Lots of fun in the sun and some absolutely gorgeous weather during the week. Wind volatility played a big role in strategy pushing defensively into Redfish while eyeing broader open water for tide movement and a possible run at Trout. As we headed toward the weekend, winds began to settle a bit and which opened up broader bay reefs. With grass being the go to for both Trout and Redfish in heavy winds, shell turned on with the incoming tide with Trout to 20” coming to hand.

On Friday, we even stumbled in to an aggressive school of Redfish handing a little deeper over shell and I can tell you that was a big surprise. Lighting up the boards included some strong boxes from Capt. James C. wade fishing shorelines to limits of Trout to 22” with Buck T. and family. Capt. Chris C. absolutely dominated the boards at Charlie’s with Redfish limits over two days fishing with Buck T’s. guests as well. Capt. James E. went to school with John C. and guests to limits of Redfish with a handful of Trout working grass while Capt. Terry S. dug in hard on productive areas taking half limits of Trout and several Redfish. I went deep in the Redfish late week with Scott L. and returning guests including oversize to 29” along with a few Trout.

Trout success still seems heavily centered around wade fishing approaches on shorelines with boat fishing approaches very hit and miss. Boat fishing so far this year has seen great success. However, it seems to all involved that boat fishing has a lot of timing issues right now and that’s something you can only do so much about. Defensive Redfish plays will continue to be an important part of boat fishing “Trout approaches” because we can’t predict one day to the next. With winds stabilizing and the WIX easing a bit, hopefully things will get more predictable in the near term.

Outlook for the coming week includes some chances of rain but the biggest mover, the WIX (Wind Volatility Index) has taken a nose dive into really strong technicals for some awesome fishing. We may have to dodge a shower or two but there’s more 5-10 knot predictions in the estimate than I’ve seen this year to date.

A First For Me

On Saturday I had another first in my career, something I’ve never seen before in all my years on the water. We were in the airboat fishing for redfish in the back lakes. We see a lot of Coyotes back there along with deer and some hogs and even a few Alligators. We see Coyotes crossing small back lakes from time to time. We watched as a Coyote wandered out into the lake we were fishing and began to actually “fish”. His nose was down and he was making slow small circles through the water. This went on for at least a half hour. While his luck and our luck were about the same in that location, it was really awesome watching him work.

I’ve heard stories from the old “net fishermen” that back in the day when they were Gill Netting, Coyotes would pull the end stake of the net up and drag the Gill Net and all the fish onto the bank and devour them. That’s pretty wild stuff right there.

We hope the start of the week is a good one for everybody. Come see us when you get a chance!

Like us on Facebook and we promise to “love you back”!

Capt. Kris Kelley

www.seadriftbayfishing.com Facebook: Castaway Lodge

May 26-Labor Day    CCA Texas STAR Tournament
http://www.startournament.org/

July 6-7    Pescado Grande – Port O’Connor
The Harbor 361-676-8548 harboradvocacycenter.org

July 13-14    Cula Roja – POC
www.cularoja.com

June 22-23    ABC Tournament
361/572-0299

July 18-21    Poco Bueno
weigh in at The Fishing Center, POC

July 20-22    Cabela’s Redfish Series – The Sanctuary   www.saltwaterseries.com

July 24-29    Lone Star Shootout – Caracol
www.thelonestarshootout.com

July 28    Nails and Tails Tournament
Builders Association of Victoria
361-578-7711 kristi@vctbuilders.org

August 3-4    Readin’, Ritin’ & Reelin’ Tournament
(361) 894-4136, 655-2658, 649-0459

August 4    Possum Invitational Invitational
www.possumfishingtournament.com/

August 11    Speedy Stop Kids Fishing Tournament

Oct. 5-6    P.O.C. Grand Slam
361-935-8745

To list your Fishing Tournament in Dolphin Talk, E-mail:
dolphin1@tisd.net

Guest of Buzz M. of San Antonio “Delta Marsh Fish” Team Bay Flats Lodge, Guide Steve, 6/12/12.

Aside from the sometimes extreme heat, our Texas shorelines offer some really great fishing fun during summertime. It’s this time of the year when one of my very favorite types of fishing generally turns on strong around here – shell. Fishing the many shell pads available in San Antonio Bay (SAB) during late June, July, and even into August can simply take your breath away, especially for anyone who may not have ever experienced it. You can’t always fish the SAB reefs due to the presence of strong winds, but when you can you need to get out there as early in the morning as possible for a variety reasons. The first being that it’s simply much more comfortable during the early morning hours – you get to beat the heat. Another is that you’ll also beat the crowds by showing-up extra early on the reef where you wish to start your day. And a third reason I like being on the reefs as early as I can is because the fish can a lot of times be found in very shallow water near the crown of the reef in predawn light because the water has cooled overnight. I’ll often idle the boat up into waist-deep water on the opposite side of the reef that I wish to fish on. I’ll get out of the boat and won’t take more than ten or twenty steps before stopping to make my first cast. If I can see the ridge of the reef, I’ll make my way toward it, but it might be beneath the surface a bit depending on the day’s tide. I intentionally try to limit my steps because I know the sound of crushing shell beneath my feet is easily heard and travels a great distance underwater.
As far as lures go, top water action can hardly be beat when it comes to having fun atop SAB’s shell reefs. I’ll start my day by throwing a black surface walker across the top of the reef in all directions during the hour before sunrise. Once the sun has risen, and if it is climbing into a morning sky that contains no clouds whatsoever, I’ll then often change to a bright color like white, chartreuse, or even chrome in many cases. However, if there are clouds that appear as though they’re going to be sticking around for a while, then I’ll keep throwing the black lure, or I might try a bone-colored one. Now then, when the trout action heats-up on the reefs, I truly mean it really heats-up. When the trout are on the reefs, you’ll generally know your destiny very early-on in the morning. If the hands on your watch are approaching 7:00am and you and your buddies haven’t had a single strike, it may be time for you to look at your alternatives. At this point, the first thing I would do would be to try to locate a bite in one of the lower parts of the water column. I might try tossing a twitch-bait out to deeper water and work it back into the shallows, or just vice-versa. I’d also probably want to tie-on one of my favorite plastics and work it at different speeds up and down the spine of the reef and out beyond the drop-offs. And if you finally determine there to be absolutely no action to be found on the reef where you’re wading, then pack-up and investigate other nearby reefs for positive signs of fish – active bait fish, birds flying or sitting on the water, fresh slicks coming off of the reefs.

If the reef scene just isn’t your thing, or if you’re not able to get to the reefs due to heavy winds, then you might consider trying some of the back lakes that are situated all along Matagorda Island. The lakes most often offer protection from the prevailing summertime winds, and can often be counted on for a certain level of seclusion from a lot of other boats and anglers. The lakes commonly hold descent water and are prime places for targeting some large, bronze-shouldered red fish. I prefer to wade the lake areas, but their soft-mud floors can often make wading extremely difficult. So, don’t feel bad about drifting the lakes, or even anchoring in a preferred spot. I’ve done it all back in the lakes, and have caught fish in each scenario. One method of boat fishing that I like doing in the back lakes is fishing the drains. I’ll oftentimes position the boat to one side of the mouth of a small cut or bayou at the beginning of an outgoing tide – when water is being pulled-out of the lake through the cut, or the bayou. These are great ambush points for trout and red fish as they hunt for unsuspecting baitfish and other marine life to be emptied out of the lake. But regardless of whether I’m fishing atop shell reefs, wading a protected shoreline, floating a back lake, or venturing out into the surf, there’s still just one word to describe summertime coastal fishing in Texas – FUN!

Remember to practice CPR, “Catch, Photo, and Release”, whenever possible on trophy Trout and Reds…Guide Chris Martin, Port O’Connor/Seadrift region…www.BayFlatsLodge.com…1-888-677-4868