Sue Dickenson of Lockhart caught her first ever redfish at the jetties after quite a struggle. -Capt. Bob Hill

The fronts are passing with greater wind velocity and they seem to be more frequent. That’s normal for October/November, I guess. The fishing, however, isn’t normal. My regular early fall venues are often not producing. We are encountering areas of Red Tide and seeing dead fish all around the bay system. Flounder giggers are reporting dead stingrays all over the south shoreline of ESB and they are stacked up along the Pringle shorelines. Earlier today I encountered Red Tide at the jetties; it wasn’t real bad but we had to leave the area due to hacking, coughing and eye discomfort. I think the recent north winds and cooler temperatures have reduced the impact of the Red Tide overall.

Trout fishing in San Antonio Bay has been tough during periods of high north wind and low tides but it has been good after the effects of the fronts have subsided. Many of the reefs are also holding reds and sheepshead. I have been struggling with back bay reds lately due to all the factors I have previously described. High winds, low tides, Red Tide and off color water just to name a few.

The jetties have been real good one day and tough the next, mainly due to wind and tide variations, I guess. Reds are good most days and drum are showing up pretty well. I’ve even caught some really big flounder over the last week or so.

A quick side note: Saturday I had a party at the jetties. At about 11:00 a.m., we were in a pretty steady drum bite. All of a sudden the boat (which was anchored, of course) lurched forward. The engine wasn’t running but we were moving toward the center of the channel at a pretty good clip. We tried to untie and pick-up the anchor to no avail; the rope was too tight. Suddenly the boat turned toward the open Gulf and I realized we were not caught in a current, we were being towed out by something. I left the helm and went to the anchor line in an effort to cut it. When I grabbed the line, it was limp. My party retrieved the anchor while I returned to the helm. When the anchor came up it was attached to a HUGE Manta Ray, easily 12 feet across. The ray was “hogtied” by the anchor line and was right under the boat. I realized that the ray and I had the same objective; that was to get him disconnected from my boat! I cut the line and we both left free and unharmed. We all looked at each other and decided to go to the dock.

Capt. Bob Hill Port O’Connor Charters
(361) 983-4325 www.fishportoconnor.com

Big time numbers of ducks, specifically redheads like these, are expected to winter on the POC flats. We can expect lots of pintails and teal, as well. -Capt. Robert Sloan photo

Recent fishing trips to Espiritu Santo Bay, Powderhorn Lake and the islands along the ICWW have been anything but boring. Thanks to the red tide there is no shortage of dead fish. However catches of trout and reds have been better than you might believe.

A few days ago we had no problem finding reds on shallow flats. The key was to find big schools of mullet. Some things never change – find the mullet, find the reds. My best lures over the past couple of weeks have been 5-inch Egret Swimming Mullets in baitfish white or chartreuse. The trick has been to rig them weedless and reel ‘em through the weeds just under the surface. Big reds will plow into them like there is no tomorrow.

While fishing the back water flats I’ve noticed big flights of pintails, shovelers and red heads. Lots of blue-winged teal were moving through POC about a week ago, just after the September teal season ended.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says that overall duck numbers are way up, especially for teal. Based on what I’ve seen we’re in for a heck of a duck season. I’ll be running duck hunts with lodging in POC. For details give me a call at 409-782-6796.

As of Oct. 24 the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department reported that TPWD staff found dead spot, flounder, redfish, and specks near Sand Point and along the eastern portion of Lavaca Bay.

TPWD game wardens have observed stressed red drum and dead sand trout in the ICWW on the western portion of San Antonio Bay. TPWD staff has also found dead gulf menhaden, sheepshead and shrimp eels at the Shoalwater Flats Association boat ramp near Charlie’s Bait Camp. Others at the ramp reported breathing discomfort in the area, including me.

Capt. Robert Sloan – 409-782-6796 www.hightailangler.com

The first cold fronts of the year are upon us. From fish to fowl, we’ve got plenty of friends showing up in “low places”. It looks like the Gadwall are back in full force and we’re seeing lots of Pintails and Teal in the mix already as well. For the second year in a row, we will have two Pintails in the bag limit! We’ve been fortunate to pick up about 8” of rain in the last three weeks and that is definitely sweetening things up a bit.

We’ve already got Specklebelly Geese hitting the ground in the area and we’ve been seeing flocks of Sandhill Cranes and that’s just another sign that another great waterfowl hunting season is around the corner.

A week and a half ago I picked up our new 2011 20’ Air Ranger from American Airboats and they just did an awesome job on her. So we are in full preparation mode heading into the November 5th opener and look forward to a good one.

On the fishing scene, cooler weather has popped the Trout bite off working popping cork/shrimp or artificials over upper SAB shell. Hard wind and weather has made them available between weather systems. Redfish have not failed to please during times of high winds and this is the best time to “go for the big pull” of these bruisers. Some of the best airboat redfishing goes deep into December and duck/fish combinations are a great way to experience the best of the Texas Gulf Coast.

Come see us!

Capt. Kris Kelley Castaway Lodge, Inc.
1-888-618-4868 www.coastalwaterfowl.com