# Epic trip 10-28-17



## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

Today was insane. We got down to the cedar lakes cut around 11:30 this morning. The tide was super low, the north wind was howling, the cold air cut right through you, and the barometric pressure was 30.21 and rising. I figured we had about as much chance of catching a fish today, as we did of seeing bigfoot riding a unicorn down the beach.
After about 30 minuets of throwing the cast net, I had a grand total of 4 finger mullet, and 3 big mullet. Keep in mind that from October through January you can't keep mullet over 12", so make sure to measure before you keep them. 
We set out 2 big rods with cut mullet, one small rod with a live finger mullet, and one small rod with fresh shrimp. We waited, and waited, and waited, and waited some more, until finally by 1:30 we hadn't got a bite, so we reeled them up and they all still had bait, nothing even ate the dead shrimp.
We loaded everything up and went to go try in the surf, but I still thought we were just wasting time. I set 3 surf rods out with cut mullet and 2 small rods out with shrimp. Right away we started catching nice whiting on the shrimp.
After about 10 minuets one of the big rods started screaming. My baby grabbed it, and after a long tug of war battle, she had her new P.B. red fish on the beach. It was skinny, but measured 47" and weighed 41lbs on the boga. Anyone who actually takes the time to measure, instead of assuming every bull red they catch is 4' long and weighs 50lbs, will tell you this was a monster. The pictures don't do it justice. 
After that, it was on like Donkey Kong. Rods were going off left and right, and with just the two of us, it was hard to even keep lines in the water. We quickly went through what little fresh mullet we had, then we chopped up the whiting and sand trout. When that ran out, we started using the nasty bag of frozen mullet we brought. The fish just didn't care. I'm convinced that if I would have put a rock on my hook, I could have caught a fish on it. We caught reds, shark, whiting, drum, sand trout, and even had a speck that broke my rusted hook on my bait rod right at the sand. It was so crazy that we were only able to get pictures of about half the fish, because we would have 2 or 3 fished hooked up at a time. By 4:30 we were out of bait and out of energy, so we decided to call it quits. 
This just goes to show, that you don't know, if you don't go.


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## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

more


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## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

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## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

...


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## GKrane (Apr 4, 2017)

Outstanding!!!


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## mtbfreak (Oct 7, 2017)

47" is an absolute monster, congratulations to your lady!


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## Rawpower (Jul 4, 2011)

Ha, I like that picture with the cigar!:cheers:


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## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

Now for the information you really want, where, why and how.
When we left the cut to go try the surf, I knew I would have to get out of my truck to do recon. I always talk about finding something to hold the fish. This could be structure, such as pylon, rocks, a cut, shell, clay, a cross gut, or anything that sets one section of beach apart from another. Or, it could be bait, such as mullet, shad, shrimp, or maybe a flock of birds diving to give the impression of some type of bait in the water.
This time it was bait, but not the kind that can be seen by the untrained eye. There are hundreds of different kinds of marine invertebrate that inhabit the coastal waters of Texas that fish feed on. These are in the form of clam, mollusk, or worms. If you have ever noticed little holes in the sand close to the waters edge, then you've seen them, even though you probably didn't know what they were. These small invertebrate make up between 60% and 80% of the food chain in the surf zone. If you think big fish only eat big food, than thing again.
Being that the east end of Sargent beach is virtually featureless , and the north wind had the surf blown flat and there was no bait in the water, I had to find something to set one area apart from another, and the answer is tiny holes.
When we left the cut, I stopped every few hundred yards, got out of the truck, and looked for little holes at the waters edge. These little holes are made by the tiny marine invertebrate that the fish feed on when nothing else is around.
After about a mile I found them, and that's where we caught the fish.

I don't claim to know everything about fishing, and if I ever do claim that, than I'm lying, but I do know more than most. I enjoy catching fish, but I enjoy seeing others catching fish as well, and that's why I share my knowledge. I would also like to encourage others to share their knowledge as well, especially with kids. Tight lines everyone, and I hope to see ya'll on the water.


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## coachtx (Mar 4, 2013)

Great trip! Your the reason why I check this board! Learned a lot from you.


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## fish4food (Feb 11, 2011)

As always great tips, and great job!


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## jimandrews1 (Jun 16, 2016)

So for potlickers we make fake holes in the sand? 1-/8, 1/4"5/16" 3/8"???
Random or in a pattern? And I'm guessing right at the water or slightly above?

All kidding aside, that's a pretty strong helpful tip. Thanks John 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## bluefin (Aug 16, 2005)

Never heard or would have thought of that. Thx.
And congrats to your wife on her new pb. Awesome!
Did notice from pic posted that the red looks really opaque. Was that just the pic or was it that color?


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## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

In the past, I have took the time to dig up these little holes to see whats in them. It's usually Coquina clams, blood worms, or ghost shrimp. There are several different kinds of holes, some are just plain holes, some have a small concave sticking up, some have a concave going down like a funnel, and some have little chimneys like a tiny crayfish mound. I personally could care less about whats in the hole. My only concern is finding fish, and locating these holes is just another way I'm able to do that. Now if you want to become a expert on burrowing sea life to impress your friends, a quick google search will give you all the information you need to identify the different critters by theirs holes, but I would rather spend my time catching fish.


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## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

bluefin said:


> Never heard or would have thought of that. Thx.
> And congrats to your wife on her new pb. Awesome!
> Did notice from pic posted that the red looks really opaque. Was that just the pic or was it that color?


 Almost every fish we caught was very light colored. I believe this is because the water was so muddy. Throughout the years I've noticed that fish caught in clear waters are darker and more colorful, while those caught in dirty or muddy water seem to be pale. This is just a guess.
For comparison, this is a little red I caught last night in the creek in clear water, notice the beautiful bronze color and the dark fins. It looks nothing like the reds we caught in the muddy water of the surf.


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## Adolfo (Mar 12, 2017)

Great information. Very much appreciated.


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## jpdarby2 (Aug 17, 2016)

As always thanks for the great tips and solid report.


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## CAPSIZED (Aug 10, 2004)

Great report. Wind my be chilly but the water is still warm. I noticed tons of birds and bait as I drove down the beach front that same day in Galveston. It just looked good


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## [email protected] (Jan 14, 2005)

Sweet trip!


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## RRbohemian (Dec 20, 2009)

I'm itching to get out to my camp so I can get a line wet. Thanks for the post. Always a joy to see people enjoying themselves in the great outdoors. And thanks on the tip of not keeping mullet beyond 12" this time of the year. I need to read my handbook to freshen up on the hunting and fishing laws. You can count on 2cool for info.


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## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

Here are some different kinds of holes to look for.


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## gaftop (Feb 20, 2005)

As noted by SC, many of the holes contain Ghost Shrimp. Here is an example photo of one type of ghost shrimp pump. There are lots of videos on YouTube on how to make them. I have one I bought 20 years ago in Port A and still use it. The kids have hours of fun with them and we always take it when they have friends along. These ghost shrimp are excellent Sheepshead bait of the jetties or around pylons. The Snow Birds love to fish with them with super long poles off the jetties. I usually hook them thru the hardest section of the end tail section.


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## WillieT (Aug 25, 2010)

Thanks for the report. I appreciate all the information you provided. Looks like you had a great day on the water


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## spicyitalian (Jan 18, 2012)

I built a sand pump mostly for getting my rod holders in the sand. It's a bonus if I get some ghost shrimp up too. Most of the time I don't bother because it's heck on my shoulders to do too many holes.


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