Port O'Connor Fishing Guides Reports, Coastal Duck News - "Old School Reds, Ducks & Tiger Bellies"

Monday, September 06, 2010

This text is replaced by the Flash movie.

PORT O'CONNOR FISHING GUIDES REPORTS

Check the latest Port O'Connor Fishing Guides reports from local waters covering all the Texas saltwater fishing reports, news and events. We update our Port O'Connor fishing guides reports on Mondays typically and do our best to keep them current. If you have any news you would like to share or if you would like to comment on the seadrift fishing reports, register as a user!

View_Blog

"Old School Reds, Ducks & Tiger Bellies"

Nov 9

Written by: doublek
11/9/2009 8:21 AM

Bays Get Fresh “Re-Birth”

We should just about be over the hump of the latest push of freshwater down the Guadalupe River. Bay salinity has dropped off the charts near Seadrift and this has been long overdue. The inflows are setting the stage for tremendous fishing now and in months to come. As it stands now, Trout are focusing on shell pads and reefs mid-bay near deeper environs where lower water column salinity levels are higher. Redfish, Black Drum have migrated toward the inflow and have moved into the upper reaches of San Antonio Bay, Hynes, and Mission Bay. Blue Catfish are taking this opportunity to come out of the River and Bayous to forage in the bay environs. Mixing with higher salt contents seems to purge these fish making the meat an absolute delicacy. Talking to a biologist coming off a gill net survey the other day, he mentioned that Blue Catfish were being caught in the nets as far as the west shore near Austwell. He mentioned that they are larger fish pushing the 4 pound mark.

The Next Generation

The Lodge welcomed blasters and casters from all over the State this weekend. Two of the groups had an emphasis on youngsters and we were delighted to welcome them. Young Vincent, fishing with his dad Greg called The Lodge early in the day before their arrival Friday and told Wendi “yes, this is Vincent S and I wanted to check to make sure you were expecting us this evening”. Wendi was tickled at his phone presence and maturity. Seldom do we have a 10 year old confirming reservations. Young Nicolas, hunting with his dad Mike and grandfather Joe made for a memorable trip. Joe had been all over the coast as a young man spending a lot of time in the Port O’Connor area and ended up living in Corpus. It was a long over due trip and Nicolas rose to the occasion pounding early morning ducks.

Fishing With Our Guests

Castaway Capt’s. Steve Boldt, James Cunningham, and Chris Cady managed solid catches and near limits of Redfish working northern bays and marshes around Mission & Hynes bays. Everyone reported catching a lot of Redfish just under the 20” mark. A few Black Drum and Blue Catfish are showing up as well in the lower salinity environment.

Duck & Goose Hunting Seadrift

Bay Ducks

Rising water levels led many on the bay to focus on Redhead ducks over the weekend taking advantage of any other species as they presented themselves. Bay hunting has been spotty and sometimes frustrating with constantly evolving conditions and tide levels. Scouting hasn’t helped much as success has been pressure driven. Talking with a buddy, we both agreed that right now it’s better to be lucky than good. Ok, let’s call it “educated luck”.

Hunting a strong concentration of Teal & Gadwall on Saturday proved lack luster with calm winds, clear skies, and little hunting pressure. Shoulda-coulda-wouldas might have got us to a little better than half limits but that’s what we ended up with, Teal, Gadwall, and Widgeon. Capt. Steve Boldt reported little air traffic and few opportunities Saturday as well ending with a couple of Pintail and Gadwall.

Inland Ducks & Geese

Inland hunting on our freshwater locations ended up more productive than hunting the bays despite poor scouting predictions. Capt. Jake managed full limits with Trey A. party on Saturday with Redheads and Teal dominating along with a smattering of Ringnecks and Shoveler. Sunday, with light NE winds and rain, location proved to be the key and you might say it was “luck of the draw”. We welcomed the Chris F. party in and it was a memorable outing. Working freshly flooded fields, Widgeon, Gadwall, Teal worked hard into the blocks shortly after shooting light. As the ducks settled, Specklebelly Geese (aka Tiger Bellies) charged at a few floaters whiffling in for point blank kills. The party ended the morning with 20 ducks and near limits of 8 Specks with Capt. Jake Huddleston on the calls.

We had a lot of fun this week and through the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed the outdoors with our guests. From all of us at Castaway Lodge, have a great week.

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

Trackback Print

Location: Blogs