I wasn't planning on another flats fishing adventure in Port Aransas, but my good friend Chip Evans and his dad talked me into joining them this Saturday. Like many times before, I arrived at first light. The ferry ride from Aransas Pass to Port Aransas always gives me a good feeling inside. What makes that feeling even better are the barbacoa breakfast tacos at CMR.
Chip, as some of you may remember, ties the nicest deer hair flies around, and he ties about every other kind of fly with as much attention to detail. On this particular outing we were not using deer hair bugs and Chip wasn't even using a fly rod. He had just purchase the G. Loomis Escape series spinning rod (line weight 2-6 lbs) like the one I have been bragging about since last fall. What made his rod special was the vintage reel that he put on it, a Penn 716 Spinfisher (c. 1965).
It was a beautiful morning and I had been telling myself that I was going to take photos rather than pursue fish all day. That was easier said than done. With rod in hand and my camera nearby, short windows of opportunity for both weapons were abound. I was not disciplined enough to just hold the camera, and not coordinated enough to hold both. I got some good shots with each and I misses some other good shots with each. Should I invest in a helmet cam to solve this dilema?
Chip and his dad arrived about an hour after I did. By 7:00 a.m. I had already seen a lot of fish in shallow water and I had landed a few, but the rising sun was about to give us the edge we needed. When the clock struck 10:00 a.m. the lights came on and we saw fish every in direction. Good tides might have had something to do with it as well. The redfish averaged 22 inches and the black drum and ladyfish were of good size. All were great on light tackle; I comfortably threw my 6 wt GLX all day long. The wind was mild in the morning but picked up to 12 mph towards the late afternoon. It was a great day to be alive, and a nice break from life back on the ranch.
