Getting Frustrated!

[Millsman5]

I am new to kayaking, but not to fishing. I am 39 year old and have fished freshwater with success for last 30 years. Saltwater targeting reds and specks has been frustrating for me. Moved here a year ago and the first fish I caught was a 27 inch red out of the surf at 8 mile. Since then I have not bagged a single keeper red. Actually I have only bagged about 4 reds total. Fish mostly Dickinson Bayou, Highland Bayou or Pierce Marsh.

I have only had success with live bait, but also have tried arties. I used to Bass fish alot and figured Reds would be alot like that type of fishing.

Any advise?????

[Tbillings1128]

Check out the Troutsupport.com DVD series. These DVDs are very imformative and give great tips specificaly for trout and redfish. The DVDs are pricey but worth every penny. I too just moved here about 4 months ago and the DVDs cut my learning curve by alot. Check it out!!

[5fangers]

Knowing is half the battle. I don't think it's so much how to catch them but where to catch them. Which body of water holds fish? That's the question I had when starting. I'm pretty sure there are bodies of water that do not hold fish no matter how well you read the conditions and follow the rules.

[stuman]

The best advice I was given when I first moved to the coast and got a yak was paddle, paddle and paddle some more in search of feeding fish. Lots of dead water in the bays. Find the bait, you find the fish. And I am not talking about a couple mullet here and there you need to find bait being chased and look for good water movement. (could be tide or wind pushed) Took me a solid year of fishing before that really clicked. Sure, you could sit in one place soaking shrimp and pick up a fish or two but what are you really learning about the fish? I am by no means an expert but I do regularly take home fish and the occasional nice stringer of fish and I typically only throw artificial.

Good Luck!

[Hemi Fisher]

The best advice I was given when I first moved to the coast and got a yak was paddle, paddle and paddle some more in search of feeding fish. Lots of dead water in the bays. Find the bait, you find the fish. And I am not talking about a couple mullet here and there you need to find bait being chased and look for good water movement. (could be tide or wind pushed) Took me a solid year of fishing before that really clicked. Sure, you could sit in one place soaking shrimp and pick up a fish or two but what are you really learning about the fish? I am by no means an expert but I do regularly take home fish and the occasional nice stringer of fish and I typically only throw artificial.

Good Luck!

This is great advice. Well said.

[wetnhungry]

Millsman5, I am in the same boat, er kayak, as you. I've been freshwater fishing forever, with sporadic saltwater trips. I am just now beginning to make more frequent trips to the coast (2 hours away) and have found that some days can be quite frustrating. I may get skunked or catch very little, but I learn something new with every trip. I have not purchased any of the aforementioned DVDs yet, but will probably do so shortly. The series is heavily endorsed on this site, so it may be worth your while to give it a shot. Hiring a guide that specializes in kayak fishing might help. Not just to go out and catch fish, but to have an all day question/answer session on the water. I've heard good things about Slow Ride's fishing school too. Also, search through the forums for old posts specific to time periods and locations that interests you. Read, read, and read some more. Google anything to do with catching reds.

I think there are many similarities between catching bass and reds; however, there are a few more factors involved in finding and catching reds.

5fangers stated - "I don't think it's so much how to catch them but where to catch them."

Stuman said - "The best advice I was given when I first moved to the coast and got a yak was paddle, paddle and paddle some more in search of feeding fish"

This is so true. You must first find them before you can catch them. The concept is so elementary and basic, but I often catch myself staying in one spot too long, with no bait around and/or no sign of fish. Keep moving until you find them. I also think that it is possible to get a little carried away with lure selection before actually finding something that will eat it.

Just my thoughts, although, there are plenty of more experienced saltwater anglers on here that can offer more quality advice.
Good luck.

[Yaklash]

Sounds like how I feel about my attempts to learn golf in my 40s

Not sure what to say to make you feel better, but I can say that if I'd never had the good fortune to have a childhood and lifelong friend from an avid fishing family, I wouldn't know half of what I do about fishing. It really helps to regularly go fishing with someone who can mentor you.

That said, it's important to make your way thru the learning curve, so fish, fish, fish, and then fish some more. Enjoy the trips for time spent with friends (or alone if that's your thing) in nature and let the catching be the gravy. Don't measure your pleasure by the catch rate.

As a teenager and into my twenties, as I was going through the learning curve, I fished live bait almost exclusively. Days spent in the green beachfront surf, or the backside of SLP/Bird Island in a john boat, or at the Galv Jetties, I caught a bunch of fish, croaker, sheepshead, sand trout, specks, reds & and flounder. All on live or cut bait.

So I suggest you stick with natural baits, but qualify it with this.....all of the places I mentioned, we were pretty much in a fixed position, not moving around a lot, we were in fairly salty and very well oxygenated water, and we waited on the fish to move through - jetties, certain points of islands, etc. Marsh fishing is usually more about moving around until you find the fish and then bam, bam, bam, then silence. That is not the ideal situation for live bait. Neither is marsh water for that matter. Live bait just doesn't stand up well to movement, warm temps or low oxygen levels.

Not sure about your distance to the water, your flexibility of schedule or your aversion to wading waist deep in the water, but right about now until the water gets too cool for wet wading, you should try to get to the beachfront near the Freeport area when the water is "green to the beach" (elusive as it is) with some nice live shrimp, fished under a popping cork. You'll catch your trout and some Spanish mackerel and maybe even a red or three. I do it with lures now, but still hit the surf whenever the conditions are right, if I can.

[txspeck]

Fishing the wrong areas!

[Jigawatt]

Bass are about structure and ambush. Reds are about foraging and opportunity. A couple of weeks ago, the reds were slaughtering glass minnows and baitfish fry. They were chasing huge schools of tiny fish in water just a few inches deep. I caught reds on small jigs casting at fish that had their backs out of the water. Last week, button shad were everywhere. Button shad rarely venture into water less than a few feet deep. Not surprisingly, I caught my reds in 6-12 feet of water, using bigger, live shad for bait. This is looking like a slow year for shrimp, but maybe the rain is slowing them up a little. When shrimp get chased, you will see surface activity. Watch for bird activity. Watch for surface activity. Every week a new food opportunity can be presented to redfish. Trying to figure out what's available, and knowing how to use it to your advantage by using location, lure type, and presentation, can make all the difference. But sometimes the reds just aren't there, and probably because the food wasn't there.

[Millsman5]

Thanks for all the suggestions! By no means will I stop until I figure it out. I love just getting out on the water. I live in Dickinson so I can hit water in 3 ways in about 15 minutes or less. If anyone is hitting up the area anytime let me know.

Thanks again

[vw4fun]

Millsman5, I understand your frustration. I started fishing Galveston Bay in the early 70’s. Purchased a brand new 16’ Wellcraft Airslot, w/115 Mercury outboard, and trailer for under 3,600 bucks. Times were good then as we caught many a trout back in that day. Back then you could drive your car around Clear Lake and always see the water. Not anymore. Development of homes on waterfront property has exploded. Many homes have a boat on a lift and with a push a button can be wetting a line in minutes.

Finding fish use to be easy. Today, you have be real lucky or have to be well educated and know what to look for to find fish. I’m still working on that education. Since I purchased my kayak last year I’ve had my a55 handed to me so many times already (well, at least that is how Coach Mills describes it) and I got it handed to me again last week. And yes, I have already purchased the video everyone here recommends and have watched it twice. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy the pleasure of just being out on the water. But it is just so much harder today to find fish and have success. I have even thought of calling Coach, or a guide, to beg, barter, plead, or whatever to have someone teach me what I got to do to find the ‘dem fish. I'll figure it out one day. Meanwhile, let's go fishing.

Hanging tough.
vw

[vw4fun]

Watched the redfish video again tonight. I pick up more information each time I watch it. Need to get the other videos so I can hone more skills.

[TroutSupport.com]

Watched the redfish video again tonight. I pick up more information each time I watch it. Need to get the other videos so I can hone more skills.

You'll get it brotha... That vid is 2 hours of nothing but instruction... its a lot. Just make your plans better and like some of the others mention, use google earth like the vid teaches and make the plan and execute it only fishing the high percentage areas based on the vid.

Holla anytime you want to game plan something, ok.
t

[eightweight]

As Stuman said, paddle, paddle, and paddle some more. Often you'll come across a perfect spot, lot's of seagrass or cordgrass, good water movement, and baitfish. But no reds. Stop and look back over your shoulder. If you can still see the boat ramp or the road, paddle on. I'm afraid a lot of spots around Galveston, sad to say, have been overfished.

[Saltstalker]

These are the type of posts that I love , they really help me learn .
Thanks guys !

[macjank7]

There are redfish all over the Texas coast you just have to find them feeding.

[vw4fun]

There are redfish all over the Texas coast you just have to find them feeding.

That's what I think I'm learning the most. I love fishing the flats and marshes. From now on I will row to a place that looks interesting and stop. Spend a couple of minutes of complete stillness. If after observing nothing I'll move on.

In the past I've spooked redfish as I slowly row looking. Now I will be more patient. Let the fish show himself to me. As a result my casting will be cut in half but hopefully I'll invite more fish inside my yak.

[Millsman5]

Hey thanks a lot for all the replies on this post. I will pm some of you when I am planning on taking a trip next time. This community of fisherman is probably the most helpful I have seen.

As soon as this rain lets up a little I will put some of these suggestions to good use! Hopefully meet some of you doing that.

[Snookfish]

I looked at Pierce, and these are spots I would check out. All the drains I would set up on mostly outgoing tides. Some of the back areas I would check out during high tide.

[lagavulin62]

are these videos closed captioned? I didn't see it listed in the details.

[vanjr]

for what it is worth, my knowledge and experience with bass fishing has hindered my learning curve in the salt water

[TroutSupport.com]

are these videos closed captioned? I didn't see it listed in the details.

no, they are not closed captioned. There is a lot of text, graphics, and aerials but not closed captioned. You'd have to have someone sign for you.

for what it is worth, my knowledge and experience with bass fishing has hindered my learning curve in the salt water

at first this tends to be the case, true. It really becomes in how you apply what you learned and the intricacies of it. Redfish, while they are foragers, will forage around a lot of structure and current is important and so if bait amount. It's more like bass fishing in a river as compared to bass fishing in an impoundment. There is one difference.. bass will hold to structure in current and reds tend to ride the current and forage along the structure weather that structure is oyster, shallow marsh grass, the edge of a muddy bottom on the grass flats etc etc.