Fish Catching Travel
First Baffin Trip
Baffin has always been on my list. I was actually talking to my wife a couple of days ago and said I think I will head there. Never having been there I was a little apprehensive about the rocks and everything else that goes with it but had decided it was time to travel and give it a go. The next day my friend Ronnie called and said you want to give Baffin a go and of course I said yes. Of course I woke up an hour earlier in anticipation of finally getting to Baffin.
We headed out from Victoria and decided to launch on Mustang Island at the National Park. It was foggy all the way there and when we paid the $15 to launch the lady at the station said the fog was not going to lift until about 11. She was close, it was noon before we were comfortable enough to run. Interestingly enough there were about 15 trucks at the ramp and they are all gone. Discretion is the better part of valor so we did not go ripping across the bay.
At least you could see your hand in front of your face, almost.
Ronnie has been there a few times, and had a GPS track, so we eased over to the King Ranch shoreline and hopped in. The first wade resulted in 2 small trout and 1 red so we pulled up and moved a short ways. I caught a couple of nice trout and 1 red, and he picked up a trout and a couple of reds. Finally it cleared enough to move, so off we went.
Ronnie’s Trans Cat, a real fishing machine.
We spent the next few hours stopping here and there and wading. We waded the Meadows, the Badlands, the Tide Gauge Bar and a few other spots I am sure have names that will take me a while to learn. Each spot gave up a few fish as we hunted and pecked. All were caught on plastics, Ronnie throwing a brown with chartreuse tail Bass Assassin, me mostly purple plastics in a paddle tail and sand eel, and I am still catching some on the Gobi in purple glitter.
The purple color has been my go to bait the last few trips. So whether it is my confidence bait, or really makes a difference, I don’t know, it just works. But if you want to see some big trout caught the same day on a purple bait look at this. Now these are what I call “good” trout in the understatement of all times.
http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/7122309#Post7122309
And just like the other day in the Powderhorn, I hooked another monster black drum. Again I thought I was hung up, when my pea brain finally realized my bait was 20 feet from where I casted, I set the hook. He was on for about 10 minutes and just pulled off. Fine by me, they are just to much work on a light rod and 8 pound test.
A limit of reds and 6 trout.
We finished the day with a nice limit of reds and 6 trout. On the way out we stopped at the Port Aransas Ramp and cleaned them.
From trout to filets. Nice to have someone else clean the fish once in a while.
There were quite a few fisherman out, and with the wind forecast of 5 mph it was a good day for it, and obviously others had the same idea. It was nice for once that the weatherman hit the wind forecast right on the head. Even with that many fisherman out there were plenty of places to fish and people were not running all over each other like you see at times in POC. Now I am sure it does get crowded, but what a big place.
All in all it was a great time. Wanting to try it for quite some time, I was really impressed with the area. I see where it gets the deserved reputation it has. There are literally miles and miles of fish-able water, and clearly with some experience, and a little effort, the potential is there for anyone to catch fish.
So another place on my Fish Catching Travel list will be crossed off, but not forgotten. I am already making plans for a return trip, staying at Port Aransas so I can spend a couple of days getting the fish down, and slowly learning the area. While a couple of days will only allow someone to scratch the bare surface, there will be many more days to come there. And as you who read my stuff know, I am a do it yourself kinda guy. There is nothing like exploring a new area. By the same token I can see the value of hiring a guide to get your feet wet. This is a huge place with many possibilities, both good and bad, and a good guide can cut the learning curve down considerably. Plus, a good guide keeps up with the seasonal fish movements and just may put you on the fish of a lifetime.
So thanks Ronnie, lets do it again, soon. What a place!
