Looks Can Be Deceiving

Sam, John, and I returned yesterday from our shortened trip to the Lower Laguna Madre. We made the trek south on Thursday afternoon with visions of pristine water and hungry linesiders, but our foresights never came to realization. Instead, we were greeted with dirty water and exceedingly low water levels.

Conditions were absolutely brutal; three of the toughest days of fishing we have ever experienced and we have been through a lot in our fishing careers. There were times when we questioned our sanity for deliberately going out in the conditions we faced. We fought 20-30 mph sustained winds with gusts ranging from 30-40 mph.

Walking and dragging were common themes throughout our sojourn on the lower coast. At times walking with the kayak in tow was the fastest mode of transportation. We did manage to catch a few fish but nowhere near the numbers we have come accustomed to when fishing the Lower Laguna.

We only had one snook sighting our entire trip and that happen on day one when Sam broke one off. We did manage to find reds in pods and singles in muddy water backing and chasing bait. We also caught a few trout wading deep channels on moving tides.

About the author

Jeremy Chavez is a full-time fly and light tackle fishing guide who hails from the Bayou City (Houston, Texas for those of you not in the know). He eats, sleeps and breathes fish. He left (he was laid-off but who's keeping tabs) his career as a bean counter (he has a master's degree in accounting) to chase his dream of becoming a nomadic fish bum.

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