Galveston Fishing Report 11/19-11/21.......

  Unusually high tides and an approaching cold front had us really searching for the reds and trying to get in all of the fishing that we could before the front passed through on Saturday. The tides were very high and gave up the first clue as to where those marsh donkeys would be hiding out at, the backs of the backs of the marsh! The mullet and the red fish making a meal of them were as far back in the marsh as they could get. Small schools of reds were gathered in the middle of the back lakes and would occasionally give chase to the schools of mullet circling the pools. Water clarity was vary good but the wind made it difficult to spot the fish who were constantly on the move. Gulp under a popping cork was the ticket to hooking up. 
  After doing battle with the reds in the marsh, we hooked up with my fishing bud, Gerardo Olmos, and headed to a spot that he suggested we try at night under the lights. Speckled trout was the targeted species but as we found out, plans do not always go the way they are intended to. It was near every cast. Sand trout after sand trout were shaken from hooks to avoid bringing them in the kayak along with their slimy coats. We did manage a few keeper sized speckled trout but I would guess the ratio to be about 25 sand trout to every 1 speckled trout. All great fun regardless!
  Waking up to heavy rain and thunderstorms Saturday morning, we decided to cut our trip short and head home. There is no doubt that this last front will change things on the coast so I guess it will be a hunt for the fish on the next trip down. That's half of the fun anyways! Give us a shout on the website below or hit us up on Face Book to come join us on our next adventure......

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Galveston Fishing Report 10/2-10/3

  Had the chance to get down to Galveston to fish the final event of the 2015 LSKS red fish series. I hit the water early Friday morning to see if I could figure out what the fish were doing in one of my go to spots. The morning started at a high tide that would be falling steadily through the day. Reds were scattered in the marsh drains and feeding on shrimp. I had a limit by before 7am but it was a small one. These fish wouldn't be earning me a paycheck! I was not concerned as I had located an area holding lots of upper slot reds just a few weeks before.
  Arrived at the launch the next morning with friend and fishing partner, Gerardo Olmos, with plenty of time to rig boats and gear. This is the way I prefer things. I absolutely hate rushing through things getting on the water! I headed directly to the back of the marsh where I had left them biting just a few weeks before. As I approached the area, I could tell that my gut feeling was right and these fish had no reason to have moved on over the past few weeks. I could hear the feeding frenzy long before I reached the action. I spotted the pod crushing shrimp as they tried to escape from the flooded grass along the shoreline. The first cast produced a vicious strike! From the drag screaming off the reel, I could tell this was going to be either in the upper slot or busting it! Just under 27"....PERFECT! This spooked the pod and they moved into the middle of the small back lake they had been feeding in. The first cast with a popping cork and I was hooked up again. Another just under 27" and it wasn't even 7am yet. I finished off my limit of reds with a 21" fish site casted off of the edge of the shoreline grass. All in all it was a great weekend of fishing even though I missed the weigh in by 3 minutes......

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Lesson Learned....Again!

   As a guide, there are times when you must be very versatile to get clients on fish. Finding the fish is no problem. Getting them to bite is typically the same. There are times though when they just aren't where they should be and or very selective to what they will hit when you do find them. Its in these times that you may have to resort to using....uhhhuumm...live bait.
  I learned this lesson again a couple of weeks ago while on a trip with some long time friends and clients while hunting red fish in the marshes around Galveston, TX. When the fish were found, you had to hit them right in the mouth to get them to commit to eating. I knew that live mullet or shrimp would have done the trick but I was just to convinced that we could do without it. We did manage several nice reds and flounder but the day could have been so much better if I had taken the time to net some bait. Even though they were all happy with the trip, I think I owe these guys another trip to the marsh! I guess the lesson is to not be so proud of your skill as an angler that you fail to give a client the best opportunity to catch fish over something like live bait......

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Kayak Review....NuCanoe Pursuit

                         

        

   So I had spent some time paddling and uuhmm not paddling the NuCanoe Frontier 12. I loved the open deck layout and the stability of that boat! It was the perfect fishing platform....until it came to getting from point A to point B. Put a trolling motor on it and it was indeed a great boat! I do prefer to leave the motor at home along with all of the headaches and backaches that can come with it.

   When I first saw the prototype Pursuit I was excited to say the least! This could be the perfect boat for me. It took a bit of persuading but I convinced Rick Wallace over at Angler's Pro Tackle to let me take one of the three he had in stock out for a paddle and added to the demo fleet.

   My first impressions of the boat after only looking at the layout were very optimistic. This thing had all that you needed but nothing in the way. It is simple but loaded with features, if that makes any sense at all! The one thing that seemed useless at first sight was the paddle holders on either side. Sitting on the showroom floor, they just didn't look as though they would have much function. I could see a paddle falling out of them and having to retrieve it in the middle of trying to land the big fish of the day...

   The first thing I noticed on the water was the wobble when I climbed in the boat. I didn't expect this for such a wide boat and after being in the Frontier that has none. I quickly adjusted and it was no concern after only a few minutes on the water. The next thing I noticed was the comfort of the seat. It was very nice to say the least but I think it is becoming to be expected with most of the newer kayaks that are designed with fishing in mind. It was easy to move from low to high position while on the water. I guess that brings us in to stability. This boat is very stable. I have been in more stable boats but they were barges to paddle compared to the Pursuit. I am 6'3" 260lbs and was completely comfortable standing to fish and accessing the front hatch of the boat. The front hatch has a plastic tub in it that is molded to shape for a good fit in the front hatch. I can see this being very handy in cooler months to keep drinks or fish. Other storage features on the boat are the horizontal rod holders. These are very handy although I do not see putting two rods in each side as it is designed for. You can get them in there to store but I had issues getting one out while another was stored on the same side of the boat. I will probably only store one rod in each side while on the water. This is still more then most boats offer. The two flush mount rod holders are absolutely perfect! They are angled so that your rods lean slightly towards the center of the boat rather then away from the boat. This keeps them from getting snagged as easily in tree limbs and such. The freedom track that runs basically the length of the boat on each side, the rear tank well storage and the storage towards the bow of the boat that will fit a crate or small cooler are all well thought out. I could go on but this was intended to be a short review and has turned into anything but!

   In short, the Pursuit paddles fairly well. I would give hull speed a 3 out of 5 and stability a 4 out of 5. Maneuverability gets a 4 out of 5 as this boat is very easy to turn. The most important thing I grade on is fishability and the Pursuit gets 5 out 5 for me!

 

.......Oh...and those paddle holders....held a paddle like a champ!

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                                                      Fishing Report
                                  Galveston Area 8/14/2015-8/16/2015
  I'm sure by now that several of you reading this have seen the great video that Matt posted of him fighting and landing a huge black drum! Well, it was a good weekend of fishing and here is how the rest of it went.....
  It started off with the hunt to find out where the reds were holding out at. Typically I would find them in the backs of the marshes during a high tide this time of year but they were not there to be found. Lots and lots of mullet in the back lakes and mud flats of the marsh but nothing eating them. When we did find the reds, and we certainly did, they were scattered on shell feeding during a falling tide. They were gourging themselves on shrimp. There was little difference in the high and low tides but a falling tide was the ticket. So....falling tide, shell bottom, down current from major marsh drains and find the shrimp. Put all of this together and it was a recipe for success! If you want to experience a great weekend of fishing on the coast or in North Texas for yourself, give myself or Matt Scotch a shout!      https://www.lonestarkayakguide.com/

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                       Google Earth....What A Wonderful Tool!
                                           
                                               Part #3

#3- Vegetation

  Vegetation is another important thing that I look for when gathering information on that next fishing spot on Google Earth. This comes in very handy when searching for grass beds on a body of water that you have yet to try your luck or test your skills on. It can eliminate a ton of paddling if you already know that grass is what you want to fish. It is important to keep in mind the time of year of the imagery date. Something that shows up as a barely visible patch of grass in March could be a sea of grass in June!

#4- Water Clarity

 This can be very difficult to determine but still useful. Conditions change everyday and so can the clarity of the water you are fishing depending on wind, rainfall and current changes. It is a good idea however to keep in mind what the water clarity looked like on satellite images when you hit the water. Now, your not going to be able to tell that you have 2' of visibility or 10' but you can certainly determine if the water is muddy or fairly clear.

#5- Accessibility

 This is it, the most important thing as a kayak fisherman that I use Google Earth to determine. Lets face it, you do not want to make a 15 mile paddle to that next honey hole. Is there somewhere to launch that is in paddling distance? Google Earth can certainly help you there! Ideally, I like to find launches within 2 miles of my targeted area but I will go up to 5 miles if I know it will produce and the weather cooperates. Finding out if the location you have chosen is on public property can be a challenge but with enough research and phone calls, maybe you can save yourself a sore shoulder!

 Just some simple tips and info that I hope you find useful. Now, go find that next honey hole!

                           Google Earth....What A Wonderful Tool!
                                              Part #2
#1- Current
 The first thing I look for when scanning Google Earth for that new honey hole is current. Current brings dinner to predators! Looking for obvious signs of current is fairly simple. It may be a marsh drain that has obviously been eroded by water moving through it during tidal changes or as simple as a mud line developing coming out of a feeder creek and into a larger body of water. Wind current can also be a factor but a bit more difficult to discover on GE unless you want to get into researching weather patterns and the history of which is something else to get into. Current is the second most important thing that, in my opinion, can make or break a fishing trip.

#2- Structure
 The second thing I start looking for is structure. Now I'm not necessarily talking about the visible above surface structure that everyone can see. I'm talking more about the things you can find on Google Earth that may look like nothing more then a dark spot in the water. These spots may be a brush pile just below the surface or perhaps an oyster bed that can't be seen other then by aerial footage. Deeper channels that may hold fish can also often be found. To go along with all of this, a good GPS unit comes in very handy. Just take the coordinates off of GE and plug them into your graph and bingo!......

(Here you can easily see the two submerged humps just above the exposed hump in the photo.)

My #3-#5 things to look for are coming up in my next post including the most important thing that I look for!......