Evening Surf

I am too easily influenced.

Usually when the term "surf" comes up in the evening around our house it means looking at fishing sites on the Internet.

A co-worker who will remain anonymous,(Mark) informed me yesterday at lunchtime that the conditions at Galveston included "green water to the beach and nearly flat surf".

I had a hard time concentrating on work for the rest of the afternoon knowing that my lawn was freshly mowed and that I was going to be leaving for a two day business trip on Thursday.

I called Tracy and suggested that we take a ride to Matagorda for a shell hunting and surf fishing evening. She was game so we headed out and arrived with about 3 hours of the day remaining.

I picked up some live shrimp at Rawlings and we drove down the beach for 3 1/2 miles beyond the access road. The Gulf beaches are cluttered with driftwood and seaweed along with the man-made debris that gets washed down the nearby rivers (Brazos, San Bernard, & Colorado) and also various items that get blown or thrown overboard from offshore platforms, ocean going vessels, and the abundance of fishing and pleasure craft that operate in the Texas waters.

Some say it is pretty ugly but there is beauty there if you look for it. I like the fact that the beach here is undeveloped and remote.

The fishing was fair - I caught some undersized specks, some hardheads and a few whiting. Even though I didn't break out the fillet knife it was good to be outdoors and enjoying the pretty weather for a change.

Surf Fisher


Small Speck


Sea-Run Speckled Trout


The Long Rod


Toothless


Evening Light


Whiting



Ya'll Come Back Now..Hear?

Chocolate Fish

The rain continues.

I had a plan to get the kayak in the salt water (if I could find any) but was surprised by an invitation to fish in West Bay with some friends from work.

We met after work on Friday at Mark's bay house on Galveston Island just opposite Chocolate Bay. Our plan was to fish over the lights in the canal in the evening and if the weather held up we were going to go out in his boat in the morning for a few hours. I had to make a short trip of it as Tracy, Matt & I were bound for Tomball on Saturday.

Glenn showed up shortly after I did (we missed the lawn mowing) and began telling fish stories while we waited for darkness and green lights to attract the bait and hopefully the predators. One of Mark's neighbors was telling how the fish had been in the canal all week and we were getting hopeful.

Another neighbor came in from the bay with stories of catching some fish on live shrimp. One of his young boys stepped out on the dock with the last of the shrimp and caught a nice fat trout on the first cast. The adults all grabbed our rods and went to work but we only caught a few small sand trout and a few hardheads before the green lights came on. Young master Chance was king of the dock.

The folks across the canal were having a party complete with music and a good bit of activity and we were wondering whether that may be affecting the fishing. The tide had gone out about the time we arrived but with the nearly full moon we were hoping for a high tide before too long.

We watched and fished until pretty late. Some big trout moved in and were cruising the canal but weren't feeding. I must have tried everything I had at least twice including the tiny glow shad rigs, topwater, queen cocahoe minnows, rattle traps, mirrolures, and even the fly rod with glass minnows and shrimp patterns.

After finally giving up and catching a little sleep we were all up and ready to go well before first light. There were some clouds in the area and some far away storms so we decided to wait until we could see everything well before heading out.

Mark and Glenn went to the bait shop for some shrimp and I worked the canal to see if I could find a hungry trout. When they returned, I put on a live shrimp and caught a keeper to start the day.

Mark & Glenn Putting In

We headed out into West Bay and toward the mouth of Chocolate Bay to Mark's spot. Chocolate Bay gets its name from the water color when it rains a lot so we weren't going to get too close.

Sunrise over West Bay

The Texas Gulf Coast rivers and bayous flow through some heavy clay and alluvial soil as well as agricultural and industrial areas. Despite that and the huge volume of fresh water we have been receiving lately, West Bay was in pretty good shape and as we were to find out - salty enough for some good trout action.

When we got to the spot we were on the fish almost immediately.

Glenn With a Keeper


Small but Fun to Catch


Mark With a Nice Trout

We fished until a storm appeared that looked like it was going to pass between us and Mark's house so we pulled anchor and began to head across the bay. When we were about half way back, the storm no longer threatened so we decided to fish some more. We had been seeing several flocks of gulls and pelicans working a rip so we moved in to see if they had any decent fish under them. An earlier report from some other fisherman had been that the birds were working over gafftop.

Our birds were over small trout and after catching and releasing a few fish (and a couple of birds), we decided to head back to the first spot. When we got close we noticed that someone else had moved in so Mark piloted us to an alternate spot. He was on fire and outfished us two to one with several trout, a couple of black drum, and two reds that were nearly "dock legal" but were returned to grow a little more.

Mr. Redfish

I finally pulled the plug on the trip as I had to get back to Needville and as it turned out the weather was coming in anyway.

Storm's a Coming

All in all it was a great trip. We boxed several trout and a small drum and everyone caught their share of fish. Even the bait stealers were fun to catch and seeing the bay in the early hours was worth getting up for.

Thanks Mark for a memorable fishing experience!

Many Thanks

I got the official send-off from the two groups I managed for the last four years.

Both honored me with a gift card to a sporting goods store so I got busy and picked out some fishing gear that put their generosity to good use.

Many thanks to everyone for the time we spent together and for the gifts!

I've been looking at a new fishing rod and reel for some time now. I've always been a spincaster but have lately decided to join the Texas Saltwater crowd and get into the levelwind, low profile, bait caster club.

I ordered the reel, an Abu Garcia REVO SX from Cabelas and purchased a sweet 7 foot HXS graphite H&H rod from Gander Mountain.

I took the combo out for a practice run this afternoon and despite the heat I managed to hook a few bass in Evans Lake.

Fish On!


Catch of the Day

Even though I adjusted the settings I still got a few backlashes so I'd better "practice" some more before taking it out after the big redfish.

Baffin Bay

After spending most of the week on the East Coast, we returned to Texas on Thursday.

The mother of a co-worker passed away and Tracy and I decided to attend the funeral in Alice, TX on Friday. Our flight was going to be fairly late and we would need to leave Needville at 5AM in order to make it to the funeral. Weather delays caused our flight to be VERY late so we decided to stay the night in South Texas.

I was able to contact the Wild Horse Lodge for a last minute reservation on Baffin Bay so I packed some fishing gear with plans on fishing off the pier.

South Texas has been receiving heavy rains along with the rest of the state so I wasn't planning on much. I picked up some dead shrimp and battled the wind for a couple of hours in the evening before supper at King's Inn.

Windy Bay

I threw the cast net and caught a couple of mullet so I tried some cut bait on the Penn/Fenwick combo that Paul gave me. I used this reel or one identical to it wade fishing with Dad and Mr. Beaty while I was finishing High School in Riviera. Great memories!

Mullet


Old Friends

Just like in the "good old days" I caught several hardhead, yellow tail and some small "puppy drum".

Black Drum


Almost Eating Size


Baby Whiskers

Some of the drum were barely legal (14" minimum) and I put them all back as I was hopeful that the bigger fish might move in later after dark.

The area is known for some other critters like these:

Santa Gertrudis Bull



Spoonbills and Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks

I fished after supper until Midnight but only caught more small bottom feeders and bait stealers. I didn't put anything in the ice chest but had a good time trying!

In The Neighborhood

One thing we have appreciated about living in Texas is the genuine hospitatility folks from here show each other and even to those who come from other places. The Houston area is quite a melting pot as there are people here from all around the world.

We have been around long enough to know that of all the places we have lived, Texas is the one place we feel at home.

Tracy and I were going to be in Baltimore for a business meeting and to Pennsylvania to visit a co-worker prior to surgery,so it was only natural that we stop by to visit a fellow Texan while we were in the neighborhood.

I was sure G. W. would appreciate a big "Howdy" from home and I thought he might even remember me from the CD I once sent him. I got a note back from his dad but never got a call or a card from G.W.....

DC is quite a place and one that I'm not sure I fully understand. The traffic is predictibly bad and the crush of the city is everywhere. We wanted to visit some of the landmarks and were fortunate to secure a parking spot two blocks or so from the Lincoln Memorial.

I'll let the pictures tell the rest.

Lincoln Memorial


Big Man in a Big Chair


The view from the Lincoln Memorial

Hey is that G.W. in the copter?


Howdy there George! It's us from Texas!


Vietnam Memorial


WW II Memorial


Washington Monument


Jefferson Memorial


The White House from near the Washington Monument


Bath Time in the Reflecting Pool


A Mother's Watchful Eye



Ready to Protect her Babies


Lone Goose


The White House (back door?)

If you have tinme to visit the Nation's Capital - it is worth seeing once in a lifetime. You get a real sense of history and patriotism as you see what great sacrifice was made to preserve the freedoms we all enjoy.

Time Out

After spending too much time indoors I start craving the feeling of the sun on my neck and a fish on the line.

I visited Evans Lake for the last few minutes of daylight a few times this week and was surprised to find some small bass hitting the BGW. I caught several between 6" and 12" which is encouraging for the future.

There are still several big fish to be found and I thought this evening would be a good time to look for them. The weather today has been cooler than normal with more rain predicted for tonight and tomorrow.

I tried the fly rod and a green seaducer but couldn't find any takers. I switched to the red & white "duce" and caught one small bass but released him before the photo.

With less than an hour of daylight left I decided to switch to the BGW.

Good idea!

I quickly struck "Green Gold" as this nice 2lb bass gave me a good fight.

The next fish was fat and healthy and won the "look away first" contest.

I continued to catch some nice sized fish all right tight to the bank.

The largest fish of the evening came near the wall.

I recognize this big girl - The Legend Lives On!

This fish is about 18" but is not as heavy and filled out as the 2-3 pounders. She does not fight as hard and once caught, becomes very calm almost like she knows I'm going to take care of her and get her back in the water unharmed.

The last fish of the day was another adult bass just under 2 lbs but was a real fighter.

I must admit that catching a few feisty bass and watching the sun go down at Evans Lake was just the ticket for satisfying my urge to be outdoors.

Fresh Water

Palacios Bay is too fresh.

The piers are close to the mouth of the river and that's got fishing messed up.

There are some clouds in the area but no significant rain is predicted.

With too much rain pouring down the Tres Palacios River the trout must seek refuge in the deeper and saltier parts of the bay. So what! With an opportunity to go fishing I'm game. Who knows - we may catch a channel catfish off the pier if we are lucky.

I had invited my employees to go night fishing after our group meeting and one brave soul decided to go. I knew Sandy would be up for fishing of any sort. She traveled all the way from Utah and wasn't going to let a little fresh water keep her from fishing in the bay.

We arrived while it was still daylight and picked up some live bait. Grassy Point only had live croakers as the bay water was too fresh to keep shrimp alive. They reported that the shrimpers were even losing their catch by pulling the nets up through the fresh water. OK - Croaker it is! We fished off the jetties until dark.

Sandy is ready to fish.


Sunset over the Shrimping Fleet

After dark we hit the 1st Street Pier and I caught several small croaker and a few small black drum on dead shrimp while Sandy soaked the croaker waiting for a big redfish, shark, or whatever to come along.

All in all it was a nice night on the pier even if we didn't catch any trout.

The saltwater will return!

Soggy Saturday

Rain Rain Go Away....

I'm sure before long we will be on our knees praying for rain but for now our cup runneth over.

Early Toadstool


Trail of the Fungi

If this rain keeps up we will be scraping the shrooms off our vehicles.

Paul and I were trying to make a plan to go fish at his special bass lake this weekend but after another big storm system blew through Friday afternoon we decided to call it off.

I talked to the bait shop in Matagorda and to the locals in Palacios and they advised waiting before heading down to the salt water. They have had 13" of rain in the past week and reports of freshwater catfish are being caught off the piers.

I had to run some errands this morning but took a couple of hours to visit Evans Lake and see if I could find a bass or two.

I had purchased some new bass flies for the trip with Paul and tied on a deerhair slider to begin with.

Looks Like a Tasty Minnow - Yes?

I cast to all the likely spots with only one swirl and no hookups and then tried a cranefly pattern.

Bugs for Breakfast Anyone?

I had similar luck with it and tried a couple more streamers.

Silhouette in the Scum

Before heading off to get the oil changed and my hair cut, I decided to try the spinning gear and the BGW.

BGW to the Rescue


Hungry Sunfish


#2 Off "The Wall"

I completed my rat killing in town and when I returned, I headed out to see what I could salvage out of the garden. I thought this year was going to be a good one but with all this rain it is pretty pathetic. I was able to grab a few tomatoes and cukes.

Garden Bounty


Celebrity Tomatoes


Three Beauties

Just when I was beginning to think we were going to get through the day without more rain, we got hit with a pretty good T-storm about 5PM. I guess tomorrow is another day. Thank God for our blessings.

HEBREWS 6:4-8

For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,

and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,

and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God;

but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.