Over sand and grass. Thigh to waist deep. Fish were pulled up on the flats. Best and most fish came fishing a color line.
Fished the same area last Friday without a sniff.
Went out this morning for a quick trip. Only got out at two places. All of the trout I caught were fat (up to 4.5#). Met some buddies at the second stop. One of them had a 4# flounder. Kept three fish to eat. All of our fish were caught on Saltwater Assassins.
This. Even when I tucked my pants into the boots, they still caused blisters. Fuck that noise.
ForNeverLast is about to release Kevlar socks. I question how much they'll protect against stingrays, but an interesting option if they do.
As for SLP, just stay a good ways away from the actual Pass. While the tide can be strong on the surrounding flats, it is manageable.
The first Simms wading boots I had were not that great. They were clunky and heavy. I never had a pair of the OceanTek boots, but heard good things. I wade a lot of shell in the fall/winter and my current pair of VaporTreads held up great. Had them since they came out and will be retired this year. They are also super comfortable. Those boots were discontinued and a new boot is coming out this fall.
I think FTU is closed right now. I've heard good things about the Simms Flats Sneaker. I wear the VaporTread, but they don't make them anymore. What other essentials are you looking for? Happy to provide suggestions.
I may hit SLP soon. Just have to be dedicated to the cause, as it's a pretty long run from Tiki.
Did you ever make it out to WGB? I went yesterday for 6-7 hours. Only caught 3 flounder. Water is still 70-71*, so I was sporting waders. Not sure where the trout are, haven't been able to find them for a while. But my neighbor took his kids out with live shrimp and didn't get any, so that makes me feel somewhat better.
That's some bullshit. Even Abbott said fishing and hunting were essential activities. Another reason I'm glad my boat is in a sling at my house. Fuck that shit.
There are a couple of tricks to spooling braid. These tips are assuming you're using a baitcasting reel. First, you need to use a bit of mono backing (just enough to cover the spool) or wrap the spool with some electric tape. Both of these keep the braid (which is slick) from slipping on the spool. Next, braid needs to be spooled "tight." So after you fill your spool, go somewhere with enough space, tie the end of your line to something, walk it out, and reel back in with your rod bowed up. I normally tie a loop and drop over my receiver hitch.
Hope this helps.
@fattyflattieI hear ya about needing to get out of the house. Fortunately, I'm sequestered and working from my house on a canal. So if conditions are right and I need to get out, I can walk downstairs and hit a switch.
The math will never work out if you do this. As I stated above, you just have to come to grips with the fact it will be expensive (and will hopefully pan out as a good investment). I was on the fence about getting another place, but it's one of the best things we've done.
You also have to factor in the convenience of not having to load up everything before you go out of town. For me, I don't have to worry about not packing fishing gear I need, making sure I can pick up my boat and travel during non-peak traffic, etc.
As Lat22 mentioned, proximity is key. I wouldn't get another place more than 1.5 hours away from my primary residence. Another would be how often you plan on going to your second home. We bought a house near Galveston earlier this year. I think there have been a total of three weekends I have not gone down - and one was because I had surgery. It's also easy to run down if I need to meet a contractor or if I need to come back to Houston for some reason. It's going to be expensive, no doubt. But you can't look at it like that. It's the "Paradise Tax."