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Neumie's redfish rodeo
Post 08 Nov 2021, 12:54 • #1 
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Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19078
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Lou and I were happy to be invited to join Josh and old friends for 5 days of coast kayak fishing, and to stay in his great family digs at Liveoak Point on Copano Bay.
The weather slowed us down by two days, with Thursday's big blow and rain, so we turned it into a 3 day trip.
I shot 94 subjects, probably won't post them all, but certainly enough to give you the flavor of this great annual event.

When we arrived Thursday evening, Josh cooked up a perfect shrimp creole - maybe he'll post a photo for us.

Friday was fishing our old friend Estes Flats and Trout Bayou on a NNE.
The incoming tide should stack fish at the inside of the passes to Aransas Bay, and the wind is a perfect drift down the length of Trout Bayou.
As always, Lou's the first one paddling.


He did paddle back to Palm Harbor beach for a group photo - six of us fished both Fri and Sat.


We were off like a herd of turtles for our 3-mile paddle, and the sun was already up.


Lou, Josh, William and I each spent a little time wading the hardpack beach at Trout Bayou cut.
Rat reds were stacked at the corner of Traylor Is., right where they ought to be, and I got my first redfish on my UL baitcaster.


The real day, though was drifting Trout Bayou, and everyone found nice fish, especially big trout - Josh brought home a 21"

My day was mostly 18-19" reds, of course several small rats, though I did get a 22" to fillet.


This beautiful hardpack beach on Talley Is., we call Lunch Beach - that's Lou drifting by


Note the swirl behind Lou's boat


Lou released a beautiful 26" sow trout to keep breeding little trout in Trout Bayou - his lifetime best


A good photo of Lou and Josh at Sandy Point


Lou and I were back to Palm Harbor first, and went to work filleting


The rest followed us in - Josh and Nina

Whit

and William


Everyone else took their stringers back to Copano to fillet, and the pelicans lined up for fish carcasses


I don't think Nina wanted to be in this photo


Friday evening we had a culinary feast at 495 Chesapeake Eats in Rockport, and Lou picked up the tab - I think this made serious karma for his fishing.
Their calamari and crab dip were outstanding, their stuffed flounder special was better than any I've tried elsewhere, and Lou made a great call on an aged rye Old Fashioned, which I was smart enough to duplicate.
____________________________________________________________

Saturday, we crossed the ferry at Port Aransas to Mustang Is and Island Moorings Marina to fish East Flats.
We had to be off the water at 2pm, because Nina coaches her daughter's volleyball team, and learned the evening before they made the playoffs.


Unfortunately, Lou and I were staged on the ramp, had to launch before a boat backed down, and our partners had to wait out two more boat launches before they could play.
We paddled out first to East Flats.


What we didn't know, our friends stayed in the boat channel to fish the cuts onto East Flats and East Flats Lake


We had two fairly boring drifts diagonal across East Flats, Lou was happy with a keeper trout and rat red, but I was shut out.
We spent the rest of the day looking for our friends on East Flats Lake, and paddled 8 miles - it was a beautiful day.

But our friends caught 100 trout, mostly dinks, and Josh boated a keeper limit.
I would have given anything to be there with my UL.
Maybe I'll have to buy Josh a VHF - I don't do cell phones on the water.

So my Saturday was about food - Whit's famous ceviche, spec fillet cooked by key lime juice, and mostly chopped by William.


Josh's perfect and rightly famous shimp boil.


A great time around the firepit, and serious libation.


___________________________________________________

Sunday was also a short day - we had to be off the water at 11 am, time to clean up and pack out.
We picked Estes again for the easy logistics and light NE.
At least we got a good start.


A short visit to Little Cut without any action, and then rode the NE between the two duck blinds between Little Cut and Big Cut.
Two drifts, a 19" and 18" redfish for me.
And sorry, I think there's shrimp boil on my polarizer.


After another drift and a half without fish, I made the long paddle back to Lunch Beach for a final drift down Trout Bayou and Talley shore.
That was also mostly fruitless, though when I got to the mouth of the big Talley slough, I found a thousand rat reds that would try to impale your lure until your took it out of the water.


Lou got his best red of the trip.


Great times with great friends, and Josh and Nina are amazing hosts.


Last edited by bulldog1935 on 08 Nov 2021, 12:57, edited 1 time in total.

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Post 08 Nov 2021, 12:54 • #2 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 05/22/16
Posts: 1760
Location: SJC
Good stuff !


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Post 08 Nov 2021, 13:35 • #3 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 05/19/14
Posts: 3925
Location: USA - Illinois
Awesome photos as always!


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Post 08 Nov 2021, 13:43 • #4 
Piscator
Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19078
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
thanks John, we had a really great time - Josh will post day-by-day reports on TKF, and hoping he'll add some of his photos to this thread, as well.


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Post 09 Nov 2021, 12:10 • #5 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 06/09/05
Posts: 2524
Location: US-CO
What a great event! I can almost smell the salt! My little boat is pretty much outclassed by the wind and distances there.

I am impressed by those who can use a baitcaster well. A friend who is a serious bass fisherman used to invite me along, and he'd give me a hard time that I didn't use a baitcaster. I can't make one work without a backlash, so I bought a nice Cabelas combo figuring it must be the equipment (cough, cough). After an hour of no fishing because I was continually untangling backlashes...I went back to my spinning gear and asked him if he wanted that baitcasting outfit. Because, I said, "It is not going home with me. Either you are taking it home or it is staying here at the bottom of the lake." He took it and I haven't touched one since.


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Post 09 Nov 2021, 13:47 • #6 
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Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19078
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Donny, we would have loved to have you there.

The baitcaster trick is setting them up
I have two "threadline" baitcasters, ML and all-range BFS (XUL to ML).
Both have extreme shallow spools that weigh 5 and 7 g, low-mass micro-bearings.
Front-end backlash is completely eliminated by the extreme low mass and inertia.
You only set up the mag brake to cast the lightest thing you plan to throw to prevent mid-cast wind backlash, and you'll never need to adjust anything again.
You only need thumb in the final few feet of your cast.
Compared to older-style deep-spool baitcasters, they're just about cheating.
(However, you Must set them up right up front, because you don't want to backlash thread-size braid)

The lighter of these will cast 3g to 140', which a comparable spinning outfit can't quite reach.


This is the 3-g plug, 45 mm, that caught my first-ever BFS redfish - the hooks are size 6 - I promise you it's as fun as a fly rod redfish.


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Post 09 Nov 2021, 14:57 • #7 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 06/09/05
Posts: 2524
Location: US-CO
Hahaha! Next time we are together, I’ll buy one and have you set it up.

Then, it will either go home with me…or you…or retire to the bottom of the lake. :-)


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Post 09 Nov 2021, 17:55 • #8 
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Joined: 08/10/05
Posts: 19078
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Donny, you might like this even better.
Prudhomme's Seafood Magic, fresh off the grill.


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Post 09 Nov 2021, 20:18 • #9 
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Joined: 06/08/18
Posts: 293
Location: Boston , MA
Just Epic and Envy , don’t get much better !!!


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Post 11 Nov 2021, 05:36 • #10 
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Joined: 11/09/10
Posts: 1355
Location: US-CA
Outstanding, Ron.
I'll be trying a bottle of that Oak & Eden soon.
Incidentally, I can't cast a bait-caster worth a crap either. :(


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