1. 34 don’t squeak until you see the beak! InTheBite.comJUNE 2014
by Elliott Stark
For the uninitiated, the Texas coast might
offer a surprise or two. It’s a land all its own,
and a true paradise for the sportsman.
Texas Has It All
Photo courtesy Jimmy Kitchell

2. InTheBite.com The Sportfishing Magazine for the Professional 35JUNE 2014
F
rom El Paso in the west to
Orange in the east, Interstate
10 covers 880 miles as it tra-
verses the Lone Star State. Its
historical influences as vast as
its geographic expanse have cre-
ated a culture and an outlook that’s uniquely
Texan. The opportunities are just as diverse,
ranging from muy grande whitetail country
to outstanding bluewater fishing around the
oil rigs out in the Gulf of Mexico.
The upper coast of Texas stretches rough-
ly from Port Aransas to Sabine Pass. Port
Aransas is roughly in the center of the coast
on the northern extent of Padre Island.
In the 1950s, Port Aransas was known as
the tarpon capital of the world, home to a
fishery robust enough to attract dignitar-
ies and presidents. Port A, as the locals
call it, and neighboring Port O’Connor are
home to a thriving tournament scene each
summer—headlining the calendar are the
Poco Bueno, Texas Legends, and the Lone
Star Shootout.
Make the Run
Bluewater fishing out of Texas is not for
the faint of heart. The combination of long
runs and the ever-present threat of the infa-
mous “Gulf chop” have created a diehard
culture among those who regularly target
billfish here. As a consequence, Texas has
produced quite a large number of profes-
sional captains and mates who fish hard
both domestically and abroad.
Joe Frazer is the owner of the Bottom
Dollar, a Port Aransas-based 48-foot Viking.
Frazer, who runs a contracting company, has
been fishing out of Port Aransas for three
decades. These days, the Bottom Dollar is
a regular participant in the Texas tourna-
ment scene. Many of the marlin trips out of
this part of the world involve a jaunt out to
an oil rig. Perhaps the three most targeted
rigs out of Port Aransas during tourna-
ment season are the Tequila, Cerveza and
Little Sister, each of which are permanent
(non-floating) rigs. For some context to the
claim that the Texan billfishing community
is hardcore, these rigs are 116, 131 and 147
nautical miles offshore from Port Aransas.
To get to the floating rigs—Boom Bang and
Nansen—you’ll have to go even farther.
According to Frazer, the tournament
scene in Texas is evolving more and more
to billfish release. When it does come time
to stroke a blue, however, it generally takes
a 500-pound class fish to win a tourna-
ment. For billfish releases, tallying two blue
marlin releases plus a white or a sail or two
will generally get you in contention for some
calcutta money in most years. In the meat-
fish divisions, to be in the hunt for some
hardware, Frazer estimates that it takes a
95-pound yellowfin, 65 pounds of wahoo
and a 40-pound dorado in most years.
A bit farther up the coast is Galveston.
Galveston is another of the state’s major
sportfishinghubsandishometotheHouston
Big Game Fishing Club. Galveston is also
the home port of the Booby Trap, a boat
whose swordfishing exploits would make
Zane Grey green with envy. The offshore
opportunities around Galveston are diverse.
The Flower Gardens are a deepwater off-
shore reef system that hold some bruiser
wahoo at certain times of the year. The
Booby Trap fishing team, known for their
day time swordfishing exploits, was also the
first boat to record a super slam in the Gulf,
turning loose two blues, a white, two sails,
and two swordfish in a 24-hour period. The
team puts on the Texas Swordfish Seminar
each year, usually sometime around the
end of April; the event draws thousands of
people, raises quite a bit of money for char-
ity and provides techniques and instruction
on deep dropping in the Gulf of Mexico.
On the Inshore Scene: Trout and Reds
The inshore fishing on the upper coast
of Texas is marked by quality and diversity
as well. While the headliners are redfish,
speckled trout and flounder, recent years
have witnessed a resurgence in tarpon fish-
ing. One reason: Texas is home to a large
number of highly productive bay systems.
The Sabine River is the boundary between
Texas and Louisiana. The Sabine enters the
Gulf of Mexico east of Port Arthur. Before
spilling into the gulf, it forms Sabine Lake,
an enclosed bay. Sabine Lake is home to
some pretty wide open speckled trout and
redfish fishing. Each fall, usually after the
first cold front, flounder spill out of the
estuaries and bay systems into the Gulf.
Fishing the passes with Gulp baits or live
finger mullet can produce as many flat,
brown fish as you can fry. The fall also
produces a run of bull redfish in the surf
and off the beach, where reds to 45 pounds
can be caught consistently. Mid-October is
about the height of the redfish run.
Moving southward, Galveston Bay is
The Houston Big Game Fishing Club’s
Lone Star Shootout kicks off in style with
the crawfish piled high.
PhotocourtesyElliotStark

3. the next system. Galveston Bay is home
to some gator trout. Many Texas anglers
target the big trout in the springtime, some
by boat, others by wading (wadefishing is
a Texas institution). For trophy speckled
trout, Galveston Bay ranks with the Laguna
Madre as perhaps the best destinations in
Texas.
The bays around Port O’Connor and
Port Aransas are home to a thriving redfish
tournament scene. In addition to being the
largest money bluewater tournament in
Texas, the Poco Bueno also boast a highly
competitive inshore division. The waters
around Port O’Connor are home to an array
of flats boats, stealthily targeting tailing
redfish.
Monte Richardson runs a Hell’s Bay in
the Espiritu Santo and San Antonio Bay
systems around Port O’Connor. His pre-
ferred pastime is slinging flies at redfish.
He enjoys fishing the springtime—as the
water temperature warms, the sea grasses
begin growing and the shrimp hatch begins
in earnest. Catching the right tide and
location, with water movement and bait
flow, can produce the spot and stalk type
flats fishing once thought reserved only for
the Keys or the Bahamas.
Go on the Hunt
If the inshore and offshore fishing were
not enough to convince you that the upper
coast of Texas is where you should go, per-
haps adding some hunting to the agenda
might peak your interest. As a rule of
thumb, if you can shoot it, it lives in Texas.
From the traditional whitetail and turkey
hunting to every manner of exotic and wing
shooting, it is here. From Port Aransas, it’s a
two-hour drive to the heart of big, really big
whitetail country. Deer season is religion
each fall in Texas. Depending on how much
you want to spend, you can find everything
from a weekend rate to the all-inclusive,
great food and lodging, high-fenced, geneti-
cally enhanced whitetail experience.
The range of exotics in Texas runs the
gambit. The standards like axis deer and
blackbuck antelope have been augmented
by the likes of fallow deer, nilgai (a giant
antelope-type creature of Indian origin),
elk, bison and all kinds of other things.
Also good is the hog hunting. Hogs are
a menace in the Lone Star state and the
damned things are just about everywhere.
The river bottoms are home to some huge
pigs. Thankfully for the hunter, there are as
many ways to grease pigs as there are types
of damage that pigs do. You can hunt them
from blinds, chase them with dogs, and
Two things that are synonymous with Texas: oil
rigs and great marlin fishing.
36 don’t squeak until you see the beak! InTheBite.comJUNE 2014
Area Marinas
Galveston: Pelican Rest Marina
Phone: (409)744-2618
info@pelicanrestmarina.com
Pelican Rest Marina is operated by
Buddy Schultz, veteran tournament and
international fisherman. Schultz knows
the needs of high-end sport fishermen
and it is all here.
The Surfside Marina
Phone: (979) 230 9400
http://www.surfside-marina.com/
The Surfside Marina is home to the
Texas Center Console Shootout tourna-
ment in July. It is located in Surfside,
Texas—a coastal suburb of Houston.
Port O’Connor: Caracol Marina
Phone: (361) 983-2303
www.caracolcoastal.com
Caracol Marina is home to the
Lone Star Shootout and Poco Bueno
torunaments. It has all the amenities
for tournament fishing.
Port Aransas: Port Aransas Marina
361-749-5429
The bull reds run big on the upper coast.
A decked out 80 Wide on the Bottom Dollar, stan-
dard Texas tournament arsenal.
PhotocourtesyElliotStark
PhotocourtesyElliotStarkPhotocourtesyElliotStark

4. InTheBite.com The Sportfishing Magazine for the Professional 37JUNE 2014
shoot them with whatever
type weapon you can think
of. If you really want to do
the Texan thing, you can
hook up with a guide service
that will fly you around in
a helicopter, busting bacon
with an assault rifle. The
advantage of this method,
aside from being a hell of an
experience, is that you will
never again be bothered by
vegetarians or members of
PETA.
Texas has quite a few feath-
ered targets as well. The same
estuaries and bay systems
that support the thriving
redfish and trout fisheries are
magnets to waterfowl. The
coast is lined with wilderness
management areas that are
accessible to hunters. When
the duck hunting is good,
there might be nothing quite
as exciting. A good buddy of
mine from Alabama said it
about as well as it can said, “I
have been on narcotics and I
have been duck hunting. I couldn’t tell the
difference.” Texas is home to some great
wingshooting.
The Lone Star State is a great to visit for
any sportsman. Bluewater fishing around
the rigs, chasing tailing redfish on the flats
or walking a topwater in search of gator
trout, it is all here. You can shoot animals
from all over the world and catch swordfish
both day and night. If you haven’t been to
the upper coast of Texas, you might want to
give it a try.
A Texas Bucket List
If you decide to come to the Lone
Star State for a sportsman’s bucket
list, it might look like this:
A double overnight swordfish trip
out of Galveston with the Booby Trap.
These guys get after them. In 2012,
they caught 172 broadbill in 42 days
fishing. The Booby Trap is not a char-
ter boat, but they auction trips to
raise money for charity. If you are
interested, check out their schedule.
For information on their exploits, visit
www.boobytrapfishingteam.com
A day of trout and redfishing with
Capt. Jay Watkins. Watkins has been
fishing the Rockport area on the mid-
dle coast of the state for 30 years. His
acumen for winning tournaments and
putting clients on trout has brought
him a pile of accolades and sponsor-
ships. It is worth the trip to see him.
www.jaywatkins.com
Hog blasting by helicopter. Nothing
really says “I’ve been to Texas and I
loved it,” quite like helping farmers
and ranchers by reducing hog num-
bers. For more information, call the
boys at Helibacon (their Youtube vid-
eos are insane). www.helibacon.com
or call 979-308-7874.
The annual Poco Bueno tournament in Port O’ Conner is an
invitation-only event hosting the best fishing teams in Texas.
A nice daytime swordfish, ready for
release aboard the Booby Trap.
Texas whitetails can reach trophy proportions. Here’s a big one
that was shot at Cliff Mountain’s ranch in Texas.
PhotocourtesyBoobyTrapPhotocourtesyCliffMountain