Greetings from the island everyone. Hope all of you are doing well and enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend, and Wounded Warriors Tribute. I’ve seen the WW Tribute grow so much the past five years and it will only get larger and more involved as time goes on.

I honestly do not believe that it will ever rain again. Since January 1 I have gotten a mere 1.9 inches of rain out here on the island. Are you kidding me?! For two months now my rain tanks, which supply all my water needs inside the house, have been dry and I’ve had to pump well water into them. I simply run a hose from a well faucet to the rain tanks and slowly pump about 100 gallons at a time into them. Being in ultra conservative mode, this will last me about one week, and then I do the same thing again. I don’t fill them completely because I’m hoping that it will eventually rain and at least partially fill them.

The well water works okay for inside use, but does not compare in quality to fresh clean rain water. I’m hauling water from the mainland each trip to use for coffee, drinking, ice trays, etc., when I would normally use my rain water. I should give thanks, and I do, that my underground well water supply has held up and not gone dry, otherwise I would really be in a bad way. It seems as though when other areas have gotten measurable amounts of rain, I have not gotten any. Okay Lord, I’m ready for some rain now.

If it wasn’t for the well water, my garden, consisting primarily of my passion for growing tomato plants from seed, would have dried up long ago. But my tomatoes have actually done quite well. I have had a problem with blossom end rot this season, which in all probability is due to the extended drought conditions. It doesn’t appear that I’ll grow my goal tomato of three pounds during the Spring tomato season, but I’ll keep trying. I’ve grown nearly a dozen that easily topped one pound though, so I’m happy with that, especially given the very dry conditions.

This begins the time of year that the summer heat, which doesn’t officially arrive for two more weeks, is a big factor here on the island. The early mornings and late evenings are bearable, but from about 11am-5 pm you simply need to find some shade and a cool beverage. Other than something you’ve built yourself, there is nothing to take refuge under out here to escape the blazing sun and heat. I always tell newcomers to the island that fresh water and shade are by far the two most important items required for extended island stays. Period. Some listen and some don’t, the latter of which never return. Mission accomplished.

I was able to gig a few flounder to eat the past month, and caught a few redfish along the way too, using live finger mullet. Always nice to have fresh fish whenever I want it. I’m waiting for the surf to calm and turn its beautiful emerald green so I can go after the trout with my pink Corky.

I want to say farewell to Walter Minatrea Sr., the father of my dear childhood friend, Tommy Minatrea. I would have preferred different circumstances, but it was wonderful to reunite with Tommy and Ben Plummer, the three of us being inseparable during our childhood Seadrift days. You will be missed Walter Sr.

Well that’s it from the island for now. Everyone take care and stay cool during the next few south Texas summer months.

What A Catch! Kylie Pair caught the smallest fish in the 3-5 year old category at the annual POC Kids Fishing Tournament. - Photo by LaJune Pitonyak

What a great tournament this year. Fun was had by all 40 contestants. It was just a wonderful day, with parents, grandparents and relatives getting involved with the youngsters. The Chamber says “hats off to you” for being supportive for this event and the children.

There were lots of smiles on their faces. In all there was 87 fish measured. Last year the catch of the day was angelfish, and this year it was red fish. As always, just never know what’s biting.

The children who did not have good luck fishing did not go home empty handed. Each was given a Port O’Connor Chamber Frisbee and a nylon back pack.

We want to let Mary Jo Walker know that the Chamber appreciates her donating her time for this event, as she has been doing for us in the past years, and Beacon 44 Seafood for furnishing the bait for the tournament.

If you would like a picture of winners or your child email to —361poc@gmail.com- and I will be glad to email you one.

Kids Fishing Tournament Winners

3-5 years- winners: Smallest Fish- Kylie Pair; Most Fish- Kacen Pair; Largest Fish (Tie)- Mc Kenna Guevara and Justin Garcia

6-9 years- winners: Smallest Fish- Skylar Rodriguez; Most Fish (Tie)- Emma Carswell and Reed Kallus; Largest Fish- Waylon Shell

10 years-12- winners: Smallest- James De Bord; Most Fish- Zack Guhlin; Largest Fish- Justin Munsch

-Photos by LaJune Pitonyak

Here we go! Becky Haynes and granddaughters Jayla and Jeannette head down the pier to catch a big one at the Port O’Connor Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Kids Fishing Tournament.

The big trout ate a red and yellow Wedgtail Mullet fished over grass that was swarming with mullet last week. -Robert Sloan photo

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve had the opportunity to fish from Sabine Lake to the Lower Laguna Madre and during that time I used a passel of lures to catch trout up to the 7 pound mark. One thing that I’ve found to be true for many years, especially here in Port O’Connor, is that when in doubt whip the soft plastic out.

Recently I was fishing with Capt. Bruce Shuler out of Port Mansfield. The first afternoon on the water four of us were out on the Laguna and wade fishing in about three feet of gin clear water. The only malfunction was that the wind was blowing a gale. I’m thinking the afternoon fishing jaunt was blown out. That is until Shuler tossed a new soft plastic my way. It’s called Wedgetail Mullet and is part of the all new Egret Saltwater line of baits.

“That’s a swimmer, or better known as a swim bait,” said Shuler. “It’s simple to use and will catch trout in just about any situation.”

I’m not that keen on swim baits of any type. That’s mainly because I have no confidence in them. The first rule of thumb when using a lure is to have confidence in the bait.

I tied on the 5-inch long Wedgetail Mullet, slipped out of the boat to begin a wade on the white-capped flat. This ain’t no lie. Within about 45 minutes my new swim bait had caught a dozen trout to about 3 pounds. This particular soft plastic is 5 inches long, and it can be rigged on a conventional lead head jig, or with a SwimMax 6/0 hook. We ended up fishing them both ways last week. Much of that time we were fishing in some pretty thick vegetation. When the Wedgetail is rigged on a SwimMax hook it’s weedless. The hook comes with a VLock screw in the center of the nose. You take the lure and twist it up on the screw, then slide the point of the hook up through and out the back of the bait. It’s simple and will not hang up on weeds.

I’ve never seen a simpler bait to fish. Once it’s rigged you simply cast it out and reel it in on a slow and steady retrieve. On my first wade with this lure the trout were shooting out of the grass and thumping it pretty good. We ended up catching both reds and trout on Wedgetail Mullets in a variety of colors. The best seemed to be red over yellow and chartreuse over white.

What makes this particular soft plastic so good is the signature Wedgetail. It’s a fat wedge of plastic that produces a very tight thumping motion.

Another new soft plastic I’ve used with good success lately is the Bayou Chub. This is a 3.5 inch minnow-shaped lure that’s built with a round paddle tail. This past Sunday I used a copper Bayou Chub with a chartreuse tail to catch an easy limit of reds that were feeding in brackish colored water on a backwater estuary lake out of Port O’Connor. We had rigged the tails on 1/8 ounce lead head jigs.

Many fishermen along the Texas coast like to use the sickle-tailed soft plastics on a fast jerk/jerk/jerk retrieve. The paddle tail jigs seem to work best on a slow and steady retrieve. It’s the thumping tail that gets the attention of trout and reds.

Believe it or not there’s a lot of difference in the lead heads that jigs are rigged on. They come in all sorts of colors, sizes and have various hook sizes and styles. I fish with a lot of professional anglers and guides and just about all of them agree that an unpainted jig head is best. Egret Bait Company has just come out with a jig head that’s pretty much close to perfect. The lead heads are not painted and have a pair of bright red eyes. Plus they are mounted on high quality hooks. Right behind the lead head are two ribs that hold the soft plastics snug without any slippage. They are made in 3/16, 5/16, 7/16 and ½ ounce sizes. The 3/16 ounce head is perfect for most fishing situations in Port O’Connor. The reason why is simple – you want a slow falling soft plastic while fishing on places like Pringle and Contee lakes. What you don’t want to do is fish a fast falling jig that retrieves a wad of grass.

The newest and hottest soft plastic jig color for reds is a copper/glitter finish. An olive/green or white/chartreuse is usually best for trout. The LSU color pattern is good for both reds and trout on most days in Port O’Connor.

For details on fishing with Capt. Robert Sloan call 409 782 6796. Or check out his web site at www.hightailangler.com.

Sunday, June 5 – Fished Friday and Saturday; had great bites both days. More keeper trout are showing up with a big appetite for most anything you throw at them. Been seing big reds tailing in the shallows. Tides have been good to us and the wind is slowing down.

Capt. Henry, 361-655-2939, capthenry.com

Lana - Flounder

John - Red

Texas Parks and Wildlife, NOAA Fisheries, and Texas Sea Grant will be conducting four workshops in the South Texas Region over current offshore recreational fishing regulations. This is not a public hearing over up coming regulations, but an informative public program aimed at clarification of existing offshore fishing regulations for fisherman fishing in state and federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Such regulations as license and permit requirements, seasons, proper equipment, and length and bag limits will be covered. Meetings will be held in Port Isabel, Port Mansfield, Port Aransas, and Port Lavaca. The Port Lavaca meeting is scheduled for June 23rd at 7:00 p.m. at the Calhoun County Extension Building at the fairgrounds. For more information contact Rhonda Cummins, Texas Sea Grant Extension Agent, at 361-552-9747.