Boz's Blog
Saltwater Fishing News You Can Use by Larry Bozka – Where to Go and What to Throw:Tides, Tackle, Techniques, Terminal Rigging and Knots, Lures and Natural Baits, Tournaments, Fundraisers, Angler Profiles, Weather, Fishing Forecasts and much more.

 There are literally hundreds of professional fishing guides in the State of Texas, some of whom got into the business as just that … a business … and others who are simply looking for a way to justify a hardcore fishing habit.
 It’s the former who survive, and sometimes even thrive. But they do so knowing that theirs is an entertainment business, and that their job is every bit as much about meeting customers’ expectations as it is about filling a half-gallon freezer bag with fresh trout fillets.
 I’ve been fishing with, and photographing, professional guides for well over 30 years. Across the board, theirs is a bona fide “people business.” Many have told me that their primary challenge is learning exactly what the paying customers expect out of their day on the water. All too few of those customers make their expectations apparent prior to the trip.
The result, quite often, is disappointment and disillusionment, despite the fact that the “hired rod” did all he or she could do to make the outing successful and enjoyable.
 It’s an easy enough dilemma to avoid. Before dropping anywhere from four to five hundred bucks or more for a paid day on the water, prospective clients are well-advised to take an honest look at their needs and desires and then effectively communicate those wishes to their chosen fishing pros.
 In the case of hunting guides, the situation is far less complicated. Whether the quarry is ducks or deer, the guided hunt modus operandi is far more clearly defined than the typical guided fishing trip. There are countless angling options, ranging from beginner-level spincasting with dead bait to fly-casting hand-tied flies to visible flats fish. There is a pro to meet every need. But again, those needs should be clearly explained before a deposit check is mailed to a guide to “lock in” a date.
 Foremost is simply the number of fishermen making the trip. Book a trip for two and show up with three or four anglers and it’s as sure as the tides that confusion, and understandably, considerable resentment and even the occasional cancelled outing will ensue.
Also critical is the given level of expertise for each angler on the trip. A veteran fly-fishing pro will entertain uncomfortable company when hosting a person who has never picked up a rod and reel, much less an 8-weight fly rod. Worse yet, the guide often has no clear directive as to who is being accommodated … the novice or the expert, the live bait fisherman or the accomplished artificial lure enthusiast.
 

Read: A Guide to Hiring a Guide »

I have wasted a serious amount of time writing various versions of “What Happened to Our House in Seabrook When Hurricane Ike Hit,” and now realize it’s best to sum it up in three words, briefly elaborate, and move on.
We got hammered.
A little over three feet of Galveston Bay paid the house a visit, moving furniture and personal items with the random efficiency that only a 15-foot storm surge can muster.
Some 80 percent of our belongings are history, the house is devoid of everything including sheetrock and I won’t begin to go into the alleged insurance policy debacle (not for now, anyway) other than to say you need to be damn sure that you really do have a flood policy that is a really a flood policy before another hurricane hits.
You may not be in such good hands after all.
We have found a condo for which we have signed a one-year lease, and will move to said residence in around a week. From there we will set up house (and the office) and with that as our headquarters do what we can to rebuild.
Meanwhile, Liz and I continue to be extremely grateful for our friends and family. My brother, Bill, and sister-in-law Pam opened their doors to us on September 11 (ironic date, that one) and we have been here since.
I won’t thank friends at this point for fear of all too easily omitting someone.
They didn’t do it for publicity, anyway.
That’s why they are friends.
We have watched virtually no television in the past six weeks, but have caught up on plenty of patio time. Two weeks on generator power had something to do with that as well.
Kicking back on the back porch, I finally got a chance to photograph a hummingbird. And it occurred to me:
If God can give this tiny little bird the power to navigate the open seas during its annual migrations, He can and will see us through this as well.
If you are interested in seeing some of the photos of what happened to our little neighborhood east of Highway 146 in Seabrook, Texas, go to www.flickr.com and search under “coastalangler.”
To all of those who have shared and continue to share their good wishes and prayers, it’s summed up with two more words.
Thank you.

Boz

Read: Life After Ike »

My longtime friend and fellow shooter Mark Hall of CoastalPhotos.net and I will be spending a few days with Capt. Terry Neal of Port Mansfield next week, fly fishing the flats and sight-casting to tailing redfish. We will also fish with Capt. Randle Hall of Geaux Deep Charters on his 31-foot Bertram, named (naturally) “Geaux Deep,” and take advantage of the opening weekend of white-winged dove season while we are at it.
The end result, with any luck at all, will be a “Three Days in the Field” travelogue tentatively slated for the January ’09 issue of Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine. These pieces are essentially journal compilations, written as we go, and are hopefully half as much fun to read as they are to execute. For once, after two previously-scheduled blow-outs, the wind conditions down Mansfield way look very promising.
Aside from conventional fly fishing, we’ll be using inshore Black Salty baitfish on the flats as part of a sight-casting experiment. As of late, I have done a lot of fishing with Woodee Rods’ 7-1/2-foot fast-action spinning rods (www.woodeerods.com), fitted with U.S. Reels SuperCaster and Doug Hannon Wave Spin spinning reels. Both carry 6-pound-diameter, 20-pound-test Sufix superline, and both cast like the proverbial wind.
They’re fun and effective to fish any time, but when the wind gets too high to allow for effective fly casting, these specialized spinning combos step right in so we never miss a shot at an in-range redfish.
Always on the lookout for yet another good story … and particularly to construct our regular podcast interviews on Great American Outdoor Trails Radio Magazine (www.gaot.net), with host Jim Ferguson, we will also fish Offshore Saltys for red snapper in Texas waters and then fish the big XL-size baits aboard the Geaux Deep with the utilization of the “kite fishing” technique.
The kite fishing goal is to … catch this … hook and land a Texas sailfish. This is one time that, no matter how many fish meet the gaff or how many palomas go in the bird bags, I strongly suspect we are going to return home with some great stories.
Half of the fun is the travel, and Hall and I have learned how to appreciate and capitalize upon every single precious moment of it.
It’s been a while since we tried to fish a wind that didn’t have a name, so we are really looking forward to this one.
Check CoastalAnglers.com next weekend for a rundown of some of the details, and what we learned.

PORT MANSFIELD VOLUNTEERS CLEAR DEBRIS FROM WATER

Speaking of learning something, Capt. Neal called me yesterday to let me know that he and 8 other volunteers recently spent a day that was purely focused on retrieving the scattered detritus of Hurricane Dolly from Port Mansfield-area waters. The stuff was presenting a serious navigational hazard, and although Neal and crew didn’t get all of it, what they did extract substantially reduces the possibility of getting a pier piling through the fiberglass.
“Dolly tore out a lot of the piers on the north and south sides of town,” Neal told me. “A lot of the big pilings that were holding the ends of the piers down were gone. As for as structural damage goes, there was not anything serious,” he added. “There was, however, some wind damage due to lost shingles and water getting blown into some facilities.
“After the storm,” Neal continued, “we started going out and seeing so much debris in the bay that it was scary. It was packed in all the way up the west shoreline, including a bunch of 15-foot-long, 12-inch-diameter pilings hung up on the shallow grass bars with their ends protruding out of the water. Still,” he noted, “they were very hard to see.
“So, the first thing we did was identify them, using Styrofoam pool noodles so people would not run over them,” Neal explained. “Then, 8 or 9 guys volunteered their boats and brought deckhands to help with the cleanup effort. We tied the pilings on to ropes and pulled them in.”
By the time Neal and volunteers were through, they had towed approximately 100 pieces of heavy debris to shore.
“There is no guarantee we got it all,” Neal cautioned. “In fact, it is certain that we didn’t, and a lot of what remains is submerged … in some cases, right below the surface. A lot of it this stuff sinks real fast. Boaters still need to be very careful running the west shoreline.”
According to the veteran flats fishing guide, there is also scattered debris south of Port Mansfield that will be marked and picked up within the next several days. “A few of the fishing cabins on the Intracoastal Canal completely disappeared,” he said. “We’re talking about entire houses that are gone. We need a good low tide to be able to see it all, and it may be the first hard cold front of this fall before we get a really comprehensive look.
“We had a big storm surge with Dolly,” Neal continued, “and although most people don’t realize it, we got another substantial surge with Hurricane Gustav.”
The good news?
“Gustav brought in a lot of green, Caribbean-clear water,” he reported, “and the East Cut is stacked full of trout. I know that because I was out there scouting for reds for the trip we are making next week, and instead of redfish, caught a limit of trout blind-casting with a fly rod. I was throwing a chartreuse Clouser minnow fly. (For the record, Neal’s son T.J. owns East Cut Saltwater Flies, and ties what are without a doubt some of the finest fly-rod offerings available anywhere. For more info, check the Web at www.eastcut.com).
“As for redfish,” Neal added, “they are everywhere. On any given day of wade fishing you will find at least several concentrated pods of quality reds working their way across the flats, feeding on crabs and other bottom forage.”
For more information on Port Mansfield, from one of the area’s premier pros, contact Capt. Terry Neal of Terry Neal Charters at 956-642-7357. Check the Web at www.terrynealcharters.com or send email to terry_r_neal@msn.com.
To check out the offshore scene, contact Capt. Randle Hall at 956-689-1911, check the Web at www.geauxdeep.com or send email to captainhall@geauxdeep.com.
By the way, we’ll be spending our down time at the Port Mansfield Sunset House, a comfortable and nicely-appointed hotel situated at 1144 S. Port Drive in Port Mansfield. For information or to book a room, call 1-800-311-4250, send email to portmansfieldsunsethouse@comcast.net or take a look on the Web at www.portmansfieldsunsethouse.com. Aside from owning the hotel and doing an awesome job of maintaining and operating it, owners Ed and Debbie Freeman are also veteran outfitters who can hook you up with quality fishing and hunting trips in not only Texas but Mexico and elsewhere.
Plus, they are just bona fide nice folks.
We are, as Willie memorialized it, “On the Road Again.”
We’ll be back in touch soon as we hit town. Meanwhile, no matter where you are boating, pay close attention to the water and be safe out there.

Boz

Read: On the Road to Port Mansfield; Area Volunteer Cleanup Well Underway »