# Rockport 8/17 - Amazing evening wade



## pocjetty (Sep 12, 2014)

This evening was one of my favorite wades ever. I've caught more fish, and bigger fish, but this was just a very memorable evening. I thought I saw a hole in the bad weather, and decided to take a shot at an evening wade and floundering afterward. I left the dock about 5:30.

There wind was coming off some storms to the north, and was blowing around 8-10 mph from the NE. The water on the St. Joseph's side was a very nice green. The water was up considerably from where it has been lately, and a lot of shoreline that has been high and dry was comfortably under water. The tide was starting to drop, so there was a flow coming out of the lakes that was helped by the wind. Due to the cloud cover and recent rain, the water was also much cooler - I didn't have a thermometer, but I would guess around 78, and expect to be within a degree or two at most.

Since the wind had a north component, the water and bait were coming out of the lakes and being turned to the south. I stopped on the south side of a small drain that I know, expecting to find more fish, and to be able to work my lures in the same direction as most of the bait was moving. That's not a hard and fast rule, but I've found it right more often than not. As I was getting on my wading shoes, I could see evidence that there were fish harassing the bait. It was one of those overcast days that I love, and I was feeling pretty good when I got out of the boat.

I walked about 50 feet from the boat and took a cast just to shake the kinks out. One turn of the handle and I got a sharp thump. Luckily I set the hook hard, because it turned out to be a flounder - not huge, but I didn't have to measure. After I got him in the bag, I took a second cast from the same spot and got hammered by a slot-sized red. (Maybe 22"?) I walked up a few feet and took a cast just off the edge of a long, skinny pothole. About midway down I got nailed by a very nice trout around 25", but a pig. She went full aerobatic when I set the hook, and came a good 3' out of the water. There was no finessing this fish; she burned drag, and came out of the water a couple more times. I got her safely to the Boga, and realized that I had caught a Slam in three casts. Not just three in a row, but literally my first three casts. It was tempting to just pack up and go home with that story.

As I waded up closer to the drain, I could see bait being harassed, schools of bait greyhounding, and blowups next to the shore that I was certain were flounder. I caught my limit of reds, plus about 7 more, and I had 4 trout in the bag. As it was getting closer to dark, I saw a big fish swirling after bait and made several casts to it. I finally got nailed, and it was a drag-burner. I got a couple of looks, and I was sure she was a trout - and it was. Those of you who know me know that I quit keeping very big trout years ago. But with the one I had in the bag already, she would have had to be let go anyway. I don't have any marks on my pole beyond the 28" mark for redfish, and she was a good inch and a half beyond that. I gently let her go, and she still had lots of zip as she took off.

I took several casts on my way back to the boat, and kept getting nailed by redfish. It was getting dark, and I finally had to make myself quit casting. I already had one flounder, so I could only stick four more. That took about 15 minutes, and I headed back across the bay while there was still a glow in the western sky. I spotted another flounder boat as I was leaving, but that was the only other person I saw the whole evening.

I went home with 3 reds, four trout, and five flounder. I have to go to Corpus early tomorrow, but I will try to get some pics up around mid-day. BTW - all those fish but the four gigged flounder were caught on a quarter ounce gold weedless spoon.


----------



## Sgrem (Oct 5, 2005)

You are the man! Always valuable info we can all learn from. High five my friend.


----------



## Zeitgeist (Nov 10, 2011)

Great report Scott! Good to see you posting more. I have had the honor to fish with you before so, this report is par for the course!


----------



## jesco (Jun 23, 2013)

A three cast Texas Slam! I don't think I've ever even heard of that. Congrats on a great day. Great report too.


----------



## SSST (Jun 9, 2011)

Yeah, gonna be hard to top that one, great report!


----------



## pocjetty (Sep 12, 2014)

Just about to head to Corpus, but I figured I could at least drag a few of them to the top and take a picture. (Just so nobody says, "No pics it didn't happen"  ) I think these are the three I caught with those first three casts, but I don't have time to dig through them now, and I can't go to a meeting smelling all fishy.


----------



## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

Nice report and catch. Looks like you were in the right place at the right time.


----------



## Forever Fishing (May 26, 2009)

Living the life man! Great report.


----------



## LaddH (Sep 29, 2011)

Great report! Congrats! That had to be fun.


----------



## Puddle_Jumper (Jun 30, 2014)

WOW what a awesome wade... I bet you still have a ear to ear smile on your face...Thanks for sharing !!!


----------



## darthwader2000 (Jan 4, 2015)

Trip of a lifetime. I would have quit after the first 3 cast, sold all my stuff, and taken up golf again. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Tom_in_SA (Feb 19, 2008)

Amazing. Way to go.


----------



## pocjetty (Sep 12, 2014)

I thought I would write up some things that I think made that wade more successful, in case it might help some of you. Some may disagree, but this is what I've found works for me.

*Location*: With the water being higher than it has been, I figured a lot of bait would have moved in to feast in areas that have built up a lot of fresh "stuff" that they eat. It helped that I know that particular drain is slightly deeper than several on either side of it. More importantly, it has a couple of nearby pockets just inside the lake that empty bait earlier in a falling tide. Since I didn't have a couple of hours to grind before things picked up, I figured that was a good bet for a "right here, right now" place to stop.

*Direction*: With the wind from the NE, most people seem to be inclined to approach that situation from the north, and cast with the wind. But when you retrieve against the wind, your lure tends to get carried higher into the water column - sort of a ski effect. When you retrieve against current, the same thing happens. When you retrieve against both wind and current, your lure really wants to climb. You can compensate, to some degree, by retrieving slower and/or using a heavier lure, but that imparts a different action and presentation. I think may anglers just don't understand how much higher their lures are running when retrieving against both wind and current. Yesterday, when I saw my lure in an area where the bait was scattering, I could speed up my retrieve to mimic them. If I had been pulling against the wind and the current, my spoon would have shot to the surface and lost a lot of its action. [Note: I am a huge believer in presentation, including retrieve speed. I think that the effect of wind and current is one of the most important and least-mentioned things. I think a lot of good fishermen adjust instinctively, but I almost never hear any talk about it.]

I already mentioned that I could see the water coming out of the lakes being pushed to the south. Obviously bait fish swim in all directions, but when the overall flow of things is north to south, I think it is often a good thing to work your lure in that same direction. I think you spend more time in the predators' strike zones, rather than just crossing paths with them. And, if nothing else, I felt like there would be more bait on the south edge of the drain than the north, which should help draw more of the predator fish in the area to that side.

*Potholes*: When pulling a lure through the middle of a pothole, I noticed that there was often a constant tap-tap-tap like small strikes. Those are piggy perch (pinfish?). They sit in the surrounding grass, and swarm fish that stray through the pothole. I am convinced that many times I catch a fish in the middle of a pothole, it was attracted by the cloud of perch attacking my lure. They split for the safety of the grass, and my lure is left as an easy target. But I also feel like those fish that I catch in the middle of potholes run smaller, on average.

I also noticed, over time, a lot of bigger fish (trout especially) sliding down the edges of potholes - either just inside or through the grass just outside. I think it's because big trout spend less time running down baitfish in open water, just because of the amount of energy consumed vs. the amount of nutrition they gain. Whatever the reason, I think I catch more bigger trout by retrieving just outside the potholes. That first, nice trout that I caught yesterday was an example. If I had been dragging my spoon through the middle of that pothole, I'm convinced that I would not have caught it. There are exceptions to everything, and big trout are caught in the middle of potholes. But I feel like I catch a lot more 15-18" trout over the sand, and a lot more 20"+ fish in the grass just on the edge of potholes.

*Signs*: The experts always tell people to look for signs of big fish feeding on bait, but I think a lot of people still don't know exactly what they are looking for. It's easy to see when they are actually blowing up on the surface, or when a school of baitfish is greyhouding across the water because a predator is behind them. But a lot of times a big fish is cruising, looking for an opportunity, and they will just cause a "disturbance" through the baitfish in the area. You will see their trails at the surface, scattering off in different directions (but not towards the predator), even when a fish is not actively feeding on them. When you see it again 20-30-40 feet away, you have a pretty good clue that a bigger fish is cruising that area. A fish that is crashing bait is already locked in on something. A fish that is cruising like that is looking for just the kind of easy-meal opportunity that your lure presents.

I spend most of my time fishing very skinny water. One advantage to that is that it is easier (in my opinion) to read the bait. But often you can also see the bigger "trails" made by big fish as they cruise or hunt. A lot of the fish I catch I absolutely KNOW are there. Even when you are in an area with fish, you up your odds a lot by putting the lure close to them.

I don't know if any of that helps - best I got. Those are the things that I think helped make the difference between a good evening and a really, really great evening. A little luck always helps, and your mileage may vary.


----------



## duckmania (Jun 3, 2014)

Great report. I've had a couple of slams this year but nothing like that. It is really special ehen it all comes together like that.


----------



## blackjack runner (Feb 24, 2015)

What a great report. Thanks for taking the time to share the fishing tips. Been a while since I had a slam. In 3 casts, insane. That's one for the books.


----------



## TxMav (Feb 6, 2015)

Great report and really great tips. I'm still learning so your tips and experience are very much appreciated.


----------



## larr (Jun 21, 2016)

Congrats! I am happy for you. Personally, when the trout hit the 25" mark, they get their freedom from me. 

Once again the wade fisherman connects. Good job!


----------



## olcolby (Jun 4, 2004)

Excellent and informative report! Thanks for sharing!!


----------



## saltwaterjunky (Aug 17, 2012)

*slam*

Never for me///// think next time I make it down thru Rockport from Ftworth come look u up so I can come home with more than 1 fish a day total 4 for 6days that really sucks.............................oh and expensive


----------



## okmajek (May 29, 2012)

Sounds like a Damm good day.!
Good stuff..


----------



## mertz09 (Nov 15, 2009)

Outstanding!!!


----------



## Flats Mark (Jul 30, 2009)

Great post and an even better fishing lesson.
I look forward to reading the OP's posts as well as SGREM's!!!
Thanks for sharing all, Mark.


----------



## o_brother (Jul 26, 2007)

Nice report and thanks for posting....


----------



## Crow's Nest (Dec 4, 2009)

POC Rocks!

Great Report and I am sure a much better experience. I can feel the adrenline in your post.

Thanks for sharing!


----------



## Boiler (Jul 16, 2006)

Great report and THANK YOU for sharing!


----------

