WINNING PLAYS FOR S.T.A.R.

THE ANNUAL CCA-TEXAS State of Texas Anglers Rodeo (S.T.A.R.) tournament kicks off Memorial Day.

Anglers all along the coast take to the water with renewed fervor in hopes of catching a tagged redfish or a big black drum, gafftop or sheepshead.

While it’s always advantageous to fish out of a boat, these species in particular are within easy reach of not only kayak anglers but those bound to the bank.

This year we thought we would draw up some strategies that might give those fishing from kayaks, shore or wading only an edge.

The Old Gold Spoon: It’s certainly not a darling of the modern fishing social media world, but the gold spoon is hard to beat for redfish. Every serious angler should have one in their tackle bag.

Redfish love them and they are easy to cast long distances. If you’re in a kayak that means you might be able to reach that redfish school that is just beyond your paddling ability. For landbound anglers and waders, it offers the chance to cover much more ground than a standard soft plastic.

Shooting Docks: For kayakers, this is an incredibly underrated strategy. You can get close to docks and even into zones other anglers can’t, so try using a spinning rod (works better) to shoot a ¼-ounce jighead with a piece of shrimp under docks.

Why?

Sheepshead!

Big sheepshead love docks, especially old ones with lots of barnacles and you might be surprised with the size of the ones you catch.

Slimer City: Gafftops have cred among Texas anglers because of S.T.A.R. It’s certainly not for the layer of slime that crawls up your line when catching them.

Shorebound anglers should focus on areas of the ship channels where there are lots of oysters on the shore. Gafftop love reef areas and when you have a shoreline reef, and it drops off quickly, there are usually plenty there in summer months.

It should come as no surprise that a fish that can create a slick just by swimming, is a sucker for chum. Bring a fish basket and mash up shad (menhaden) or bring cans of jack mackerel to put in there. Punch holes in it and see an Exxon Valdez-style oil slick appear. It’s amazing people eat that stuff and it’s amazing how it works luring in slimers.

Parallel the Riprap: A beautiful thing about kayaks is, you can get them right on the edge of rocks, unlike when fishing a fiberglass bay boat. Find some riprap in the channel on a high tide, get as close as you can to the rocks and shoot down them in parallel fashion. Reds run along the edge of those rocks to feed on crabs and mullet. A lipless crankbait is a great way to score but don’t overlook topwaters. They can also produce.

Buoy Drum: Kayakers can score on big, slot-sized black drum (and likely a few oversized monsters) by targeting buoys in the ship channel. The ones with the most barnacles are the best and if you find one near a little inlet or slough that’s even better.

Fish a drop-shot rig on the bottom with a peeled, dead shrimp for best results, If you can get them, fiddlers crabs are killer too.

Target Seagrass Openings: Sandy spots in the middle of seagrass are great spots to score on slot reds.

Chunk a soft plastic or a live shrimp in these spots and find your rod bent with a spot-tailed freight train on the other end.

On the Middle Coast, kayakers have more access to these locales due to no motor zones. And yes, there are lots of reds in these areas.

Tidal Rips: Tidal rips are a common place for offshore anglers to fish for pelagics like king mackerel and wahoo.

When you see a line of current that has dingy water on one side and clear on the other, you have found one of these rips. They are most common in the channels but can also be found in bays, especially on the southern end where the tidal pull is strongest.

Take a live mud minnow or finger mullet, rig it on a wide-gapped hook and put a 1/8-ounce split shot above it. Let it drift with the current and you have a great shot of catching reds as well as speckled trout.

Try both sides of the trip, as there are times when for whatever reason, fish will be on one side or the other. Reds don’t mind dirty water so don’t always think it will be on the clean side.

In a kayak, you can effectively troll these areas and that’s a great way of covering lots of ground in short order.

S.T.A.R. is a fun opportunity that can not only lead to great prizes for you, but scholarships for your children and grandchildren. The fact you do not have a motorboat does not disqualify you from having a legitimate shot at catching a winning fish.

Follow these strategies and see your odds of success rise.

 

—story by TF&G STAFF

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