See the original article publish in This Is Fly  Issue #9  Page 35 - click the link below.

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Is everything really bigger in Texas?  For saltwater fly fishing enthusiasts it sure is. The Lower Laguna Madre is, approximately, 268 square miles of crystal clear water with an average depth of only 2 1/2 feet.  And it is loaded with redfish & speckled trout.  It could be said that this stretch of coast is the most remote, undeveloped, wild coastlines remaining in the continental United States.  As far as the eye can see, miles and miles of sub tropical landscape, teeming with wildlife such as rattlesnakes, wild pigs, nilgai, deer, waterfowl, dove, quail and more.

If you fly down from Houston during the day, you are offered an amazing perspective showing just how remote and wild south Texas is.  From the city of Corpus Christi, almost 100 hundred miles away, until you get to the tiny sportsman’s paradise of Arroyo City, the entire coastline of the Laguna Madre is either government owned, privately owned and managed as ranch land, or it is Federal Wildlife Reserve to which access is prohibited.

South Texas is famous for it’s flat bottom, tunnel hull boats.  Boats capable of picking up and going in only inches of water.  Only air boats go more shallow than the best Texas flats boats.  One of these boats in the hands of a knowledgeable local fishing guide will undoubtedly lead to an angling adventure into the outermost reaches of the Laguna Madre.

Some days fishing for redfish in south Texas would consist of running through water so shallow it tickles your ass, to a back country lagoon and finding seemingly hundreds of redfish in pods of 10 to 20 fish, feeding and tailing several inches of crystal clear water.  On these days the redfish seem willing to eat any fly that hits the water anywhere near them.  Other days you might find yourself poling the shoreline of a remote spoil island searching for cruising singles and doubles patrolling an area in search of prey.  On these days anglers might consider throwing a spoon fly, gold seems to be a popular color.  Your cast must not be left short with these fish.  Fly casters are better off casting past the fish and stripping the fly back in front of the fish.  A short cast immediately puts the odds in the fishes favor.

Fly fishing sheepshead could be considered to be the Texas version of fly fishing for Permit.  With teeth eerily similiar to a small child, these jailbreakers are very difficult to hook.  “Cheesers” line up on the flats and tail in spectacular fashion.  Many times they are so busy scouring the bottom for grub, anglers have plenty of opportunity to get in the best position possible to present a fly.  Now comes the hard part.  Making them eat your fly.  I know of no fly the consistently will take a Sheepshead... although I have heard rumors of there being one fly that was irresistible to sheepies, it was called a “Ginger Snap”.  The fly was tied using dog hair and they were very popular, that is until Ginger died.  The last Ginger Snap is in some safe deposit box and it has been hiered to a grandkid...or some kind of bullshit like that.  Anyways, that is what I heard.

Sight casting to and landing a speckled trout on a fly is quite a challenge as well.  Texas is well known for it’s monster speckled trout.  Big fish over 30 inches are caught and released in the Lower Laguna Madre regularly.  Speckled trout on the flats tend to be ambush feeders, so sneaking up on them is not so easy.  Find a good school of mullet and you have a good chance of finding a trout near by.  Many times a speck will lay down in hole and remaining motionless, as the fleet of mullet cruise above, waiting for an easy target to fall out of formation.  Then slowly move in behind the straggler and literally inhale the fish in one gulp.  No splash, no massive crash, or massacre scene, just a quick gulp.

Snook & tarpon are caught regularly using a fly.  Although catching one requires a special effort to, first - find the fish, second - land one.  There are several excellent guides who specialize in this type of fishing.  And I would highly recommend that you contact one of them to show you this special Texas fishery.  If you are hot for doing it yourself, head to either the jetties at Isla Blanca Park, South Padre Island or make the drive over the sand to the Mansfield jetties and cast a small white or pink fly, some sort of glass minnow would be great, and see what happens.  The fish are there, you will see them, landing one is your challenge.

If you are now considering heading to south Texas to go fly fishing.  You may want to think about heading to Arroyo City.  Located in the middle of the Lower Laguna Madre Estuary System.  It only takes short boat ride down the protected Arroyo Colorado to get to the best flats fishing in the entire estuary system.

Arroyo City is a sportsmans paradise.  Fishing & Hunting is what folks have been doing here for, for generations.  It is wonderfully small and simple town with some of the finest people you will ever meet.

This is a one flashing traffic light in town, don’t blink you will miss all the main attractions... or run over a wild turkey.  As you arrive in town you will pass the finest beer & burger shack ever, Chilly Willy’s.  To the left, smile and wave to the shrimp lady selling locally farmed shrimp by the pound from her roadside cooler under her party tent. And beep as you pass “The Crab Man’s” place.  His real name is Flavio and he catches & cooks the best south Texas blue crabs you have ever tasted.  At the end of the road is Adolph Thomae County Park and private Federal reserve land for as far as the eye can see.

If you have a group of anglers, you may want to consider booking a trip to Bobby Settles new fly fishing lodge along the banks of the Arroyo Colorado, Casa Arroyo City.  Casa Arroyo City is perfectly located at the end of the road next to Adolph Thomae County Park.  It is the closest lodge in, Arroyo City, to the Lower Laguna Madre.

The lodge itself has almost 10,000 sq. ft. of space on two levels, for it’s guests.   And it boasts a very large pier with 3 high powered lights the illuminate the water at night attracting all sorts of baitfish and ultimately larger predator fish, primarily speckled trout. Even the largest groups will find Casa Arroyo City to be extremely spacious.  The lodge will accommodate up to 24 adults comfortably.

Fishing under the lights at the lodge is an addicting activity.  It is hard to stop fishing when you continually see bait being scattered and crashed only 30 feet from where you are standing.  Speckled trout and to a lesser extent, tarpon, snook & redfish patrol the lighted piers of the arroyo in search of balls of bait.  Shrimp, glass minnows, mullet and just about every other bait in the Laguna seems to show up under the lights at night....kind of like a living bouillabaisse.  Many of us fish until our backs are sore from bending over slightly, strrriiiipping ever so slowly, tensely anticipating that next strike.

Casa Arroyo City offers all inclusive fly fishing packages.  You could expect to fish with the best fly fishing guides in the area, enjoy fine waterfront accommodations, fabulous cuisine, local flare and a level of service on par with Bobby’s flagship destination, Casa Blanca Fly Fishing Lodge.

Casa Arroyo City is the only lodge offering all inclusive kayak fishing packages using the revolutionary new fishing kayak from Freedom Hawk Kayak, The Freedom 14 Expedition.  These kayaks are the most stable kayaks on the market and are the perfect kayak for fishing the shallows of the Lower Laguna Madre.

The Freedom Hawk Kayaks open up parts of the Laguna Madre completely unaccessible by any other method.  In the Freedom 14 Expedition anglers can paddle in inches of into remote backcountry lagoons no boats can get to, and if you tried to walk you just might sink up to you waist in Texas muck.  Going into this backcountry puts you in another world.  The sounds of the birds out decibel any sound from civilization.  The colors and variety of plants is pleasantly soothing.  And the opportunity to run into some of south Texas’ more exotic game, such a nilgai, coyote, ocelot or wild pig, abounds.  Suddenly catching fish is secondary.

Arroyo City, surprisingly enough, boasts an all star line up of saltwater fly fishing guides

Three of the more popular guides who fish out of Casa Arroyo City are....

Rick Hartman, champion long distance fly caster and 2006 Fly Fishing Masters super hero, guides out of Arroyo City.  Rick is known for being the best line slinger to ever come from these parts.

Jim Blackburn, a mountain man turned flatlander. He has all the toys on his super skiff.  What a machine, pop up stripping basket attached to his casting platform, a power pole...everything.  Jim is so obsessed with going shallow, he even put one of the most expensive flats boats on the market, under the knife, to add a tunnel hull to his boat.  So now he can jump sandbars and reach places of the bay most boats only dream of going. Don’t follow him in your boat.

Dale Fridy is one of the areas few Orvis endorsed guides.  Dale has fished the Texas Gulf Coast all of his life, he now is one of lower Laguna Madre’s premier fly fishing guides.  He is the ultimate professional on and off the water and is a pleasure to be around.  In 2002 he was named “Orvis Endorsed Saltwater Guide of the Year”.

If you love sight fishing....the Lower Laguna Madre is perfect.  Gin clear water and big schools of redfish are the star attraction for sight casters, although speckled trout, sheepshead, black drum, snook & tarpon are also available and provide an excellent challenge for the fly fisherman.  The opportunity for do it yourself anglers abound in south Texas.  Although, hiring a professional fly fishing guide to captain you into the outermost, wildest places in the Laguna Madre, and in my opinion, the best way to fully experience this wild frontier.

Jeff Kean