Got back last night - we had a Palm Harbor canal house, a crowd, and fished Estes Flats Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 9/24-26.
We've stayed at this house before, and knew what to expect.

We were watching Tropical Storm Beta closely, the storm tide measured in the Aransas Pass water level, and of course the weather and wind prediction.
Tuesday, when Beta came ashore at Indianola, the AP storm tide peaked at 3' (above harmonic). Wednesday when we traveled, it was down to 2'
This was arriving at our Palm Harbor canal Wednesday, and this is 4pm low tide - a dock across the canal is partly swamped, and the water level is only a few inches below our bulkhead.
We staged our boats on the dock, but kept them tied overnight, just in case they floated in the high tide, which they didn't.
(those aren't our boats in the photo, but the two that came with the house)


Thur 9/24
We had good winds (NNE) predicted for fishing Trout Bayou Thursday and Friday, and back to prevailing wind on Saturday.
All 3 days, high tide was 1-3 am, and low tide 4-5 pm.
We launched every morning about 6:40, when we could make out Talley Island looking from a high point in the back yard.


Thursday turned out to be a really special day. The storm tide was still 1.5' and the harmonic showed the biggest tide swing of the trip. We launched in 8 kt NNE wind that would peak at 12 kt about 11am. It was Steve, Lou and me, and Thursday joined by our friend Randy from Kerrville.
Rounding Talley Island, and heading upwind to the top of Trout Bayou.


From first light until about 10:30 this morning, I've never seen so much life on the flats. When we approached the cut to Aransas Bay at the top of Trout Bayou, the bait was thumping our hulls and hitting rudders so hard you could feel it through your feet. After the 3-mile paddle, we normally get out of our boats and cast into the cut.


I began the morning fishing a Yo-Zuri Wake bait, Gizzard shad, which reflects green and transmits pink.
Fishing into the cut, I caught several undersized trout and a great 20" ladyfish.


Looking upwind from the cut on Aransas Bay side, saw some massive slashes, so paddled up a bit and drifted back into them. I was expecting a sow trout, but turned out to be a 25" ladyfish. I didn't care, it was a great ride. She flipped, made tailstands shaking her head. She was pulling my boat around, and when she shot across the bow, she sheared my bow a couple of feet to the side. When I finally had her controlled enough to get to the boat, she came unhooked, and that was fine, but a magnificent fish, and I didn't get a photo.

After a few more tourist trout on the second drift from Aransas Bay, we all decided to move back through the cut and begin our drifts down Trout Bayou. My friends all started at the first duck blind, but I began shallower at the mouth of the top Talley slough, throwing a red TSL grasswalker.
First cast downwind got my meat-fish of the day, a solid 23" red. You can see the first duck blind, and my friends beginning their drifts in the deeper water.


That was enough I made the drift between the slough and the duck blind a couple more times, and with the sun getting taller, to put away the red lure and switch to chicken-on-a-chain. A respectable rat on TSL chicken in the shallower water at the top of Trout Bayou.


When the normally skinny water turned off, I drifted past the duck blind to join my friends.
The lure that made my whole trip fishing the deeper storm tide flat was the Z-man Texas Eye jighead in 1/8 oz.
I had just a few TTF flats minnow tails, which matched this jighead perfectly. In the deeper water, I went back to red, and it lasted until the lizardfish got it.
Luckily, I had one more red (until the lizardfish got that one, too)
Even compared to the 25" ladyfish, this 18" red was my fish of the day, frenetic, hard to control, and really fast, running wide either side of my boat.


Until about 10:30, the farther we drifted Trout Bayou, the more fish sign we saw. I added a solid 20" red to my stringer.
Maybe we messed up with this food and beer-thirty break at our favorite Talley "beach" - except on our next-to-the-last drift, Lou would add a fine 25" red.
We normally stop on this great hard pack with shin-deep water and this day, it was over our knees.


A very nice 14" tourist trout I released on the same lure.


After a couple of more drifts, back to the barn. Randy did get a good trout, but decided to release it.
Steve ramrodded this trip, wanting to finally get his new Outback wet. He had a day of gear frustration, both his spinning reel and baitcaster. Spool shimming on the former, and side plate opened up mid-cast on the latter - both his reels birds-nested on him.
My chore at the dock, filleting Lou's fish of the day, and my two.


Since this first day, NNE 8-12 kts is already a long post, I'll come back with separate posts for Fri and Sat...
Also noteworthy on Thursday, the water was turbid for Estes and combined with the 1.5' remaining storm tide, we couldn't see the grass we were drifting.

As for the Z-man 1/8-oz Texas eye jighead, with the right lure body, it fits in the column right between the TSL grasswalker (shallower) and the way i like to rig a cocahoe with a 1/4-oz Stazo flex jighead and double hook for fishing deeper. I would discover both next two days it was very easy to keep this rig just on top of the grass with moderate retrieves in the elevated water levels.
Also like the flex jig, I think fish hang onto it longer, because it feels more natural in their mouth.
And here's a happy and worn out Lou.

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Friday 9/25
Thursday night, the storm tide had dropped to 1' and the wind prediction for Friday 8-11-kt NNE really let us down.
We would barely have any wind, little to move us onto fish, and nothing for stealth cover.
Again, high tide was about 2 am, and low tide at 4:30 pm. Still a good tide swing, but a bit less wide than Thursday's harmonic.

We again aimed to the top of Trout Bayou, but didn't find near the life we had on the previous day.
With one great exception, the day was largely a bust, but the glassy calm was beautiful and especially a good dark-morning paddle intro to our friend Tony, who joined us for Fri and Sat. Tony and I go way back fly fishing the hill country, but he's fairly new to kayaking and spinning tackle. He's also good company, and fit right in our old-man group.
We were also joined Thursday by our friend Whitt from San Antonio, and the two Hobies left us behind.


Got this photo of Steve paddling into the sunrise to fish Aransas bay


My foray into Aransas Bay landed more tourist trout, and these two nice photos.



With my last red TTF flats minnow bit in two, I had a yellow flats minnow in reserve, and it caught my keeper 17" trout.
But I was disappointed when I filleted her and found she was a hen.


As the wind got lighter and surprisingly shifted to the west, Steve and Whitt went in.
Tony made the day his, stopping at our beach to fish.
He bottom-bounced this 19" flounder, the only good thing about Friday.
Tony promised to report the lures he was fishing to me, and I'll update or edit with those.


Before noon, the rest of us faced the building west wind to get back into Palm Harbor.
OK, we made lemonade on Friday - we made a Roy's run in the afternoon.
I picked up some DOA CAL 3" shad tails, they were a perfect match with the Texas Eye 1/8-oz jigheads, and would make my day Saturday.
We also ate at Steer Burger in Estes, and their Ranch Hand burger was the most artful hamburger I've ever eaten anywhere.
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9/26, Saturday, tide was a little milder swing, 3 am high, and 5 pm low.
The water level was just under a foot above harmonic, the water was much clearer, and we could see the grass all over Estes flats.
We had a beating SE wind from the go, 12-14 kt all day.
I'm really glad Tony had the calm paddle the day before, because heading into the dark and the teeth of the wind was a bit disorienting.

We headed first to Little Cut, found a strong tide current, but couldn't even turn a tourist trout.
Good photo of Tony fishing the Little Cut sunrise.


It took us just a few minutes to decide to paddle most of the way to Big Cut and begin drifts back toward Talley Island.
Tony began casting a red TSL grasswalker into the mangroves and pulled out a really nice red.
He measured it 19", but I saw the photo on his measuring board, it was over 19-1/2" with a relaxed tail, and was a legal fish.

Birds were working all around us, and drifting into the halfway duck-blind, I got into both small trout and just under-sized reds.
Here you can see the yellow TTF flats minnow that a lizardfish was shortly going to finish off for me.


After the lizardfish, I switched to the DOA minnow, chartreuse on top and white on bottom, and it would make my day.
A respectable but just under-size trout caught on the first drift using the DOA minnow with Texas Eye jighead.


I really liked fishing this lure, and got the hang of the slowest retrieve that would just bring up sporadic grass, putting it right on the zone.
The end of our first drift put us right on our favorite beach on Talley, and you can see how the conditions have improved since Thursday.


We made the 2-mile paddle back upwind to repeat our drift.
My first cast caught the fish of the day, a 24" red.
My next stringer red was caught about halfway between Little Cut and Talley, 21 inches, and an outrageous fight. Twice around the boat, took everything I had to get in my drift sock, keep it out of my stringer and even out of my dangling feet.
Tony saw the whole thing and though it hilarious. But it was a blast.

A great ride straight downwind to home.


My stringer for Saturday.


It can't just be about the fish. You have to love the fishing, the paddling, the place, and the company.
Everyone seemed to have a great time. We all caught something, and everybody learned something new.
I'll never be without the Z-man Texas Eye jigheads and shad tails to fit.

Thanks Mark,
It's always different - from NW wind emptying the bay like the day you were here

to weeks and months of an extra 2 feet of water.
In fact, the Little Cut shoal you're wading above was 3' under on this trip, and we never see it from October until again in February.

Thanks Curtis
Steve and Randy went out through Turtle Bayou and back in Trout Bayou on Thursday while Lou and I were making our last two drifts along Talley shore, which paid off with his fish of the day.
Normally, you only want to fish Estes Cove on really low water.
We were back at the dock about an hour before them.
They were also both in Hobies, both Steve's boats, new Outback and almost new Revo 16.
Lou and I are both in wind-cheating boats, my T160 and his 14' Emotion Fisherman, and Tony in his Vibe had a tough day in the wind on Saturday, but he's persistent.

All of us bicycle and paddle, Lou's wife teaches yoga. If you're doing all of this stuff correctly, you're beginning in core muscles.
Yes we were sore and slept well, but would do it again tomorrow if we could.
Saturday was an 8 mile paddle and another 4 mile drift(s). We figure 22-23 miles for the 3 days, and Steve and Randy's diversion added another 2-3 miles to their day on Thursday.
Since we're talking about it, here's the chart.

Adding about the cuts in Traylor Island - Big Cut is the current boat pass that they keep dredged; Little Cut had the job before and was last dredged in 1960. We call Trout Bayou cut the 100-year cut, because that's the last time it was dredged, and Turtle Bayou Cut was 1910 or so. Though most bay boats can get through the abandoned passes in the right tides, the great thing for us is the fishing structure they created. On the rising tide, you fish the flats around the cut opening; falling tide should attract fish from the big bay. When that Little Cut shoal is wading water and there's a strong tide current, it's a great place to fish a TS-250 sinking line.

The red dot top center on the chart is Palm Harbor. You can pay to "Park" at the Palm Harbor RV Park and launch at their bulkhead.
One of the best fishing deals extant.
You can see Talley Island a mile out, and Traylor Island two more miles out.
This is a really big October tide, and was also a famous trip for Lou, Steve and me.

Great report. Looks like some fantastic fishing sessions and socializing too! Life is good.

Fantastic write up! Thank you for sharing.

Jeff, Pete, of course you guys are welcome - my kind of fun.

Looking through my photos, could only find 5 subjects left
This was arriving at the 100-year cut Thursday morning - I was just enough ahead to beach my boat and snag this photo
Also looks like there's a fish slash on the water right beside Lou's boat


Releasing an 18" redfish - there's turtle grass down there, but too deep to see


Me taking the electric knife to redfish ribs - only use the electric Rapala to start the fillet and get through their ribs, then switch to my other knives to finish stingy fillets.
Only redfish ribs need this tool, and it keeps me from cussing them.


Beer thirty on Talley beach - the exact spot where Tony caught his flounder.


This was my last landing on Talley with Tony and Lou drifting in behind me.
It's noteworthy because of the clouds. The building clouds really improved both Thursday and Saturday - that was also part of Friday's problem - with no clouds and insufficient breeze, it was too hot to stay out and not catch fish - also the reason we wanted a canal house for late September - easy enough to get out of the sun if the day turned brutal.

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ok, one more subject
Those two spec fillets never made it out of the ice water -
- at least not until they became fish tacos

the fillets are sauteed in olive oil- important here is before cooking first drain the fillets on paper towels, 20 min on each side, and spice the side that's up - I use Val Verde seasoning, but lemon pepper is also a good choice; the mixed corn+flour tortillas taste right and hold together; remolaude sauce; southwest cabbage blend, hot pico de gallo (serrano)

Will also add I split the big redfish fillets among my friends so everyone took home fresh fish.
I brought the four smaller redfish fillets to my dad, since the day I returned was his 91st birthday.
Each fillet is a meal for both my parents and, last count, Mom and Dad are eating fresh redfish from ice-water every day (they still have a freezer full from last year's Arroyo trip).

thanks Doug,
I always do that to Tony, too - he had to buy Power Clips for swapping lures when we went to Roy's Friday afternoon.
And this morning, we're swapping emails about a Japanese "reel stand" hook keeper for his spinning reel that an Alabama vendor stocks.


the Texas Eye hooks are a little tricky to install, both because of the dog-leg and the lure keeper.
You have to twist the lure body while you're pulling the hook with pliers.


But worth the effort - they have incredible action and fish weedless - also anywhere you touch the lure body, it's pliable like there's no hook at all


Also should have pointed out rod content.
Very first photo and all early-morning spinning rod fishing is my St. Croix Legend Glass.
First big red and Trout Support lures (1/4 oz) is my IM6 Crowder bait rod - marked as ML, but it's MM to me, smooth action and probably indestructible. Not sure what it is, but I don't like fishing TSL on spinning tackle - always get just the right dog walk on bait tackle.
Every fish on the 1/8 oz Texas Eye jighead was my ML Toray graphite 13Fishing Omen bait rod - this really is ML, super-light in hand, soft tip, and throws the 1/8-oz jighead with aplomb.

thanks friend.

Yee Haw - I'm going back to Estes Monday.
My friend Josh has his annual redfish rodeo this weekend into next Wednesday.
For the most part, we picked better tides last week.


Unfortunately, I can't get away to fish East Flats Lake tomorrow, but conditions look perfect for Estes Monday morning, and he invited me down to rack at his family cabin on Copano Bay.
(East Flats Lake last year)


We have NE wind and really good tide to fish Trout Bayou Monday.


Also really cool, get to catch up with my 20-year friend Whit (different than Whitt above), who has fished both with me and my dad and me and my daughter - he's a regular with Josh every year.
Mentioned to my dad I get to fish with Whit - he has fond memories - even better, get to feast with Whit and Josh - both incredible cooks.
Whit lost his dad long ago and really connected with my dad on several trips, calling him "Dad".
This photo is near the Trout Bayou duck blind, on a 5-day Palm Harbor trip with friends celebrating Dad's 77th birthday.