Bird Island Basin - Feb 22, 2020
Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2020 8:49 am
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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