reevesr1 Posted August 4, 2007 Posted August 4, 2007 Went to the surf in Galveston this morning with my brother. Not much surf as it was pretty much like a lake, which usually means fish! I used the fly rod exclusively for the first couple of hours and did about as well as anyone, ie, not very well at all. I did miss a few fish, so I was being kept interested. I only caught 1 with the fly rod, but what a great fish to catch. It's called a Spanish Mackerel. All teeth, agression and speed. Really lucky he did not cut me off as they have a mouth full of needles. The fish was in the 20" range and got me to my backing in the blink of an eye. He hit it about 20' in front of me, and I must have had 30 or 40' of fly line in the water when he took off. I have a nice little cut on my index finger from him ripping off that line! Just a rush!! Here are a couple of pics. I may be taking the "keep the rod tip high" to a bit of an extreme, but I REALLY wanted this fish. Unfortunately for me, I lost the clouser to a fish about an hour later and when I went to tie on a new one, I realized my fly box had somehow floated out of my pocket. This is amazing since every time I try to remove it from my pocket it takes me a couple of minutes. Oh well, there went a couple hundred bucks worth of stuff. So back to the truck to pick up old faithful. With a fly rod in waist deep water, I can cast 60 feet or so (a guess). With my open faced reel, I can send it out 80+ yds (maybe 100 yds, I don't know. I do know that I can cast really far) when I have a breeze at my back like I did today. Makes finding fish a bit easier! After a bit of experimentation, I found out what they wanted: they wanted it far, and pink. I started picking up fish almost every cast as everyone around me scrambled to figure out what I was doing different than they were. My brother was the only one who could cast as far, and he started hooking up. Eventually, people started catching fish all around us, but we had them pretty much to ourselves for 1/2 hour or so. Once you see the pics below, you will understand how unnusual that would be. While we were there, we had several schools of pogies go through. These are bait fish the size of your hand. School sizes measured in acres. (no exagerration here). They were moving so fast that there was literally a current caused by them when the school passed. Never seen anything like it. It was like the wake of a boat. Just amazing. Anyway, back to Alberta tomorrow morning. Can't wait to hit the bow, sad about the FTR. This was a great trip. The best part, schooled my brother today!! Quote
Nick0Danger Posted August 4, 2007 Posted August 4, 2007 Dude i have so been to that beach, in Febuary though. Probly going back for another cruise, worth bringing a rod then? Quote
Nick0Danger Posted August 4, 2007 Posted August 4, 2007 Oh hey you even get any questions about fly fishing when you are trying? Quote
DougC Posted August 4, 2007 Posted August 4, 2007 Nice to see you got something on the fly, sounds like a blast. I really like that first pic. Quote
reevesr1 Posted August 4, 2007 Author Posted August 4, 2007 Oh hey you even get any questions about fly fishing when you are trying? Nick, Feb would be tough on the beachfront, but there are certainly other options. If you, or anyone else for that matter, are looking for fishing advice in South Texas, let me know. About the fly rod--people think I'm nuts. It's just so much more work for very little outcome. Most of the fly fishermen here (and the numbers are growing) are super shallow water sight casting where the big lures scare off the fish. But in open water, you just cannot cover enough territory. That being said, I had more fun catching the one smack than I did catching all the other fish combined. That is in no way meant to knock the other method, it is still very fun. I've just done it for so long that the change is very sweet. Quote
OneMoreLastCast Posted August 4, 2007 Posted August 4, 2007 Looks like it would be a blast in a pontoon. I bet you could out fish them then with a fly rod. Quote
reevesr1 Posted August 4, 2007 Author Posted August 4, 2007 Looks like it would be a blast in a pontoon. I bet you could out fish them then with a fly rod. Lots of people are starting to kayak, much safer than the pontoon. Today, no waves. Some days, big waves! Getting through the breakers in a pontoon would be very dangerous. One guy in a kayak hooked a bunch of tarpon the other day--on a fly rod. Didn't boat any, but lots of jumps. Now that would be fun!! Quote
Nick0Danger Posted August 5, 2007 Posted August 5, 2007 would a big tarpon just tow you around? Quote
reevesr1 Posted August 5, 2007 Author Posted August 5, 2007 would a big tarpon just tow you around? Yep, from what I understand, sometimes for miles. Part of the charm I guess. Quote
SteveM Posted August 5, 2007 Posted August 5, 2007 Another great report, Rick; always look forward to your reports (& stories). I've caught Atlantic mackerel on the fly rod as well as on light spinning tackle; when you get several pounds of pure muscle + blazing speed on the line- YEE-HAW!!! Sounds like a great time for ya. Good on ya, mang! Quote
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