DaParson's Fishing Adventures

Dewey and I had the joy of taking Marvin Sanders, Dewey's brother-in-law, fishing on Tuesday, April 26th. A front had blown through that morning - when we started out - the wind was out of the west - it ended up being about 20-25 out of the NorthWest. We caught 2 Bull Reds, about a half-dozen gaftop and a few hardheads. This was Dewey's big catch of the day!

Here is a beautiful Bull Red that Marvin caught. The Red was 45" long and weighed a little over 46 pounds. Notice the bright bronze color of the Red. This is the largest fish Marvin has ever caught on rod and real! He had a blast fighting this Red.

This was the only Bull Red I caught on the day. He was 44" and right at 43 lbs. Like the one that Marvin caught - he was very fat. One unusual thing about him though - he had no spot. From what I have read - that is fairly unusual. This is the second one we have caught like that. Long bumpy day fishing - but 2 Bull Reds - and a wad of fat Gaftop - on a windy day after a front moved through isn't all bad.

We took Reed Murry out Monday, April 18th. The forecast was for SE Winds 10-15 until late in the day - boy did they miss. From the boat dock on there was a strong 20-25 ESE wind blowing. We could not find a place to fish at the Jetty that wasn't too bouncy to stay at. Reed was able to catch this 20 lb Black Drum - he says it is the biggest fish he has ever caught! We came in early - pretty miserable bouncy fishing today.

Dewey and I were able to head out to the North Jetty Tuesday Morning. The wind was SE at about 5 - but at about 10:30 the winds picked up from the North to about 20-25. Made it pretty bumpy - but still fishable. Early in the morning - we caught several large gaftop - and Dewey caught 1 sheephead. Then the wind shifted - and the bite totally shut down. We spent the next 2 hours sitting - waiting - and we couldn't even give a live shrimp away.

We were going to head back about 12:30 - but at 12:25 one of the lines took off. First Bull Red of the day - 45 inches long and right at 47 lbs. She was broad and thick. So much for leaving at 12:30. (smile)

Here was the second Bull Red of the day. This one weighed in at 42lbs - 44 inches long. The first drum was caught on cracked crab - this one was caught on cut Shad.

Here was the last Bull Red we landed - 42 inches long weighing right at 38 lbs. There also was one Red that I hooked free lining crab - no weight - just letting it flow along the Jetty. He might have been in the slot - or a tad over - I could not tell. The line broke - and it was very frayed - I think it frayed while the fish slid under the boat. Either way - it escaped to fight another day. All in all a great day of fishing.

Friday, April 8th. For those of you who venture out to the Jetties from the Boat Launch at the end of Texas City Dike - you need to be careful. Right past the Ferry Landing - they were dredging around the Ferry Landings last week - they built a "Spoil Island" between the 2 Towers to the North of the Channel It is North of where the Tower has been knocked over. At low tide you can see the island barely - but at high tide I don't think it would be visable. There are no markings for this - and it is where the water used to be 6 - 8 ft deep.  

We had the priviledge of taking Paulo Soares out to the Jetty for a day of fishing on Friday, April 8th. On the day, Paulo caught 6 Black Drum. It was his first time fishing for fish that big. He certainly wasn't disappointed! 

Dewey caught this Bull Red. He measured out at 41" long. Amazingly enough - Dewey was the only one who caught Reds today. He didn't catch any Drum or Hardhead. He said he was a "Talented Selective Fisherman." 

Here was one of the smaller drum we caught on the day. He has a beautiful color to him.  

Here is another Black Drum the Paulo caught. This was one of the few that still had the stripes on him. 

Dewey snapped this picture of me hooked up fighting a fish. What a profile! (laughing) 

Here is a Black Tip (I think) Shark I caught. We had a line out with Shad on it. This shark hit that line. It was a good fight - he took off several times.

Here is a closer pic of the Shark that I caught. At some point I am going to have to learn how to handle sharks for a better pic. Even though it might have only been about 4ft - the teeth looked numerous and sharp. 

This was the largest Black Drum of the day. He weighed in a little over 30lbs. Paulo was whupped after he caught this one! 

Paulo caught this Black Drum. On the day, Paulo caught 6 Black Drum. All were in the 20-25 lb range. Most Drum were caught on cracked crab.

This was Dewey's 2nd Red of the Day. All in all it was a great day of fishing.