City of Seadrift Employees- Terry Maddux, Noah Rodriguez & Draven Adame pose with our character cut outs made by a couple of very talented FNB employees (Linda Johnson & Lisa Rogers)!

The theme was Star Wars…our team name was wE Wok for A Cure at FNB…the objective was to help the American Cancer Society save more lives by funding groundbreaking cancer research, supporting education and prevention efforts, and providing free information and critical services for people with cancer who need them. Employees at First National Bank (Port Lavaca, Seadrift, and Port O’Connor) are honored to announce our total contribution, as we call came together to host various fundraisers for this year’s Relay for Life held at the Calhoun County fairgrounds on May 4th. We are blessed to work for a company that believes in investing time & energy back into our community!

We thank all who made donations, sponsored luminaries, bought baked goods, and attended our garage sale and silent auction! We also thank all the teams that participated at the relay in this common goal.

Sincerely, Employees of FNB

Father and Son Family Time! Making Memories!
-Capt. Jeff Larson

OK, May is underway! There is still a little freaky weather out there, late fronts, high tide then low tide, who knows what the weather will bring tomorrow. Faron Floyd and I were in Kentucky Turkey Hunting. It has only snowed that late in April three times in 100 years. I have been there two of those times in my lifetime. Here’s one for ya, The Farmer’s Almanac is predicting some drought conditions for us this year. Based on what I could tell flipping through it the other day. Its anyone’s guess.

ANYWAY, The Trout Bite is on Fire! Captains DB, Danny Shane and myself went for a reef hoping session a couple of weeks ago. The 1st couple of reefs yielded a quick smoker trout for Doug and Danny but went dormant as fast as it started. So we kept bouncing from reef to reef and saw the well sought after trout sign upon a small reef. Active birds giving us the ol’ high sign here they are. I pointed to ‘em, DB hollered “Birds Working!” over some high volume Led Zeppelin riffs and Danny followed my crooked finger to a small no name shell reef. We bailed out and within minutes we had our five a piece. So like any good buddies would do, we sent strap pix to our buddies stuck in morning traffic in every major city around Texas. It wasn’t a Brag, it was a wish you were here pic. We had popped 15 decent trout nothing really over 18”. We went to the Casa and called it a great morning! Danny pulled up to my house, I jumped out as Kid Rock – I Wanna be a Cowboy faded in the distant. Danny has one of the Best Sound Systems that I have heard on the water. Not sure what it was though. Great Trip! I appreciate the ride, my friends.

On the Red Fish Scene. Low tides mean outside shorelines or jetties UNLESS you have some custom low-to-no water needed transportation. The ol’ Air Sled has been putting my customers in the schools of Reds and Drum. Tops, tails and bait are all working. Even flies are working for the Fly Guys. The reds have been all decent ones ranging from 20 to 26 inches. The jetties have been yielding upper slots and over. Keep your tag handy if you want to fish the jetties.

All the Bait stands are loaded up with bait prior to the weekend. Croaker, shrimp and mullet, live or dead, are the natural baits of choice. Get their early and often.

The surf is another area that is starting to heat up for trout and reds when you can get out there after a light norther blows through our area and settles it down. The trout are solid. Just be careful when fishing close to the beach. Rogue waves or a set of ‘em can capsize and rain havoc on the best of boats and watermen.

We have been getting a few inquiries about flounder gigging. Flounder gigging is off the charts as well. Captain Pat Lester just called and was telling me about two of his charters. A few days ago he had a flounder trip with a five man group of Fathers and Sons. They left the dock about 9 PM and were done with their 25 before midnight. Last night Bubba and he went for a couple of hours and grabbed their limit real quick. We are on the back side of the full moon so gigging will be good any night you wanna go. Don’t forget the mosquito spray!!

Billy is on standby to get you set up and booked into the Lodge. Give him a call at: 713-907-4796.

Looks like it is going to be a great summer. Looking forward to fishing with you,

Captain Jeff Larson: 281 217 0399
“Legend in his own mind..”

Happy, Happy, Happy! -Capt. Chris Martin

May is here, and coastal anglers can count on air temperatures reaching into the 80’s and 90’s as we progress through this month and into the next. Inshore water temperatures will also recognize a climb in May as we anticipate the warming of the climate to take area bay waters to a temperate 75 to 80-degrees. This means local shallows will come alive once again with thriving sea grasses and a multitude of aquatic species, some of which are actively sought after by predator game fish such as the speckled trout and the red fish.

As May arrives, we are generally already into the annual speckled trout spawn which usually gets underway in most coastal regions of the Gulf of Mexico by mid-to-late April. The male trout will be actively ready to spawn every night, while the larger females will look to spawn anywhere between once a week to once a month throughout the summer months and on into the month of September in many cases. The month of May will be a time of a heightened trout appetite, and due to this hunger anglers can often expect the bite to become somewhat aggressive in nature.

Due to the air and water warming this month, and because of a fierce trout hunger right now, anglers should look to find an early morning and late evening bite in some of the skinniest water they’ve fished in since October of last year. Look to focus much of your May effort atop flats areas consisting primarily of sand and grass, and expect to locate bait fish activity which will almost certainly lead you to some hot trout action. Anglers should try to be in place along the shoals prior to sunrise, but then be prepared to follow the bait fish as they migrate away from shore later in the morning as the sun rises high into the sky and is given a chance to heat the shallows to a point that drives the fish into the comforts of deeper, cooler water.

For all the artificial-bait enthusiasts out there, now is a great time to polish your top water skills and techniques. As mentioned earlier, the trout bite can become nothing less than ferocious during this part of the year, and there is absolutely nothing more exciting than having a hungry sow trout take her aggravation out on your top water lure. And for all those who like fishing solely with live bait, look for this month to be the start of what is sure to become yet another fine summer of croaker fishing. Good luck, and keep grindin’!