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| Picou
Lunker Username: Picou Post Number: 1262 Registered: 8-2004  Rating: N/A |
It is a shame to think that this will all be coming to an end soon and it will be back to the daily grind of work, school, and house chores. This last 5 days has been a wonderful time and the ability to toss on my swimsuit and hit the beach at any given time is priceless. Yesterday, we spent a lot of time playing in the calm surf and relaxing on the deck overlooking the crystal clear water.  For dinner last night we finished the trout from Sunday night by having "Fish in a Sack". It was a delicious meal cooked over the grill -- sorry, no grill pics last night. Once dinner and desert was consumed I got the lantern ready, loaded the truck, kissed the wife and kids goodbye and told them not to wait up on me because I would be back in the morning...  I started off at the pass with my lantern and gig but there was a pretty nice lightning storm happening over Galveston so I kept my eyes on the sky for a while and then decided to hit the water around 10:20pm. By 10:40 I already had one flounder on the stringer -- a solid 16" fish. It did not take long to find my next victim and within a half hour of my journey I had 2 on the stringer. I was also seeing a fairly decent amount of small flounder also. can you spot the flounder?  I made my way a little further around the point and found another keeper that was asking to be placed on the stringer.  Now it was shortly after 11:00pm and I was starting to hear thunder. I decided that the storm was possibly moving my way and me being in the wide open flat of the pass was not a safe place to be. I turned to head back to the truck and within 10 steps found another keeper. So, in about an hour I managed to gig 4 flounder in the 15 - 16.5 inch range. I really wish that lightning would not have run me off the water. I hopped in the truck just before the mosquitos carried me away and headed to the SLP pier with the intent of fishing under the lights but when I arrived at the parking lot there was nowhere to park. I opted to avoid that scene and headed back to Sea Isle to see what was shaking there. I ended up at the pier and caught some small specks in the 10 - 12 inch range and started talking to a couple of guys that had just arrived for their annual vacation. They already had 2 keeper trout and a flounder in the ice chest and we started talking about gigging the pass. They mentioned going out there to check it out and I offered to take them since they had never gigged over there and were not sure where to go. We loaded up the trucks and headed back to the pass. Here we were, walking the pass and I was telling them that I have never seen a ray in this area of the pass when all of the sudden out pops a stingray. Then shortly after that one we found another one, and another one, and another one, etc... I would venture to guess that for the couple of hours we were there we saw at least 20 stingrays ranging in wingspan from 5 inches to 20 inches. In the midst of all the stingrays we did manage to pick up 3 flounder -- me 2 and them 1. My largest fish was a beautiful 21+" 4.5 pound flatfish.  We ended up walking the pass till almost 5:00am and called it quits. I decided that since I was up I would go back to the beach house and get ready for some morning time surf fishing out front. I tied up my rods and enjoyed a cold beer while waiting on the darkness to give way to light. Once the light came, I hit the water. I waded out to the sandbar and started chunking my bone/chart She Dog and within 5 casts had my first surf trout -- 19.5 inches. I strung that one up and kept fishing. I ended up having 8 total blowups on the dog and landed 3 of them. I lost another one at my side trying to grab it and either missed or lost the others shortly after hooking up. That was a complete blast being surrounded by mullet and having trout blow up on my topwater... Great experience...  I went about 20 minutes without a blowup and decided to grab the gold Johnson Sprite. First cast with the sprite and I had another trout on the line -- 14.5". I fished the spoon out to the 3rd sandbar and missed several fish and lost a couple also. Then I tossed out a long cast over the 3rd sand bar at the edge of a large raft of mullet and WHAM, the fight was on. Unfortunately it did not last long and my 17 lb florocarbon leader gave way. I assume it was a mackerel or some other toothy critter out there. I tied on another and fished for about 20 more minutes without a strike and decided that I was tired. I came in and had some coffee and donuts before taking a quick 2 hour nap. As I sit here typing this, I am realizing that the 2 hours was not enough... Here is my keep for night 5/morning 6.  It is raining outside now so maybe this would be a good time to take a nap before preparing some fresh backed flounder for the family.  Thank you Lord for my family and the waters I get to fish
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| Bigun
Crappie Username: Bigun Post Number: 508 Registered: 8-2004  Rating: N/A |
GIGGING THE OLD FASHION WAY STILL GETS THE JOB DONE ...however I would have had an early limit my way! Great catch, pics, and writeups PQ!  It kinda looks like a SNOOK! | ||
| Fishinaggie88
Crappie Username: Fishinaggie88 Post Number: 342 Registered: 8-2004  Rating: N/A |
LMAO Wade!!! Nice Job Mike, you planning on stuffing the flounder? Love to fish and hunt. | ||
| Will
Bluegill Username: Will Post Number: 176 Registered: 2-2005  Rating: N/A |
looks like your haveing a good time and cathcing plenty of fish. Vegatarian: Indian Word for Bad Fisherman | ||
| Charles
Moderator Username: Charles Post Number: 409 Registered: 7-2004 Rating: N/A |
Nicely played PQ. Thanks for bringing us along. | ||
| Simek
Minnow Username: Simek Post Number: 52 Registered: 1-2005  Rating: N/A |
Dang Mike, well done my man, well done! | ||
| Picou
Lunker Username: Picou Post Number: 1265 Registered: 8-2004 Rating: N/A |
I really wish I would have gigged a few more times. I am confident has I not left because of the lightning I would have limited. I am sure that North wind changed things and I am happy to have gotten the big boy and the 17 incher when I returned. I pretty much gave up on fishing after that night. I did hit the surf one more morning and landed some 14" specks but nothing over 15". I spent the rest of the vacation with my family walking the strand, playing in the crystal clear surf (kinda un-nerving being able to see so much ). Jessica and I were walking the second sand bar and I saw a stingray. That really changed my enthusiasm of wandering around... We still played in the surf but I started shuffling more than walking after that... The final night of our vacation we had boiled shrimp as an appetizer followed by fried oysters and flounder. It was a great end to a wonderful vacation. Thank you Lord for my family and the waters I get to fish
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| Johnnytx
Minnow Username: Johnnytx Post Number: 27 Registered: 2-2005  Rating: N/A |
Boy them flatfish sure look mighty tasty. Now that's what I call a vacation. I'll be coming down this Friday and staying through Tuesday in a canal home in Jamaica Beach. I sure hope those surf conditions hold up. I've got a couple of questions for ya Picou. How was the seaweed out in the surf? Also you mentioned those tandem rigs while fishing for specks underneath the lights. Are tandem rigs those double jig leaders? If so, what kind were you using? Thanks. | ||
| Picou
Lunker Username: Picou Post Number: 1270 Registered: 8-2004 Rating: N/A |
Johnny, get you some she dogs and don't worry too much about under the lights at night -- not worth the effort for the size of the fish. The Black/Chartruce and the Bone/Chartruce She Dogs were the morning ticket in the surf. 1/2 oz gold spoons also after the sun is up and you have moved to the next sandbar. Also, I was told to do this but never did. At the very end of the road into Jamacia Beach that goes all the way to the bay there is a concrete barrier protecting the marsh grass. I was told to fish that in the mornings wading down the barrier throwing any of your favorite trout baits. The person who told me about it was catching lots of trout casting close to the barrier as well as 50 yards away from it on the bay side. Just wade down the barrier casting all over the place with topwaters, soft plastics, hard jerkbaits (catch2000). If the canal home has overhead lights, I was throwing 2" fin-s minnows on a 1/16 oz head. I used a florocarbon line to make my "speck-rig". When I was on the SLP pier at night, I used a 4' floro leader and tied a #13 tony aceta pet spoon (silver/white) under a weighted popping cork. I caught more fish than anyone around me and missed more than I care to count. I could cast into the wind further than most people were and it kept my bait up close to the surface where the specks were feeding. The biggest problem was watching then hit the bait and yanking it out of their mouths. I should have waited till I felt them pulling on it before setting the hook. Thank you Lord for my family and the waters I get to fish
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| Johnnytx
Minnow Username: Johnnytx Post Number: 28 Registered: 2-2005 Rating: N/A |
I'll be going to Academy tonight to get a couple she dogs. I've already got the gold spoons covered. Every time I go down to Jamaica Beach I fish that concrete barrier and I have had alot of success both mornings and late evenings. I usually hit this spot with my boys armed with live shrimp under a popping cork. I've caught everything under the sun at this spot including a 23" saddlebag this past May. Very good spot with very little traffic. I appreciate the tip on that pet spoon. I won't be making it down to SLP at night but I will pick one or two up to try out in the canal. Thanks for the info. Picou. I bet you wish you were still down on the coast huh? lol | ||
| Johnnytx
Minnow Username: Johnnytx Post Number: 29 Registered: 2-2005 Rating: N/A |
Well Picou, I'm off to Galveston in the morning. I went to Academy last night and got me a bone colored Shedog and a silver/chartruce colored Top Dog Jr. I also got a few Tony Aceta pet spoons and some popping corks. The surf is still very flat and clear and is forecasted to stay this way while I'm down there so surf fishing will definately be put into action. I'll let ya know how it goes and will post pictures when I get back. Again, thanks for the advice.  | ||
| Bigun
Crappie Username: Bigun Post Number: 520 Registered: 8-2004 Rating: N/A |
Good luck to you It kinda looks like a SNOOK! | ||
| Picou
Lunker Username: Picou Post Number: 1272 Registered: 8-2004 Rating: N/A |
Good luck and wear 'em out... I wish I was going with you... I already miss that place. We may try to do a long weekend in the fall when the kids are out of school so that I can get me another fix... I am trying to work out a deal with a home owner down there -- web page for a long weekend rental.  Thank you Lord for my family and the waters I get to fish
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| Johnnytx
Minnow Username: Johnnytx Post Number: 30 Registered: 2-2005 Rating: N/A |
Well I'm back from our mini-vacation and we had a darn good time. I was up till 4 in the morning every night fishing the lights on our canal home. I didn't know it before we went but the house we stayed in was rigged up with underwater green lights so that was a big bonus. These lights were loaded with specks and sand trout but dang were they hard to catch. I tried every artificial I had but they wanted the real thing. I threw live shrimp at 'em and even though I caught some nice keeper specks this wasn't what they were after. I had to really work my tail off to get a few specks fishing with live shrimp. They turned their nose up to it most of the time. What they wanted was live shad. They were really tearing them up something fierce. I threw my cast net out away from the lights and just couldn't get any shad. I did manage to catch two shad and just as I thought. As soon as it hit the water the trout would nail the you know what out of it. I threw my arms out ragged trying to catch shad but I never could get any. Friday night I caught for nice keeper specks with the biggest one being 21". I also caught a 23" red which was a nice bonus. Saturday night I caught 3 nice sand trout and that was it. Sunday night I caught 5 nice keeper specks and a nice sand trout underneath the lights. I did fish the surf Saturday but again, no takers on the artificial. For the heck of it I put on a double leader white speck rig and the whiting flat tore it up. I didn't keep any but I could of had a nice stringer full of 'em. Sunday afternoon I went out surf fishing again with a pint of live shrimp and caught lots more whiting and a bunch of undersized specks. Lot's of fun but no keepers. While standing out on the second sand bar I had a shark brush against the shin of my left leg. I danced on top of the water for a second and continued fishing. This isn't the first time this has happened to me and like last time, it rattled me pretty good for about 10 seconds. LOL I fried my boys up some specks Monday night and I'm fixing to eat the rest here in a minute. I'll post a few pictures here before too long. A pleasant time had by all. | ||
| Picou
Lunker Username: Picou Post Number: 1287 Registered: 8-2004 Rating: N/A |
Sounds like a heck of a time. Working hard for them specks kinda sucks doesn't it... I like the overhead lights better because they seem to be less spooky. The green lights in Sea Isle I fished, when you hook a fish within 50 yards of any light, they all scatter and it takes 10 - 15 minutes for them to come back. Great job on figuring out the shad. Not sure what to say about where to get some shad in those situations becuase they are so hard to keep. I will definately remember that for the next time though. I wonder if a fluke jr. would have worked or one of the storm swim baits would have done any good in that situation. Hurry up on the pics... Thank you Lord for my family and the waters I get to fish
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| Bigdog
Minnow Username: Bigdog Post Number: 3 Registered: 3-2005  Rating: N/A |
Nothing like sitting out at night in the lights with a cold one! www.texasrodbenders.com | ||
| Johnnytx
Minnow Username: Johnnytx Post Number: 31 Registered: 2-2005 Rating: N/A |
Yep, shad is definately the ticket. I went into a few bait shops and looked over the artificial real good trying to find a good close cousin to the shad but they didn't have anything. I now know an excellent place to catch shad close to the sub-divsion we stayed in. I'll get me a high powered aerator for the next trip down to keep those shad alive. It'll be on then. Ok, a few pictures of the trip. For some reason I can only post one picture at a time.  | ||
| Johnnytx
Minnow Username: Johnnytx Post Number: 32 Registered: 2-2005 Rating: N/A |
My Friday Night catch.  | ||
| Johnnytx
Minnow Username: Johnnytx Post Number: 33 Registered: 2-2005 Rating: N/A |
Correction on the Sunday Night catch. It was 4 specks and 2 sand trout...not 5 specks and 1 sand trout.lol  | ||
| Johnnytx
Minnow Username: Johnnytx Post Number: 34 Registered: 2-2005 Rating: N/A |
A couple of my 5 yr. old.   | ||
| Bigdog
Minnow Username: Bigdog Post Number: 10 Registered: 3-2005 Rating: N/A |
Cool Pix ! Love the kid pics with fish. www.texasrodbenders.com | ||
| Picou
Lunker Username: Picou Post Number: 1289 Registered: 8-2004 Rating: N/A |
Green Lights, Great Times, and Cold Beers... Way to go Johnny... Looks like the beach was still in great shape for your trip and the time over the green lanterns paid off. Excellent pic of your son with the rat red... Thanks for thinkin of us and sharing the pics... Maybe we can arrange schedules and both be down there at the same time one of these trips. Thank you Lord for my family and the waters I get to fish
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| Johnnytx
Minnow Username: Johnnytx Post Number: 35 Registered: 2-2005 Rating: N/A |
Bigdog, I think you've got a couple of youngin's around my son's age and like me, you've got them headed in the right direction. There ain't nothing like spending time with my boys hunting and fishing, that's for sure. Picou, yes...the surf was in great shape but it started picking up Sunday and into Monday but still plenty fishable. Even though conditions were great for fishin' the surf, I talked to many of people and they were just catching a bunch of dinks with a keeper here and there. At least on the west end of Galveston. Anyways, the family and will be back down there again next year probably renting out the same canal home. I'll give ya a heads up when we will be going. My deep freeze is getting low in the deer link sausage department. I'm ready to feel that northern wind slap me in the face while sitting in my stand. The sky is my cathedral. Have a goodin'. | ||
| Bigdog
Minnow Username: Bigdog Post Number: 15 Registered: 3-2005 Rating: N/A |
Hmm, I hear the makings of a father-son trip. www.texasrodbenders.com | ||
| Atthewall
Crappie Username: Atthewall Post Number: 392 Registered: 11-2004  Rating: N/A |
Man them are some nice flatties! Congratulations, ya'll had a stellar family vacation this year. | ||
| Barnaclebill
Crappie Username: Barnaclebill Post Number: 325 Registered: 8-2004  Rating: N/A |
Way to go Mike and Johnny,, congrats on the trips,, Born to fish-Forced to work |
