Tiki Revisted, 1st Trip 2018

[kickingback]

Hit the causeway and Tiki last night. Launched 7 pm. Water 74, winds 7-9 mph from SSE then morning from NNE, strong tides.
The causeway lights were HOT! I was catching keeper trout almost every other cast starting at 8 pm when the sun was completely gone and not lighting the sky anywhere. I easily caught a limit but I released all I caught. Most all were 15"-18" with an occasional small but very few. Left at 930 pm to go to Tiki as I was tired of catching so many trout in such a short time.
The wind had the tiny menhaden in the south side lights. The reds wanted the smaller 2" paddle tails. I used a slim curl tail 3" and it worked as it was not as "fat" as the standard paddle tail. These fish wanted small and tasty. Every trout I caught at Tiki would spit up a bunch of the tiny shad all over the kayak!
The fish were not in the canals but only in the wind blown lights. I sat a t one light and caught two reds over 20" and a keeper trout.
The trout below was caught at the causeway and this was about the size of the trout all night for me.
Recovered about 2 am when the winds started blowing from North and getting colder. The water when I left was 73. Winds were 8-12 mph.
Another good night! Ready for the Nighttime Tourney!!

[mwatson71]

I came soooooo close to going out to the causeway last night but I had been in the car for nine hours already as I had to visit a witness in prison in Gatesville and I had a little “fender bender” on the way back.

As soon as I got home my son asked if we were going and, having had enough of the road, I just snapped “no” at him. Having read your report, I probably should have said yes as it would have done us both some good.

Perhaps tonight...

[kickingback]

It should still be good! Let us know how you did! Remember to match the hatch!

[mwatson71]

So now I have to ask what color you were throwing. I took my son out tonight and went to the causeway. Launched right at 7:45. First cast - 15.01” trout. Tossed it back thinking it was going to be a solid night for us. Few casts later a dink. Nothing else for the next hour. Ten year old wore out and we paddled in. Rather, I paddled in towing him behind me using my anchor line.

The solunar chart said the bite was from 7:01-8:01p so I think we were too late to the game.

Either way, it was a great first night trip for him and we are sitting waiting for our Whataburger.

[kickingback]

Glad you got out. I was throwing 2" Berkley swimming shad in firetiger and bluegill in tandem. I also threw the 3" Berkley curl tails that have a thinner profile. I have found firetiger is a great color for over head and under water lights. I have used clear/blue, Glow/Chartreuse tail, and white small top water lures, or gulp curly tails in tandem. I do not think the color is the most important as the green lights make the bait look different than in normal light. You can test this out your self if you have a green light to test at home with. You will see what I mean. A popping cork with a small shrimp may work as well. Use a small #2 or #4 treble. You have to change your equipment for the current bite. I normally use 3" but the shad bait present was small so I went smaller and it worked. I say it a lot, match the hatch to get a bite.
The retrieve can make a difference as well. The fish in the causeway lights were hitting my lures immediately upon hitting the water and sinking. Other times they waited until I started the retrieve. A slow steady retrieve is all that is needed for any lure. Drag the outside of light first and then through the light subsequent casts so that if you do catch one you may be able to throw again for another before they spook from thrashing fish.
While you were out there could you see any bait floating by or in the lights? Did you see any birds out there? If you didn't see bait you could shine a light in a dark area and see the bait spook and jump. I have green LED's on my yak and the light from them makes bait spooked and jump out of the water at times. I saw tiny little shrimp and small menhaden at the causeway. I saw all small shad int he lights at Tiki but no small shrimp. The shrimp are moving along with the currents to the marshes to feed and grow after the spawn. Small lures to match the hatch are the best. I saw the birds "working the lights" near the north end when it got dark and I moved to them and started there. I moved as the birds did if no bites.
The sun had to set and wait another 30 minutes for the sky to be completely dark with no light at all. The fish can see the light below and will not bite. Once it is dark they start feeding. The light highlights the lure as it swims through the light so even dark colors will work as long as it looks like the bait present.
Did you throw only at one light? If you catch a trout in the lights you may be able to catch another in the same light. It may be right away or you may have to wait a few minutes. If the trout you just caught makes a big commotion it could scare the other fish away to the next light. Then you move to the next light and catch them again. You have to keep moving to different lights, even the ones in the middle pylons. I have found they hang out on the outside pylons the most and usually where the tide is flowing around a pylon the fish stack up behind it to ambush bait flowing by. Try throwing to these lights and let the current carry your bait with the current as you reel in. If you throw at a light and drag it back into the current the presentation is not natural and fish will not hit it. The current is too strong for the little fish to swim against hence they are free floating with the current and are carried by the fish to bite. Since the tide was moving out, the water flowed past the pylons going east. I had the best luck when I was next to a pylon and threw near the light and let the bait be carried to the east while I reeled in from the north making the bait swim sideways through the current making it more natural than swimming against the current. A small bait cannot swim against a strong current and predator fish know this. If they see a lure swimming into current they usually will not hit it.
I like to get in the current next to a pylon and let the current carry me next to the pylons and I throw out to lights and let the drift carry the lure and get strikes.
I have seen crab and shrimp and other bait float by me when anchored at the causeway and I usually try to match and throw what I see. I have a few 3" crab lures that have worked as well.
You have to keep moving at the causeway. There are MANY lights and the fish move to feed. watch all the signs, birds, water popping from fish biting, current direction. When you see feeding by birds or fish move to that spot and try for a few and then move again. You can catch many fish even without the Tides4fishing.com site stating the bite will be on during a certain time. Fish feed all the time and the current and the bait makes them feed or not. Not a chart like a deer crossing sign. The sign does not mean that is the only place the deer cross. It is just an area where deer seem to cross more. Th fish will be feeding by the chart but in that area the current moving or barometer reading may impact the charts use of whether the fish will bite. So don't always pay attention to that.
Wind makes a difference in bite as well. If the winds are blowing from the south then you can bet the bait will be on the wind blown shores. The wind pushes the water on top and carries the bait as they hate to swim against current. Use all the wind, current, barometer and sunset/sunrise to time your outings and you will find that when all are in line and you planned it correctly you will feel good about your decisions and be more confident.
The night I went to Tiki it had more fish on the south side as the winds where blowing from the south. No bait in the canals and I couldn't see nor get a bite in the canals at all. The shad were in the lights on the south shore. In the early morning the wind changed from the North but you have to give the wind time to move the bait. Watch the charts and know the winds and tides well and time them to make your trip more productive.
One last thing. Bring a variety of sizes and color baits and try them all to find the best bite. Fish are finicky like humans, they wont bite what they don't like to eat or that does not look like the current bait available they are feeding on. Have a bunch of tandem rigs already made up so you don't lose time on the water re-tying. The Berkley paddle tails I use are easily damaged as the weight is attached to the hook IN the bait and when these toothy predators attack it they mangle and tear them off. I carry super glue to glue them back on easily but if they break at the line I just take the spent tandem off and throw on a new one. Make several in different colors and size and experiment! It's all about learning and using the tactics to catch more fish! I go through about 4-8 tandems in one night so be prepared like I said.
I hope this helps. Let me know if I didn't address your loss of bites.
Tight lines!

[mwatson71]

So as crazy as it sounds, I took the ten year old home, took a little nap, woke up at 4:30, and drove back down to trybthe causeway again. The wind was a bit stronger and I nearly aborted the mission but I viewed this trip as an opportunity to learn.

I paddled back to the causeway, fished several lights throwing several different baits. TTF tandem in glow, Gulp mullet under a popping cork, Tsunami Pro shad in a dark greenish/black. Only managed a couple of dink trout but I started to figure out some patterns. I paddled back and had my kayak loaded by 7:00a.

So I’m down in Galveston with a kayak on my vehicle. Sun is coming up. Seemed like a good time to go to Galveston Island State Park. Apparently about 50 other kayakers had the same idea.

Report to come under separate thread.

[flyfishinfool]

Hit the causeway and Tiki last night. Launched 7 pm. Water 74, winds 7-9 mph from SSE then morning from NNE, strong tides.
The causeway lights were HOT! I was catching keeper trout almost every other cast starting at 8 pm when the sun was completely gone and not lighting the sky anywhere. I easily caught a limit but I released all I caught. Most all were 15"-18" with an occasional small but very few. Left at 930 pm to go to Tiki as I was tired of catching so many trout in such a short time.
The wind had the tiny menhaden in the south side lights. The reds wanted the smaller 2" paddle tails. I used a slim curl tail 3" and it worked as it was not as "fat" as the standard paddle tail. These fish wanted small and tasty. Every trout I caught at Tiki would spit up a bunch of the tiny shad all over the kayak!
The fish were not in the canals but only in the wind blown lights. I sat a t one light and caught two reds over 20" and a keeper trout.
The trout below was caught at the causeway and this was about the size of the trout all night for me.
Recovered about 2 am when the winds started blowing from North and getting colder. The water when I left was 73. Winds were 8-12 mph.
Another good night! Ready for the Nighttime Tourney!!

Awesome report! where is a launch for the causeway? been wanting to try it for a while.

[kickingback]

You can launch from the north side at the public boat ramp where FatBoy's Bait Shop used to be, it is a few hundred feet down the road form the launch now.
You can also launch from the south side at the Galveston Bait and Tackle. It costs to launch during daylight hours but fee after hours.
You can fish the causeway and Tiki from the south side and the causeway and Offatts Bayou.
Good luck!