A quaint little fishing village down south.. Ya gotta love the place. The people are great and the atmosphere is just what your looking for... I highly recomend if ya havent been there, to plan a trip before ya get to old to get out there and wade the pristine waters of the Laguna. Crystal clear waters in the flats that stay clear even in the high winds I dealt with this weekend. Vast expances of flats thigh ta waist deep, with grass and sand pockets for miles.. You can step out of the boat and wade for 3 miles and the depth does not change.. Its absolute wadefish heaven.
I started out my trip in Pasadena and did the 6.5 hour drive to paradice.. They do have a little landing strip if ya just wanna fly in and save the drive time... The community is small and seasonal but the fishing is great..
There is a deer in every yard ( well mabey 8 deer ) flocks of turkey free ranging with them right in the middle of town.. Its A special place, a place that ya just wanna stay in forever .
My first trip out was with Capt. Frank Vasquez, a big man with a big fishing addiction.. Talk about a nice boat, he was running a 24 ft. shallow sport with the t top and aluminum hardware all over it.. He had the blue lights under the t top like on my harley.. A very well kept piece of machinery called The Cats Meow..
The front blew thru at 8:00 friday morning and the wind was pumpin at 25+ out of the NE.
Frank took us to some Fine spots at first light. thigh deep and beautifull water.. The bait wasn't abundant so he loaded up quick and we headed south for some spoil banks. We unloaded and started the wade, the bottom was a little soft but not unbearable and the eel grass was tall and the wind had uprooted a bunch so it was floating. Tops were out of the question.. My bait of choice was a Norton bull minnow in pumpkin chartruce, I commenced to catching trout in the 14 " range over and over.. It seems the little suckers were faster than the bigger trout and ya had ta weed thru them for a keeper.. Every now and then a red would latch hold of your lure and the fight was on.. It was a fun day and many fish were caught and released.. I give Frank the double thumbs up for a great trip and time on the water.. He is a professional ..
Day 2 was what I had been waiting on Me and Capt. Mike McMbride..
Mike and I had been waiting on this and I was pumped for some wadefishing.. The wind was 20+ out of the NE but there is something about the shallow bay and the grass that holds clear water.. Our first spot was close to the intracoastal around some spoil banks..Soggy bottom ,but fishy... Again it was a race for the bait by those dink trouts.. I finally figured out that when ya felt one of the little suckers tappin it to jerk it away from and the bigger ones could get it... That bay has some trout, I mean lots of trout... Mabey they are small right now but when they grow up its gunna be infested with some big girls..
We fished here for an hour or so when Mike said lets load up..
He took us east to the middle of the Laguna and shut her down.. we were miles from shore and the water was thigh deep. The clarity was superb.. I stepped out of the boat and said goodbye.. This was the wade of a lifetime.. Miles and miles of pristine water, you could wade all day there..
Again I tied on the Bull minnow and started my casting.. 1ST cast trout on, dink but the fish were there.. I distanced myself from mike and the other guys and was in wade heaven, just me and the elements. I caught trout after trout, stringing 1 out of every 10.. Then a red, then a nice 3.11 trout, then dinks again.. I continued my solidarity thru the grasses and sand pockets searching for the big girl.. I hooked a few nice trout that I lost because I don't carry a net. I like my tackle, my rod and my stringer, thats it.
Mike would pic me up and move us over a 1/4 mile or so and we would redo the wade.. I swear I would still be out there if I could be..
As all days do, they end.. We packed up in the boat and slid the long ride back to the dock.. I think we ended up with 18 trout that were good keepers and a couple nice reds.. It didn't really matter to me. It was the great experiance of being in one of the most special places in texas waters..
If ya get a chance, go see Capt. Mike and Trish McBride for the time of your life.. Sorry no pics of the fish.. I was busy fishing.. But here are the deer that live all over town..
THANKS MIKE........
Randall
