By Ed Snyder/Outdoors
Alligators are moving through the bays and sloughs right now, either from being chased off by the dominate males, the lack of food, or for cleansing their skin from parasites and leeches. They’ll often move to the saltwater surf this time of year to get rid of the parasites and leeches before moving back to the swamps.
Ed Snyder/Outdoors
Gators in the Bay
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Cool nights offer HOT action at Rollover
By Ed Snyder/Outdoors
Rollover Pass, Gilchrist, TX.
The silent hissing of Coleman Lanterns are long gone now, replaced by the noisy WRRR of the generators of those who enjoy fishing the cool of the evening after a day of sweltering 100 degree summer heat!
Wade-fishing the ‘Kiddy Pool’
By Ed Snyder/Outdoors
Rollover Pass, Gilchrist, TX.
With recent trout activity keeping night-anglers busy running generator lights to catch a massive run of speckled trout, a patch of nearby water is being ignored and left almost untouched. Rollover Bay, on the western end of ‘fish pass’ has been mostly vacant of wading activity, even though
Cara Cara Photos
Cara Cara Winging Away With Its Catch
From Ed Snyder:
Shot these photos this morning at 7:30am on Rollover Pass Beach, ery large bird (Cara Cara) – etal Mexican Eagle – might want to post it today, was very lucky to get these shots, these birds usually only winter here, now they’re staying.
Fishing Report & Tide Chart For Rollover Pass TX June 4 to June 11, 2012
By Ed Snyder/Outdoors
Summary: This past week provided excellent night fishing under lights with most anglers catching limits of speckled trout. Literally tons of bait fish attracted the trout, reds, large croaker with a scattering of Spanish mackerel.
Big Smack Attack
By Ed Snyder/Outdoors
Bolivar Peninsula, TX.
Quiet and peaceful one minute then rowdy with violent the next! This explains the temperament and aggressive nature when angling for a silvery, torpedo shaped species of fish called Spanish Mackerel. These critters sport razor sharp teeth which can slice through bait fish and body parts like a scalpel slicing through butter.
Fishing Report & Tide Chart For Rollover Pass TX May 21 to May 28, 2012
By Ed Snyder/Outdoors
Summary: This past week of gusting winds limited the trout and flounder bites but as the winds diminished the tides cleared and the speck and flounder bites returned with mostly school trout to 3 lbs but the flounder action gave up a nice 22 incher. EXCELLENT crabbing on the cut with lots
28-5 Lbs Takes Bolivar Slam, Team ‘Cast-A-Spell’ Wins
By Ed Snyder/Outdoors
May-19-2012- Bolivar Peninsula, TX.
Forty nine teams signed up to compete in the 3rd Annual Bolivar Slam Fishing Tournament event held on Saturday, May 19, 2012, which allowed teamed anglers to fish for slam limits of three (3) speckled trout, two (2) redfish, and one (1) flounder. Those that managed to catch a slam limit won
Speckled Sea-Trout on the Fly
by Ed Snyder/Outdoors, Bolivar Peninsula, TX.
Eyeballing a grassy edge of a salt-marsh I rolled the streamer on top of a swirling pock of a feeding speck. Making a quick stripping retrieve the reaction I was hoping for imploded on the fly. With bowed rod and splashing silver you could only visualize the action of the next few minutes of swirling leaps and zipping runs, until finally, a solid 3lb speck
“The Gaff-Top Men”
Leroy hooking up with a Toe to Toe battle with a stingray
Bolivar Peninsula, TX.
“If we told you we’d have to shoot you, was the grinning reply to my curiosity, right then my attitude quickly changed from curiosity to hilarity, merging with the bending poles and splashing guffaws of the “Gaff-Top Men!”
Rollover Pass was in total brown-out with my fishing story in danger of becoming just a blank sheet of type! So, with a missed deadline dawning into a repeat of
Rescue from the Beach
By Ed Snyder/Outdoors
Hearsay has it that Gulf Shrimper 617 sprung a leak while trawling the Gilchrist shoreline for shrimp on Wednesday, April 18, and the crew had to beach their shrimp boat after their bilge pump malfunctioned. To keep it from sinking they ended up beaching the craft on the Gilchrist Shoreline about a mile from
Heading Home
Ed Snyder/Outdoors
Bolivar Peninsula, TX.
Thousands of migratory birds are beginning to make that long flight to their northern homes now with hundreds of watchers lining up at Rollover Pass to get their tickets punched and their cameras full of images. For the next month or so just about every feathered species of shore bird will be
Santa Maria
Ed Snyder writes (Apr-18-2012):
“This ship and another of its type sailed down
the intracoastal waterway yesterday afternoon.”
The Thrill of a Peacock
By Ed Snyder/Outdoors, Bolivar Peninsula, TX.
“Bloop, Bloop, KASPLOOSH!The torpedo suddenly vanished in an explosion of water and fins, arching my rod to the run of a strong fish! It was dark/30am when the unseen fish slammed my top-water lure, almost jerking the rod from my hands. I could only sense the violence of the hit and the powerful run of fish as it continued jumping and just plain tearing
To Catch the Archosargus Probatocephalus
By Ed Snyder/Outdoors
Archosargus Probatocephalus, or Sheepshead, are often mistaken for black drum due to their similarity and lack of fish knowledge by anglers. To be sure of what you have just check out the teeth. Drum have no jaw teeth but Sheepshead have a very impressive set of molars resembling rabbit teeth. Besides, the Texas fish limits are
Juvenile Tarpon Information Requested
In accordance with the Southeastern Wildlife Conservation Group’s (SWCG-www.swcgroup.org) efforts in supporting the research & conservation efforts of the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT-www.tarbone.org) on Tarpon and the fishery they support, we are requesting reports of juvenile tarpon populations from all States. These reports will be noted and used in habitat analysis and research that can
Help Save Our Endangered Sea Turtles
Ed Snyder/Outdoors
A Loud sucking gasp suddenly shattered the still of the night that only comes at 4:am. Startled, I glanced up to see a HUGE sea turtle with basket ball sized head and saucer eye on the surface inhaling a gulp of fresh air. Totally surprised by this sight the turtle then submerged as swiftly as it had appeared. All I could respond was WOW!!!
I experienced this most exciting incident while night fishing
Winter Whiting – Winter Fun in Texas
by Ed Snyder/Outdoors
Shrimp baited surf rods are ready for action
Rigged with shrimp baited surf rods we hurled our lines just beyond calm breakers to catch our “whatevers” which resulted in hooking up with a smallish, but bullish species of fish that filled our fish fry yearnings. Within minutes those
Cold Front Reds
by Ed Snyder/Outdoors
Sea birds diving over rampaging reds and fleeing baitfish
On launching the next day from the Yacht Basin boat ramp, we found that lower than normal tides kept us from motoring into the bay forcing us to run to Stingray Marina instead. Making the turn at Stingray we throttled out into the bay steering towards a distant grass-line and into the amazing scene we were about to experience.
After spotting the bird and feeding activity we throttled down…
Those Amazing GULP!
By Ed Snyder
Gulp away
You can hang it in the water and fish will aggressively bite it, drag it on the bottom and fish will swim the distance to munch it, or cast and retrieve it like a swimming minnow and fish will attack to kill it! Berkley’s Gulp Out-fishes All Other Baits! So they say. Catches More Fish! They promise. Scientifically proven to catch more fish! Pray tell. Gulp imitates the natural odor and flavor of live bait! Hmmm. These claims by Berkley are used to promote their Gulp fishing products, a series of impregnated soft plastic lures that imitate just about any live bait used for catching fish. But are these claims truthful or just boastful?
Bulls
By Ed Snyder
Just a nibble at first alerted the lady angler to grab her rod to catch what she thought would be but a small fish. Seconds later she was straining and hanging on for dear life screaming for her husband. Quickly racing over to help he grabbed her around the waist, yelling, “HANG ON HONEY!!”
Black drum (Pogonias cromis), Known locally as Texas drum, channel bass, saltwater drum, gray ghosts, or gasper-goo are members of the croaker family and are related to the Atlantic croaker, redfish, and, surprisingly the speckled trout. Unique to this fish is its ability to create thundering, drumming sounds from its air bladder’ a capability most developed in the black drum. Small drum (a pound) are called “puppy drum” while adults of 20 pounds or better are referred to as “bull” drum,” which can be either male or female.
Tags: Claws
By Ed Snyder
Squeals and laughter filled the air with children splashing and playing in the cool waters of the bay. Busily preparing a family picnic not far away, their parents taking peeks of the kids at play, then smiling after watching their childish enjoyments. But little did they know of the insidious creatures lurking below the surface waiting for one to come near! Soon the air was fractured with screams of fright as children fled once playful waters, now splashing and screaming in sheer panic. One child, crying from fear and pain, splashed out of the surf with a crusty, crawly creature firmly clamped to his big toe.
Crabbing, A Joy Of Summer. A hank of twine, a neck of chicken, and a long handled dip-net is all that’s needed to enjoy some “crabbing” fun during these long hot days of summer. Kids, parents, and friends alike can have fun right now catching crabs and enjoying a family outing that really doesn’t require a whole lot of experience or expensive fishing equipment.
Dozens of crab species thrive in Texas coastal waters, which are found in just about every type of habitat from the saltiest of the Gulf to the freshwater flows of the river systems. Although crab favor muddy bottoms to lie in wait for prey, crab also live around jetties, Gulf passes, shell flats, piers, pilings, and bulkheads of our bays and bayous.
