Rockport Fishing Report – October 30th, 2017

Here is the final Rockport fishing report for the month of October. Fall weather is officially upon us in Rockport and the Coastal Bend of Texas. So for our final Rockport fishing report of the month, we will update everyone on the changes in the weather, tides and how the fish are behaving because of it.

The biggest news since our last Rockport fishing report would have to be the tides and water levels. We have had extremely high tides post Harvey. This past week, that finally changed. We had our first real cold front of the Fall blow through last weekend. This brought us extremely high winds from the North and temperatures into the mid 40’s overnight. While the temps may have been a bit more than we wanted to deal with, the wind was huge for us. This helped flush a ton of water out of all of our bay systems. Even better, it cleared up all of our bays as well. So largely, our water looks just as we are accustomed to… crystal clear.

The fishing this week, following the cold front, was absolutely nuts. Tails everywhere, schooling fish, crashing banks and so on. The lower water moved a bunch of the fish around, so they were far less spread out. This made more tons of opportunities each day. Seeing 100+ fish each day was very common place. So it is certainly acting a little more like the Fall fishing we are all used to around here.

In this past week, we have fished from Port O’Connor to the Upper Laguna Madre and 9 Mile. The Rockport fishing report is very good throughout all of those systems. Our “best” fishing has been just North of Rockport. If numbers are your game, we have been seeing just tons of fish in St. Charles, Copano and San Antonio Bays. Tons of tailing fish in the mornings and schools into the early afternoon hours. But not all have been our largest. While the numbers may be better up North, we have found more big fish South of Rockport and Port Aransas. Many over-slot fish are being seen down that way, including a few in the upper 30″ range. Hard to go wrong in either direction out there right now.

Our fly selections have been fairly standard. We love the Crabcake Special. Especially on some of the sluggish fish in the cooler morning hours. As the fish get a little more fired up, lots of flies have worked. Crabs, Reducers, Chug Bugs and the Blue Bayou have all been very good. The fish are going nuts on small baitfish and shrimp patterns as things warm up. So fire away with anything you are confident in. Rewards will soon follow. One last note on flies… On these very skinny water, bright sun and calm days, many of the fish have been really really finicky. We have been going to very small, and lightly weighted, Polar Shrimp flies and lighter tippet. This has been fruitful, for those spooky fish.

So that pretty much covers the Rockport fishing report end of things for now. So we will update everyone just a little bit about the current state of things down here along the coast. We are hoping to simply keep folks “in the know”. So these reports are fairly brief and all encompassing. We also are trying to be very respectful of those in these communities that continue to have their lives greatly affected by the storm. So for very specific info, please feel free to contact us at any time, and we are happy to provide more information.

The Coastal Bend of Texas continues to heal and rebuild following the storm. Our most frequent questions are usually regarding lodging and restaurants in the area. The good news is, we do have plenty of both. Maybe not as many as some are used to, but there are still places to stay. The lodging does go very quickly these days, as we still have many work crews in the area helping rebuild these communities. So think ahead if you are looking for lodging. Many of our favorite restaurants are also up and running. The coffee at The Daily Grind is just as good as ever, and the cocktails at Glow are also on point. There are a number of other great restaurants open for business as well. So our guests visiting the area will have plenty of options.

There is still plenty of work to be done down this way, but it is getting better every day. We would like to thank all of our guests that have already fished with us this Fall. You are a very large part of what makes these communities tick. Your patronage to our local establishments is much appreciated, and needed, to help move things forward. So from all of us here at Fly Fish Rockport… Thank You.

We have a bit of a front blowing through down here for the next couple of days. Following that, very warm temps and fishy weather later in the week. So we will be on the water again following this little storm. Until then, it looks like it’s time to tie some flies and such.

We will keep the reports up for everyone. Of course you can always email any time if you would like any up to the minute fishing or Rockport news. We continue to post on  Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat. We try to keep stuff fresh for those of you that are wishing you were on the flats with us. So be sure to follow us on all our social media stuff. And don’t forget to sign up for our monthly newsletter below!!!