WadeFish Rockport 2017

Well, ... it's that time of year.

The ol' saltH2O is now comfortable to wade fish w/o waders.

Feet wet at Location #16 in my book just a bit before sunrise with 10 -12 mph winds and the moon was still up in the western sky.

Incoming tide, after some decent rain the past 2 days, had the trout bite aggressive and consistent.

3 limits by 9 am and left'em biting.

Trout I cleaned had eggs ripe with eminent blood veins, so a trout spawn is on the horizon.

Great pic and sounds like a fun day!

Nice fish!

Need to book something with you at the end of July.


Barry

Sounds good Texasredneck70. We will take good care of you, ... call me anytime: 361-727-5355

Wade fished Location #8 in my WadeFish Rockport© book looking for some redfish this morning and found trout and reds running together.

High tide is moving good the past 2 mornings from 7 - 9 am.

I'll join you...................

Do you guide trips?

Yes Safetyman15, I still arrange guided charters.

Basically, you can get two 'guides' with our service, I have another Capt. run the boat so I can do a better job of coaching and teaching, while giving better service and spending more time with our customers.

This works well on guided wade fishing trips so I can service the wade anglers in the water, take some awesome "action" pictures of our customers catching fish with my waterproof camera and the other Capt. can maneuver the boat and come get us so it's not a long wade back to the boat.

Cost is the same, ... just less work for me.

Do you have a website with pricing etc...

SafetyMan15 I was one of the 1st TP&W Licensed Guides to have a web site back in 1999. My Dad had his USCG Capt. License and we had a blast teaching kids to grandparents how to catch fish with live bait or lures.

When I got my USCG Capt.'s License back in 2003, I also put the Rockport Rattler jigs on the market, got the US Patent on them in 2009 and now they are sold coast to coast in most Academy's ... and as a result my guiding business picked up with word of mouth referrals that I eventually let the expense of that web site go.

Thank you for asking, and I may add the service I offer to my WadeFish Rockport web site.

I'll send you a PM with our summer rates.

Trout scouting early this morning at one of my locations in the WadeFish Rockport© book and I noticed that incoming tide wasn't as strong as it had been the last few days.

Bite was early - strung my 1st trout before daybreak and had a limit by 8:30 am.

In fact, I had 3 keeper trout my 1st 5 casts - then the bite slowed considerably.

Trout for supper with the Rockets playoff game tonight.

When ya promise your wife a 'Trout Fry' for Mother's Day - ya better make sure ya catch some trout.

My son & I had the "Mission" accomplished by 9:22 am this morning ... bring on lunch time, I sure am hungry.

Weatherman forecasted light 5-6 mph SE winds and they were 12 - 15 at sunrise.

Moon set was at ~9:30 am.

Good incoming tidal movement was around 8 am and the trout were riding it.

Slow bite to start, but the finish was fast and furious until the moon set.

Casual morning fishing since it was 7 am before we got our feet wet today.

Hammered the trout for 2 1/2 today hours with 1 in every 4 or 5 being keepers ... solid continuous trout action for 2 1/2 hours and had to fight off a school of porpoises that kept trying to raid our catch while we were trying to keep fishing.

It just added to the FUN !!!

Also caught some redfish and drum that didn't make the stringer today.

Incoming tide didn't start moving good until around 8 am.

... left'em biting to clean what we had strung ... I was wore out !!!

This is my favorite pic from Thursday's wade.

I call it:

"The sun hanging out with my son."

Well, ... who needs a $35,000 boat or a $500 guide to catch a limit of trout when the WadeFish Rockport© Book & DVD can clue you into where the the fish are before you get there.

Simply following the tide/moon phase/season Locations Tide/Moon Phase Chart in the book, we picked another location today just to see what was up with the trout bite at that location.

Stringing trout at daybreak, we hammered the trout again with some excellent non-stop action until we had our trout limits.

Tide wasn't moving as good this morning as it was Thursday, but that didn't matter !!!

Using Pink/WildEye and/or Glow/RedEye Rockport Rattler jigs I invented .... and Pearl 3" Gulp! shrimp we bagged 2 trout limits.

One of the two biggest trout today hit that the Gulp!! even though it's tail was bitten off, just solid trout action .. didn't need to rig a fresh Gulp! on it !!!

Nice mess of trout filets today to help save on the grocery bill.

Went from grass beds back to shell trying another location in the WadeFish Rockport© and wasn't disappointed.

Good trout action again today - also caught and released 17" reds all morning long.

Rex, II and I strung our trout limit again today, with some decent trout in the mix. Had our trout limits by 8:30 am and tried to get a keeper red but none made it to 20".

Bring on supper with my iron skillet and my new Skillet Grilled Trout Recipe !!!

Wind was up 1t 15 mph+ before daylight, so my original location I wanted to fish was blown out.

No big deal.

Wind was supposed to be 5 - 10 mph. and gusts were over 15 mph, ... that's why I say: "You want a tourist report, listen to the weatherman, .. you want a weather report, ... talk to a Mariner."


In the ol' SaltH2O before daybreak and caught some nice trout early with trout in the 17" - 22" range.

Had our trout caught by 8 am this morning.

All my trout action pics came out blurry, but I tried to get some action shots. Need more practice with this new camera - LOL !!!

Fathers Day Fishin' trip was today since my son had to TCB @ The Boiling Pot Sunday where he is the Manager taking care of their loyal and new customers.

The Bay was "alive" with fish this morning and I ended up catching and stringing the TEXAS GRAND SLAM - Trout, Redfish, Flounder and Drum. Rex, II had his limit of 5 Trout. On the way home with our fish at 9:07 a.m. !

We'll be eating good the next few days.

Still learning how to use the new camera & video - got these shots while on the water:

Best way I know to start the day.



A Flounder for the Lady of the house.




Nice moonrise that beat the sun up by 22 minutes ..... and the tip of the day is that's what I like to see when I go Fishin'

FISH STORY Today !!!!

Ok, you know what they say, "Truth is stranger than fiction."

Game plan was to fish TD Cindy's high tide and to be out of the SaltH2O before 9 am so Rex2 could go to work @ noon.

In the water before daybreak and Rex, II caught the 1st fish - a nice trout. Fish were scattered but reds were running with the trout.

Time to go and I was 1 short of a Trout Limit (5/day) and 1 short of a redfish limit (3/day).

Got to my vehicle and told Rex, II I was gonna make 1 last cast and see if I could get my trout limit today.

BAM .... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ !!!! My reel starts singing !!! The biggest Trout of the day hit my line while I was standing beside my car !!! I put that quality Trout on my stringer and had to retake my fish catch of the day. Didn't mind that at all.

I always say, "Keep a hook in the water ya might catch something."

Those words held true today right in front of my son's eyes, so he learned that lesson 1st hand this morning.

Wind blew us off the reefs this morning, 15 - 20 mph WSW moving to SSE, gusts over 25 so we opted for some protected water working grass beds and grass lines.

Slack tide in the back bay didn't help us any with an 8 am start to the high tide.

Caught trout and redfish with the biggest fish of the day being a flounder caught by Brad.

Thanks for the wade trip Grinder. Brad did lose a big trout trying to land it with no net. It was nice catching those trout under the poppoing cork.

Thanks for your educating us on the different places an methods of fishing. It was a beautiful morning.

We caught 7 nice trout and many small ones the next day with my high school bud from Refugio on live bait as you suggested, though we had to take him in the boat due to his health condition. Had to leave early without seeing you again. I am going to search here for the book i got from you a few years ago and i am going to watch your great video again. Will contact you in a few and have advised my BIL from Burnet to book a trip with you and buy your book and video.

Also, the next am after running out of bait i tied on one of the Rockport Rattlers (glow pink you had given us) with a white gulp. Caught 3 more. I had to bite off the tip to get it to stay on over the rattler though but they dont taste bad at all.

Lets go again some time. Take care and it was great having your son along to help instruct Brad and net his first flounder.

We sure enjoyed fishing with you and your son eyeball.

Crowds and winds have been strong over the 4th weekend, the winds will lay next few days and I will be able to get to that reef I wanted to take you tomorrow morning.

I've been impressed with the way the Gulp! has performed with those Rockport Rattler jigs I invented.

Don't forget now that you're a member of the Rockport Fishing Club enjoy the Copano Bay Secret Reefs DVD & Map you received with the discounts on future trips and a re-supply of the Rockport Rattlers you now own for the next year. The Coastal Bend Oyster Reef Advisory Board thanks you as well.

Watching your son catch his 1st flounder was cool, your son is a dang good angler - he proved that to me watching him work that area once I clued him in how to work it.

You guy's will catch some big reds there when they start their run this year. That's for sure !!!

Winds were light enough this morning that we could wade to some deep reefs.

Beautiful sunrise greeted us with a decent trout bite and we had our trout limits by around 9 am.




I had a nice limit of trout, although one is pretty skinny for it's size. ... looks like she just spawned.

I used live shrimp and, Pink/WildEye and Glow/RedEye Rockport Rattler jigs I invented with 3" shrimp pearl Gulp! - the Glow Rockport Rattler jig caught 2 of the 5 trout I strung to finish my limit. Glow RR worked best today and water was trout green.






My son had a nice limit of trout using live shrimp and the Glow/RedEye Rockport Rattler with the Pearl Gulp! shrimp.





Will, my sons friend, caught a nice limit of trout using the Super Spook Jr. 'Clown' early at 1st light, then switched to the Black/GoldEye Rockport Rattler jig with a Rootbeer Norton sand eel.

Stringing trout for supper as the sun was rising this morning.

Biggest trout of the day was the last one strung for my limit !!!

Rex, II rustled up a nice flounder for his 1st fish at sunrise and had some trout to go with it.

Slow outgoing tide to slack tide today with light winds going from west to north to east. When whatever tide there was quit, so did the trout bite.

When am I gonna get my order? I'm hoping your info is the key that unlocks the mystery door!

G.

Rex. One week away. I am look I g forward to catching some fish.


Barry

me toooooooooo!

Caught some nice sized trout Monday so we threw some croakers for the 1st time this year today looking for bigger trout.

Pretty disappointed in the size of the croaker for this time of year. The shrimp I used on Monday were bigger than the croaker I threw today. I think croaker are being overharvested - they just don't have time to grow before they are netted for bait.

Nice sunrise with variable 5 - 10 SSE winds when we got our feet wet.

Redfish were hanging out with the trout, but no reds made the stringer.

Tide was incoming at a slow velocity.

The big trout never showed before we had had our limits of 17" trout, so we called it a day at ~8:30 a.m.

Threw some artificial and scouted around on the walk back in - but only small trout were caught and released.

Texasredneck & lite-liner, looking forward to the trip as well. We'll tread some new territory than what y'all have been fishing.

Gneimeth, you order was mailed next business day, which was Monday, and is in your P.O. Box according to USPS:
"Your item arrived at the XXXXX, TX 769XX post office at 8:41 am on July 19, 2017 and is ready for pickup."

Blackened Trout - my new trout recipe - is what's on tap for lunch after a nice morning hanging out with Mother Nature and my son.

Just Another Day in Paradise !!!

Congrats on the catch. Really like the sunrise pic.

Thanks psalty.

Truth be known.

That's what I am really after.

Catching a morning sunrise in the midst of Mother Nature's majesty is what I have always been after.

The fish have always been the bonus.

Mother Nature knows who loves her and she has the ability to reward them beyond their Dreams.

OK - so I took that flounder and big trout and put them to good use.

I cooked the best fish I've ever eaten in my life last night.. and that includes the original Trader Vic's in Hawaii and Scoma's on Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco !!!

... while making stuffed Flounder I decided to try the same thing with that Big Trout I caught since the filets were thick enough to slice open a cavity in each filet ... then putting both open ends together stuffed with my crabmeat & shrimp stuffing

... I gotta tell you guy's n' gals that Trout stuffed with my crabmeat & shrimp stuffing was absolutely fantastic and the best fish I have ever eaten anywhere on this planet.

The best place to eat seafood in Rockport is at my house !!!


( pic was taken after the chefs taste test )

Wow! That looks delicious! I'm heading down in a couple of weeks and would love to try to make some. Do you mind sharing the recipe?

OK - I had 5 smaller trout filets left Friday night.

Layed 2 side by side, put on the crab n' shrimp stuffing then laid 2 more filets on top.

Did the same thing with 1 trout filet and then I had 4 tail sections left after trimming other filets and they worked great to lay on top.

Cooked up real well and viola more stuffed trout.







CAPT. REX's STUFFED FLOUNDER or TROUT RECIPE

*** I used Alaskan King Crab that we broke down to make lump the crab meat.

*** I used ~ 15 count sized shrimp.

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F
In a sauté pan, heat the olive oil and butter. Add the onions, garlic, celery, and peppers. Sauté for 2 minutes, or until the vegetables are wilted.

2. Add the shrimp and season with salt and Old Bay (to taste). Sauté for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and place mixture into a bowl. Gently stir in the crabmeat, then the bread crumbs a little at a time, adding more as needed to gently bind. Set aside to cool.

3. Generously place equal amounts of stuffing inside each fillet. (alternatively, you can place one or two fillet on the baking sheet, place filling atop the fillet, then place another on top, or off to the side, to resemble a pocket of stuffing).

4. Place the fish on a baking dish. Drizzle the fish with the butter and sprinkle with lemon juice. Sprinkle top of fish with salt, black pepper and paprika. Put pats of butter on top.

5. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until fish is cooked thru. Remove the fish from the oven and serve.

Stuffing

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 stalks celery, chopped fine
1⁄2 red bell pepper, chopped fine
4 - 6 ounces shrimp, chopped fine (1/2 cup)
1⁄2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
6 ounces lump crabmeat (or more if desired)
3 -4 tablespoons Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, more as needed

Fish

1 whole, deboned flounder or trout filets
4 tablespoons real butter, melted or put pats of real butter on top
3 tablespoons real lemon juice
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons paprika
1 lemon, cut into wedges for garnish

3 years ago today ... I guess I better go check out that Location asap !!!

Nice trout bite today at one of my all time favorite wade fishin' spots ... I figured the fish would be there and they were - some nice Big'uns too .. I personally strung trout from 19" - 24" for my trout limit today along with a couple of drum.

Fished with some new friends TexasRedneck and lite-liner on a guided trip they set up and we ended up with 3 limits of trout and a few drum using live shrimp and lures.

Trout were scattered and present just off the drop-off of several nodules we waded over and in the deeper guts running in between the nodules on the oyster reef we were fishing.

Lotta FUN and there is some good eating coming our way soon.






lite-liner having some FUN !!!

Rex, had a great time! Great to finally learn from a Pro!

Thanks for showing me how to catch fish!


Barry

Barry,

Thank you for the opportunity to share some knowledge with you and liteliner ...

- and the opportunity to show you guy's how that knowledge can help an angler become a more productive angler during the time they spend on the ol' SaltH2O.

Sometimes, it's not just the location - but also how you are rigged and the technique you use.

When an angler puts those three things together successfully, ... that journey leads to some serious angling adventures.

great pics & thanks again, Rex. I really had a great time.

lite-liner, We had a BLAST fishing with you and Texasredneck.

I had Capt. Randy over for some stuffed trout tonight - 1st time he's ever tried it .. and he loved it !!!

Nice sunrise followed by some productive fishing at our 1st and only stop.

Not having to walk back to the boat after that long wade makes for more time spent fishing for my customers, and we left'em still biting.

I'm glad you two had a good time, ... that's what it's all about.

Tides charts are still wrong.

Charts called for high tide this morning - noon.

Strong outgoing tide against a 10 mph SSE wind mph had fish scattered instead of being pushed up on the reefs we fished today.

We were feet wet before fist light.

TroyKing- a new member of the Rockport Fishing Club - found a nice trout on his 1st or second cast and I got nice pic of it when the sun came up.

I spent some time coaching Ryan on the saltwater scene from baiting hooks to unhooking these toothy saltwater creatures and it didn't take long for him to catch on, and he caught 5 species of fish today including, trout, redfish and drum.

Rex, II had a flounder on one of his 1st casts this morning and I caught up with him to get a pic of it.

We caught trout, flounder, reds and drum this morning and I am looking forward to the next "actual" morning high tide at this location.

There is some good history on these wade fishing spots.

Flounder in August ?

Yep - this was caught at Location #5 by a Darryl Black who worked in my Rockport Rattler shop making jigs.

He was taking a break after lunch back in 2003 when I 1st put the RR's on the market and he walked across the street to test out some.

He walked back with this huge saddle blanket.

We smoked it over mesquite for supper.

It fed Darryl, my dad, my wife, my two young kids and myself.

Yep, flounder can be caught in August - the dog days of summer - and some big ones at that.

I'm about to head down with my family for our annual trip to Rockport and wanted to know what bay system to target for some trout and reds right now? Not saying we need GPS coordinates but just wanted to narrow things down a bit. Feel free to PM me if necessary. I appreciate any guidance you can provide.

Captain Rex, Thanks to both you and your son for a great morning. We really enjoyed the experience of wading the salt water and feeling something really pulling on the line...I read this report to Ryan ( as you could tell he's not one who speaks much)...but he did say "I already knew how to bait a hook!!...just wasn't sure about baiting shrimp" hahaha....but we are both ready to do it again...my wife and I both fell in love with the area and want to come back soon.

FishWrangler2: I don't know what type of boat you have, but from what I am seeing and what reports I got last night from several guides I have visited with from the back bays to surf is that morning incoming tides are behind schedule and the best trout bite has been around 10 a.m. with tide turning around 8 am, instead of around 4 am. That should change if we get some tides from a TD that is supposed to develop Thursday around Columbia and head north. Bite at 1st light along shorelines has been producing some quality trout that are lurking around.



TroyKing: I sure enjoyed fishing with you and your son. Ryan is a savvy young angler, it didn't take long for him to catch on and I only had to tell him something once and he got it, including hooking live shrimp so that you don't kill it when ya hook it. He didn't have any problem working that point, catching and unhooking those trout, reds and drum all by himself once the coaching was over with - impressive ! He's gonna catch him a serious Big'un if he keeps the good work. Reds will start their migration here in a few weeks, so ya'll have that to look forward to on your next visit.

Mission was to scout for some trout and see what was up with the tides with Hurricane Franklin hitting the Yucatan peninsula today.

Tides were wishy washy again this morning - and the wind was playing the same tune.

Light west wind greeted us under a Full Moon this morning.

Tide was a light and incoming and trout bite was steady but few keepers - picking up a trout here and there.

Finally located a school with some keepers in it and all the sudden I had a wind shift and I am casting against a north wind and the tide starts going with it.

Ohhh well, I had strung a few keepers so I worked my way back in and picked up a couple more.

Trout bite only this morning, cleaning fish by 9 am and it's a pretty good rain right now as I am typing.

Bring on lunch ... and bring on some more tide from Hurricane Franklin when it gets on the other side of the Yucatan.

Thanks Barry.

Our home was Blessed and it received some minor roof damage from Hurricane Harvey which resulted in a leak in the kitchen, but rest of home is in good condition.

Here is an update on the rest of Rockport from our Mayor.

Letter today from Rockport Mayor Wax said:

" Texas Task Force 1 has completed their door to door on site evaluation ... approximately 30 - 40% of homes and business are completely destroyed. Another 30% are substandard and cannot be rebuilt. ... Approximately 2,000 electric workers are in the city. They're fixing power lines, traffic lights and other infrastructures so we will be able to "join the grid" once AEP is able to transmit to Rockport ... "

Rockport will waste no time rebuilding I can promise you that.

Thanks for the update Rex. And great that you didn't have any more damage. I was there Sunday to check my RV, and it was the only one in our park with no damage. I chained it to the ground and slab and it didn't move or get hit by falling trees.
As I suspected, once Harvey headed to Houston, Rockport would be virtually out of the news. I saw a convoy of about twenty power company bucket trucks passing thru Kingsville Sunday morning. A welcome sight!

Hoping to get back by the weekend, if we have power. Oh, well, I'll just have to fish the Laguna Madre for a while.

Island Jim, exiled in the RGV.

God Blessed our Home ... our Prayers were answered ... some old oak trees snapped in half, some interior ceiling damage from rain being driven into our home through the shingles ... once again, I am truly humbled by the 'Power of Prayer', my Faith in God and its influence on my Life.

Grinder, I was just about to start a thread to check in on you. So glad that the Lord delivered you through the storm. My thoughts and prayers have been going toward the Rockport community the last few days. Hope you're able to get back to fishing soon!

me too...my thoughts and prayers were with you....I lost contact with you during the storm, then I took my boat to Houston and Port Arthur Sunday night ...just got back last night.

[/quote]

Beautiful

Yesterday at sunset ... cleaned up some of the debris along the shoreline left by Harvey ... will be fishing again soon ... still in cleanup mode here in Rockport.

This is my NEW WEB SITE for WadeFish Rockport©:

WADEFISH ROCKPORT

... Hurricane Harvey destroyed our hosts server so I had to create a new web site ... it has a total new look

... I added a Photo Gallery ... enjoy the pics !!!

Fishing has been good - grass beds as well as shell reefs are holding good numbers of trout and reds.

Gotta admit ... this is one of my favorite wade fish pics caught on the Rockport Rattler jigs I invented.

The Rockport bay system is yielding some nice fish in shallow water while wade fishing without a boat.

Tim sent me this pic of a big red he tagged that was caught in 2.5 ft. of the ol' SaltH20 on Saturday morning at one of the Locations in the WadeFish Rockport book.

That sounds like FUN to me.

WTG TIM !!!

LUNCH !!!

1st wade since my heart surgery in August, ... 5 days before Hurricane Harvey ... waded about 1 hr for some lunch ~1/2 mile ...

waded in my kahki fishing pants and bootys and that SaltH2O felt goooooooooooood !!! ... got some exercise & some lunch ... #RockportStrong !!!

way to get out there, Rex!