The weekend is over and we are catching up with an update Rockport fishing report before the holiday weekend. Things are still cranking really well around here. Fall fishing is still prime time. The weather has been mostly cooperative. And the fishing is still very very good.
We last reported a bit over a week ago now. Since then, things have continued to be very good out on the Texas flats. We’ve had mostly cooperative weather out there each day, which helps of course. A slight push of cold air from the North is not out of the question this time of year. But luckily, these have all been very short lived and typically blow through after a single day. Behind the cold front, the fish have been on an absolute warpath, eating everything in sight.
Most days have been very good weather wise lately though. Low winds and plenty of sun have been the norm. Pretty solid stuff for Fall fly fishing down this way. Our mornings have been a bit cooler for the most part. Temps in the lower 50’s in the morning are fairly standard most days. So a bit later start is not too bad of an idea. Although the water temps are hanging in there nicely. So no need to drag your feet too much in the mornings. We are typically in our spots and fishing by 8am or so, and seeing fish moving right out of the gate.
As the day continue to warm up a bit, you can expect the fish activity to as well. That range from about 11am to 2pm has been completely lights out the past week or so. Tons of fish moving around, crashing banks, tailing and just flat gettin’ after it out there. Most days, the action has been pretty fast and furious for that handful of hours. As you get into the afternoon hours, particularly beyond 2pm’ish, the sun is beginning to drop a little lower. You can feel the effects of a bit shorter days out there now. While the fish activity doesn’t stop, you can notice that it is just a bit less hectic for the remainder of the afternoon. That being said, we are still typically working the flats until about 4pm each day out there right now, with plenty of activity throughout.
We’ve had lot’s of messages lately about a few of the fish pics and videos we’ve been posting. So yes, there are still a bunch of bull reds milling around these days. Most days we are getting out fair share of shots at these larger fish cruising the shallows. Although not every day is created equal. But seeing 20+ bulls in a day is not out of the ordinary right now, and hopefully getting a good number of shots at those fish.
These big bulls can be a little sluggish in the mornings. But as things warm, they’ve been very active crashing baitfish in shallow. If you can get a fly in front of them, hang on tight because they are going to kill it! Our best flies have been big and dark. Think large profile and dark contrasting colors. We actually just posted a fly tying video this evening of a very simple Seaducer Pattern that has worked very well with these big bulls lately.
When we’re not casting at these 40 plus inch fish, we’ve been sticking to our usual patterns out there. Darker crab patterns are fishing very very well for us. Not only are we seeing a ton of reds each day that are plenty willing to eat the crab, but tailing drum and sheepshead are all over the place as well right now. So small darker crab patterns have worked very well on those also. And, if one swims by, we’ve hooked a few fish in the mid 40″ range on our black crab pattern as well this week. So you never know out there. All we can say, is be boyscout prepared! But you would not believe what the fight is like on a 45″ bull red, with a 6wt rod. Good stuff.
It’s looking like we are going to get a little funky weather as the week progresses. We are on the water tomorrow, but have a little cold front blowing in tomorrow night. This could very likely lock us down all day Wednesday as well. Thursday is still up in the air, although we are keeping an eye on it. We have a long tradition of guiding the boys from San Antonio Thanksgiving Morning each year. So hopefully we can make that happen, if the weather holds for us. But if not, it’s a day of football and food for us. As we come out of the holiday Thursday, many will be worried about Christmas shopping and junk like that. We’re looking ahead to the weather and seeing temps up to the low 90 degree range. So we are assuming there will be some pretty outstanding post cold front fishing to be had this coming weekend.
We will be on the water tomorrow, then waiting to see what we are dealt for the remainder of our holiday week. As we roll along, we will keep people up to date with what is going on around here.
If you are looking to get out on the water, you can always contact us any time if you would like to BOOK A TRIP or need any up to the minute Southwest Texas fly fishing or Rockport fishing report 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.
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