Nine Line Bind"

Despite the challenges of the day, the crew from OTM Roofing had a banner day on Redfish pushing 26”. With extremely low water, we again focused on fish “pooled” up in a number of locations working bait over mud pockets. The guests were having a bachelor party and I’ve got to hand it to them, the fishing was a serious endeavor and all hands were on deck. The fish did their part to keep us out of a "nine line bind" and "bowed-up like show dogs".

Mid-week looked pretty typical of late, gutted low water with vast expanses of “too skinny, too barren, and too fishless” stretches of the back marsh. Emergent grasses have “yet to emerge” in many venues and I almost think we’ve gone backwards on grass growth lately. Yellow ground means “don’t waste your time”, no grass, no fish. It’s been an interesting transition over the last year.

Changing Environment

With grasses receding, it has pushed fish closer to the bay in the deeper grass laden areas unaffected by salinity, cold, and the likes. It threw me for a loop last Fall and has taken me until this Spring to get a lot of it sorted out. Old patterns are re-emerging but in a different “tier” of the back lakes.

Drought stricken with severe saline levels last year did a tremendous amount of “rearranging” to the fishery in my opinion. Seadrift’s Blue Crab bounty is someone else harvest at present. Our Blue Crab population has dropped to levels that are breaking the industry and dependent wildlife.

Rising Water Levels, Matches & Gasonline

We gained a steady and constant +/-6” of water on Saturday igniting a surge of larger fish heading for the back country on the Island. Despite slick conditions Saturday, fish in excess of 28” were feeding feverishly in depths of less than a foot of water from the Island to the Delta.

Saturday/Sunday Report

Capt. Steve Boldt and Capt. Chris Cady reported “solid limits” from the Mission Bay and Hynes area fishing the Ben R and Jim S. parties. I had my hands full with fish averaging 26” to oversize with the Beau C. party back on the Island. Average size again took another leap on Sunday as a brisk cold front whipped the fish into a feeding frenzy. Capt. Steve Boldt texted me with the news he was “over the top” in upper SAB fishing the Ben R party and mashing barbs about mid-way through my first stop which yielded 5 “solids” to 27”.

Heading Into March Not April

While the calendar says we’re heading into April, my estimation is we are just approaching March “condition wise”. While Stingrays are thick as thieves and have been in the back country, I saw my first Hard Head today along with a very few Pin Perch. This is a sure sign that “we’re heading into Spring”.

Best wishes and continued luck in your fishing.

Capt. Kris Kelley
Castaway Lodge, Inc.
109 W. Austin
Seadrift, TX 77983
1-888-618-4868 Office
361-785-4487 Fax
361-648-3474 Cell
 

The Game Is Chess, Not Checkers!

Last weeks solid schedule saw some explosive fishing for Redfish in the shallow back lakes of Matagorda Island. It was a “limit run” amidst some of the most challenging conditions you can find there. Leaward grass lines produced well in tough low water circumstances along with the very few depressions, swales, cuts, outer lakes, and sloughs also playing a part from time to time. An intensive amount of fishing can bring one “uncomfortably familiar” with our scaled counterparts. The mental game can play a big part on the water, more so when conditions are less than ideal. Last week, the mental game played out on a grand scale, the game was Chess, not Checkers.

Birds Are Working, Bringing Home The Bacon!

Conditions of Late:
Water Level: Low low
Winds: Teens Plus, E, SE & West
Water Temp: Low 70’s
Baromoter: Near 30 & Steady

Castaway Sponsor News

We would like to announce our association with these “high performance” leaders on the water: Chris’s Marine, Mercury Marine, Haynie Boats, and JL Marine Systems, Inc. (maker of Power-Pole) joined the ultimate cast of Sponsors last week. We wanted to take a second to thank Chris and Brian at Chris’s Marine in Aransas Pass; Michelle K. at Mercury Marine; Bobby, Kyle, Mike, and the boys over at Haynie Boats; and Mr. Lenny G. with JL Marine Systems for all their efforts in bringing this together.

We are proud to represent Chris Coulter’s vision of shallow water high performance boats in a product (Haynie Boats) built right here in Seadrift, Texas; powered by The #1 On The Water, Mercury Marine; and, anchored with the best shallow water anchoring system on the market, “Power-Pole” by JL Marine Systems, Inc.

Thanks from all of us at Castaway Lodge!

Fishing Report

Last week on the “fishing scene” was also a big week as water temperatures here in Seadrift took a big leap up from the lower 60’s and are peaking at the magical 70 degree mark. This should set the stage for some ballistic action in coming days. If we could get a little water in the bays and on shorelines, it wouldn’t hurt a bit. Bays and back marsh are gutted on the low side with monstrous falling tides during “daylight hours”. When fishing the back lakes and marshes, a quick look at water levels at the ramp and a review of the GPS tide chart can lay out the days targets of opportunity and patterns to consider.

Moving Water Patterns

In our bays systems we have the luxury of picking and choosing the patterns that we would like to fish occasionally. Cold fronts associated with spring time conditions move our water from North to South and pre-frontal Southerly winds will push water from the Southern barrier Island, lakes, bays, and marshes and push it into Northern Bays and marshes. A cold front for instance, with winds hammering out of the North will find water levels falling in upper venues. Run South to the barrier Island, Matagorda Island for us, and you will find water levels rising as winds push water South into these areas. I often times find myself “choosing” rising water rather than falling water. However, both can be lethal at any given time. Rising water affords any number of wind driven locations to ignite as spring winds build kicking the feeding mechanism into “high gear”.

Shallow Water “Tattle Tales”

In a shallow environ with warming temperatures, Redfish will remain shallow without feeling the need to push into “bowls” and deeper depressions. Today was among the first times this spring that I witnessed Redfish “sticking skinny” and staying there as water levels continued to fall. I saw any number of fish “shoulder to shoulder” in 6” of gin clear water on a soft bottom. There is no doubt that the back country is beginning to “come flush” with Redfish regardless of water levels fluctuations, here temperature stability and warming trends are key.

When this happens, there is a particular “signature” in this environ that the fish are present. Liar Birds to Galveston Trout fishermen are our “Tattle-Tales” in the back marsh. I’m speaking of Royal & Common Terns. In a foot-and-half of water or less “typically”, you will find these birds scattered across a flat hovering and diving, hovering and diving. Their strategy is to hover over Redfish and Black Drum as they kick up the bottom while feeding. They watch the surface for small shrimp, minnows, and Mullet that are kicked up or dislodged, and then swoop down for an easy meal. Occasionally, you will find them working Sting-Ray’s as well.

When I see these birds, alone or in groups, spread out across a lake or congregated at one end or the other, it’s usually “game on” and they seldom fail me. As water levels rise, deeper water can camouflage Redfish in these environs and the birds will have a hard time spotting them. So this occurrence will come and go with tide levels and obviously, the presence of foraging fish.

Another big week on the fishing scene next week as we welcome guests from all over South Texas. Good luck on the water!

Capt. Kris Kelley
Castaway Lodge, Inc.
109 W. Austin
Seadrift, TX 77983
1-888-618-4868 Office
361-785-4487 Fax
361-648-3474 Cell

 

Forging New Relationships

We are announcing our association with Chris's Marine, Mercury Outboards, and Haynie Boats. We would like to thank Chris and Brian at Chris's Marine and Michelle at Mercury Marine for all the effort in pulling this together.

We are proud to represent Chris's vision of high performance boating in a product built right here in Seadrift and powered by "The Number One On The Water", Mercury Marine.

Thank You!

Capt. Kris Kelley
President/CEO
Castaway Lodge, Inc.
Seadrift, Texas
1-888-618-4868

Running Big, Heading Shallow

Conditions of Late:
Water Level: On the low side
Winds: Teens to low 30’s, E, SE & West
Water Temp: Rising into the low 60’s
Barmoter: Steady



Capt. Kris Kelley
Castaway Lodge, Inc.
109 W. Austin
Seadrift, TX 77983
1-888-618-4868 Office
361-785-4487 Fax
361-648-3474 Cell