Rockport Fishing Report – October 22nd

After a long weekend, we are here with a fresh Rockport fishing report for the last full week of October. This month has gone by very quickly. Hard to believe we are almost to November around here, although it hasn’t exactly felt like it too much. But the weather is changing as we speak. So the Rockport fishing report should be changing very soon as well.

This past week was pretty “tough” around here. Actually, that is being a little on the positive side of things. Honestly, the weather was pretty crappy all week for those of us trying to fly fish the Texas flats. Strong North winds, rain showers and heavy clouds were the norm for most of the week. Not exactly ideal for site fishing out there. But we were able to persevere and survive it. Even finding quite a few fish along the way.

It was tough spotting fish out there most of the week. You would have your moments where there might be a little break in the clouds. Or maybe a few fish shallow enough to have their backs out of the water. There were a few tails spotted out there, and even a couple small jacks. But all in all, it was a bit tough. The fish are there, and were largely cooperative, if you could see them. But many were seen just in time to watch them flee, without getting a shot off. Frustrating for all involved.

We did have a few hours of unexpected sunshine Friday morning. All our weather reports were calling for clouds early, and heavy rains starting at noon. Instead, we had mostly sunny skies early and fairly light winds. This was the best fishing we had over the course of the entire week. Lot’s of fish moving around. Many in groups of twos and threes. And all were plenty willing to eat whatever you put in front of them. But it was very apparent that the fish were happy and enjoying the cooler water temps all this crap weather brought with it.

The water remains pretty high throughout the bays. Not nearly as high as it was a week ago, but still pretty high. It appears that the fish are still spread out a good bit, but in the right spots for sure. We will most likely continue to lose a little more water this week, with some more strong winds from the North. But don’t expect too much of a change just yet. It may take another big storm pattern to move through before we lose too much more.

Another thing to watch in the coming days is Hurricane Willa, off the West Coast of Mexico. This is a pretty sizeable storm those folks are dealing with. So we might expect some more funky weather in our area, off the heels of this storm. Very likely we could see some more wet weather, as this gets a bit closer to the Gulf. We will have to wait and see though.

For the remainder of this week, we have some more funky weather. Mainly Tuesday and Wednesday. Then, things finally start to snap out of it on Thursday, bringing us a little sunshine. Friday and on into the weekend is looking like it will shape up very well for those trying to get out on the water. So there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

The fly selection this week was all over the place. Captain Jeff liked some mullet or baitfish imitations most days. He liked all the movement and larger sized patterns with the tougher visibility. Captain Gibson threw quite a few Toad and Kwan type creations with good success. For the more finicky fish, smaller shrimp and crab patterns were quickly tied on. But most fish were fairly cooperative. There were a few fish, on some of the stormy days, that would follow and not commit. Especially if the fly was moving too quickly. But those were a select few and not the norm.

We scratched the next couple days of trips due to weather, unfortunately. So hopefully we will be tying flies, putting on some new fly lines and catching up on computer work. Or, more than likely, you will find us at the country club chasing around a few golf balls. But we are back at it on Thursday with the improving weather. So we will certainly update everyone on how things are looking as this weather finally starts blowing outta here. We are expecting the fishing to be very very good, once this stuff finally passes. Late October and November could be “the time” to get down to the Coast.

But we will let you know as we get back out there later this week. And of course, 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.