October 20-22, 2005 - Benny,
Andy and myself headed down to AP to prefish for the EEF
Kayak Tournament. First thing we did was check the weather
forecast for tournament day and heard a forcast calling for
15-20 mph winds out of the NE. In Texas that changes the
fishing conditions. We studied the maps and found water that
would be protected on tournament day and began our
prefishing.
We fished waters that we had never fished before so we did a
lot of exploring. We check depths, made notes on which way
the currents were running, where the bait was stacking up,
and of course, where we were on the fish. By Friday night we
had a game plan.
During prefishing the wind was mainly blowing out of the SE
and the fish were active over the sand and grass flats.
Hanging in about 2-3 foot of water. We were catching redfish
and trout consistently on our Manns Baby Minus 1 crank
baits. Whether we worked them slow or quick the fish were
all over them. We landed several slot reds in the 27" range
and the trout were averaging 18-20".
Deep shell cuts feeding into the bays from the deep ICW were
full of flounder. We were having luck on darker color
plastic with either a chartreuse, lime, or white tail
bounced slowly off the bottom.
On tournament day with the north winds the fish were fickle
and harder to find. The larger fish were not as thick and
harder to locate. Again we tried drifting our kayaks over
the sand and grass flats. Trout were hanging on ledges that
dropped to about 5 feet of water. I was able to land a 24"
red on my Baby Minus 1 while drifting a grass flat, in about
3 feet of water. He hit it hard and ended up being good
enough to put me in second place for the tournament.
We did our homework and it paid off. Tournament fishing is a
lot of fun and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to
be a better fisherman. Better competition makes a better
fisherman.
Sleigh Rides!
Lance
November 6, 2005 - Andy and
I were heading back from the Rollover Kayak Flounder
Tournament on Sunday morning when we decided we needed a few
more flounder. We made a stop at the barges by the ferry. We
had the yaks in the water in no time and weaved our way
through all the waders, respectful of their fishing areas of
course. I tried the barges quickly and realized it wasn't
the best place to be. There were alot of fisherman there and
the current was really moving.
We paddled back towards intercoastal and just beyond the
waders. They seemed to be stopping where the sand was
becoming a little too muddy. Well that is where we found the
flounder. You should have seen the waders trying to make
extra long casts to get out just a little further. The tide
was moving out quickly and we were in about 3 feet of water.
We made one drift towards the intercoastal and landed 3 nice
flatties. I fished a white split tail grub (4 inch) with a
white Rockport Rattler (1/4 oz). I landed 2 nice flatties
and Andy picked up one. He was fishing the same but in
yellow. After that drift we headed back to the trucks and
hit the ferry. That drift took us maybe 20 minutes, we were
in and out in a jif and we added three flounder to the
cooler of fish from tournament day.
I think the big females will really turn on with the next
cold snap. When that happens you will probably see me there.
Save yourself the hassle of dragging a bait bucket around,
live bait is not needed. Get yourself a heavy enough jig to
allow you to bounce it off the bottom and pick your color. A
fellow at Rollover Pass was killing the old red and white
tail. Old school works.
Lance
March 11, 2006 - Team Karankawa member Larry
'Mack' McAfee successfully battled wintry conditions and won
the first leg of the
Specktacular Kayak Fishing Tournament Series with two
Texas slot redfish weighing in at 9lbs and 1 oz.
With his victory in the inaugural tournament, Mack moved
into first place in the angler of the year standings and
earned a right to fish the Specktacular Invitational in
July.
Congratulations Mack!!!
April 7-9, 2006 - Falcon Lake - Three of us Danny,
Lance, and myself made the trip to Falcon Lake last weekend.
We launched our kayaks on the Veleno into a strong N breeze.
Kayak fishing in 15-25 mph winds and heavy brush can get
interesting at times. It took us about two hours to figure
out the pattern, but once we did the action was consistent.
Smaller fish were busting shad on top everywhere and were
easy pickings. They would hit anything and were so
aggressive I believe they would have taken a bare hook had
we presented it to them. The big fish bite was sluggish at
best due to the front. Lance did manage to catch the
big bass of the trip at 7 lbs. and she had already completed
her spawn.
We caught over 100 fish and that number could have been
much higher had we not left the small ones to look for
bigger fish. Most fish caught on a variety of plastics and
spinner baits. The big fish came on a watermelon red brush
hog. We stopped by Falcon Lake Tackle mid-day Sat. to
restock. Until next time, enjoy the good fishing and release
the ladies so they can finish their business.
Mike
June 17, 2006 - Specktacular Kayak Tournament -
Congratulations to Team Karankawa members Lance and Joe on
their second place finish in the second annual Spectacular
Kayak Series. Their two fish limit weighed in at 10lbs
- 11oz. On cue the weather turned foul on tournament
day. High tides, scattered thunderstorms, and high
easterly winds didn't keep the kayakers off the water.
Rigged up with their Mann's Baby Minus - 1's they attacked
the marsh. Well hidden from any power boats they
searched out reds feeding over shell reefs.
Joe saw a tail early and moved into position. He
tossed the gold with black back
Baby
1-Minus about 6 feet
past him and let it sit there for about 10 seconds.
Then he began to reel it in across the red's nose.
There was an explosion as the red attacked it as it passed
by. Rigged with PowerPro Joe was able to control the
reds run and keep him out of dangerous line cutting shell.
One 26" red down, one to go.
The fishing was hard and the reds were tough find.
Lance was able to find the second slot red in a similar
fashion to right as the tide was beginning to stand still.
Lance and Joe have been invited to fish the Invitational
Specktacular Tournament in July. They will be joining
Team Karankawa members Mack (1st place Spectacular March),
Andy Abrahamson and Benny Landrum (honorary member).
June 24-26, 2006 - Upper Laguna Madre - Andy and I
spent the weekend camping in the Upper Laguna Madre.
The weather was incredible. We arrived Friday
afternoon and the wind was blowing steadily out of the
southeast. Saturday and Sunday the bay was glass in
the morning and the winds gradually began to blow out of the
SE in the afternoon.
Being that we were unfamiliar with the area we spent a
lot of time exploring the area. We were drawn to the
flats and we began to search for reds in about 1-2' of
water. The ground was sandy with patches of grass.
About an hour before sunset we found ourselves surrounded by
tails as far as we could see. Most were black drum
with a few reds mixed in. Instead of paddling out
beyond the black drum to search for the packs of reds we
decided to fish the drum. They fight the same and we
were in them. We rigged up with gold flaked DOA's and
3 1/2" Mann's Hardnose Mullet (Shrimp Green) on a 1/16" jig
head. The fish were clueless of our presence as we sat
in the kayaks and we only had to flip the plastic about 6
feet and land it in front of their nose. The ride was
on and was generally followed by a WOOHOO !
We caught countless amounts of trout on
Baby
1-Minus',
anything with chartreuse on them, soft plastics, and topwaters. The highlight for
myself was my 28 1/2" trout. I was paddling about 20 feet
from shore in about 12 inches of water, exploring. The
bottom was sandy with patches of grass. Suddenly 10 feet
from me to my left I saw a large fish that looked like a
black submarine swimming along with me. I quickly grabbed my
Laguna Texas Wader rod from the rod holder behind me and in
one motion flipped the gold inline spinner ahead and past
him. Perfect! I ran it in front of his nose and nothing but
he just kept swimming. "Wow a second chance" I thought. I
did it again. He accelerated like nothing I had ever seen
and the fight was on. When he turned and showed me all those
spots I knew I could not lose that fish. Power Pro line and
the feel of the Laguna Texas Wader rod gave me the
confidence I wasn't going to lose that fish.
As an angler, going somewhere you have never fished
before can be very rewarding. Pick a place, plan a
trip and go. Stories and memories are there to be
made.
- Lance
August 21, 2010 - Galveston Marsh - We are back. Back to hunting redfish in the marshlands of Galveston Bay. On this particular day Mike Herold and I scored a beautiful day on the water. Max winds were 5 mph and the tide was falling fast. Below is a video of one of the days many catches.
