Sunday 8-9-20 – San Luis Pass Pack Trip

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Chubs
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Sunday 8-9-20 – San Luis Pass Pack Trip

Post by Chubs »

This report is also up at the PACK page: https://www.packtx.org/Forums/tabid/210 ... fault.aspx

Launched early around 4AM to try the lights
I hit the 1st canal and worked my way to back
Caught a few dink trout
Caught a large croaker
Saw a massive gar that I couldn't get to bite anything
Not much bait in lights
YakRunabout (Ken) worked the outer 2 canals with about the same results.

I went to meet the Pack group around 5:30 while Ken headed to TT bayou.
Met a few new folks and a few familiar members as well.
We headed on over to TT bayou around 6 as the sun was rising.
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Some people setup in the bend of TT bayou, others setup outside on the sand bars.
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Tide was incoming at this point as sun rising
I think Bruce caught a nice flounder here
A few people caught trout in TT bend.
I stayed outside near the house working the shallow grass area and also the cut that runs in front with my matrix shad in tiger bait color, Bone super spook JR. Only lure that worked was the Matrix Shad for me.

I hooked a dink trout or 2, a baby red, and then I hooked a very nice trout. I'd boat flipped all my earlier fish and my net is in a hard to reach place, so unfortunately I got the big fish to the side of the boat and she got some slack in the line then shook off while I was debating what to do! DOH!

We hung around the area till around 8ish according to plan and then headed over to the bird island/ mud island area. Brad joined us around this time.
The wind was really whipping up for some reason right then (a few storms a little further out, we were never in any danger and no lightning in any).
Anyway, we got pushed up the large cut towards bird island/ mud marsh pretty quick. Was hard to work the area due to moving so fast, but a few people caught trout on the way up.

At this point, some people went to bird island, some stayed on the mud island side around the marshes, and YakRunabout (Ken) even went all the way to Mud cut and I think ended up circling all of mud island.

I tried the marsh drains on the east side on mud island.
Here I hooked my baby flounder and a few other undersized fish.

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I went into the marsh and back out, but nothing was really happening in there. Spooked a lot of fish but nothing looked like a large fish.

Meanwhile the gang that went to bird island was slowly catching trout while culling through hardheads too.
I decided to try mud cut and one of our new members ("New" Ken) joined me. We trolled our way up to mud cut following an larger outer channel.

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I didn't do any good trolling but then decided to try the inner cut.
I paddled over and cast to the cut. 1st cast hook into a good fish!
It ended up being my keeper black drum. Somehow I fooled him with the magneto matrix shad (it's a mostly clear bait with glitter).
Worked that area some more, got a few more fish and an heartbreak teaser trout 14.75"!! Go eat your Wheaties boy!
At one point I saw 2+ large redfish fins swimming lazily along the bank towards the cut! But I tried throwing everything near hand at them I couldn't get them to eat. I got it right in front of their projected path on 3 casts even but no luck.

YakRunabout (Ken) told us he wasn't having much luck there in mud cut and the guys at bird island were adding to their trout numbers, so "New" Ken and I made the decision to go join them.
The direct path went over a lot of sandbars so we ended up walking the yaks behind us while wading our way there.

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I hooked a large rat red (15") which was fun.

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Once to bird island though I worked the whole area with no more fish for me.
A few others were still catching though working a tide seam line. I should have joined but I wanted to explore the island too.
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I joined Marvin who was doing well on the tide seam line and had landed a few keeper trout. I joined but by this time I think the trout must have moved on. I landed 2! Hardheads back to back on my Zman.

I was tired by now, I think around 1 or 1:30, so called it a day.

It was a nice outing and I'm glad a lot of our members figured them out for the day.
I think Bruce did the best with a limit of trout and 1 or 2 flounder, he headed in around 12 even. Way to go Bruce!

I managed a happy meal slam (none were a keeper).
Glad I caught a lot of fish but wish I hadn't lost that nice trout in the morning!


Tactics that caught fish:
For myself, it was a jigging technique mostly. Jig-jig-reel slack-pause a moment, repeat
Tails (bright DSL, pink, other) under a cork were working well for trout caught by others. ~3-4' leaders
Staying put and deliberately wade fishing the cuts seemed to be the most productive.
Drifting the tide seam line was also productive for others.

Fish caught:
1 black drum 15" (magneto matrix shad)
1 jumbo croaker (12") (Zman white TRD Finesse worm)
~7 dink trout, largest was 14.75" misc
2-3 baby reds, largest 15" (magneto matrix shad)
1 baby flounder ~ 7" (Zman white TRD Finesse worm)
3-4 large hardheads

Lures that caught fish:
Zman 3" Shirmpz in pink
Zman white TRD Finesse worm on ~1/20 oz jighead
Tiger bait and magneto matrix shad on ¼ oz jig

Other lures that didn't catch fish:
Super spook Jr Bone
Mirrodine glow
Chrome Blue back Rat-L-Trap
My own rigging of popping cork, matrix shad, 2' leader, circle hook with gulp mantis shrimp

Tide and weather info for the day:

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Ron Mc
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Re: Sunday 8-9-20 – San Luis Pass Pack Trip

Post by Ron Mc »

Perfect report and beautiful photos- enjoyed it.
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shoffer
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Re: Sunday 8-9-20 – San Luis Pass Pack Trip

Post by shoffer »

Good report, Chubs. Those nursery slams hurt the ego, but they are fun nonetheless!
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OldTownYakBoi
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Re: Sunday 8-9-20 – San Luis Pass Pack Trip

Post by OldTownYakBoi »

Awesome report, I’ve been wanting to explore bird island so this was perfect. Glad you were able to get on some. I’ve always wondered which side I should launch from to get there. To me it looks like the most direct route is to launch from the Galveston bay side and paddle over that huge sandbar, is this even possible; or am i just asking to walk the yak across a flat for a mile... any info would be appreciated.


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Chubs
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Re: Sunday 8-9-20 – San Luis Pass Pack Trip

Post by Chubs »

Thanks everyone. It was a fun day for sure. I'm always worried when I lead a trip if nobody catches fish, but this turned out pretty good.
OldTownYakBoi wrote:Awesome report, I’ve been wanting to explore bird island so this was perfect. Glad you were able to get on some. I’ve always wondered which side I should launch from to get there. To me it looks like the most direct route is to launch from the Galveston bay side and paddle over that huge sandbar, is this even possible; or am i just asking to walk the yak across a flat for a mile... any info would be appreciated.


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I think the path you stated from west Galveston would be about the same distance, and you might have more sandbars to deal with.
This was our plan for the day and basically the path we followed. The path we took you will avoid all sandbars if you mostly follow the lines I drew.

Just be careful, there is a lot of boat traffic, stick to the edges of the waterway as much as you can. In some ways the sandbars are a blessing because in all likelihood the boats will not run over the sandbars.

Also, very important is the tide. I picked this day because the tide was fairly light. I think it would have been more difficult if it was a large tide swing day because I hear the tide can get pretty ripping. To give you an idea, the tide where I was fishing around 12 on the west side of Bird Island, I put my wind sock out while the wind was gusting up to 15 mph in the opposite direction, and the tide completely canceled out the wind out and it was as if I were anchored. A lot of water flows through that area. Make sure you pick it to where the tide is advantageous to you, you don't want to get sucked out of the pass ;)
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OldTownYakBoi
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Sunday 8-9-20 – San Luis Pass Pack Trip

Post by OldTownYakBoi »

Chubs wrote:Thanks everyone. It was a fun day for sure. I'm always worried when I lead a trip if nobody catches fish, but this turned out pretty good.
OldTownYakBoi wrote:Awesome report, I’ve been wanting to explore bird island so this was perfect. Glad you were able to get on some. I’ve always wondered which side I should launch from to get there. To me it looks like the most direct route is to launch from the Galveston bay side and paddle over that huge sandbar, is this even possible; or am i just asking to walk the yak across a flat for a mile... any info would be appreciated.


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I think the path you stated from west Galveston would be about the same distance, and you might have more sandbars to deal with.
This was our plan for the day and basically the path we followed. The path we took you will avoid all sandbars if you mostly follow the lines I drew.

Just be careful, there is a lot of boat traffic, stick to the edges of the waterway as much as you can. In some ways the sandbars are a blessing because in all likelihood the boats will not run over the sandbars.

Also, very important is the tide. I picked this day because the tide was fairly light. I think it would have been more difficult if it was a large tide swing day because I hear the tide can get pretty ripping. To give you an idea, the tide where I was fishing around 12 on the west side of Bird Island, I put my wind sock out while the wind was gusting up to 15 mph in the opposite direction, and the tide completely canceled out the wind out and it was as if I were anchored. A lot of water flows through that area. Make sure you pick it to where the tide is advantageous to you, you don't want to get sucked out of the pass ;)
Thanks for the tips! I think when I make my way out there I will go from the Galveston side. The current probably wouldn’t be as bad since the water is much shallower. Plus I’ll be able to hop out and wade any guts along the way, just like at the beach! I would definitely look for a day with average tidal exchange, I know things get squirley quick out there. Taking a look at the salinity chart it looks as if the San Luis area is the saltiest in the entire Galveston Bay Complex; A perfect place to find those summertime trout, and tons of guts for them to hunt and get out of the sun.


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Re: Sunday 8-9-20 – San Luis Pass Pack Trip

Post by YakRunabout »

Great report, Keith – lots of info there!
I enjoyed chatting with members I have not seen in a while as well as meeting new folks. The lack of meetings takes a toll on the socializing aspect of the group.

As you mentioned we got an early start in hitting the lights in the local canals. I did not find too many lights on and just a couple had obvious fish in them. These were not feeding too aggressively but also were not too large. I did pull a small speck out of one.

It was still dark when I got over to Titlum-Tatlum. I fished the banks and at the mouths of the two creeks running off to the north, going up the second of these and to the small lake area back and to the left. Water was too shallow in this lake area and so I fished my way back down the creek, catching small trout and a red.

It was getting light by the time I got back to TT. I noticed the rain storms offshore, but a quick review of the radar indicated that these were on track to go east of us, so not an immediate concern.
Sunrise with some dark clouds
Sunrise with some dark clouds
Rain to our east
Rain to our east
At TT there were kayaks from our group as well as other kayaks and PB’s heading up the bayou – a regular parade of activity!

I headed east and hit the bank to fish the deep waters where the incoming flow hits the bank, but the beach was too much mud and so I got back into the kayak to head along the east side.

A note to folks new to the area – The current up the east bank was pretty strong, and this was for a relatively low incoming tide. Your plot of the water level shows the actual to be less than the predicted, so this flow could have been stronger. And this prediction was about half a foot. Earlier this month the actual was 1.5’, so you can see how strong that flow would be. This is definitely and area to know the tide predictions before heading out.

I floated along the current to the north fishing spots along the way. I went into the marsh on the east side, finding shallow water and a couple of small reds. On coming out of the marsh the flow was still to the north, so I decided to continue to ride that to Mud Cut and to explore areas to the north. I found deep areas and shallow sand bars and more small fish.
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I thought that I would be able to ride the outgoing flow back down the east side of Mud Island, but any outgoing was countered by the wind from the south, so I slowly trolled my way back south.

I made one last shot at some action in TT due to the outgoing flow, but found nothing, so I headed to the dock. I had a long day, 9 hours on the water and a total of 11 miles! So, I was plumb tuckered out!
One of my 'big' reds!
One of my 'big' reds!
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Saltshiner
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Re: Sunday 8-9-20 – San Luis Pass Pack Trip

Post by Saltshiner »

First time poster here (and the aforementioned “New” Ken), wanting to thank all the regular contributors who selflessly share their wisdom, experience and photos with us newer to the game. I have learned much from these pages while lurking the past year, and have even gotten a few chuckles out of some of the posts and posters!

This was my first PACK outing, and Chubs did a great job putting it together and an outstanding job of summarizing the trip above.

Before dawn at the mouth of TT bayou, I had a short strike on a super spook in bone, but the limited success I did have was due to the Vudu Shad in glow which I had read about in this forum. I got a couple of hookups of 17 inch specks, one of which I lost while grabbing my net (I’m beginning to wonder if I should just use the net wade fishing, and not mess with it while on the kayak). Gulp curly tails and gulp shrimp on jigheads or under a popping cork only attracted croakers. For me, the bite was done pretty early, but it sure was fun being out there. I especially enjoyed paddling around Bird Island since I had never been there. Interesting how the south edge of the island drops off almost immediately to a 13 foot deep cut.

As I was coming off the water, a fisherman was cleaning a 24.5 inch speck he had caught off his dock in TT (he has one of those GLO cabins). I was whining about not having caught a flattie, so he gave me one of his, stating that he hates to clean them - I like that guy! Enjoyed sauteed trout and flounder last night.

Sorry no photos - I will learn to both fish and take pics!
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kickingback
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Re: Sunday 8-9-20 – San Luis Pass Pack Trip

Post by kickingback »

Best report this year! :clap: Pictures and details are spot on and help many I am sure. I fished that area last year and had a blast catching. With Bird island having shallows near it transitioning to deep drop off is easy there to catch some big fish! Thanks for sharing!!! :clap:
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Re: Sunday 8-9-20 – San Luis Pass Pack Trip

Post by mwatson71 »

Fantastic report Chubs and great pictures. I wish I could incorporate more pictures into my reports.

I like fishing the SLP area because of it having the highest salinity in the area and good tidal flow.

I am glad I turned Saltshiner on to the Vudu shad. It's pretty much all I have been fishing with all summer, at least it has been my go to lure.
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Chubs
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Re: Sunday 8-9-20 – San Luis Pass Pack Trip

Post by Chubs »

Thanks everyone. And was good fishing with both Kens (Let's say Yak Ken and Salt Ken).

Also before I forget, I've got to thank Ken (Yakrunabout) for the tips and pointers when I was setting up this trip. Also some of your older posts were helpful too KB. Plus Capt Scott Null (not sure if he still visit's the board) dropped the idea on bird island on one of his Bite Me podcasts a few months ago and I've been waiting for the opportunity to get out there.

It's great fishing with other people, especially in kayaks. Everyone is going to try something different and with the kayak everyone can be in different places. Someone will eventually find the fish and from there it's on!

This was my 1st time to Bird Island, actually my 1st time past TT Bayou on the east. I was quite amazed at just how many boats and people I saw staged up on sand bars or along the shorelines. Why didn't I try this sooner lol!

I am also always amazed at how fun wading is. Whenever I do it I always ask my self why I don't do this more often. And with a kayak you can pull your expedition gear around with you. Just need to watch for those pesky stingrays...

This is a great kayak area due to the close proximity to a lot of good fishable areas.
The downside is it's the longest drive from my house to anywhere in the Galveston bay complex besides going over to east bay, but 2 hours 1-way really isn't that bad.
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Ron Mc
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Re: Sunday 8-9-20 – San Luis Pass Pack Trip

Post by Ron Mc »

also thanks to Ken & Ken for rounding out this trip report.
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Re: Sunday 8-9-20 – San Luis Pass Pack Trip

Post by Wag »

Great report, everyone! Sure miss this PACK group.
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