Thursday, March 25, 2010

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.








Thursday, March 18, 2010

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.

Monday, March 15, 2010

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.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

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.

Bigger Black Drum





3-13-2010--Black drum are still more available than other species and they have gotten bigger. Today I had a father with a son and daughter, 10 and 12 years old. The children caught their biggest lifetime fish. They caught and released limits of drum ranging in size from 7 to 10 pounds in addition to some red fish. They only kept 2 red fish and 3 drum to eat.