DaParson's Fishing Adventures

One of the greatest things about this blog is the friends I have been privileged to meet - and this is no exception. David and Daniel Johansen are from Minnesota but were in Dallas when he called and asked if there was any possible way he and his son could go out with Dewey and I. How can you turn down an opportunity like that! We made the arrangements and hope that Mother Nature would cooperate. I woke up Friday morning about 3:25am to Thunder - Looked at the radar and thought that the day might be a wash. The storm blew through and we fished about 4 hours around the North Jetty. We didn't have alot of luck, but still had a good time. We caught 2 Reds - 1 slot and 1 Bull and all the Shark we wanted. Numerous Black Tips, Bonnet Heads and Sand Shark were boated - mostly bathtub to 3 1/2 foot. Here is a video of the trip It really was a great day on the water! Good luck to David, Daniel and entire Johansen Family on their future endeavors!

Here is a video of the Mission Trip to the Kuna Yala.

Several people have chimed in about the fish I caught in Panama. There is some discussion whether this fish is a Spanish Mac or a Cero Mac. The one of the top is the one I caught - the bottom one is a Cero Mac I found on the net. Notice that mine doesn't have the definitive line through his body. The Other fish without a doubt is the Houndfish - a member of the Needlefish Family. Needlefishes are very elongate with long pointed jaws bearing numerous needle-like teeth; there are no spines in the fins; the dorsal and anal fins are posterior on the body; the lateral line passes along the lower side. These fishes are surface-dwelling and protectively colored green or blue on the back and silvery below; some species have green bones. They feed mainly on small fishes. When frightened, as by a predator or approaching boat, or confused by a light at night, they may leap and skitter at the surface. People have been injured by being struck by the larger needlefishes, a...

Every year our family rents a beach house down at Surfside. This year we were able to do a bit more fishing and although we didn't catch anything outstanding, but still thought you might enjoy watching a video - featuring the new "Hat Cam."

We had a great time fishing on the Mission Trip to the Kuna Indians in Panama. Most of the fishing was done between islands in San Blas, but we also were able to do some fishing around the mouth of the Bayano River as it flows into the Pacific. Here is a video of the trip These were the guys who took me around the islands. We trolled Snapper Slappers - and all fish we caught around the islands were on the Red and White Slapper. The locals called this a "Sierra" - which to me looks like a small Kingfish. This Rock Grouper was a great catch! Both of these fish were taken back to the Islands and our host family was thrilled to get the fish! We caught this Spanish Mac while fishing around the mouth of the Bayona River. He was caught on a Blue and White Yozuri Minnow. This is one of the many Needle Fish we caught . They were some mean powerful little suckers!

It has almost been a month since we have been out on the water so Dewey and I went out today. It was a beautiful day. We didn't get out till later in the morning, fished an incoming tepid tide out towards the end of the jetty. The water was wonderful - clear with visibility up to about 8 foot. I think that with all the rain and runoff from the past few weeks of rain, the salinity was probably down. It was slow - we fished about 3 hours and caught 1 Bull Red and 1 Shark. One note - there was a boat of 4 guys that were wearing out nice 22-24 inch trout out by where we were fishing. Need to remember this next time we go out.

When we arrived at the Boat Ramp - it was absolutely overflowing and packed! It looked like a Saturday with all of the Trucks and Trailers! Tomorrow (June 1st) is the first day of the Oberto Red Fish Tournament out of Kemah and there were tons of people prefishing. Once we were on the water, it was a day of dominance for Dewey Jr. He definitely put it on us today. On the way out to the Jetty, we noticed the wind a little bit out of the north. Apparently that little cold front that came through the night before dumping rain everywhere shifted the wind during the morning hours. In addition, it was a full moon that was looming over us. The water was very dirty from all the run off we have had over the past few days, the tide was pushing in around the boat cut, but was almost non-existent at the end of the North Jetty. We fished exclusively at the end of the Jetty this morning - it was quite bumpy early, but settled down later in the day. We hadn't been there very long when Dewe...

We had 24 friends and members of Bayshore go out with Captain John's Fishing Boats for a one day trip. This was the first offshore fishing trip for many of them. And almost everybody had an exceptional time! Here is the video from the Trip: I know they don't look like much ... but you should hear this quartet sing! (grin) Jonathan had a great time ... still bearing the scars from the youth paintball trip! On the way out, it was great to stand on the top deck and chew the fat! Matt and Josh (bling bling) had a great time! All I can say is that the door was fine when Tazz got there ... how that changed is a good story. There is the truth ... and then there is my version! (laughing) Somehow with that hat on, I think Tazz would fit in great with the Red Hat Ladies at the Church! Dennis (Vicki's Dad) with a Spade Fish! Stanley catching a little Rest and Relaxation! Micah showing a side of him that we all knew existed! (grin) Rose is a fish catching Machine! Here is the k...

I bought a Fin-Nor OS 85 and HopperRod - HOPS500FH - 5'8" Jigging Rod from FTU for the Tuna trip I went on last week. On that trip, I caught several snapper (up to 26") and 1 four foot shark with no problem whatsoever. Today I caught several Shark and a 42" Bull Red again with no problem. I have read about gear problems recently, but had not had any problems at all with this rod and reel. It is loaded with about 300 yards of 100lb powerpro. If you have read my previous posts, you will know that I am switching to a totally different Rod and Reel set up for Black Fin Tuna. So, this rod and reel are up for sale. I have about $275.00 tied up in this combo, but will let it go for $225.00. email me at markredd@markredd.com if you are interested.

Video of the Trip It was a beautiful day out at the Jetty today. The water was about 81.5, the tide was very tepid, and it was flat as a pancake. We had several agendas at work on the trip today. Wayne and Dewey wanted to chase trout - so we stayed very close to the rocks on the outside of the Jetty. We also wanted to catch some bait for an upcoming offshore trip on Monday with Captain John , so we spent quite a bit of time at Shrimp Boat picking up whiting and sand trout. Wayne caught this nice Black Tip Shark and it was a little bit more of a challenge to handle this (and other) sharks - we hadn't put the gaff in the boat this Summer - so we had to use an old scale we had in the boat for a gaff. Here is a closer picture of the Shark. Wayne also hooked a Spinner Shark that really put on a show. He lept out of the water five or six times, spinning wildly each time. When we got him up to the boat, he was tail wrapped, then made a lunge snapping the line. It was really great ...