Rockport Fishing Report – July 19th, 2017

After slacking for far too long, we are finally back with an updated Rockport fishing report for mid July. Maybe its because we have been busy that we are behind on this? Or maybe its the heat frying our brains? Or maybe its that first cold beer in the A.C. that we have each day off the water, that ruins our motivation? But regardless, here goes for our current Rockport fishing report.

The fishing lately has been pretty good, by Summer standards. Of course, what the heck does that mean?!?! Basically, it has been good early. Then, as the day gets warmer… eh. If you think that it is too hot to be out there, so do the fish. They too can get too warm. Once that happens, they tend to move off to deeper/cooler water. Or, if you do still see them around, they are very tough to get motivated to eat.

So we are doing our best work in the morning hours. Start early, then run for your life around lunchtime. Find yourself a nice umbrella drink and some shade. Or perhaps float around the pool a little bit? Whatever it takes to keep cool during these dog days of summer.

Of course this is the norm for July and August every year. Hot days with very little wind. This means the heat index is off the charts. So the on early, off early is a must. Half-day trips are also a must. Afternoons just aren’t worth being out there. So we are already looking forward to the cooler nights to come here in a couple of months.

The water is down a little bit this week. Not crazy low, but a little on the skinnier side of things. This allows some spots to warm up even quicker in the sun. But not too bad. We are still finding tailing fish and schools early. Those fish are very willing to eat. As the schools and such begin to disperse, things can be a little trickier. Fish are still present in good numbers. But getting them to eat is not necessarily the easiest thing in the world.

This time of year, it is very common to have a good presentation snubbed. But you can’t let it bother you. Many of the fish at these temps just aren’t that motivated. So take your lumps, pick it up and move on to the next target. But you do have to go in knowing that they have a bit of an “attitude” this time of year.

We are still getting them to eat much of the same. Crab, shrimp and bait patterns are working. Lot’s of bait in the water these days. For some of the slow moving fish this time of year, we like going to an even smaller crab. Get it close to them and move it very slowly, knowing that the fish may not lunge forward the same way they do during the cooler times of the year. The fish pictured above was taken on a black/purple Crabcake Special.

We also have seen a little topwater action for Jacks cruising around. And even a random tarpon event, ending with the total destruction of an 8wt (totally worth it). So we are keeping the 10wt strung up and in the boat, in hopes of other random fun.

It looks like we might get a little shot of rain an evening this week, which would be a nice change of pace. But other than that, it looks like more of the same in the weather department. So we are recommending morning half-days for folks looking to get out. Then join us at our pool for an afternoon cocktail and some shade!

All in all, your Rockport fishing report is pretty good for this late in the Summer. We have boats out  today and through the weekend from Matagorda to Port A and Rockport. We will try to stay up to date on the fishing reports… for a change! Also, we will be adding some more images and such, as we are falling behind there as well. Oops!

We will continue to post stuff on  Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and even Snapchat. We try to post something most every day, to keep you entertained while you are sitting in your office, wishing you were on the Texas flats. Or of course you can email any time for additional info or ask about what we did and where we did it that day. We will tell you where we fished and what we saw, as best we can.

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