Hi,

I am new to fishing saltwater and am looking to come down and try my hand at fishing the flats. I just bought a kayak about 3 months ago and plan on using it to fish. I have done some research and was thinking about trying the Rockport/Aransas pass area. Any pointers would be appreciated. A buddy and I were planning on camping and fishing for a three day weekend. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

Jacob

To the TFF!

Get the hooksetter wade/paddle map, it's priceless for showing put in spots and general areas. Nobody confesses really good places they're catching on the internet.

You can camp on the beach (you'll need a beach sticker -$10) and fish the lighthouse lakes paddle area, redfish bay or the back of mustang island. It's getting hot so you will need to fish early and late in those areas. In Rockport, you can camp at Goose Island State Park and fish the mouth of St Charles Bay, the islands and the back side of the bird sanctuary. I have other spots around there but I ain't talkin...

If you choose to camp at Goose Island, the spots closest to the pier are water accessible. We have camped on the other water sites but you have to pick up our kayak to get it over the seawall. Not a big deal but I have banged my yak up from wind waves doing that.

Welcome to the forum and good luck.

What is a Hook Setter Map? I have never seen these maps? Can you tell me where you found them?

I have seen Hook-N-Line maps and there are Fish-N-Map Co. maps. Both give fishing, launching, wading, marina information.

Any of those work fine. Get your map, then google earth the location, you'll see the sand bars, cuts, and potholes that hold the most opportunity.

All you need are doa paddle tails in a green mullet color, plum and something bright! There is a good pop of flounder in the rockport ski basin.

http://www.stxmaps.com/go/redfish-bay-fishing.html

This is a free map site that I found a while back. I have heard that the goose island area is good. I also know the big bull run is in October and they usually move to the deeper cuts. I'm looking at going around September. What are the redfish and trout doing around that time of the year? I was thinking of focusing on the transition areas and holes in the grass flats.

On a side note, I wouldn't mind getting together with a few of the kayak guys or gals and getting a trip together. I definitely want to start hitting the coast a couple times a year. I live in Austin so it's a weekend trip.

Bring topwaters and also weedless hooks. The grass can be thought there. Start early and paddle into the wind to catch a ride on the way home. Also don't get discouraged. Aransas pass can be very difficult to fish because of the clear water. Good luck.