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PostPosted: Mon Jan 22, 2018 12:15 am • # 1 
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Joined: 02/07/14
Posts: 382
Location: The southern tip o' Texas
All righty; the Rockport trip is back in the mix! Won't be a whole week, but at least we will get in a couple of days' fishing. If anybody wants to join us you're more than welcome. Unless the wind kicks up we will be good to go with UL fly rods. If the winds kick up, or if the specks go deep (the gut is 8'-11' deep) we will be forced to use heavy flies to get down deep in that current. It'll call for a 7 or 8 weight, or a UL levelwind (thank you Chris Stewart) to throw those heavy flies. Or a UL spinning rig.......

We will arrive on Sunday afternoon, January 28th, and leave the following Wednesday (the 31st) before noon. Since Goose Island State Park is closed, except for the boat ramp, we will be staying in one of the pink palaces at Seagun cabins (SH35 @ the Copano Causeway), five minutes from the ramp. The RV gets a break this trip :applause . We had originally planned a week-long trip the week before Christmas, with a bunch of us from all over the state. Harvey wrecked that plan. This is a last-minute attempt to use my new UL levelwind while it's still new, to catch some of Rockport's pretty specks.

Hopefully, the only rods I use will be the half weight and the UL levelwind, but I will take the two weight and the eight weight just in case. And probably the 5,6, & 7 weights too.... If you join us you will need a kayak (or small boat; we will be staking out on the edge of a deep gut in 18"-2' of water to fish); it's about a thousand yard paddle from the ramp to the magic spot. I checked the NOAA site today; the water temps there have gone from 40-41 F right after the freeze to the low 50s as of today. If the water temps are in the 50s the specks will eat. We will feed them......


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PostPosted: Mon Jan 22, 2018 3:18 pm • # 2 
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Joined: 02/14/17
Posts: 380
Location: Georgetown, Texas and Corpus Christi, Texas
Jim, If I can make it down Monday, I'll let you toss my new C Barclay 2/3 6'8" marvel. Might cost you a whiskey tho ....


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 23, 2018 8:26 pm • # 3 
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Location: The southern tip o' Texas
No worries..... There will be a bountiful supply of bourbon and tekillya at the pink palace. Also, we plan to dine at China A Monday night; they're open now! Gotta get my froglegs deep fried in jalapeno batter fix. You probably need one too.......


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PostPosted: Fri Jan 26, 2018 1:14 am • # 4 
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Joined: 01/26/09
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Location: Oklahoma
Aaron,
Is that the new Synthesis rod Chris developed? If so, I sure hope to see it in May.

Larry


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 30, 2018 9:07 pm • # 5 
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Ahh. So you're the one who snagged that Barclay? Nice!


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 31, 2018 9:50 pm • # 6 
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Well, we have mixed results to post. Three of us had the pink palace reserved; it has two beds and a couch, and Lee prepaid the entire rent on his credit card. Then he found out he would have to leave a day early. And this would be the inaugural trip for his new 3 weight.... Then, early on the morning of our departure, he called to bail, his brother had passed away overnight.

I had to work a 10 1/4 hour shift the day before, then deal with an emergency at the house. Some stuff didn't get packed..... When we got to Rockport we had to unload and head in to town to pick up some necessities. Like clean underwear..... As we drove across the causeway the bay was calm; we were primed for the morning.

Monday morning the north wind was ripping. But the water was moving in our special spot, so we had high hopes. The wind was too heavy for the UL fly rods, so I broke out the UL levelwind and threw heavy Clousers with it. Nada. By the time we cried "Uncle" Jay had caught ten specks, from 16-19 inches, on his spinning rod. I got two more on the levelwind throwing a 4" grub. The water temp was 53*. The bite could have been better, but right behind a front it could have been worse, too. Tuesday morning we hit it again; the wind was a bit lighter but the fish were very reluctant. We were at the park gate, which they usually open early -- at a little before seven, and the ranger didn't arrive to open it until seven twenty. I got one on the 2 weight -- I could barely cast it in the wind and didn't even try the half weight. Jay got one on his spinning rod. At eleven thirty we gave up.

Since we had to be out of the cabin by eleven, we decided to sleep in rather than fish Wednesday morning, and take our time cleaning up and packing. I slept until seven and got up and took a shower, then went outside to start loading the truck. Naturally, the winds were light from the southeast and the temperature was the mildest we'd seen since we arrived. Wouldn't you know.......

So, the trip was a success and I got to break in the UL levelwind in the salt finally. I had no trouble with solid hooksets in the current with the six pound test fluorocarbon. Next trip I will try the four pound monofilament; I think it'll do all I can ask of it.


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 01, 2018 12:32 pm • # 7 
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Sounds like a lot of my trips......mixed success. "Some stuff didn't get packed". It's a rare excursion I make that I don't forget something. I remember a trout fishing trip many years ago. I stopped to talk to my friend at the fly shop before I set up camp. I remember telling him how I had been doing this long enough that I no longer needed a check list. I got my tent set up and when I started to move my bedding in, I realized I hadn't brought any form of bedding. Thankfully, there was a WalMart not far away. $35.00 took care of a cheap sleeping bag, a pillow, and an air mattress. Other times I have forgotten underwear, towels, etc. However, I do remember my rods and reels; I do have my priorities. Hopefully, our trip in May to the Hill Country will come off without a single misstep. Glad to hear you at least caught a few fish and got to validate your UL levelwind set up.

Larry


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