Shallow Water Marsh

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Spec-tac-u-lar
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Shallow Water Marsh

Post by Spec-tac-u-lar »

I’m wanting to find shallow water marshes or oyster reefs in the Galveston area to catch tailing redfish. Can anyone help identify the marshes that fit this description? I’ve tried pierce marsh but didnt find shallow water nor tailing redfish. Plus, the paddle out and back from Louis almost killed me. Thanks in advance.
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Crusader
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Re: Shallow Water Marsh

Post by Crusader »

- that isn't a very long distance... My typical fishing trip is 5-7 miles with outliers pushing 20
- there are couple of square miles of shallow water in Pierce marsh system, no idea how you missed it :mrgreen:
- finding tailing fish doesn't happen as often as those youtube videos suggest

I suggest searching the forum, there is a lot of info buried in it
Spec-tac-u-lar
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Re: Shallow Water Marsh

Post by Spec-tac-u-lar »

Thanks Crusader. I am new to kayak fishing. This was my 3rd time to have it out. After years of being nothing but a couch potato, the paddle out and into the marsh seemed far. I’m not sure how to measure distance so i have no idea. I’m sure I passed tons of fishable spots when I should’ve stayed closer to the front. I will take your recommendation and try to research old posts. Thanks again.
texnomad
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Re: Shallow Water Marsh

Post by texnomad »

I used Google to measure it from Louis to just past the RR bridge and it was not quite a mile. In the 60's I used to fish that marsh quite a bit with good catching to keep me occupied.
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Darkarcher159
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Re: Shallow Water Marsh

Post by Darkarcher159 »

Goggle is your friend.. either Goggle Earth or Goggle Maps. They both can do the basic same thing, show you semi recent photo of the area and measure distance. Send me an email and I will point you to a few places that are not to far to paddle and usually hold some fish. darkarcher159@yahoo.com
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TrailChaser
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Re: Shallow Water Marsh

Post by TrailChaser »

Crusader wrote: - finding tailing fish doesn't happen as often as those youtube videos suggest
Not suggesting you're referring to my videos.
My videos aren't faked in any way and most are uploaded within a month of the featured fishing trip.
If you know where to look you can almost always find schooling, crawling or tailing reds. :D

With that being said, I've talked to guys who've been fishing inshore for years and have never seen a school or any tailing reds.

Another thing to point out. Reds making their presence known on the water doesn't seem to be as obvious to some fishermen as it is to others. I have somehow developed an almost sixth sense for spotting reds. I've seen people almost run over a school I was trying to point out and they're just not seeing them.

Keep at it. Our bays are full of reds. You'll be seeing them soon. Also, don't underestimate the value of good knowledge. Learning why they do what they do and where to look for them will be a huge benefit. If you can't find the fish you'll rarely do good on purpose. Like the old saying goes; knowledge is key.... I don't mean to turn this into a troutsupport commercial, but that's without a doubt the best place to get a solid redfish education. www.troutsupport.com
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Re: Shallow Water Marsh

Post by Kayak Kid »

My Two Cents:

My most productive fishing implement, other than a knowledge of wind and tide, in an area with which I am not familiar, is a pair of field glasses. I anchor in a location that gives me a good view of the waters I plan to fish and begin a careful perusal of the shoreline through the binoculars.

I certainly can't guarantee that you will see reds tailing, but you will be able to spot fish 'tell-tales'. Wakes, birds, jumping shrimp or minnows, and possibly some above water backs will hopefully show up. If the fish are feeding, you just might get in on some action.

I was taught this 'trick' by one of the best fishing guides on the Gulf Coast. It has served me well, and I hope that you might also find it helpful in your fishing quests.
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shoffer
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Re: Shallow Water Marsh

Post by shoffer »

My suggestion is to wait two months. In the fall, reds school up in the marsh, especially Greens Lake, and can be located with hovering terns and gulls.
Spec-tac-u-lar
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Re: Shallow Water Marsh

Post by Spec-tac-u-lar »

Thanks to everyone for the comments. I appreciate the willingness to share and encourage. I have all four of the troutsupport dvds but haven’t finished watching them all (I started with the trout dvds). I also bought a few books on catching Texas redfish and trout that I hope to read soon. I have been trying to learn how to identify/recognize signs of fish but obviously I need a lot more knowledge and practice.
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Crusader
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Re: Shallow Water Marsh

Post by Crusader »

TrailChaser wrote:
Crusader wrote: - finding tailing fish doesn't happen as often as those youtube videos suggest
If you know where to look you can almost always find schooling, crawling or tailing reds. :D
Depends on time of year, location and etc. But generally yes -- as you get better at fishing certain area your chances of finding them increase. But OP was obvious newb -- I wanted to warn him before he gets discouraged by his experiences :)
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Re: Shallow Water Marsh

Post by Tombo »

This is the way I fish Pierce marsh.
Go into the first gut , before the RR tracks. Go to the back of this marsh slowly all the time having your site casting outfit ready to throw. When you get to the open part, go to the leeward side and let the wind if any blow you across all the while throwing a popping cork.
When you get to the windward shoreline, retrace your drift back to your original starting point so as to not disturb the fish. Move over far enough that you don't overlap your previous drift and start casting your popping cork.
If this does not produce any fish, go back to Louis and order a cheeseburger plate with fries.
Gage5602
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Re: Shallow Water Marsh

Post by Gage5602 »

These guys have given you some good information. one piece of information i will give you is that some times reds are feeding but not tailing. they might be in shallow water parse the water is 2 feet you never see a wake unless its a giant the only thing you might see is 1 shrimp jumping for its life or 1 finger mullet jumping and there could be 5 to 6 reds right in there in that situation i would throw a shrimp under a popping cork with a 1 1/2 ft leader right up against the marsh grass were the activity was.Hope this helps and always tightlines. good spot to try chocolate bayou/bay lots of oyster!
Spec-tac-u-lar
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Re: Shallow Water Marsh

Post by Spec-tac-u-lar »

Thanks Tombo and Gage. I will run with both of your recommendations. As said, a lot of good advise here and I truly appreciate it.
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Chubs
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Re: Shallow Water Marsh

Post by Chubs »

Spec-tac-u-lar wrote:Thanks to everyone for the comments. I appreciate the willingness to share and encourage. I have all four of the troutsupport dvds but haven’t finished watching them all (I started with the trout dvds). I also bought a few books on catching Texas redfish and trout that I hope to read soon. I have been trying to learn how to identify/recognize signs of fish but obviously I need a lot more knowledge and practice.
You seem to be about where I was last year + a few months. Keep at it and don't get discouraged is the best advice I can tell you! You'll figure it out but you need to take your licks to get there. I still take my licks more often than I'd like, but have been having more success such that I get to enjoy more than scenery most days I get out. That is - given the opportunity to actually get out... Last trip out was my skunk in August, and this month is looking like my weekend trip is going to be another jetty trip thanks to all the storms brewing out there and my limited windows :(

Here's another good tip - learn proper paddling technique and buy the best lightweight paddle you can afford. Prior to winter I was paddling a fairly heavy "No Limits" duck decoy retrieve paddle. Aluminum shaft with plastic blades. Also I was using my arms a lot to paddle. I'd be lucky to get 5 miles without my arms falling off. I upgraded to a Werner Shauna paddle, and learned to use my back muscles for my power stroke and the difference is huge. I can get 9 miles now over a day and probably keep going (I've not tried in awhile). Keep hydrated though over the day because you'll lose all your steam if you get dehydrated. Also slow and steady wins the race - don't try to power through the wind or use a bunch of burst speed at the start of your trip - you'll wear yourself out too fast. Treat it like a marathon - pace yourself and don't get too excited at the start of the day.
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Ron Mc
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Re: Shallow Water Marsh

Post by Ron Mc »

great paddle advice. My daughter flies with her Shuna.

With aluminum shaft and plastic blades, part of your paddle energy goes into bending the paddle instead of moving the boat.
With anything except a Werner, part of your paddle energy goes into making turbulence. With a heavy paddle, part of your endurance goes into swinging it.
I can strongly recommend the fiberglass-blade/carbon-shaft Werner paddles as the biggest bang for the buck.
All-carbon are great, bent shaft is great, but balancing cost for these upgrades is a choice - you lose a couple of ounces, and bent shaft eliminates irritation on your thumbs.
As far as the marathon, we paddle in stages with goals - for breaks - and plan to do our upwind first.
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TroutSupport.com
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Re: Shallow Water Marsh

Post by TroutSupport.com »

Spec-tac-u-lar wrote:I have all four of the troutsupport dvds but haven’t finished watching them all (I started with the trout dvds).
LOL... Watch the shallow redfish video it's all in there. Tailing reds are somewhat elusive. I say elusive because it's not rare at all if one is looking in the right places at the right time. The right time for this year is just starting to happen this month. But you don't have to find tailer or crawlers to catch redfish. Just go find shallow marsh with shrimp and a few sea gulls and you'll find plenty of reds.. they won't all be big in the marsh cause that is mostly where the juvenile reds aka ratt reds and reds up to about 24 -25 inches hang out more. but you'll find them. There are keys to that in the video, in the that video you'll also see what the subtle signs are that you'll need to see on the water to hunt them, that is how you train your eyes.. watch the videos and then apply it. Have fun, you are always welcome to ask me questions at tobin@troutsupport.com
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Volkswatson
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Re: Shallow Water Marsh

Post by Volkswatson »

Hey folks - my 2nd time ever in the marsh today. Saw tons and tons of bait busting, and thought for sure something had to be out there. I threw everything I had but got zero. Below is where I launched and paddled across towards the fresh water lake. The water was too shallow to get very far. I was prepped to paddle several miles, but just couldn’t get there.

As a newb, am I on the right track, or am I clueless?

I’d even ok with some dinks just to say I caught something!
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Volkswatson
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Re: Shallow Water Marsh

Post by Volkswatson »

Hey folks - my 2nd time ever in the marsh today. Saw tons and tons of bait busting, and thought for sure something had to be out there. I threw everything I had but got zero. Below is where I launched and paddled across towards the fresh water lake. The water was too shallow to get very far. I was prepped to paddle several miles, but just couldn’t get there.

As a newb, am I on the right track, or am I clueless?

I’d even ok with some dinks just to say I caught something!

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karstopo
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Re: Shallow Water Marsh

Post by karstopo »

That freshwater lake is super shallow and frequently dry. It might only be navigable in really high water levels. There’s nothing freshwater about it, maybe at one time it was cut off from Oyster Creek and could collect rainwater to be fresh. Those cut off lakes are all along oyster creek. The little cut to the lake labeled freshwater lake off oyster creek is generally deep enough to paddle, but the lake itself shallows up as the cut meets the lake. Most of the cut off lakes along oyster creek are inaccessible, the one labeled freshwater lake is one of the very few or only one that has a cut to it. There’s zero shell in the lake. The cut to it has a little shell.

That swan lake ramp is handy to swan lake. Swan lake is almost always accessible unless the water gets really low then some or most parts will not have enough water to paddle. Swan lake is big and much bigger than freshwater lake with a decent helping of shell to explore. There’s typically fish in swan lake this time of year. Essex bayou is right across the ICW and has Fish in it, but it might not be navigable in real low water.
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Salaqua
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Re: Shallow Water Marsh

Post by Salaqua »

Much of the info you need is in the Redfish Marsh TroutSupport DVDs to find those reds.

After that, you will have to find very skinny water, likely not deeper than 12-20 inches. I have seen them in marsh and back lakes. The back lakes are a bit easier in my experience because you can see them further away. Keeping an eye for your surroundings will be very important.
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Re: Shallow Water Marsh

Post by TroutSupport.com »

Spot on Sal.. and now is the time to do it. 90% of the tailing that will happen all year will happen right now.

But that's not the only way to catch redfish. I catch tons of reds putting myself in the right places and blind casting.

Volkswagon... "am I on the right track"? you're heading in the right direction looking for bait numbers but at certain times of year.. especially with redfish they are on shrimp.. and baitfish numbers is almost meaningless. If you have the Shallow Redfish video that we produced which is two hours of redfish fishing instruction and using the video camera to train your eyes showing you the subtle detail of what to look for... get it, and watch it over and over. Then get with me or some of the others and then we can help you further tweak stuff. There are lots of details in that video on how to specifically do it and it's not a talking head piece.. (a talking head peice is where you watch somebody fish while you watch them talk. Our videos are shot thru fishermans eyes showing the video of what to look for where.

keep at it bro, you'll get there.
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