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South Padre Island Fishing Report Archives
By: Capt. Todd Casey
| August 27, 2007 | August 19, 2007 | August 12, 2007 | August 5, 2007 |
| July 29, 2007 | July 15, 2007 | July 8, 2007 | July 3, 2007 |
| June 17, 2007 | June 10, 2007 | June 3, 2007 | May 27, 2007 |
| May 20, 2007 |
August 27, 2007 - There were a lot of days this past week where the bite was non-stop early in the morning and it just faded away about 9 AM. An early bite was followed by a warm morning with no wind to cool you down. It is nice to be on the water when the wind is calm, but it will get warm out there in a hurry.
The trout bite is incredible right now. I have been making a run up around the second set of shacks South of Port Mansfield around Marker 193 and the surrounding areas. It was not uncommon this past week to find the right bite and have twenty to thirty solid trout in an hour or so. I have been going up there to get away from the heavy incoming currents that are South of the Arroyo. We have had some extremely high tides in the mornings and the can buoys are bent over in the ICW. It almost looks like you could float the ICW on a raft like you would on the Guadalupe. I guess until a barge came plowing by. If you have really strong tides down south you can run up north of the Arroyo where the currents switch directions and usually find a slack or slow moving current.
Redfish have been tough to catch with no wind in the mornings. Conventional fishing in no wind requires you to either be very patient while drifting slowly and look for fish and wakes. If you are not patient you can run around until you spot a school or reds, which are easy to see when the water is glassy. The only problem is you can usually only get one shot at them before they vanish in the calm waters. Drifting slowly and looking for singles is probably a more effective way of redfish catching right now. There are plenty of singles just North of the Duncan House on the East side of the ICW. With all of the water in the bay right now, redfish are going to spread out to shallow areas and explore new territories. Just try and think of shallow areas near your usual fishing hole that are usually too shallow to fish on a normal tide. A lot of times the fish will be in these areas.
Snook fishing is at its peak when the wind doesn’t blow. I have caught snook in all types of conditions, but when it is calm they are a lot happier. You can actually see them right now piled up under the Causeways, and they are cruising around up and down the spoil banks near Marker 67. Topwater lures early and D.O.A. shrimp later are good ways to target a nice snook in peaceful waters.
This is the time of year where some of the boats you see underway may not be going to there next fishing hole, but just trying to get a little wind to cool off. Huge thunderhead clouds have been greeting me every morning out in the Gulf giving the sunrise a nice canvas to cast its colors. It might be hot out there, but it is very enjoyable to be out on the water when the wind is not howling. The scenery is bright, the water is clear and blue, and the fish are just waiting for a well presented lure to swim by.
August 19, 2007 - Mother Nature is playing a big part in a good or bad fishing day right now. I had to cancel a couple of trips due to the winds and rain coming through this area. It is one thing to go out and give it your best shot in some bad weather, but it is just not enjoyable in certain circumstances. Other than a few dark storms and lightning shows, the other days of the week were very pleasant. The API tournament was in full swing this past weekend and there were a lot of nice fish caught. There were 650 anglers in this tournament and only 3 flounder weighed in. I saw plenty of happy anglers bring in an abundance of solid redfish and huge trout. Mother Nature was nice to us all during the tournament, but we may have some major weather coming. We will all have to watch Hurricane Dean during the next few days and hope that it does not do too much damage wherever it may decide to go.
The water in our shallow bay is very warm right now. Early in the morning if the tide is coming in you can find reds and big trout along the edges of the spoils along the ICW. After about 8:00 o’ clock these fish will move out from the spoils into slightly deeper water taking advantage of the cooler temperatures. Trout are starting to thin out a little in the ICW around the Duncan House and are moving both South and North towards the Long Bar areas and Port Mansfield areas. Both of these fishing areas are surrounded by deeper water and are closer to the Jetty passes.
Redfish are still herding up far and wide. This is the time of year where you can find schools of all sizes in the bay if you know what to look for. They will be schooling up for the next 3 months pretty steady until most of the upper slot and oversized reds find their way to the Gulf and the juvenile reds stay in the bay and split up. Some of the schools right now are all 20 to 25 inch fish, and others are all 26 to 30 inch fish. I think they usually hang in groups of the same age or size. It is amazing how they all seem to be the same size depending on what school you are on.
Flounder are still scarce in this southern area. If you just
think about how many great experienced anglers fished in this past
weekends API tournament and only 3 were weighed in, you can conclude
that they are just not here. It will be interesting to see if
Snook are everywhere along the areas of
Coyotes are fair to good in the Brownsville Ship Channel, but they are not schooling up yet.
The summer fishing season is starting to come to downward slope of the bell curve. The fish will soon start hearing less outboards humming by them in the flats in the months to come. Soon I will be putting my flip flops in the closet and looking for my snake boots and will be heading to the ranch to try and find the biggest buck in the brush. I may be in a boat breathing in the salty air, or I may be in a small plywood box taking in the South Texas Landscape and watching the cactus light up during an early morning. Whatever the situation, I am thankful that I am able and fortunate when it comes to enjoying my hobbies of fishing and hunting.
August 12, 2007 - This season’s LKT tournament has been fished and the LKT enjoyment is over until next year. Great memories from this season’s tournament will exist with me for a long time as do all great days out on the water. During the tournament the winds were calm and the water was stunning, making finding redfish schools a little easier. A gigantic school of reds in Port Mansfield made their presence for me and my team that produced a couple of perfect fish weighing close to 8 pounds. We started the morning with our first casts made on the bridge bar near the SPI causeway that generated a couple of decent trout with the use of Super Spooks. It was a nice morning sitting there in the dark waiting until time for the first cast. Bait was crashing all around us, the Causeway lights were reflecting off of the black mirror of water and expectations were high for a day full of exciting tournament fishing.
This past week’s charters were all good with a lot of wind early in the week with calm winds in the final part of the week. Trout were not as easy to catch as they have been, but with some grinding and a little positive attitude several nice trout would make it to the boat. There were a few trout this past week over the 25 inch mark that were released. I have really seen a lot of big healthy trout this season. The fresh water from all of the Valley rain recently has started to fade away in the ICW. Trout are starting to hit D.O.A. shrimp and cocaho lures now with a little more ease.
Redfish are definitely herding up right now. I have been hitting schools or reds all year, but now they are in schools of all sizes. There are many pods of redfish up and down the spoils and on the West shoreline near Stovers. Huge schools of reds can be found just about anywhere from shallow clear water to deeper green water. You just have to keep your eyes open when you are underway, you might be heading near a school. The school of reds we were on during the LKT tournament in Port Mansfield was probably over 1000 fish. It was one of the biggest schools I have seen in some time. Throwing gold spoons are starting to work again like they were in April and May. If you can get a little bit of breeze for a drift, you should be able to catch a few reds and even trout on spoons right now.
August is a great month if you love the tournament scene. Almost
every weekend there is some kind of tournament going on that allows you
to test your skills and luck among other anglers. The weekdays are
still pretty quiet with a lot of untouched water ready for fishing. I
am not a kid anymore, but I still feel like one when I am fishing. The
night before the LKT tournament I couldn’t get to sleep due to my
enthusiasm. I dreamt of big fish and amazing action out on the water
all night. Morning came soon and we all got ready for our first cast.
The Power Pole was down and we all talked softly about our fishing game
plan. The lights of
August 5, 2007 - The 2007 TIFT tournament is over and done with and I am already looking forward to next year. My three year old son caught a catfish in the “kiddy” pool and won a nice trophy for his efforts. I caught a nice red and trout both days, but I never landed a flounder. My plan was to take a risk and fish for flounder most of the day due to their importance in this tournament, and it just didn’t work out. I ran almost 60 miles to land cut thinking I would find a flounder the first day with no results, and the second day I just fished my favorite flounder spots closer to the dock with the same outcome. Overall the tournament was fun to fish and very relaxing to get out there and give it my best shot.
Redfish are everywhere right now in the deeper water near our
favorite redfish spots. Gas well flats, Cullen bay and
Trout fishing was great as well. I didn’t catch any monsters due to my lack of time in the tournament, but my charters earlier in the week produced a true 31 incher and a 28 inch trout. (Photos attached) Trout are really thriving right now and the big ones are taking over the skinny water around the spoils. They are sometimes difficult to catch when they are shallow and just cruising around slowly. Nice keeper sized trout are hanging around the ICW still and deeper water near the spoils. The handsome weather has created a lot of nice green deep water which is usually a little off color. Fishing this deep green water is fun because you can be a little more confident with conventional lures.
I fished for flounder for about 5 or 6 hours each day of the tournament and just never got the bite I needed. Last year, I caught 8 flounder my second day of TIFT. Something strange is going on with the flounder situation in our bay. There were probably over 100 boats in the TIFT and there were only 11 flounder weighed in both days. I guess I need to change my game plan when it comes to fishing for flounder. For some reason or other, they are just not as abundant or they have not moved into their regular spots yet.
There is a tournament every weekend throughout the month of August. I love the competition and the rush of anxiety of getting out on the bay. I look forward to the upcoming tournaments this month and I look forward to the first wade of the morning. The darkness fades away into soft light while my top water lure walks back and forth slowly, and from its wake leaving the only ripple on the water. Like the only ripple on the water, the only thought in my mind is catching a big fish to take to weigh in. Tournament fishing is a test of your fishing skills and a test on your good fortune, but most of all it is another unforgettable cherished day on the water.
July 29, 2007 - The past few days have been very enjoyable out on the
water. The wind has leisurely passed over the Laguna Madre leaving
it clear and blue. Shore birds are jumbled up on the spoil banks
taking in the sun like vacationers living it up on a relaxing beach.
The redfish are enjoying the passive time spent in quiet shallow waters
and are crowded up in small groups trying to touch the mangrove leaves
with their tails. This is the time of year when sitting at a
waterfront restaurant or bar table on the Island and looking across the
peaceful waters lets you breathe in the splendor and realize how
remarkable
Trout fishing is a lot of fun right now due to an aggressive bite. Using lures or live shrimp, trout can be caught up and down the ICW anywhere you can find a spot where the current is not moving too fast. There is still a lot of trout in the 4 and 5 foot water near the spoils (Long Bar, Holly Beach, and Marker 77), but they are in the slightly murky green water versus the clear green water they have been in. Really big tournament trout are lying up on the spoils and gas well flats in good ol’ dredge mud that has settled in over the past couple of years. If you can find some good 1 to 1.5 foot deep water where you sink down to your waist in mud, you might find a huge trout or two nearby.
Redfish were somewhat tough to find earlier in the week practicing everyday routines, but I ended up finding them for several days in side channels and potholes near the spoil banks. They were in overwhelming tailing groups taking advantage of the calm waters and clusters of baitfish and small crabs that are helpless in still water. The full moon this week helped with my sightings of numerous herds of redfish roaming the flats. Big oversized reds are cruising around the deeper color change waters, and good keeper sized reds are roaming around the clear flats near the drum boats. I have been finding the clear water reds by simply just reading the water. If you see a boat wake and there is no boat around I would suggest checking it out.
Snook are still thriving down here right now. I had 3 snook caught on my charters this past week, and we weren’t even fishing for them. I am glad to see the line sides doing so well.
Flounder…Pretty much don’t want to discuss the flounder issue because the present lack of them is getting irritating. TIFT tournament is next weekend and they just are not as easy to catch as they were last year. If you are fishing TIFT and can bring in a flounder both days along with your redfish and trout, you will probably have a chance to win it. A lot of anglers are going to have huge reds and heavy trout, but few will bring in a flounder this year.
Every year there is an abundant amount of fish that make their way to the spoil banks during the summer enjoying the slightly cooler water that is in close proximity to the ICW. During a full moon in the middle of the summer when the tide falls drastically and the mere inches of water bake in the sun, you need to think about what you would do if you were a fish. Cooler water is the key in the summer. Cooler water can be in deep channels, muddy bottoms and near major and side channels throughout the bay.
The mangrove bushes are casting their reflection on the glassy water of
the Laguna. Snook, Reds and Trout are swimming slowly in the currents
expecting to stumble onto a juicy shrimp or silver colored bait fish
swimming nearby. We are saturating this into our eyes and into our
memories. When life gets long and we get old, we will always remember
the time we had no stress while out on the bay as during the sunrise, we
glanced off into the sand dunes of
July 15, 2007 - “The wind’s blowing a little much, you think?” An onlooker said as I was getting my boat ready one dark morning. “Yes sir. I don’t think Mother Nature is gonna let us have a calm morning this week.”
This past few days have been a reminder of the Spring time fishing due to the steady 25 to 30 mile an hour winds blowing everyday. The wind finally calmed itself today and the clouds drifted in to create a pleasant change in weather to some extent. Weather has been a big issue in my charters this past week and I have had to fine-tune my recent fishing style suitable for howling winds. Hot weather and wind creates great red fishing as long as you have your sunscreen and a Kolder Holder embracing your cold drinks. With the wind breathing down my neck I have to settle back to just blind casting the flats.
There are plenty of redfish around the flats just south of the East cut in Port Mansfield. Also, just North of the East cut around Butchers Island is holding numerous reds, but most of them are 23 to 26 inch fish. The upper slot reds and oversized reds are finding their deeper water cool spots now and are hanging out in the south part of the Gas Well flats, Holly Beach and Cullen Bay. If you can find some 3 to 5 foot water that gradually decreases into 1 to 2 foot water in the clear flats, you will find some upper slot reds. Right now the tides are at the maximum low at night from Three Islands to the SPI Causeway during darkness. With little and low water in these shallow spots the fish make their way to deeper water and cool off. The next morning, you may see some water flowing into these shallow areas, but the fish are still in their deep water. The bigger redfish are going to be in the 3 to 4 foot water and the smaller reds are in the 1 to 2 foot water. I have just Power Poled down on the big potholes and thrown into the cooler water. The fish are pretty aggressive right now and lure selection is not much of a problem. In muddier water I have been straying from artificial and giving them some ballyhoo for bait.
Trout are still unbelievable with their numbers and size. Anywhere you go on the East or West side of the bay it seems like the trout are abundant. I have been using 3 inch gulp under maulers in the color changes, D.O.A. shrimp and live shrimp on the edges of the I.C.W. There are a lot of big trout lying on top of the Long Bar and the edges of the spoil islands right now. The big black “fence posts” are hot and slow and take a little finesse to get them on a hook. A truly big trout caught during the hot summer months is usually caught on a small elegance lure worked proud or a confident fly, or of course big live or dead bait. Other than that they are smart and that is the explanation they have grown to that size anyway.
Snook are still everywhere and are getting to be a fish just as widespread as a redfish or trout. I enjoy catching a snook or two when I don’t even expect it. I have never been so confident on my snook fishing charters.
Flounder are still not showing themselves as much as they should be. I am hoping that any day now they will jump on one of my lines and let me know they are back in the bay and they have brought a few friends. Lisa’s cove is the only place I have been confident with flounder. (Holly Beach)
Wind might be blowing strong, waves may be choppy right now, but this is the summer and we have a lot of great calm days ahead of us. Windy or calm the fishing is great. Tailing reds, sight casting monster trout and casting at floating snook is already here, but soon easier and more often. Mangrove bushes are glowing and oysters are growing, the Lower Laguna Madre is full of life and we are too. Fishing down here is always a good way to get rid of some stress, bad thoughts or pressure at daily work. Fishing is pretty amazing. Searching for fish on the beautiful flats of South Padre Island is capable of assisting you in living a happy life.
July 8, 2007 - The water and fishing in our bay is going to be a
little different for the next couple of weeks. The massive amount
of rain that has fallen in South Texas is making its way down the Arroyo
and other tributaries into the Laguna. The freshwater is pouring
in and the fish are moving to some different areas. The fishing is
still good, but you have to change your game plan from your usual
fishing routine. The freshwater is an iced tea colored water that
has traveled as far south as Marker 67 and as far North as Bennie’s
Shack. This invasion of freshwater in one of the highest salinity
bay systems on the coast can really shift your ordinary fishing routine.
Trout are still in the deeper water along drop offs in the ICW and sand
bars present in the 4 and 5 foot water of the bay. If you are
fishing in the tea colored water you are a lot better off if you are
using bait. The brown water has made it a little more difficult to
catch fish with plastic. For a successful trout bite on lures you
need to focus on the deeper water areas near the jetty passes to the
Gulf. Mosquito flats, South bay and the areas just north of the
Causeway are good places to find some nice trout in green water.
The East Cut up in Mansfield out to the Y is also a good place to find
some pretty trout water.
Redfish are abundant in all of the flats around Gas wells and Three
Islands like they were about a month ago. There are a lot of
singles, triples and doubles to be seen in these areas. I have
been fishing East of the drum boats closer to the sand line. The
water here is nice and clear and there is less floating grass. The
West side is holding a lot of reds as well (Laguna Vista, Holly beach,
and Stover’s), but there is some freshwater in these areas trickling out
of Holly beach cove. Most of the schools I have been finding have
moved from the color changes to clear water up and down the East side in
about 3 to 4 foot of water. Top water action is a lot of fun if
you can find the schools. (Photos below)
I caught a few flounder here and there a couple of weeks ago, but have
only seen one this past week. I am starting to wonder if and when
they are going to show up. I have a small tournament to fish this
next Saturday and sure could use a five pounder.
Although there is some newly uninvited fresh brown water crashing our fishing party, it is somewhat nice to face up to a little change in pace. I can fish some old honey holes I haven’t been to in a while, try some new areas and try to catch fish with a little different technique. The majesty of fishing is that you never know what the next day will bring. Every morning you fish, every cast you make, there is always a chance that a surprising fish bite will result in a big smile.
July 3, 2007 - Dark skies and cool winds welcomed me and my clients
most every morning this past week. Some days I would watch it rain
all around me and never feel a drop, and other days I would get soaked.
Rain or no rain, the fish bite was good on the Laguna.
The trout I have been catching on my charters are really solid fish.
It is amazing how healthy the trout population is right now. It
would have been really easy to obtain a “limit” on several charters this
past week, but most of the time we would stop short and go look for a
rowdy redfish. Most of the trout I am catching right now have been
on the drop off of the ICW all the way from Marker 67 to the Arroyo, and
the side channels like the Cullen Channel and the Wreck Channel.
The tides are very low in the morning right now and these manmade
waterways are really holding some fish. You can catch them by
looking for an area with a slow-moving current. It doesn’t matter
if the flow of water is going in or out, it just needs to be trickling.
If you find this sluggish tidal flow, then fish the edges with any kind
of shrimp-like lure, live shrimp and even just plain old cocahos.
This should produce some nice trout.
Our brawny redfish are still thriving and are really starting to run
around in more concentrated areas. Big schools are really popping
up in places, and when they are not in schools I am seeing them in small
groups of 5 to 10 fish. One morning this week we hit 5 different
herds of reds from 50 fish to probably 300 fish. Needless to say I
had to change all of the line on my reels for the next day. If you
want to fish for reds early and it is somewhat calm, I would focus on
the spoil banks and shorelines looking for wakes and tails. If it
is a little breezy I would look for mullet and other baitfish on the
shallow flats 1 ½ feet to 2 feet and set up a drift. When the sun
comes out sight casting is always enjoyable this time of year.
Blind casting can get tiresome sometimes due to the floating grass.
I didn’t fish for any snook this past week but we did catch one on
“accident” fishing for reds along the spoils. I think I might try
and go hook into a snook or two on one of my charters this upcoming week
if I have any takers.
A redfish or two will hum the drag and pull some line, solid trout have been hungry and mean, and the sunrise is still coming up over the dunes every morning. The Lower Laguna Madre is now flourishing with plenty of summer fishing enjoyment.
June 17, 2007 - My three year old son was
on the boat eating some pancakes as the sun cleared the horizon. I
took a few pictures to capture the memory of a young boy and his dad
spending some time out on the water enjoying a little fishing.
Even though he is only three, fishing is one of his most requested
activities. Not Spiderman, Sponge bob or Thomas the Train can
prevail over some lukewarm pancakes, a sunrise and the sound of a
seagull calling in the distance while out on the boat with dad.
This past week was a sure sign that the summer season is here.
Slick calm mornings that make for a pleasant boat ride are common now
and it is sometimes difficult to make out the horizon. It seems as
if the water and the sky just interconnect and fade together.
Because of this serene weather I have been spending a little more time
in the ICW where the current creates some of the only movement in the
bay. I have been drifting the edge of the channel with live shrimp
when the floating grass is present, and casting D.O.A. shrimp when the
water is free of trash grass. There are a lot of nice trout in
this water and most of them have been concentrated where the shorelines
neck down around Marker 57 to Marker 26. Trout fishing has also
been great on the Long Bar, Laguna Vista and Holly Beach. I have
been concentrating on the potholes near the shallow bars. Top
waters have been good early and then I switch to D.O.A. shrimp or Gulps.
These trout are also nice but not caught as quick compared to the
channel trout. If you want fast action, go to the channel…if you
want some top water battles, hang around the grass bars and depth
changes in Laguna Vista, Long Bar and (Lisa’s Cove) at Holly Beach.
Redfish are back in the Three Islands / Drum Boat area again and are
really presenting some great sight casting opportunities. Once the
sun gets up high enough to see without too much glare you can drift bow
forward with a slight breeze and really soak it all in. I have
been using small ¼ ounce gold spoons and weed less hooked cocahoes to
sight cast these fish. I have also seen some really huge trout
floating these sight drifts in the skinny water of the Gas Wells.
We made some casts at them, but most of these big trout were swimming
slowly away…which is an indication that they know you are there.
When sight casting, if you don’t see a big trout before it sees you…you
rarely have a chance to catch it. Stay alert! There are a
lot of reds starting to show up near the Bridge bar and Bob’s bar near
the Causeway, but you have to be there early before the Jet Skis show
up. If you start there early it is usually good for two or three
reds.
Flounder are finally starting to show up more and more now. I
haven’t been fishing for them that much but we have been catching them
on accident while working the edge of the ICW. It is nice to see
them and I look forward to scouting for some big “flatties” before
tournament time soon.
A person may not remember clearly the roller coaster they rode at an amusement park, or their favorite childhood cartoon character. One thing that is memorable in my mind is some great fishing experiences. Fishing is a powerful obsession that ranks up there in memories with big time moments in life. Catching your personal best big trout or redfish ranks up there with the memory of your first kiss. It can make your knees weak, makes you spend lots of money and you may find yourself telling your friends stories about it. Fishing is human nature at its finest.
June 10, 2007 - I have never caught a 35
inch trout, but I know that every time I go fishing out on the bay there
is a very slight chance that may happen. The mystery of what could
bite on your hook on every cast you throw is the reason fishing is so
addictive. When I was a kid I can remember not being able to sleep
due to the wonder of the morning to come. I had a few trips this
past week with some kids on board and it was exciting to see them reel
in tremendous memories. These are memories that will always be
with them and provide them with the motivation to pursue that big ‘ol 35
inch trout someday.
There were a lot of changes this past week as far as redfish are
concerned. They are not as easy to catch as they have been.
The tides are back to normal and the floating grass is horrible.
Because of this I ran up to South Port Mansfield a couple of times to
fish the flats East of Bennie’s Shack. It was a lot of fun to fish
my old stompin’ grounds and get away from the boats. The water up
there is a little stained and the big mullet are everywhere. Both
times I went up there it produced limits of reds plus some. There
are still plenty of fish in our favorite close by drifting flats, but
they are holding in small areas. There can be miles with only a
fish or two until you find “the spot”. Once you find the fish they
are thick, but all singles…and they move everyday.
Trout are getting a little shallower now that all of the water
temperatures are starting to even out. I have been catching them
in the 4 and 5 foot water, and this past week was best in the 2 and 3
foot water. D.O.A. Shrimp and Gulp Shrimp have been the best lures
to entice a bite. There was one day this past week where the wind
gusted to 45 miles and hour and really caused a lot of floating grass to
emerge. Because of this I have been using a weed less worm hook
with the Gulp lures and using them to work through the grass without
getting hung up.
There were a couple of snook hooked this past week, but never landed.
They are really starting to make their way up the bay and are finally
showing themselves along the spoil banks and Holly Beach area.
Last summer the snook basically took over the spoil banks from Marker 77
to 57. It is exciting to see these fish thriving more and more
every season. These fish have always been in these areas, but it
really seems to me that they are multiplying as far as the numbers are
concerned.
No matter how old you are, the kid in you will always make you get out
in the boat and go after that state record fish. You never know.
One day you may catch the record fish that will grace all of the
magazines. The only thing you have to do is get your hook in the
water. South Padre Island has it all. Plenty of lodging, an
abundance of family fun and the fishing with Captain Todd is always a
treat. I love fishing with all types of people. You may be
the experienced old salt or a young kid learning the ropes. There
is always a fishing trip to suit your needs.
June 3, 2007 - Throughout my years as a charter captain I have been
asked a lot of questions while out on the water. A lot of these
questions are similar day to day as people marvel over the unfamiliar
activity of fishing. Some of my clients are fishing a shallow
saltwater bay for the first time, and others are avid anglers fishing on
their own quite often. Regardless of the amount of experience
people have there are always a few questions for a guide that their
curiosity awakens. For example, most everyday I am asked, “Why do
mullet jump?” I am also asked, “How long have you been doing
this?” One of the questions I get regularly is part of the topic
of my fishing report this week. “When you go fishing by yourself
just for fun, what is your preferred method of fishing?” That is a
tough one because I love all types of fishing. However when I go
by myself you can bet I will be fishing for a huge trout or snook in an
area that I have never fished, or far away from the typical popular
areas. I had a couple charters this week that actually reflected
that type of fishing. You may not catch a limit of fish or have
steady action, but when you succeed in catching a fish of a lifetime it
is really exciting.
This past week I could predict that summer is near if there were no such
thing as a calendar. The wind has slowed its gust and it is
getting warm out there. The tide was unusually high every morning
this week which allowed me to go back into places along shorelines and
have decent water depth. The redfish were really stacked up on the
sand flats on the East side and right up against the shore on the spoil
banks along the ICW. Stover’s point held a lot of reds on the
shoreline and back in the coves. Usually when the tides get higher
than normal I will concentrate on the areas where the grass is sticking
out of the water on low tide.
I did a lot more trout fishing this week and will continue this as the
mornings are calmer. Right now I am still fishing for them around
the long bar and the color changes South of gas well flats and south
Cullen bay. I did fish for big trout one morning on a charter with
top waters but kept catching redfish in the area. What a shame!
I will be doing a lot more big trout scouting as the local tournaments
get nearer in my date book.
The couple charters that I was explaining in the first paragraph that
dealt with fishing for one big fish was enjoyable. We went out on
the pursuit for big snook and caught a single one morning, and several
another morning. I am talking 30 to 35 inch really thick snook.
We caught these snook up and down the Brownsville Ship Channel closer to
the jetties basically looking for nice-looking water. There are a
lot of small and medium sized mullet in these areas and you can actually
see these snook popping at them. They are really a powerful fish.
All of these oversized snook were released and were very healthy in
spite of a sore lip or two.
All of my charters were very enjoyable this past week and I am looking forward to the next few days. There will be a lot of casts made and a lot of water to drift. Whether it is going out and trying to catch a lot of fish for the box or just seeking that one fish that will top your personal best, I am ready to head out there. Oh yeah, and on the question, “Why do mullet jump?” I really can not figure that one out, but I have given some interesting answers.
May 27, 2007 - Sometimes when we are fishing, there is a certain
twinge that comes over us. It may be a small back pain or a
sunburned nose, and a tired feeling of being up since 4:30 AM.
However, all the pain goes away when you hook into that big redfish.
When a fishing rod is doubled over and the drag system is buzzing it
seems like we are freed from an exhausted state of mind. The bent
rod…It cures all that ails us…it works out your arms and even sometimes
attracts other boats to the fishing area. It is a powerful thing
and it keeps us all going for just a little longer, and one more cast.
This past week was interesting due to the crazy thunderstorms that
frequented the area most everyday. I didn’t get to pursue my big
snook due to this weather, but there were some nice trout and redfish
action to keep the rods bent. Nice trout are still around grass
bars in the 4 and 5 foot of green water near the color changes.
There are plenty of undersized and hardly keeper trout in the actual
color changes, but the solid ones are scarce in these areas. There
is in fact two “color changes” in a color change. There is the
muddy to green water and the green to clear water. The bigger
trout have been closer to the green to clear water line. If you
can find some grassy bars that scatter throughout these areas you may
find some better than average fish. The depth differences and
plentiful baitfish attract these nice trout to the bars. If you
keep your eyes peeled you will notice small schools of ballyhoo
scattering throughout the drift.
Redfish action is still great when there is a good float. The wind
really helps out with a good redfish bite. There remains a vast
amount of redfish in our favorite drifting areas (gas well flats, three
islands and Cullen bay). There are fish there, but it is not as
easy as just setting up a drift. You need to look for the big
mullet and grainy water. Clear water sometimes all looks the same,
but next time you are out there you need to really take a closer look.
You will see the particles in the water that make it ‘”grainy” versus
just plain old clear water. Sometimes just 200 or 300 yards east
or west on a drift makes all of the difference. The best lures to
fish the water with a little floating grass in it are ½ ounce and ¼
ounce weedless gold spoons and gulp shrimp tied about 2.5 feet behind a
mauler. There is some great sight casting to be done just south of
the actual Gas Wells in the shallow water with some good sunlight.
I have been using D.O.A. shrimp and small ¼ ounce spoons to sight cast
these fish.
However tired you may be…no matter how long your drift is… there is
always that chance of hooking into a big ‘ol drag twisting fish that
will make your day. The freedom of being out in a boat on the
water combined with the excitement of catching a few fish and a little
sun is worthwhile. So come on out to South Padre Island and check
out the awesome fishing for yourself. All you need is a fishing
license, a cold drink and a kolder holder. The rest of the good
times are up to your fishing guide.
May 20, 2007 - Not much can compare to the emotion we sense in our
body after seeing an angry, foam-covered blow-up on a top-water lure
early in the morning at the base of a mangrove bush. Top water
fishing is in full swing here in the Laguna. Numerous fish were
caught this past week falling victim to my favorite Super Spook lure.
Several nice trout, many big snook and beautiful redfish were all
looking toward the sky at this wounded phony baitfish, and they all fell
for one of the oldest tricks in the book. Now is the time to
change out your rusty old hooks on your top water baits and get them out
in the water.
South Bay and the Ship Channel were great places for top water action.
I look for places like this to get out of the wind and floating grass
that you might find in an open flat. These are also great areas to
fish due to the surprise factor you encounter when not knowing what you
may catch. Big sow trout, snook, reds and mangrove snapper are
plentiful in these areas and all love injured top waters.
Aside from that there was a lot of schooling action from redfish this
week again. The tides are extra strong right now and the groups of
reds are really hanging out along the color lines. A couple of the
schools are really getting a lot of pressure from boats and are starting
to stay on the bottom a little more than they have been. I also
found a huge (300 plus fish) school of black drum this week. I
stopped on them thinking they were reds and after a few casts with no
bites they got close enough to make them out. After that I kept on
moving and let them be. It is nice to see a big school of
saltwater javelinas in the bay again. They haven’t been showing
themselves in the flats as much for the last couple of years. They
are a migrating fish; however remain in the same areas for the first
three years of their life before they are sexually mature. Black
drum are really pretty fun to catch and make a tasty fish fry. You
can find most of these schools of reds and drum in the deeper water of
the flats near drop offs and old gas well channels. Anywhere you
find changes in water temperature and stronger currents (shallow to
deep) you will have a good chance of locating a herd. These fish
congregate in these areas for feeding and they use these currents to
their advantage. They move around like a big pack of vacuums
sucking in all of the baitfish and crustaceans that are riding the
current highway.
There are a lot of trout in the ICW right now and the currents are
keeping them safe. It is tough to fish for them when you can’t get
your lure or bait down to them due the strong surge of water making its
way down the channel. If you want to fish these areas you need to
wait for the tides to slack up. However, there is no need to wait
for the right tides due to the number of trout in other areas.
These other areas would be the deep green water of East side color
change south of 67, Laguna Vista shoreline, Holly beach and Laguna
Heights. If you are in green water about 4 feet deep and can see
the pot holes you are in a good spot. I have been using natural
colored cocahos and gulp lures. Put them on a 1/8 ounce jig head
and use them like a corky. Really slow retrieves in this deep
water with very limited twitching has been produced the best results for
me. Try to hit the pot holes if you can. Some of these trout
are in that 25 to 27 inch range and starting to get skinny due to
spawning. I released several of these upper slot trout this past
week and they were all caught on the slow retrieve.
This next week I will be targeting some really big snook (35 plus
inches) with a client who is coming in from Houston. I will let
you know how that goes in the fishing report next Sunday. There
are so many good days to go fishing this summer and the bay is still
quiet with minimal boat traffic. I think it is time you make your
plans to hit the water. Just think…we can watch the sun come up in the
morning while sitting in my Majek Extreme floating into an edgy school
of redfish. There might be many hobbies that may be better than
hearing your drag scream from the pull of an acrobatic snook, but I
can’t think of any right now.
The Good ‘Ol Days are Now,
Captain Todd Casey
SOUTH TEXAS CHARTERS
956.371.3465
www.spifishing.com
www.southtxhunts.com
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