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Bird Island Basin - Feb 22, 2020

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2020 8:49 am
by Neumie
One of my favorite places to fish this time of the year is Bird Island Basin in Padre Island National Seashore. During college it was my and many other kayakers go to spot for trout and reds in the winter/early spring months, so I was surprised there were no other kayakers out there today.

I arrived at the park a little after 6 am and took my time getting gear together and ended up launching around 6:45 am. The wind was lighter than expected and made my paddle north easier. I've forgotten how tranquil it is down there. With the light winds you could hear to roar of the surf and calls of the birds only occasionally interrupted by the hum of a power boater leaving the boat ramp.

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I made the 1.5+ mile paddle north to South Bird Island and began setting up for drifts. Third cast in and my topwater was slurped under water. Found a solid fish for a little while, but it ended up throwing my lure. It was my fault as I know I didn't get a good hook set. I continued on and had a couple of really strong swipes at the topwater but couldn't get a hook in a fish. Finally I was rewarded with a football of redfish on topwater, 25.5" and 6.5 lbs.

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Figured out most of the action came from deeper water so I reset a little deeper. I got noting at that point. I decided to paddle back east to the barrier island and set up for drifts coming off the drop off of the sand flat.

Obligatory kayak vanity pic.

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I made one long drift at first throwing the Sand Shads and landed an undersized trout, so I then tied on a Graswalker. The grasswalker produced three solid trout on the first drift, then another on a second, shorter drift. Tried to scratch out the limit with a third drift, but I needed to get back on the road for the drive back to San Antonio. At this point I'm not sure why I bring any lures other than the Spook Jr. and Grasswalker. Those seem to be the only lures I'm throwing these days.

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Got home and decided to blacken the redfish and topped it with a toasted pecan and crab meat relish. Brussels sprouts, dirty rice and a pinot grigio finished the meal.

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Meteorological Observations
Time: 6:45 am - 1:15 pm
Air Temp: 52 - 61°F
Wind: N swinging to E 5-10 mph (Gusting 10+)
Barometric Pressure: 1030 mb (falling after 10:00 am)
Sky: Mostly Sunny
Water Clarity: 1-3 feet
Water Temp: 57°F
Structure: Grass

Solunar
Sunrise/set: 7:00 am/6:24 pm
Moonrise/set: 6:39 am/5:44 pm
Moon Phase: Waning Crescent (1.9%)

Measured Tides @ S. Bird Island (MLLW)
High @ 5:54 am (0.82 ft)
Low @ 4:24 pm (0.59 ft)

Lures
Silver Mullet Spook Jr.
Bone Diamond TS Grasswalker
Baffin Magic Sand Shad on 1/8 oz jighead
Plum Sand Shad Jr. on 1/8 oz jighead

Fish
Trout: 4 Keepers, 1 undersized
Reds: 1 Keeper

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Re: Bird Island Basin - Feb 22, 2020

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2020 9:10 am
by Ron Mc
excellent report and great results - that's a thick redfish, and looks like a great meal.
Haven't fished Bird Is. in a long time...

Re: Bird Island Basin - Feb 22, 2020

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2020 9:22 am
by Neumie
Ron Mc wrote:excellent report and great results - that's a thick redfish, and looks like a great meal.
Haven't fished Bird Is. in a long time...
I'm not sure if I've fished there since I graduated from A&M-CC in 2008. I really need to fish there more often, great spot.

Re: Bird Island Basin - Feb 22, 2020

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2020 9:36 am
by Ron Mc
Dennis, Steve's brother - we used to fish together a lot in the 80s/90s, and were mostly fishing each end of Cedar Bayou - he only fishes ULM from about there and way south anymore. Of course, power boat.
Bird Is. is a great launch point, and even first-class wading from right there, which I did several times last decade, once with my nephew.

Re: Bird Island Basin - Feb 22, 2020

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2020 11:16 am
by flydoc
Tightwork there Nueme.. Always fun throwin Spooks. Tasty eats. WTG

Re: Bird Island Basin - Feb 22, 2020

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2020 11:19 am
by karstopo
Super, looks like a great day. Blackened redfish might be my favorite.

Re: Bird Island Basin - Feb 22, 2020

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2020 11:37 am
by imaoldmanyoungsalt
Very nice. I always enjoy your reports!
karstopo wrote:Blackened redfish might be my favorite.
And I second this^^^

Re: Bird Island Basin - Feb 22, 2020

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2020 12:13 pm
by YakRunabout
Great report on a great trip - thanks -
I will have to refer back to your reports if I am ever able to launch down south!! thanks for the detail -

Re: Bird Island Basin - Feb 22, 2020

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2020 12:53 pm
by Dandydon
Neumie, you gonna RUIN ME with those perfect fishing reports. My day is complete now that the TKF bi-weekly fishing report is posted, ha ha. You broke the ice with a winner.

I love that Bird Island action, too, and used to long ago fish there with legendary Corpus Christi guide Doug Bird. He lived on a houseboat and knew more about saltwater fishing than the esteemed Saltykat ever forgot.

I envy you Corpus fishermen because your fishing in all that clear water is mostly a dream to us upper-coast anglers. I've had many Bird Island or Baffin Bay trips where we didn't catch fish until we found patches of DIRTY water over those heavenly potholes. What a concept!

Thanks for all the detailed info and vicarious thrills. Next time I'm down there I'll call you.

Sent from my SM-G973U1 using Tapatalk

Re: Bird Island Basin - Feb 22, 2020

Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2020 4:38 pm
by shoffer
Nice Report, Neumie. Thanks for the detailed information and great photos!

Re: Bird Island Basin - Feb 22, 2020

Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2020 10:46 am
by mwatson71
Neumie,

Thanks for the detailed report and photos. I haven't had the pleasure of fishing Bird Island. I have fished S Padre, Port Mansfield, and Rockport and love the clear water down there (not so much all the grass though).