Headed To Port Mansfield

[deer99hunter]

This weekend and I need some help. I'm bringing my sons ( 11 & 13 ) to catch some fish . First time for us to take our 20' boat out on the Gulf, but the winds look pretty favorable.

With that being said, anybody got any suggestions ? I'm used to going WAY offshore out of there, really don't know anything about fishing close....

Thanks for any input !!

[bigbad243]

Go out the jetty around the left side (north), pull ip close to the rocks and throw croaker up close to rocks.

[zcole04]

If your fishing out of a boat head south out of port Mansfield and a couple of miles down you will see plenty of houses on stilts in the bay. About 3/4 of the way down the houses fish to the south of the houses. There will be plenty of boats so you will know where to fish. Visit my FIL's bait stand while your there. Poco Loco Bait Stand

[deer99hunter]

Go out the jetty around the left side (north), pull ip close to the rocks and throw croaker up close to rocks.

I understand that these short seas have brought in the Tarpon... how would you target them ? I would LOVE to see my sons hook up !!!!!

[Bisch]

Good luck to y'all Patrick!

Bisch

[deer99hunter]

If your fishing out of a boat head south out of port Mansfield and a couple of miles down you will see plenty of houses on stilts in the bay. About 3/4 of the way down the houses fish to the south of the houses. There will be plenty of boats so you will know where to fish. Visit my FIL's bait stand while your there. Poco Loco Bait Stand

I know where you're talking about, thanks for the pointer !!!

[panhandlehunter]

I understand that these short seas have brought in the Tarpon... how would you target them ? I would LOVE to see my sons hook up !!!!!

A couple miles offshore and look for them rolling. I'm no pro though.

[deer99hunter]

Good luck to y'all Patrick!

Bisch

Jerry you know me , Anything to get my boys hooked up with fishing or hunting!!!

[deer99hunter]

A couple miles offshore and look for them rolling. I'm no pro though.

10-4 .

Swimming plugs or ripping bally-hoos across the top ? Just like chasing them in Florida ?

[panhandlehunter]

10-4 .

Swimming plugs or ripping bally-hoos across the top ? Just like chasing them in Florida ?

Your choice but live bait is best. Blue crabs, lady fish or hard heads(they work) under a balloon.

[deer99hunter]

Your choice but live bait is best. Blue crabs, lady fish or hard heads(they work) under a balloon.

I've heard that but never tried it . A buddy of mine caught 2 behind the wing walls in the jetties this afternoon, both over 50" . I would freak out if my boys could hook up with something like that !!!!!

[deer99hunter]

Up for some pointers from the midday fishermen !

[Poco]

Heres the only advice I got since your going offshore.

DONT TURN YOUR ENGINE OFF ALL DAY.

Its better to waste a little more fuel than to worry about it starting.

Other than that, have fun amigo!!

Ray

[deer99hunter]

Heres the only advice I got since your going offshore.

DONT TURN YOUR ENGINE OFF ALL DAY.

Its better to waste a little more fuel than to worry about it starting.

Other than that, have fun amigo!!

Ray

Thanks Ray, and I agree !

I'm going to run out to the artificial reef to try for a few snapper, then come back to the jetties for a try at some tarpon.

[AtTheWall]

The Gulf is FLAT CALM from now till next Tuesday - Pancake flat, light winds with Saturday morning a light offshore breeze slowly spinning around to onshore, very light out of the East. You need a slight ripple on the water and when the East winds finally come on, the King Mackerel bite will turn on. Look for floating mats of seaweed and toss a live shrimp nearby if you can, Cobia and Tripletail will lurk below and they will hammer it.

You can and will find small chicken Mahi Mahi around any floating debris within a mile off the sand down there. We caught literally 40+ one after noon 3 miles off Padre Island National seashore one afternoon, a large tree top floating (deadhead), full of chickens! I used a 1/4 ounce leadhead jig, with plastic shrimp and paddle tails on a 7ft spinning rod. Basically a trout rod, light tackle. They would hammer the lure, get smart to the color and stop. I would change colors and they would hammer it again till they got smart to the color. So take a lot of various colored plastics, mix it up, and find a pattern.

Snook are pretty intense along the inside jetty channels as well. Low light is best using lures, night time, shift to black Mirolures with rattles and day time, large live shrimp and or finger mullet.


Out of Port Mansfield. Run straight East and hit the jetties. Tarpon, snook, kings and jack crevalle will be patrolling the inside channel side of the South Jetty from that outside rock tip, to roughly just in front of the day marker on the inside channel beach at the spot where folks 4x4 up from South Padre and park.

The scene to the right up tight against the rocks, well worth it if you can soak live bait and or cast some serious lures here tight to the rocks.





With the conditions off the chart soft offshore, the water clarity at the mouth should bring plenty of action near shore. Pick up some frozen ribbon fish and some king mackerel leaders and balloon float a few drifts just outside the rocks. A live bull mullet free lined on 100lb mono on a 7/0 circle hook (tail hook) should hammer tarpon and about everything you would be willing to hang onto.

Make a few short thin steel circle hook leaders. You may need to shift to this setup, 8 inch short solid steel leader to circle with a 50lb mono leader above that, connecting that to a reel with 300 - 400 yards of 20+ lb test line with a smooth drag. There are times every live bait you toss and swim riding the hook and or drifting near the jetty entrance, gets hammered badly by King Mackerel. They become so aggressive, you can't get jacks, tarpon, bullreds and or even sharks on the bait when they are on the feed.

Inside the Port Mansfield Channel jetties, this entire stretch is full of action. Live bait and or deeper running lures, spoons and jigs will score a large mix of fish. Rack and I ran this scene last summer, I hooked up in the main channel on something SOLID AND STRONG. It busted me off before I could get the boat turned around, dealing with a jacktard fishing on top of Rack and I in their boat (pot licking us), to a point, I couldn't run this fish down fast enough. My thought was a massive Jackfish and or King was on and my little Shimano Curado didn't have enough line and oomph, to deal with this situation.

As you leave the inlet and Gulf of Mexico sailing West back toward town.
Just inside the inlet, on the North channel side, you will clear the North Padre Island shoreline and the Laguna Madre flats open up to your right and up North. Along that channel edge, you can run the boat up shallow, drop the anchor, get out and nail the snot out of redfish on that flat. There will be folks there, lining that sandbar and wading along that edge..tons of specks (slot fish) and redfish (slot fish). Here, you want to cast topwaters. Folks use corks and live bait but you don't need to, gold weedless spoons and topwaters is all you need!

Here is the topwater you want to use for this FLAT:










When the waters like this, work it slow and easy. They are there and it requires patience but, the mix of fish is solid South Texas.



Everything swims inside first 500 yards of the Port Mansfield jetty.





I'm headed to the Laguna Madre and may run out Packery Channel...depends, this weekend. May use a friends Mako offshore and or my flats skiff inside, we are not decided. Maybe a bit of both?



Tight Lines and Good Luck!

Rob