#143 - FM 2031

(Beach Rd)

Matagorda, TX 77457

 

979-863-1143

979-479-5455
cassady@airmail.net


Tournament Info and Fishing Report

June 25, 2008

 

Well, as most of ya’ll know, there were a couple of tournaments going on down in Matagorda.  There was Lingerie on the Bay (LOTB) and the annual Matagorda Bluewater Challenge.  David Cassady, one of the founders of Full Stringer Lodge, was the auctioneer for the Calcutta.  The calcuta was $35,000.  In this tournament, they had 2 huge ling, the largest weighing 74.2 pounds and 1 at 63 pounds.  These ling were huge!  A 19 pound snapper won first in its division and the kingfish that won its division weighed 50.02 pounds.  Full Stringer Lodge had three boats in the LOTB.  Captain Warmke’s boat won 4th place and the other two boats did not place.

 

This week’s report is the opposite of last week’s edition.  Everybody is heading to East Bay.  Captain Kyle Tomek was literally eating, sleeping and breathing fishing.  He fished an outstanding six days, catching 10-20 trout per day.  They had several over 25 inches, with the largest measuring 27 ¾ inches.  They lost one well over 28 inches at the net that a lucky 7th grader caught.  Kyle and his clients were wading shell.  He had 2 trips that were drifters…they caught nothing.  Ken Sabin did some night wading Wednesday, catching 8 trout over 25 inches.  He had an awesome trip.  Captain Kenny Hauff had half limits over the weekend, drifting East Bay, throwing live shrimp.

 

Rob Cummings had a good week, too.  They caught a lot of fish on Friday while wading.  They ended up with half-limits to 28 ½ inches, throwing Spook Jrs, and Bass Assasins.  On Saturday, they caught 30 trout to 23 inches, drifting shell and throwing live shrimp.

 

 Monday Capt.Mark Talasek and David Hall started off wading grassbeds down west. First stop produced one trout so they loaded up and headed to the "hump" in Port O'Conner. As a result  they  boxed 10 trout and hit the bouys on the way back sticking one triple tail. Tuesday they  ventured over to east bay. Twenty fat trout to 23" hit the box by 8 a.m. on black Bass Assassins. Cory Flencher ventured back east Capt.Talasek on Wednesday where they iced 24 more nice specs. Black/Chartreuce Bass Assassins were the ticket for duping the trout. Thursday he took Mike Spinks and his wife Lisa drifting oysterlake with live shrimp. They  caught and released scores of undersized reds and trout before calling it a day around lunch. Friday  he took Nowry Smith wading. wading reefs in east bay. They  iced 12 trout with a fat 29.5 inch "big girl" topping the day.

 

This past thursday Robert and Stephanie Steves boxed a limit of solid trout and two reds with Capt.Ken Marshall. Friday Robert,Bill,Jerry and David had 14 trout and one red. Sat Carry,Angela,and Bill headed offshore with Capt.Ken! They  bounced around at spots looking for big snaps. After boxing a few decent fish to 10lbs. They  hit a spot loaded with sows. They kept two to finish the limit then moved on to catch and release kingfish to 35lbs. and also picked up a couple ling. Sunday they  headed into the bay and boxed 13 trout and one redfish and then they headed in for lunch! 

 

Capt.Scott Reeh had Cliff Branum, owner of Southshore Boats join him on a long needed buddy trip.They headed towards a bar near POC and stuck 17 keeper trout. Then  they decided to Tripletail their way back to the launch site, Cliffs house on Caranchua Bay. They boated 1 10lb 'Tail and released 1 that was alittle short. Also thrown in the mix were 2 sheepies! It was a great day on the water with a great friend!

 

 

Tight Lines

 

Josh Stone

 


June in Matagorda

June 20, 2008

 

 

I would like to introduce myself.  My name is Josh Stone.  I love to fish and be outdoors.  I live in Bay City and will be a freshman at Van Vleck High School this fall.  I will be taking Kyle Tomek's spot writing the Full Stringer fishing reports.  I am very grateful to Mr. Cassady for asking me to do this.
 

West Bay seems to be the hot spot for fish this past week.  Kyle Tomek said while wading in West Bay, one of his clients, Robert Gill, hooked a 30", 8 lb. trout; unfortunately, Mr. Gill wasn't registered in S.T.A.R.  Kyle also fished Mansfield and said the 5 trout per man limit has really helped the trout population. 

 

Ken Sabin and Rob Cummins fished also fished West Bay.  They caught 9 trout and 1 red throwing topwaters and wading the grassbeds.

 

Captain Bobby Gardner fished West Bay all week, also wading the grassbeds.  The high winds and lack of bait limited them to catching only a few reds and trout.  They did catch a couple of triple tail.

 

Captain Scott Reeh fished West Bay.  On Wednesday, he and his clients waded West Bay and caught good sized trout and reds.  On Thursday, he had a change of luck.  They were drifting East Bay, but the wind was horrible.  They caught all throw-backs on Thursday.

 

This past weekend, Captain Kenny Hauff fished East Bay, drifting and throwing live bait under popping corks.  They caught some nice trout, weighing around 5 lbs.  They were drifting scattered shell.  Captain Hauff did get a chance to slip into West Bay.  They hung two triple tail and landed one.

 

Captain Mark Talasek fished West Bay, as well.  Using Chicken on a Chain Bass Assassins, Captain Talasek's group took 30 fat specs to 22". An incoming tide brought the fish on top of sand bars to feed.  Going back to same spot the next two days, they caught 19 trout the first day and 10 the next as winds picked back up.   On Friday, Captain Talasek fished East Bay, catching another 19 trout and a flounder.  An incoming tide proved to be the ticket again along with black Bass Assassins worked slow on the bottom.  Low tides in the evening coupled with high winds have slowed flounder gigging the later part of the week.

 

Captain Ken Marshall Last week started off with a bang for his clients.  They boxed 32 trout up to 26 inches, and released that many more short fish. Tues. The rest of the week was a blowout. The Oilmans Tournament held on Friday and Saturday and had tough conditions as well. On Saturday, his guys did manage 6 trout and 4 reds.  Friday produced only 3 trout and one flounder.

 

Well, I hope you enjoyed my first report.  

 

Tight lines,

 

Josh Stone

 


Fishing in Heavy Winds/Movie in Matagorda

March 26, 2008

 

Spring Break started off with 25 mph south winds states Captain Mark Talasek.  Monday, Talasek guided an angler and his son in West Matagorda Bay.  Live shrimp was used to catch numerous undersized reds during the half-day trip.

 

The following night the heavy winds brought a high tide making for some excellent floundering.  “I took Jeff Gubbles and his three daughters to east bay.  The water was clear up to 100 yards and we stuck 10 flatties, missing several more, before heading in.

 

Wednesday, the wind picked up to 30 mph from the north and the protected sloughs of West Bay were where they boxed five redfish, four flounder, and a drum.  Live shrimp beneath a popping cork drew the strikes. 

 

Friday was tough for drift fishing but good quality floundering paid off for his gigging trips in the latter part of the week.   

 

Captain Tommy Alexander provided a report this week.  He spent two days drift fishing with clients.  Using live shrimp on one of the outings, his clients boxed a nice box of trout with a several reds.  “We fished all day but the bite really turned on at around 2!”  It sounds like it was worth the wait for Captain Tommy and his clients.

 

Pictured in Don Woods’ fishing photo, left to right, are Luke, Matt, and John Brattlof. 

 

The anglers are gripping three of the five trout they caught on a 1/2 day fishing trip in East Matagorda Bay

 

“The fish were caught on live shrimp while drifting scattered shell.  The water was in terrible shape where I wanted to fish so we were forced to fish where we had ‘half-way decent’ water.” 

 

Captain Tommy Alexander and I ventured to West Bay this week following a cold front.  We planned to scout and fish but ended up just scouting for decent water instead.  Even deep in the coves the water was chocolate and bayous were low after the north winds expelled much water.

 

On a better note, I guided founder of Lone Star Outdoor News and photographer, David Sams while he stayed at the lodge as well as Jared Ramey.  We motored into West Bay during 30+ mph south winds.  Our second stop produced 2-3 limits of redfish each that we released along with a 26 inch trout using all topwater plugs.  The trip was world’s different than they expected and we were the only boat in sight.  Latest Video-http://www.youtube.com/v/AJ1vVkPXLvs

 

Now about the movie in Matagorda…I am not at will to discuss any information concerning the film; however, there was a movie filmed in Matagorda this week.  28 miles of beachfront were closed and the filming of a very high budget film was the biggest buzz of the week. 

 

I attended a casting call and was casted for the movie on Tuesday.  Before you ask, pictures were not allowed.  I had a great time.  I met Brad Pitt and Sean Penn and was even able to ask Penn if he would like to do any fishing while he was down…unfortunately it was his last night in town. 

 

‘Til Next Week,

Capt. Kyle Tomek


Weekly Report

March 11, 2008

 

What a change this week looks to be.  I felt as if I would never see the end of the rough weather we have had.  Last week, cold fronts pelted the coastline hauling a truck load of wind and rain.  Due to the weather, most guides and anglers took time to make a presence at the Houston Fishing Show at the George R. Brown Convention Center

 

Crowds flocked to the gathering in better numbers than the recent boat show; overall, it seemed most were pleased with the attendance.  I hope that those of you that made it to the fishing show enjoyed yourselves.  We have another fantastic spring and summer fishing season ahead. 

 

A report from Capt. Ken Marshall reports how fishing has been for his clients.  Marshall recently guided clients from the Full Stringer Lodge.  “Thursday’s efforts were cut short in a howling wind that muddied up all of east bay.” 

 

Friday, Capt. Lee Warmke and Capt. Ken Marshall took their groups to west bay to wade.  “Right away my group walked into a large school of redfish. For the next few hours we stayed bowed up on reds. We boxed 10 keeper reds 3 trout and a couple flatties and released dozens of short reds. Lee took his guys a little further back in the cove and found 11 reds and 21 trout.”

 

Captain Rob Cumming fished in Baffin over the week.  He reports that big trout fishing has been very good.  Fishing can turn opposite right now in Baffin very quickly however.  When winds combine with the brown tide that is present, it can make for one very bad shade of brown!  According to Cumming, his fishing trips have consisted of trout to 29 ½ inches.  He is excited about days to come.

 

Captain Walt Schelle sent in a picture from his trip with Buzzy Romine and Mike Thomas fishing for speckled trout in West Matagorda last week. 

 

Full Stringer Lodge wants to thank all who stopped by, said hello, or chose to book their vacations through the lodge. 

 

‘til next week,


Capt. Kyle Tomek

www.kyletomek.com

 


Weekly Report

March 3, 2008

 

During the last week, anglers caught quality fish across the board in Matagorda using various approaches and techniques.  Wading produced boxes of fish in East and West Matagorda Bays, while drifting really shined at times in East Matagorda Bay

 

Captain Tommy Alexander concentrated his efforts over a mud and shell bottom for the last two weeks. We put a hurting on the fish today,” said Alexander when asked about a trip last week.  Using Corky devils in chartreuse/white/gold along with the Texas chicken color, Captain Tommy Alexander’s crew boated some very nice numbers of fish.

 

If catching plenty of trout wasn’t enough during the last two weeks, a surprise visit from the redfish over the weekend made fishing even better.

 

“We were wading on the south shoreline and had our limits in an hour!”  Norton Bull Minnows rigged on 1/8 ounce lead heads did the trick for his clients.  The highlight of the trip was when the lady on his boat caught the biggest redfish of the day.

 

A wadefishing report came from West Matagorda Bay this week from Mike Thomas.  “Friday, I teamed up with Buzzy Romine and Capt. Walt Schelle.” According to Thomas, the three caught 28 trout in the 16 to 18 inch range.  “Baits and colors did not seem to matter.” 

 

Saturday was more of the same when Captain Charlie Paradoski and Frank Bolbecker of LMC Marine fished alongside him in the same area.  “The porpoises moved in and pillaged two trout on our first wade.  We made a move to a different location.  When the tide moved in, it was on!”  Strawberry and Morning Glory bass assassins and bull minnows produced plenty of fish (as pictured in the photo). 

 

Mike Thomas tried to top off the weekend with a drift fishing trip in East Matagorda Bay; but it failed to produce preferred results.  “4 long drifts at four different locations and the Good Lord reminded us why it is fishing and not catching.”

 

Captain Mark Talasek’s catch while driftfishing was very good on Friday.  “We concentrated our drifts on the east end of East Matagorda Bay where we boxed five reds and 30 speckled trout.”  Flounder gigging has been limited due to the low tides in the evenings.  “When the tides switch back around and are high in the evening, the flounder run should be back on.”

 

‘Til Next Week,

 

Capt. Kyle Tomek

www.kyletomek.com

979-240-9999

 


Changing with February

Feb. 26, 2008

 

We have approached the latter part of February.  Change is taking place constantly on the water right now.  From the ups and downs in temperatures and wind to forever rainy or sunny conditions, anglers and fish are adapting.

 

Capt. Kyle Tomek:  I ventured out in search of big trout on several occasions with hit or miss luck.  As temperatures rose throughout the week, our retrieves became faster and our lure selection geared more towards soft plastics (Brown Lure Sea Devil-Amber) and faster retrieved topwaters, and Corkys. 

Reece Murray reeled in a big girl on an amber Sea Devil that weighed over 6 pounds and cleared the 28 inch mark.  It was the largest fish of the week but we caught and released several more between four and six pounds.   Latest Video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij0rUIOohzg


Captain Rob Cumming
is still catching some solid trout over “muddy grass flats and false channels on the shore line.”  Captain Rob reports that “they are mostly lone wolves and you have to be willing to grind for them.”  For those seeking consistent fishing, he states, solid trout to 24 inches and redfish to 26 can be caught drifting in the middle. “Drifting has been much more consistent using dark soft plastics.   (The trout pictured is 29 ¾ inches and seven pounds).

 

Captain Ken Sabin guided Brian Eliers in East Matagorda Bay on Friday.  “We had eight trout and two reds throwing Corkys.”  Sabin reports that sand and grass produced the mess of fish.  Saturday, Todd Krueger and Charles Spencer-who plays for the Houston Texans-were guided by Sabin.  Fishing was on the slow side; however, it was one of the most beautiful days all year he stated.

 

“Weather has been a major factor in fishing lately,” claims Captain Mark Talasek.  “When conditions are good, so is the catching.”  Though on Saturday night, Talasek’s client, Ron Wood on gigged a 28 inch flounder that would put a grin on anyone’s face.

 

Drifting east bay with artificals has been pretty steady. Even the youngsters are getting in on the action. West bay on the other is the place to go it you want to catch redfish and lots of ‘em!”  Captain Bobby Gardner also states that we have much more to look forward to in the coming days.  “…if you've never fished the glass minnows in April on an incoming tide in the evening treat yourself!”

 

A report comes from Mike Thomas this week.  “Tuesday morning we took our time getting over to the harbor with the tides low and decided to run over to West Matty.”

“First wade we hit the water at 9:45 and in about ten minutes it was on!”  According to Mike, by 11:30 the duo had their limits using tequila gold TTF baits.  “The fish were taken over sand & grass in knee deep water and the bite was aggressive.”

 

-Capt. Kyle Tomek

www.kyletomek.com

 


FSL Report

Feb. 12, 2008

 

Captain Rob Cummings-Big Trout Fishing


“We are STILL catching solid trout,” reports Captain Rob Cummings.  “We had trout to 29 ½ inches last week.”  According to Capt. Rob, there are still good fish hanging over shell and mud.  The grass and mud, however, is where he is throwing Corky’s for big speckled trout.  The slow-sinking baits work excellent for big trout up and down the coast during the winter season.  “I am mostly crawling them on the bottom but sometimes I work them fast.  It all depends on water temperature and how the bait is acting.”  Color is not near as important, says Capt. Rob Cummings.  “It is more of a tempo thing.” 

 

Captain Rob Cummings spent the past days away from East Bay in the heart of Baffin with hopes for more big trout. 

 

Captain Ken Marshall-Drifting & Wading for Consistency-Big Trout on a Slow Down

 

According to Captain Ken Marshall, the best bite for speckled trout was over deep shell in East Matagorda.  For redfish, wadefishing in West Matagorda Bay was his approach.  “The big trout we were catching seemed to vanish,” states Marshall.  “High pressure, clear skies, and low tides gave them lockjaw.”  “Another front is approaching, I think I’ll grab a slicker and head out into the rain.  That big girl might want to bite.”

  

Captain Mark Talasek-Drifting West Matagorda Bay/Drifting East Matagorda Bay

Captain Mark Talasek got back on the water to do some “catching” during the past week.  Chris Dermit fished alongside him last Saturday and the two started off fishing Talasek’s “redfish hole”.  “We picked up a couple of keeper reds and some undersized with live shrimp under a cork.” 

 

The duo then ventured to the north shore of West Matagorda Bay where the two “found some gulls diving around shell island”.  The first of the gulls provided five keeper specks and the rest were chock full of 8-to-14 inch “schoolies”. 

 

Captain Mark notes that it is unusual for such bird activity to be in that area during the middle of winter.  The afternoon ended with drifts over deep shell where the bite turned on.  “We finished our limit of speckled trout and released a half dozen more before heading in.”  “There are also some 'big girls' still roaming the shoreline.  Night fishing in Selkirk is picking up as well.”

 

Capt. Kyle Tomek-Big Trout Fishing

Joey Baker and his buddy Clifford fished with me on Thursday for an afternoon big trout fishing trip.   The conditions were not ideal but we had one heck of a trip.  Crosswinds turned waters into a chocolate shake but I took the guys to a protected area and hunkered down. 

 

In two wades, we caught and released three trout between five and over six pounds using the slow sinking charm of Corkys.   The guys were pleased with the additional bites from three to four pounders just before dark.  The biggest of the afternoon trip was just over 27 inches and the bites were frequent.

 

‘Til Next Week,

Capt. Kyle Tomek

www.kyletomek.com

 


FSL Report

Feb. 4, 2008

 

Big speckled trout found the end of Captain Ken Sabin’s line this week.  Last Tuesday, he experienced an exciting day of fishing with Daniel Greak.  “We had 8 fish over 25 inches with the biggest at 28 ½.”  Sabin reports that the two probably caught 30 fish that were all “fat and nice” using pink and day-glo corky’s.   

 

A week before, a 28 ½ and a 26 ½ were caught and released by him and his group.  “We had nine fish in the first hour,” recalls Sabin.  The highlight of the day for Ken-aside from catching all of the big fish-was watching a bobcat swim across the 52 degree waters of Old Gulf Cut. 

 

Mike Thomas provided a report this week after fishing with Capt. Charlie Paradoski and Capt.  Tommy Alexander.   “First wade should have been the ticket with all of the mullet around us but we zeroed on that spot.”  Soon after, the group made a run to a new location and located solid 18 to 22 inch trout.  “Throwing tequila gold, opening night Norton sand eels, plum chartreuse Bass Assassins and Corky's we boxed 19 trout up to 22', one 27' red and one lost flounder that forgot to migrate.”  “The bite slowed for us at ten so we made a couple of drifts heading in picking up 2 more trout. West Northwest winds started to howl so we called it the day at 11:30 and headed in. It was a great way to end a grind in good old Matagorda!”

 

Last week, Captain Charlie Paradoski, Captain Tommy Alexander, and I hit East Matagorda.  We spent the first part of the afternoon drifting mud.  We made five drifts and boxed 12-15 speckled trout.  The fish took a liking to black/chartreuse Brown Lure Sea Devils on quarter ounce heads.  I managed to hang a 26 1/2 inch trout on our third drift.  The last two hours of day light we spent pursuing a big trout; we came up empty without the slightest bite. 

 

The day before, fishing alongside two others, we caught and released two seven pounders and two five pounders while making a morning wade.  The topwater bite has continued to be on the slower side; but the Corky’s on the other hand were getting smoked!

 

On Monday’s charter, the tide was extremely low making our search for a big trout difficult.  We did, however, locate scattered trout and redfish. 

 

Winter Trout Fishing Video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTyrvvt4tNA

 

‘Til Next Week,

Capt. Kyle Tomek

www.kyletomek.com

 


FSL Report

January 22, 2007

 

Weather in Matagorda was rather rough this week.  Strong winds kept waters in East Matagorda off-color in many areas and tides low.  There were a select few that braved the conditions, hunkered down, and located some magnum specks.

 

Captain Ken Sabin and Captain Rob Cummings teamed up this week while prefishing for Saturday’s Plugger Trout Tournament in East Matagorda Bay.   According to Sabin, the two were wading soft mud during the cold and windy conditions. “While throwing Corky’s, we had some nice fish considering the weather was lousy,” recalls Captain Ken.  “Captain Rob caught a lone 30 inch, 8-pound trout.”

 

On the following day, Joe Barringer, while fishing with Captain Ken, caught a 29 ¾ inch trout that weighed eight and a half pounds.  

Captain Ken Sabin states that he requested they reschedule due to the strong north winds and rain.  His clients were ready to fish no matter what the conditions and it paid off for his clients after finishing the morning with 7 specks and one red. 

                                                     

These two trips were definitely the highlights of the week.  The river has become off-color due to water run off from recent rains. 

On a better note, weather looks to be lighter this week with temperatures creeping back to the high 60’s.  With these temperatures and calmer winds, we can expect more anglers to fish this week and more reports to follow.

 

Weather Forecast

Wednesday

North winds 10 to 15 knots. Bay waters slightly choppy. Showers likely.

Thursday

Northeast winds 20 to 25 knots. Bay waters rough. A slight chance of showers. Higher likelihood of a Small Craft Advisory.

Friday

East winds 15 to 20 knots. Bay waters choppy. A chance of showers.

 Saturday

South winds 15 to 20 knots becoming southeast 5 to 10 knots in the afternoon. Bay waters choppy decreasing to smooth in the afternoon. A chance of showers.

Sunday

Southeast winds 10 to 15 knots decreasing to 5 to 10 knots in the afternoon. Bay waters slightly choppy decreasing to smooth in the afternoon. A slight chance of showers.

 

‘Til Next Week,

 

Capt. Kyle Tomek

www.kyletomek.com

 


This Week’s Highlights

Jan. 15, 2008

 

In Matagorda, anglers are seeing constant change.  Temperatures significantly fall and rise between mere days depending on the passing fronts and the fish.  The wind has kept many seeking the refuge of the river-which has slowed in the past week-but East and West Matagorda Bays have produced in protected areas for fishermen seeking numbers and size. 

 

Captain Tommy Alexander struggled through a morning of drifting the Colorado for a handful of specks on pink soft plastics only to save the day by putting his clients on two limits of redfish.  “We left the river and anchored in two guts within the diversion channel,” recalls Alexander.  “Roach colored soft plastics drew strikes from countless undersized reds as well.”

 

Captain Ken Sabin guided Ken and Kyle Doughty of Humble last Wednesday.  “We caught big fish up to 28 inches along with a 27 ½ inch, 7 pound trout using Corky’s.”   It was defiantly a solid week for Sabin. 

 

A report comes out of West Matagorda Bay this week.  “First wade was great picking up 25 trout up to 20' and a couple of reds.”  Mike Thomas said, “With the weather nice, we decided to avoid the crowds in East Bay and run West.”  Following his wade, five more trout came on his group’s next wade.  His next stop in the diversion channel brought plenty of rat reds to hand. 

 

In the last two weeks, I have focused on big trout.  Last week, two others alongside myself caught and released 11 trout over 25 inches 5-7 ½ pounds.  Another highlight of the week was boxing 25 specks including 2 over 25 inches on topwaters.  The river slowed down big time this week, especially on Sunday’s Cast-N-Blast but the morning duck hunt consisted of abundant birds. 

 

The boat show kept many of the local guides and fishermen in the heart of Houston and off of the water during the last two weeks.  Along with Full Stringer Lodge and Realty, Captains Tommy Alexander, Mark Talasek, Charlie Paradoski, John Brummerhop, Tommy Countz, Randy Macik, and Walt Schelle were just a few of the Matagorda regulars I saw within Reliant Center while working the Laguna Rods booth.

 

‘Til Next Week,

Captain Kyle Tomek

Full Stringer Lodge