Rockport Fishing Report – May 29th

It’s Friday, and darn near June, and time for another Rockport fishing report. This will be the last report for the month of May. Also, just in time for the weekend. Although it pretty much seems that you can’t really tell the difference between the weekdays and weekends around here lately. Regardless, here is your Rockport fishing report.

As mentioned already, it has been hectic down on the Texas Coast lately. We managed to survive Memorial Day Weekend, somehow. Ask any local, and they will tell you they’ve never seen it that busy around the area… EVER. It was completely nuts. Luckily, we were able to get out on the water and find a little peace and quiet out there. Also, a bunch of redfish. But it was pretty crazy, once off the water.

This week has remained busy as well. Lot’s of folks in town and on the water. And after a quick drive through Rockport this evening, it’s looking like it will be a pretty crazy weekend as well. Hotels, vacation rentals and the like are all pretty much full in town. So expect some excitement at the boat ramps in the morning. Which is reason # 1 to go early!

The fishing has remained pretty solid throughout the last week though. Not our best, even for late May, but it has been pretty good. We’ve had some interesting weather, which could be stirring the fish up a little bit maybe. Or perhaps it was the days on end of dead South wind? Or West wind? Or the Northeast wind we had today? Or maybe its just hot out there and the fish are getting a little weird. Either way, we’ve seen all sorts in the past week or so. Some monster thunderstorms have been rolling through in the wee hours of the morning. Most have moved off by the time we are getting our boats in the water though. But maybe these have the fish a little out of sorts too.

Honestly, it really is fishing just fine. We would say good, not great. Although it does have its moments of greatness. And then there are plenty of moments that are certainly less than great as well. But for the best results, the mornings are the key for sure. Reason # 2 to go early!

Without a doubt the mornings are when we are getting most of our work done out there. Taking advantage of the coolest part of the day is key right now. The fish have been far more active early. Most mornings tails are still readily available, especially with the strong tides we’ve had recently. But they are preferring the lower light hours. As the sun gets up a bit, you’ll notice the tails tapering off. Crashing banks hasn’t been too prevalent for us lately. Although a random here and there isn’t unheard of. Most are deep in the flooded grass. But these have been few and far between.

Cruisers make up the rest of our mornings and day. Most are solo, but not all. Just depends on where you’re at. Along the banks, they seem to be moving around solo a bit more. Out in the middle of the flat, we’re seeing a some schools of 4-5 fish moving around together. But these cruising fish will also slow drastically as the day goes on. Instead, you will start bumping fish out of the mud or grass when the boat gets right on top of them. Some will eat as they retreat, but not all.

The water is starting to get warm out there. It will be in the upper 70’s when you hit the water in the morning, then climb from there. Most of this week, while fishing back in the flats and lakes both North and South of Rockport, the afternoon water temps were in the 88-90 degree range by early afternoon. That is hot. Plenty hot enough to get our fish to shut it down pretty much by 1 or 2pm. Reason # 3 to go early!

So we have been starting at 6am most days and getting after it as long as we can before the heat of the day sets in. A couple of days this week, our heat index was 105 degrees. So not only is it hot for the fish, it kinda sucks for us fisherman out there as well. So we vote for going early and packing it in and heading for a sno-cone and the pool.

Fly selection is pretty much the usual. We are running a few patterns that are a little smaller and lighter though. This helps in dealing with some of the grass that is growing out there, and also not freak out some of these fish that are a bit more on edge in this hot weather. But dark crab patterns still lead the charge most mornings. Closely followed by a few pink shrimp patterns. The topwater action hasn’t been too strong lately, so we haven’t bothered with those this week really. Maybe if we start seeing a few more large schools, we will get those fired up again.

The tide has remained pretty high out there. With nice incoming water every morning. So there is plenty of water out there to get anywhere you want. Also, there is a bunch of flooded grass out there for the fish to play in as well. A few reds have been tailing in it here and there, but not a ton. The sheepshead are all about it though. So maybe keep that in mind, if you want to frustrate the crap out of yourself. You never know with those things.

The offshore fishing has been pretty good as well. The water is in the low 80’s out there, which is perfect for all types of things to be swimming around. After turning over a few tarpon a week ago, our last 3 trips out haven’t produced any more. But the jacks and kings are everywhere. So we are keeping a few larger rods in the boat every day, in the event that we are able to sneak out front for a couple hours in the morning. Or maybe even make a day of it in the big boat and run up and down the coast a bit. Either way, they are out there. Just a little bit of right place/right time needed. Especially for those jacks and tarpon. But the kings are pretty predictable most days. Not necessarily that they will come to the surface for you, but they are holding the same spots each day. So those are always an option. But bring your wire leaders. They have been slicing through 50-60 lb flouro like it isn’t even there.

Our weather is looking pretty good for the weekend. Still a chance for a few thunderstorms here and there, but most have come early in the morning and allow us to get our full day in on the water. The coming week looks very good as well. Lots of sunshine and light winds in our forecast. So not a bad time to think about getting out on the flats with us. Or maybe try your hand at a day offshore chasing a few different fish. Either way, it should be a good week out there.

We have all our boats out on the water every day these days. So we will report back at the end of the week with what all is going on out there. But expect the fishing to remain pretty good. 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.