2019 Fishing - Bent rods and tight lines

[fattyflattie 4639]

11 minutes ago, Johnny Sack said:

Back in college I camped out at Panther Point one night.  Me and two buddies in a small Mako that could barely get up on a plane with three two hundred pound guys and a shitload of beer and gear.

We just had sleeping bags and no tents.  It was windy as fuck and we kept getting sand in the food we grilled.  Then it started raining.  So we proceeded to get drunk enough to pass out in the rain.  We did catch fish the next day.

I would need a week to recover from that shit now 20 years later.

This sounds like every trip of that nature, that’s ever been attempted. Have done the same but on Matagorda island near the runways.  At least it was summer so we didn’t wake up with a rattlesnake looking for heat.  
 

@4th and 5 I wish I could give you some direction with current hot spots but I usually use POC as a home base and hit West Matty or from Seadrift west to Aransas.  I’ve never done well in POC and my boat isn’t really ideal for that area.   The success I have had there is usually on the far ends, Shoalwater, or down in South Pass.    On the East end I’ve done ok around Grass Island and near the old coast guard station. East end pulls a lot of shrimp out this time of year, but the birds always seem to be nothing but gafftops under them.    Just too many boats moving at all times for my liking.   Let us know if you find them...I’m going to knock some dust off the boat shortly before it gets too cold.   There’s a redhead that shoots pool barefoot in Maddens, that’s the catch as far as I’m concerned.  

 

[1leggedduck 443]

A former partner of mine who was born in Oklahoma, moved to Portland (TX) and went to the pier and caught a big mess of hardhead, took them home, cleaned and ate them. Said they were good. After that, I found a guy's marine biology masters or phd project posted online. It included laboratory analysis of the meat, a study of their diet, and blind taste tests of the meat compared to other salt water games fish prepared the same way. The hardhead more than held its own and was preferred to trout by a number of participants. Their diet is no worse than a black or a red. The "full of bacteria" story is a myth. They're just slimy and have a nasty spine. I still wouldn't eat one if you paid me.

[Johnny Sack 8397]

1 hour ago, 1leggedduck said:

A former partner of mine who was born in Oklahoma, moved to Portland (TX) and went to the pier and caught a big mess of hardhead, took them home, cleaned and ate them. Said they were good. After that, I found a guy's marine biology masters or phd project posted online. It included laboratory analysis of the meat, a study of their diet, and blind taste tests of the meat compared to other salt water games fish prepared the same way. The hardhead more than held its own and was preferred to trout by a number of participants. Their diet is no worse than a black or a red. The "full of bacteria" story is a myth. They're just slimy and have a nasty spine. I still wouldn't eat one if you paid me.

Hardheads or gafftops?  Because gafftops are slimy as shit but supposed to be excellent to eat.

[1leggedduck 443]

I find the gaftop sail catfish to be a decent source of courtbuillon meat. No, my old partner ate, and the young biologist researched, the hard head. The nasty, bait stealing, tire puncturing, hard head. Gaffs are slimy, and as such, kind of a pain in the ass, but the meat is ok. I would prefer a young but legal black drum, but gaff is in the ball park. Of course, there is a Vietnamese fish sauce prepared by fermenting mullet. I haven't tried it, but I would if it was offered to me by someone who was an accomplished fish sauce chef. I think it depends on what you were raised to avoid. My best friend's grandfather was from the Groves. When he was a kid, Amberjack wasn't really an eating fish. I freaking love Amberjack. My in laws eat fresh water Stripers. Not my thing. 

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

Gafftop are delicious fried.  A pain in the ass to clean though.  My late FIL and his dad swore by cutting their tail and letting them bleed out in the water.  A couple years ago we caught so many in the surf at Matagorda one trip, we must have had 10lbs of fillets afterward.   Had a fish fry.

[fattyflattie 4639]

I throw back all reds, but keep a trout or two, and keep the occasional (I throw ALOT of topwater) flounder.  Snapper and Ling offshore (never never ever Kings) Of course YFT, although rare trip.    Catfish and sac a lait are good, too.  But man y’all can keep the hard heads, gafftops, gar, kingfish, and black drum.  

[crash_davis 23114]

There are no bad tasting fish. Only bad chefs.

They are plenty of YouTube channels of people eating"trash" fish. Most all claim that fish is great to definitely edible. But they are not all filleted, grilled and served on their own. If that's your preference for fish then some fish may taste "bad".

[Sbbruin 21861]

1 minute ago, crash_davis said:

There are no bad tasting fish. Only bad chefs.

They are plenty of YouTube channels of people eating"trash" fish. Most all claim that fish is great to definitely edible. But they are not all filleted, grilled and served on their own. If that's your preference for fish then some fish may taste "bad".

If you can make Toro/Jack Crevalle taste anything but like ass, my hats off.  But that shit is straight nasty.  Some Mexicans will eat it, but most won't, and they keep pretty much everything (/noracisto).

[crash_davis 23114]

 

 

 

[crash_davis 23114]

 

[fattyflattie 4639]

Yeah but Jacks are fun af to catch, and there’s easier shit to catch that tastes better.  If I’m stranded and dying somewhere I’ll eat it, but not too many of the fish I named eating what I throw anyhow.  You look at a pure white red snapper fillet next to that gray kingfish, shit looks toxic. Nothing touches seabass imo for eating. Some lump crab and capers on top.  Oof. Hungry. 

[justhookit 4191]

As long as we are talking fresh, it goes wahoo, halibut, tripletail, tuna, grouper for me. And I agree with the above I know some chefs that can do great things with a lot of fish but my next favorite is a tie with snapper and mahi. Cedar plank salmon is in there somewhere too.

7 hours ago, crash_davis said:

There are no bad tasting fish. Only bad chefs.

They are plenty of YouTube channels of people eating"trash" fish. Most all claim that fish is great to definitely edible. But they are not all filleted, grilled and served on their own. If that's your preference for fish then some fish may taste "bad".

GTFO. However, we took a charter out about 6 years ago and we mostly did billfish trips with the occasional meat fish run for snapper/amberjack or tuna. The guy tells us beforehand he wants to do a 12 hour trip to fish the shrimp boats and he wants to keep everything - kings, bonita (wtf?), and of course the blackfin tuna. Well it turns out he had learned Ikejime in Japan which is basically quick killing whatever fish you catch by sticking a wire into the brain and then bleeding the fish and putting it in an iced brine cooler. Everything we caught was good to great and we had it all from sashimi style to grilled.

Edited October 31, 2019 by justhookit

[1leggedduck 443]

Ikejime; an ice pick looking device into the brain, then a specialized, long wire, pushed into the spinal canal the length of the fish to stop involuntary muscle twitching, then into the ice brine. I have never done this but I'm curious. It is said to preserve the just caught taste by preventing the build up of lactic acid in the fish as it dies slowly when just tossed into a cooler. 

As for smoking a jack, you can smoke almost anything and it will taste ok. Not necessarily like fish, but like the smoke off the wood and all the crap you rub on the fish. I love smoking salmon. I think I'll pass on the jacks.

Fresh water, its white perch (crappie, socalait, etc.), white bass, cat fish (not going to make a distinction and start that debate), various sunfish, spotted bass. If big blue gill had more meat and fewer bones, they'd be #1. Very sweet tasting fish. I have kept spots to eat in the past, but not anymore. Whites are just too easy and too numerous. Like keeping a few trout but releasing the reds.

[bigshark88 388]

I have a recipe I use to make smoked amberjack dip and the State/Feds (forget which) messed with AJ regs now they're never in here the same time as grouper/snapper.  Haven't made it in years.  Watched the second video: I might be tempted to keep a couple of 5lb jacks and try the fish dip recipe with JCs one time.    

Not sure what the game warden would say if he opened up a cooler/hatch and found a pile of JCs on ice; but it'd be an interesting conversation.    

[crash_davis 23114]

37 minutes ago, bigshark88 said:

I have a recipe I use to make smoked amberjack dip and the State/Feds (forget which) messed with AJ regs now they're never in here the same time as grouper/snapper.  Haven't made it in years.  Watched the second video: I might be tempted to keep a couple of 5lb jacks and try the fish dip recipe with JCs one time.    

Not sure what the game warden would say if he opened up a cooler/hatch and found a pile of JCs on ice; but it'd be an interesting conversation.    

just tell him you needed shark bait, or that you are housing a fresh off the boat family of vietnamese in your spare bedroom.

[bigshark88 388]

Wondered when the Asian jokes were going to show up.

[crash_davis 23114]

3 minutes ago, bigshark88 said:

Wondered when the Asian jokes were going to show up.

joke and fact. thai and vietnamese cuisine can make anything tastes great.

[Brisketexan 105161]

joke and fact. thai and vietnamese cuisine can make anything tastes great.

I remember when the Vietnamese first stared showing up on public fishing piers in the mid 70s. First, I heard people say some really terribly racist shit. Opened my young eyes quite a bit. Second, they would often walk the pier with a five gallon bucket, asking all of us in broken English to give them our throwaway fish (undersized croaker, piggy perch, whatever). I’m guessing they took them home and made one helluva good soup.

[Storm the Field 5295]

Man, I have not had "good" fishing trip in a loooong time. Couple of bites here and there, but nowhere near a limit in god knows how long,. Hopefully that should change this Monday. Dad, brother and I are heading to Bay Flats Lodge down in Seadrift. If a professional guide can't put me on some specks or reds, I may just give up on this sport. 

[fattyflattie 4639]

55 minutes ago, Storm the Field said:

Man, I have not had "good" fishing trip in a loooong time. Couple of bites here and there, but nowhere near a limit in god knows how long,. Hopefully that should change this Monday. Dad, brother and I are heading to Bay Flats Lodge down in Seadrift. If a professional guide can't put me on some specks or reds, I may just give up on this sport. 

Don’t do that. The one time I was there, we didn’t catch shit. I did however have a tremendous time, and some of the best cooking you can imagine at the lodge. Great place and people.  
 

*was there for duck hunting. The Wx was a rough go for fishing (north wind had everything blown out).  Actually it was so windy, we had a wood duck in our spread in Welder flats.  Who knows where that thing got blown in from. Was hard to find anything with enough water to fish.  I did ok a few days later in my own boat on the south side of Dewberry/North shoreline.  
 

eta: if you want limits, pick the first calm green water day between May 15 and June 15 and hit the surf.  Have literally gone 10 keeps in first 10 casts in surf before. 

Edited October 31, 2019 by fattyflattie

[MAROON 445]

Headed to my buddy's fishing cabin in the Lower Laguna Madre.  I predict after about an hour or two on Friday night I will be tired of catching specs under the lights.  Last time I was there I conservatively estimated that at any one-time there were 400-500 trout under the lights.  The real challenge was avoiding the undersized trout hitting your lure and coaxing the bigger keeper size to hit it.

Duck hunting in the morning, probably fish the shallows for reds/trout during the day, then hit the lights at night.  All in all it will be a blast...and cast

[fattyflattie 4639]

I miss those days too. Magical place. I’ve got a friend with one in the landcut.   Buffleheads and big trout. 

[Johnny Sack 8397]

1 hour ago, crash_davis said:

joke and fact. thai and vietnamese cuisine can make anything tastes great.

They tend to not pay any attention to bag limits or size restrictions.

[Johnny Sack 8397]

9 minutes ago, MAROON said:

Headed to my buddy's fishing cabin in the Lower Laguna Madre.  I predict after about an hour or two on Friday night I will be tired of catching specs under the lights.  Last time I was there I conservatively estimated that at any one-time there were 400-500 trout under the lights.  The real challenge was avoiding the undersized trout hitting your lure and coaxing the bigger keeper size to hit it.

Duck hunting in the morning, probably fish the shallows for reds/trout during the day, then hit the lights at night.  All in all it will be a blast...and cast

I have done that multiple times.  An Aggie friend of mine's family has a spot right near the Land Cut.  He sells a blast and cast as an auction at a fishing tournament every year.  It is so much fun.  Lots of redheads down there.  Very few hunters.  Or it is so vast they are spread out.

[MAROON 445]

4 minutes ago, Johnny Sack said:

I have done that multiple times.  An Aggie friend of mine's family has a spot right near the Land Cut.  He sells a blast and cast as an auction at a fishing tournament every year.  It is so much fun.  Lots of redheads down there.  Very few hunters.  Or it is so vast they are spread out.

yep - we will be further south near Arroyo City. Never duck hunted down there.  I have no idea if we will even see a bird or not.  But just getting in a blind and watching the sun come up over the Laguna Madre will be nice.

[Pescado_Rojo 19425]

There are birds down there. The tough part is getting them flying. Not that many hunters, and lots of places for the birds to sit down. 

[Kennythetiger 9395]

1 hour ago, Johnny Sack said:

Lots of redheads down there.

Go on...  

[1leggedduck 443]

I don't think he means Redhead Mattress Thrashers. 

[fattyflattie 4639]

Lots of redhead, pintail, and buffleheads down there.  And some BIG trout. Need to drop a call on my buddy...

[Spaulding Smails 1554]

17 hours ago, MAROON said:

Headed to my buddy's fishing cabin in the Lower Laguna Madre.  I predict after about an hour or two on Friday night I will be tired of catching specs under the lights.  Last time I was there I conservatively estimated that at any one-time there were 400-500 trout under the lights.  The real challenge was avoiding the undersized trout hitting your lure and coaxing the bigger keeper size to hit it.

Duck hunting in the morning, probably fish the shallows for reds/trout during the day, then hit the lights at night.  All in all it will be a blast...and cast

So jealous.  I missed my annual fishing trip to my buddy's place at the mouth of Baffin this year due to boat motor issues.  Always a blast to get down there.  Fishing under the lights with a styrofoam cup of brown liquor is a heck of a way to spend an evening.

[Spaulding Smails 1554]

Also, I've noticed that once November hits, boat traffic down there comes to a screeching halt.  Everybody's hunting deer and there's a lot less pressure on the fish.  Some of my best trips down there have been November-December.

[davidg 4038]

16 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

There are birds down there. The tough part is getting them flying. Not that many hunters, and lots of places for the birds to sit down. 

Do you even air boat, bro?

[Pescado_Rojo 19425]

15 minutes ago, davidg said:

Do you even air boat, bro?

Sure, that works. But..

1. I got the impression he's going down there to hunt on his own, or with some buddies. Not with an outfitter that runs a fleet of air boats around all day scaring up birds. 

And...

2. Fuck those guys in air boats running around scaring up birds. Possibly the only time I've ever wanted to see someone die was watching a guy in an air boat burn every single pond in a marsh pond complex I'd just spent 30 minutes poling into quietly. He even waved to me as he went by...fucker. 

[Kennythetiger 9395]

Sorry, man.  I was just happy to be out on the water.  

[davidg 4038]

Just now, Pescado_Rojo said:

Sure, that works. But..

1. I got the impression he's going down there to hunt on his own, or with some buddies. Not with an outfitter that runs a fleet of air boats around all day scaring up birds. 

And...

2. Fuck those guys in air boats running around scaring up birds. Possibly the only time I've ever wanted to see someone die was watching a guy in an air boat burn every single pond in a marsh pond complex I'd just spent 30 minutes poling into quietly. He even waved to me as he went by...fucker. 

Adjust the old sarcasm meter and 2. is the correct answer most of the time.   I have enjoyed the few times when I've hunted or fished out of an airboat but fuck those guys that joyride around in areas where other people are active.

[MAROON 445]

Buddy has a guide on retainer for the duck hunting and bay fishing - we can handle the fishing under the lights though

 

Last time we went we had two guides.  I swiftly got in the first boat with the moderately inebriated guys.  We had a blast caught a  ton of fish.. The other boat gave up because the guys kept falling off the boat (bay skiff) - a little too much pre-fishing boozing for them.  Only three of us this trip so it will be rather chill.

[fattyflattie 4639]

#2 is also illegal.  And soooo effective. 
 

and I agree. Fuck all airboats (that I’m not on at the time )

[Sbbruin 21861]

On 10/31/2019 at 12:54 AM, justhookit said:

As long as we are talking fresh, it goes wahoo, halibut, tripletail, tuna, grouper for me. And I agree with the above I know some chefs that can do great things with a lot of fish but my next favorite is a tie with snapper and mahi. Cedar plank salmon is in there somewhere too.

GTFO. However, we took a charter out about 6 years ago and we mostly did billfish trips with the occasional meat fish run for snapper/amberjack or tuna. The guy tells us beforehand he wants to do a 12 hour trip to fish the shrimp boats and he wants to keep everything - kings, bonita (wtf?), and of course the blackfin tuna. Well it turns out he had learned Ikejime in Japan which is basically quick killing whatever fish you catch by sticking a wire into the brain and then bleeding the fish and putting it in an iced brine cooler. Everything we caught was good to great and we had it all from sashimi style to grilled.

Yeah, a lot of people out here won't eat bonito, but if you bleed it right away, it is tasty.

[justhookit 4191]

26 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:

Yeah, a lot of people out here won't eat bonito, but if you bleed it right away, it is tasty.

Our bonito and your bonito are 2 different fish. Ours is shark bait even if you bleed it, but the ikejime method actually worked.

[Sbbruin 21861]

2 minutes ago, justhookit said:

Our bonito and your bonito are 2 different fish. Ours is shark bait even if you bleed it, but the ikejime method actually worked.

Didn't realize.  Our bonito.  But you have to bleed them stat.  Great poke.

[fattyflattie 4639]

Also, I've noticed that once November hits, boat traffic down there comes to a screeching halt.  Everybody's hunting deer and there's a lot less pressure on the fish.  Some of my best trips down there have been November-December.

I love hunting too, but that’s when you have trips like this, 13 fish over 7# in 2 days.








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[Sbbruin 21861]

You know, blackface is really not considered acceptable in today's day and age.

[fattyflattie 4639]

2 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:

You know, blackface is really not considered acceptable in today's day and age.

Can you  just let me and Earl live in peace? 

[Braff Zacklin 13626]

22 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

Can you  just let me and Earl live in peace? 

A black QB would've caught bigger fish.

Seriously, though, great pics. I love to wade but I stick to freshwater. You saltwater waders are nuts, imo.

[crash_davis 23114]

3 minutes ago, Braff Zacklin said:

A black QB would've caught bigger fish.

Seriously, though, great pics. I love to wade but I stick to freshwater. You saltwater waders are nuts, imo.

a black qb would've brought a bigger pole.

[fattyflattie 4639]

1 hour ago, crash_davis said:

a black qb would've brought a bigger pole.

Without a doubt. 

[HouTex 1885]

A black QB would've caught bigger fish.
Seriously, though, great pics. I love to wade but I stick to freshwater. You saltwater waders are nuts, imo.

There’s nothing more relaxing than wading the Texas coast at dawn on a still morning. Just shuffle your feet and you should be ok or just wear sting ray proof wading boots/leg guards. You do get the occasional hit across the thighs by a jelly fish. Not to mention the rare shark encounter. Then there’s the flesh eating bacteria risk if you have immune issues. It’s still my favorite way to fish the Texas coast.

[BearSchlong 8099]

On Saturday, I fished a cove and marsh channels in Sabine Lake. 2nd cast, caught a potato chip flounder. Then proceeded to catch 6 bass where I should've been catching redfish and flounder. Tasted the water in the channel and cove, not a hint of saltwater. No bait or any movement at all in the cove/flat. Sabine Lake was/is fresh as the Colorado River.

Does that count?

Yes. Which cove?

 

I caught 9 species 1 day, 2 of which were freshwater, at willow bayou just by the louisiana shoreline.. Bass and channel cats on live shrimp.

 

Was by port of orange/cove earlier this week and the bayou are several feet high.

 

Are you on the sabine lake facebook page? People usually post the salinity level maps there.

 

PM me if you want to go fish sometime.

 

[1leggedduck 443]

I found some new water this weekend but I'm not sure what I found. Checked out the Camp Creek ramp on extreme north end of Travis. Also checked out the park at Shaffer Bend, and the park/ramp at Gloster Bend. I have put in at Jonestown before, and put in at Paleface all the time, but I have never been this far north and I don't know what I'm looking at. Saw one guy pulling away from the ramp with a trailered 15' metal boat. Is that as much as you should put in this stretch of river? Given its just downstream from the dam at Lake Marble Falls, it s probably full of big sand bars. We also saw some big rocks right at Shaffer Bend. Anyone familiar with this water? Is a fiberglass boat a bad idea up this far? There are no condos, no boat docks, no houses, just water and bank. Beautiful, but I have to assume if it was easily navigable it would be covered in wake boats and jet skis. Would be a white bass killing zone when they run.

[CHIEF 5094]

1 hour ago, 1leggedduck said:

I found some new water this weekend but I'm not sure what I found. Checked out the Camp Creek ramp on extreme north end of Travis. Also checked out the park at Shaffer Bend, and the park/ramp at Gloster Bend. I have put in at Jonestown before, and put in at Paleface all the time, but I have never been this far north and I don't know what I'm looking at. Saw one guy pulling away from the ramp with a trailered 15' metal boat. Is that as much as you should put in this stretch of river? Given its just downstream from the dam at Lake Marble Falls, it s probably full of big sand bars. We also saw some big rocks right at Shaffer Bend. Anyone familiar with this water? Is a fiberglass boat a bad idea up this far? There are no condos, no boat docks, no houses, just water and bank. Beautiful, but I have to assume if it was easily navigable it would be covered in wake boats and jet skis. Would be a white bass killing zone when they run.

A tunnel hull bay boat will get you there just fine when the water is at a normal flow. We used to put in a Shaffer Bend and run all the way up to the back of Starcke Dam. Would still buy a lake map from Academy that shows water depth that far North. That's what I did. You can catch a lot of channel cat if you chum Bluebonnet Hole below the damn. My BIL, and another friend and I, used to clean up.

CHIEF