Roll Tide – Galveston Fly Fishing on Kayak

saltwater fly fishing texas #flyfishing galveston fly fishing #texassaltwaterflyfishing

Another look at Danny Scarborough’s redfish from last week. The size of Galveston bay system reds seems like the largest on average for the Texas coast.

When in Rome, what is it they say? Oh yeah, “do as the Romans do.” Well Houston, Texas, isn’t Rome, but the scenery is pretty darn nice anyway. No really, what I mean to say is that sometimes you fish when you see the fishing is good, and sometimes … well, you fish just because you’re there.

That was the case last week, with a few days with family, close enough to the Galveston salt, a weekend in the mix (meaning friends can go out), and decent weather in between storms.

What more can anyone ask for? Well, it turns out we can always ask for a lot more. Remember the mantra, “Know Before You Go?” How many of those “mantra things” do we have now? The “Know Before You Go” mantra is never more in play than when you and I go coastal. Hell, Texas Gulf Coast tides aren’t even that radical!

So there’s tides, moon, general weather, weather that precedes your fishing, salinity and even the occasional red tide event — many of these are measured, and some are not.

Rarely do I hear about a red tide event through conventional channels. Red tide events are bad PR, bad chamber of commerce and bad for business. So the only reliable channel is the TPWD website. These events may not even show up on coastal news outlets until we’re way into them! Know Before You Go.

I’ve proved to myself repeatedly; there’s nothing at all “outside” about abiding by tide and solunar charts. They work, and they work consistently. Period. So far, my best resource for these charts has been the magazine Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine. And as I was licking my wounds in Houston last week, I took a look at their charts which are now free viewing – SEE SOLUNAR CHARTS FOR TEXAS HERE.

What else don’t I know? Well, I don’t know anything about salinity, but let’s just say upstream rain events – like those we are having in North Texas and elsewhere in Texas – are a boon to the inshore fishing along the Texas Gulf Coast. We know that the drought has been raising salinity, and these over-the-top rain events make their way to the coast (if only in a small way) not because lakes are releasing, but because the drainages into the arteries (Texas rivers) finally amounts to something more than a sprinkle event. That’s good news for the coast. And moderate temperatures also help from inland to the Gulf of Mexico. The water temperature at South Padre Island, Texas, is 82-degrees now! I have seen it pushing 90 in the past.

There is a time when you can throw all this “Know Before You Go” stuff out the window though. That’s the time you find yourself in striking distance from the coast, sometimes for better, and sometimes for worse.

And that’s how things turned out to be for the second day in the marsh on July 29. I went out solo, and managed a ratio of 0-fer-1; that’s one shot and zero hooked (using just enough time to fish and hightail it to Braes Bayou for another shot at finishing that story). I didn’t feel bad because it was dead calm, and I didn’t see anyone catching any reds all along the same run near the SLP area that we did Sunday. I saw a few reds mulling around in super shallow water, one that looked like a snake – its back out of the water and so long, the only thing that gave it away was the golden glint when it squirmed on something. Still, they weren’t eating, and they didn’t stick around to see what I had on the menu.

NOTE – If you are interested in kayak fly fishing for redfish with Danny, or wondering if you can get a guided trip with me there; fill out the form on the “Contact” page, and I will fill you in on the details. I know we can both do a good job of narrowing the variables for anyone looking to have an adventure in the Galveston marsh system.

To see some of the other redfish and flounder we have caught in late fall in Galveston Texas – visit the August Catch of the Month at Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine

Tags: #saltwaterflyfishing, #texasflyfishing, fly fishing for texas redfish, fly fishing galveston, kayak fly fishing, redfish on fly, saltwater fly fishing, saltwater kayak fly fishing, San Luis Pass

Category: Adventure, Culture on the Skids, Destination Fly Fishing, Fishing Reports, Fly Fishing for Redfish, Saltwater Fly Fishing Texas, TECHNICAL, Texas Gulf Coast