Fuuuuuuuuuuk

BULLS ON TOP from SHALLOW WATER EXPEDITIONS on Vimeo.






I haven't given up on this. I just have kids. And I forget my camera often lately. Quick update on my fishing. No big ones yet. but out of about 10 trips since October, I have gotten lucky on flounder in the kayak. Caught trout on top waters and corkeys over reef, and fished hard all day during a weak bite with lots of slapping at it just to pull it out before dark with an awesome devil bite. 1 great fish fry, and an x-mas box on its way from fly tyers dungeon. Im stoked. Need to take the fly to the trout. See if they still like it. Ill take pics i promise.

The Drop

Gotta find that bottom change in the summer. Gotta find that dip in the winter. But good things are rare that are related to probable and possible. To put your decisions into personal perspective. Half the battle is putting the damn worm on your jig head straight. Too many overlook that important task.

they get em' all sizes bud.

Is there any other lure better to swing over a shell bar than a corky devil? Also caught a lady fish, croak er, and sand trout before the wind made it too hard to cast. If I could sum up my feelings for this fall in one word, it might be "Juiced".

late summer is redfish time

I added so many pics of the same sunset because I couldn't stop taking pictures of it. The fishing was done on basically a slack low tide. I thought the incoming would turn but even if it did it was a .5 in for 8 hours. Not the best but there's always a bite at sunset right? I lost a large red in the four or five pound range and released a 21" red. It felt good to experience the trance again. Tranquility through repetition. 

My attempt at rebirth

Set on by a series of interactions with friends, co-workers, and the online experience in general, I have been desperately seeking personal harmony. I have decided to stop all social networking as well as forums, and to seriously limit my television and video game time in an effort to become a more productive human being. Oddly I cant bring myself to delete(or make private) this blog because the original intention was in my opinion "pure" and I don't see many people reading ever anyways. Also I can say that other than family, the only thing I cannot neglect or cut out or consider a distraction to true happiness in life is my love for the outdoors. The feeling that is attainable through experiences with nature whether it be fish, animals, or mountains is one that will make you want to be silent. One that can fill you full of love or energy. One that can only be attained by escaping the poison of your own desperation. 

The decision to stop social networking was probably the most difficult. Some of us today are dependent on the social rewards received  after observing and sharing clever thoughts or images delivered in the form of comments or likes that reduce the real interactions and real relationships with real people. I was. Its strange to quit this cold turkey, realizing just how many times a day you will think about sharing something useless to people. I think its easier than quitting smoking but more annoying. Plus I'm not a kid anymore and I have always thought that the social online thing is best utilized by kids, celebrities and businesses. I am none. I am making an attempt at total fucking silence. About the little things that are supposed to be funny stories but are reduced to a status update. Storytelling I guess. But a form that relates itself through other things. Not necessarily like this blog. More like your daily life. I just like pretending. And if I want to pretend that I'm an outdoors writer then I can. Enjoy!

sweet sunrise and some trout

 Pretty good day on Sunday. Early in the am we spooked about a three foot shark sitting in a foot of water as we waded onto the point of sand we usually stand in before the sun comes up. Its only ankle deep, but sometimes that seems too damn deep if there are a lot of huge thrashing sounds and epic mullet rafts fleeing in the dark! The big fish I landed were 23" and a 24" and dad caught a five pounder weighed on the boga that slurped his topwater before first light. The fish are mostly skinny and you could probably add at least 30% to their body weight in the fall when they are eating good. The hot topwater was yet again the baby super spook. I caught a few on the bone/pearl color at twilight but when the sun came up(and I switch to it every time it does around 9 am) was the clown colored baby ss. I don't think I can go anywhere in the summer without two of them! Or at least one and a chrome blue back. Also 2 weeks ago when we went (and I didn't bring a camera) I caught several good trout on the clown. I suspect that the metallic flash and perfect profile definitely set you up with a huge advantage. Most of the fish that I caught were in water rushing over a sandbar that was ankle to shin deep, dropping into about 20-25" of water, or in wader terms, knee to thigh deep.

The sand has really started to shift since last summer. The year before last was pretty epic. With sharp defined edges on the main gut and a shallow sandbar running the length of the deep water north and south and a small swale depression that broke through running east that had a gradual depth change eventually bowling out far to the east. Back then, it payed to hoof it 100 yards or more to the east after the sun was high enough because there were large trout and redfish sitting on the knee to thigh deep flat waiting for the ebbing flow to carry them an easy meal. You could follow the secondary gut or walk north 50 yards and fan cast back. Typically if the fish were there you would get 3-4 or more good blowups in your fan casting radius and then it would slow down. All you had to do then was push up 30 yards or so and you could expect more bites. I lost the biggest trout I had ever hooked that summer. On the clown. The heavy current coupled with the weight and strength of the late May-early June fish was too much for those little size 4 trebles. Being a fisherman I'm going to say that it would have gone at least eight pounds. But that's coming from a fisherman! Anyhow, it was good to fish there because the flow of the tide rippled over the sandbar out of the deep gut at a real good clip on a good incoming and flowed ESE allowing the fish to (I'm guessing) sit on the bottom or suspended right off the bottom and wait for an unsuspecting mullet or shrimp to be swept into their strike zone. My deductions are supported by the fact that after you got a couple quality fish to bite you had to move foreword before you would be in a real hot zone again. You might continue to cast without walking but usually only 16-18" fish would randomly bite every 10-15 minutes and with the tide constantly getting weaker I didn't have the balls to wait it out and prove myself wrong.

Getting back on the subject before my reminiscing of old times, the bars are different. Last year was a transition year with everything being more or less a sloppy and undefined version of the year before. This year there seems to have been a major tidal hydraulic change spurring this new major flow from north to south over a long east to west running bar north of the old secondary gut, pouring over into the old killing field which has shifted closer making it pretty easy to swing your plug in the zone and also easier to fight fish because now you can fight them in a sideways current and not a flow moving away from you. This year looks to be making up for the lackluster summer last.

Sorry you had to read through that relative mumbo jumbo about bars and guts and tidal flow. I just write as if I'm talking to someone who knows how to think like a wadefisherman(or just a regular seriously obsessed normal one). I also write that stuff because if you walk out there and explore and find those sweet spots, set up early and wait for the right time and execute a plan it's pretty FUKIng satisfying. you just have to put together a mental picture of the surrounding depth changes. Hell draw a map if you have to and laminate it at kinkos. I did this as a kid when I bass fished slot and it was a great mental exercise for remembering small details that meant big dividends on the hook end.


             Also, I got my fly tying desk primed and ready to pump out some flys for winter swinging and the house I recently moved into has a pond in the backyard thats loaded with carp. I caught about a 3 pounder the other day on my 5wt and a wooly bugger and lost about a 15 pounder I hooked on a black bunny leach. I have a peacock duster I bought just for those big uglys.

In closing this retarded fishing essay, make your time on the water count. When the moon and tide are right, you need to be where your going to be. Plenty of time to drink at about 10 am when the bite is over. If you catch some fish, after your through sit back and think about it for 5 minutes and ask yourself some questions. When did I catch the(time of day, tide,) how did I catch them(lure,presentation, color) where(where on the structure or cover...reef or sandbar make note of your surroundings) this will help with the question of why(did I get lucky today)

Too busy to fish.

Good day,

I have unfortunate news. I have been wall to wall covered up! I did manage one short wadefishing trip of about 3 hours last week but before that it was a month and since nothing. I managed to catch some dinner in the form of 2 17" speckled trout though. It feels good to make a new post even though I have no real interesting fish news.

I moved into a new house last month. Moved in and assembled furniture for the last 2 weeks. Then had a baby boy on the 4th! So to say the least it has been quite a test!

I hope to be on the water this fall. My dad's shoulder surgery went well and he will be back in form. Plus I can always take a trip to the Guadalupe to catch some bass. I dont think the rainbows will have a good year because of the drought but lately it seems the hill country has gotten more rain than the coast which is unusual. The lack of rain has caused the water in the gulf to become almost hyper saline lol. This tends to make fishing all around tough regardless of your method. I also hope that i can sneak away and fish the beachfront if the wind decides to cooperate on a day I have the chance.

This all seems like wishing at the moment though! Good fishing to you and thanks for reading. I hope to be lucky enough to continue. I may choose to continue to post but they will more than likely be about video games or random things I find interesting. Later.

Spring haunts, the best time of the year!

I can undeniably admit that fishing in late march through early may is my absolute favorite time of the year to fish the Texas gulf coast. This is the time of year that I pull the first wet wade of the year, the time that mullet first start blanketing the sand flats and run in huge pods or long lines shadowing sandbars and drop offs periodically being thrown into a unified nervous twitch by overhead birds or being run flying in terror away from bigger fish that are more likely huge jack fish than smaller sharks.(Id like to think:) Plus the weather is at its best. The humidity returns a few days before the last weak cold fronts that send fish into feeding frenzy's exploding on top waters like dynamite and leaping out of the water doing cartwheels. All while being the fattest they will be all year, full of eggs and their last meal of mullet, shad, and glass minnow. And to me the humidity is welcome. I miss it, while its 70-85 degrees its infinitely comfortable. Its still early enough that the mosquitoes haven't arrived in full force and walking shorelines hasn't become synonymous with the smell of deet and the taste of bug deterring clouds of cheap tobacco. After the front you get those breezy days that are great for outside drinking sessions and tying flys, dipping tails, or doing spring gear maintenance feverishly awaiting three days later when the wind switches to the SE and the trout will again be willing and hugging the shoreline on the first big tides of the spring full moon. THE FULL MOONS COMING!

Here are a few pictures of last weekends springtime glory. I hooked the one big trout I caught and kept on tails right in the throat close to the back end, low and to the left. Immediately out of the water the blood was flowing. I put the fish on my stringer to see if she would right herself as she was upside down, that is usually the sign that the fish will be ok after release. She tried about 30 minutes after being on the rope but then flipped again and died soon after. It was 25" and 5 1/2 lbs. Her tail girth right at the smallest point was incredible. Follow the mullet lines, find the fish. If the mullet are scattered but plentiful, follow the depressions and drops looking for hot baits being terrorized by predators. Top waters and paddle tails, maybe a baby brown tail too.

 the difference between a 25" #5 and a 25" #5 1/2 is slightly apparent.

  4 1/4lb 24 1/2".

Need fish for the diapers and beer party later this summer!

Amazing freakin' return to fishing

Sorry about the photo quality! These pics are from the mobile. Its funny that when you make a quick trip to catch dinner you leave the camera at the house and then pretty much land a figurative bucket full of big ass fish!  Awesome day today right in my back yard(figuratively speaking). The spots I originally wanted to fish were super muddy due to the 20mph wind roughing up the sand and mud. I sulked into the water at the only place I could. A place I have fished at before but most of the time I would have been fishing for flounder during the run, and on the occasional last resort. I hadn't really done too well here before. Well the day I was about to experience was this spots best. Since hurricane Ike there had been some bottom changes. When protected with bait present, this spot now has the potential to hold more fish than before and also some damn good ones on the right conditions. The only bad thing is that there is only enough room for a couple people to fish in the sweet spot because of the drop off on one side and the rocks on the other. I also think I just got really lucky. The weather was perfect and the little mullet were thick. Three of the biggest trout on a stringer would have been 1/2 lb under 20! 25 1/2", 26", and 27". Wow! All fish were released. No din din, just adrenalin. When can you use the sentence,  "All the fish were too big and beautiful to keep".

Still on the winter pattern, still fishing with corkeys.

 

As much as you or I might fish. 90% of catching fish is being in the right spot. There are more than one "right spots" in any given area usually. But some are better than others and some are better for different tactics. The tactics being applied in the area we have been fishing are slow sinking subsurface plugs. The water depth where we were fishing was about 3 feet deep and with a water temp that was 51 deg when we arrived and about 54 when we left. It was a cold wade fo sho. The wind was constant and ranging anywhere from 10 -20 mph from the SE. Wind and cold help keep people away and so does NFL playoff games. Like deer season, it keeps those away that might get cabin fever, leave their couch, and decide to cut your wade off. The biggest advantage on cold days might be where you fish but it can also be getting an earlier start than the competition. It might be damn cold, but its not steel head fishing in 35 deg rain any if your lucky you could be fishing for more than one big bite. Dress for the morning chill, bring a nice canteen of hot coffee( that's really the secret) and don't be scared to sit and observe when you arrive at your desired location. It always takes a while to get ready to fish with unpacking lure boxes, rods, line, etc. This is where the hot drink comes into play. For someone who isn't getting out of the boat there is no threat of cold,  your own threshold is your only limit. You can layer ALOT, with waders on theres only so much you can put on before one of your nuts has its circulation cut off everytime you get in water too deep. Hell I think people freeze their asses off more when they power all over the place looking for fish. 

Anyways. We got lucky again and caught some nice fish. Dad caught a five pound trout and I caught a 25" redfish that went 7 1/4 on my boga. That fish looked like a freak. Like ralphie may the redfish. Big.I kept a few to eat and we lot the rest go. 

With the day being overcast my best producer was the 808 fatboy. I caught a few on a modified pearl/purple also. The retrieve with such chilly temps was a frozen walk the dog. Just working it fast enough to keep it off the shell but without so much aggressive twitches. They would just pick it up and be there.One of those days where the bite is the mystery and the next tacoed bait could have been the next king dingaling. Still havent broken the 5 lb mark for trout this year, but we have caught five of them. Just need a little luck mixed in for the bigger fish. 

We were listening to the fishing show in the morning on the way to the ramp. Lots of big fish caught the day before. Lots of big fish, lots of fishermen. If only I could fish on weekdays more often. Its a sad day when you realize you could get thrown in with the weekend warrior types. Although weekend or not I still take the one bag and 2 rods. I dont overdo it but I fit the criteria. We might fish too hard. But Its something to do to get a little exercise.

And on the third day,

So this is how it was from DeMatt on Vimeo.


This year has started on the right note for sure. Another typical low tide. Too low to fish the norm. Mud shell shore. Trout Green. When probing our first area, at the end of a 50 yard wade dad turns to get the boat and pick me up. (I am so lucky, I try to offer as much as he will let me to do unspoken fishing duties) While pushing forward at the bend of the shore through the normal muddy half moon where, on an outgoing with higher tides in the evening/afternoon you can stand on and fall off into some large reds and trout... I got a solid thump.I landed the 23" 3 1/2 pounder and put that bitch on my stringer. I wanted trout gumbo. Got it.

I made about 4 more casts in the same area still pushing forward towards the gulf and nothing. Then, just as the gasoline fumes from the 2 cycle smelled wonderfully(no joke) I got another nose. Dad saw me yank. "So, what do you want to do"? Well, this fish was not a loner now. Lets push another 50 yards. Drop anchor, side by side, search. It took another 30 yards before the next fish. Our mud trails behind us merging at the ends and freshly separated at the foot joined with little winter floaty turd-let moss balls. A solid thump and a solid fish. A 5 pound trout. Corky, head first nose in throat. Easy hook out, a few pics and yays and released. Next cast, another 5 pound trout escapes after the third missed boga grab. No playing on a gorilla trout. Straight to the hand pinned on waders with thumb and pointer grip of death. Just a fiver. Play and laugh. Next 3-4 trout 18-20" then all goes silent. We fish for 15 more minutes then slowly move up searching. Dad hooks and lands a red in the 26 or 7" range. Nothing after, push forward. No more trout. I got desperate and switched to the broken back I had so much luck on before with similar conditions and pulled an immediate trout about 19" but the "Oh shit yeah! I told you this shit was the shit"! was donezo in a minute.

We fish for another hour without a look but refuse to break ranks because we were being eye fucked by drifters and the like. Finally I had to take a leak so bad I couldn't take it any longer. I slid up into the shallows and relieved myself and during the journey noticed some flicking bait and the nearly unchanged depth from the water we were fishing to the drop near shore. I let a long cast fly down the drop with a newly tied fatboy and started my retrieve. about 1/4 of the way in I thought I detected a subtle tap but kept with the retrieve. Then three rod lifts and a little panic reeling later I dredged up a nice sweet meat 21" red. There were a couple more to follow and back to the boat to get a bite and take a break before the incoming.

That's how the first half went. Pretty amazing. We went on to make a power wade through 1/2 the original with only one red landed. Then we changed locations and caught 7-8 nice eater fish on devils and gamblers. After that a mean looking cloud line and a daughter that needed pick up spurred the burn off before the big evening bite. Bummer because there were some nice fish in the first area and it wouldn't be out of the question to assume that we could have landed a few with a good warm incoming on our usual sand hump surrounded by mud and shell. Oh there are days ahead saved for greater spoils. Out.

 All the same fish. Trout gumbo. I cant get enough of these kind of pictures.

                                         Turd-let's and good water.

the mighty bend indeed

                                                      Scrappers.

                                                    Fiver love.