Long Island, Mexiquita Flats, the old causeway and south bay - all get their picture taken and offer up some Reds in the process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mIMD9bcY8M

Re: Spiderwire. I have a big old spool of spiderwire that I've had for years, probably enough years to make it suspect if you are considering age as a factor. It is as tough as anything I've ever seen. BUT - it doesn't cast nearly as well as Power Pro. Unscientifically, I'd say it is probably something like 80%. I still have a reel loaded with it for trolling, but if I have to sling it out there a ways I will switch to PP. As for those cheap Chinese braids, I don't know what they do or don't do but they definitely have a problem with color fade and exposure to the sun. They become stiff and brittle and white.

When everything else fails, fish the scum line. Its usually not too far out and there is always something hanging around.

A guide's function is to provide you with the best, safest, fishing experience possible on any given day. But like Dave said, a good guide can and will do both if it adds to your day. A lot depends on who is being guided. If you have a couple of experienced fishermen who don't have to be schooled and coached and are on some fish a guide might try some different colors or different baits to see if he can't enhance the trip. Good pro's are the ones who do good for their clients and the one's who don't generally don't last long enough to pay off their boat. Ask around. Believe me, it's not a secret society and it's very competitive. The cream will rise to the top.

I kidnapped this picture that Marilyn's daughter took the other day on Rt. 48 which goes from Brownsville to Port Isabel. Best I can count there are eleven rod/reel combinations affixed to that beach buggy. That would make the fishing gear more valuable than the car. But, you gotta love it when a guy gets into a sport. Tight lines, brother!

Aha, so it's really all about my garage floor (and driveway) tiles, huh? Fly wouldn't understand that - his driveway is usually covered with snow and ice. I'll have to go over my logs and see if I've caught more fish since putting in the tiles. It could be true. I know one thing for sure, if the number of fish has increased the number of keepers has decreased. Now that can be attributed to the increase in minimum size limits, etc. One step forward, one and a half steps back. And let's be honest, if we caught a dozen 30" trout every time we went out we would still pine for the good old days. But a 15" sheepshead is still a hellofa fish in my book!

Yeah, I got that. No offense taken. (My wife took the picture.... )

Down here in South-Texas we would normally start seeing the Reds coming in from the gulf about now, but the cold water has delayed that by a couple of weeks at least. On a recent outing we picked up only 1 small red the entire day. I like to get on the very edge of the flat and drift as slowly as possible, even use a drift anchor if you have to, cast as far ahead of the boat and use a very slow retrieve. If you're catching trout you'll catch reds if they are around.

Good to hear, Andy. I'm not real optimistic about next week, but we'll keep our eye on it.

No, no - I didn't mean that anyone, especially the Padre, had questioned if they were really that big, only that the photo lacked an identifiable reference object so it made the fish look smaller. And I agree. The minimum size on trout is 15" now and going to 17" (I think) soon. But a 15" sheepshead is a big chunk of fish. I seem to remember a day you and I had down there at the causeway where we kept catching nice sheep when the limit was only 14" and they would be just a quarter or eighth of an inch too short and it is so frustrating. That extra inch is hard to come by and it sure doesn't help the frustration level any.

No, his name is Danny Tomayo and I'd be happy to provide his number to anyone who is headed this way. PM me.

I posted an item yesterday about a good day on the water. One of the comments it got concerned the apparent size of the fish and it raises a legitimate question. I'm reposting the picture with these further qualifiers. 1: The hall runner mat the fish are laid out on is 24" wide. 2: The porcelain tiles in the garage are also 24 x 24 inches. To bring it all into prospective, there is a site I use for fish we normally refer to here in Texas by length versus weight. I assume it works the same for fish all over the country and it comes in handy occasionally. www.txmarspecies.tamug.edu/length/weight.cfm A 15" sheepsfhead will weight 2.2 pounds - and is some mighty fine eating.....

Think the spawn for sheeps is winding down, Leo, at least according to the weekly fishing report. We caught them at the old causeway at a couple of locations. The new limits make it exceptionally hard to get a keeper (15") but I'll have to admit that overall there seems to be more to pick from. We fished South Bay, quite close to the launch pads for trout. Live shrimp on popping corks on a drift over the potholes and it was hard to not catch a spec on every cast. The problem was they were mostly dinks. Today my back feels like a pretzel that's been stomped on, but I'll endure.....

Oh, that's the best deal going, Fred. I give up a few fish from time to time and we could live on the stuff they bring us from bbq's, etc.

Oops, make that Thursday 3/10, and really was a crappy day weatherwise!