Arrangements have been made for the speaker from Medevac to appear on Tuesday, April 12th at 1:00 p.m. following the weekly Seniors’ Luncheon and Bingo at Port O’Connor Community Center.

All residents are invited to attend this meeting to learn what is involved with the Medevac program of airlifting potential patients to the hospital and the annual costs per family.

After months of fund raising efforts, participants in the 2011 Calhoun County Relay for Life completed their commitment to doing their part to find a cure for cancer with a twelve-hour walk on the grounds of the Calhoun County Fairgrounds. Thirty-one teams from around the County, a total of 438 participants, walked the night of April 1 until 6:00 a.m. April 2, their path lit by luminarias commemorating cancer survivors and remembering those who lost the battle to this terrible disease. Their efforts raised more than $10,000 for the American Cancer Society to use in research, treatment and support of cancer victims.

Photos by Bill Tigrett

Port O’ Connor Rods may be new in town but the faces of the owners, Donnie and Julia Klesel are familiar to many people. Donnie and Julia have been fishing and vacationing here since they met in 1978. Now, being married for 28 years and moving to Port O’ Connor last May, they are enjoying their residency here in their favorite place on earth.

Julia will be the first to tell you that she has family ties here from the 50’s and 60’s. Julia’s great uncle Lupe Santa Maria lived here and worked here as a brick layer and shrimper. Julia’s dad would come to help Uncle Lupe in Port O’ Connor. Julia says, “I came here as a child many times with my dad to visit Uncle Lupe and watch my dad pull shrimp heads”.

Donnie Klesel with some of the tackle available at POC Rods.

Donnie, having a 32 year background in construction and inspections, has also had a long time talent and passion for fixing and repairing his family and friends’ fishing equipment. Now with his talents and experience with crafting rods and repairing many brands of reels, he looks forward to a long time quality and personable business here in Port O’ Connor. Cleaning and repairing reels is a big part of his day in the rod shop and when you ask him, “Where did you learn all this” he has no problem giving the credit to his very close friend in Port Lavaca. Donnie says, “He is a retired 35 year reel repairman that has many talents and gives me the confidence to become a great reel shop. The technology of the reel business is ever changing and my goal is to be the best place on the coast to bring your reels in for service. Every reel goes in my hands and is cleaned, repaired, and rebuilt in my shop.”

At POC Rods their goal is to provide customers with a high quality product that’s custom made with the latest state of the art rod building materials and components.

Donnie says, “Here at Port O Connor Rods we are always searching the market for high quality rod components so we can offer performance and value to our customers. With all the best rod building components at our finger tips we can build with confidence and value while still being able to use products with great warranties. Many rod blank companies have a great line up for all the different actions for the angler’s specific tastes. Blanks from, ultra light, to extra heavy, can be offered in many different values and performance so any angler can enjoy a true, one of a kind custom rod.

POC Rods offers high quality custom rods, fishing supplies, reel repairs, rod repairs, and all brands of new reels, re-spooling reels, and some apparel. Shimano, Kelly Wigglers, Abu Garcia, Flounder Pounder, Penn, Stunt Grunt, Okuma, and Texas Tackle Factory are just a few of the brands they carry in stock. If you need your equipment to stay in tip top shape, then Port O’Connor Rods is the place to bring it to. They offer a fast turnaround and in-house repairs on your equipment. They also carry the tackle you are looking for; just tell them what you use and they should have it on the shelf or can get it for your next trip. You can buy all your Shimano products at POC Rods, as they are now a Shimano Top Shelf Dealer, right here in POC. This gives all the customers a great place to bring any Shimano product in for warranty returns, parts and service repair.

Donnie Klesel repairs a reel at his Port O’Connor Rods shop.

The shop is conveniently located just down the street from the public boat ramp at 82 North Byers. The shop hours for now are, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., 7 days a week, unless they are fishing. Be sure to visit Donnie and Julia at their location for some friendly fishing conversation and some awesome fishing gear.

Also check them out on the web at www.pocrods.com

Soft plastics like a TTF Trout Killer or Berkley Gulp are an excellent option for trout when fished under Assassin Kwik Corks.

As of Monday April 4, the water temperature here in Port O’Connor is 73.7 degrees, and the wind is honking as another cold front approaches. But being this late in the year we aren’t going to have any big problems with cold weather and falling water temperatures. However, this is Texas and anything is possible when we’re talking about THE weather.

I had a group of anglers out recently and we caught two huge gafftop sail catfish while working Assassin Kwik Corks with Berkley Gulps in West Matagorda. Bay. When the gafftop sails show up you know for sure that all the players have arrived. Plus, when these fish show up it’s a sure sign that the surf is going to be holding trout.

Any time we have a late spring cool front move through you can bet the barn that the surf is going to be calm and green to the beach along Matagorda Island, once the front moves through. That’s when I like to head out Pass Cavallo, hang a right and work the surf for big trout. The key is to run until you see some sort of baitfish activity in the water.

Just behind a cool front the water in the first and second guts will be gin clear. That’s when you have two options. One is to cast up to the beach while controlling the boat with a trolling motor. The other is to anchor the boat and wade along the first sand bar. When the water is clear you can actually see reds running the first gut. They will climb all over a 1/8 ounce copper or gold spoon.

The No. 1 lure in the surf is a ¼ our half ounce silver spoon rigged with a treble hook. A pink or chartreuse teaser on the treble will get the attention of more trout and reds.

But if you’re looking to have a certified blast in the surf tie on a Super Spook Jr. in chrome/blue. This is like offering crack cocaine to a junkie. They can’t resist this mullet-imitation plug. The blow ups can be tremendous. Of course the Super Spook Jr. is deadly just about any time, but this lure is at it’s very best early and late in the day.

Once the sun heats things up you’ll do best by working a Gulp or Texas Trout Killer about 2 feet under a rattling cork. We used this type of rig in Matagorda Bay last week and caught seven trout and three reds during early morning drifts over shell and mud in 4 to 5 feet of very sandy water. We had one on that was every bit of 9 pounds. She made a tarpon-like jump and was gone. That’s a good pattern right now. By the way we found those fish by looking for concentrations of jumping mullet. Best colors were white or chartreuse.

Also, that particular pattern will be good for the next week or so in West Matagorda, Espiritu Santos and San Antonio bays. But keep this in mind. Once you start seeing slicks pop up hit ‘em first with topwater plugs to catch the larger trout. Once you’ve made a few casts with the topwater offering, switch over to the rattling float and jig.

If you’re looking to sight cast to shallow reds some of the best water will be along the hard sand and grass bottoms along the many islands. Best lures will be 1/8 ounce copper or gold weedless spoons. If you’re a fly fisherman tie on a No. 4 bendback in gold/yellow or chartreuse/silver.

If you make a good catch take a photo and email it my way, with the details, at sloan288@aol.com. I’ll post it on my next fishing report. To book a trip with me, Capt. Robert Sloan, call 409 782 6796 or go to www.hightailangler.com

With April upon us, warming trends across the state of Texas will become the norm rather than the exception, so make sure you are ready to take full advantage of the coastal situation. Spring has sprung, and you may just find yourself wanting to spring into the fishing action with little notice the moment an opportunity arises. So, if you have not already done so, now is the time to get your fishing rig to your nearest authorized service dealer so they can address any of those necessary annual checkup items you may have been postponing all winter long. Generally speaking, outboard engine technicians are quite experienced at knowing what to look for during an annual inspection of your boat and its engine, but I’ve learned the hard way to never assume that they are going to check everything that I consider to be on my “important list”. That’s why I make it a point to spend a little extra time with them when I deliver my boat to them. I specifically ask them to replace the engine’s water pump impeller, any other water pump parts that may appear defective due to wear-and-tear, to drain the lower-unit of all its old lube oil and replace it with new oil, and to check and verify proper fluid levels for the hydraulic tilt-and-trim system.

I also request to have the engine’s spark plugs and plug wires replaced, regardless of whether they appear to need to be replaced, and I also ask to have a compression test performed following the installation of the new plugs and wires. And with the type of fuel we’re required to use these days, it’s extremely important to me to also have the guys at the shop check all the fuel lines and hoses, fuel filters, and fuel pump very closely.

Now, some of you may find that many of the items (if not all) I’ve mentioned are already included on a standard checklist that’s used by most outboard engine mechanics, but it never hurts to ask just to make sure. Certain other things, like some of the electrical items that are important to the proper functionality of your boat and its accessories, may not be included in your mechanic’s basic checklist. For this reason, I always ask that all electrical connections be inspected for the presence of corrosion, and that they be repaired or replaced if needed. I also like to have the solenoids for the hydraulic jack-plate checked, and if necessary, replaced. And, as usual, I also like to have the guys take a look at the bank of electrical fuses (mounted beneath the center console in my boat), and to make certain that the electrical lines and connections supporting all the running lights are in good shape and are ready for another hard year of fishing.

All of these items are things I consider to be of major importance to me when having my boat serviced, and can probably serve as a good starting point for you next time you take your boat to the shop. However, you should not consider my list to be all-inclusive of the things that you may wish to have your mechanic inspect on your boat, as circumstances surrounding every boat are different, and each person has their own preferences.

Once you’ve made sure that your boat and engine are both now ready to provide you with proper operation, there’s still one other major item that will often require some level of your time and attention as you attempt to prepare for the assurance of another uninterrupted and fun-filled season of fishing, and that’s the boat trailer. The total number of items making-up the trailer checklist is not great, so if you have the time, and you consider yourself to be somewhat mechanically-inclined, and you aren’t afraid of getting a little dirty, you can probably perform your own trailer inspection and do many (if not all) of any required repairs or replacements yourself – actions that can save you money. Check the wheel bearings for the proper amount of grease. Most all newer models of boat trailers now have “Bearing Buddies” which make the task of injecting grease into the wheel bearing hub quite simple and fast for the trailer owner.

Next, check the tires for the correct air pressure as specified by the tire manufacturer, as improper air inflation can cause your tires to wear incorrectly and possibly shorten the overall life of the tires.Inspect the tire tread using a penny by placing the penny between two of the treads with Lincoln’s head pointing downward. If you can still see the top of Lincoln’s head, it’s probably time for you to replace the tire.

Another, possibly more obvious, thing to inspect on the trailer is the trailer lights, making sure that they all illuminate as intended and that the brake lights and the turn signals are all functioning properly. If you happen to plug your trailer lights into your tow vehicle and absolutely none of the lights appear to be working, don’t panic just yet. This often occurs due to a simple “grounding” issue, so before running out to purchase a new set of trailer lights, check to see that the ground wire (usually white) on the trailer’s wiring system is making a good and secure “ground”connection to a metal portion of the trailer. A few last things for you to quickly check on the trailer are the trailer hitch, the tow chains, and the winch strap. Like I said, the trailer checklist is short, but it is a list that’s of equal importance when trying to ensure safe transport and worry-free travel as you drive to and from your fishing destinations throughout the upcoming year.

Keep in mind that you can always stay informed as to the latest that Bay Flats Lodge has to offer by simply signing-up on the website to receive your daily newsletter. 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