# POC report?



## reddoc (Nov 7, 2006)

Any word on water level, clarity? Trying to go down tomorrow if it is better than last time. Tides were high and water was dirty two weeks ago.


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## cornbackbrowntrout (Feb 22, 2006)

How did you do, Ill be there th/fri/sat pre fishing for poco. Probably will be in muleshoe, jhhook area. Where do you usually fish, KYle


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## Golden (Aug 1, 2006)

If you're in "Muleshoe" you'll be about seven hundreds miles in the wrong direction!

Water is still a bit high but in two week who knows. Poco 18 -21 July right?
...and during POCO none of the inshore fishers fish Mule "Slough" either.

GOOD LUCK


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## cornbackbrowntrout (Feb 22, 2006)

As you can tell poc is not my home waters, muleshoe, horseshoe, an being an aggie, my spelling isnt much better. 
Thats good that they wont be in 'Mule Slough either', not sure what you meant by that. Wieghed good fish last year, hopefully we will do better this year. Heading down wend to prefish all weekend. Looks like wind is going to lay so chunking large flies for a change will be nice.


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## reddoc (Nov 7, 2006)

fished on friday last week, the fish were squirrely, perhaps it was all the boats. Only stuck 4 on the fly and embarrased to say one piggy perch. Lots of dirty water in normally clear water areas. I am sure after all this rain things will probably stay dirty...Good Luck on Poco


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## texasflycaster (Jun 16, 2009)

Piggy Perch! That could be a state record! They sure are pretty fish.


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## dljones (Mar 7, 2007)

I can speak to the conditions now in Corpus, which should at least be similar, and the water levels have dropped WAY out from last weekend. We are at what I consider to be late summer tide patterns now down here. Finally.


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## Golden (Aug 1, 2006)

Cula Roja was last week so I'm sure the flats got hammered again. I was talking with some (fly)fishing friends and guides this past weekend and the topic was why is POC becoming so hard to find quality fish. It was acknowledged for every one good day there are ten bad days for a 10 to 1 ratio. You know that might be close to being correct. Many theories were offered up.

1. Too many kill tournaments (way too many)
2. Too many meat fishers.
3. Number of Croaker Guides (not griping just a fact)
4. Easy Access
5. Last Years Brown Tide (my Theory)
6. Last Years Drought and the high salinity levels (again my theory)
7. New Developments
8. Shoreburners
9. Proliferation of skinnywater boats
10. Proximety to Austin, San Antonio, and of course Houston

I am sure there could be a dozen of more reason offered up that would make sense. Maybe it is combination of all of the above but it is a fact that even ten years ago finding redfish cruising the banks, or tailing shallow, or in huge pods under the birds out in the bay was no problem. Today it is a challenge that many of us have to face if we want to have some fun. Maybe my fish finding skills have diminished too.

The good thing about POCO is that not many of the inshore folks really fish inshore...they go out to the front beach looking for the trout out there. When was the last time you heard of a good catch of fat trout and reds down there (with the exception of a guide calling into the radio to juice up potential clients. Follow that guy around and you'll see he's not catching that many fish either. Go to the cleaning tables. Most of those fish are from the jetties and the front beach again. I am hoping this is a cyclic phenomenon and things will turn around. Especially in view of the recent rains. The salinity levels should begin to come back to normal by fall if the rains keep up. You know the funny thing is Galveston Bay is still just full of fish...everywhere. Thanks Ike you were actually a big help to the bay! But you'll never find me wishing for another big hurricane to hit POC! 

I wish you good Luck in your quest to find some good fish!


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## SiteCast (Jan 6, 2012)

*I have a different take Golden*

I think you missed the A #1 reason that fishing is off, not just in POC, but many other places as well - INTERNET FISHING REPORTS. Your other reasons are very valid as well...but, how do you think all the newbies that are doing the shoreline burning, loading the coolers, soaking croakers, etc., learned where to go? They's all still be in Galveston if they hadn't logged on and read so many reports of "big girls" in EMB and "trophy trout" in Port M and tailing reds in POC and on and on...LOL....but, I do agree with all you points, the tournaments are definitely having an impact.

Additionally, just keep 5 needs to happen sooner than later. At some point the "don't regulate me" mentality has got to yield to the fact that we face a quickly growing population, and they aren't making any more bays. Just my $.02.


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## SaltMan (Jun 15, 2012)

Golden said:


> Cula Roja was last week so I'm sure the flats got hammered again. I was talking with some (fly)fishing friends and guides this past weekend and the topic was why is POC becoming so hard to find quality fish. It was acknowledged for every one good day there are ten bad days for a 10 to 1 ratio. You know that might be close to being correct. Many theories were offered up.
> 
> 1. Too many kill tournaments (way too many)
> 2. Too many meat fishers.
> ...


Think you got enough reasons there? Hell even a blind squirrel finds a nut once a day! Your first problem is listening to all those "guides". If anyone is responsible for fishing out any Gulf coast fishery it's the "guides". The term guide itself is thrown around so loosely that anyone with a boat and some time can be one. But the internet reports is a new one and I must say you have a point. The instant access for prospecting fisherman to quality fishing reports must have a substantial effect on the entire Texas Coast.


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## dljones (Mar 7, 2007)

Too many folks using the resource just takes a toll. Period. The folks in Florida ran into the same problem we are facing years back and countered the trend proactively by creating numerous "paddle, pole and troll" zones and (perhaps more importantly) aggressively enforcing them and handing out stiff penalties for offenders. 

Funny thing is this... all of the reasons you mentioned above (all of you) are contributing to the problem in one way or the other. I primarily fished POC when I lived in Houston and now spend most of my time on the ULM and LLM. When the trout limit was reduced almost 4 years ago on the LLM, the guides screamed bloody murder and predicted the collapse of fishing and tourism in that part of the state. Fact is, the fishing is better than ever and the quality of the fish, even compared to the ULM, is markedly better. You know what? The guides are still booking anglers every day and those anglers still leave happy. At the end of the day, your average weekend warrior bait fisherman wants to claim he caught "a limit." frankly, it does not matter if the limit is 5 or 15 fish. Similar restrictions would certainly go a long way to protecting the quality of a fishery like POC. 

The proximity to Houston is POC's downfall, unfortunately. I guarantee you the problem will not get better any time soon. POC will simply never return to the sleepy little village it was even a dozen years ago.


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## Coconut Groves (Nov 2, 2011)

There are times when the marinas are packed and I'll barely see another boat where I fish, even on the weekends. But when fish are tough to find, you'll definitely see a core group in the same areas. I try to avoid the jetties and the south shorelines because of this. Then again, I have a skinny water skiff, so I can push back pretty shallow.

I will say that the drought and red tide must be a factor, but I have not had an issue recently finding bait. Tons of it, but not as many reds as years past. I saw the largest school of redfish I've ever seen last year around this time in the flats. Must have been half a football field of fish. Nothing even close to that this year.


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