THE GAME]

It looks like Rockport is in for mostly cloudy saturday and t storms sunday. But I hear the fat sows are in Estes now.
As far as fishing season being about to begin. I realy can't tell that it ever stops down here in the LLM. It just canges location. Fish the surf from spring to January( best in mid/late summer to Jan.) and the flats from Jan to mid summer.Even in the dog days of summer you can still get bit early am and after dark.

[bones]

Originally Posted by Animal Chris

That's why orginizations like SCA, Saltwater Conservation Assn., are so important. They recently retired shrimper license #11. They have also decommissioned 3 (I think that is the correct number) shrimp boats. I give them a lot larger portion of my support $$ than any other organization. If you look at the SCA, it can prove to the world what a dedicated grass roots organization can accomplish. And they have great meetings, too. If your not a member, look them up and go visit their next meeting in your area.

I agree. You alerted me to this organization a few months back and I joined. I further alerted my fishing cronies, who alerted others. I'll bet SCA netted >30 new members within 1 week of your contact to me. Sounds like a great organization that spends most if not all of its money removing the shrimpers from the water.

[fishalot]

Way to go. That kaiyak seems like a fishing stealth fighter.