Spent the last four days with my dad and three friends at Estes Flats, fishing Trout Bayou and the flats, and crossing the big bay to kayak Fence Lake and Allyn Lake on San Jose Island. We caught redfish, speckled trout, flounder, ladyfish, and dozens of pinfish. Some of the best fishing was using a flyrod off the dock at night - picked up many and surprisingly good seatrout - mostly around 17".
We were facing huge tides and huge freshwater inflow still from the summer rains, so there weren't too many trout around. But we made the best of it and had a blast.
Whit arrived first and we drifted Trout Bayou. OK, we were using bait rods and lures - drift fishing blind is too much work with a flyrod.
Whit's in, and this 26" red took him 3 times around the boat.
yeah, I know, it's a duck blind. But we found redfish here at the end of every day - a 2-minute ride from the digs - we came back here late every afternoon and started every drift right here.
See, it paid off
Better than having a boat is having a boat benefactor - Steve, my best friend since 6th grade and long-time fishing partner (my girls call him Uncle Steve, and his girls call me Uncle Ron).
Steve and Whit kayaked from the digs to Trout Bayou, but didn't have much luck.
Sure is a lot of traffic in this canal.
these guys were the sentinels to the canals
did I mention, Dad, Ewell and I did quite well?
here was my best red
Dad did pretty well on live shrimp
like I said, we weren't roughing it (except for the boat rides across the big bay with 3 kayaks and four people in the boat)
great digs for people
and for boats
the thing is, you get 5 people together, and you can stay in a nice condo or house like this for the comparative cost of a cheap hotel - plus, the boat is ready to jump in and go in the morning.
here's why we came - rigging up at the mouth of Fence Lake
(Ewell stayed behind this day to work, and it was Whit's last day)
The lakes are 10-15 square miles of calf-deep water. Not a great place for a power boat. But a great place for a kayak. This is all about stalking and sight-fishing big fish in little water.
Dad drift-fished the 2-3' grass along the island and came back to pick us up.
the lake was almost as crowded as the canal
to me, a kayak is still just a taxi - I paddle the lake until I see fish sign, then get out and wade.
I caught several trout and undersized reds (18" fish, though). I release redfish quickly so I didn't get any photos. Redfish have soulful eyes - they focus on you while you're handling them and have this expression like, "Why are you doing this to me?"
This was my fish from Fence Lake - a fine 20" speck.
the fish made some great drag-screaming runs.
Yes, I'm fishing graphite, but at least it's a Fisher, and very useful in the stout wind.
the next day on Allyn's Lake - I haven't fished here in a dozen years. OK, it wasn't the best of catching, but was the most enjoyable day of paddling I can remember. Saw many redfish, and big redfish (one that had to be 30"), but with the low coming in, they just weren't feeding. Didn't even catch a pinfish. But a glorious day.
We had a blast. I think we'll plan another one next fall - maybe South Pade this time.
We were facing huge tides and huge freshwater inflow still from the summer rains, so there weren't too many trout around. But we made the best of it and had a blast.
Whit arrived first and we drifted Trout Bayou. OK, we were using bait rods and lures - drift fishing blind is too much work with a flyrod.
Whit's in, and this 26" red took him 3 times around the boat.
yeah, I know, it's a duck blind. But we found redfish here at the end of every day - a 2-minute ride from the digs - we came back here late every afternoon and started every drift right here.
See, it paid off
Better than having a boat is having a boat benefactor - Steve, my best friend since 6th grade and long-time fishing partner (my girls call him Uncle Steve, and his girls call me Uncle Ron).
Steve and Whit kayaked from the digs to Trout Bayou, but didn't have much luck.
Sure is a lot of traffic in this canal.
these guys were the sentinels to the canals
did I mention, Dad, Ewell and I did quite well?
here was my best red
Dad did pretty well on live shrimp
like I said, we weren't roughing it (except for the boat rides across the big bay with 3 kayaks and four people in the boat)
great digs for people
and for boats
the thing is, you get 5 people together, and you can stay in a nice condo or house like this for the comparative cost of a cheap hotel - plus, the boat is ready to jump in and go in the morning.
here's why we came - rigging up at the mouth of Fence Lake
(Ewell stayed behind this day to work, and it was Whit's last day)
The lakes are 10-15 square miles of calf-deep water. Not a great place for a power boat. But a great place for a kayak. This is all about stalking and sight-fishing big fish in little water.
Dad drift-fished the 2-3' grass along the island and came back to pick us up.
the lake was almost as crowded as the canal
to me, a kayak is still just a taxi - I paddle the lake until I see fish sign, then get out and wade.
I caught several trout and undersized reds (18" fish, though). I release redfish quickly so I didn't get any photos. Redfish have soulful eyes - they focus on you while you're handling them and have this expression like, "Why are you doing this to me?"
This was my fish from Fence Lake - a fine 20" speck.
the fish made some great drag-screaming runs.
Yes, I'm fishing graphite, but at least it's a Fisher, and very useful in the stout wind.
the next day on Allyn's Lake - I haven't fished here in a dozen years. OK, it wasn't the best of catching, but was the most enjoyable day of paddling I can remember. Saw many redfish, and big redfish (one that had to be 30"), but with the low coming in, they just weren't feeding. Didn't even catch a pinfish. But a glorious day.
We had a blast. I think we'll plan another one next fall - maybe South Pade this time.
