Fishing Updates
January 2010
Last week at the Dallas Safari Club expo, I was repeatedly bombarded with the same question: “How’s the fishing?” A fair question, considering we are a fishing resort and they were contemplating a fishing trip. But for the first time in 17 years, I found myself thinking, and saying aloud “I don’t know.”
While the fall of 2009 ended with a bang, and both red and trout fishing being good to excellent, the winter promised by El Nino soon settled in. I am certainly not complaining about our winter weather, especially considering the blizzards and sub-zero temperatures throughout the U.S., but the constant drizzle and forty-something degree temperatures that blanketed the coast at the first of December and hung around until this week have not been at all conducive for fishing.
The good news about the cold December is that it prepared the fish for the hardest coastal freeze since 1989, sending them in search of warmer and deeper water. As a result, no gamefish were reported to have died in the Rockport area during the January cold spell. Now the weather has begun to break, the sun is peeking out, and the temperature has even crept into the 70’s over the last few days. More good news, the good crop of fish present at the end of November were left undisturbed over much of the winter as evident by the empty boat ramps and full coffee shops throughout Rockport. “Too cold to fish” was the only report anyone heard for weeks.
Now the air is warm and the sun is shining, and even if spring is still a month away ones thoughts can’t help but wander to the water and the fish. The rain we so desperately needed in 2009 arrived and flushed our bays, dropping the salinity from the 40 pt range in some areas to single digits. The fish experienced very little fishing pressure over the winter due to cold and rain.
And the best news of all about the upcoming season came to me yesterday courtesy of the TPW biologists who use our ramp as a launch site for their research. 2009 turned out to be the best recruitment class for speckled trout in the history of their studies, meaning there were more juvenile fish observed in the bay system last year that ever before. You don’t need to be a biologist to figure out what juvenile fish in 2009 means for fishing in 2010!
November 2009
Once the rain began falling in September, the fishing in the waters around Rockport really took off. Redfish and drum showed up on the flats and shorelines in huge numbers, and the worse the weather the better they bit.
In mid-October, a good trout bite began in San Antonio bay and a few larger trout showed up on Estes flats as well. The red tide got as close as Packery Channel south of Corpus Christi, but had no effect on our fishery whatsoever. It was great to see that the weather change had an immediate and profound effect on the fishing, giving us one of the best falls in years! These fish are expected to stick around here now that conditions are favorable, and spring fishing should start off with a bang.
If you are interested in a guided trip over the winter, call the Redfish Lodge office and set something up. Hope to see you next year!
July 2009
It’s still hot! It still has not rained! The summer has dished out some tough conditions. And the fish are still biting! It has not been as easy as many summers, and we have had to employ some new tactics and expand our range, but Redfish Lodge has consistently put guests on fish.
Trips to the gulf surf, Ingleside, and even the Laguna Madre have proven fruitful this summer, and we are now getting the indications that fish are beginning to return to our home waters of Aransas and even Copano Bays after a temporary hiatus due to high salinity. In the past few weeks, redfishing has been excellent around Estes Flats and Redfish Bay, and some nice trout are showing themselves around Port Aransas and on the deep shell of Copano, San Antonio, and Aransas bays. Croakers are still the bait of choice, as the fish have not turned on to piggy perch yet, but that transition should take place in the next couple of weeks.
A few more weeks of hot conditions will dominate South Texas, but with September just around the corner we should start to see cooler temperatures and with that the redfishing should really turn on! A little rain would help get the shrimp moving and the creeks flowing, but the fish are here and ready to eat now.
We have one more month to get to the surf for trout, reds, and kingfish before they move out of range for the fall. Then it’s redfish time!
Brian Holden
December 2008
A quick review of the 2008 season at Redfish Lodge brings a few images immediately to mind. Hurricane Dolly’s visit in July slowed down what was a terrific trout season. After a short respite, Ike ravaged the Texas coast and put a stop to EVERYTHING. A four-foot storm tide brought flooding and some damage to the Lodge property, but made guests unable to visit for nearly three weeks. Ike also sent a tide swell into the back bays and up the rivers that brought the water salinity to the same level as the center of the Gulf of Mexico. This halted the shrimp migration and sent the fish, which were already facing drought conditions, into patterns that even they were not familiar with. Mix all of this together with $4/gallon gas for several months, and a quick review of 2008 is not a good one.
Now, a closer look at the fishing reveals a slightly different story. Huge spring tides brought reds and big trout into the bays in March, making early season fishing outstanding in Estes flats and Redfish Bay. When croaker season began in late April, Copano proved to be in its best form in years. The floods of 2007, which kept anglers out of Copano bay for the season, paid dividends with great numbers of huge trout well into the summer. The calm weather of July and August made surf fishing red hot, not just for trout, but reds, mackerel, kings, and the best crop of cobia this area has ever seen. After Dolly, fishing got a bit tough, but new opportunities presented themselves and kept the rods bent. Massive schools of Jacks in the bays made sightcasting for the monsters easy and fun. Schools of gray snapper flooded the bays, not to mention wolf fish, smooth puffers, and pompano. The FISHO cards were flying off the shelf in the Lodge office! Long runs north and south were still producing good boxes of reds and trout right up to the arrival of Ike, which literally brought a stop to Rockport fishing. Boat ramps were inaccessible due to flooding, and floating debris made navigation dangerous or impossible. Not to mention the aforementioned lack of guests to take fishing. By October, the boats were back on the water trying to find seemingly unpatternable redfish and trout in huge tides and off-the-chart salinity. One great day was followed by two slow ones, and trips were focused on schools of black drum and giant sheephead until conditions improved. By the end of October, the fronts began to arrive, bringing the tide down and pulling the fish and shrimp out of the back lakes where they had been hiding for months. Redfishing immediately improved, providing a strong finish to the fall season.
During all this change and turmoil, the largest redfish in Lodge history was boated and released. It was 47 inches ling and weighed 37 pounds, and was caught on a piggy perch. More snapper, black drum, and cobia were brought to dock than ever before, and the high price of gas kept the crowds away and gave the fish a huge break from the pressure they usually experience. Diversity and creativity kept the fishing consistently good despite some of the worst possible conditions.
What does this mean for the 2009 season? For one, conditions are almost sure to improve. Some winter rain and a few rises and drops of the tide will put area waters back in desirable salinity range. The fish that were not caught this year will be left for the 09 season. Maybe most importantly, the collective knowledge of the guide staff at Redfish Lodge was expanded during the 08 season more than any year in the past. New areas and techniques were added to daily routines, and the areas where fish can hide has diminished considerably. What does not kill you makes you stronger, and Redfish Lodge is going into the 2009 season stronger than ever.
Fall 2008
Fall came to Rockport in a very sudden and exciting way! Hurricane Ike, which seemed to be making a run at the Coastal Bend, caused Redfish Lodge to close up, board up, and head for higher ground. When we returned, a giant tide had risen and had begun to recede, leaving us with a flooded office and some soggy lawns (see pictures). We were the lucky ones. Galveston, Houston, and surrounding areas have our deepest sympathies for what they have had to endure for the last week. When the tide came up 3 to 4 feet, it left us with more than soggy grounds, it left redfish everywhere. Roadside ditches, cow pastures, all the places they usually can't swim was their playground. As the tide falls, and we can begin using the boat ramps again, we will head out in search of the biggest concentrations of the spot-tailed beauties to get our guests into some rod bending action.
While Ike was stealing all of the weather headlines, a powerful cold front moved through Rockport bringing much-needed rain and a few nights of 60-degree temperatures. For those of you who read these fishing forecasts yearly, I always preach about the first big cold front of the year kicking off the heart of the redfish season. Combine that event with a flood tide of three feet or more, and this has all the makings of the best redfish season ever! I can't wait to get out there and find out.
August 2008
Over the past few weeks, Redfish Lodge has had a couple of near misses thrown at her by mother nature, but we continue to stay on the lucky side of things. A couple good doses of rain and flushes of tide cranked up a summer fishing pattern that was in danger of falling into the doldrums of high salinity and hot water. In the last week, redfish have become more active in the daytime and trout action has picked up as well. On August 3, guest Laura Dayton caught and released a new lodge record 36 lb. redfish on a piggy perch at the north jetty in Port Aransas.
With our rainfall total right where it needs to be and a cooler than average July, things are set in motion for a fantastic fall. Redfish numbers continue to stay at historic levels, making the last two fall seasons record book material. Trout fishing, which has a habit of dropping off a bit in the fall, will hang on longer than usual due to the lack of deep reef fishing in the last few months. The same winds that have kept us cooler than normal have kept anglers out of the middle of the big bays, leaving vast amounts of structure alone for the fish to hide. When the weather turns cooler and the winds subside a bit, those fish should be there for the taking.
The first cold front of the fall, usually somewhere between September 15 and October 1, will kick this plan into motion and start the fall redfish bonanza. In the meantime, the next month or so should afford us some great opportunities to fish the gulf surf and chase kingfish, or boat good numbers of trout and redfish out of the flats and bays. We look forward to seeing you in the fall, and with a quick look at the schedule, it looks like we will be seeing most of you!
June 2008
The summer weather pattern has finally settled in after one of the strangest springs we have ever had at Redfish Lodge. Into late May, we were seeing strong cold fronts every five days or so, dropping water temperatures and moving trout off their spawning patterns. The last of the fronts has come and gone, and the croaker fishing has been red hot. It has been a real treat to fish Copano after losing the entire season on our home water last summer due to the record-setting rains. This year the water is green, the salinity is perfect, and for the last few weeks the trout fishing has been off the chart. The winds have kept us off the deep water reefs for the most part, but there have been plenty of fish, including some big trout, on the shorelines around the lodge.
We have had some very solid days throwing lures both down south in the flats and up in St. Charles Bay. A good mix of trout and reds, mixed with some tremendous flounder, have made for some exciting wades. The night fishing on the beach and pier has been outstanding as well, with the average size trout way up from years past. I guess giving Copano Bay a year off is paying off nicely! As the winds settle and the water greens up this summer, reef fishing for trout will only improve in Copano, Aransas, and San Antonio Bays. Hopefully we will get to the surf for some great action as well. We hope to see you on a fishing trip this summer!
January 2008
It seems like only yesterday that we packed up our fishing rods for the winter and turned our focus on readying Redfish Lodge for the 2008 season. With no unusual cold spells or warming trends, the 07-08 winter seemed to be a normal one, as hard as that is to define in South Texas. Fishing, especially for reds, remained consistent throughout the winter as it seemed to do throughout the 2007 season. Looking ahead to our opening in March, it seems as though everything is right on schedule for a great fishing year.
By the time the lodge reopens, the black drum spawning run will be in full swing. For those of you that have not experienced this event, it means big fish and lots of them. March is also a time to hunt for big trout while wading with top water lures and soft plastics. The pre-spawn is the best time to hang that trophy trout on the wall. As the water warms throughout March, reds and trout alike will be looking to fatten up from a winter of slow metabolism and decreased baitfish availability. The warm water will signal the return of a myriad of baitfish and the feeding frenzy that will follow.
By the first of May, croakers will be the preferred baitfish and trout will be plentiful. This great spec run will last throughout June and July, with the bigger fish caught earlier in the run. These months should also provide some good lure action, especially while wading the back bays and newly sprouted grass beds. If last years trend continues, we will also see great redfish action throughout this time frame, making it an ideal time to visit Redfish Lodge and fish the coast.
August 2007
With tropical storm Erin having just soaked the coastal bend yesterday and hurricane Dean threatening to do the same, the hot topic of the 2007 fishing season is definitely rain. With record breaking rains throughout Texas, the fresh water falling from the sky and flowing down the rivers has turned our fishing waters into drinking water. At first glance this may seem like a bad thing, but anyone who has been to Redfish Lodge in the last three months can attest to the contrary.
The deluge of fresh water has pushed huge numbers of trout and redfish out of the back bays and into the higher saline areas of South Rockport and Port Aransas. These increased populations, combined with the rain-cooled water temperatures have made for lots of hungry and active fish. July and August, not known to be great redfish months, have been the best anyone can remember. The limited opportunities we have been afforded to get out into the gulf surf have not hurt us, as the trout fishing in the bay has been so consistent.
The fish that remained in the back bays have been left undisturbed by anglers and have had a steady diet of shrimp and crayfish for the last three months. As the green waters of the gulf creep their way back into these areas over the next few months, we should see an extraordinary fall redfish bonanza throughout our bay system.
If there is a down side to all of the rain, it has made travel difficult at times for our guests, and has really slowed the night fishing off the beach and piers at the lodge. With three rivers feeding it, Copano is one of the hardest hit bays when the rains come. We had a similar situation in 2003 when there was not measurable salinity in Copano due to rain, and when the tides flushed and cleaned it, one of the best fishing years in Redfish Lodges history ensued. We are hoping for a similar outcome from this flood.
To summarize, if it stops raining the back bays are going to explode with redfish activity. If the rains continue to fall, more fish will be pushed into the areas where fishing is currently so good. Any way you look at it, it is going to be a great fall in Rockport.
April 2007
The warm waters of spring were slow to arrive in 2007, changing the normal patterns significantly in the coastal bend. Cold temperatures throughout February and a frost in early March delayed the spawning run of black drum, with only a few fish being caught in what should be the peak of the season. The low tides that accompanied these cold spells have kept the redfish off of the shorelines, making them tough to keep track of early March.
Trout, and good size ones, have been plentiful on the reefs and shorelines of our area, as long as you keep a winter mindset. Soft, dark colored bottoms and slow bait presentations have been the key to some great trout action. The shrimp migration thus far has been nonexistent, making live bait acquisition difficult and lures a necessity.
However, there is good news. The low pressure system and high winds of late March have brought the spring bull tide in, and with it came the reds. They have flooded the flats of Estes and Redfish Bay, and are making their way north to the reefs of Mesquite and San Antonio bays. This tide will also bring the shrimp and juvenile finfish, so both the reds and trout will begin their spring feed on this big tide.
With water temperatures that hit 70 for the first time since early December, the topwater bite for big trout should go into high gear over the next few weeks. This late winter will delay croaker fishing for several weeks, so if you have a trip booked for April or the first half of May, plan to throw shrimp or try out your wading legs and get in on the lure action that has remained excellent throughout the spring.
January 2007
2006 was a year that will be remembered fondly by Redfish Lodge guests and staff alike. The staff will remember the largest crowd and the busiest season in our fifteen year history, with old familiar faces and fresh new ones as well. The guests will hopefully remember the best fishing year the lodge has ever had, with more fish of more species caught than any prior season. The Redfish Lodge and Aransas bay system redfish record was set in May with a 35-pounder, and we saw a handful of others in excess of 25 pounds. The lodge record black drum was broken in March with a 70.2-pound monster, and 102 catches qualified for the Wall of Fame. Overall the weather was good, with adequate rainfall and no close call from hurricanes. September saw a red tide give us a little scare, but it stayed well south of our fishery and went away without affecting us.
2007 gives every indication of following suit with the success of ’06. The bookings are again coming in at record pace, which means we are in for another busy year. The fishing seems to be going nowhere but up. This can be attributed partly to the excellent health of our fishery, and partly to the ever-increasing knowledge of our guide staff that have put yet another year under their belts and in the log books. One benefit of fishing at Redfish Lodge is that you always have seven boats looking for fish for you to catch! Adequate winter rain points to a great spring trout season, and redfishing has showed consistent improvement over the last several years, so we expect that trend to continue as well.
Guests in the 2007 season will notice some renovations to the Lodge upon arrival. The kitchen has been completely remodeled and updated, but it will continue to put out the same great food it has in the past. A beautiful wood floor has been installed in the main lodge and a fresh coat of interior paint will make the facility sparkle even more. We have a couple of new boats in the guide fleet, and have added some staff to provide better service to our growing number of guests. 2006 will be a tough act to follow, but here at Redfish Lodge we are pulling out all the stops to do just that.
