The Lower Laguna Madre, with hundreds of mile of undeveloped shallow shorelines is our primary fishery. With miles of sand, potholes, mud and grass flats, the setup is tailor made for sight casting. Either with a fly rod or spinning rod, anglers cast to multiple species of fish. A poling skiff and a good guide are the ideal tools for sight-casting
The Flats…..a general term to describe the vast expanse of shallow water found over the entire range of the Laguna Madre. Ranging in depth from zero to about three feet, sand, mud, potholes, sea grass, small islands and depressions are habitat for baitfish, shrimp, and crabs. The food source attracts redfish, trout, sheephead, ladyfish, stingrays, black drum, jack crevalle and other species.
The angler will have the opportunity to cast to single redfish or a pod of redfish. The majority of the time we will be in a poling skiff but if the situation demands it we will wade. The east side of the Lower Laguna Madre, with a firm sand bottom, is particularly suited to wading. The water is gin clear and stalking redfish on the sand requires patience and stealth.
While redfish are the primary target, anglers often have the opportunity to cast to large speckled trout, black drum, ladyfish, sheephead and the occasional flounder. One of the interesting aspects of sight-casting for redfish is seeing and identifying the various fish encountered during the course of an outing.
The birding and wildlife are part of the fishery. The Atascosa Wildlife Refuge borders the Arroyo Colorado on both the north and south side. Birders travel from afar to enjoy the birding and the wildlife. Aside from porpoise, which are spotted regularly, on occasional coyote, whitetail dear, javalina, or nilgai (antelope imported from Asia by the King ranch some 50 years ago) will be spotted from the water.
The intracoastal waterway provides the main highway for traversing the Laguna Madre. The spoil banks created by dredging the waterway create another habitat for fish and wildlife. Redfish looking for food roam the shallows bordering these spoil banks.