Tag Archives: guide

Big Moon Rising

…Jacks attack. In Wolfe Packs. And they’re HAULING ASS! With Port Aransas behind them and Aransas Pass on their right, the Pack of jacks keep moving with their fins exposed on the surface of the water…

jack, crevelle, fly fishing, port aransas, texas, gulf, coast, guide, charters, beavertail skiff, airflo, fly lines, popper, topwater, flies, saltwater, rockport, corpus christi

Teamwork Wins

“HOLD ON!!!” The water is frothy from the giant group of marauding jack crevelle but their presence is still overshadowing by the howling winds, open bay and huge whitecaps.

As we approach at charging speeds you begin to think… Can we get that fly in the water fast enough? Can I keep the line tight to make the oversized foam head POP!?!?!?!? Yes!?!? NO!!!! Wait a second… “FISH ON!!!!!”

In this short moment of the feed and hookup, serious thoughts parse our minds of everyday mundane worries and we think clearly, knowing the answers, yet still so much unknown… Confident yet humble…

The Angler wonders silently while being sprayed by the massive thrashing beast in the water… “Will the leader chaffe? What test is it? “Wait, What hook are we using?” So many things can go wrong in a split second its not funny, except it is, considering all that we try to do, sometimes 1 star may not be in alignment and the leader breaks, or the hook straightens… Or the hook pulls through flesh, sometimes the fish’s, sometimes ours.

After 2 blistering runs over a quarter mile of chase, the hefty jack crevelle succumbs to tension and decides to hang under the boat into a strong current, heading upwind towards Corpus Christi Bay… For 15 minutes… “Steady now, keep pressure!” You hear the captain speak calmly… Thats it, she dont like the boat but we’re gonna land this one guys!

Jack on Deck

Two wraps on the leader and Chris knows he’s got 8ft to go and with a nearly 4ft Jack at the other end it is only a matter of reaching for the tail in depths unknown and feel for contact… “You got it NOW, PULL!!!!! HAUL that fish into the cockpit! ” Yee-haw’s and Ooooh-OUI’s are exchanged. Hugs are generously given to and from everyone on the boat, just as the fish gave to you in your experience. Revive it, let it go, and the hunt can resume.

Call Captain Kenjo for prime dates and availability. June has a few dates open and July as well. Get on board NOW 361-500-2552 or email: ken@kenjofly.com

Emerald Summers and Endless Sunrises

Port Aransas Texas, fly fishing, rockport, corpus christi, red, drum, redfish, sight casting, guide, charters, adventure, things to do in, flats, hatch outdoors, airflo, fly lines, beavertail skiffs, bull, red, record

Oooooo-OUI!

Emerald green waters from offshore in the Gulf of Mexico are moving against the beaches now pushing new life into the bays and large predator fish follow suit. The bay is absolutely teeming with wildlife, with false albacore making an appearance in the channels and wolf packs of jacks in the wide open bays. The weather has been phenomenal this last month and provided us some opportunities to work the deeper edges of the flat and has been producing some nice fat trout and even a few big bull redfish have been caught. This 38 inch redfish is currently holding the new all-time boat record, with a 32 inch red drum to hand just the day before. Yesterday’s jack may also hold the boat record for its species although we have broken off bigger crevelle in some sickening fights on the 11wt already.

“Stay Tight Charlie!!!”

Rhett & Kathleen love fly fishing the saltwater flats of the Texas Coast

At sunrise, way back in the saltwater lakes of the marsh many pods of tailing redfish are chowing down on crabs and shrimp and are willing eaters for everyone who remains quiet and stealthy.

Shhhhh! Just listen to the sounds of nature surrounding you. Be Here NOW. (TURN UP THE VOLUME)

26 inch Red Drum on the fly

Bright skies and a patiently determined fly fisherman can put some nice fish in the boat!

Sunrise and Sunset trips are also available NOW! Don’t hesitate! Give me a call to book your next saltwater fly fishing adventure in Port Aransas Texas. Capt Kenjo 361-500-2552

See ya tomorrow!

Spring Rush

Spring-time weather varies and one thing is certain, the wind blows. And then, once every few weeks, she tuckers out and lays down, which is what should happen MON-FRI next week. The forecast is looking AWESOME for sure, so call NOW to book your weekday of sight casting fish under bluebird skies and with feeding fish as far as you can see! 361-500-2552

redfish, fly fishing, port aransas, texas, coast, drum, wade, fishing, shrimp,flies, grass, wind, trout, spotted, speckled, sea, guide, bayou city anglers, tailwaters, roys bait and tackle, corpus, christi, rockport, laguna madre, padre, mustang, island, vacation, bull, catch, release

Wet wading wide open spaces

For the last few weeks, the fishing has been exceptional, despite raging winds and overcast skies. We adapt our techniques and application of fly gear depending on the weather and it has certainly produced some fine fish (see pics below)!

Redfish have been in such shallow water they cant keep their backs wet… I guess they are putting on their summer suntans early!

redfish, fly fishing, port aransas, texas, coast, drum, wade, fishing, shrimp,flies, grass, wind, guide, bayou city anglers, tailwaters, roys bait and tackle, corpus, christi, rockport, laguna madre, padre, mustang, island, vacation

Keep’em wet

Regardless of tides we are finding fish in very diversified locales which keeps the hunt extremely interesting!

Lawrence personal best trout!

Big healthy sea trout have been plentiful and are hold eggs for their spawn. Please keep’em wet and let them go so they can make BABIES!

Flounder Pounder

When going low and slow, flounder have also been coming to hand as surprise catches for the patient sportsmen!

Bonus fish have been oversized redfish in deeper holes (many thanks to Mark and Wolfe for insisting that I cast 60ft into a 35kt headwind) I owe ya’ll big-time for this fish!!!

Bull Redfish Release

AGAIN, the weather next week is forecast to be exceptional, and I expect the fishing to be eye-opening! CALL NOW to reserve your dates for next week!

Capt Kenjo 361-500-2552

Looking at Bait

fly fishing, redfish, drum, texas, coast, saltwater, clyde, port aransas, corpus, rockport, bay, laguna madre, corpus, christi, hatch, tfo, airflo, tailwaters, bayou city angler, roys bait and tackle, guide, charters

Texas redfish on Fly

Redhot redfish action today and non-stop for several hours! Landed 3 bonus keeper trout to boot!

Matchin the hatch meant alot though! The redfish were popping and crushing baitfish and throwing wakes coming up onto the edge then circling back around for their next ambush but if you werent imitating the prey they were after they wouldn’t respond positively at all. It didnt take long to realize what they were eating and it was pretty cool to see the red drum thrashing themselves into the grass to annihilate their prey and see baitfish spraying in all directions while a red drum cartwheeled in a sloppy attempt to turn around and get back in the water!

Dont miss out on another weather window! The forecast looks solid through the rest of the week/end and there is plenty of room on the flats these days! Give me a call to get on board and experience some aggressive spring run saltwater fly fishing in Port Aransas Texas!

There are loads of jacks in the bay too and we will be checking prime locations routinely between redfish flats / The 11wt is rigged and on the boat ready to do battle!

Back on’em tomorrow! CALL ASAP! 361-500-2552

Capt Kenjo

Redfish visit Troutville

redfish, texas, cosat, port aransas, corpus christi, rockport, laguna madre, fly fishing, yeti, simms, hatch outdoors, airflo, fly line, trouthunter, roys bait and tackle, swan point landing, tailwaters, bayou city angler, caddis fly shop, greune

27 inch redfish

During this past few weeks of charters we have experienced some awesome fishing and some of the best personal trout fishing to date. Those who know me know that I don’t intentionally target trout, but as the schools of large redfish moved in and out of the honey hole from one day to the next and the clouds covered our sunshine every other day, it seemed as though the healthy and good sized speckled trout replaced the reds on the cloudy days.

redfish, texas, cosat, port aransas, corpus christi, rockport, speckled trout, black drum, laguna madre, fly fishing, yeti, simms, hatch outdoors, airflo, fly line, trouthunter, roys bait and tackle, swan point landing, tailwaters, bayou city angler, caddis fly shop, greune

“OMG! This is the warmest fish I have ever held in my hands!” Pac Norwesterner Justin exclaimed!

We got many of them on top water flies, which is most fun, but we also caught them on suspending and sinking flies when the bite wasn’t on top…

Texas seatrout on sinking flies

The seasons are a changing and this has the fish transitioning from some areas into others. Went back to some of my early stomping grounds where I cut my teeth poling a skiff and there are some upper slot fish in that neighborhood!

Lettin her rest after a fun fight!

There are plenty of dates available in March.

Give me a call ASAP to book your trip and get on some exciting Spring Time redfish and trout action on the fly! Capt Kenjo 361-500-2552

Change of Seasons

red drum, fly fishing, port aransas, corpus christi, beavertail, skiff, flats, guide, saltwater, corpus christi, rockport, laguna madre, airflo, flyline, wind, coast, hatch outdoors, redfish, drum, low tide, trouthunter, leader, tippet, charter, texas

Low Tide Pig

It can be hard to explain and even harder to forecast because the weather dictates fish behavior and creates or breaks patterns. So many variables come into play, it can be difficult to determine exactly which variables are the most influential at any given time. It is certain though that the changes in seasons overlap each other, as one weather pattern rescinds another one take over… slowly but surely.

The last few weeks had a few hard short-lived Northers with light winds remaining from the north signaling the redfish to move onto the edges of the flats and feed very heavily with the strong falling tides. Their bellies were full to the brim, and got those fish fat and looking like their bellies would explode if they took another bite.

31 inch Texas Bull Redfish

Then, that 2 week long “light early winter pattern” ended and the SE winds and partly cloudy skies took over again and have dominated the forecast for what will end of being about a 2-week period. This changed the fish pattern once again and we zigged when we needed too. Coupled with the full moon pulling out most of the tide before sunrise we jumped back to some of our late summertime patterns and continued to work over the fish despite some moderate winds.

Fast forward a few days from now and we should find ourselves back in an “early winter” pattern and we will zag then to stay on the best fishing we can find. This flip-flop of weather patterns will continue through December with each passing cold front lasting a little longer than the last.

This flood tide redfish was loving crabs in the succulents

Eventually the summer patterns will fizzle out and we will soon be into a deep winter pattern by January/February with the exception of those bluebird days when the sunshine warms up key flats and allows us to sight cast again. On those duck weather days though we will strategically fish deep water flats and structures to pull good numbers of fish even though the aren’t up shallow.

There is a “first” for everything!

Michael and Marjorie decided to come down and give me the opportunity to put them on their first sight-casted redfish (on the fly)… Their determination was proven and learned quite quickly that the sight fishing game changes everything and since last Saturday have already booked another date in December!

Schools of fish are appearing now with larger sized fish and schools appearing along the outer edges of the flats coming up out of the deep and small to medium sized school fish are popping shrimp up and down the shorelines regardless of wind direction. And now, tonight in the wee hours while the rooster sleeps, another Norther is expected to descend on the Coastal Bend and with that will signal the fish to “put on the feed bag” again!

In the skinny on the fly

With all that said, the next week or two should see traditionally amazing “winter pattern” redfishing and I look forward to showing all of you as much of the action as I can!

Contact me ASAP by phone or email for available dates! 361-500-2552 If I don’t answer I am probably wrestling some REDFISH!!! Not to worry Ill call you back soon as the sun sets!

Below are a few pics from guests that I had the pleasure of guiding during the summer months and it was a unique experience where they made spectacular catches! These are my favorite pics and the experiences leading up to them are always great!

Sunset Bull Redfish

Never Give UP!!!

Windy Day Redfish on Spin and Voodoo Shrimp!

This redfish was hard work in the end but completed Johnny’s first South Texas Grand Slam (sheepshead, trout, ladyfish and red drum)!

Jose caught this Houndfish in Aransas Bay

Wind Driven Cow Patties! Or the redfish been messing around! We caught redfish over the tops of these the week before when the tide flooded normally bone dry habitat! We EVEN caught redfish in the cattle trails too!

Open For Business

KenjoFly Charters is proud to announce that the redfish are hungry and returning to the flats in good numbers. Their presence will continue to grow exponentially over the next month or so. Having spent quite a few days on the water since Harvey searching from here to there and both near and far, the consensus was the same immediately following Harvey… redfish were small and scattered.

hurricane harvey, redfish, fly fishing, port aransas, texas, coast, bend, red drum

Best fish caught since Hurricane Harvey passed through the town of Port Aransas.

But now with the frequent Northers we are getting the extremely high tides are beginning to drain and the slot redfish are moving back onto the shallow flats and each day we are seeing an increase in numbers and size of the redfish. We even got to take shots at some absolute slobs this past Wednesday. I have tons more photos to upload. I’ll get around to that towards the end of this month if my availability doesn’t fill up (email me to learn available dates in late October early November).

I have joked in recent weeks that the town of Port Aransas looks no worse than after a busy July 4th weekend. It is my way of adding a little sense of humor to the wreckage that Hurricane Harvey left for us all to clean up. A huge amount of debris has already been removed from the curbs and I now have a nice mountain range [of garbage] to gaze upon. The trash in town seems to come out of thin air and accumulate in large piles overnight, and expect it to be that way for a little while longer since pretty much everything got trashed. The flats of course are not trashed as nature has a way or recovering from natural disasters MUCH faster than civilization.

redfish, port aransas, hurricane, harvey, texas, coast, bend, fly fishing, rockport, corpus christi

Best fish on Brad’s first day sight casting redfish on the fly. A 25 inch pumpkin tailer!

Some Guests have already braved the unfamiliar torn apart town. They ventured with me out onto the water dodging some new hazards in search of redfish and the weather conditions in the last week have been more than favorable to target these fish by sight from the skiff. A lot of new territories has opened up and reshaped much of the topography of the haunts that the South Texas redfish prefer. The redfish aren’t confused at all and the best indicator I am seeing is that the bellies of these fish are completely FULL.

The excitement is building each day and every time we go out in search we are seeing more and more fish. About half the fish are tailing and the rest are cruising crushing bait once pushed into ambush. There is no shortage of redfish at which to cast and Anglers are staying on point and busy most of the day taking shots at the hungry red drum. The average size is also increasing and in the near future schools of redfish should begin to appear as the North winds shift and begin to prevail.

October is fairly booked but a few dates are still available here and there. November last year proved to be a fantastic time leading up to Thanksgiving and I expect the timeliness to be similar if not early. Therefore late October is also prime (DONt MISS OUT!) and has a good number of dates available for anyone who hasn’t already booked with me. Simply give me a call and we will get things coordinated. Just call me direct! 361-500-2552

Succulent Crawler

Lodging is coming back around in Port Aransas as well as places to eat. Below are links to places local to Port Aransas and lists what is open to accommodate our Guests in this regard. Other lodging and food options are available in Corpus Christi area as well.

https://portaransas.org/wp-content/uploads/accommodations-reopened.pdf

https://business.portaransas.org/list/category/restaurants-re-opened-205

What We Learn

redfish, drum, fly fishing, port aransas, texas, coast, guide, saltwater, charter, airflo, sims, hatch, beavertail, marsh, spartina, grass, sunrise, mullet, crab, shrimp, fly only, catch and release, trout, speckled, speck, snaggletooth, sock, deep, water, skinny, culture, wade, fishing

29inch redfish in sock deep water

Often-times I am amazed at what we learn when spending time in the outdoors observing wild animals in their niche habitat. If you can slow down enough you will be amazed. Somehow, there are times when I see a fish and begin reading its behavior and I soon anticipate that the fish is going to make a turn there, and then we will have a good clean shot with the fly.

Return guest Tom (6’3″), caught this redfish 20 feet from us only seconds after I dropped to my knees and went on point as this 29 inch over-slot redfish came barreling towards us in sock-deep water through a thin line of spartina grass. Despite cloudy conditions Tom has learned how to present a fly close range to a fish that is closing the gap fast. Come fish with me and learn how to keep from over-shooting the fish that are charging you head on.

Look at that smile!

First-time Guest Barrie worked well through a tough day and prevailed when he learned how to lay the fly gently on the water and tweak his fly selection to entice some very spooky fish that had been keeping him on his toes. Dark grassy bottom, cloudy skies with plenty of wind made it difficult to see the fish but once he knew what to look for in this situation he was soon taking shot after shot at fish left and right. You can just feel the sense of accomplishment Barrie has just by the look on his face! With no time to loose, Barrie will be back again in June to overcome a whole new set of challenges.

Gail stuck 3 trout in 3 casts. The big one ate first but got away under the boat, but the other two just wanted to a photo op with such a fun lady!

Spotted sea trout, or speckled trout, are one of the most difficult fish to sight cast on the fly. Their body shape and markings make them excellent at the game of hide-and-seek, and their patience to lay motionless for extended periods of why many fisherman pass over some fine trophies without hardly ever knowing that a big sow trout was laying in wait for its next meal. It is a true spectacle though when you finally get a legitimate cast at a big ole mamma trout and she charges your fly like lightning then turns away at 90 degrees without breaking stride in defiant rejection of the chosen offering. Rumor has it this is common for trout anglers to experience which is why so many of them wade very deep edges looking for “easy-pickins”.

Traffic be damned, we spotted this houndfish at 80ft, closed the gap to 65 feet and Jose threw the fly right where it needed to be!

Its always good to be ready and being able to throw a clean cast out of 80-90 feet will prove to be invaluable in the salt even if the majority of the time only 30-50ft cast are necessary. Some fish just wont let you get closer and this houndfish was the same, as we moved towards the houndfish, it moved away from us and we were barely able to close the gap enough for Jose to fire off a beautiful cast and get the fly right where it needed to be. On the business end of this fish, rarely spotted inside the bay.

Redfish Sunrises

redfish, drum, fly fishing, port aransas, texas, coast, guide, saltwater, charter, airflo, sims, hatch, beavertail, marsh, spartina, grass, sunrise

Sunrise Sessions are the BEST!

The alarm on his smartphone springs to life at 0430hrs and is quickly silenced by stiff, dry and cracked fingers fumbling to get the damn touchscreen on his phone to recognize his gesture. Within minutes a fresh batch of coffee is ready and out the door the early bird flies.

CREEEEEAK!!!

“I’ve got to figure out how to get that door to stop creaking!” he thinks to himself as he turns slowly to secure it behind him praying the rest of the family doesn’t wake up at such an ungodly hour. Replacing the hinges and even some oil just did not resolve all the horrific creaks this door makes. “This may require more research”, and he sticks the mental note in the back of his head, at the bottom of his priority list. Backing and Tailing Redfish are on his mind, consuming his thought processes.

Hooking up the boat trailer to the rusty old Silverado is a snap. Its been done so many times before. Locked and loaded, the Sunrise Guide is happy the garage door oil DID work well.

Another redfish release

SPLASH! The boat slides off the trailer and into the water, plugs? Check! The over-used engine fires up with ease and she idles dockside awaiting her passengers for the day.

As false dawn nears, part of the sky is illuminated between towering clouds providing just enough light on the water to race to the flats in search of tailing and backing redfish. “Hopefully we will see a school of redfish today” the Sunrise Guide thinks quietly as he begins to feed everyone’s imagination with “tips & tricks for redfish”. Within another minute, he can see on the face of his Anglers that it is already too much to remember. Experience is the best teacher sometimes.

redfish, drum, fly fishing, port aransas, texas, coast, guide, saltwater, charter, airflo, sims, hatch, beavertail

Stalked this fine fish in a transition area where a steady flow of redfish and drum lasted practically all day. Nailed it!

Settled in on the flat, up on the pole looking for signs of life, a wake appears just ahead of the boat but on the upwind backside. “Damn near impossible shot. Gotta let that one go.” The guide whispers, and then suddenly another darts off in a long curving line to the left as it struggles to get outside of the Anglers casting range.

“Ya took too long to make a move on that fish but this is a good place to wade”, he mentions to his Guest. “Let’s start here. The Game has only just begun…” And the Sunrise guide knows just what is in store for his sleepy eyed Angler… A target-rich environment with lots of opportunities to sight-cast to redfish in such shallow water that their backs are in the air and if in a “deeper” spot, their tails will be waving for attention to the morning’s spectators.

What transpires over the next few hours for the willing anglers who are not afraid of a challenge, paints their imagination in full color through their own eyes engraving those moments in memory in vivid detail.

There are some quality sized redfish in the shallows right now and the tides are right for small groups to be found. I have a few dates open this week and a few in July, simply give me a call to get on board! Capt Kenjo 361-500-2552

Calf Deep Redfish Upper Slot

Fly Fishing Summer Redfish

29inch redfish in sock deep water

“There she is! 12 O’clock! 30ft and closing fast!” your guide says as you see him quickly drop to his knees in 8 inches of water pointing with the spare rod straight at the fish he just spotted. He secretly hopes you heard him and saw him go on point like a full-bred Setter. Your ears are in tune to his voice though, thanks to spending quite a few days together combing the flats on foot and fortunately, you hear him over the howling wind. A lone but large 30-inch redfish is barreling straight towards you out of the sparsely grown grass line and you barely have just enough time to make the cast. The fly lands right in front of the fish only 15 ft away from the rod-tip and she eats the little purple fly heartily.

Dates in June are still available. I have Friday/Saturday June 9 & 10 available immediately. Call ASAP to reserve your fun-filled day with target-rich environments, sight-casting to South Texas Coastal Redfish, Trout, Black Drum and Sheepshead.

Noah’s First Redfish

The weather has been excellent for tailing redfish as well. With below average winds right now we can fish from the skiff or on foot.

If you have the time in your day, extended day trips (12+ hours) are also available where we will make long runs to very isolated areas where almost every fish will try to eat your fly. Call Capt Ken direct for more details. 361-500-2552

Kenjo Fly Fishing Charters

Texas Saltwater Flats Fishing Charters