I'm trying to get down to Matagorda in the next few weeks and wanted to see if anyone had any tackle recommendations? I'm also taking my fly rod and would love to try and reel in a red fish on a fly. Is a 7wt 9 foot rod with 8wt line ok for reds? Fly recommendations?
Any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks!

Justin

I'm very interested in this as well. Read an article in Field and Stream and have been dying to go all Summer.

Yea that field and stream article was great!

I can't say anything about fly recommendations... But on traditional gear, try a weedless gold spoon, some black and chart sand eels or cocaho minnows, and gulp shrimp under a popping cork. Work cuts in the bay on rising and falling tides, and find some oyster reefs. Paul browns fat boys, I think that's the name, also do pretty well with trout. If you are fishing east matagorda I hear 3 mile lake has been producing. If all else fails head to Rawlings bait camp, depending on who is working they will either give you some great recommendations, or be a complete A-hole. Hopefully you do better than we did this last trip, as we fished hard for 3 days and only came up with a couple keepers. PM me if I can help with abythig else, I'm no expert by any means, but we usually try to take a couple trips a year down there

I just saw this. I fly fish around Matagorda several times a year, mostly in the marsh. I mostly throw shrimp imitations and -- because I fish over shallow oysters a lot -- white/grey, white/sand, white/olive, and white/chartreuse bendbacks tied on #4 or #6 hooks. Redfish Crack flies have caught me a few reds (and sheepshead, LOL) down there too. Take a few small gurglers too.

I primarily fish E Matty marshes conventional with lures.

For plastics, white with chart tails have become my go to color in a paddletail. I started off using darker colors (East Beast, Morning Glory, etc) because that is what worked for me in the Houston area marshes, but have found that they really prefer the lighter colors in Matty.

Spoons and gulp under a cork have also done fairly well in the waist to chest deep water along the South shoreline.