Leschper: Fish and fowl point sportsmen to hot spots

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Sunday, May 24, 2009
Story last updated at 5/24/2009 - 4:28 am

ARANSAS BAY - The top fishfinders in the world don't come with built-in GPS. Nor do they offer crystal-clear displays or boatloads of programmable options.

In this dog-eat-dog ecosystem, one of the best ways to entice scaly delight to the end of your line is to follow the food chain, most notably feathered critters from above, and the occasional toothy submarine from below.

And it's a sight to behold when breakfast is on the minds of the aforementioned parties and school of any kind is in session.

The hazy morning started with a run from Cove Harbor across to Mud Island, where veteran Rockport fishing guide Ron Coulston had been finding speckled trout and redfish lingering above sloping sand flats before midday temperatures climbed and the fish moved off. The first dip into the water for morning wade fishing in May often can be crisp, but you quickly get acclimated and soon Ron, my father and I were zinging croakers rigged on circle hooks into the murky depths hoping to see spots of some kind.

After wading about two football fields worth of firm bottom without so much as a bump on the wriggling croakers, Ron headed back to fetch his center-console Haynie to pick us up and head to another previous hot spot. However, on the way to said locale, the birds - namely laughing gulls and terns - started working an area and it soon proved that bait fish and shrimp had been had from above and below.

No sooner did we pull near to the fracas and anchor did the first keeper trout - and then another - slam a lively croaker tossed at the edge of the fray. But then our braided lines fell silent, except for a decent-size gafftop and a couple of hardheads, even as the birds and a pod of porpoises corralled watery inhabitants above the shallow reef into a bustling buffet.

We then headed to San Jose and waded a few different locations up and down the barrier island, picking up a few trout here and there and as many hardheads. But by the time we went back across the choppy bay and reached a well in hopes of finding schoolies, the midday sun was straight above us and no distinct fish pattern had emerged. After a short stay anchored in the chop without any specks, the wheels were turning at full tilt in Ron's head as he contemplated all things trout and where the rascals could be as the mercury rose.

I had fished with Ron in April in howling winds but we still managed to find some nice trout and reds in protected water early before the fishing simply turned off about mid-morning, and this outing certainly looked like it would follow suit.

Ron ultimately decided we should head back to the area near where we started - even though we hadn't found but a couple of keeper specks. After motoring for a few miles, the fluttering mist on the horizon soon materialized into a gaggle of birds, unlikely the same ones from earlier, but there's no way to know for sure. And again there were porpoises, including a big, scarred male that occasionally would shimmy to the surface and sulk on top with an eye out of the water, much the way one of his cousins might in a theme park, before slipping below in a splashing arc.

The anchor hadn't taken root in the muddy bottom but perhaps half a minute before the first rod - incidentally mine - peeled over with the weight of a keeper trout. Soon after, every croaker that splashed down near the shallow reef in front of us was quickly gobbled up by a solid speck, and we even had one genuine triple hook-up, the perfect sign you've found a wad of hungry fish.

What still amazes me is all the while we were bringing in fish, we were nearly hitting cruising porpoises on the head with baits, and the trout still were obliging us. The toothy devils would follow a hooked speck right up to the boat but never tried to take one, instead opting to surface close enough to touch with an outstretched rod for a puff of air and then disappearing below. Eventually, our croaker ration dissipated and we resorted to Gulp! shrimp imitations, which seemingly worked as well as the croakers as we pulled the anchor and followed the schoolies down the reef.

Eventually, we had to come back to reality and decided to head in, but not before reflecting on the day. Had we not followed nature's signals and the ultimate fishfinders, perhaps we would have chalked it up to a tough day of fishing. Instead, we left fish we could have caught, we brought home enough for some fine eating and we enjoyed a superb coastal day on the water.

It's called living the dream, my friend.

l l l

Working the birds also is a first-class technique for a number of freshwater species, including stripers, hybrids and white bass, which all eat bait fish including shad that will school up near the surface during coming months. Birds can key you in to the location of these bait fish and right below them will be hungry predators looking for an easy meal. The topwater bite already has started on some lakes and it should get better on early mornings as temperatures slowly climb into June and July.

No matter where you are, it's a great time to be on the water!

For information on fishing the Rockport area, visit www.ronsrockportfishing.com.

Will Leschper is an award-winning member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America and the Texas Outdoor Writers Association. Write to him at wleschper@yahoo.com.

SURF HEATS UP

May 25, 2009 - Today I had 2 fishermen new to using croaker for bait. The waves were finally down enough for us to go to the surf. I've been using circle hooks at least some of the time for about 4 years now. They are much better on any fish being released. Also, one doesn't need to set the circle hook rather you just pull back after the fish has run a little way. Circle hooks seem to work much better for fishermen new to using croaker. If someone is used to bass fishing I normally don't have them use circle hooks because they will jerk the hook out of the fish's mouth before it's closed on the bait. The fishermen caught their 20 trout in about 2 hours. Not a single undersized fish. Several in the 22 to 24 inch range. I know the fishermen were happy because they immediately booked another trip. I'm off tomorrow with no customers but I'll probably fish. Will go to the surf if the wind stays down because it's just too good to pass up. Otherwise, I plan to check out Nueces Bay.

MANCATION

May 22, 23 and 24, 2009-Friday, Saturday and Sunday I had a 10 person, 3 boat trip with the same group from Houston each day. This was their second annual Mancation in Rockport. They stay in the historic Mathis house and we fish the Rockport/Aransas Pass area. The weather was nice and made fishing relatively easy. Each year we have two boats that wade fish and one that is for people wanting to fish out of the boat. We caught boxes of trout each day but only about half as many as last year. The Memorial day boat traffic was heavy. You had to get a spot early and when you wanted to move it was hard to find another spot. Redfish were scarce. The group had a $100 prize for each of the biggest trout, redfish and flounder each day. The money was rolled over to the next day if not claimed. The 3rd day we finally caught 2 redfish and one angler got to claim the $300 redfish pot. Good news on flounder - we did catch several flounder on the Saturday with most being undersized but one was big enough to claim the $200 flounder pot. The group is already making plans for next year and plans are to avoid the holiday weekend.

Spice Gills

May 16, 2009--Fished the Babes on the Bay Tournament with four neat ladies from West Texas making up a team called The Spice Gills i. e. Old Spice, Speckled Spice, Red Hot Spice and Princess Spice. The ladies were mostly new to saltwater fishing. Over all fishing was tough. Breezy conditions and most tide movement still taking place during the times of day and night we're not fishing. With almost 1000 women participating in the tournament plus the normal fishing traffic, boats were everywhere with many not seeming to understand where they were going or what they were doing. Several boats ran very close to us with no good reason. The ladies toughed it out through a lot of slow fishing. We ended up catching 7 speckled trout and one gafftop on croaker. Two of the trout were nice size at 21 and a half inches. Couldn't catch a red anywhere. The Spice Girls and their familes had my wife and I over to their Rockport location for fresh home cooked fish the evening after the fishing trip. They are already making plans for next year. I'll save my t shirt.

Mixed Bag

May 15, 2009--Had two couples today. Picked them up at Fisherman's Wharf in Port Aransas. We fished protected areas around Mud Island and Allyn's Bight. Ended the day with 17 speckled trout, 7 sand trout, 5 redfish and one whiting. Caught the trout on croaker and the redfish on cut up skipjack. Wind still blowing. No rain in sight.

Fish Picture

Received this fish picture from a satisfied customer. You can tell he's going to grow up to be a real fisherman. Note the size of the 28" redfish in comparison to the fisherman.

TROUT ARE BACK!!

May 10, 2009-- The wind dropped to about 15 MPH this morning and the trout came out of hiding. Had two clients today and both got their limit of 10 trout. The first wade produced nothing but each wade after that got better. By 11 AM the trout were bigger and biting better. In fact we had 3 on at one time. Launched at Cove Harbor and fished Aransas bay mostly near shorelines.

Windy Birthdays

May 8, 2009-- Another windy, tough fishing day in Rockport. Ran 80 miles today for 2 quality redfish. Also caught several undersize reds but no trout. Fished with croakers, shrimp, cut mullet, menhaden and cut skip jack. Had 3 clients new to coast fishing. The three friends shared at least one thing in common--today May 8 was each of their birthdays. Being tipped off to the birthdays in advance I came prepared with party hats, horns and little birthday cakes complete with candles. We had a birthday party right after lunch in 35 miles per hour winds. Someone told me once that us guides aren't in the fishing business we're actually in the entertainment business. I hope the entertainment today made up somewhat for the lackluster fishing.

May 4, 2009 - Redfish save the day again.

Overnight the wind had moved from strong out of the South to strong out of the North. Such wind is not conducive to good trout fishing. With a family of four including 5 and 7 year old boys, we left Cove Harbor looking for redfish. Caught four on cut bait behind the spoil islands north of Conn Brown harbor. When the bite slowed about 9:00 AM we got a call from a friend who was catching large trout near Mud Island. I gave the customers a choice of whether to move to another spot for redfish or go all the way to Mud Island and hope the bite was still on there. We arrived at Mud Island about 10:00 to find the fish had completely quit. After an hour or two we gave up on trout and moved all the way to Dagger Island to look for more reds. We didn't find a single fish. I decided the best thing to do was move back to where we started the day. The fish were there better than before. We caught 6 more for a total of 10 redfish for the day. Several of the fish were caught on Zebco 33's and not a single hooked fish was lost. This had a lot to do with how the family paid attention and worked together to be sure each hooked fish made it into the boat. The boys were a real treat to be around. "Yes sir" to everything and they even asked permission before doing anything that might be wrong. They gave me new hope that America will still be a great country thirty years from now.

Wind breaker


By Ralph Winingham
For the Amarillo Globe-News
Publication Date: 05/03/09

ROCKPORT

Wind is no stranger to the Texas Gulf Coast fishing grounds so popular with anglers chasing redfish and speckled trout during the spring and summer months.

Veteran saltwater guides have learned to ply their trade around the choppy waves and murky water, although this year the high winds have been making their jobs just a little bit tougher.

"I've been a guide for the past eight years and have been fishing down here for more than 30 years - there has just been a lot more wind without a break than I can remember," said Ron Coulston with Ron's Guide Service.

Combined with the sputtering economic climate, the windy conditions have resulted in an unwelcome impact on this well-known fishing destination about 30 miles northeast of Corpus Christi.

"With lots of wind and no rain, this season is starting off pretty mediocre," he added. "Some of the guides are saying their business is down about 40 percent."

Katie Roussy, a meteorologist at the Corpus Christi National Weather Service Station, said windy conditions are normal in the area during March through May, although this year has experienced slightly unusual circumstances.

"The difference this year is the prolonged, continuous days of windy conditions. We usually get a reprieve," she said. "There has been a persistent low pressure system in the southern plains of the Rocky Mountains that is producing these conditions."

So far this year, the peak wind gust has been 48mph and the highest sustained winds (over a two-minute period) have been 40mph - both statistics within the norm for the area.

To counter the big winds, Coulston said he has adapted his fishing tactics to take advantage of sheltered areas where reds and trout can be found in good numbers.

"Going out early before the winds come up is a good idea," he said recently while launching his skift before a pre-dawn venture out of the Cove Harbor South Marina.

"We'll stay close and keep in the areas that are protected by islands. We'll still feel the wind, but the waves won't be as rough as when you are out in the open."

After a 10-minute boat ride, the retired civil service worker turned fishing guide dropped anchor and broke out the fishing gear. His plan was to use free-line cut bait on the bottom for redfish and live shrimp under popping corks for speckled trout.

"Croakers, which are the best bait for big trout, have been scarce and the ones we can get are a little weak so far this year," Coulston said.

While he would normally hit his hot spots found farther out in more open water, the sheltered areas have been productive in the early morning hours so far this season, he explained.

The proof that Coulston's plan was working came quickly - a big redfish snatched one of the free-line baits, bending the stiff action rod into a rainbow, before snapping the line within minutes of the bait hitting the shallow water.

"My guess is that the line was cut on a piece of shell. I'm using 30-pound braided line that normally doesn't break that easily," he said.

The next hit, mere minutes later, did not prove to be so lucky for that red. After several minutes of give and take, complete with a few line-stripping runs that make redfish such an exciting catch, a 21-inch keeper was brought to the net.

Just after the keeper red was dropped in the box, a popping cork on another line disappeared from sight and the fight was on with a chunky speckled trout. That pole-bending action ended with a nice 22-inch trout being scooped into the boat.

Several keeper reds and trout, plus a few undersized fish, kept the fishing action hot and heavy for another hour. By about 8 a.m., the action came to a sudden stop.

"We are expecting the season to get better as we go along," Coulston said, pointing out the prime time for catching reds and trout - particularly with the very popular live baits of croaker and piggy perch - will continue through August.

"A little less wind would be nice," he added.