Tuesday Mike Akins and his buddies Clayton and Scott came in to fish with me in Matagorda. We were scheduled to wade fish but the guys didn’t bring waders and the air was still a bit cool from a weekend front, so we decided to fish out of the boat. I had heard that there were a few trout in the Diversion Channel so we made that our first stop. A drift down the east side throwing Black Magic Nortons got things started. By nine o’clock we had a dozen trout “on ice” and had released a ton of small fish. Mike had announced early on that he wasn’t keeping any of his fish and I’m sure that throughout the day he released close to a limit of specks that were easily keepers. Around noon, we made a swing into West Bay but finding that the water was off color, returned to the Channel where we worked birds and came in with 17 trout in the box.

Friday Geary Jordan, Pat Grant, Tim Thompson, and Gary Poole joined me for a wading trip to West Bay. Our first stop put two specks on ice so we moved farther west for our next wade. There we waded a shore that was lined with shell reefs and covered up with big schools of baitfish. I started off throwing a Voodoo Norton Jr and put 4 specks on my stringer. Pat had ventured away down the shore from us and as I approached him with the boat noticed that he was stringing a fish. He announced that he was getting his fish on top-waters so we quickly joined him in the water. I clipped on a Mary C and gave another one to Geary and in a short time we were “lighting ‘em up” on the little Skitterwalkers. We had a ball watching trout explode as our baits danced across the water. We finished the day with 25 specks and one flounder in the box.

Saturday was a very busy day in Matagorda. The Redfish Series was there with 125 boats in their tournament and the Gulf Coast Boat Owners Tournament was in with 45 boats in their annual event. Guides aren’t allow to fish in the Gulf Coast tournament so Mary C, Cindy Gardner, Chris Williamson (the president of Castaway), and my buddy John (the Legend) Sexton were fishing it in Uno Mas as The Castaway Skeleton Krewe. On Friday morning John had stepped on a stingray and caught a barb in his big toe. Being a gamer, he insisted on fishing and led the Krewe. I had Dave Lersner and his son Brad with me, and Bubba took out a group in Black Magic. Dave, Brad, and I headed to the north side of West Bay original intent on finding redfish but when we discovered that the birds were working, changed our game plan. I rigged them up with Black Magic under an Inticer cork while I threw a Mary C. The trout hammered us all morning. We came in at eleven with eleven trout in the box and had released dozens of under sized fish. Bubba’s group brought in a mixed box of trout, drum and reds. We made our exit from the bay when a north wind slammed us with gusts approaching 40 mph. While we were having burgers (mine was turkey) at Russell’s, someone came in and said that there had been a boating accident and that one person was dead. We found out later that a boat with four people in it had capsized and another boat with two men in it had tried to help them. The two men were thrown out of their boat and one of them had died. The rest had survived but there was a damper on an otherwise great day. My Skeleton Krewe made it in safely with an awesome box of fish. John hobbled up to accept his trophy for third place redfish, which was a 27-1/2 inch one weighing 7.16 lb. Bop’s Boat captained by Buzzy Romine took second place red with an 8.3 that was 28 inches even. There were several trout in the 7 lb range that took top three honors.

This week I have Tuesday and Thursday open if anyone wants to come catch some fish. By the way, did I mention that its good to be back in Matagorda fishing?

While I was in Corpus, my clients stayed at Spence’s Bay House just two blocks from Bluff Landing. It is a two-bedroom/ two-bath house with a big living room and kitchen that overlooks the Laguna Madre. It has a washer and dryer, is fully furnished (linens and cooking utensils), and has a pier with a fish cleaning station. It also has free Internet service. You can reach Spence Collins to book it at 512-789-0909.

If you want to be a part of some new adventures and some great memories then you need to get on my book for a trip. Don’t just sit around reading about the trout, reds, and tripletail of Matagorda. Come get you some. Be a part of my fishing experiences. If you want to book a trip don’t wait too late.

Don’t sit around wishin’ you were fishin’, give me a call at (281) 450-4037 to book a trip or you can reach Bubba at (979) 429-6886. Remember to keep your hook in the water and have some great days on the bays.

Tommy