Salt Life- Espiritu Santo Bay, Texas- 4/7/13

Had the chance to go fishing with a co-worker this past weekend in the salt water, chasing Redfish and Speckled Trout around.  Very different to what I'm used to, but I can see why so many anglers out there become addicted to the salt.  Even though the water was very dirty, and the wind was unrelenting, I will call my first salt experience a success.  The thoughts of large bull Redfish will have to get me through until the next time I get a chance to get out in the salt water.

I drove the 3 hrs south from Houston to Port O'Connor to fish the marshes around Espiritu Santo Bay with a co worker.  He had a little john boat that would be our vessel out into the ocean.  I was treated to a giant seafood feast when I first got down there, full of red drum, trout, and fresh oysters.  Nothing like fresh oysters that were caught in the bay that day.  Absolutely stuffed myself on them, both raw and grilled.  Ventured to the boat ramp at night to try to fish bait fish flies to the fish that get drawn into the lights.  Hooked into some very cool Speckled Trout that put up a decent fight.  Only fished for a few hours, but managed to catch a few keepers (I didn't keep them, but my co worker feels obligated to try catch his limit every time he fishes.  To each their own).

Headed out the next morning at sunrise to the marshes.  An experience I am soon not to forget is the peaceful boat ride across Espiritu Santo, nothing but water, marshes and sun in my eyes.  One of the highlights of my young fly fishing career thus far.  The day started promising, with a nice Speckled Trout being landed in the first handful of casts.  Hoping for more, we continued to explore the various ins and outs of the marsh system all day.  Pringle Lake, Contee Lake, and South Pass Lake just to name a few.  What's fun about the salt fishing is the sheer amount of water that is available, making you feel very small in this big world of ours.  Sure you see boats cruising around from time to time, but mostly it was just us and the fish.  As the day wore on, the wind continued to punish us, making casting difficult.  I consider myself a decent caster, but if I fished salt more often, it is a skill that I would have to work on tremendously.  Finally, my co-worker finally hooked a little Red, but not the giant Red that we were looking for.

Finally, we decided that the day was a wash, heading back to the boat ramp to lick our wounds.  I will definitely be planning a salt water trip soon, but I will be doing my research to find a guide that will put me on some Redfish.  I can only imagine how fun it would to find a group of feeding Redfish, put a fly in front of their face, watch it turn and inhale the fly, and then hold on.  It is definitely something that is on my fly fishing  to-do list.  It was an awesome trip and another great experience that fly fishing allowed me.

Seafood feast

First Speckled Trout caught on the fly

 

Beautiful Texas sunrise

Very cool Redfish fly