I wouldn't have picked these dates for a salt trip, full-moon malaise, summer-pattern calm.

But these are the dates that our hosts Josh and sister Nina could plan their vacations, and I wouldn't have missed this for the world.  I got to prove my axiom that the place, the times, the friends are always more important than the fish.  It was strange how hard 7 seasoned coast kayakers fished over four days to bring home so few legal fish.  

All said, I had a wonderful time - the paddles were beautiful, and the friends were great fun.  

Wednesday kick-off, we split the group between 3 flats to find fish, and everyone was shut out.  Stevo and I took Estes for the best tide fall of the trip, and we found bait where they should be at the outsides of the cuts.  

We found no gamefish but serious dinks, a pattern that clobbered all on the first day.

 

Josh and Nina made up for the day with a banner kick-off meal of 100 fried shrimp, oysters and hush puppies, cucumber salad, roasted corn salad,
For appetizers, Josh fried up Mama Flowers wonderful shrimp egg rolls, and Dale brought amazing Billy's Boudin and green-onion sausage from home.

 

We had great evenings at the firepit - here were our tickets, and there weren't 3 fingers in any of them by Saturday night. (I brought the Nashville Barrel Rye)

Thursday, we fished every meter of Brown & Root flats, and Nina scored our first slot redfish, and Andy scored an upper-slot trout.  

After fishing all the way north and then all the way south, Whit and I were so disgusted, we paddled to the sailboat channel, staked for beer-thirty, and threw finesse jerkbaits to sand trout.  I caught seven of these, which would have been enough for ceviche if I had thought about it.  Then a dolphin shut us down.  

 

Friday, the E wind was coming back.  Whit took Andy and Dale back to Swan Lake to get even with the redfish that PO'd him on Wednesday.
The rest of us launched at the end of Port Bay (gun) Club Road.  

Josh and Nina took off west, to join us later, while Steve and I headed east toward Italian Bend.  I embarrassed myself drifting Italian bend, losing a keeper red and two keeper trout at the boat.  

When Josh and Nina fished around to join us, I followed Nina deep into the mud marsh sloughs.  I really wanted to fish this slough with lower water than when I first fished it 2 years ago.  We covered some tight trails and wide lakes, but found no redfish.

Noteworthy, the duck blinds in the sloughs were connected by boardwalks for the gun club.

 

Beer thirty break before the paddle in.  

Saturday was a pick between Lighthouse Lakes and crossing the ferry to East Flats.

Karma led us to the former. 

Our regatta entering Marker 1 pass into the lakes. 

The spectacular skies were a 3-hour monsoon over East Flats. 

 

Last year, I took a recovery day to fish the two closest lakes.  This year, I followed Josh through the mangrove sloughs to fish the last two farthest lakes.

First three drifts gave me a dink trout, keeper trout and under-slot red

 

After a harder push to the last big lake, I got a keeper red and just undersized.  

 

In 3 drifts here, Josh caught 8 under-slot reds.

When we met up with Nina, already a long paddle through the sloughs, it was still a 20-min paddle to get back in.  

Josh berated my stringer fish, but the Game Warden waiting on the beach approved.  

Our GPS paddle trail across Lighthouse Lakes and back.  

 

Josh's fantastic shrimp and crab boil is always our Saturday night party.  Andy and I contributed our spec fillets to Saturday's ceviche

All our teams lost Saturday afternoon, and I was even wearing my Vandy tee shirt.  

  

All alarms were turned off for Sunday morning pack-out.

Beautiful pictures bulldog, what great fun that must have been.. 

Thanks - I left out this sunrise on Estes

Stevo on his Revo

Taking off down the dredged channel into B&R

Whit and Andy fishing the dredged channel before entering the expansive flat

Steve launching to cross Aransas Channel to Lighthouse Lakes Marker 1 pass

a couple of other launch photos, but I managed to get in most of the good 40 frames/ 165 

I love these write ups, they always bring up good memories from my childhood of fishing and eating fresh seafood on the Texas coast. Quick question...in the bottle pic what is the stubby bottle with the green cork?

@DitchPanda

I got the last finger from that bottle on Saturday night.  

(Whit even defended it for me when Josh wanted it)

Maverick Triticale is over the top.  

And the story is funny.  They ordered rye for a batch, and they received triticale.  

So they made mash with it and distilled whiskey, and now it's become their top seller.  

Regards

 

worth a ps - how like minds get together - Whit brought the Maverick Triticale all the way from Lewisville.  We go back over 20 years, meeting on a cigar forum, and fishing together with my dad.  

 

A spring day, Whit and Lewisville friends, me and my daughter, in a complete random "accident" launched together at B&R sailboat channel.  

Josh met Whit in a Rockport bar 15 years ago talking fishing, and there they came up with the plan for the annual Redfish RoundUp.  Whit has also fished with Josh's dad.  

Josh and I met on TKF forum - we think alike and fish alike, we need to fish together.  

______________________________________________

one more photo to add

Out of the ice water and into the fire.
Today, shared my redfish fillets with my 96-y-o dad, and a pot of dirty rice.

Vandy tee shirt??? Content blocked 

@TnRiver46 Hey, did you see Arch earn his $6M yesterday?  

He made 3 pinch 20-yd passes that were delivered like a baby with the OU line collapsing on his head. 

 

And normally, I'd still rather watch Diego Pavia attack the game - just not Last Saturday.  

We just listened to everything on radio while fishing yesterday , was a tad shocked by the red river result 

For all that money, Arch has to come together sometime.  

 

Ryan Niblett also scored his 2nd kick return TD of the season - speed and balance over the top.  

Awesome trip