Capt. Kelley
11/29/2009 6:00:00 AM

Back Lakes & Bays, Castaway Lodge

 

Having clients hunting and fishing with us over the Thanksgiving Holiday is a tradition dating back 15 years with us. With 11 guests arriving as early as Tuesday, from both ends of the Nation, we knew it was going to be another memorable Thanksgiving Holiday. A mild cold front Tuesday led our guests to full to near limits of ducks, and set the stage for some awesome fishing. With water levels quickly rebounding “post front” our guests enjoyed blistering hot action on the flats with full-limits of Redfish and Black Drum.
 
Upper San Antonio Bay saw the full freshwater push from the Gaudalupe River on Thursday with debris and lilly pads coming down river and into the upper reaches of SAB and Mission Bay. The flow was pretty fast with crab buoys being dragged under water by the current. Redfish still seem to be in every nook and cranny and pocket lake in the area. 
 
Knocking it out of the park over the holiday season included the full compliment of “Team Castaway” including Capt. Steve Boldt, Capt. Jake Huddleston, Capt. James Cunningham, Capt. Chris Cady, Capt. Doug Russell. Miss Wendi worked her wonders in the kitchen with another Thanksgiving “throw-down” including smoked ham, fried turkey, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, giblet gravy, cornbread dressing, pinto beans w/ham, pea salad, mac-n-cheese, cocoa-nut cream pies, pecan pie, cranberry/orange bread, pumpkin bread, homemade brownies and cookies.
 
We would like to thank our guests for choosing Castaway Lodge as “the destination” for their Thanksgiving Holiday. We welcome everyone to the tradition here at The Lodge and set the table for a majestic experience in Texas great outdoors. 
 
Castaway Lodge, Inc.
109 W. Austin
Seadrift, TX  77983
1-888-618-4868 Office
361-785-4487 Fax
361-648-3474 Cell

 


Capt. Kelley
11/23/2009 8:34:00 PM

Happy Thanksgiving From Castaway Lodge!

 

Fishing Report
 
As with the last couple of cold fronts, water levels on the bays surged over 2’ burying the bays and marsh in water. Seadrift had 3.5” of rainfall Friday and we’ve heard that Rockport and the Refugio area experience levels pushing 10”. Castaway Lodge Capt. Steve and Chris focused on the “big pull” over the weekend with a page out of the playbook from last weeks tide surge. Both reported Redfish stacked on mud/grass bottoms pushing into shallower venues. The pair managed full limits over the weekend using a combination of baits including shrimp and cut mullet. We are seeing Trout concentrations on both mud/grass and shell. The reefs in San Antonio Bay are producing limits for wade fisherman working artificial lures while mud/grass venues are being equally as productive while drifting. 
 
The water started dumping from the bays yesterday and have declined nearly 8” and water temperature has been ranging from the mid to upper 60’s to low 70’s. A cold front is expected Tuesday with substantial North winds on Wednesday as well before backing down on Thursday. As this front meets with already declining water levels, I would expect for the water to fall out substantially. That remains to be seen. 
 
We would like to thank everyone that joined us over the last week and welcome guests from all over the nation for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Thanks for making this a very special place!
 
 
 
Duck & Goose Hunting
 
Friday on the bay took a turn for the surreal after early week successes with Gadwall, Teal, Widgeon and Pintail filling the majority of the straps. Wind pushing 30MPH driving out of the east and nearly two feet of water surged from the Gulf into the bays and  pummeled the few brave souls willing to brave the conditions. Water levels have kept us on the move through the first split and success has been dependent on weather and water stability (of which we’ve had little). It looks like the Gaudalupe River is going to flood again with a projected 27’ in Bloomington on Wednesday. In Friday’s weather, I watched as countless flocks of Pintails moved inland to take advantage of flooding fields. Capt. Jake Huddleston reported what looked like 70,000 ducks (mainly Pintail) on one field inland that had flooded. Goose hunting has met with some solid action on Specklebellies along with a few Snows. Field conditions are terrible but improving as high pressure set in Saturday. 
 
What’s Wisconsin got to do with Texas? I talked to Capt. Matt Raley in Prairie du Chien and he said there are over a half million ducks sitting on one pool on the Mississippi and they have had a terrible season. Weather in the 60’s and mild have left them with little air traffic and far too many Coots and ducks to compete with. Matt will be joining us during the first week of December. Hopefully by then we’ll get some of those birds up North on the move. A buddy of his in South Dakota said they are just now seeing ducks arrive. So, it looks like we can bet all the marbles on a strong second split.
 
 
Castaway Lodge, Inc.
109 W. Austin
Seadrift, TX  77983
1-888-618-4868 Office
361-785-4487 Fax
361-648-3474 Cell

 


Capt. Kelley
11/16/2009 6:00:00 AM

Seadrift Straps & Stringers

 

Seadrift Straps & Stringers
 
Hauling Water
 
We had a fishing meltdown on Saturday with a falling tide most of the day, previously productive areas went “stone cold” for Castaway Lodge Capt’s Steve Boldt, James Cunningham, Jake Huddleston, Chris Cady, and Doug Russell. 
 
Digging Deep
 
Mike and his guests were celebrating his 50th birthday here at The Lodge and they are new clients. These guys are gentlemen and there wasn’t a whiner in the bunch even as Mother Nature dealt them a nasty water-haul on Day 1. The results of Day 2 left the ills of Day 1 behind and you couldn’t ask for a better “rags to riches” finish. Steve & Chris were back at it today with a real estate shift in mind. Working shallower environs over grass produced near limits of Redfish & full limits of Black Drum for the effort with the Mike P. group. 
 
I’m so very proud of these guys, every one of them. From our newest guide Capt. Doug Russell, Chris, Steve, Jake, James, all of them hit it out of the park and do so regularly. Capt. Chris Cady, when he was still in high school, worked airboat logistics for us, guides helper, deck hand, brushed blinds, built blinds, you name it. I’ve watched him get married, have kids, I even sponsored his run for the Capt’s license. It is so very rewarding to see these guys doing what they do best. Seamless teamwork and selfless dedication to the trade come naturally around here. 
 
Inland Ducks & Geese
 
Jake’s mastery of inland hunting in the Seadrift area took guests from as far away as Alaska to full limits Friday-Sunday with solid straps of primarily puddle ducks including Widgeon, Gadwall, Teal, and Pintail. I can’t forget to mention a few divers including Canvasback limits with a few “luck lucks”, Specklebelly geese for good measure. Phil, Chris and guest had never killed a “Can” before and it was a “Crimson Tide” over the blocks Sunday.
 
Saltwater Tears
 
Capt. James Cunningham tackled a difficult airboat logistics schedule with the Frank M. party over a hectic weekend riding our bay environs to as near limits as you can get without “limiting out” on ducks. Pintail, Redheads, Widgeon, Gadwall & Greenwing Teal dominated our saltwater marsh straps over the weekend. 
 
Castaway Lodge Forecast
 
We’ve got a cold front coming tomorrow and that should help knock water levels down a bit. I must say we are “anxiously awaiting” some brisk weather. Castaway Lodge forecast calls for heavy Straps & Stringers. We wish you the very best and safest adventures in the outdoors. Special thanks to all of our guests that make this a very special place.
 
Castaway Lodge, Inc.
109 W. Austin
Seadrift, TX  77983
1-888-618-4868 Office
361-785-4487 Fax
361-648-3474 Cell
 

 


Capt. Kelley
11/9/2009 4:20:00 PM

Old School Reds, Ducks & Tiger Bellies

Bays Get Fresh “Re-Birth”

We should just about be over the hump of the latest push of freshwater down the Guadalupe River. Bay salinity has dropped off the charts near Seadrift and this has been long overdue. The inflows are setting the stage for tremendous fishing now and in months to come. As it stands now, Trout are focusing on shell pads and reefs mid-bay near deeper environs where lower water column salinity levels are higher. Redfish, Black Drum have migrated toward the inflow and have moved into the upper reaches of San Antonio Bay, Hynes, and Mission Bay. Blue Catfish are taking this opportunity to come out of the River and Bayous to forage in the bay environs. Mixing with higher salt contents seems to purge these fish making the meat an absolute delicacy. Talking to a biologist coming off a gill net survey the other day, he mentioned that Blue Catfish were being caught in the nets as far as the west shore near Austwell. He mentioned that they are larger fish pushing the 4 pound mark.

The Next Generation

The Lodge welcomed blasters and casters from all over the State this weekend. Two of the groups had an emphasis on youngsters and we were delighted to welcome them. Young Vincent, fishing with his dad Greg called The Lodge early in the day before their arrival Friday and told Wendi “yes, this is Vincent S and I wanted to check to make sure you were expecting us this evening”. Wendi was tickled at his phone presence and maturity. Seldom do we have a 10 year old confirming reservations. Young Nicolas, hunting with his dad Mike and grandfather Joe made for a memorable trip. Joe had been all over the coast as a young man spending a lot of time in the Port O’Connor area and ended up living in Corpus. It was a long over due trip and Nicolas rose to the occasion pounding early morning ducks.

Fishing With Our Guests

Castaway Capt’s. Steve Boldt, James Cunningham, and Chris Cady managed solid catches and near limits of Redfish working northern bays and marshes around Mission & Hynes bays. Everyone reported catching a lot of Redfish just under the 20” mark. A few Black Drum and Blue Catfish are showing up as well in the lower salinity environment.

Duck & Goose Hunting Seadrift

Bay Ducks

Rising water levels led many on the bay to focus on Redhead ducks over the weekend taking advantage of any other species as they presented themselves. Bay hunting has been spotty and sometimes frustrating with constantly evolving conditions and tide levels. Scouting hasn’t helped much as success has been pressure driven. Talking with a buddy, we both agreed that right now it’s better to be lucky than good. Ok, let’s call it “educated luck”.

Hunting a strong concentration of Teal & Gadwall on Saturday proved lack luster with calm winds, clear skies, and little hunting pressure. Shoulda-coulda-wouldas might have got us to a little better than half limits but that’s what we ended up with, Teal, Gadwall, and Widgeon. Capt. Steve Boldt reported little air traffic and few opportunities Saturday as well ending with a couple of Pintail and Gadwall.

Inland Ducks & Geese

Inland hunting on our freshwater locations ended up more productive than hunting the bays despite poor scouting predictions. Capt. Jake managed full limits with Trey A. party on Saturday with Redheads and Teal dominating along with a smattering of Ringnecks and Shoveler. Sunday, with light NE winds and rain, location proved to be the key and you might say it was “luck of the draw”. We welcomed the Chris F. party in and it was a memorable outing. Working freshly flooded fields, Widgeon, Gadwall, Teal worked hard into the blocks shortly after shooting light. As the ducks settled, Specklebelly Geese (aka Tiger Bellies) charged at a few floaters whiffling in for point blank kills. The party ended the morning with 20 ducks and near limits of 8 Specks with Capt. Jake Huddleston on the calls.

We had a lot of fun this week and through the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed the outdoors with our guests. From all of us at Castaway Lodge, have a great week.

Capt. Kris Kelley
Castaway Lodge, Inc.
109 W. Austin
Seadrift, TX 77983
1-888-618-4868 Office
361-785-4487 Fax
361-648-3474 Cell

 


Capt. Kelley
11/2/2009 6:09:00 PM

Airboat Reds & Ducks, Seadrift

 

Early Week
 
Blown up tides and super elevated water levels are bringing some oversized reds into the extreme shallows on the flats. While fishing on my airboat yesterday I saw a double mud stir with a fish kicking through the water that looked like a miniature “porpoise signature”. About five minutes later, the fish took a run at one of our guests. It was ON! Drag stripping with the rod at max bend from the cork is always an impressive sight in the back reaches of the flats. As the fish came to hand, there was no question it was oversized. For grins, I put it on the check stick and to my amazement it was 27.75” with massive girth. When we got to the ramp to clean fish, I emptied it’s bloated stomach to find six huge pieces of cut mullet? We didn’t put it there for sure. Come to find out, one of my guides had been in nearly the exact spot earlier in the day and had dumped some bait before making a move. The double mud stir was from the fish consuming the bait about 10’ from the boat and then it eased out to the edge of the grass flat and took one of our baits, unbelievable feeding frenzy for sure!
 
Starting off right
 
Capt. James and I had airboat trips while Capt. Jake was fishing his bayboat. James and I took off shortly after Jake, maybe 20 or 30 minutes. As I was heading down the bay I could see Jake giving me the double arm pump which meant “we are catching them like Tuna” over here. Jake was limited out before James and I got to our first stops. 
 
Leaward Falling Water
 
James worked a falling water pattern in the North marsh and managed full limits with two oversized Reds.
 
Rising Windward Water, The Island
 
I took the longer run to the Island to work a North wind pattern with “windward fish” and for the second time this Fall, that was a big mistake. Salinity ravaged back pocket lakes in the far reaches of Matagorda Island are losing grass by the day. This is creating huge “yellow water” zones devoid of any grass. No grass, no bait, no fish. This is breaking patterns I’ve seen for over a decade.  It is pushing and holding the Redfish in deeper water areas of the back marsh closer to the bays. That’s making them a lot harder to see and even harder to find. We managed 5 Redfish to 27.75” for the effort along with a couple of Drum.
 
Late Week (Ducks & Fish)
 
Capt. Chris Cady took our guests with Pesado and managed full limits of Redfish around noon. Capt. James Cunningham and Steve fished Sunday with James taking half limits of Redfish and reporting a lot of undersized. Steve’s guests got a late start with a little too much hangover and struggled. 
 
The Duck opener was slow for some and hot and heavy for others along the coast. Few and widely spread numbers on the bay lead many to hunt inland where concentrations were larger. Capt. Jake Huddleston started it off right with a 24 bird shoot including a lot of Blue Wings on Saturday. On the bay, it turns out opening day pressure inland helped a little as we took half limits with Gadwall and Teal making up the majority of the straps. Sunday was a carbon copy of Saturday with mild winds and clear skies dominating. Capt. Jake and I were working with a client from Houston and managed solid straps on our inland ponds. At one point, my guests and I were huddling up to see who had more shells! Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler, Redheads, and Tree Ducks made up the majority of ducks taken. 
 
Inland pressure along with a substantial tide fall-out seems to have put more birds on the bay and we will have a better handle on that as we hunt through the week. Prospects are good for fast action as more birds continue to find their way to the bays.
 
Capt. Kris Kelley
Castaway Lodge, Inc.
109 W. Austin
Seadrift, TX  77983
1-888-618-4868 Office
361-785-4487 Fax
361-648-3474 Cell
 

 

Monthly Archive

Kris, Wanted to share with everyone the great memories you provided. It was a mom and daughter weekend to remember. Thank you for all the fun, great food, experience and most of all your amazing patience. I don't know how you drew the short straw to have two women, but you gave us an amazing expe

Lori & Jean
Alvin, TX

We have not quit reliving the day that we spent with you today. There is no way to tell you how much fun we had making memories with you. The coaching and fishing were not to be beat! You are the best and we can't wait to come back soon and share another beautiful day fishing with you again soon.

Janet James and Malinda Lewis
Houston, TX

Two friends and I headed down to Seadrift to take advantage of the February Special at the Castaway Lodge. The Lodge did not disappoint. The food and the lodging was great as was the fishing. We landed 9 reds between the three of us even though the conditions were far from perfect. Headed back to

Robert J. "Big Daddy"
Reviewer, Wadefishing.com
I have hunted the Louisiana coast my whole life and I am always the one that runs the trolling motor and nets the fish and does the duck calling when I hunt or fish. I just want to say even if you have your own place you really owe it to yourself to come down and spend some time with Ms. Wendi and D
Kevin "Chambo" Chaumont
Lake Charles, LA

Kris,


Thanks for a great day on the water! Good weather, good fish and good company.... it doesn't get any better. You do a fantastic job. I hope to meet up with you again sometime soon.

Brett H.
Houston, TX
© 2013 Seadrift Bay Fishing. All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy    |    Terms of Use    |    Sitemap
Powered by SoftnetCMS