Outings Update

by Todd Fleming, AFF Outings Director

Outings this summer have been non-stop. There’s been a plethora of fishing opportunities all over the state. The weather has been warm, the waters cool, and the fishing has been terrific! I hope you have been able to wet a fly somewhere in the past couple of months.

July started off with a long holiday weekend adventure to Padre Island – the longest stretch of natural undeveloped coastline in the continental United States. It is still the “wild frontier” in many respects. When the pavement ends you leave civilization behind, and you become a guest in Mother Nature’s own living room. It’s a visit to a simple place where life began – sand, surf, wind, and sun. Prepare as you might, you will always be humbled by the experience. It’s a location we should all witness, but like the sign at my grandparent’s house used to say, “Relatives and fish stink after three days!” Mother Nature has a way of letting us know when it’s time to leave.

From the coast, Dan Dockery and I headed west to scout out a new stretch of the Llano River below Junction. This river is a Texas jewel. The clear water flows through some arid dusty terrain into the hill country, and transforms everything near its shore into a living garden. The Llano River has miles of waterway yet to be explored, and lots of fish to catch and release. Before you are done, they will flat wear you out.

When the moon in July became bright and full, it was time once again to test our gear with a night of fishing from the jetty rocks at Port Aransas. As I’ve said before, you never know what you will catch from the jetty. But we were again trying to land a tarpon on the fly. Word is starting to spread about tarpon being spotted off our Texas jetties. It’s true, and you may remember that in June we hooked up with several tarpon, felt their power and saw them jump, but failed to bring one to hand. This time we were determined to complete the deal.

For a short side trip – just an appetizer prior to the main course – Ray Jung, Lloyd Mathews, and I started searching the flats in kayaks for tailing redfish the morning before our jetty trip. It’s a beautiful sight to find a group of reds, nose down grubbing for food in the grass, and see their tails extending above the water’s surface calling you over with that slow parade wave like movement. It’ll make you stop cold in your tracks. Just ask Ray what it’s like to get “red fever” at the sight of a big tail waving at you from thirty feet.

Enough on this “sushi” side trip – our primary objective this day was for big fish – tarpon hopefully – from the North Jetty! It had been just four weeks since the last jetty trip, and the logistics of transporting enough gear and supplies for an overnight stay in modest jetty comfort seemed to run a bit smoother. After setting up camp, we rigged our fly rods with flies and leaders to handle sharp teeth and muscle. The evening tide was outgoing, and tarpon were seen rolling on the surface before sunset. Our mentor, Bill Slough, generously offered me his favorite rock when he decided to go help some others get started. I didn’t question his noble lapse of judgment, and without hesitating, I climbed right up to where Bill had been standing. Within a few casts of my own, I was hooked up with the first tarpon of the night. (Thanks, Bill!) It was exciting to have such a good fish on so early. I was determined to keep this fish hooked, and get him landed.

Word went out on the 2-way radios that I had a tarpon on, and my help quickly began to arrive. Chris Wray was first on the scene. He was ready with a boga-grip in hand, and he scrambled over the rocks down to the water’s edge into position to grab my fish. For several minutes we watched that fish make powerful deep runs, and then rise to go airborne with the greatest of ease. Tarpon have a boney mouth, and are notoriously difficult to get a good hook set. I remembered Mark Paulson telling me, “You have to re-set the hook after every jump.” I didn’t wait for the jumps – I yanked like #%!! on the rod every time he slowed down! We landed that fish, and I have Joe Mitchell to thank for snapping a few pictures before we released him to swim and fight another day. The tarpon weighed 20 lbs, was approximately 44” long, and was a thrill to catch! We were busy all night with many more tarpon hook-ups – and at least three that were almost landed. There were also several nice redfish caught during the night – including one that went 35 lbs and 44” long by Bill Slough. Overall it was a very good outing, and there were requests to do it again.

We can always use more outings and outing leaders. If there is an outing that you would like to see, or an open date that you have available, let me know, and we will get the word out. Below is a list of some outing dates that may be of interest. Now is a great time to take a new member fishing! And don’t forget to take the kids too. An outing for bluegill and Guadalupe bass can be a fun day trip for the whole family.

Scheduled upcoming outings include:
• August 2, 2008 – Skimmer Transport to Fence Lake – Rockport/Fulton
• August 16, 17, 2008 – Wade fish the Nueces River from one of the many small road crossings in Uvalde County. Stay at the Big Oak River Camp south of Camp Wood on state highway 55. Call (830) 597-5280 for reservations www.bigoakrivercamp.com
• • September 6, 2008 – Skimmer Transport to Fence Lake – Rockport/Fulton
• October 17, 18, 19, 2008 – Oktoberfisch Fly Fishing Festival – South Llano River in Junction. Sponsored by the Fredericksburg Fly Fishers fredericksburgflyfishers.org/oktoberfisch.html
• October 18, 2008 – Redfish Rodeo – Rockport. Sponsored by the Texas Fly Fishers

I love telling the stories of our exciting fly fishing adventures, but I’m not Paul Harvey. These outing articles, fortunate or not, sometimes fail to expose all of the outing surprises. So, if you want to know “the rest of the story” you will need to join us on one of these upcoming outings. Good luck fishing, and I hope to see you on the water!