logo ×

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

 

Fishing Report Dec 2022

And then it was Winter?  Time flies when you are fishing, planning to go fishing, talking about fishing or telling lies about fishing!  All of which give me goosebumps as I think of the years I have spent chasing these saltwater species up and down the Texas Coast.  All you really have to do is say to me ‘how’s the fishin’ and away we go on the stories, with a hint of spice here and there!  It was my dad who took me fishing in the early years, heck all the years prior to the day I earned my drivers license, at that point I was pulling a boat headed South.  Good times and great memories just like your memories I would bet.  Now that I’m on the back side of a ten year fishing and duck hunting guide career I have come full circle.  Soon our youngest son will become interested in what lies beneath the water and I cannot wait to share all of my experiences with him as he grows up on the coast.

Speaking of what lies beneath the water, I have seen good numbers of fish in POC lately ranging from the weekender looking for anything to bite to the elite professional tricking fish only with fake bait.  It’s so interesting to see all the tactics anglers utilize to wrangle the fish and entertaining to hear the stories they tell.  It’s all about that bite though no matter your skill level or budget.  A pro once told me all he was interested in was the bite, the fact that he now had to reel this fish in to quickly release it so he could entice the next one made me laugh.  “Get that fish in and get it off,” he’d say!  “There are so many more in line that I must tend to haha.”

Good catches of the bottom and rock feeders is what we are still seeing as the Fall progressed to Winter around these parts-some days it’s hard to tell which season it really is though and you, my fellow coastal Texans know it’s so warm generally during this transition.  Redfish, Black Drum, Sheepshead with a sprinkling of Speckled Trout has been the catch.  Actually if you add Flounder to that list (season reopens the 15th I think) you get what we catch most of the year anyway.  This is why the Texas Gulf coast is so popular or at least one big reason.  Local access most anywhere in Texas (think of it as right around the corner for you folks North of I10) and consistently favorable weather coupled with amenable saltwater species equals a darn good time.

Take a kid fishing next time you come to the coast and thanks for staying with us at First Mate Vacation Rentals.  Groom that young angler now and he or she just might be your ticket to fishing trips THEY take YOU on down the road.  If you need a fishing guide let us know and we can recommend top guides in the area.

Duck Hunting Report December 2022

The first split of the season has come and gone and while we had a mix of perfect weather days and not so perfect ones, by and large it has been a good one so far.  The roar of airboats and other pre-dawn crafts has been abundant  as usual in POC.  Love that smell of exhaust mixed in with a fine saltwater mist!  Ducks have been in decent numbers with limits of the typical coastal species less than rare.  Pintail, Widgeon, Teal, Redhead, Scaup and on and on are being gunned in abundance at GO TIME in the mornings with evening hunts producing good straps as well…TAKEM’!  The marsh and back lakes area is still brown from the freeze a couple back but it hasn’t seemed to bother the waterfowl.  Hunt the conditions I say and the ducks will come.  Be safe and have fun, don’t forget to introduce youngsters to this awesome sport, it will come back to you tenfold.

If you need a duck hunting guide let us know and we can get you top guide names and numbers.