Summer Fishing in Full Swing Now!

The transitions we experienced this past week were a sign of the seasons, fishing season that is!  This week started off with some great offshore Wahoo fishing and ended up with big Trout and Redfish in the bay using Piggies.  When all of these elements culminate in the coastal bend you know the hot summer bite is present!

Offshore – As the first hint of the sun was peaking above the horizon we could make out the rocks of the Port Aransas Jetties and beyond.  What the day would bring us you can never tell when your heading 50NM plus offshore is search of big game, there is always a surprise and this day was no different.   Our heading was 100 degrees, toward South Baker rocks where I had experienced some good fishing a few days earlier and had reports the fish were still there! 

Open Wide

Wahoo for Chance!

We were out on my father’s boat a 36’ Express with twin 500hp diesels and the crew consisted only of family members - My father Bruce (captain on this day), Chance (my son 10yrs old), Billy (my uncle of sorts) and last but not least yours truly!  As we were approaching the south baker rigs we decided to put out the baits and lures to make a few passes for Wahoo but had no takers.  It was a few minutes after one of the passes that I heard some boat chatter on channel 68…one Wahoo and a Sailfish release and the signal was strong…that got our attention!  I tuned in the radar a bit to see if I saw that boats on Dutra, Falcon or maybe working a weedline, however I could not determine the location even though I knew the captains I decided to search for myself as it was only 15 minutes into the fishing day.

“Weed patch!  It looks like we might be able to troll it”, I said.  Now there are a number  of weeds at the 35-50 NM range mostly scattered with big patches and that is where the fish are, but most people get too frustrated trolling them because they stay weeded up.  I have a solution to that which has caught many fish, Mold Craft Standard Wide Ranges on a single hook rig.  I also troll the flat lines, whether Skirts, Ballyhoo or plugs, closer to the prop wash because the boat helps disperse the weeds.

Chance fishing Stand-Up

 Today was Chance’s day to fish, after already many trips this summer he finally got to have a day to himself.  Fish on!  As soon as the lures went past the weedline the flat lines were screaming!   The new jointed plugs Chance picked out at Outdoor World in  Fort Lauderdale a few weeks before were both in the mouth of Wahoo.  Then as Billy and Chance were busy reeling…a Ballyhoo takes off…as I gaff a Hoo with one hand, I hand the other rod to Chance…he’s straining by now and I ask him how he’s doing…then a smile comes to his face!  He’s an old hand at running the deck and catching fish, but when we aren’t looking he grits his teeth at the pull of the 40# Wahoo!  3 Three fish in the boat, what a good start to the day!  As I’m putting the fish in the box I asked Chance if he wanted to take a break on the rod “No, I’m not tired” he said, he went on to get 7 of the 9 Wahoo we caught in 2 ½ hours of baits in the water…beating each fish better and faster as his confidence grew!

Nice Hoo!

The McCune's

Now we aren’t greedy and know when we’ve had a good day and decided to drink a few cervezas and toss some top water lures to Mahi and whatever at the weed patch before we head in…fish were smacking the topwaters…then double speck rigs, we had a blast.  I usually end my offshore trips with this kind of action when we are near rigs or weeds, it is always a hit and the unexpected always happens…Chance is working a topwater and Wahoo is chasing it on the surface fin up…the braided line goes screaming and then it goes slack.  Well guess that Wahoo is going to enjoy that knuckle-Head sandwich, must have swallowed the whole thing!  At that point with a few laughs at the excitement we turn the autopilot toward port A for a smooth ride home!

Mike and a few nice Fish caught back to back!

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Bay – One day after our family offshore trip I had a long time client come down for a day on the Bay.  Earlier in the week I had got my first batch of Piggies for bait and the Trout loved them.  The only problem is that we caught more smaller Trout than we had been catching on the croaker.  We met at paradise Key, the new restaurant at the Key Allegro Marina for some…guess…Wahoo…They cook your catch so I brought a bag of it fresh from the trip the day before.  During dinner we talked about the morning fishing plans, Mike (my customer) wanted to share his fishing experiences with his wife and 21 month old child and I thought that was great.  So, it would be a 9AM starting time at Cove Harbor Marina…then off to anchor up for some Redfish action at a some pot holes that had been producing, after a couple of fish we would return to the dock and drop off Mom and baby…then get serious about it and fish through the evening!

The first anchor didn’t produce, this was on a Saturday and sometimes fishing can be A LOT tougher than on the weekdays.  Our next anchor still using double Piggies on each hook  (two lines weighted and two lines without weights) produced a couple of nice Trout...so without getting her the Red, that had been talked about, the natives were getting restless…if you know what I mean.  So off we went to the dock, then lunch became the subject.  Hard to pass up a burger at Off The Hook Restaurant, so we didn’t! 

Finally we were headed in search of good fish water and his wife in search of good shopping in Rockport!  We had a bigger problem than she did though, the wind was blowing 17 knots and our first 3 stops yielded nothing…not a bite!   With that in mind, I was inclined to change our tactics and put those Piggies under a popping cork!  Last year I had a great run on fish in the Hogg Hole area over grass, nobody else fishing it, that was great!  This summer I have tried that area about every other trip knowing it would start producing again at some point…well today was our day.  The first few casts got us an oversized red and several others in the upper slot.  Fish On!...I was sitting on the cooler in the back of the boat when I heard the line slice through the water…the wind was blowing 17 knots and I still heard the line slicing through the water parallel to the boat…the huge fish shook his huge head on the surface…then went down…I could hear the line peeling off the reel from the front of the boat…then nothing.  We lost that huge fish, guess he didn’t know we would have released him anyway.  I quickly rolled back the events in my mind and knew exactly what had cost us that fish…Mike had never dropped the rod tip and he was applying too much drag which pulled the hook.  I didn’t even have to tell him as he has been fishing with me a lot, “I’ve been bass fishing a lot lately”, was all he said and I knew what he meant.  After a couple more Reds and some nice Trout we called his wife to come meet us at the dock.  This is a great example of getting the family involved, sharing time together and everyone getting to do a little of what they like!

Mike and a Nice Trout!

Mike with a Red!

Tight Lines to all!

Capt. Scott McCune "The Saltwater Cowboy"

www.fishntexas.com