Time for a fresh Rockport fishing report for the final days of April, and opening days of May. We have been enjoying some outstanding Spring fishing lately and expect things to keep on rolling into May. So we will try to breakdown what all we have been seeing out there for this Rockport fishing report.
The week since our last report was outstanding. We were finally able to shake off a little bit of the wind that had plagued us for the first portion of April. We were blessed with a string of days with light and variable winds, throughout most of the day. A much needed break from some of the winds the weeks before. Calm winds, plenty of sun and happy fish made for some pretty fun days on the water.
The fish have been in pretty hardcore tailing mode. Schools of fish are common these days, for the majority of our days. We have still been doing best early or very early. Lots of days getting the boat in the water no later than 6am. By the time you get to your spot, there are multiple schools of fish waiting to greet you.
Many of the schools are fairly large. Not uncommon to see 25-50 fish working together frequently. Some schools may be twice that size. With a smattering of small schools mixed in as well. But certainly lots of fish working for food out there. As the sun climbs in the morning, one might expect the tails to taper off. Not so much as of late. They have hung in there throughout most or all of our days lately, allowing shots of tailing fish well into the afternoons.
There are still some cruisers around as well. Not as many in the grassy water, as many have preferred to school up. But in the more open sand or mud bottoms, we are seeing singles, pairs and the usual suspects as well. Also, most of the cruising fish have been a bit larger. As you might expect, many of our schooling fish are a bit on the smaller side. But not all. Also, don’t be shocked to throw at a school and come away with the occasional small trout as well. Kind of a slap in the face, but unavoidable we suppose.
Our best tail action has been up North. The areas just North of downtown Rockport, all the way to Port O’Connor. But there are plenty doing the same further South as well. We just haven’t seen the same quantity of schools throughout the days. But the grassy areas have their full attention and they are rooting around feverishly for a meal.
Our fly selections has varied a bit. Largely due to the depth of the water. Very often lately we have been fishing over very shallow grass. So topwater flies and lighter patterns have been the first out of the box most days. The Tube Top is our best topwater fly this past weeks. While the Tube Sock, Rocket Pop and Reducer have been some of our favorite subsurface patterns. While fishing over more sparse grass or open sand and mud, the Reaper or Crabcake have been fishing very well also.
The water remained very low all last week. But as we write this Rockport fishing report, and listen to the wind howl outside, we know the water is rushing back into the bays. Today the water was creeping back up towards normal, with the help of a vicious Southeast wind. With much more wind in the forecast for the remainder of the week, we don’t expect that to change. But the levels are just fine to allow you into most all of the water you want to fish.
The air temps have remained very comfortable out there, which has the water temps just about right as well. We are still seeing more and more random fish in our ventures though. Bulls, jacks, triple tail, pompano, skipjacks and a few sharks are still fairly commonly seen throughout the week. Makes it kinda fun out there to fire off casts at other players as they swim by.
The coming week looks decent around here. Definitely a little on the breezy side the next couple of days. Then maybe a chance at some rain as we enter the weekend. But certainly manageable each day. So we will be out there chasing the fish and doing our best to report back accordingly.
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