Castaway Lodge Seadrift Report
By Capt. Kris Kelley

Tactical Shifts Beat Big Winds & Crowds

Saturday brought another tournament win for us here at Castaway Lodge. We were invited by Brian C. and guests to fish the MHI Tournament in Port O'Connor on Saturday consisting of a 20 boat venue. Wiegh in required 2 Redfish and 5 Trout. Challenging tournament anglers was alot of wind and alot of boats on the water with Warrior Weekend (salute).

Having a pair of 26 3/8's Redfish in the box along with two Trout in the 22" range; two in the 18" range along with another 16" fish pointed to a win but you never know. Leaving the ramp after the trip I asked Brian to call me with their "margin of Victory". Sure enough around 5:30pm the phone rang and it was a "sweep". Topwaters played a big role producing the winning Trout by .20; big Redfish by .60 and overall big stringer.

May Transitions

A big theme for the month as always are big winds from the South. As the cold fronts start to linger north of us, no longer pushing through coastal waters, the low pressure sucks our winds off the coast. That is nothing new and warming waters will bring tactical shifts; style shifts; bait shifts; and real estate shifts.

As always, we will be on the move taking advantage of these seasonal shifts moving forward. With salinity levels remaining elevated despite recent rains, I look for more and more fish to pile up North of the ICW as in 2009. That's going to lead to strong catches as winds stabilize but may present more than a few "realities" until then. For Trout, big winds are going to require a focus on fishable water and timing our moves day to day as conditions present themselves. I've got a few questions concerning fish relating to mud/grass moving forward and only time will answer these.

We've got lots of great days on the water ahead, come see us when you get a chance!

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Capt. Kris Kelley
Castaway Lodge
1-888-618-4868
www.seadriftbayfishing.com
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Castaway Lodge Seadrift Report
By Capt. Kris Kelley

Six and One-Half Dozen

Big weather revisited us starting with what I call "an inbetweener" on Thursday. Hitting the water Thursday with guests found mild winds early and scattered fish. An "inbetweener" is a setup of winds and water conditions that don't provide any "go to pattern". It can be a day where water conditions don't lend themselves well for explosive Trout fishing and winds don't favor a focus on Redfish. There are a number of different scenarios that I've labeled an "inbetweener" and they can be among the most difficult to find a solution for.

With Thursday's "inbetweener", big winds hit us around 2:00am and raked the bays. Leaving the ramp, we found mild winds but the bays were very off color all the way into the back lakes. Capt. James dialed in on fish he'd been working to find full limits of Redfish for Ashley C. and guest. I found wildly scattered Redfish over mud and grass and a very lack luster bite. With a great deal of effort, we managed 4 Redfish and 7 Black Drum with the guests elated with the results given the conditions.

Friday's Siberian Express

We welcomed a four boat, two-day trip with a National Lumber supplier and there was no "inbetweener" here. Winds raging from the North and treachorous water conditions strongly pointed to a North wind pattern. Water levels fell to extreme winter-time low conditions exposing congregating schools of Redfish and Black Drum. Unlike the "inbetweener" the day before, North wind patterns fully engaged finding fish working pockets of green water. Fall out locations also found fish dropping into them and that produced some excellent catch and release action. We managed full to near limits of Redfish to 31" or Black Drum on 3 out of 4 boats.

Weekend Aftermath

Winds were forecasted light at less than 5 knots but fortunately they picked up into the 10-15 range and switched direction. Extreme low water made for challenges but left a lot less locations to look at. The wind direction shift brought a quick rebound to water color in a lot of locations with full limits of Redfish and some solid Trout coming to hand for some of the boats.

Time will tell if this strange weather is pointing to anything meaningful. From the water's edge, you can't help but take notice of the very unusual weather. As we begin to find some stability in the weather, I'm looking for Trout action to really take off with the emphasis on Redfish moving more toward seasonal norms. I take my hat off to the Capt's of Castaway Lodge for meeting the challenges head on and the team work keeping the guests on fish. Come see us when you get a chance.

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Capt. Kris Kelley
Castaway Lodge
1-888-618-4868
www.seadriftbayfishing.com
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Castaway Lodge Seadrift Report
By Capt. Kris Kelley

Weather Windows

A few small breaks in the big winds and weather gave us another look at better Trout action heading into May. We're seeing some size movement toward larger fish and the big tides are certainly helping to bolster the numbers in our favor. From topwater to soft plastics, popping cork/shrimp and heading for Croaks, things are looking good.

Shock N Awe

As has so often happened this Spring, the weather windows closed in around us with a Shock N Awe finale Saturday late or early pre-dawn on Sunday. We had huge winds and thunder storms dropping 5" of rain locally that rocked us leaving the bays gutted and tore smooth up. With a 5 boat trip hitting the water, it wasn't looking good. Capt. James C. was first to report an upbeat outlook with a phone call telling me "the fishing has picked up and we're thumping on them and getting adjusted". Big Redfish and Black Drum were tearing up the shallows over mud/grass. Sunday's trip with guests of Jim K. was a highpoint that topped off some fireworks on the flats bruisers. Late week we welcomed a large Pharma concern entertaining guests from all over State and found another strong showing on drag burning Redfish to 28" and all boats maxing the boards and the limits.

Double Tapping

Friday with Dana E. and guests, we lit up the back country by airboat taking limits of Redfish and saw the first re-emergence of Black Drum since the cold front knocked them back. With winds settling for Saturday I offered a run at Trout. The boys shot me down hard and said let's hook onto somemore of those big fighters. It was certainly a good call with Saturday's winds ramping higher than projected and Trout returns being modest. We managed to double tap limits of both Redfish and Black Drum; great trip with some really great guys.

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Capt. Kris Kelley
Castaway Lodge
1-888-618-4868
www.seadriftbayfishing.com
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Castaway Lodge Seadrift Report
By Capt. Kris Kelley

Take the East wind down a notch and a broader Trout focus quickly came into view. Trout to 24" came to hand over the week and weekend with decent numbers of fish showing over area shell reefs; mud/grass; and, sand/shell. Capt. James E. reported just an epic day throwing topwaters while wading taking solid Trout to 22" and just wearing the Redfish out over mud/grass to 27".

Quick turning weather gave weekend anglers a break on Sunday as we welcomed a 5 boat trip with Jim K. and guests from Houston. Capt. Doug reported half limits to 17" working sand/shell with PCS while Capt. Chris C. voiced a real slow down on Redfish in the light winds. Saturday one could flip that report 180 degrees with Redfish action reaching a fevered pitch with Doug H. and son Evans. Solid action on the Redtails proved exhausting with Black Drum filling momentary gaps in the action to 22". Weather reports indicate another front pulling through mid-week and we will again visit NE winds to 25 knots. On the Redfish scene, that's good news.

Revisiting Pattern Progressions

In early February I was reporting what appeared to be a large advance on the fishing pattern versus the calendar. Since that time Mother Nature has placed environmental changes typical of this time of year in a state of suspended animation. I was talking with a client the other day and I mentioned that grass growth and emmerging grasses appear to be inline with the first week of March. On the back lakes beat, that seems to mean that transitions to more early Summer approaches are being delayed greatly. That also means that successes associated with Spring patterns do not appear to have any near term end. When we finally get a prolonged warm up, I'm expecting progressions in grass growth and pattern shifts. They will come, but it's just slow motion right now.

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Capt. Kris Kelley
Castaway Lodge
1-888-618-4868
www.seadriftbayfishing.com
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Castaway Lodge Seadrift Report
By Capt. Kris Kelley

Back Lakes Beat

The late week cool snap that hit the bays early on Thursday morning flipped the shallow water action on it's ear for only a brief moment. Fishing with Jay M. and guest on Wednesday found excellent action on both Redfish and solid mid-slot Black Drum. The front came through late in the day on Wednesday with a leading edge wind shift and then strong thunderstorms pre-dawn on Thursday. That's a red flag for me and one of my least favorite fishing conditions. Shallow water fish in a super shallow environment aren't big fans of the light show and rumbling thunder. I've seen the same response on Trout with pre-dawn storms wrecking a concentration.

Feeding Undulations & Weather

Thursday's "spotlight" on the conditions proved accurate with Black Drum going tight lipped and Redfish generally being uncooperative despite us managing full limits. We were very flooded on Thursday with much of the back marsh bayous and shorelines being indistinguishable. The wind also began to shred the water on the clear side and a whipsaw outflow was just a lot for the fish to handle. Friday found us in very mild winds and guests from Brenham were in for tough sledding during the first few hours. As wind direction built and shifted more Easterly, action on the end of rod picked up greatly. We found Black Drum much more cooperative and the Redfish just refused to dissapoint with limits coming to hand pushing 26".

Trend Reversal

This big turn around reached a crescendo on Saturday morning with guests from San Antonio and a young gun eager for big action with his dad. I literally couldn't move 200 yards on Friday or Saturday without encountering strong numbers of regrouping and reschooling fish. In an earlier report, I mentioned that pattern progressions were in a state of suspended animation and that is just very strong for continued action heading toward May.

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Capt. Kris Kelley
Castaway Lodge
1-888-618-4868
www.seadriftbayfishing.com
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Castaway Lodge Seadrift Report
By Capt. Kris Kelley

Attack Planning No Accident

You can't count on the weatherman to give an accurate forecast as to "the timing" of a weather change. So on Wx transitions, best to make hay while the wind is under 30 MPH. With a big water pile up and bumpy forecast, I figured we'd take a look and see if the Silver Tailed drag burners were back on the flats first thing. We've been suffering from extreme low water of late but that has changed quickly over the last few days. I'd seen one confirmed mud stir in 9 miles of travel (heavy overcast, mist, and lots of water) but finally came on a small school working a slick bottom with sparse emmergent grasses. Success fed success to limits of Black Drum to 23" and one Redfish. Changing real estate for a hopeful look at solid Redfish came up positive and centered in the mid to upper slot in short order. We released a few lower slots and managed fish to 26.5" returning to the ramp with limits of both Redfish and Black Drum. Returning to the ramp, we managed to get the fish cleaned up just as the cool blast and more misting rain hit. That hasn't always worked out that way.

Undeniably Deserving

I'm not alone in forming an opinion, over the last couple of years, that Black Drum are a grossly under rated game fish. Inch for inch they will rival any Redfish on the end of a rod or at the dinner table. The last two Spring seasons have been exceptional and that seems to be an "up tick" for our location. They've shown me amazing things in terms of tenacity and chameleon like aggression often leading me and guest anglers to suspect a Redfish encounter only to find the sometimes maligned cousin on the end of the rod.

Fishing for the more sought after slot Drum is beginning to take on a conversation among professional anglers all its own. While this has been occurring over the last couple of years, volumes can be written in what we don't know about them and we are only beginning to make note of their habits and how best to approach them. That says alot in and of itself.

While they are no secret among fly fishermen and others in my profession, I will take my hat off to them and place them toward the top of the pyramid as a representative of our fishery. While they are a fast moving species; sometimes fickle; tight lipped; and potentially uncooperative; they'll battle you all the way to the net; leave inferior tackle in tatters; and, "hook pull" you into the bottom of the boat. In my business, that's commmanding of respect.

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Capt. Kris Kelley
Castaway Lodge
1-888-618-4868
www.seadriftbayfishing.com
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Castaway Lodge Seadrift Report
By Capt. Kris Kelley

Water levels fell out after the mild mid-week cool snap. Redfish dug in to fall out pools and swales in shallow back marsh lakes and bays while Black Drum skidaddled to the comfort of deeper lakes. Trout action took a dive for us post front while the overall catch rate seemed to rise with more undersize fish. Longtime guests of Ron P. hit the water hard on Thursday with puffing NW winds and Norm lit up the first keeper Trout of the day on the first cast and it was great to see the guys on the water again. On Saturday, We welcomed Brad S.(aka Skuff Daddy) and Kelly along with their son Kamo in for another trip. On the first go around, solid slot Black Drum were bending the rods at will with Redfish being more elusive. On the return visit, the fortunes on the water had changed with bruising Redfish taking center stage.

"Like a Scene from Jaws"

Brad and his son Kamo were talking some smack at the lodge the night before the trip and there was a healthy dose of competition going on. Sure enough Skuff Daddy bowed-up on two solid bruisers right off the bat shaking little Skuff up a bit. As we were fishing we looked up and saw a Mansfield Mauler pop up 20 yards from the boat. I said "I bet that there's a fish on the other end of that". Sure enough, the Mauler started moving a bit like a scene with the barrels in the Jaws movie. The Mauler slowly went below the surface moving forward and it dissappeared for a bit. I looked up and saw the Mauler surface near Kamo's bait and I said "Kamo, get ready". In an instant, the Mauler slid beneath the surface and Kamo rared back with a huge bow-up. With drag burning, Kamo was working the rod to it's full potential and you could tell this young man had fished a plenty. The fish was uncontrollable and it made the worst move taking him all the way around the airboat, over the cage, around the Power Pole and came charging toward the bow shooting underneath the boat. Finally, the bruiser gave in and came to hand. At 31", Kamo had man handled the top predator of the skinny waters with poise. Brad and Camo decided to release the fish. I inspected the Mauler rig and found a small lead head jig embedded deep in the crushers. I removed our hook from the lip and clipped the leader line leaving the deep jig in place. We eased the fish over the side to fight another day. That's one lucky Redfish for sure.

We moved on from there taking solid mid to upper slot Redfish to full limits. Black Drum were much more elusive and I saw very few on the flats that day. We came across one school on the edge of a deeper lake and managed to catch one while missing a few along the way. All in all a great day with some great folks.

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Capt. Kris Kelley
Castaway Lodge
1-888-618-4868
www.seadriftbayfishing.com
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Castaway Lodge Seadrift Report
By Capt. Kris Kelley

As mentioned in my report yesterday, I noted we'd take advantage of the closing weather window to take a look at Trout over area shell reefs. That resulted in Trout limits today to 18" which were very scattered. East winds were moderate to light today and the tide was on a flatspot early. We dug in and managed to grind them out with PCS over shell in 4' of water. I think the best part of the Trout action is still very much in front of us and we will hit another challenge on Wednesday and Thursday as another late front moves through with N winds to 25 knots.

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Capt. Kris Kelley
Castaway Lodge
1-888-618-4868
www.seadriftbayfishing.com
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Castaway Lodge Seadrift Report
By Capt. Kris Kelley

We hope everyone had a great Easter weekend with family and friends. We've been fishing through nagging low water to it rebound very slightly by Sunday. Focusing on mud pockets over shallow area flats and back lakes continues to reward anglers with limits of Redfish and a lighter showing of Black Drum. The backside of the Full Moon heading into April should offer better Trout fishiing with hopefully some higher water levels. Trout are starting to show in improving numbers and we certainly have an eye on the delayed trend heading into April. Lingering cool snaps continue to keep our eye focused on solid Redfish action and improving water levels may reignite spawning Black Drum action as well. Sunday saw the first return to "double limits" of both Redfish and Black Drum since the big North winds hit the bay last Sunday. The spotlight on Castaway's Skeleton Series DD22 Special SKX-MHC7'10 is for good reason, great rod with lots of backbone. Check them out at www.castawayrods.com

Tomorrow we'll take a look at Trout action over area reefs and shell pads in E at 10-15 ahead of a mid-week cool front.

Like us on Facebook and Pin us on Pinterest and we promise to "love you back"! Come see us when you get a chance.

Capt. Kris Kelley
Castaway Lodge
1-888-618-4868
www.seadriftbayfishing.com
Facebook: Castaway Lodge
Pinterest: Castaway Lodge