Brown and Root Flats – Outing report, June 19, 2021

Nine Fishers from the club participated in the Brown and Roots Flats outing in Port Aransas. Fishing conditions were exceptional for sight fishing and fly casting. Winds ranged from calm to 5 knots and sunshine and limited cloud cover allowed for outstanding visibility in the clear water with visibility to the bottom throughout the flat. The water system was very healthy with many sightings of Atlantic Rays, sheepsheads, redfish, black drum and of course mullets. There were vigorous growths of sea grass and sea lettuce too. Surprisingly, there were very few other fishers on the flats and the club had it almost exclusively to ourselves.

All the fishers managed to find the put in location but the approximation of the GPS coordinates and early morning darkness made it more challenging for the early arrivers. But ultimately everyone arrived early or on-time. The water was up in the flat and the cut leading to it was deep enough to avoid the oyster head at the entrance to it. Q and Mark arrived to the put in on Mark’s 16ft Maverick after launching from a nearby ramp. With many public boat ramps there’s consideration of boat/kayak outing next year like was done for Stripes and Spots this past February.

In the morning top water patterns were more successful with blowups on gurgler shrimp imitations and Mohawk minnows. Ron discovered a school of ladyfish busting bait and radioed to the club so that others could have an opportunity – Thanks Ron! Fishing was intense until the fish moved on.

As the day progressed some fishers opted to wade the shoreline and blind cast to likely areas holding reds while others prospected searching for fish on their kayaks or paddle board. Fishing started to slow down around noon, probably due to the bright sun. With the lack of wind it started to get hot for the fishers and some decided to call it a day.

Around 3:00 PM the last of the club members returned to the launch point and prepared for the drive home. Everyone was pleased with the quality of the water and the conditions of the day. Fish were caught, no rods were broken and nobody went swimming!