On National Cook Your Catch Day at South Padre Island, I pulled in a whopper – and ate it for dinner

On National Cook Your Catch Day at South Padre Island, I pulled in a whopper – and ate it for dinner

This 31-inch red fish lived to see another day. We tossed it back because it was too big. Chris LeBlanc photo

 

When I was 7, I caught a tiny fish at Inks Lake State Park using the corner of a slice of American cheese as a bait. My dad took the fish off the hook, and we tossed it back instead of frying it up for dinner.

Until last weekend, when I was invited to South Padre Island for National Cook Your Catch Day (a designation cleverly invented a few years ago by island promotors), that marked the highlight of my fishing career.

At dawn Saturday, my husband Chris and I headed to Parrot Eyes Watersports and climbed aboard a bay boat helmed by Capt. Hector Torres Jr., a guide who specializes in red fish, trout, snook and flounder. (It was just the three of us, and we wore masks when we were within 6 feet of each other, to lessen the risk of spreading Covid.)

Chris used to fish as a kid, and I like to tease him by telling him it’s all luck. Torres, though, knew we’d likely find fish in the South Bay. We buzzed underneath the causeway, then followed a line of markers until we reached a deserted stretch of water. The tide was coming in, and Torres used a pole to push us into water less than a foot deep. Then he did the messy work for us, baiting our hooks with chunks of fresh mullet.

I had some trouble casting at first, even snagging the seat of Chris’ pants with an errant toss. But with our guide’s help, I settled into a groove, and the red fish started biting.

Captain Hector Torres Jr. took us to the South Bay off of South Padre Island to fish. Pam LeBlanc photo

Early on, we reeled in fish that measured 16 to 18 inches. Under Texas Parks and Wildlife regulations, that’s too small. You can only keep red fish that measure between 20 and 28 inches, so we had to toss the little ones back.

Torres pushed us into even shallower water, and that’s when the big boys started biting. We reached our bag limit of three red fish per person by 9:15 a.m., and even threw back a 31-inch whopper.

But as any fisherman knows, it’s not just about catching fish.

Fog and overcast skies made it seem like we were drifting in a cloud. A flock of ducks flapped past and settled on the surface of the bay, and we watched a seagull tried to snatch a fish from a pelican. We even saw the towering SpaceX buildings, located in Boca Chica, in the distance.

Hector Torrres Jr. cleans our catch at Parrot Eyes Watersports at South Padre Island. Pam LeBlanc photo

Fishing guides Eddie Curry, left, and Hector Torres Jr., right, clean and filet fish. Pam LeBlanc photo

Torres, who was born and raised in nearby Laguna Vista, has been guiding for 27 years and says spending so much time on the water when he was young kept him out of trouble. Today, watching other people catch fish makes him happy.

“It’s kind of like having your own ranch,” he says of the wide open expanse out here on the Laguna Madre.

After four hours of fishing, we turned back toward the marina, where Torres unloaded our catch. We watched appreciatively as he cleaned and fileted the fish for us, tossing scraps to the pelicans, then packed it for the next phase of our adventure – dinner.

At the Painted Marlin Grille, which offers al fresco dining with a view of the bay, the chef will fry, grill or blacken your catch for $10 per person. The cost includes a side and hush puppies, which were the best I’ve ever eaten. (And don’t miss the mango key lime pie.)

And one final note: I’m an animal lover, and a believer in using what you catch. It’s important to know where our food comes from, and important to honor the creatures that wind up on our dinner plates.

I did that on National Cook Your Catch Day, and the next day, too, when Chris whipped up more of our catch Veracruz style, with tomatoes, onions and green olives.

The chef at the Painted Marlin Grill cooked our catch. Pam LeBlanc photo

If you go: A five-hour, private fishing charter booked through Parrot Eyes Watersports costs $450 for two people. For more information go to www.parroteyesspi.com. The Painted Marlin Grille (and other restaurants on South Padre Island) will cook your catch for $10 per person.

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Virtual launch of fly fishing book by local author set for Saturday

Virtual launch of fly fishing book by local author set for Saturday

Chris Johnson, left, and Aaron Reed, right, fly fish in Brushy Creek in early March 2020. Pam LeBlanc photo


A few months ago, I spent a few hours casting in Brushy Creek with local fly fisherman (and tugboat driver) Aaron Reed, and Chris Johnson, owner of Living Waters Fly Fishing in Round Rock.
We waded through knee deep water, hiked alongside a gorgeous grayish-white escarpment, and prowled after fish we could see lurking in the shadows. They caught a bunch; I got a few nibbles.
As we fished, we talked about Reed’s new book, “Fly Fishing Austin & Central Texas” (Imbrifex, $24.95), which includes tips about the best places and techniques for fishing right here at home.
The book arrived from the printer just as the coronavirus pandemic hit, and the book signing Reed had scheduled for May got postponed. This Saturday, he’d do a virtual launch of the guidebook with Davin Topel (Real Spirits Distilling) and Dustin Scott (Heart Wood Trade). The event starts at 5:30 p.m. on Scott’s site, https://heartwoodtrade.com/live/.

Aaron Reed will host a visual launch of his new fly fishing guide on Saturday. Pam LeBlanc photo


The show will celebrate the entire central Texas Fly Fishing community and will include giveaways, prizes and music. Special guests will include Alana Louise Lyons, Edgar Diaz, Josh Crumpton, Jeff Troutman, David Fason, Chris Johnson, Matt Bennett, Chris Barclay and others. The event is free and open to the public, and should last about 90 minutes.
And in case you needed a reminder, fly fishing is one of those activities that makes sense right now. You can do it away from crowds, in a safe, socially distant way. Plus, some quiet time in nature always soothes frayed nerves.

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Forget Montana – Texas serves up some great fly fishing opportunities

Forget Montana – Texas serves up some great fly fishing opportunities

John Henry Boatright shows off a catch from a Central Texas river. Aaron Reed photo

If you’ve always thought of fly fishing as a hobby for wealthy people who waded around in Montana streams with a bunch of expensive gear, Aaron Reed begs to differ.

Just about anybody can learn to fly fish without spending a ton of money, he says, and they can do it in rivers and streams all around Central Texas.

Aaron, a fly fishing expert and native Texan who lives in Georgetown, drove more than 2,500 miles and waded and paddled more than 150 miles of waterways to research his new book, “Fly Fishing Austin & Central Texas” (Imbrifex, $24.95). The guidebook, packed with photos, maps and tips, includes directions to more than 100 legal access points and more than four dozen wade and paddle routes within an hour’s drive of Austin. It also includes gear recommendations, tips on how to get started, information about the history and wildlife of the highlighted destinations, and suggestions on where to grab a bite and a beer when you’re done casting.

“I wanted to do what I could to demystify fly fishing,” Reed says. “There’s still a widespread perception it’s an elitist sport that’s expensive and hard to do. We certainly at one time deserved that reputation, but hopefully not so much now.”

Fresh bass! Aaron Reed Photo

These days, he says, anyone can get started for under $200, with gear that will last a long time.

As for that misconception that fly fishing is concentrated in places like Montana? Not so. Texas has a thriving fly fishing community, with five clubs between Waco and New Braunfels alone – as many as the entire state of Colorado. Austin is home to three fly shops, and three more are situated along the nearby Guadalupe River.

“There’s this incredible, vibrant community here that not a whole lot of people outside the state know about,” he says. “The idea is to serve that growing community and the incredible number of visitors who come in for Austin City Limits or South by Southwest music festivals, and pack a fly rod and go down to river and fish an hour.”

He says a recognition across the country that fly fishing isn’t just for trout and interest in warm water fisheries has put Central Texas at the forefront of the movement. People here are fishing for largemouth bass, Guadalupe bass, Rio Grande cichlids and even carp with fly rods.

“Austin for quite a long time has been on the radar worldwide as great place to catch wild common carp,” Reed says. “Carp is a huge sport fish in Europe … Fly fishing for them is catching fire, and we now have a series of carp fly fishing tourneys around the state, including one in San Marcos.”

Aaron Reed will sign copies of his new book at several locations in Central Texas this spring. Erich Schlegel photo

Want a signed copy of Reed’s book?

They’ll be available at the San Gabriel Fly Fishers meeting at 7 p.m. April 21 at the Boy Scout Hut in San Gabriel Park in Georgetown. He’ll also be signing from 1-6 p.m. May 2 at the Flies and Flame Expo at Star Hill Ranch, 15000 Hamilton Pool Road in Bee Cave; from 10 a.m. to noon May 9 at the Living Waters Fly Shop, 103 N. Brown Street in Round Rock; 3 p.m. June 6 at Lark & Owl Bookstore, 205 W. Sixth Street in Georgetown; and 5 p.m. June 20 at Book People, 603 N. Lamar Boulevard in Austin.

A party to celebrate the publication of the book is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. May 7 at Mesquite Creek Outfitters, 704 South Austin Avenue in Georgetown.

Edgar Diaz fly fishes in Onion Creek. Aaron Reed photo

 

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