{Download PDF} Fishes of the Texas Laguna Madre: a Guide for Anglers and Naturalists

FISHES OF THE TEXAS LAGUNA MADRE: A GUIDE FOR ANGLERS AND NATURALISTS PDF, EPUB, EBOOK

Most redfish are in the inch range with some larger fish mixed in. The best part about fishing redfish in super shallow clean water is the visual aspect of the game in that depth. Tailing fish in singles and even huge pods are a great way to locate fish even on cloudy days. With good fishing, all winter long depending on cold fronts. As far as gear is concerned, I recommend all of my anglers bring a fast 8 weight paired with a Scientific Anglers Grand Slam or Redfish line. I like shrimp and crab flies in the inch range and love to throw gurglers when the fish are in the right mood. Redfish flies in Texas need to be seen by the fish and need to match the environment they are fished in. Seagrass and water depth play the biggest roles in fly selection. My best piece of advice for anglers visiting the Texas coast coincides with that of any other saltwater destination. Get used to working with your guide and understand saltwater fly fishing success is the combination of several uncontrollable variables; tide, water clarity, wind, and light. Casting accuracy is extremely important. Get used to fishing in the wind, and most importantly have reasonable expectations and have fun. I would recommend being able to throw 40 feet of line consistently with a steady wind at your back. I guide for redfish year-round. My year is split between the Laguna Madre on the southern Texas coast and the Louisiana marsh in the wintertime. In Texas, I operate a few small waterfront rentals for my customers and other anglers. For more information contact me at lagunamadreoutfitters gmail. Article and photos from Ben Paschal, you can check him out on Instagram at benpaschalflyfishing. Book Sample. Related Subjects Natural History. Anglers treasure the Laguna Madre, a shallow lagoon resting along one hundred miles of the South Texas coast that offers some of the best fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. Its lush environment of seagrass meadows, tidal flats, submerged rock, jetties, worm reefs, mangroves, oyster beds, and open bays provides shelter, food, and nursery grounds for more than kinds of fish, and in its upper portion, many popular game fish are at record levels. He also raises important conservation issues for boaters and anglers to keep in mind while enjoying this unusual ecosystem. Visitor contact information including the location of boat docks, boat ramps, and piers rounds out the text, along with three maps of the Laguna Madre. It will be an invaluable guide for anglers and naturalists; canoers, kayakers, and boaters; students and teachers of fishery science; and anyone who lives near or has an interest in this unique and expansive body of water. About the Author David A. He has fished the waters of the Laguna Madre for more than thirty years. Fishing the Landcut from either direction can produce angling thrills

Coming from a South Texas maritime family, Gabe was introduced to the gulf at a very young age by his Grandfather, Harvey Weil. As soon as he was old enough to walk, he accompanied his grandfather Harvey into the Gulf chasing billfish. The local coastal waterways and brush country became a fixture in his life. He spent all of his time outside of school chasing whatever fish and animals he could set his sights on. Gabe has always been intrigued by fish of all sizes and species, but the larger pelagics were his main quarry. Like most fishing youngsters, sharks became a favorite quarry. This would be his first encounter with the popular and well revered Capt. Billy Sandifer, and would be a coming of age experience. Capt Sandifer provided a fishing trip that young fishermans dreams were made of. On that particular trip, Gabe and his friends went 7 for 12 on blacktips and bullsharks, all of which were released, setting the stage for the Conservation practices he employs to date. Countless weekends have been spent camping along the Padre Island National Seashore fishing with family and friends since then. His fondest memories are those of introducing friends to all that the Seashore has to offer, including sharks of the larger variety. Since college, Gabe has spent his professional life working as a Commercial construction Project Manager, overseeing the development of many notable projects in our community. Gabe enjoys hunting and fishing abroad wherever his travels take him. He has been blessed to have fished and hunted across 3 Continents including the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. He hopes to continue his efforts towards teaching younger generations the benefits of conservation practices. Aaron Scott Baxter was born at St. Mary's Hospital on Galveston Island, January 9th Though hard to believe, it actually snowed in Galveston on that day. As a youngster his time was split between the "beach house" in Galveston and "home" in Spring, TX where he was afforded the opportunity to fish, hunt, and explore the outdoors year round. Whether fishing the "creek" for small bass, catching snakes and turtles, or plinking away with his trusted pellet gun, he spent his time out-of-doors from sunup until the street lights came on. Even when he was forced to be indoors, outdoor television programs, magazines, and books always kept his mind outside. As a Boy Scout he learned to appreciate nature while developing a desire to protect it. This love of the outdoors and longing to become an ethical sportsman were encouraged by his two grandfathers, Pawpaw and Papa Wally, and stepfather, Ed. Some of his earliest memories involve swimming across the guts in the Galveston surf with his younger brother on his back in order to reach the magical third sand bar where speckled trout could be had in abundance. Seeing a large tarpon destroy his inadequate Zebco combo and pulling up shark robbed stringers of fish heads helped teach him a healthy respect for the ocean's inhabitants while fueling the desire to truly know these creatures. In an effort to please the "old salts" that served as mentors, he gave up his popping cork and live shrimp at a young age and took the plunge into the world of artificial lures. This is something from which he has never turned back. As an avid "plugger", Aaron moved to Corpus Christi in after graduating high school. Having heard stories of the fabled Laguna Madre for most of his life, he could not pass on the chance to actually live near and fish this legendary water body. David McKee fellow FoP board member. He presently works as a researcher for the university on projects involving shorebirds, diamondback terrapins, blue crabs, water quality, freshwater inflow, and harmful algal blooms. In , he began a new chapter in life with the arrival of his daughter, Sagan. This new addition has given him an opportunity to share his love of nature and to watch as his daughter gains the sense of wonder that was so familiar to him as a child. Whether "running and gunning" on the beach or silently stalking big trout in the shallows, he is at peace in the outdoors and knows that this is where he was meant to be. He grew up fishing the waters of the Upper Laguna Madre, but it was only a matter of time before his focus shifted to the nearshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico. When he was 16, he was assigned a school project where he had to give a speech about someone who has had an impact on our community. Naturally, he chose to speak about Billy Sandifer and his conservation efforts. This was his first encounter with Capt. Sandifer, the founder and president of FoP. Cody is also the co-founder of Sea Level Apparel, which launched in Jeff grew up fishing on the weekends off the Texas City dikes, Galveston piers and in the ship channel with his dad and grandfather, Frank Wolda. His earliest memories of fishing are sitting on the bank of the ship channel with a coffee can of dead shrimp fishing the Golden Croaker runs. His Grandpa would put a green Coleman cooler next to him and he would fill it in short order during the runs. A special treat was meeting the boats at the dock to see their catch for the day. Of course, getting fresh shrimp for dinner that evening was also a plus. Launching from Arroyo City will shave miles off the trip. But the concentration of cabins is greater along the northern half and so is the angling activity. But the physical features of the entire 25 miles don't change much. There really is no off-season for fishing the Landcut, though conditions may determine your targeted species and methods. Late fall and early winter bring redfish and drum to the Cut after a couple of cold fronts. Late spring and summer can offer some of the most spectacular sightcasting thrills for redfish, drum and trout. Successful baits include live and dead shrimp, live croaker and pigfish, topwater plugs and soft plastics. Shrimp under a popping float work well along the drop-off. Live or dead shrimp with a Carolina-rigged sinker along the western channel slope will produce black drum and reds. But probably more flounder are caught by anglers targeting the pilings of cabin docks and piers during a moving tide. During warmer months, jack crevalle occasionally will patrol the Cut and surprise anglers using every kind of bait and lure. Redfish, trout and black drum are the big three. When it comes to pinfish, hardheads and other nuisance species, the Landcut has its share. Most veterans say when the hardheads move in, it's time to move out. They tend to travel in waves, so simply motor upstream. Yes, you can. I don't recommend camping on the east-side spoils, though. The west bank is private property. They offer a variety of packages, from overnight stays to all-inclusive, guided, extended adventures with meals and a cellphone booster. The lands around the bay are flat and dominated by grasslands and oak savanna ; they are used for agriculture and cattle farming. The waters of the bay contain several species of annelids [17] and 29 species of diatoms. Invertebrates are represented by the endemic fiddler crab species Uca subcylindrica , which reside on dry soil, more than 20 meters from bay waters. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Bay in South Texas. Archived from the original on Put on your waders for the best fishing at Laguna Madre

Related Subjects Natural History. Anglers treasure the Laguna Madre, a shallow lagoon resting along one hundred miles of the South Texas coast that offers some of the best fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. Its lush environment of seagrass meadows, tidal flats, submerged rock, jetties, worm reefs, mangroves, oyster beds, and open bays provides shelter, food, and nursery grounds for more than kinds of fish, and in its upper portion, many popular game fish are at record levels. He also raises important conservation issues for boaters and anglers to keep in mind while enjoying this unusual ecosystem. Visitor contact information including the location of boat docks, boat ramps, and piers rounds out the text, along with three maps of the Laguna Madre. It will be an invaluable guide for anglers and naturalists; canoers, kayakers, and boaters; students and teachers of fishery science; and anyone who lives near or has an interest in this unique and expansive body of water. Many notable surf anglers will target jacks specifically to use as solid shark bait, but other species work as well, including large mullet. Many anglers who target sharks will employ a kayak to drop their baits out farther than they can cast and then paddle in and put their rods in a holder. A number of shark species may not be retained. Consult the Outdoor Annual wherever licenses are sold for more on saltwater fishing regulations. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Sign in. Log into your account. Forgot your password? Password recovery. Recover your password. Monday, December 14, Get help. The Texas Outdoor Digest. Annual Texas flounder migration brings bag limit, regulation changes. Good wildlife photography captures fishing, hunting memories with respect. Texas inshore saltwater fishing outstanding during fall, winter months. Texas fishing calendar: In October head to Gulf beaches for redfish. I admit there's something about winter fly fishing catches me unprepared, and it was one of those days when I had failed to check my gear beforehand. We encountered big reds that were spread out in the thick grass, showing their tails and backs as thy snaked along with hardly enough water to submerge them. They were alone and in small groups. The grass got thicker and thicker as we waded west, but the fish were increasingly visible, tempting us to continue our westward wade. After casting my overly heavy fly into thick grass, only to blow up the feeding reds, I headed back to deeper water, hoping to see reds and big trout over pot holes, or openings in the grass. Sure enough, with the rising sun I was able to see the fish in deeper water. Ryan hooked up on a nice red, about then and so did I, but the most memorable moments of the day consisted of encounters with lb trout. Alas, casting my heavy fly defeated me. It was too heavy to land quietly, so I offended the trout and kicked myself for approaching such a demanding context with such nonchalance. We moved around some, and in each scenario Ryan promptly waded away from the boat while I hesitated, wondering if we'd seen enough to justify the wade. I'd taken Rosie with me on our earlier wades, and knowing that she was tired I stayed aboard the skiff, rubbing her wet ears, and thinking of my brother 30 years ago who sat for countless hours watching me spewing a year of angling intensity onto my home waters. Ryan has become the new crazed angler, and I the one who lingers, coaching, and waiting for a compelling reason to join him. If you can bring yourself to do it, winter fly fishing in Cullens Bay offers the best opportunity for world-class trout than any other place or time of year. I have seen literally hundreds of trout from pounds in schools or pods cruising the low, crystal clear water. But it's not for everyone. You have to show up at a time of year when the days dawn clear and often cold. I am lucky that, at my advancing age, I have a son whose sheer enthusiasm helps to keep mine alive. It's all about conditions Fri, Nov 1 Permalink. They usually do quite well during their three days on the water. A couple of weeks before they arrived, Ted asked me if water depth would be a problem. Having just fished with my son, Ryan, and seen the usual fall high tides, I said, "no," unless there's a tropical storm in the Gulf. So, no problem, right? At least I thought so. I check the weather forecast every day, so I can warn off anyone who might be traveling from far away, and bearing the expense of plane flights and time off of work. There was nothing on the Weather Underground tropical update. Ted emailed me two days before their arrival, and asked me about the tropical disturbance in the Gulf. I said, "What tropical disturbance? When I went to another weather service, there it was. I thought, "Oh shit. It's very hard to sight cast in that much water, especially since the normal places have two feet of water instead of one foot, and the shallower water tends to be in areas that are relatively sterile, i. We found plenty of fish, but had to cast from the boat in order to see them, and the shots were lower quality than usual, given that the fish would appear at the last minute, and turn away before the guys could get the fly to them. I was happy when they landed two reds the first day. After that, it became even more difficult due to clouds and wind. On the second day, however, we were on the sand in the full sun, and suddenly a group of reds swam by and crossed our path. Casting a few feet short each time, we finally got within 75 '. I said, "Let the rod do the work," and his cast was perfect. The red ate the fly, and we all screamed. Fast forward one week. Ryan and I decided to go out on Saturday morning after a rather chilly night. We slept at the trailer, got up about , and hit the water much later than we usually do. We were lucky it was dead calm, and the temperature was rising fast. And the water depth? In only six days, the bay water level had fallen a foot! For those of you familiar with the Lower Laguna, that is a huge difference. We headed for a west side lagoon first, with plans to fish the sand under the cloudless sky by late morning. Ryan had forgotten his booties, but he didn't let that stop him from wading. We stopped along a shoreline, and prepared to pole it before wading, just to make sure it was worth committing. But before we'd even unfurled one of the rods, I looked about yards down the shoreline, and could see a few gulls sitting on the water. They would take off, and sit back down a few feet away every few seconds. That means redfish! So we cranked up and ran another yards before shutting down. On the way, we started moving big reds away from the shoreline, so we knew that we were into the fish. For the next hour and a half, we stalked big reds that were feeding aggressively along the shoreline--individually, and in pairs or small groups. I lost as many as I landed, probably because I have been using flies with very small, size 8 hooks. Here's a photo of the fly I've been favoring for the past several months. It is a streamlined Mother's Day Fly no legs or weed guard. It is very simple, easy to tie, and equally effective in grass and over sand. Since they sink slowly and have a very small hook gap, they don't foul as quickly as a Clouser, or even a light spoon. And the fish love them! Indeed, I caught a 32" red on one of these in May, and have landed countless reds since. For his part, Ryan was using a Closer size 6 hook , and landed the largest red of the morning. Here's the first red we landed--a 27" red. After landing 5 reds from ", we took off for the sand, where we spent another two hours or so. We landed four more reds, and lost three more that we stung or briefly hooked. We could have stayed out and caught fish for several more hours, but it was Sunday, and we both had things to do at home. Needless to say, it was a splendid morning! The tree is huge and gnarly, and looks like it can't live much longer, but each spring it explodes in new leaf and blossom. I continue to surprise myself, and give thanks each day. I had some old flyfishing clients scheduled this past weekend, but the forecast was for unstable weather, so I warned them ahead of time. They opted to reschedule, and this time of year it's often wise to do so. The weather service usually gets it wrong. Two years ago, we had such incredible May fishing that I thought, "No way this will happen again. When I saw that the weather was supposed to be poor, I encouraged him to reschedule if he could. Rain and wind were forecasted for just about every day for the week of his visit. But Paul said he'd prefer to take whatever nature dealt us. So he arrived last week on Tuesday night. Wednesday, after my final department meeting, we took off with my dog Rosie for our trailer at Channelview RV Park in Arroyo City, armed with plenty of gas and freshly tied flies. That afternoon, we went out hoping for birding. We found extremely high water levels associated with hurricane tides. What was up? Well, we had a new moon, which creates high tides each month, and especially high tides in the spring and fall. But they tides were beyond our usual seasonal highs. For some time now, we have seen not-so-subtle changes on the LLM. Grass is covering the east side, black mangroves line every shoreline, and fish have changed their feeding patterns. Much of this is due to warm winters, and hotter summers. The warm winters have fostered plant growth, and the hot summers have driven the fish off the flats during midday, and encouraged nighttime feeding. I have written extensively about the shift of feeding activity to the evening hours, but I wasn't sure we were going to find that pattern happening so soon in the season. But we did. We did poorly that evening, and the next day, too, with Paul landing a single red that was in a pod under some birds. The birding was "on" during the afternoon, but the water levels were so high that nothing could be seen beneath the hovering and dipping gulls. Once you waded up to them, and they peeled off, nothing was left to cast to. It was a bit disheartening to find the only action of the day so void of targets. Chip joined us on Friday, and we did better. We found birds early, and the winds were tolerable. We only landed two reds, but we found visible tailing fish under birds. Later we found a few tailing reds down south, but caught none. We took the day off on Saturday, since Paul had an orthodontics appt. On Sunday, Chip and Ryan joined us for what turned out to be our best day thus far. We landed six reds in the morning, three under birds, and three that were tailing in clear water. I saw birds working in "impossibly shallow" water, and despite my rational assessment that nothing could actually be there, I hiked half a mile further into what, from the distance, looked like dry land. It was a site to see--reds feeding aggressively and then disappearing in five inches of water. It's amazing how they can hunt in almost no water, and move about almost imperceptibly. I caught one of them, and called Ryan to join me. Alas, we were fishing upwind, and the action was spread out. At about , we decided to go in, because it was Mother's Day and Chip had to be home, and Ryan needed to get some rest before his work week. Paul and I napped for a while, then headed out for some hoped-for evening action. It was the highpoint of the week. I had decided not to fish, but to handle the boat and provide support for Paul. We immediately found tailing reds under birds. Paul caught two reds and a 21" trout before we saw birds working, once again, far beyond the usual margins of habitable water. So we took the boat as far as we could, and waded three hundred yards further toward a mass of birds working over reds in "spit. Dragging ass back to the boat, we considered fishing a different area, where the fish may have headed. I took the Stilt over there, and shut down as we saw a few birds working near a shoreline. The largest red I've caught in years -- 33". I thought you would like to see this video I made with Ted Rufner, a guide and veteran fly fishing from the Gulf Coast of Florida. Ted knew reds, but this was his first hike to the LLM. Comments 4. Some of our old clients, in particular, are stirring from their winter slumber and calling us for some fly fishing. Not surprisingly, the topic of fly fishing the Lower Laguna, where it's rarely below 60 degrees during our regular season, came up. So they called to make plans. Indeed, it's a good time to plan ahead, given the demand for April and May, in particular. For the past three years, the spring has been the best fly fishing for me, offering altogether new phenomena on the east and west sides. Again, we plan to offer late fishing options, of your schedule will allow it. Consider coming in early if you can and starting your fishing at sundown. Ryan and I will be fishing a lot as the weather improves. We went out recently with a friend of his, who didn't think he needed lightweight waders since the air temperature was in the 70s. But this time of year, it can be surprising to find how the water temperature, which can be in the low 60s can cool the air by 8 degrees. Add to that the chill factor of running at 35 mph, and hypothermia is a real possibility. This year, I will be working with Ryan whenever possible to teach him to guide, as well as to offer single clients double coverage during the day. Usually, a single guide moves more slowly than two, since he has to make round trips to the boat, if wading. A second guide, however, can wade back and get the boat while the other guide assists the client in seeing and casting to fish. Of course, this arrangement is optional, and always up to the client's preference. We expect to be exploiting the same east side action in April and May that we've enjoyed the past two years, as well as targeting the four or five regular hotspots on the west side. Last year, I used VIP poppers more than in recent years--going back to my roots of preferring topwater whenever the conditions will allow, or warrant it. There's nothing like a big red or trout pushing water behind a popper! Randy and I are putting our heads together and hoping to plan some group weekends, where you can elect to come down alone or with a partner, and pay one price for lodging, guiding and meals. Stay tuned, or if you're interested in the mean time. I hope to have some new pics soon. June Update Sun, Jun 10 Permalink. I haven't had much time to blog, given my summer school and private practice commitments. But I have had some great days on the water with old and new clients. About a month ago. Mike Romano from Houston came down and fished with me. He'd never caught a redfish on the fly, and he was able to catch his first four reds with me. We started, as usual, on the sand and found tailing reds spread out in all directions. Mike was able to stalk several there, before finally hooking and landing his first red on a fly. Once the sun rises, the reds leave the sand and head west. After a couple of hours of stalking single snd pairs, we were left with only sheepshead punctuating the glassy surface. So we left and headed to parts unknown until entering a birding venue at midday. It was a long shot that we would find pods working under birds at 1 pm, but I'm never surprised by what the Lower Laguna offers up. Indeed, we found large pods of fish feeding vigorously in 12 inches of water. By that time of day, most of the anglers have left the grassy west-side lagoons, so we had it to ourselves. Mike managed to land three more reds before heading in. This past weekend, I had the privilege of guiding an old client, Dr. Dan Casso and three of his friends. Truett Cawlfield worked with me to provide the guiding for the two days. Truett is a gifted angler, and has a great future as a Laguna Madre guide. It was pleasure working with him. It was tough fishing. It's been turning off earlier than it used to, so I've taken to encouraging my clients to go in earlier than usual, and then go back out around 6 pm. The four guys opted to do that at the end of the first day. I headed as far east as my Stilt could go without needing to be pushed out into the deeper water. Alas, the redfish action was not "on," so we went to a west-side venue known for its large reds feeding just before sundown. Unfortunately, the guys didn't hooks up on one of these oft-oversized reds. Okay, so what the skinny? Fishing early on the sand had been reliably good, but it falls off after a couple of hours. Then the sand is devoid of life, and a guide runs around looking for miracles. There are some fish to be found, such along the Intracoastal spoil banks, but they are few and far between. Fish Tales Mon, May 28 Permalink. I guided an old friend and legendary flyfisher Joe Averill, and his son Trey, yesterday, and I took them out for fun the evening before with my brother Chip. We went far east, hoping for the phenomenon I discovered two years ago--reds pouring into the super shallow sand before sundown. Alas, it wasn't great like it was the evening before, when my buddy Bobboy McConal and his sons Scott and Sean had a stellar evening in the same area. Nonetheless, we landed four before coming in. After running a favorite west side venue at daybreak, finding little to entice me, I headed back to the same general area and shut down in about 10 inches of water. I laid out the plan--Walk east until we find the fish. It's quite counter intuitive, because it gets almost prohibitively shallow--about 5 inches--and all you see is sheepshead. It's temping to turn around. But on faith and experience, I kept the guys heading further through a dead zone until the water deepened again, and We proceeded to cast to pods for the next two hours. Joe landed a bunch before the pods started to sweep around and head west. After a while, it was only sheepshead again. But it was a great morning, and as it turned out, it was the best we found. Warning: Don't try to take your boat where you think we're fishing. One guy did just that yesterday am in a boat that was not equipped to go shallow, much less in 6 inches of water. Stop and wade, unless you have a Stilt or the equivalent. Or you'll regret the adventure. More later. Got to do some counseling! Since I've guided less in the last few years, I've been able to explore areas of the bay formerly off limits to my guiding regimen. I would follow certain patterns designed to optimize my client's ability to land fish during the day without venturing into more speculative, more mysterious venues. However, the in past three years, I have progressively shifted away from the standard guide MOA and explored areas that have turned out to be the best action I've ever discovered on the LLM, at least in the past decade. And I have flyfished the bay since , Before , certain phenomena were more likely to occur, such as schools on the east side in the morning, or the redfish parade on the westside in mid- summer. Those things still happen, but I think everyone will agree that the average water depth is creeping up. Just an inch of extra water combined with warmer winters has conspired to create an entirely different ecosystem, especially on the East side. Then, with added boat traffic, the larger cohorts of redfish have shifted to nighttime feeding. It's pretty new stuff. Oversized Reds Mon, Apr 30 Permalink. I will be posting the Vimeo links just as soon as he edits the video. It was a windy Saturday, and my partner Randy had had his trip canceled because his clients were afraid of the wind. I ducked into the lagoon since it was on the way more or less, and I saw some single gulls working in very shallow water. So Rosie and I got out of the boat and walked over close to where the birds were tracking up wind, obviously following single reds or small groups in about 7 inches of water. Even though the wind was blowing 25 miles an hour, and the water was completely muddy, I knew I could see them coming upwind. The reds coming in to this area late in the evening, tend to be very large, often oversized. So they are wary, and especially smart. I had shots at probably eight or 10 fish, some of which would appear 80 or 90 yards out under a single bird, giving me a chance to get into place for the cast. But between the wind being so strong, and the fish so wary, I blew up every opportunity. In addition to seeing the fish coming upwind under a bird or two, I would occasionally see a back out the water 10 or 15 feet away from me, cruising by. It was very hard to cast to these fish that were so close to us. So after while, I decided to head toward the Eastside and check out the sand, where the reds often pour into the shallowest water before sunset. But after getting up, and before I had left the westside lagoon, I saw some birds working along another shoreline, so I ran over and stopped, and got out and walked over to where the birds were frenetically working over fish. Before I could get to the place with the birds were working, I saw a single huge redfish working toward me up the shoreline with his back out of the water, zigging and zagging as the baitfish flared in his path. I could see some dark tails coming out of the muddy water moving upwind, so I decided to make a cast to those fish before heading back to stalk the big red on the shoreline. I fully expected the group of fish to be smaller, but perhaps more eager, so I made a long backhand crosswind cast just to the head of the group-- a cast that I couldn't have made 10 years ago. I hooked up on a red that shot away so fast that I almost lost my grip on my rod. The powerful fish turned out to be a inch redfish that almost spooled me before I finally turned him. It was a long fight, and after landing him I took a couple pictures of the fish on the shoreline before releasing him. Satisfied with my success, I walked back to the boat with Rosie and prepared to leave for home, when I noticed that the west side of the lagoon was festooned with laughing gulls dipping to the water and clearly working over fish in water that was no deeper than six inches. In the past, I have encountered this scenario on many occasions, in which a large cohort of oversize redfish come into this particular area at dusk, and leave before morning.

Laguna Madre Outfitters, Capt. Ben Paschal

Most veterans say when the hardheads move in, it's time to move out. They tend to travel in waves, so simply motor upstream. Yes, you can. I don't recommend camping on the east-side spoils, though. The west bank is private property. They offer a variety of packages, from overnight stays to all-inclusive, guided, extended adventures with meals and a cellphone booster. More: Landcut cabin adventure. Video: Little blue cabin on the Landcut. More from the south end: Landcut Ho! Video: Port Mansfield on a full moon. There are no roads and virtually no cellphone reception. Coyotes roam both banks and the bird life is spectacular. Holiday weekends bring out the cabin revelers on the Cut's north end, so the atmosphere is friendly and festive. Other times, the nights are astar-bright and silent, except for the humming of a generator and the surface pops of feeding trout. You can catch those trout all night under cabin porch lights. Video: Boating Safety Basics. The ride is rough and wet during a strong wind. Don't go if thunderstorms are likely. Seek shelter on the porch of a cabin if you're caught in a storm. Remember, no cellphone reception. Coast Guard. More: Here's how to choose the best fishing guide on the Texas Coast. Fishing success along the Landcut can be good during high or low tide. But if you prefer sightcasting, high water broadens the shallow transparent apron on both sides of the channel, where redfish and drum feed. Hardly anyone fishes the middle of the channel. But the drop-off on both sides can be productive. Facebook Twitter Email. Landcut's remote fishing thrills. Mitch Deane offers a wide range of trip experiences from fishing excursions and duck hunting trips to Sunset Cruises for all ages. Wet N Ready Too Sportfishing. Fishing Blog. Fishing Gallery. Fishing Trips. Book your Fishing Trip. Hunting Trips. Book Your Hunting Trip. https://static.s123-cdn-static.com/uploads/4640654/normal_602084b57c016.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9587853/UploadedFiles/1361CBF7-E65B-935A-380D-4960DAF4D983.pdf https://uploads.strikinglycdn.com/files/2bb37fae-d34e-41af-a870-c2c6b766355b/ergebnisse-im-schwimmen-asien-spiele-2018-722.pdf https://uploads.strikinglycdn.com/files/42917dd6-3979-4063-aa4a-1893c4cec3e0/die-sculpturen-des-vaticanischen-museums-band-i-987.pdf