I’ve logged so many hours behind the wheel as of late I’m starting to feel like a truck driver. In the past two months I’ve fished from South Texas to South Florida. Irrespective of where I travel though, I still cherish the time I spend on my home waters around the Upper Texas Coast. The marshes around here are special (see photo below). The fish are gluttons and plentiful.
A couple months my buddy, Mickey, drove down from Central Texas to spend a weekend fishing the Upper Coast with me on my skiff. Redfish had just started to return to the marshes from the winter. Despite high water levels the fishing was good. Mickey landed many quality fish.
From time to time I’ve even had the opportunity to get in on the action.
Last month Mickey returned to the muddy marshes of the Texas Coast. This time he was accompanied by Brandon and Grant. The fishing was slow. We still had a good time hanging out, and we managed to catch a few fish.
Fresh redfish, dirty rice and boudin…
I was also recently able to convince my little brother, who was home for college, to spend a day on the water aboard my skiff. It was the first time he had fished since he was a little boy. I gave him a quick lesson on how to cast a spinning rod. He was a quick learner; he was making far accurate casts in no time. The conditions (high winds and bull tides) were tough, but we found some redfish schooled up underneath birds. He landed his first, second and third redfish.
The last time I got out around home was Memorial Day weekend. I typically don’t like to fish holiday weekends, but I promised a friend, Raymond, I’d take him fishing. He invited one of his long-time friends, Mando, to join.
Mando had never had the skinny water experience of fishing the marsh. The first spot we fished we came across a big school of redfish. He caught one slot-sized fish out of the school before they dispersed. The fishing slowed significantly after that. We had a tough time finding fish, so I moved to another spot.
The next spot was loaded with big reds. Mando and Raymond hooked several fish and even had a double. We manage to salvage an otherwise slow day on the water.
We fished two different spots on one of the busiest days of the year and aside from the boat ramp we only saw one boat fishing the same area as us all day long.
Home is where the heart is at…
