REDFISH DAY

12-30-2010--Fished out of St Charles boat ramp today with a half day charter. Waded San Jose shoreline with artifical lures. My father/son fishing crew quickly caught 6nice reds and kept 4 to eat. The father's 28 inch red became his personal best.

TIDE IS UP

12-28-2010--The water came up a lot last night with the strong southeast wind and a low pressure system. This changed the location for trout but they weren't far away. I had a father and two teenage sons who really enjoyed the catching. Quite often we had two or three fish on at once. Many of the fish were small but we managed to easily catch 30 keepers up to 20 inches to complete thier limits. If you count the fish in the picture you'll see only 20 because there are only 20 nails in the picture board. Fishing just can't get much better than it is right now.

COLD WEATHER FISHING

12-26-2010--The temperature this morning was in the low 30s with a north wind blowing 15 to 20 MPH. But, as always, the fish still had to eat; we just had to find them. I couldn't get to the first place I had chosen because the water was too low. Just a few days ago I said the water was as low as I had seen it. Well, today it was that low again. Our second choice was to go for black drum while the water warmed up a little for trout. My two fishermen limited on black drum in short order using dead shrimp for bait. Next we looked for trout using artifical lures. Made a long run from east shore to San Jose, stopped several times on San Jose but found no fish. Ran back to Estes flats and immediately started catching nice trout in the 17 to 20 inch range. Earlier we had planned to get some trout and then look for reds but the trout fishing was so good we couldn't bear to leave. We kept their limit of 20 trout and released the rest. The trout were all caught on Norton sand eels and gulp jerk shad. I just hope the late 2010 fishing continues through 2011. Right now I'm reluctant for this year to end.

CHRISTMAS GIFT CERTIFICATES

12-20-2010--Looking for a last minute Christmas gift? How about a gift certificate for a day of guided bay fising for speckled trout, redfish, flounder and/or black drum. Ron will do his best to make it a great day on the water.

The gift certificate can be made for a specific date or the date may be left open to be scheduled by the recipient.

There is a $50 winter discount for trips taken through March 31 and another $50 discount for using artifical lures. Prices range from $200 to $650 depending on the number of fishermen. For example, a gift certificate for a full day trip to be taken before April 1 using artifical lures for three persons would cost $400.

Gift certificates can be sent by mail, email, or hand delivered if the recipient is in the Rockport area.

Call Capt Ron at 361-790-9541 or email ron@ronsrockportfishing.com to arrange for a gift certificate.

TROUT ON ARTIFICIAL LURES

12-18-2010--Had one client yesterday and another today. We fished for trout each day. Used Norton Sand Ell's each day for easy limits of fish. The North winds have made the water cold and along with other conditions caused very low tides. We had to look for water deep enough to hold trout. When we found them over mud, shell and grass the catching was great especially after mid-day when it warmed up. It's been several years since the trout fishing has been this good. I expect we'll have superb trout fishing at least through next Spring.

WILDLIFE GUIDE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM

NEWS RELEASE
Corpus Christi Convention & Visitors Bureau
(Picture is of Captain Ron Coulston receiving certificate)

The Corpus Christi Convention & Visitors Bureau is introducing the first ever Official Wildlife Guide Certification Class to the public today. A total of 34 Wildlife Guides completed the course work on Customer Service, Interpretive Guide Training and a 10 part Online Course which educates and tests the guides on Wildlife Species I.D., Conservation and Business Planning. Fishing guides were asked to supply additional documentation such as their Texas Parks & Wildlife Guide License, U.S. Coast Guard License and proof of liability insurance. This type of documentation clearly sets the guides who pass the course apart from others allowing themselves to be marketed to our visitors as "Certified Wildlife Guides".

LOW WATER BLACK DRUM

12-13-2010--The tide this morning was about as low as it gets. I first took my client to a shoreline slough that is normally very good on a falling tide but even in the slough the water was too low to hold fish, We went back to the dock at Saint Charles Bay and loaded the boat for a trip to the Conn Brown ramp at Aransas Pass. My plan was to fish the deep channels where redfish go when the water is low. We used fresh dead shrimp for bait. Right away my client caught his first redfish followed by more redfish and black drum too numerous to count. I had out 2 baited rods for him and quite often there would be two fish on at once. He would land one and then while I unhooked and released it he would remove the other rod from the holder and land another fish. If I got the first rod back in the water before we netted the second fish he would often have another fish before I got the last one unhooked and released. After tiring of catching black drum and redfish we drifted with artifical lures for trout and ended up with 5 or 6 speckled trout. We used gulp jerk shad for the trout.

LADIES CATCH FISH

11-13-2010--The clients today were two great ladies who really enjoy fishing. I enjoyed the fact that one of them would get extremely excited when a good fish was hooked. They caught an easy limit of reds with one being a personal best. We spent the rest of the day fishing for drum and in the process caught and released several more reds. Trout were a different story but then I didn't expect to catch trout in the middle of a new norther.

WINDY DAY FISHING

11-12-2010--We left from Kontiki Beach Resorts this morning and punched our way through the strong headwinds to the San Jose shoreline. I took bait for trout, reds and black drum to ensure success. I had to get shrimp at one place and croaker and perch at another. We fished northern Aransas Bay and limited my two clients on Black drum and reds in additon to catching 12 nice trout. When they decided to call it a day we were catching trout with regularity. This fall fishing is turning out to be the best fishing we've had in years. I expect our coming winter fishing to be fantastic.

A WIFE'S ACCOUNT

Today's fishing report is being written by me, Ron's wife. Today Ron took me fishing. I'm a fair weather fisherman, and today was a beautiful day - sunny and in the mid 70's. Ron has been doing a lot of hunting and was scouting for fish to prepare for customers. He'd gone to San Antonio Bay yesterday and limited on trout and was going to try different areas of San Antonio Bay again today. The first placed we stopped was teeming with trout. The trout would hit as soon as my shrimp hit the water. The only problem was, they were a half inch to an inch under the legal limit. Tried a couple of more places with little luck. Then Ron decided to try for Reds and Black Drum. I caught my limit of large keeper drum and then kept on catching and releasing. Then the redfish started hitting. Caught a couple of keepers and then the big one hit and I caught my first oversized red. Quite exciting! He really made the reel sing until I finally tired him out enough to bring him in.

REDS AND MORE REDS

10-28-2010--My two guests drove down from San Antonio today and met me at 2:30 PM. We launched at the St Charles boat ramp in heavy seas churned up by 30+ MPH winds. No other boat trailers were at the parking lot and we saw no other fishermen all afternoon. The tide was falling fast and had already fallen over a foot from yesterday. My plan was to find a sheltered place with moving water to fish. The first place we tried the water was so low we couldn't get the boat in to where the fish were. The wind was too strong to cross the open bay so we worked our way around protected shorelines to get to a slough where the water was draining from back lakes. Once in the slough we could see three groups of birds working over fish and coming our way. The birds were directly over feeding redfish busting bait out of the water. Redfish in groups of 20 to 50 were constantly coming out of the back lake past us. My guests had informed me ahead of time that they didn't want to keep any fish. We had 2 fish on at once several times. When we quit at 6:30 the count was 33 redfish caught and released.

REDFISH ON THE HALFSHELL

9-28-2010--It took all day but my two fishermen ended up with their limits of redfish and two trout. We started in Redfish bay. The action was fast but the fish were all short on one end. After catching several of these undersized fish we decided to move. We went to a location next to where another guide and his friend had just caught six redfish but by the time we got there the early morning bite had ended. We moved several times during the next 4 hours to both anchor up and drift but neither worked. The fish started biting again a little after noon. I think we could have caught some trout but we really only fished for reds. I suspect the trout also bit early and after lunch. Tides have fallen several inches the last two days. The red rainwater has been pouring out of back lakes and bays such as Copano and St. Charles.

TROUT ARE BACK

9-17-2019--Trout had been hard to find in our area until today. Today we caught 2 nice stringers of trout and reds between 10 and 12 AM. To begin the day my half of a two boat trip was cancelled because the fishermen celebrated too much the night before. I took my boat out of the water and returned the the bait stand with the live shrimp I had intended to use for black drum and redfish. I traded the shrimp in for some croaker and and set out to look for trout in Copano. I made two wades on reefs and one on the shoreline but only caught two hardheads. About 9:30 AM I was putting the boat on the trailer to move to St. Charles bay an old friend happened to show up. After I told him my experience with Copano he decided not to fish there. He joined me for the trip to St. Charles. Once in the water I saw some pelicans working just outside St. Charles in Aransas Bay. We eased in and put the power pole down. After wading only about 50 yards from the boat we started gettng bites. The fish were nice size trout and mid-slot size redfish. We caught two nice stringers with reds and trout mixed before a rainstorm hit.

REDFISH ON PERCH

9-5-2010--Three guests limited with 9 redfish today. With north wlnds blowing 15 to 20 we decided to fish redfish bay. We drifted with piggy perch. The few trout we caught were all undersized but the redfish were good slot fish. It was good to get a limit of something after yesterday's mediocre day. Yesterday, we fished San Antonio bay with a group of four who were connected with todays group but only caught a few trout and a few black drum along with countless hardheads, gaftop and undersized fish. I'm off tomorrow but rain is in the forecast anyway.

CALM SURF

8-17-2010--Started the day early in the surf. Fishing was good but a little slower due to the lack of moving water and a west wind that made it more difficult to anchor properly. My two fishermen, one of whom is a thirteen year old boy, limited on trout at about 11 AM. By then they had also caught a 28 inch red and 2 sharks. We stopped at two oil platforms on the way in to look for Ling but found none.
I had the same two fishermen yesterday but we started fishing in the bay because the waves in the surf were too high for us to venture beyond the jetties. We caught 5 trout very early but then all action stopped. The wind had decreased by then so after checking the off shore wave height on the internet we decided to make a run to the surf. We had an early lunch in town and ran out to the surf to find conditions near perfect. Calm water and a fairly strong falling tide. We picked up the extra 15 fish needed for their limits in little over an hour.

THIRTY SPECKLED TROUT

8-11-2010--Three fishermen caught thirty trout today in addition to 2 sharks and about 10 skip jack. Seas were calm so the surf was down with a good running tide and agressive fish. We limited out at 9:30 AM.

SURF IS HOT FOR TROUT

8-3-2010--Had two fishermen today who limited on good size trout in the surf in about 2 hours and then got easy limits of redfish back in the bay. The redfish were so agressive that twice they had two on at once. It doesn't get any better than this. The great thing is we didn't even have good tides for fishing. I'm really excited about the next few weeks.

LOTS OF TROUT

7-27-2010--Had a family of four today. We tried to go out at 7 AM but the rain and lightening kept us from launching. We finally got on the water just before noon. At 2:30 PM we had 34 speckled trout, 28 sand trout and one whiting when a rainstorm drove us back to the dock. The rains cleared in less than an hour and we went for redfish. The group was able to add 4 nice redfish to the bag before we ran out of tlme.

RAGS TO RICHES

7-24-2010--Saturday my group of three easily caught 30 nice speckled trout, 21 sand trout and one snapper in Corpus Christi bay. The day was a boon to my ego since we had only caught undersized fish the day before. That day, Friday, we had planned to fish Corpus Christi bay but I changed the plan due to high winds and we fished out of St. Charles. Earlier in the week we had 2 great days of catching speckled trout while running from the storms. We had to keep an eye on the clouds all the time we were out. When a rainstorm would get close we would run in to the dock for a half hour or so and then go back to fishing when the rain cleared and lightning stopped. We have more rain forecast for this week but it looks like we'll get to fish most of the time.

HIGH WATER FISHING

7-15-2010-Finally got a day off with time to catch up on things including fishing reports. Until yesterday the tides had remained very high since Alex. After Alex we had a tropical depression so the tides just stayed high. Yesterday they fell out with a vengenance and the winds laid. We are now back to normal fishing. With the high winds and high water fish have not been easy to find the last few days. It seemed they moved every day. If you found them one day the one thing you could be sure of the next day was that you should look somewhere else. We've been catching some mixed bags of trout, redfish and black drum. One day right after heavy rain the trout only wanted live shrimp but all other days they preferred croaker. Black drum only want shrimp while the redfish have been taken on croaker, cut bait and shrimp. Monday of this week the Coastal Bend Guides Association had it's annual kids fish day for children from Driscoll Childrens hospital undergoing chemotherpy. We take the children fishing each summer for free. It's always a good time for them and it makes us feel good to see how mujch we're appreciated.

GRAND SLAM

7-4-2010--Had a father and 2 sons today for 4 hours. They caught 6 redfish, 3 trout (including a 24 incher), 3 black drum and a 21 inch flounder. All the bites came on live shrimp and cut skip jack.

HIGH WATER FISH

7-3-2010--Hurricane Alex has passed but the high water remains. Early this morning the water was about a foot or more high and it rose another 3 inches while we fished. I had two people who were staying in Port Aransas so I picked them up there and headed to a place where we caught fish in similar high water conditions about 5 years ago. We limited on Redfish and were only one short from a limit of black drum. No trout but we really didn't fish for trout. I think the high water has probably brought more trout into the bays so hopefully, trout fishing will be even better in days to come.

Guide big believer in use of croakers

By Ralph Winingham
Special to the Express-News


ROCKPORT -- Capt. Ron Coulston doesn't mind being called a "croaker soaker."

Other guides and anglers may look down their noses at the use of the baitfish, so effective that several years ago there was a Texas Senate bill to ban them.

RALPH WININGHAM/SPECIAL TO THE EXPRESS-NEWS
Redfish, like this keeper being netted by Rockport guide Ron Coulston, find it nearly impossible to not latch on to live croaker fished in the right place at the right time along the Texas Gulf Coast.

"I used artificials only for a long time myself, but there is no argument that croakers work -- particularly on big trout and redfish," Coulston said. "Catching fish is what we are out here to do, so why shouldn't we use croakers?"

Coulston, a retired civil service employee who has about 30 years of fishing experience in this area, is among the many anglers who take advantage of "croaker season." It runs from the middle of May to about the end of August.

Atlantic croaker, also known as golden croaker, are closely related to speckled trout and redfish and are one of the most abundant fishes in North American coastal waters. Their effectiveness as a bait for big trout and reds is almost magical.

A 2- to 5-inch croaker hooked just above the anal opening with a 4/0 to 6/0 hook and cast into the right spot will result in a line-stripping strike with amazing regularity.

Some guides refuse to use croaker because they work so well, calling their use unethical and harmful to the population of trophy trout and reds. In addition, it cuts into the numbers of keeper croaker for fall anglers.

During the legislative session in 2003, Sen. Jon Lindsay of Houston filed a bill to ban the use of croaker less than 10 inches long as bait, which would have effectively prohibited fishing with the bait. Lindsay cited a crisis in both the trout and croaker populations.

Lindsay's bill received limited support but was actively opposed by the Texas Live Bait Dealers Association before the Legislature rejected it.

"People fishing with croaker have a slightly higher catch rate, but that is probably because a lot of guides are using croaker and they know how to catch more fish," said Ed Hegen, Region 2 director of the Coastal Fisheries Division of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.

Hegen said TP&W biologists aren't considering rule changes about the use of croakers as bait, although the department continues to monitor the trout and croaker populations. Surveys indicate the number of both juvenile and adult croakers is rising.

Despite the lingering controversy about the use of croaker as bait, plus their cost ranging from $6 to $15 per dozen, Coulston said he stays busy putting clients on big fish by using the noisy baits.

"You can catch fish with croakers when nothing else will work," he said. "The artificial-only guys have a hard time when croakers are in season."

The tag of "croaker soaker" is actually a misnomer, as most of the time the baits will attract a bite in the first few casts. If no trout or redfish latches onto a croaker within the first few minutes, there probably aren't any hungry fish in the area.

"The trick is to use a lively bait and twitch it every once in a while to make it croak," Coulston said.

Atlantic croaker "croak" by vibrating their swim bladders, a pocket full of air inside the fish that helps keep it afloat.

One downside of croaker as bait is their sensitivity to water temperature and conditions. Keeping them alive is a challenge.

Anglers need aerated live wells and commercial products that remove harmful chemicals from the live well water.

"Dead croakers are useless as bait," Coulston said.

Another tip Coulston offered during an early morning fishing adventure is the importance of patience.

"I tell my anglers to lower their rod tip or open the bail to let the fish run a little bit -- count to four -- so the trout or red will have a chance to swallow the bait before you set the hook," he said. "That's when the real fun begins."

MIXED BAG

6-21-2010--The winds calmed even more today. We had a beautiful day on the water. My four fishermen caught 18 trout and 8 black drum. We launched at the Saint Charles boat ramp and went north to San Antonio Bay. When we arrived the water was a little too sandy for trout but it cleared all day so that by the time we left it was perfect trout water. Saturday we launched from Goose Island with three fishermen and went North to Ayers point. By noon we had fished all over the second chain plus up and down the Matagorda shoreline but still had only one trout and one drum. We made a move to the west side of San Antonio Bay that turned out right. By then the water had cleared in that area and the bite was on. We ended the day with 19 trout, 6 reds and 3 drum in the box. We released countless large gafftop in the process. We only saw one other boat while fishing that area. Before Saturday I had mostly been fishing the upper laguna with good boxes of trout each day except the day everyone wanted to use artifical baits. That day we only caught keeper redfish and undersized trout. It seems to me there is just so much live bait i.e. menhadden, mullett and croaker in the water now that artifical baits are just not as effective as they normally would be.

GREAT DAY ON THE WATER

5-28-2010--Limited two guests on trout up to 22 inches. Found trout both in mid bay and on grassy edge of shorelines.

Houston Chronicle

Lure of the catch brings mysteries
Unexplained aberrations spark interest of anglers
By SHANNON TOMPKINS
Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle
May 22, 2010, 8:39PM
[X]Mystery and surprise play big roles in fishing's attraction.

We never really know what's out there under the water — what's going to grab a bait or lure, or when.

We can have a good idea.

But sometimes the fish on the other end of the line turns out to be anything but expected. They can be enigmas.

One of those mysteries manifested itself recently along the middle coast.

My friend Will Leschper and a couple of his friends were wade-fishing around Traylor Island, which sits on the boundary between Aransas and Redfish bays near Rockport. They were throwing lures and pecking away at speckled trout when one of the anglers, Ron Coulston, stuck a fish that wasn't a trout.

The fish was a brute, peeling line from Coulston's reel like a bull redfish or maybe a shark.

It proved to be none of those; it was something totally unexpected and out of place in a Texas bay.

It was a ling. A 42-inch ling.

Ling — cobia or lemonfish — are a pelagic species, a fish of the open Gulf of Mexico. Occasionally, anglers fishing beach-front piers or jetties will catch a stray ling. But ling are rare in Texas bays.

What was a ling doing in Aransas Bay?

Beautiful Day on the water

5-17-2010--Monday, May 17 has to go down as one of the nicest weather days of this year. Light breezes, moderate tempatures and partly sunny - along with two pleasant fisherpersons make for a wonderful day on the water. It seemed that trout were everwhere we stopped except up shallow. You needed to get in at least 4-5 feet of water to find them. As long as we fished that deep or deeper we found trout. We finished a little before noon with a good box of fish.

Babes on the Bay

5-8-2010--Had four ladies fishing the Babes on the Bay tournament today. They did a good job but I couldn't seem to get on the fish. The wind unexpectedly turned north early morning and apparently that moved the fish from the spot where I had been fishing. The bay was so crowded that we couldn't find another spot with fish. Anyway the ladies were great and we had a good time. They even made getting checked by the game wardens fun. Thank goodness my new boat has lots of spare room because they brought lots of stuff along with enough food for a small army. We ended the day with three trout.

More Trout

5-7-2010--Limited again on nice trout using croaker on a windward shoreline. The trout were just outside the grass line. All nice fish with the larger ones being 20to 21 inches. Went looking for reds late morning but didn't connect with any. Several other guides did get redfish today. They said it was much better for reds today than the previous two days.

Trout Time

5-7-2010--Trout are finally showing up in good numbers. Last weekend we caught some trout and some reds but no limits. Tuesday I spent about two and a half hours looking for fish since I had a charter on Wednesday. I caught several trout in quick order around oil/gas well platforms. I thought that might be the ticket for Wednesday but the wind shifted and in two hours of fishing we only had 3 trout. It was time for plan B. B and C didn't work even though we made long runs to totally different areas. Next we ran to the outside of a grass line on a windward shoreline. First croaker in the water produced a 18" trout and it was non stop after that until we limited at 10:30. We didn't need to measure any of the trout since they were all 17 to 21 inches in length. I hope the bite holds up for my Friday customers and for the Babes on the Bay tournment on Saturday.

Will Leschper / CorpusChristiOutdoors.com

.

ROCKPORT – You can’t touch it, taste it, smell it or even see it, but it’s there looming just below the shimmering surface.
Call it the great unknown.
It’s the masked uncertainty dripping with luminous anticipation that drives anglers of all ages to plumb the depths longing for confirmation that our efforts will be rewarded with a sweeping curve in the rod and the ensuing splash and dash at the other end.
Quite frankly, it’s why we fish.
An outing this past week reaffirmed a number of things in my mind, mainly that the greatest aspect of our angling pursuits is that you still can plunk an imitation into the water and bring back a surprise from time to time – even spectacular ones you couldn’t have envisioned in this lifetime.
The morning that started with promise and held the potential for topwater tactics in the stalk of speckled trout and redfish quickly morphed into a day that would call for another approach plucked from the goodie bag. Blustery conditions on an otherwise radiant, sun-kissed day forced friends Ron Coulston, Loy Moe and I to adopt a different approach as we waded a variety of sandy slopes marked with gesturing seagrass in Aransas and Redfish bays. For whatever reason, the specks and reds were finicky for much of the morning, though we did find pockets of willing trout that thumped Assassins of the Cajun croaker flavor.
The stage was set for better fishing as morning gave way to afternoon, especially since it appeared the trout bite was turning on and we’d found enthusiastic specks after gliding under the 361 bridge into an area frequented by a variety of shallow-water crafts.
After a short run back to the shallows just off Traylor Island near where we’d started our morning, we decided to again hop out and stroll the stingray shuffle in search of increased activity. It took a dozen casts or so, but we soon found a couple of chunky sow trout that gobbled up our offerings and exceeded 20 inches.
We fanned out in a wider arc in our sweeping exploration for more keeper-size specks all the while buzzing out long casts into tranquil surroundings that had become even more hushed as the pesky winds that had been a minor annoyance died down. It wasn’t long after thinking to myself that the ambiance – even without an impressive clutter of scaly delight – couldn’t get any better.
Then it did.
Off to my left about 50 yards away, Ron reared back and set the hook on a quality fish, exclaiming that fact aloud as the braid on his baitcaster shot out in strident spurts. As is the case when a veteran angler knows instantly that they’ve barbed a hulking specimen sporting shoulders, the others wading nearby stopped their efforts and took notice.
Ron did his best to work the quarry in for a closer inspection, but the critter was more than a little shy, opting to remain in the depths at a distance while mocking the drag. A couple of more minutes passed that included witty banter about sharks and porpoises, and as the fish finally rose about 50 yards out, a curved brown fin crept into the sun before gliding back down.
Speculation at this point ran rampant, but anything with serious teeth would have shredded the line amid the pulsing runs, we established, and Ron kept working his magic. Eventually the fish rolled up on its side and actually woke up – applying a generous splash to the surroundings and a clue to its true identity.
“Cobia!” was the common call as the ling continued to thrash about near the surface, and the excitement only grew as the most atypical of fish in this locale kept perpetual pressure on the drag. Another couple of minutes passed before the bruiser got close enough for a BogaGrip bite, allowing Ron to finally get a handle on the stout fish.
It’s safe to say this was one fish tale that elicited a variety of intriguing questions.
If you’ve ever headed into the big blue horizon or earned your stripes at the jetties you’ve more than likely either caught ling or been in the midst of the curious fish. Lemon fish, as they also are called, are well-known for their desire to frequent oil rigs and lurk under other surface objects in open water. I’m also told that the fish are suckers for shrimp boats, swimming near the surface as scraps and other edibles are dumped during the trawl haul.
However, hooking – much less finding – one of these impressive critters in a bay system while wading in waist-deep water is a once-in-a-lifetime experience I’m told.
Karen Meador, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Aransas Bay ecosystem leader, and Kyle Spiller, TPWD Upper Laguna Madre ecosystem leader, who have more than six decades of saltwater fisheries experience combined, said that discovering a nice ling inshore remains a curious incident to say the least. Spiller said he can count on one hand the number of ling he has come in contact with outside of the gulf, and those all were juvenile fish. He said biologists occasionally have caught them in gillnets while conducting surveys over the years but they were fish that measured a foot or less. He said it’s not unusual for these youngsters to migrate into bay systems from time to time but it’s exceedingly rare for larger fish to do the same.
Meador pointed to some interesting figures gleaned from a database containing more than 30 years of TPWD gillnet survey data. She said that in that timeframe, only 20 ling were caught coastwide from Port Arthur to Port Isabel in gillnet surveys, including only two in the Aransas Bay ecosystem. One was caught in 1984 behind Mud Island and the other was caught in 1996 near Long Reef. She Meador also said that only two ling were accounted for in creel surveys from area bays.
Meador said the largest ling caught in gillnet surveys came from the Lower Laguna Madre in 1979, and that fish was tallied at about 27.5 inches.
Spiller said that one locale where ling have been caught is down around the Rocky Slough area and along the Kenedy Ranch shoreline where the shallows give way to deeper water and the underwater landscape is marked with rock formations.
Meador noted that offshore fish sometimes creep into bay systems when tides are high as they have been recently and in other years. However, with salinities being fairly low in Redfish Bay compared to figures in the gulf, it makes the catch of a hefty cobia by a wading angler – one measuring 42 inches – that much more baffling.
Are there other unlikely swimmers frequenting known saltwater hot spots up and down the coast skulking below just a cast away?
No doubt about it.
And while there’s nothing better than targeting areas tailor-made for reds, specks and flounder this time of year and into the summer, the great unknown makes things that much more interesting.
It’s why we fish, and more importantly why you can never have too many witnesses.
And cameras.

.Content copyright 2010. CorpusChristiOutdoors.com. All rights reserved.

APRIL FISHING

4-26-2010--Weather is pleasant and fishing is great but catching is still not consistent one day to the next. Croaker are now available at some bait stands although they are still very small. Larger croaker during the next week or two should produce better catches of trout. Meanwhile we'll keep pursuing mixed catches of redfish, drum and some trout.

TRAYLOR ISLAND LING

4-19-2010--Well, the new boat finally caught fish. We had a north wind this morning. Three of us waded with soft plastics until 12 Am before we got the first bite. We fished four places before moving to East Shore where we found trout. The trout were mostly small males and you had to catch about 4 to get a keeper. We released about a half dozen 15 to 17 inch trout and many smaller ones before deciding to look for larger fish. We moved to the outside of Traylor Island and right away I hooked up with what I thought was a shark. It took most of my line on the first run. I spent about 10-15 minutes getting it close enough for the sportswriter with us to get a picture of it splashing in the water. Then I announced I was going to break it off. The other fisherman with us immediately said it's a Cobia (ling), so I loosened the drag and continued to play the fish until it got close enough for me to see that it really was a Cobia. When I put the boga grip in it's mouth the fish went crazy. I hung onto the boga while the other fisherman grabbed the tail. We finally got the upper hand. The Cobia measured 41 inches but my scales wouldn't read high enough to get the weight. We went on to catch keeper trout in the area where the Cobia was. It may have been feeding on trout. Anyway this is the first Cobia I have ever caught in the bay systems. We do catch them in the Gulf around structure such as oil well platforms.

Will Leschper wrote a good article on this fishing experience in the San Angelo paper. You can see it at http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2010/apr/rare-catches-are-what-make-fishingworthwhile/

NEW HAYNIE 24' CAT

4-17-2010--Picked up the new Haynie 24" Cat Thursday evening. Riding in it is great and the fishing weather was good but the catching has left a lot to be desired. On Friday we started at 10 AM and quit at 3 PM. Later reports were that fish were caught before 9 AM and again after 4 PM so we missed the window of opportunity. Saturday we started early,caught a 22 inch trout right off and then it went dead for us. We've had very high tides that brought in tons of bait so hopefully tomorrow will be a better day of fishing. We'll be wading grassy shorelines with broken bottoms for trout.

TROUT ARE HERE

4-11-2010--I'm still wating for my new 24' Haynie cat. It made it from the factory to the dealer on Friday and is now being rigged with all the goodies. It's an awesome boat as close to the perfect boat as I could get. I'll include pictures in one of the next updates.

I've been wade fishing with friends the last few days. We're consistently catching good numbers of trout using soft plastics. We're also getting redfish. Bait fishermen are still getting consistent catches of reds and black drum.

Large quantities of bait are coming in from the gulf with each strong incoming tide. Menhadden have been a good indicatior of where to fish. Today we didn't see menhadden so we depended on mullet to show us where to fish. I think the tides yesterday and last night were not strong enough to bring in more menhadden and the ones that were already in must have scattered or moved on toward the back bays. On days when we see them, menhadden are a better indicator of trout than mullet at this time of year.

APRIL FISHING

3-25-2010--This entry will be longer than normal because it'll be the last for a few days. I've sold my Haynie Bigfoot tunnel hull boat and have a new Haynie 24' Cat on order. The new boat has been delayed due to the very high number of Haynie Boats on order and delays in designing and producing the new 24' Haynie Cat caused by the wet and cold weather. The exact date that I'll get my new boat is still unknown at this time. I'm told by those who got to ride in the first 24' Cat that it is an awesome boat. Roomy, smooth and dry were the words to describe it.

The fishing seasons are changing. April is the month we go from black drum and redfish to trout and redfish. The way I look at it there are two groups of trout. One stays in the bay all year but often gets hard to find in the winter. The other goes out through the passes in the late fall and winter and comes back following the bait about April each year. The returning "tide runners" can make for some great catches of large trout. The trout, when found this month, will be associated with structure, largely grass or oyster shell. I expect spring winds will keep us off most of the oyster shell the majority of days. On the shorelines, we'll look for areas with at least some grass. Most of last years grass has either been eaten by ducks or succembed to the cold, low water conditions. Once we're in an area with some structure, we'll want to look for bait. When we see the right structure and bait - that's the place to start fishing. There will be some days when the spring time trout are over hard sand but these will be the exception to the rule.

Not every day in April will be good trout fishing, but redfish will generally make up the difference on these days. I can recall some fantastic days of April and early May trout fishing. The tide runners, fresh from the surf, are much more aggressive and stronger than fish that have been in the bays for awhile.

April is also the month winter Texans leave for parts north. I'll miss them, but it will be nice for the stores and restaurants to be less crowded until the Texans with second homes start to arrive in force about the end of May. The other winter Texans, i.e. whooping cranes, will be leaving this month for their nesting grounds in remote Wood Buffalo National Park in the Northwest Territories, Canada. These highly endangered birds draw lots of visitors to the Coastal Bend each year from November through early April.

I still have quite a few days open in late April, and the rest of the summer for that matter, including some weekends. Call me to line up a fishing date. If you can only fish weekends recommend you start making arrangements as soon as possible. Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays get booked up early.

Ask me about lodging specials. Discounted rates are available at local establishments.

STILL CATCHING DRUM

3-17-2010-Had a father and 2 daughters today. Caught plenty of drum and released most of them. One of the daughters wouldn't keep any fish and after a while the whole family decided to only catch and release. We also caught two mid slot sized redfish. No trout at all but we didn't really fish deep enough water for trout. The drum were in about a foot and a half of water.

STILL CATCHING DRUM

3-15-2010 - Had a father and son from my home state of Oklahoma today. Caught plenty of black drum but no keeper redfish and no trout at all. There seemed to be very little tide movement today and the fishing was slower. Tides are staying very low. They may be even lower tomorrow since we have north winds arriving tonight.

More big drum

3-14-2010-Same people today and same results. Lot's of black drum and a few reds. Released them all today. More and more people are catching and releasing. That's good for future fishing.