Trout to 25", Reds "In the Slot", Big Weekend Bang Down

Castaway Lodge Seadrift Report
By Capt. Kris Kelley

Along with solid Trout to 25" and Redfish in the slot which dominated our fishing boxes over late week and through the big Holiday. We've been working a combination of shell and mud/grass with a big tide coming mid morning. Winds have had the water torn up pretty good early. Our saving Grace has been that big inbound tide which is sweeping away the mud line and pouring some fishable water over power structure. We'd like to thank our guests for coming to see us over the Holiday!

We hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Holiday. We <S> Salute the fallen; our veterans; and men and women everywhere serving this great country! Come see us when you get a chance!

Like us on Facebook at we promise to "love you back"!

Capt. Kris Kelley
Castaway Lodge
1-888-618-4868
www.seadriftbayfishing.com
Twitter: @Castaway_Lodge
Facebook: Castaway Lodge

About the picture, 12 year veteran Major League Pitcher Scott Strickland in for another visit and taking a nice 24" Trout! 

Trout In The Wire

Castaway Lodge Seadrift Report
By Capt. Kris Kelley

Freshwater is coming down the Gaudalupe and that's a pretty sight to see I can tell you.  The upper end of the bays are pretty well blown out with it and that's certainly something desparately needed around here.  From Crabbing to Fishing to Duck Hunting, freshwater inflows are the life blood of a healthy bay system. 

We've been riding them pretty hard and Trout fishing has taken it's place on center stage at present.  Right now we've probably got as many fish on sand/grass or more than presently on shell.  Heavy laden with eggs, seasonality feels about right whereas the Redfish action during the Spring felt advanced relative to the calendar.

The fish are eating shrimp and there's no two ways about it.  I had a customer hook a Trout yesterday that I would have sworn was a 10lb Gafftop or 30" SkipJack.  The cork went under and the fish burned 20' of drag.  Sure enough it was a 22" Trout that hammered the bait so hard and never slowed down.  Lots of nice solid fish and great weather. 

Our guides have been doing a lot of heavy lifting and my hat is off to them. 

Like us on Facebook at we promise to "love you back"!

Capt. Kris Kelley
Castaway Lodge
1-888-618-4868 
www.seadriftbayfishing.com
Twitter: @Castaway_Lodge
Facebook: Castaway Lodge

A Day Late and a Trout Short

Castaway Lodge Seadrift Report
By Capt. Kris Kelley

Solid fishermen yield solid results over late week and through the weekend. A variety of approaches served our guests well working mud/grass and shell in ESB/SAB and shallow bays and back lakes.  The big bull tides of this Full Moon brought dividends and counteracted some ills with water conditions especially on Sunday. 

Late Week

Thursday was a quick and brutal barrage of Trout banging the deck with Steve S. and guest taking full limits by 1030am.  Friday we welcomed Jed H. and nephew Clay in for a run at the fish.  Night and day was the best description I could come up with.  The fish had pulled way off of primary structure and were working out deep and scattered.  We struggled to come up with a half dozen working "hot zones" from the day before.  Finally, I pulled the plug and took a look at some back up Trout which surprisingly cooperated to 24.5" over mud/grass.  We laid it all on the line and dug in like a pit bull to come up one Trout short for the effort.  Any lesser fishermen and the day would have ended poorly.  We wish Clay the best as he transitions from dorm life to the big time…best wishes!

Saturday's Optimism

We had high hopes for the weekend as we welcomed a bachelor party headed by Hunter W. and the guest of honor Clint along with return guests Impact Fire Safety.  Our hopes turned into reality as the right approaches; in the right hands; matched with the right guests; bent the boards.  Trout to 23" and solidly centered in the 18" range continued to hang on secondary contours out deeper.  Southeasterly wind directions found Capt. Doug on the phone early pulling a half dozen solid Trout on the first half of his drift.  That narrowed the focus and we pretty much went deep in the numbers and long on size.  Doug put it on them taking limits with Clint and Hunter W. and guest.  I managed a solid half limit with really pretty fish before the activities of the previous evening caught up with everyone.  Capt. James E. worked a variety of angles including taking some nice Redfish out of back lake mud pockets and grass beds.  Capt. James C. dug in on a grass line working scattered fish before they schooled up and broke out with some fast action to 23".  Capt. Chris C. found solid action shallow by airboat working grass lines and mud pockets in the upper bays.  He said the fish were solid and making some dramatic runs.  

Leads to a Sunday Ambush

Sunday tried to surprise us with a big conditions meltdown except Mother Nature forgot that we'd been there and seen that one about 200 times.  We hit the water on a slick off first thing after a big wind pop overnight which gutted the bays with off color water.  We immediately abandoned strong Trout real estate in search of Redfish and all managed a few while we were looking for some guidance from the wind and water.  Sure enough we picked up a little pop out of the North and pushing 15-18 knots.  We worked with it for a while with Capt. James C. breaking into a half dozen fish first thing on a slow grind.  That wind and direction backed down in velocity and advanced around the compass going East and then Southeast.  With the big tide on the charts I new some good water would be pushing for the "hot zones" and we bugged out of the back country and made a bee line.  First drift we took Trout to 20".  We stayed on them working a stair step approach over oyster shell along streaking water changes and managed solid Trout the entire way.  We finally broke to primary structure as the Southeasterly direction ramped up into the middle teens.  The bull tide still managed to penetrate dirty water zones leaving us with "all the cards" in our favor.  First primary structure drift produced 8 Trout to 18".  Capt. Doug and Capt. James E. were working the same patterns in different areas with similar results. 

All in all it was a great string of days with a great bunch of guests.  As always, we hope the start of the week is a good one for everybody.  Come see us when you get a chance!

Like us on Facebook and  we promise to "love you back"!

Capt. Kris Kelley
Castaway Lodge
1-888-618-4868 
www.seadriftbayfishing.com
Twitter: @Castaway_Lodge
Facebook: Castaway Lodge

Centrifuge: Separating Solids from Liquids

Castaway Lodge Seadrift Report
By Capt. Kris Kelley

"Seasonal Transitions"

Winds backing down and bay waters starting to take on a greenish hue spelled disaster for Trout yesterday and today. Solid fish to 23" hit are hitting the boards (just as you guessed would happen if you are strapped behind a desk this week). Sure enough, yesterday's first attempt at fishing with live Croaker proved challenging but rewarding. The fairly immature baits require pin point approaches which makes for a challenging transition from covering water as with Popping Cork Shrimp (PCS) or drift fishing lures. Our first run at the baits found us hitting a "camel back" tide through most of the day. A Camel Back is two highs of little water movement back to back and it had the fishing way off early. Capt. James C. was first to draw blood and as I hauled water he pretty much caught fish to 23" on every stop, some of them right behind me. As I was leaving an area with zilch, he'd pull in and bow-up. It happens, and that's an uncomfortable shoe to wear and is one that we trade back and forth from time to time. Capt. Chris C. had focused on back country areas by airboat based on tremendous results from scouting efforts. He took down 6 solid Redfish before James and I bloodied up the ice chest.

We finally broke out of our slump and started taking solid Trout to 20". We picked up a little greening water and that did the trick for us. We quickly caught up and managed to make the trip worth effort. There isn't any greater pleasure than getting folks that don't get to fish much "on the fish". Capt. Chris C. hit a big fall off in the bite but managed to take 10 solid Redfish with his group.

Based on yesterday's efforts, I made a small adjustment today and that yielded quick limits to 22" for Lane R. and guest. We've definitely got some stability on the WIX over coming days but it could sure level out just a bit more for some serious comfort level. The outlook for the weekend is cautiously optimistic with a slight pop in the winds on the forecast for Saturday but nothing too dramatic.

Like us on Facebook we promise to "love you back"! I'm also starting to Tweet a bit and you can always follow us @Castaway_Lodge

I hope that hump day has been as good to you as it was to us. Come see us when you get a chance! 

Capt. Kris Kelley
Castaway Lodge
1-888-618-4868
www.seadriftbayfishing.com