FISH CATCHING TRAVEL

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Port Mansfield

I always enjoy fishing with whatever variation of the Austin Boys show up for a fishing extravaganza and this time was no exception.  Ro, his son Michael, John and other John, Todd, David, Pete and I made up this bunch and it was some weekend in all respects.  I spent the weekend with Ro, Michael, and David, the other 4 were in Todd’s boat.  But the tail of 2 boats includes the caveat – “So you want to own a boat?”   More on that was we go along.

What is not to like about this?  Curtesy of Todd.

We met Thursday afternoon, unloaded the stuff, and boy was there stuff, and we were in the water by 6:00 for a couple of hours.  The wind was blowing almost 20mph and it never did slow down the whole weekend.  The water temp was around 87 degrees and there was tons of floating grass, which really was a problem most of the weekend.

To bad the grass was so thick.

If memory serves me I think it was maybe a total  3 or 4 keepers wading the grass flats off East Cut for both boats.  Most of us caught at least a fish or two and  my mastery of the short began and continued most of the weekend.  But not a bad start.  But the floating grass was everywhere thanks to the wind and never let up.  And though I caught my one and only on a topwater that evening, I did not throw it much the rest of the weekend.  So here was my first take away dealing with the grass, the Controlled Descent Paddle Shad, in any color, caught as many fish as anyone all weekend because I could make it almost completely weedless.  I used it with a rattle and a 1/16 ounce weighted swim bait hook, tipping the hook lightly in the body sure made fishing easier.

What a way to end the day.

********************Get inhaled!  If you fish Port Mansfield do not go without a couple of packages.  Fishing it weedless it handles floating and shallow grass like a champ. 

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The next morning we were gone at daylight.  We went north to an area known as some “hump”, I have already forgot most of the names of where we fished, so bear with me.  We stopped on the west side of the bay first thing, you had to fish that side first thing because by 9:00 the wind was pounding on it and it was chocolate.  On the first wade I lost a really big fish on the Controlled Descent, obviously a great red.

Michael with a nice 19″

So we pulled up and headed further up the bay when a disaster struck.  Ever had something happen before your eyes and there was nothing you could do about it?  Apparently the trolling motor did not get locked in place, it is one of those digital remote controlled jobs, when it rose up as we were running along in 5 foot of murky water and deployed.  And in slow motion, really the blink of an eye, it ripped right off the front of the boat.  The motor hit it on the way by, and was gone.  Gone, Gone!  All I have to say about that, is boy that sucked!  But we soldiered on.  This was the beginning, but not the end, of the 2 boat tale.

We picked up Ro and the rest of his limit.  The man is one mad wader!

Next stop was a nice ditch next to an island where Ro has caught flounder in the past and we added a couple of keeper flounder wading.  By this time it was starting to color up pretty good so we decided to drift and it took us about an hour to find some, and boy did we.  The water was boob deep, (Would have been neck deep on me.) but Ro wanted to wade so he hopped in, and we continued to drift and everyone started catching them.  Before it was over we limited, and Ro probably caught 30 or more so it was a beat down.  Most of the fish were in 3 – 4ft of water, and from noon until 2:00 the bite was on and when we went to lunch we left them biting.  One comment on the trout in that area, they are a cool color thanks to living in all that grass.  But as far as size went they were long and lean, not sure why, but who notices when they are frying in the pan.

And kudos to his son Michael.  He was consistent all weekend and caught his share of good ones.  In fact he was the man.  We gave him just tons of grief as he starts A&M in the fall.  There are enough good A&M jokes to last a weekend, but it was all in good fun, and his results sure shut us up.  He is a good young man and I sure enjoyed fishing with him and his dad.  (You too David.)  I stuck with the Controlled Descent and caught fish most of the day, but lots of mine were small.  But when you break 4 off during the day it is obviously operator error, or bad line, so the next day I switched to a spinning rod and solved that problem.  So we ended the morning with a limit of 20 trout and 2 flounder.  And here comes the second part of this 2 boat tale.

A nice box full.

For some reason, it happens, the other boat was only able to boat 4 keepers.  Sometimes it just does not go your way and it was tough for them.  We met them for a late lunch and my boat folks took a nap.  So I went out with the other guys for a short evening wade near the East Cut.  We caught a few, John actually caught 9 shorts without moving, the rest of us a few, and other John lost a big black drum.   So we called it a day and headed back for our usual ridiculous evening feed.

I told him skip the A&M, just head straight to the guiding!  Not sure Dad was down with that advice.

Saturday there was tons of traffic, but it did not turn out to be that big a deal for a weekend, and we headed back up to the “spot”.  It was definitely tougher today as the wind was thumping right along and the water was coloring up fast.  Like yesterday the fish were near the color change, but both days they were basically in the really clear water, most in around 3 foot.  Though we struggled, I think we had 10 keepers that morning, and we caught lots of smalls. Ro put several in the boat on a chartreuse looking Skitter Walk slowly twitching it, I stuck with the Controlled Descent.  One we found interesting is there was no consistent way to retrieve, and the color preference varied constantly.  It was hard to develop a consistent pattern.  We only made one wade that day as we drifted looking for fish.  The other boat had a another tough morning, they only had a couple of keepers, so they headed in for an early lunch.  Unfortunately the 2 boat tale was about to add to their pain as they headed back.

As they idled away David and I both heard something in their engine, faint, but one of those noises you don’t ever want to hear.  They got a couple of miles from Port M when the lower unit started clanking and banging, and they could not go one rpm over idle.  Their day, and weekend, was done.  Whatever gave out was only in forward, but boy was it hurt.  So Todd backed his trailer in and I drove it to the ramp and loaded up.  A really tough break and another addition to the tale, but the tale was not complete.  So after a little lunch our bunch went out for one more run at it.  We headed south to Hole and Saucer and Michael continued to smack em’, and I continued to lose big fish.  Michael added a couple of keeper reds and a nice trout, giving us around 13 or so for the day, not bad as we called it a trip.

See, I actually caught a fish.  Like most for the weekend on the Paddle Shad.

Michael, Ro, and David took off for Austin that evening, to bad for them.  Todd is a great cook, and if you read this stuff you know he always does something spectacular in the kitchen.  In his younger days he worked in restaurants and he cooked us a recipe he learned from a place in Louisiana, Redfish Ponchartrain.  So without further ado, one of the highlights of the weekend as usual.

A filet, some great crab dressing, another filet, all topped with hollandaise.  To freakin’ die for!  We never go hungry.  Thanks Todd.

So what a weekend.  But wait, the 2 boats tale is not quite over.  Sunday morning we had some breakfast and I hit the road.  Todd, Pete and the 2 Johns finished packing up and headed home a little while later.  I was driving along when I got this text, adding insult to their injury.

Nothing like a blow out to add to the weekend after your lower unit gives up the ghost.

They were rolling along when they had a major blow out, which also shredded the fender while it was at it.  But they were able to quickly change the tire and get back on the road.  So for the weekend, one trolling motor, one lower unit, one boat out fished the other by a good bit,  then finished off with a blow out and fender shred.  So you want to own a boat huh?  All of us boat owners can sympathize, shit happens, it just sucks when it is you.

But none of that ruined the weekend.  Plenty of good eats and drinks, enough fish to keep everyone happy, nobody got hurt or arrested, and we did not have to call an ambulance.  The wind added to the confusion, but there was good water, it just took some time to find them.  The Port Mansfield area has huge flats with tons of grass with miles and miles of  places to hide.  Thanks to Ro having fished it a lot in the past we were able to grind it out.  I think our boat total was 34 keepers, which I will gladly take for 2 days.  And though the other boat struggled, these trips are not all about the catching.

The house was great, a 1 minute ride to the bay.  And there is a lot to be said for boat lifts,  a cleaning table and hoses everywhere you need one.   We set on the upper deck and watched the parade of high dollar boats, and being across from a marina we were entertained watching Game and Fish checking boats and fishermen.  (I did note he spent a little more time on one boat, I am sure the hot chicks in bikinis had nothing to do with that.)  The place also had a green light, and though I did not fish it any John caught some smalls the last night.  As far as comfort and convenience this place was perfect.

When things do not work out perfectly you only really have 2 choices, go nuts or keep on keeping on, and everyone did.  Nice to fish with folks who take it in stride, happenings like that can ruin it for everyone.  This is a great group to fish with and I appreciate being invited along.  It really is not all about the catching and I could not fish with a better bunch of guys.  So while it was a Tale of 2 Boats it really is nothing more than memories and we will all laugh about it in the days to come.

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I have to apologize for the pictures on the last post.  I have nothing but trouble with pictures from I phones, and have not quite figured it out yet.  Thank goodness I was at Jeffish’s house and he asked what was up.  So if you have not seen them scroll down and they should be there.  Funny I could see them on my page.  Oh well, for someone doing this as long as I have you would think I might get it all figured out.  Not sure why it is so much trouble with some iPhone pictures.

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After I teased Metalhead Billy about his snacks he dropped this comment.

Well, I wouldn’t say Cheetos and apple juice are my favorite.
I mean, you’ve got Fritos and bean dip, peanut butter and dark Karo syrup, milk and Oreos/Graham crackers, and butter and sugar sandwiches.

Catch a good one in Mansfield. I’ve been there a handful of times. It’s a different environment. Sand/grass flats forever and a mile.

The rest of those snacks sound a little better than the Cheetos and apple juice.  And I ate butter and sugar sandwiches as a kid, or made cinnamon toast in the oven by adding the cinnamon.  I hoped to catch a good one, but that is every day, but at least the numbers were there.  But Port Mansfield was one cool place, and I will definitely be back, hopefully with a little less wind.

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And I had not heard from Rick in a while.

I really enjoy your ramblings, and your reports. Good luck in Port Mansfield.

Thanks and it is always good to hear from you.

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That is not all, but it is all I can remember.  Thanks to Ro for his knowledge of the area, and to the rest of them for a great time.  This is the 3rd trip in the last 6 weeks and all of them have had their moments.  This weekend will be memorable for several reasons and I hope when repairs are made it is not to expensive.  What is next for me is up in the air as tomorrow will be a get my stuff together day.  There are a few things to get to on the blog and will do that as soon as I can.  And  I am looking forward to more trout fishing, this weekend whetted my appetite, and since I got the boat ready to go, and then did not need it, I am fairly organized in that department.  So keep stopping and thanks for reading my stuff.

Good Luck and Tight Lines