A Lazy Day in the Sailboat Channel

The last two years have found us kayaking and fishing the Sailboat Channel near Aransas Pass, Texas. The January cold fronts usually turn the narrow waterway into a fishing bonanza. So we were anxious to kayak and fish it as soon as we arrived at our winter spot.

So we loaded up the yaks and headed to an easy launch spot near an old channel cut. It was dredged to allow the movement of an oil rig and at one end sits a well head. Launching our kayaks we made a quick paddle into the channel and quickly arrived at our secret hotspot, (this is a well know spot fished by lots of people).

The water was as high as we have ever seen it, and even though it was only a few hours from low tide we wondered if the fish would show up. Baiting with dead shrimp we both cast to our selected spots and waited patiently for a red or black drum to make a couple of taps before running and hooking itself  on our circle hooks, (we always use circle hooks as they usually result allow us to safely release under and oversized fish).

Small fish and crabs were the only bites we had and after an hour we moved to the channel entrance. Again small fish seemed to dominate the place although Renita did catch a few nice sand trout. Deciding to have fish and shrimp for dinner we kept a couple of the trout.

A great blue heron spotted Renita catching fish and so it tried to sneak up to her in hopes of grabbing one of the trout. They are some of the best beggars and it’s not unusual to have one come near wherever you are fishing.

We never feed the beggar birds as one time we had one grab a fish while it was being wound in. That time I was able to bring the pelican in and grab it, avoiding the dangerous beak as I unhooked and released the bird. In the distance a huge deep sea drilling rig stood silent, a testament to the massive shut down in oil and gas drilling activity.

We never did catch any drums and so we stopped at the shrimp store to add some shrimp to the dinner menu. The trout were filleted and made an added bonus to the meal. It had been a nice day and a nice paddle. It’s always a blessing to be out on the waters of the Texas Coastal Bend. Clear skies