Bill Bragman, owner of Yak Gear, invited me down for a fishing trip this past weekend at High Island. The plan was to head offshore for bull reds (and I would be targeting sharks as well). Bill rented a house on the beach and when we woke up on Saturday morning, the surf was nonexistent and the gulf looked like a lake. We were stoked.



We ate breakfast, loaded up, and the 6 of us drove 100 feet to the beach. As I got there, I looked out, and something looked different. It was not as calm as it had been an hour before... The guys set out, and within seconds I see the bottom of a kayak bobbing in the surf. Oh boy. It's getting rough fast. The rest of the guys make it out, but I'm last (always messing with the GoPros). Overconfident because of what I saw this morning, I try getting in the kayak VERY early (shin-deep water). Four waves crash over the bow in a row, and suddenly my kayak is completely underwater and I'm sitting in a submarine. I hop out, and my kayak flips immediately. Broke my camera pole and lost my brand new $60 knife, backup anchor, sunglasses, and a few other things. Great.

I ended up going out after gathering myself, and by the time I finally get out, everyone else has had enough of the 4-foot swells and heads back in. Now I'm out there alone, and for 3 hours I sit there getting beat up. I check in on the radio and everyone agrees we should just go hit the bays.

Things went much more smoothly in the marshes of East Bay. We spent the rest of Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning out there. All in all it ended up being a great trip. Bill Bragman of Yak Gear is a great guy and treated us really well. Not only did he put us up for the weekend, he cleaned our fish and fried them up for us too.

I got some great footage. Hope you enjoy the pics.

Until next time, tight lines.

Looks like fun man!!

Yard sale!

Never been to the coast hopefully I will make it next year. Out of curiosity what is the average depth of the marshes? Nice pics!

nice report

Good times - good pics!

When we got there at high tide, it was about 2-2.5 feet. Once the tide ran out it was ankle deep. You can see that pic where I was wading with the kayak tied to my belt loop. That was not by choice. I was dragging and had to get out and wade. You could keep the ProAngler in the deeper cuts and fish for trout, but the reds and flounder are usually in skinnier water. I usually pedal the Outback down the intercoastal until I see a marsh I want to explore, then take out the drive and paddle into it. It's a ton of fun man. I saw sting rays all over (BE CAREFUL WHEN WADING) and had blue crabs grabbing my lures all day, then they'd let go as soon as I lifted them out of the water. My buddy caught a few by hand. They make great redfish bait.

I love it down there. Hooked on the salt is an understatement. At this rate I'll be eating ramen noodles just to fund the gas it takes me to get down there every other weekend.

On a side note, I broke another rod. The exact same rod that I broke at the LSKS tournament. Stay away from those cheap Quantum combos. I bought 2 and both broke within the first month. I think they make decent reels but their rods clearly suck.

One word. "OUTSTANDING"!

Great pic's Bobby. I see you got your Chasing Tales shirt..lol

Nice report man. Next time in just going to hide in your back seat hoping you don't notice all the extre gear. Hahaha

Great report!

Nice shots, and write up, Bobby. Looks like a fun trip despite the lost gear. Sometimes you gotta make lemonade...

killed it! I've been thinking of heading that way this Sunday. Your talking about back in rollover bay and such? What were you guys using for bait?

Right on...I can smell the salt calling me

We launched at Stingaree Marina near Rollover. Headed right into the marshes there on the left and found a little lake back in there that the reds would occasionally roll through in packs. I caught all my fish on Gulp! shrimps under popping corks (the last video on my YouTube channel explains my rig) except for one that I sight-casted with a brown/white/chart chickenboy lure. Chickenboys are awesome... local guy down in Galveston makes them.