The fishing is good.  Red fish are the fish I'm catching best right now.  Have to download some pictures.
I use my Face book page most of the time to keep up with customer pictures and more information.  It's a lot quicker.  You can get much better information that's up to date there than here.  I'll try to get more stuff on here as soon as I get more time.

Got a neat video of my own for the kayaks.  Six of them ran over my lines.  Right over the top and ruined the day fishing for two young men.  A 13 and 9 year old catching their first red fish.  We already had five when the kayaks paddled right through the hole our fish were sitting in.  That ended it.  No one will care in the kayak world though.  I wasn't in an air boat.  Just my regular bay boat.  I feel bad for the kids.  You can see the video on face book.  There's no zoom lens either. It's just a phone.  Sad that the kayaks get to scream and yell when they get run over by  air boats but don't care when they do it.  I've had them step over my lines before and tell me "You still have bait".  lol.  Doesn't matter.

What a shame that I have to post this.  Will Myers and Pole, Paddle and Wade or some group like that. is accusing me of running across the Light House Lakes and scaring his fish.  Funny thing is the air boat in the video is not me.  Another funny thing is his post is June 4th and I haven't been in my air boat since May (early May).  The last funny thing is I haven't run my air boat in the Light House Lakes since 2012.  Long time ago.  If you're going to bash me, make sure it's me.  Luckily, I have a very good customer who loves to fish from an air boat.  He's an attorney.  He seems to like Mr. Myers's post and thinks Mr. Myers has crossed a line here.  Let's see what happens in the next few weeks.

I'm sick of the complaining about air boats.  I run two boats.  An air boat and a bay boat.  I can catch fish from either boat.  However, the air boat is sometimes better for certain customers.  Some have trouble standing for long periods of time and the air boats have seats.  One of my customers has cancer.  He can't handle the rougher bay boat and the chop.  He can sit and take the water in the air boat and sitting in the lakes is calm for him.  I take people who can't walk at all and they can go fishing in the air boat because of comfort and seating.  Anyone taken a moment to consider those points of view. Probably not.

Yes air boats are loud.  I get tired of hearing the engine roar sometimes.  They also cost a lot to run and maintain.  However, they are the most ecologically friendly boat on the water today.  Did you know an outboard actually puts oil in the water as it burns it?  Air boats don't.  Air boats don't leave scars.  None.  They mash down grass that doesn't get uprooted.  Ever.  I've watched bay boats make prop scars that take months to grow back (not years like previously thought).

It's interesting that the Florida Everglades are one of the most protected areas in the U.S.  What boat is preferred for viewing the nature of the Everglades?  Air boats.  Prop boats are under very strict scrutiny in the Everglades and are not allowed the access the air boats have.  Interesting.  Those horrible air boats actually protect our water and grass.  OK, we'll need another reason to hate them now.

I'm tired of defending air boats.  I can prove, not talk about it, but prove they don't scare your fish.  Stop moaning and come see me.  I'll show you.  In fact I'll show you for free.  I'll show you that if you were smart enough you could sit still and the fish won't move at all.  Not ten feet.  You don't want to hear that because you need an excuse to tell people why you didn't catch fish.  "I didn't catch fish because an air boat scared them away." LOl.  You didn't catch fish because you weren't good enough or weren't in the right place.  Period.

Stop complaining and moaning.  My friends will show you you're wrong and that'll be the end of it.  The gauntlet has been thrown down.  Want to pick it up?

Airboats Make Too Much Noise!

I hear this one all the time.  It's always from people without an airboat.  Airboats are noisy.  I have mufflers on mine and it's still a loud machine. People always tell me, "You ruin the fishing because it's too loud".  Well, that's not true.  Look at the number of fish I catch from my airboat. If you look at the number of airboats fishing now it's doubled in numbers over the last 4 years.  When I first started using my airboat for catching redfish and drum, there were only 3 other guides fishing from airboats.  Now there's at least 10 guides and I don't know how many weekend warriors have one.  Sure seems like a lot. 

Anyway, back to the subject at hand.  How can a boat that makes that much noise catch fish?  Simple, the fish don't know where the boat is.  That's it.  All the noise from an airboat is above the water. There's no prop in the water for the fish to home in on and get a direction.  I've run over thousands of redfish and watched them just sit still because they had no idea where to go, ( I don't run over them on purpose, I just get so close I don't see them soon enough). 


Think of it like this, if a jet is flying low to the ground over your head, he's gone past you before you hear the sound of him coming, right?  Same thing with an airboat.  They do scare the fish, but the fish don't know what to be scared of or where it is.  I can stop in the middle of fish and catch them all day, as long as we're quiet on the boat.  A prop, or trolling motor scares the fish much, much more than an airboat.

SO the next time you hear an airboat go by and you get all mad because he scared off your fish, don't waste your time.  There probably weren't  any fish there to begin with.  The airboaters (the good ones who know what they are doing) won't scare any fish.  In all fairness though, there's a lot of people out there with airboats these days who don't have a clue how to run one.  I think you should have to pass a safety test to run an airboat.  It'll never happen, but it's just a thought.

If you haven't fished off an airboat, you're really missing some fun fishing.  There's nothing like going back in lakes most people have never seen and finding big schools of redfish and drum.  It's a blast.  I'm not talking about Fence Lake where every kayaker in the world can get to, I'm talking about lakes that people without airboats don't even know exist.  It's  really cool.  We see coyotes, alligaters, deer, hogs, whooping cranes, and everything else under the sun, but no boats.  They're  really neat machines.  Make sure you get a GOOD guide with an airboat or you'll have a terrible trip.  Nothing worse than a guy who has a $70,000 airboat and no clue how to catch fish.  He'll  not only screw up your day, he'll also screw up everyone else around you.

Ok, now airboats are your friend, right?  Maybe not yet but the more you learn the more you won't hate airboats.  They are the most ecologically friendly boat on the water.  Give one a try and you won't regret it.   The picture above was from a day of airboating last week. Took a couple of hours to get our fish. 

As good as redfishing gets

I took Svein and his friends fishing for redfish April 3rd and it was awesome.  We had 6 limits of big reds.  That big fish in the middle measured 32" so you can see the others are big also. We missed a few fish and had a rod get pulled in the water twice, but we still caught all our fish.  We did all this by 12:30.  Great day.

The Aggies strike again.

Some people are just lucky.  David and Lindsey Zora (yes that's a gig'em sign) always catch fish.  They caught two limits of redfish and 10 big drum.  We released another 15 drum and called it a day.  They limit out every trip.  Really fun group and nice people.  40 trout last July and reds and drum in April. Not too bad for Aggies.

Big Day on the Water

Harvey and his two daughters, Sam and Jennifer, caught a few redfish.  We released all our fish that day as they were traveling and couldn't carry any with them.  We caught and released 30 redfish from 24"-31" long.  Here we have a triple. Jennifer is holding her nice red while Harvey and Sam work on getting their fish to the boat.  Sam seems to be trying to figure out how to turn the handle on the reel.  They did really well and had a blast.  We caught and released a 26" Trout as well.  Just a great day.

Big Trophy Redfish

This is really cool.  One of my customers made this from day of fishing for the trophy redfish.  We caught 55 reds that day all over 36" and all released unharmed. If you click on the picture it will enlarge for better viewing.  This is the Lanehart Electric group.  Notcice how they are holding up several fingers in the pictures.  The number of fingers is the number of fish they have caught that day.  It's really a neat trip and a lot of fun if you like big fish.  Thanks for the picture Jeff.

As Good As It Gets

Al Wells and his brother -in-law Thomas fished with me Thursday and had a great day.  Two limits of redfish, 1 oversize red, several more keepers released and 2 limits of drum.  I really don't take you in once we catch limits of fish.  I try to catch you whatever I can.  You don't have to keep everything, but I give you time on the water.  It pays off with big boxes like this many times.  These guys were good fisherman and it was nice day (see the shorts) to be fishing. 

Mammoth Box of Redfish

That's about as good as it gets right there.  That's Drew (see post below), Goochie ( I swear that's what they called him), Adrian, and Randy.  These guys fished a few days ago and we hammered the redfish.  We had 4 limits, plus two oversize redfish.  We probably let another 5-6 keeper fish go. Look at the size of those fish.  All big fish.  That's the way it goes some days.  These guys never lost a fish all day.  Fun group.  Thanks guys. 

Drew Demonstrates Propper Rod Technique (not)

Ok, I love these two picture for two reasons.  One is Drew here is showing us the propper way to reel in a fish.  See the bottom picture, the one where the rod is bent and there's no slack in the line?  I like that one. 

See the top picture?  The one where the line is slack and he's leaning back?  I hate that one.  You have to keep your rod up and keep reeling to keep the fish hooked.  Drew has the worst form you can have in the top picture and the best form in the bottom picture. 

I'm pretty sure there was some "coaching" going on between picture one and picture two.  He didn't lose a fish all day.  You'll see a picture of what this crew did on another post.

Ok, reason number two I like these pictures.  See the "thing" hanging from Drew's hat?  That would be a hook and piece of mullet.  On of his friends hooked him in the hat while he was reeling in this fish.  I didn't mention that 3 of them worked for Miller Lite did I?  Drew reeled that fish in with a nasty piece of mullet hanging from his hat the whole time. 

Longhorns on Aggie Boat?

This picture just proves that even though I'm an Aggie I still like to take Longhorns fishing.  We had two limits of nice drum and 3 good redfish.  Both these young people were good fisherman and did a good job. 

Big Drum, Drum and More Drum and One Redfish

I always start out looking for redfish on my airboat trips.  We looked and looked and only found one.  It was a weird day.  We took what Mother Nature gave us and ended up with 15 big drum.  That redfish in the middle is 20"+ so all those drum are bigger than 20" or very close.  Big box of fish and good folks make for a nice day. 

Good Day Fishing, Tough Weather

Two limits of redfish and two limits of drum make a very good day of fishing.  It was really windy and we took the airboat.   Nice dry ride in 2" of water. 

Bill and Sue strike again

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.   

Big Fish and LOTS of them

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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?

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

Fishing Reports

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