Fishing Rockport, Port Aransas and Corpus Christi with Capt. George Rose

Bill and Sue strike again

2012-02-01T18:55:00.000-06:00

Bill and Sue Crouthamel from Boerne fished with me yesterday (1/31/2012) and we did pretty good for a short afternoon trip. We had two limits of reds and one oversize. Bill and Sue always seem to catch fish. Some people are like that. The fishing has really been good all year. It looks like this year is going to be good also. Don't wait too long to book your trip.

Nice Reds for Houston Fisherman

2012-01-30T22:48:00.001-06:00

Patrick, Nick and John fished from the airboat Saturday, January 28th. We got our 3 limits of redfish and had a nice warm day on the water. It was a little crowded, as it always is on Saturday, and we couldn't get the black drum to eat. Still, 3 limits of reds, and few released is not bad. These guys were good fisherman and made my job easy. Fishing is good this time of year. I've limited, or double limited for 5 days in a row. If you get a chance to make it down, the weather and fishing is great.

Fisher Women

2012-01-30T22:42:00.002-06:00

Ok, I've had a lot of men and women anglers on my boats over the years. See this lady on the right, that's Amy Lemaster from Lubbock, Tx. She is one of the best, if not the best, women anglers I've ever seen. She puts most men to shame. It's really a fun day when you get people who are good at fishing. We had a great day with 2 limits of reds and 2 limits of drum. Almost all our fish we over 20". I lost track of how many redfish we actually caught. Mary, who is Amy's fishing partner is a good angler also. We had our two double limits in about four hours of fishing on 1/29/2012. It was a great day fishing.

Winter Fishing

2012-01-30T22:34:00.001-06:00

Sandy and his son-in-law and friend from Minnesota fished with me on 1/27/2012. We had 3 limits of redfish and a couple of nice drum. We released several more reds and they took these home to eat. Not a bad day for January. The weather is awesome.

Susan and Kids

2012-01-25T19:29:00.000-06:00

Susan brought her son and his friend and caught 3 limits of big drum, a redfish, and a flounder. The boys had a blast and all three of them are good fisherman and fisher ladies. We have more flounder this year than I've seen in a long time. It's great to see them coming back stronger than ever. Nice catch.

Pretty Warm for January

2012-01-25T19:26:00.001-06:00

Not a bad day for January. Shorts, 2 limits of black drum, a limit of redfish and a few beers. John and Chris had a really good box of nice sized fish. Not often we get to wear shorts in January. (January 17th)

Good Day for Drum and Reds

2012-01-19T11:33:00.000-06:00

Hope (From Oklahoma) has been catching good boxes of drum and redfish all month. She's down with family members and has been fishing a lot the last couple of weeks. We're catching some very nice size drum along with our redifsh. Drum are very good eating and still sold commercially to restaurants. You eat them all the time. Very fun fish to catch too. Another nice box of January fish.

Pretty Good Fishing and Great Weather

2012-01-19T11:28:00.000-06:00

Nice box of 4 Limits of big redfish. We had to work a little to get them all, but we got them. We're pretty much limiting out on reds or drum every day. The fishing is really good.

A Waste of a Beautiful Morning

2011-12-26T18:17:00.000-06:00

Ok, Christmas is over and we're all back to work. Hope everyone had a safe and fun Christmas. I thought I'd throw in a story or two for the holidays. I just got back from Mexico with my family and we had a great time. The whole family went scuba diving and we saw tarpon, lobsters, eels, stingrays, and hundreds of reef fish. It was a blast. I really wish we had some good diving closer to home. Anyway, here's a couple of funny stories.

This one did not happen to me. I'd rather not explain how I know about this, but I give you my word it's true. The guide it happened to will not acknowledge it's true, but several of us know for sure that it happened. Here goes:

A really good fishing guide (let's call him Joel) is taking some people out for a day on the water. It's summer and the fish are really eating well in San Antonio Bay. Joel tells his people to be sure to get to the dock on time (we all left from the same dock that day) so they can catch the early bite for trout. Joel knows he can catch 40 trout pretty easy as long as they can get there before the sun gets too high. Joel leaves the dock around 6:30am with 2 guys and their wives. We all saw them leave too.

Well they take off and get about a mile from the dock when one of the ladies says, "Joel, I've got to use the bathroom". Now Joel is already antsy to get going and they just left the dock and he says, "Damn, woman, we just left the dock. Can't you hold it for a little bit?". She replies, "No, I've got to go right now". Now Joel is very high strung. He's always in a hurry and never happy unless everything is running just right. He realizes she's not going to budge and relents to letting her use the bathroom. Joel tells her to "go" off the back of the boat while he and the others turn around to give her some privacy.

This happened many years ago. Back then some of us had big bait tanks that sat up on the back deck. They sat up high so they were easy to get in. Basically picture a big white barrel with a lid on it and about 100 croakers swimming around. Not too hard to imagine. It sat up about 3 feet high on the back deck out of the way and the dip net was attached to it. It was about 2 feet across. Lots of guides used them as they kept croaker alive for a long time and were easily accessible.

You need that last paragraph to understand the rest of the story. Now the lady gets all done and off they go to San Antonio Bay (about 25 minutes) to catch trout. They pull up to the reef Joel's been fishing and sure enough there were lots of trout hitting the water. It was perfect. I know it was perfect because we all went by Joel and his customer using the bathroom. We were fishing the same area and beat Joel there because he stopped to let the lady go. Joel goes back to his tank to get some croakers and start catching fish. He opens the lid and goes in to shock. All his croakers are floating. Joel's really screwed. There's no where to get bait, all his bait is dead and he doesn't know what happened. Suddenly, Joel notices something else in his bait well. Yes, you figured it out by now. A big turd. That lady was sitting on the tank when we all went by. That's why we didn't know what she was doing. No one imagined anyone would think the bait well was a toilet, but she did. I can't tell you what happened after that. I think he made her cry and took the whole lot of them back to the dock. Joel is a little like Judge Smails from Caddyshack. He is very anal about his equipment. I think he took the whole tank off and threw it away after that. Anyway, I hope you get a laugh out of the story.
Judge Smails

Big Fish and LOTS of them

2011-12-19T09:01:00.000-06:00

Josh, Chad and family fished yesterday and crushed the drum and redfish. The redfish were a little hard to catch so we went looking for drum. They actually quit fishing once we had 26 drum and 4 big redfish. These fish all averaged 3 pounds or better. That's a big box of fish. We could have caught fish all day I think. Anyway, the fishing is good.

To everyone out there: Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I'm headed to Mexico today for some diving, beach, sun and maybe a Corona. Be safe over the holidays and be careful traveling. Happy Holidays Everyone!

Best Time to Fish

2011-12-14T09:38:00.002-06:00

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO GO FISHING OR WHAT'S THE BEST MONTH TO FISH AND HOW DO WE CATCH FISH?

I get asked three questions all the time. The one above, where are the fish biting, and what's the best boat? I've answered the last two in previous blogs so I'm going to get this one out of the way. You're not going to like what you hear but it's the truth so here goes.

The best time to go fishing is when the fish are biting. Simple, easy to understand and honest. OK, now you ask when are the fish biting? That's the million dollar question. If anyone on Earth knew the answer to that question, they would make more money than Bill Gates ever imagined. Can you imagine knowing exactly where to go and what time to be there? I personally don't think it would be much fun.The challenge of finding fish is what keeps me interested. You would catch fish until your arms fell off, however. Think of all the electronics invested on boats to help find fish. Think about all the "gimmick" lures, scents, etc. to get fish to eat. It's big business.

There are a lot of times I'll see 40-50 redfish and work them for an hour or so and never get them to eat. A friend may go after that same school a few hours later and crush them. He got there at the right time. That's what makes fishing fun is the challenge of first finding fish, getting them to eat, and lastly, getting them in the net. You can go to a stocked fish tank and catch all the catfish you want for $5.00 a pound if you just want to catch fish. We're talking about catching redfish, trout, drum and flounder in a HUGE area. These fish move around due to tidal changes, bait movements, wind conditions, heat and cold, boat traffic, and sometimes just because they feel like it.

OK, now we realize it's impossible to factor in all these events (they can all occur at the same time sometimes), and actually catch fish. Not so. Sometimes it's very hard, but you can usually work the puzzle out and get a box of fish to be proud of. The better guides are on the water a lot. They know where the fish were for the last month (or maybe where they weren't). Every good guide I know sees everything on the water. They don't miss a bait fish jump, a guy catching a fish, even something floating in the water that wasn't there yesterday. They also know that when certain conditions are occurring that the fish should be in certain areas. Then we look in those areas until we find them. The hardest condition to counteract is boat traffic. That's not Mother Nature, that's humans screwing up Mother Nature. I hate fishing on Saturday. The boat traffic moves fish from where they want to be. People are usually sitting right where they should be fishing.

To learn how and where to catch fish will just take practice. A lot of practice to be consistent. You can get lucky once in awhile, but to consistently catch fish you have to practice. If you don't have the time to practice, pay a GOOD guide to take you. You'll have a good time, be treated kindly, and most likely catch a lot more fish than you would on your own.

Lastly, the big one everyone wants to know. When is the BEST month (highest odds) or time to come to the coast? Other than the obvious "Whenever you can" answer I'm actually going to try and narrow this down. This is not an exact answer as we're not dealing with an exact science but here goes:

Trout-April-July
Redfish --All year
Drum -- October -May
Flounder--September-December (late October and November are the best)
Trophy Red fish--last week of Sept-2nd week of November
Trophy Trout --February-April

None of the above is set in stone, it just takes into account some of the factors that come in to play. For example, you can catch a lot of trout in December IF the weather allows you to get where they are. Let's say you come down for trout and a cold front blows in. Then what? Well the red fish are going to be eating like crazy so we switch gears and catch reds. See what I'm getting at? You can catch fish all year, anytime, if you're here on the right day. A good guide will tell you what's biting best as they want you to catch fish. We don't like getting beat at the cleaning station. Especially because our customers wanted to catch only trout in a 30mph wind on Saturday, they won't wade and there's no shrimp available. LOL. I would have a better chance of finding Big Foot in my backyard than catching 20 trout.

Well, I hope that helps clear things up. I know I'm confused now. I know every day I leave the dock I have to catch fish. Period. I have to catch fish or I don't get paid. If customers listen and let me help them, we'll catch fish. If not, I'll do my best, but we probably won't do as well as we could have. Now go fishing and have a good time whether you catch fish or not. Our bays can't be beat for relaxation and fun.

Big Box of Reds and Family

2011-11-30T09:05:00.000-06:00

The fishing is always good this time of year. The water level drops out and redfish are everywhere. Skip and his family caught all their limits of redfish and a few drum. We saw redfish everywhere. It was an absolutely beautiful day and warm. Nice job guys and sister.

Mini Man Fight Club

2011-11-27T09:43:00.000-06:00

OK It's cold outside this morning (around 45-50), we rescheduled our trip, and I'm bored so I thought I would pass on a story. This happened either last year or the year before. There's two guides who are polar opposites. I've known them both personally for at least 10 years and I still can't believe this actually happened. One of the guides is a big drinker. I mean drinks a lot after he gets off the water and uses every four letter word known to man. We'll call him Bud (short for Budweiser). The other guy is quiet, I've never seen him drink at all, and is fairly religious. He takes missions every couple of years to other countries to help people in need. I've always known him to be a nice man, never seen him angry. Anyway, we'll call him Abe (honest Abe). The only thing they have in common is they are both probably five feet, five inches tall and have brown hair.

So enough background history, here's the story.

One day they are both out fishing. Bud's got customers and he's drifting an area of Estes Flats (famous shallow water right outside Rockport). Anyway, Bud's drifting with shrimp and popping corks picking up a few trout on each drift for his customers enjoying the day. Along comes Abe by himself. Now I'm not sure what Abe was doing by himself that day, (looking for fish for the next day or just playing) but Abe decided HE wanted to drift that same area. Now honestly, Abe was wrong. He didn't have customers and Bud did. Abe should have gone some other place or waited until Bud left. There's hundreds of other places but Abe just decided he wanted to crowd Bud. Which is good because that's what makes our story.

Now Bud sees Abe pull in front of his drift and it ticks him off. All five feet of him are mad. He let Abe drift through and Bud finished his drift cussing Abe the whole time. Bud cranks his engine and goes back around for another drift thinking it was a one time deal with Abe pulling in front of him. But no. Abe does the same thing again, cutting off Bud's drift. Basically, Abe is getting in front of where Bud wants to go before Bud can get there. It spooks the fish and makes Bud's drifts a waste of time.

Well Bud loses his temper and gets close enough for Abe to hear him. I'm sure Bud's customers were angry too. Anyway, Bud let's Abe have it. I can't use the language Bud used but it was mostly directed to Abe's mother. Now like I've said before, I've never seen Abe mad. Ever. Apparently, the mother comments were just enough to push him over the edge. Bud moves on somewhere else and here comes Abe at full speed. Abe slows his boat down a little and Bud moves up to the front of his boat to see what he wants now. Abe gets about a foot from Bud's boat and jumps across the bow, tackles Bud, and they both land in the water. Yep, that really happened. Remember, Abe has no customers on his boat so it starts drifting off. Bud's guys are in shock.

Abe and Bud come up out of the water and Bud is swinging as fast as he can. Abe's trying to hold Bud still saying, " You need to settle down". I think the water cooled Abe off real quick. He didn't want to fight once they hit the water. I think Bud landed one or two punches and lost his sunglasses. Bud's customers pulled him back in the boat and Abe started walking in grass and mud trying to catch up to his. They don't talk to each other anymore, lol.

I posted flyers on the bait house doors and a few other places advertising "Mini Man Fighting in Estes Flats". We can't seem to get it going again though. You never know what you'll see out there fishing.

This could have all been avoided by just some common courtesy. But then we wouldn't have this story. Hope you enjoy.

Red Tide

2011-11-23T08:48:00.000-06:00

Ok I've had a ton of emails about Red Tide. Here's the deal. It's a naturally occurring algae bloom that kills fish. It's been around forever. It does not kill people. Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPW) says you can actually eat fish killed by Red Tide. I personally wouldn't, but that's up to you. Do not eat oysters from the bays until TPW says it safe. The Red Tide does hit the oysters very hard and makes them dangerous.

Now that you know Red Tide is not poisonous to people I know you want to know what it does to fishing. Ok, it gets on the gills of a fish and the fish suffocates. You can actually see the fish surfacing to try and get air. They splash around on the top of the water trying to find air. The Pelicans, Seagulls and fish will actually gorge themselves on these dying fish. I've been watching this go on for a week or so now. The Pelicans won't even get up in the air. They're just sitting in the same spots on the water waiting for a suffocating fish to get close enough to grab. The Redfish are stuffed with mullet and shad that they are picking up off the bottom. It's very interesting. I personally have not seen many dead fish other than mullet, hard head catfish and shad. I've seen a handful of Flounder, one or two Redfish and no Trout. I've been on the water for the last 60 days without many breaks and I'm covering a lot of area.

The big problem with Red Tide is two things:

1. It allows the fish to gorge on dying fish and makes them more difficult to catch as they stay full.

2. It moves the bait fish around. The bait (Mullet, Shad etc..) either dies or leaves. The fish eat all the fresh dead bait and then have to move around to find more food. So, you catch fish in a spot one day and the next they aren't there. The fish leave to find more bait. Not a big deal, just making it harder to pattern fish while the Red Tide is around. Find the bait, find the fish.

The Red Tide is annoying to people. It makes you cough and irritates your eyes. Some of my customers sneeze a lot. Two weeks ago I had to move from a spot because we were coughing quite a bit. We were catching fish left and right and didn't want to move, but it was really irritating. That's pretty much all you need to know about Red Tide. It's not a big deal. If it's on the beach where you're staying you might have to drive down the beach a bit to find a clean area to swim (actually just to get away from the stinky fish smell). TPW has some good information on Red Tide too. You might look it up on their web site.

Canadians go redfishing

2011-11-23T08:16:00.000-06:00

These four friends from Canada came down to to catch a redfish. We had 4 Limits of reds, one oversize, two drum and a nice flounder. Not a bad day. The wind was blowing really hard from the North and these fish stacked up outside the mouth of a creek. I don't know how many we caught and released, but it was a lot. These fish all averaged 25" +. Great day and good fisherman.

A picture of my office

2011-11-23T08:12:00.000-06:00

One of my customers took this one morning at the dock. I don't usually post pictures like this, but I thought this one was really beautiful. Nice office, huh?

How do you count big reds?

2011-10-24T08:31:00.000-05:00

No one believes we catch this many big fish. Everyone always says, "That's the same fish and you just take pictures over and over." Not so. Notice the fingers in the above picture. He's holding up 4 fingers. That means this was his fourth fish over 36". Once we get to 4 or 5 each, no one really cares if people believe us or not. Everyone is a little tired.

Big Red Rodeo

2011-10-24T08:27:00.000-05:00

The Crouthamel family has four reds (all were over 40") on at one time. We landed all 4 and got some great pictures. This is what the trophy redfish trip is all about. I think we ended up catching and releasing 25-30 bull reds. Great fishing for a great family. Bill and his wife Sue have fished with me for years. It's always fun fishing with them.

Redfish Dance

2011-10-24T07:45:00.000-05:00

The Snyders work a double on big reds. We got them both in and Will didn't even lose his cigarette, lol.

Two of many big reds caught and released. These are our big spawning fish and we don't want to hurt them. Catch, photo and release. They're not good eating by the way.

Judy with a 35" red

2011-09-28T16:07:00.000-05:00

Judy Carr with a 35" red she caught on #14 pound line in about two feet of water. She fought this fish a long time and did a great job to get it in. Big fish can be caught on light tackle if you take your time and use good fishing skills. Judy is one of the best female anglers I've ever seen and it shows. She took pictures and released this fish.

What's the best boat?

2011-09-15T18:55:00.000-05:00

Ok,
I've been asked this question at least 1000 times over the years. I've had several emails asking "what's the best boat for fishing the coast" ? Here's the best, most honest answer I know. There's not one. Yes, there are good boats but the reason I own 2 boats (an air boat and a 24' Kenner) is because I can't find one that will do everything. Some boats are better at handling deep water and chop. Some boats are just for shallow water fishing. Some boats are very fast, but don't handle shallow water. You see the idea here. The sister question to the first question is "how shallow will your boat run"? It doesn't matter how shallow your boat will run, it matters how shallow your boat will float. I can run a boat through almost no water ( inches deep), but I can't stop. If I stop, I'm stuck. If I can run the boat and stop and still float, I'm in good shape. If you're floating, you can pole or use your trolling motor to get out. The other way you're going to need the number to Sea Tow and it's really expensive.

The boat you want is the one that gets you to the areas YOU like to fish. If you aren't sure what areas you like to fish or how you like to fish (wade, bait, drift or a combo) then you're not ready for a boat. Keep taking guides until you find what you like to do best. Then you're ready to find a boat. It's easy for me to tell someone what the best boat is when they say "I'm looking to fish the flats". I know they need a shallow water boat and have a lot of options. If you say, "I want a boat that I can fish offshore, the flats and the middle of Aransas Bay", I'll say "Good luck". I'm not talking about just getting by, I'm talking about fishing your area the right, safe and best way. There's a boat out there just for you. You just need to know what you like to do. You may be surprised at how simple it is with the right boat.

Go find out what kind of fishing you like the best. What do you want to do every single time you're on the water? Then we can find you a boat that fits perfectly. When you want to go offshore, hire an offshore guide. It's a lot cheaper than owning two boats. Trust me.

Now go fishing and have fun. Remember to be polite and courteous to other fisherman. Give others AT LEAST 100 yards of room. Don't be the ass out there. We've already got too many.

Big Reds

2011-09-15T18:38:00.000-05:00

Another good fishing day for a family of 4. We caught 12 big reds from the airboat had a good time.

A few fishing Picts.

2011-09-15T18:36:00.000-05:00

Nice box of 12 slot reds and 1 oversize. This is a really fun group and they had a great time. They almost gave the "wild bunch" a run for their money.

True story, unfortunately

2011-08-22T12:21:00.000-05:00

The Moon

An old fishing guide friend of mine once said, “You never know when the moon will come out”. He said those words right before he mooned a skiff boat that ran the shore in front of about ten other boats all trying to scratch out a few trout on a tough day. I remember how tan he was and how white his butt was. It was strangely white compared to the rest of his weathered skin. Anyway, we all got a good laugh and the guy in the skiff almost ran into the bank trying to figure out what he was looking at.

Since that day, many years ago, the moon has come out often. Usually it’s my doing but once in awhile it’s another guide. It’s never a tourist. It’s always funny to see the looks you get from the other boats staring at your backside. One of my good friends actually makes pretty good money off my mooning. Once I get close enough for everyone to see, he’ll tell his customers, “I’ll bet you $10 bucks that guy in that boat shows us his ass.” Well, his folks don’t know me from Adam and what are the odds of a random boat driving by and some guy bends over and gives you the full shot in broad daylight? They’re pretty good odds since we play this game every day. His customers always “take” the bet and he waves his white flag behind their back (that let’s me know it’s on) and the show begins.

The most famous moon of all time was delivered by yours truly. I didn’t plan it, and wish I would have thought about it a little more before I did it. It’s done now and I can’t go back and change history so maybe you’ll get a laugh out of it.

It started with my new airboat engine that had 600 plus horsepower. I was so proud of that thing. It would go anywhere and get there really fast. I had put in a Cove Harbor that day and it was Spring Break so there was a lot of people cleaning fish, eating at the restaurant that overlooked the bay and some folks were just milling around watching the events of the afternoon. Well, I’m heading in from a good day of fishing with a family of four from somewhere ( I can’t remember everyone) and I decide to take a short cut to the boat ramp across a small flat in front of the restaurant and cleaning stand. I was “showing off” my airboat and going to do a few donuts for the crowd. When I turned the corner there was a sand bar there. I knew it was there, I’ve done this hundreds of times, so I slowed down a little to ease over it before beginning my show. I’m not sure what happened but the boat just stopped on the sand bar. The engine was running, we just weren’t moving anymore. A few of the 140 or so people saw me stop but none of them really knew what I was doing. I stood up and looked down to see what the problem was. To make a long story short, white sand and airboats don’t mix. White sand is like super glue. Airboats won’t budge off white sand, and I was sitting on top of a white sandbar. No problem I thought. This is exactly why I had a 600 horsepower engine built. I’ll just give it a little gas and she’ll slide right off this sandbar.

I told my customers to hang on and we’ll be back on our way momentarily. Not so. I gave that boat as much gas as I could and it sounded like a NASCAR running at Talladega. I now had the attention of all 140 or so people on the dock and in the restaurant. I mean I had their full attention. I let off the gas and turned off the engine. The only way to move a stuck airboat is to lighten the load. So I told my customers they would have to get out and stand in the water (it was only 3 or 4 inches deep) while I got the boat moving again. I was a little embarrassed at this point. The customers reluctantly stepped out and I set the coolers, anchor and anything else that had any weight to it in the water next to the boat. It looked like a really strange yard sale out there. No problem now I thought. I revved that engine up as high as it would go and nothing. Now I’m in trouble. I’ve got a family standing in the water along with all our fishing equipment and a boat that won’t move. People on the dock have called friends to come see the free show at Cove Harbor. You could hear the boat roaring over two miles away I found out later.

I didn’t know what else to do so I called two of my friends watching and laughing on the dock and said, “Hey come over here and help me shake this boat loose”. To which they replied, “Hell no. We don’t want anyone here to know we’re friends of yours.” I begged and pleaded and finally went for the throat. I said, “Ok, I’ll give each of you a case of beer to come help me”. They were supersonic in two minutes. They got out there and we rocked (push the bow back and forth while the boat is under power) the boat and she came off the sandbar. I quickly put my people back in the boat and all the gear and we eased our way over towards the dock. We still had a solid crowd of 150 or so all enjoying the show. Once I got within about twenty yards of the cleaning stand and restaurant, I could see all the people in the restaurant standing at the windows like new parents staring at babies in the maternity ward. The problem was they were all staring at me. As I hit the channel to the dock the crowd started cheering for me and clapping. I felt like a charity case. I remember feeling the blood run to my face and it got very hot. I saw one of my best friends click his heels together and salute me and something just blew. I turned around on the top of the airboat, dropped my shorts to the bottom of my cheeks and realized immediately the clapping had stopped. I slid my pants back up and it was dead silence. I mean graveyard at midnight silence. Then the crowd erupted in the wildest yells and hollers I’d ever heard. I got a standing ovation for that one. The police were called, but luckily for me there’s a law somewhere that went to the Supreme Court in Florida that says, “If a woman can wear a thong, a man can show his butt”. That’s the short version of that court case. Anyway the officers explained to me that we were trying to show people a good time in Rockport and they would appreciate it if I didn’t show so much of a good time from now on. If you go down to Cove Harbor and ask anyone who’s been around here for long about “some mooning incident”, they’ll tell you this same story from the ground perspective. Anyway, I got my five minutes of fame by using my butt.

Patrick Brown's kids are pretty good fisherman

2011-08-22T12:16:00.000-05:00

Father and Son get them all. Limits of trout and reds 8/16

2011-08-22T12:01:00.000-05:00

2011-08-11T09:56:00.000-05:00

Here's a picture of the "wild bunch". These guys are really rowdy. This is one of the few groups I've ever seen that can drink beer and catch fish. I don't mean a beer or two each, I mean it would be cheaper to bring a keg, kind of beer.

Kayakers

2011-08-11T09:47:00.000-05:00

Please remember that I'm not a writer. I'm a fishing guide. I do the best I can with these stories. These are both true and happened to me personally. I do not dislike kayakers, I'm just telling you one of many kayak stories that have happened to me.

Kayaks. Speed Bumps for Boaters
(They really are hard to see sometimes. I wish they would put a bicycle flag on the kayaks so no one gets hurt)

What is a kayak? The dictionary defines a kayak as: An Inuit or Eskimo boat consisting of a light wooden frame covered with watertight skins except for a single or double opening in the center, and propelled by a double-bladed paddle.

2. A lightweight canoe that is similar in design

I do not dislike kayakers. They are a great way to get exercise and provide minimal transportation for fishing. We just need to find a balance between kayakers and boaters that everyone can live with.

In Texas, a kayak is not considered a boat because it doesn’t have a motor and it doesn’t need any registration numbers. It’s more closely related to the canoe I think. A canoe however requires some skill to maneuver where a kayak can be paddled by anyone with two arms. Actually a canoe is much more efficient cutting through the water in my opinion. What did all these new breed kayakers do before the Eskimos were kind enough to show their boats to us? Hummm. Got me thinking. I guess they fished off the bank or used the piers. Very few of them have their own boats so I know they didn’t give up fishing from a real boat and switch to kayaks. That would be like going from an automobile back to a horse and buggy.

So one morning it’s early, around 6:30am and I’ve got my customers anchored on a little cut catching trout pretty fast. We’re sitting in the Aransas Pass Shrimp channel all by ourselves watching the sun come up and really enjoying the morning when I hear something behind us. The something says “You guys doing any good”? I look back and it’s two speed bumps paddling right up next to the boat. I replied, “Yes we’re doing fine. Can I help you”? I’m a little shocked to see these two young guys sitting two feet from my engine. Speed bumps, “No thanks, we’re just going around you guys to get back in that cut back there.” To which I explain that if they go around me they will scare off the fish we’re catching as the cut is only about eight feet wide. I asked, “Please go down the bank a bit and there’s another cut down there. It will probably have some fish in it too.” Speed bumps, “No we want to fish this cut. This is where we fished last month and caught some fish. We won’t bother you, just give us a second to slide by.” Well, there’s no way they can get in that cut without moving my fish and my nice customers are paying about $550.00 to catch these fish, and I was here first. I did the only thing I knew to do. I said, “If you cut in front of me, I’m going to climb out of this boat and one of us is getting a beating. Now hurry up and make your decision so I can get on with catching fish or whipping your ass.” Total silence. Speed bumps, “You don’t have to be rude.” I said, “Obviously I do since you don’t understand fishing etiquette or have any manners whatsoever. Now what’s it going to be boys?” The speed bumps mumbled something under their breath and moved on down the bank. My customers were as disgusted as I was and it left a really bad taste in their mouths for the rest of the day. We did pull twenty nice trout out of there before 7:33am though.

Ok, I know what you’re thinking. That was one incident and there’s always a few bad apples in the bunch. You can’t judge the entire kayaking armada by two morons in their twenties. Fishing has become so confrontational that fights on the water are happening more and more. (I’ll post a really funny story about a fight among two guides later) It’s really sad when you take a day to go fishing and it turns out into nothing but fighting and dodging other fisherman. I love fishing. I mean I really, really, love fishing. It’s all I do. I fish 225 days a year to make a living. I go on vacations to Mexico, Florida, and Costa Rica in order to get in some fishing while I’m on vacation. I watch fishing shows when I’m at home. Fishing is my life. I have never, ever, intentionally run over another fisherman. I always try to be courteous and I expect other fisherman to do the same. Everyone should be treated with courtesy and respect while they’re on the water. Well it starts with this, if someone’s where you want to be then you got there too late. Early bird gets the worm. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.

I’m fishing in South Bay along a little reef that runs from East to West catching redfish. We’ve been fishing this spot for about three days and it’s been good every day. Unfortunately, today is Saturday and it’s more crowded than any other day. I pull up to my spot and get set up. I’ve got two friends lined up next to me about fifty yards down and we’re all waiting for the reds to show up. The reds have been moving off this flat every day about the same time, you just have to be patient. Today I’ve got a man, his son, and daughter. They’re really nice people and I’m looking forward to the kids catching their first redfish. Suddenly, off to my right I see movement low to the water. It’s two speed bumps paddling up to my stern about fifteen yards away. I’m trying to figure out what they’re doing and where they’re going. The only thing in front of them is a mile of water about twelve inches deep. Sure enough they swing around us and cut right in front of my boat. They get out of their kayaks and start walking over our lines. Yes, over the top of our lines. One yells out, “Hey you’re using mullet and he’s still good.” I reply, “Thanks, that's good to know.” Honestly, what are you going to do with people like this? Ron White said it best, “You can’t fix stupid”. There was nothing for us to do but reel in and leave. Well there was one thing I could do, I yelled, “Hey, those reds you’re looking for are down there by that blue Haynie. See the water moving around down there?” The water wasn’t moving from fish, it was boiling from the steam coming off my friends head from watching dumb and dumber. Speed bump replies “I sure do, thanks. We’ll go get ‘em.” I yelled “Good luck, catch ‘em up”. I got my folks out of there before the fireworks. I didn’t want the kids to witness what was about to happen. My friend actually didn’t do anything. His customers got out of the boat and it was a mess.

40 Trout and a nice box of reds

2011-07-14T12:54:00.000-05:00

40 nice trout and 8 big reds. Wish we could have days like this all the time. What a great day fishing and good people. These folks didn't miss any fish (obviously). Too bad there wasn't enough hooks on the rack to get all the fish hanging. That was a really nice box of fish.

40 nice Trout and a few reds to boot.

2011-07-14T12:50:00.000-05:00

Another good day for trout as we had another 40+fish day. Look at the size of those fish. Averaging 2 1/2 pounds + per fish it doesn't take long to fill the cooler. We even picked up a few reds. Great fisherman make my job really easy.

40 Big Trout.

2011-07-14T12:46:00.000-05:00

The Mora group always seems to catch fish. It's strange how some people are just lucky like that. Anyway, we had 40 big trout (averaging 3 pounds each) and made it home before it got too hot. What a nice catch. Good Job Aggies

This coyote had pulled this deer down into the water twice before we got close enough to see what it was. We thought it was an aligator after the deer. The coyote was relentless and even though we tried to get between him and the deer to give the deer a chance, he never gave up. The deer had a broken back leg and I guess nature was just taking it's course. It was sad, but I doubt many people have ever seen anything like this.

2011-07-03T17:25:00.000-05:00

Fishing Reports

2011-07-03T08:27:00.000-05:00

I get asked ALL the time,"Where are the fish biting"?. I write fishing reports for newspapers and magazines to tell everyone who reads them exactly where to go and what to use to catch fish. WRONG! Let's get down to the rat killing. No guide ever tells people where he's catching fish. He can't afford to. If we told the entire state (or even two other guides for that matter) the location we're catching our fish, we wouldn't be able to get there the next day. If you read fishing reports you'll always see things like Estes Flats, Mud Island, Corpus Christi Bay, Aransas Bay, Allyns Bight, and my favorite California Hole. California Hole is always listed as a hot spot. We do it just to keep people out of the way.

We've got paying customers who we need to get on fish. All of those areas do have fish, you just have to be there at the right time and in the right place. Even California Hole has fish if you fish it correctly and at the right time. We can't afford to tell you that we're fishing the west side, next to the two small shell humps and catching 30 trout in an hour every day. Anyway, what I'm getting at is don't put too much stock in fishing reports. A lot of them are just repeats from previous years. Look for the basics in fishing reports like, "Trout are biting good, redfish are good, etc..".

Remember, good guides catch fish no matter what the conditions or they'll tell you to reschedule your trip if it's really bad. Go out and find your own fish. It makes it so much more rewarding. Hire a guide and learn what he's doing and why. Good guides love telling you why and what they're doing. They just don't like to tell you where. You'll find your own places that work for you and apply the techniques you've learned and catch fish. That's the best part about guiding. I have to find the fish every day. It's that challenge that makes it fun. OK, that's a good start for now. Go fishing and have a good time. Life's too short to work all the time. Thanks.

George