Saltwater Angler December Article

Well, it may not say it on the calendar yet, but winter has definitely made an appearance. Temperatures are forecast to be in the 30’s and the winds are whipping from the north. Two things come immediately to mind. The fishing is going to be a little tough, and the duck hunting is going to be great. Now what more could you ask for this time of year? No matter what the conditions are out there, we are privileged to be able to experience the bounty of Mother Nature here in the greatest part of the greatest state of the greatest country in the world.

We duck hunted hard the first half of the split and were rewarded with the best duck hunting I have experienced……. Ever!! The two week split between the first and second half was actually welcome. Those 3:00am wake up calls tend to get to you after a while. After resting up a couple of days, the itch to get on the water came back full force and you know how much I like to chase the Big Girls this time of year.

Our trout fishing is a little sporadic right now. I had two really good days with trout up to the 24””mark followed by a few so-so days. The weather cooperated for the most part but I just couldn’t seem to find a consistent pattern. There are still a lot of shrimp in the bay and the trout just seem to be following them around in deeper areas of the bay.

Small top waters as well as small plastics rigged underneath a Cajun Thunder popping cork have been our top producers but the bigger fish have come on suspended baits like my favorite blood red Corky Devil. A medium to fast retrieve has been working best. On the days after a cold front has passed and we got a little warming trend, the trout were congregating on some of the sandbars in Alazan and along the south shoreline. Look for concentrations of mullet on these bars and then camp out for awhile. Top waters and Corkies work well here too.

Redfish are very hungry and aggressive up shallow for you sight casting fans. I like to use white or chartreuse Saltwater Assassin Sea Shad on the lightest possible jig head when pursuing these bruisers. I am not certain if the fish prefer one over the other but I do know that I can see them better myself and it’s easier to get my lure where I need it to be when I can see it. Swimming the lure in the middle of the water column and leading the fish slightly has made for some very exciting hookups.

By the time you read this, the second half of our duck hunting season will be in full swing. As I stated earlier, it’s been the best I have experienced and judging by the clouds of redheads, pintails, bluebills and other assorted ducks I have seen this week, it’s only going to get better.

Capt. Sally and I recently received recognition for being in the inaugural class of Certified Wildlife Guides in a program developed by the Corpus Christi Convention and Visitors Bureau. The program seeks to insure that visitors to the Corpus area have a quality experience. The program focused on quality customer service, environmental issues and wildlife identification. I’ve been told before that I was certifiable, and now it’s official.

Wintertime in South Texas isn’t a time to huddle indoors. There are way too many angling and hunting opportunities out there. It’s too bad the economy is in such poor shape because everything else down here in God’s country is so good. Y’all be safe and I’ll see ya on the water.



Capt. Aubrey Black

(210) 355-5091

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Even Better

Today was an even better day. Between myself and two clients, we managed to catch and release 39 keeper trout and Ryan landed his first ever sightcasted redfish. Plastics all the way today on grass and shallow rocks.

It's Still On!!

Friday was a good day for us once again. Four guys boxed 19 trout to 23" and 2 fat reds. We released a nice 26" trout early and ground out the rest here and there all day on plastics. Various plastics including Saltwater Assassins and Brown Lure Devil Eyes rigged on the lightest jigheads we could find did the job for us color didn't seem to matter. 

 Water is still in great shape. Grasslines and scattered rocks from thigh deep to chest deep were the pattern of the day.

It's Saturday and there are a few tournaments going on so it should be a test of wills and patience today lol. Fortunately I have a great, funloving crew so stay tuned.

Just A Quick Note

Blogging has always been fun for me. Its a way I can convey my thoughts and let you see what I see through the written word as well as pictures and the occasional video. I have come upon a new way to get these things to you even faster through FaceBook. Its virtually "real time" stuff and I know you will enjoy it. Click on the link and enjoy. You may have to cut/paste the link into your browser.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Riviera-TX/Capt-Blacks-Outdoor-Adventures/111104792260869

Still Rockin' and Rollin'

Still seeing lots of bait in most locations. Even a few slicks from time to time. Saltwater assassins rigged on Flutter Hooks fished slowly over the rocks produced most of our trout today. The venerable red/white paddletail took the big flounder. Fished lots of structure today and caught lots of mostly small fish but we did manage enough for a fish fry this evening. Mmmm good stuff. See y'all on the water.

Really Liking This

Things are definitely heating up in Baffin in more ways than one. The waters are steadily getting warmer and I know I will soon be wet wading. Can hardly wait til I won't be scared to have that third cup of coffee in the morning lol.

Soft plastics have been the hot baits lately. red/white, pumpkinseed/chartreuse, and Morning glory/chartreuse are the top producers.

Good sized flounder are falling for the same lures and our topwater bite is showing signs of kicking off. We have a cold front moving through now and we will be a little cool the next couple of mornings but I fully expect to pick up where we left off earlier this week.



Y'all come on down, the fishing is really getting good.

Bigger Is Better

Well, the winds layed down a little and the fishing seemed to be doing the same. Fortunately, Jeff stuck with his Super Spook Jr. topwater long enough to coax a hit from this big girl that almost touched the 29" mark. Saw a few more nice trout chase our topwaters around some of the deeper rocks but they avoided us........ for now. Looking forward to our next little weather window to get back out there.

Let It Blow

Had a good week of fishing in spite of the extremely low water and very high winds. Trout to 28" and several really nice flounder fell for various colors and styles of soft plastics. Water temps are in the seventies and the fishing is getting better by the day.can't wait to get out there each day.

The Beat Rolls On

Great day on the water today with fantastic clients. Today was just confirmation that It's On!! We had quality fish today at several locations in the bay even though the water was less than perfect. 15 - 20 mph East winds today kept things stirred up a bit. Soft plastics of various shades including Limetreuse, Morning glory, Rootbeer and Plum all rigged on 1/16 oz. jigheads or 1/8 oz. Flutter Hooks did the trick.

Shallow rocks and grasslines in thigh to waist deep water worked best and the fish were hungry. Many had gorged themselves on mullet and one that we brought to the cleaning table even had a dogfish in its stomach. Proof that they will eat just about anything. Looking forward to light winds and sunny conditions tomorrow. It should be good.

Three biggest trout today all topped seven pounds. Click on images to enlarge.

It's On!!!

If the past few weeks are any indication, the Big Trout run is definitely in full swing. Reports are flying about lots of big fish being caught even in the far reaches of Baffin. Fortunately for me and my clients, we have been able to take advantage and hang a few of them ourselves. Click on images to enlarge.

Topwaters and Corkies have been the best producers and no particular color seems to be working better than another. The big fish are shallow (thigh deep or less) and while there may not be big numbers, the size makes it all worthwhile. We have seen trout up to thirty inches and four fish topping the eight pound mark so far and we are only getting started

Spring is officially about to start and it definitely looks like things are going to be very exciting. I have a few openings the end of March and a few the end of April but call me soon because they are filling up fast with all the news. Go to my website http://www.captblack.com/ and check out my booking calendar. We have made things convenient for you by arranging for you to book and pay for your trip on-line. Hope to see you soon. Later, Capt Aubrey Black

Makes You Wonder

Weatherman missed it bad this time......... in our favor. The 35+ mph winds and 50% chance of rain didn't materialize. The winds finally showed up at about 2:00 but other than that it was a beautiful day and we could basically fish anywhere we wanted. Unfortunately, it seems I can only put folks on fish when the wind blows. We managed a dozen or so trout with an even 10 making the keeper mark. The biggest of the day was a fat 20"er but not what my group was looking for. We gave it heck but it just didn't happen today. Various paddletail plastics and Corky Fat Boys and Original Corkies provided most of the catching today. Headed to the Fishing Show in Houston for the next few days. Hope to see some of y'all there.

Windy Day

Well, it should come as no surprise that the winds blew today. Seems thats the only days I can book are the windy ones. Fortunately, I had a crew of hardy souls today that were prepared for anything mother nature dished out. We ground out several spots along the north side of Baffin until the winds forced us to the south side. Like the last trip, we finally struck paydirt on the south shoreline. We caught quite a few trout up to 17" and a lone redfish until Carl showed all the young guns how it was supposed to be done. Click on the YouTube link below to see the video of Carl's catch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iQUUgY0DXU

Various colors of Corkies were the lure du jour except for a certain guide who stuck with a red/white Saltwater Assassin all day. Gonna grind it out again tomorrow. The winds are suposed to blow from the other direction this time lol.

February Fun

Been busier than a one armed wall paper hanger lately with a few charters and scouting trips trying to really get in touch with whats happening in my favorite bay system. Things are definitely on the upswing down here. Numbers are still down with the exception of one or two trips but our quality is picking up. Big Girls are definitely showing up. We've even been picking up an occasional flounder.

My brother in law, Capt. Bruce Miller even got in on the action with a nice 29"+ trout two days ago. Sorry about the background but you know how these damn guides are about their fishing spots lol.

Had a recent trip with some great clients that I prefer to call friends. I had been on a pretty fair concentration of trout for four or five days and was really looking forward to putting these guys on the fish. With the help of Capt. Sally http://www.captainsally.com/ , our intrepid group headed out with high hopes. The weatherman said light winds until noon but he was lying......... again. It was at least 20 mph when we arrived at my spot. The wind was all wrong and was blowing directly into the grassline we had scouted the previous day in pristine conditions I might add.

I gritted my teeth and decided to give it an hour just because I knew there were fish here. Ray struck first with a keeper trout just minutes into our wade. The water was quickly losing its clarity but the fish seemed not to mind so much as we hooked, landed and released two more keeper trout. And then it happened.

Randy made a long cast with a pink Corky Devil and began a slow retrieve in the thigh deep water. The fish picked up the offering and he set back hard on the fish feeling some weight as the Big Girl made a powerful run taking line against the drag for about fifteen yards. He turned her and started a slow back and forth struggle as the fish circled to his left. I grabbed my new Flip video camera and headed towards the action seeing that this fish was putting up a good fight.

As I got closer, she surfaced between us and I got a glimpse of a broad back and big black tail. The fight gained a new intensity as Randy realized what he had. I vowed to stay out of the way in case the unthinkable happened just so I wouldn't get blamed lol. After a couple of attempts, he latched the Boga Grip on the Big Girls bottom jaw and just like that............ a new personal best for my friend. A quick measurement and weight before safely releasing her. I couldn't wait to get home to put together a little video so without further ado, here she is. Randy's new personal best trout 28" 8#+ (Click on the YouTube link)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej0UKh7ofB0

Looks like winter is going to stick around a bit longer as the north winds are howling outside as I type. That just means we will have something to look forward to on our next warm-up. Looking for bigger and better things as we slowly move toward springtime patterns. Hope to see y'all down here soon. Also, you might want to check us out at the Holder Show at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston on March 3 - 7. Capt. Sally will be giving a seminar at 1:00 on Saturday and I will be giving one at noon on Sunday.

Great Hunt

Chip Pitcairn, Sally and I headed out with Rocksy and Kelly to do a little duck hunting this morning. The forecast was for fog but it wasn't too bad down here. We had a couple miles visibility with a low cloud ceiling and light winds. Ducks were decoying very well into our spread and we had to start getting picky about our birds early in because of all the pintails, bluebills and redheads. Kelly made a great "hero" retrieve on a mature redhead drake and both dogs did well. Except for the two wounded ducks and the dogs version of "Keystone Cops". Duck season is winding down but there are still a few open dates before the close on the 24th of January

Quacker Smackin'

Duck hunted the past few days and got a variety of conditions with a variety of results. Good numbers of pintails and wigeon are flying and a few buffleheads mixed in. Can't figure out where all the redheads went. Hope they show up this week. Rocksy watching over the spread and Jeremiah with a Bull Sprig headed to the taxidermist

No Fish Kill In Baffin

Finally got out on the water today to check out any damage from the recent cold snap. Looks like we avoided it completely. Didn't even see a dead mullet. The water was very cold today and there was almost no baitfish activity.

The few places we saw bait, we caught fish. Nothing to write home about but we managed 4 trout and 2 redfish. Saltwater Assassins and Sea Shad were the top producers today. Water temps in the upper 40's for most of the day with overcast and drizzle.

I Heard It On The Radio

Had a little fun this weekend talking with Doug Pike on his Sunday radio show in Houston while I was in town for the Houston Boat Show. Capt. Sally and I teamed up to represent our area down here. You can click on the links for the podcasts of both hours of the show.

http://www.790kbme.com/podcast/dougpike.xml

We had a lot of fun just talking fishing, hunting and whatever Doug wanted to talk about. the show was almost two hours long so make sure you are comfortable lol.