Another good June in 2021

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GoDoe
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Another good June in 2021

Post by GoDoe »

I just returned home from a 19 day trip and I fished 17 days. Fly rod only and sight casting only.

The weather was pretty good but the water only started to clear up in my last few days there. Most of the time it was high and dirty.

I averaged just over 5 fish per day so there are still some fish out there. I almost never keep any fish, so give these guys time for their sore mouths to heal and they will be ready to catch again.!

From what I saw the freeze has not affected the type of fishing that I am doing. I am targeting reds and black drum. I don't ever see many trout so I can't speak to that. I was catching my fish in just 2 or 3 hours of fishing each day, sometimes less.

There are some signs of the mangroves starting to regenerate too.

John,

FYI, That's me in the cowboy hat
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2 Weight Willie
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Re: Another good June in 2021

Post by 2 Weight Willie »

Nice fish. That trip looked like fun.

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flydoc
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Re: Another good June in 2021

Post by flydoc »

Tightwork as always John.. Good to hear the mangroves are recovering. They looked pretty bleak in April. Take care
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JW FunGuy
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Re: Another good June in 2021

Post by JW FunGuy »

Nice! Thanks for sharing.
What kind of flies were you throwing?
And I assume those are stripping baskets? And you put them on the side of your stripping hand? That makes so much sense, all the ones I have tried went in front and I did not like them. Those look like your basic utility baskets?
bones72
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Re: Another good June in 2021

Post by bones72 »

Man that looks awesome. You have some skills for sure. I have caught a few rat reds on the fly but not any black drum yet the same to want the fly really still.
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GoDoe
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Re: Another good June in 2021

Post by GoDoe »

Using mostly a crab pattern tied on a #4 hook. If the water is dirty the pattern is black. If the water is a little cleaner its olive or celery colored. Because the ground is bare sand bottom mostly we are using mini dumbbell eyes or big bead chain eyes. Even in 6" of water we want the fly to hit the bottom and stay there as it is stripped. Those fish in really skinny water don't seem to like chasing a swimming bait.

The baskets come from "Dollar Tree" They work great and are in the right place to strip the line into. I tie it to my belt and then use a strap thru the lower part of the basket to tie it around my leg. Its kind of like wearing a holster.

They look kind of dumb but its way better than dragging your line around and a much more natural stripping motion down and to the side rather than in front and up a little higher.
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GoDoe
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Re: Another good June in 2021

Post by GoDoe »

For black drum you are right. Most of the time the fly needs to be right under their noses and barely moved. Black is the color that works the best.

They will however sometime chase a black spoon fly. You can crawl the spoon fly along the bottom sometimes too right under their noses.

Then there are times when they won't eat anything. I have caught them every 3-4 casts and I have caught them sometimes 1 out of 50 casts.
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Ron Mc
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Re: Another good June in 2021

Post by Ron Mc »

Nice fish and nice photo of the grass behind the cowboy hat.

would sure like to see report details
TexasFlyaker
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Re: Another good June in 2021

Post by TexasFlyaker »

Awesome to see someone taking a trip like that local. Do you fish the upper coast any? I started fishing the Sabine Pass area a few years ago and have caught some nice fish, but its been trial and error plus a lot of guess work on patterns and flies. I never see anybody else fly fishing.
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GoDoe
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Re: Another good June in 2021

Post by GoDoe »

I always stay in Aransas Pass and fish within an hour from there.

I keep my RV in storage there so I don't venture far away.

I would like to fish some other places but I am 60 and worry about the length of the learning curve.

If I see someone fly fishing it is pretty rare too. I usually go over to say hello to them assuming I know them from the water of know someone they know. There aren't that many fly fishermen around.

To me the most important thing is to know the tides. I mean you have to know at what tide levels you can fish what areas in very shallow water. Always 1' or less. The only way to know this is by experience. Keep a log of what spots are at what levels and reference it to the nearest NOOA station.

Good luck
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2 Weight Willie
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Re: RE: Re: Another good June in 2021

Post by 2 Weight Willie »

GoDoe wrote:I always stay in Aransas Pass and fish within an hour from there.

I keep my RV in storage there so I don't venture far away.

I would like to fish some other places but I am 60 and worry about the length of the learning curve.

If I see someone fly fishing it is pretty rare too. I usually go over to say hello to them assuming I know them from the water of know someone they know. There aren't that many fly fishermen around.

To me the most important thing is to know the tides. I mean you have to know at what tide levels you can fish what areas in very shallow water. Always 1' or less. The only way to know this is by experience. Keep a log of what spots are at what levels and reference it to the nearest NOOA station.

Good luck
Same. I stay in the coastal bend area (flour buff to holiday beach)

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Ghorican
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Re: Another good June in 2021

Post by Ghorican »

I’m new to the area and a bit new to the salt. I’ve done a bunch of guided trips and have done well on them. New to going on my own. I was going to head to launch out salt lake on Sunday and hit that and all the surrounding water. Anyone know how it is this time of year. Also wouldn’t mind connecting with some fellow fly anglers on here. I’m here solo and not sure if some of these spots would be sketchy solo? Any advise or tips will be appreciated.
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karstopo
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Re: Another good June in 2021

Post by karstopo »

The Microskiff forum has a few Texas saltwater fly fishing folks that post so there’s that resource if anyone cares. Skiff and kayaks can share some commonalities, plus there are a number of kayak users on Microskiff.

Summer can be tough if there’s a lot of paddling involved, just for the extra heat. There’s the exertion of moving a kayak around to factor in and there isn’t much shade out in the marsh or bay, then add some more heat generating activity to the mix by fly casting and it can be a recipe for overheating. I think Fall is ideal to break into fly fishing the salt as the fish are generally there in numbers, the temperatures moderate and maybe a few less people are out on the water.

So if one is just starting out in a fly fishing pursuit out on the saltwater, be careful this time of year. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Heat stroke and heat exhaustion are real things. Sometimes, the goal of catching a fish can overwhelm better judgment and get someone into a situation that spirals downward in a hurry.
Frreed
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Re: Another good June in 2021

Post by Frreed »

Amen to that. I was fishing, with a guide, in the Lower Laguna Madre a couple weeks ago. I was standing on the deck of a poling skiff and had been up for well over an hour. Started feeling really bad. It was sunny, warm and there was no breeze. had to lie down and slam some water. I got back to fishing, but lost a lot of my energy.

BTW- Ended up with three reds that were all about an short of the slot. The water was brackish and off colored. When we found good water, there were fish everywhere. They were holed up and that led to only a few good shots at fish.
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