Estes Flats - July 21, 2019

[Neumie]

Got up early again and stopped at Stripes for a breakfast taco and ice before making my way back to Palm Harbor RV to launch. This time I wasn't going to stop at Talley Island and made my way straight to Yucca Cut to drift the same water I had done the day before. First drift was in the dark and I had a few blow ups.



After a couple of drifts closer to Traylor Island and a couple of undersized reds for the effort I decided to drift farther out and switched to a hunchback. The reds were way more aggressive towards the hunchback, but I was still just managing undersized reds. I did catch one with 14 spots ( 6 & 8 ).



I came to the realization that a limit of reds was probably not going to happen, so I became to take the pressure off myself and began enjoying the day catching smaller reds. Towards the end of my morning I landed one slot red, a 22"er, and threw it on the stringer. Of course I forgot to take a photo. I needed to be off earlier than the day before to clean the tiny house & fish, and make my way back north to SA. Oh, I did have a hitchhiker on my last drift.



Time: 5:30 am - 10:00 am
Air Temp: 82 - 85°F
Wind: S @ 5 kn - 10 kn, gusting 10+ kn
Barometric Pressure: 1014 mb (rising)
Sky: Mostly Sunny
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
Water Temp: 86°F
Structure: Grass

Predicted Tides @ Port Aransas:
Low @ 12:32 am (0.17 ft)
High @ 9:25 am (0.88 ft)

Solunar:
Sunrise/set: 6:45 am/8:24 pm
Moonrise/set: 11:08 pm (20th)/10:49 am
Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous (80%)

Lures:
Silver Mullet Spook Jr.
Blue Eyed Billy Hunchback

Fish:
Trout: 1 dink
Reds: 1 keeper, 12 undersized

[Ron Mc]

sorry I missed that - looks like a great paddle.
And your photos are great. Thanks for posting.

[kickingback]

Neumie's on fire fishing! Well done Sir! You must be having a blast!

[JW FunGuy]

Thanks! Great job as always!

[DUKFVR]

THANKS for all your detailed reports!!

[Neumie]

Neumie's on fire fishing! Well done Sir! You must be having a blast!

I wouldn't necessarily call 3 slot reds and a keeper trout over 2 days fire, but at least it wasn't a skunk; lol.

Thanks for reading the reports guys.

[frios]

Great report Neumie!!

I need to get a little more detailed on mine

I was actually back out in Rockport this past weekend and it was a little slow. Just managed a 16 inch flounder and 22 inch red.

[Ron Mc]

power boat traffic on weekends always slows down the bite.
If you can get out on a weekday, you'll note the difference.

[Chubs]

Thanks for your reports Neumie. I worry I put too much detail in mine but glad other people like putting together and also reading lengthy reports too. I like to post up my path as well assuming I didn't just discover a secret honey hole lol.

I assume you stay in a camper/ RV and haul your kayak with you?

[Ron Mc]

I believe they have family digs in Rockport, which he's often working on if he's not fishing.

[Neumie]

Thanks for your reports Neumie. I worry I put too much detail in mine but glad other people like putting together and also reading lengthy reports too. I like to post up my path as well assuming I didn't just discover a secret honey hole lol.

I assume you stay in a camper/ RV and haul your kayak with you?

I say put whatever info you want in your reports as you like. I've kind of settled on my format over time. Some people like a story and pictures, others may like more details, and some may like videos embedded. I certainly don't expect anyone to post GPS tracks as I do, but in my opinion you can learn more about the trip if you can read an aerial map. I like posting my reports (good, average or bad days alike) and am glad others take the time to read them. Personally, I don't like reports where the poster just links to their youtube channel/personal blog, only post when they slay'em, or leave out basic info such as lures, bay system, & day.

My family has leased cabin on Copano bay for the past 20+ years. Harvey has briefly pushed us out of it until the owners have completed our rebuild. In the mean time we've built a tiny house on wheels and have it parked on the property. The owners of the property, the neighbor to one side and my family have been there all 20+ years, and it's become our coastal family. We have a good time when everyone's down and we've realized since Harvey just how special a place we're at on our little stretch of Copano.

[Chubs]

Ah, I thought by "tiny house" you meant a camper heh. Now that makes sense. Sounds like a good time and nice setup you've got.

I was going to compare camper + kayak notes with you but guess that's not quite accurate. We have a camper we've been hauling around for the past year and I take my inflatable kayak along. Works well for me. And one day my kids and maybe even wife will join up with me (though she said she'd prefer go get a pedicure instead... imagine that )

[SWFinatic]

Chubs that'd be a good post in the RV kayak thing.

[Sandtrout]

Just love your reports. I think if I ever catch more then 1 or 2 keepers I also add the tides and time along with a map. Thanks again.

[Cory.Ogle1]

Hey Neumie, What are you using for gps tracks? that looks useful!

[Neumie]

Hey Neumie, What are you using for gps tracks? that looks useful!

I have a Garmin GPSMAP 76C (current model would be the 78) which I've used for 13 or 14 years now. Really nice to have on the water for setting up drifts or navigating before dawn if needed. After a trip I hook it up to my computer an import the track to Google Earth. It makes a great visual when looking back through my fishing journals.