Rockport Fishing Report – May 16th

We have reached the middle of May already, and it is time for another Rockport Fishing report. Hard to believe that we are now on the backside of May and June is fast approaching. Although the weather sure feels like June around here already. But not all bad, as we break down another Rockport fishing report for you.

The weather since has our last report has remained very good. Much lighter winds, sunny days and warm temps. Some days have even been a bit on the too warm side of things, reaching 90 degrees or just over. Not terrible, but plenty warm if the wind is light. Today was a prime example. Calm winds made it pretty warm out there by 9am this morning. Then, as the day went on, it did creep up into the realm of uncomfortable. Mainly due to the lack of wind, but you can start to feel the Summer sun out there these days for sure.

Since our last report, the fishing has remained very good. Some days are lights out from start to finish. Particularly into this last weekend. But so far this week, things have begun to change a little bit. Our mornings have remained very very good. Lots of tails and schools to throw at still. As the sun gets a bit higher, you will begin seeing cruising fish as well. But for the past few days, our fishing has certainly slowed down by noon and on into the afternoon. It doesn’t completely shut off, but certainly nowhere near the action that you will see earlier in the day. Also, the fish we do see are very picky or disinterested in many of our casts.

This can be attributed to the warm temps. We have been in the high 80’s to 90 most days lately. This has begun warming the water up as well. As we headed towards home this afternoon, our GPS water temp read at 85 on the flat we were on in Port Aransas. Most surface temp readings throughout the mid day ranged around 83-84. This sure seems a bit warm for mid May. But you can tell it’s warming up by the fishes actions. Again, as the day goes on, disinterested fish are very common. Some still eat, if the first cast is placed well. Others have eaten as we keep pestering them while they slowly retreat. But the majority simply look at your fly and slowly slink away.

So, our recommendation… get after it early. We’ve been motoring out at 6am every day lately. There will be active fish and plenty of light to see tails when you get to your spot. Then take advantage as best you can of the cooler portions of the day. After noon, persistence will pay off. Keep after it and don’t get bummed out by those fish that swim right by your fly. Someone will still be willing to eat. But by 2pm, it’s time to think about sno cones and poolside drinks for the rest of the day. Get yourself out of the sun and get after it again tomorrow.

As for flies, we are still throwing a variety of stuff. With schools around, its still a lot of fun getting a topwater eat. And that continues to work well when casted at a school of tails. We continue to find these schools in very thick grass, so all our other flies fished lately have been pretty light. Crab, shrimp and baitfish patterns all work well. As the day continues, and we turn our focus to cruising singles, we are throwing dark colored crab patterns or Reapers. Not real heavy, as we remain in very shallow water, but certainly something that gets to the bottom and can be fished very slowly while those less active fish look and follow more than just eat.

We have been fishing all over the place. Similar to our last Rockport fishing report though, we are focusing on some pretty thick grassy areas most mornings. This is where we are finding the most schooled up and tailing fish. They are working through the grass gorging themselves on shrimp and have become pretty predictable most days. Plenty of areas in St. Charles Bay and San Antonio Bay have been fishing well from Rockport to Seadrift and Port O’Connor. The past couple days have been spent a little South of Rockport and closer to Port Aransas or Corpus. But still seeking out the same grassy flats in the mornings.

Many of your tailing/schooled up fish will still be a bit on the smaller end of the spectrum. Of course that isn’t always the case, but it is the vast majority. So if you grow tired of seeing smaller reds, trout and skipjacks come out of the schools you cast to, adjust the program and look for cruisers. These solo fish have been much larger consistently. We have been trying to do a little of both with our days. But certainly finding the larger, single cruising fish has been much better once you get away from the schools.

The weather looks like much more of the same for the foreseeable future. Plenty of sun, lighter winds and temps around 90 most days. Also keep in mind that this coming weekend is the Babes on the Bay fishing tournament down this way. This is pretty much a gigantic mess around here. There are over 1,000 entries at last count. So it will be very busy around here. Our advice, go way North or way South to avoid the mess. Just sayin’.

We continue to have boats out every day. So we will keep reporting back with what we are seeing out there on the water. You can always email any time if you would like any up to the minute Southwest Texas fly fishing or Rockport type news. We continue to post on  Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat. Or perhaps SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel as well. We continually are trying to add more videos and stuff there. 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.