Fun in the Sun at Bay Flats Lodge Resort & Marina

THE GUIDE REPORT

THURSDAY – May 31st

Capt. Stephen Boriskie – Today was Day #2 for the Dave S. group, and it was a day that was all about patience. It paid off, however, with a near limit of trout for three coworkers on a Bay Flats Lodge getaway – beautiful day and beautiful fish!

Capt. ‘Lil John Wyatt – Today turned out being a much tougher day out on the water. We had to grind them out all day, but the day ended good with two happy young men with their catch of specks!

FRIDAY – June 1st

Capt. Stephen Boriskie – Fridays begin with the letter “F” for a reason – it’s historically the day you should FISH! Today was no exception, as I hosted two gentlemen at the Lodge who decided they were going to fish instead of work. They experienced a good day indeed, catching their limit of trout, along with a bonus redfish. Today was a day of new friends, and customers, who promise to return – things don’t get much better than that! Tomorrow is Saturday, and who knows, maybe it’s time for an “S”, meaning Speckled trout!

Capt. ‘Lil John Wyatt – Well, as the day went on, this fishing trip turned out to be a great one. These guys caught a lot of fish and had great conversation. There will be lots of memories from today’s trip.

SATURDAY – June 2nd

Capt. Todd Jones – Wonder if it’s a shark! Today was a fun trip with the Tito’s Vodka gang. Ben, Brian, and Burke were part of a 10-boat group out of the Lodge today. It was also the maiden voyage on the new work sled, so we had hopes of christening her with a good day. The group made a request to wade today, so we hit a few tried and true spots for the conditions. The bite was pretty slow and scattered, to say the very least, but the guys stayed focused. They managed a decent box, all things considered, with ten very healthy trout to 21″. On the last wade, Burke ended the day with some excitement. Wading in waist deep water, he spent almost thirty minutes battling an unknown line stretcher. For the longest time, we never saw the fish, as we all back pedaled toward the boat just in case it was old Mr. Grey Suit. Once we finally saw it, Burke played the tired beast in until I could get most of it in a net. He was all-grins after seeing the fish. Lots of people may consider the Jack Crevalle a “trash fish”, but it was one guy’s trophy today. Burke took a quick picture holding the fish with his dad for remembrance sake, and the fish was safely released. Lots of fun! Back tomorrow with the full Tito’s group of seventeen boats. Should be interesting! P.S. That monster was tamed on a Waterloo Ultra Mag, best rods built.

SUNDAY – June 3rd

Capt. Stephen Boriskie – This morning started out with wind, and more wind. However, the temperature climbed a little, the humidity increased a bit, and the wind calmed to a manageable point. When the wind died, the trout bite cam alive, and we were able to salvage an otherwise off-day.

Capt. Doug Russell – Had a great day today with the Tito’s Vodka group (once the wind decided to cooperate). The guys caught lots of good-sized trout that we boxed, and they released a number of good ones, as well. It turned out being an all-around nice day of fishing!

Capt. Todd Jones – Couldn’t quite close the deal! Today was day two with the Tito’s group, with seventeen guides hitting the water. Scott, Chris, and Jason kept grinding and loaded up a nice box. In the end, they needed two more reds and three more trout to close out a 3-man limit of each, but they still a solid day on the water nonetheless! Enjoy your evening, and we hope to see y’all again soon!

FUN IN THE SUN

In your years of fishing along our Texas coast, you may have discovered a fun and exciting fishing tactic that pertains to neither bay waters, nor wading. Instead, this ploy incorporates fishing directly from the confines of a boat while either drifting or while anchored in the smooth and calm surf waters along Matagorda Island up and down its Gulf shoreline – surf fishing, but not with live croaker. Instead, it’s the presentation of some of the larger top water baits that can be so much fun during these hotter times of the year.

Before you get too excited, it’s important that you take special note of the previous mention of the phrase “…smooth and calm surf waters”. The words ‘smooth’ and ‘calm’ aren’t always the first couple words anglers typically think of when discussing surf fishing, especially during summertime. That’s because the summer winds are predominantly onshore out of the south, and they can be downright vicious at times, especially with the combination of high air and water temperatures – conditions you don’t want to find yourself amidst when out into the surf in a bay boat. But, contrary to popular belief, we do still experience subtle north winds occasionally throughout the summer. It’s during these brief periods that turbulent Gulf rollers will lay flat, and this is when you’ll want to be in the surf throwing big surface walkers at anything that moves.

When these brief frontal passages occur, you’ll need to be ready at the first light of day. Position yourself along the shoreline so you can place a long cast right against the beach with a dark color lure just prior to sunrise. Working close to the beach allows the lure to pass over the first gut that parallels the beachfront. As the sun rises, and if the water appears to be in good shape, switch to a bright bait color. Some historical high-producers are the She Dog, Super Spook, and the Skitter Walk in chartreuse/yellow, orange/gold, and orange/yellow/pink. But, once the summer sun is beaming straight down through the clear green surf water, one particular top water lure that is seldom out-fished is the all-chrome Super Spook – it’s big and loud. And, in these conditions, it shines like a mirror! It has three large treble hooks, but you can replace the front hook with a single hook and remove the middle hook, leaving just one treble hook at the trailing end of the lure. By doing this you’ll simplify things many times over – the lure doesn’t tangle in your leader line, there are less hooks for you to extract from the fish, and the fish undergo much less stress due to less handling and injury.

As discussed, summertime surf fishing with top waters can be fun, if not addictive, especially for kids and those who have never experienced the thrill of a top water strike. Take proper precautions by monitoring weather forecasts and by planning accordingly, and don’t forget sunscreen, protective clothing, and lots of drinking water.