MONTHLY MEETINGS: 700-900pm (social hr from 6-7), Last Tues of the month. St. Thomas Presbyterian Church; CONTACT US via email: texasflyfishers@gmail.com WHY JOIN: Dedicated to the promotion of fly fishing education, conservation, and outdoors ethics. Detailed benefits below.
Texas FlyFishers of Houston: 2026 PINS (Padre Island National Seashore), advance planning Trip Description: We will take four-wheel drive vehicles down Padre Island National Seashore during the anchovy migration, (which we have missed the last 4 years) and target blitzing schools of ladyfish, jacks, redfish, and tarpon. We will beach camp Friday and Saturday nights, returning on Sunday.
When: September 18-20th, 2026 Where: Padre Island National Seashore, 20420 Park Road 22, Corpus Christi, Texas Start Time: 1100, Friday morning End Time: Sunday, at noon, 2 days later
Meet at Malaquite about 11am on Friday to be prepared for a noon departure. Plan is to leave Malaquite around noon and run down” to “Big Shell”, and camp in that area.
A quick run to the jetties Saturday morning, move back to a camp spot between the 40 and 30 mile marker and then the next day, Sunday, fish on the way back. Showers at Malaquite, load for the return about 1400 and drive home.
Texas FlyFishers of Houston: 2025 PINS (Padre Island National Seashore), advance planning Trip Description: We will take four-wheel drive vehicles down Padre Island National Seashore during the anchovy migration, (which we have missed the last 4 years) and target blitzing schools of ladyfish, jacks, redfish, and tarpon. We will beach camp Friday and Saturday nights, returning on Sunday.
When: October 10rd thru 12th, 2025 Where: Padre Island National Seashore, 20420 Park Road 22, Corpus Christi, Texas Start Time: 1100, Friday morning End Time: Sunday, at noon, 2 days later
Meet at Malaquite about 11am on Friday to be prepared for a noon departure. Plan is to leave Malaquite around noon and run down to about MM 40+ fishing, and camp in that area.
A quick run to the jetties Saturday morning, move back to a camp spot between the 40 and 30 mile marker and then the next day, Sunday, fish on the way back. Showers at Malaquite, load for the return about 1400 and drive home.
Texas FlyFishers of Houston: 2024 PINS (Padre Island National Seashore), advance planning Trip Description: We will take four-wheel drive vehicles down Padre Island National Seashore during the anchovy migration, and target blitzing schools of ladyfish, jacks, redfish, and tarpon. We will beach camp Friday and Saturday nights, returning on Sunday.
When: Sept 20th thru Sept 22nd, 2023 Where: Padre Island National Seashore, 20420 Park Road 22, Corpus Christi, Texas Start Time: 1100, Friday morning, Sept 22 End Time: Sunday, at noon, 2 days later
Meet at Malaquite about 11am on Friday to be prepared for a noon departure. Plan is to leave Malaquite around noon and run down to about MM 40+ fishing, and camp in that area.
A quick run to the jetties Saturday morning, move back to a camp spot between the 40 and 30 mile marker and then the next day, Sunday, fish on the way back. Showers at Malaquite, load for the return about 1400 and drive home.
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Six of us made it to the Malachite parking lot by noon. Preparation for going down the beach took a few minutes, assembling rods, selecting flies, putting on wading boots, etc. And of course all the “visiting” going on as friends excitedly talked about the day’s adventure ahead.
We traveled all the way to the jetties the first day. We kept looking for birds, and action in the surf. Nothing was seen, so we kept moving. Fishing was slow. No birds were working. No fish were biting.
We made camp early and spent the night at the jetties. Once the sun went down we fishing the pocket in the dark, landing a few large ladyfish.
There were tar-balls scattered all over the place. They would get stuck on boots, and vehicles.
When fish were caught, it seems like Cecconi‘s platinum Pilchard was the fly.
Beach driving conditions were excellent. We were able to travel easily all the way to the jetties, and back with little trouble. I don’t think we actually used 4X4 but a few miles.
The temperature was comfortable, with a light breeze keeping the vampires down.
The water temperature was extremely high. It felt like bathwater while we were wading. This probably kept the baitfish, and gamefish in the deeper, cooler, water
Very few fish came to hand. Some of the larger fish with a Ladyfish at the jetties the night of the camp. A decent trout and a nice Redfish came directly out of the surf
A few lessons learned: We need to communicate, who is bringing white, as every single one of us brought a coffee pot, and a burner on this trip. Also, what is the best way to get rid of tar-balls? FRC radios came in handy traveling to the jetties, but we didn’t charge them overnight, rendering them useless the next day.
John and Mike enjoying breakfast that Ozzy had cookedLarge tar-ballUsing binoculars to check out action past the breakersPreparing to head down the beachWater conditionsEduardo, Ozzy, and Puck enjoying sunrise, and coffee.Sunrise at the jettiesWaves in the morning were very smallHoward’s comfortable camp setup. The pocket at the jetties and 3 fly fishersOzzy in a hopeful castEduardo landed a nice redfish right out of the surf.Eduardo getting directly to shore as he has a nice fish hooked up. Well played!John at the pocket 2Flat water at the pocket.Lined up in the surfAbout ready to break camp and head northCamp is set up well before sunset.
Texas FlyFishers of Houston: 2023 PINS (Padre Island National Seashore) Trip Description: We will take four-wheel drive vehicles down Padre Island National Seashore during the anchovy migration, and target blitzing schools of ladyfish, jacks, redfish, and tarpon. We will beach camp Friday and Saturday nights, returning on Sunday.
Four of us made it to the Malaquite Visitor Center parking lot. We made our way down the beach in three vehicles and had made it to the 5 mile mark when we started seeing the dusk anchovies and the birds working like crazy so we started fishing.
As we made our way down the beach the birds continue to work we stopped multiple times.
On our first day we caught a lot of big lady fish on the fly. We also caught some small jacks and the occasional Spanish mackerel.
We made it down to the turtle house about 5:30 in the evening, and set up camp. Tim used a newfangled grill that he has a solid iron rod that he pounds into the ground. We had bratwurst and canned beans with a side order of potato salad for dinner. Stories were swapped as we sat around the campfire until about 10 o’clock.
3:00am we had a light rain come through. It barely got anything wet, however at 4:30am a nice hard rain came in with a bit of wind. This was a soaking rain. Fortunately most of us had put the rain fly up the night before in anticipation. There was that “one guy” that didn’t, and he paid the price, by being completely soaked.
Saturday morning the fishing was pretty good at camp, with a lot of lady fish hooked, and one very nice trout. Eduardo hooked the trout while standing on the shoreline casting into the first cut. He never even got his feet wet. Phil reported that at sunrise, before coffee, the bait and gamefish were on the shore.
After breakfast we decided it was time to run the beach again. “Puck” elected to stay back and watch the camp, allowing folks to get on the beach and go fishing faster, and not having to break down all the camping gear. This worked out fairly well.
Tim and Phil went down to the jetties, took a few pictures, cast in a few reds, but didn’t catch very many fish on Saturday.
Eduardo left a bit later than they did, and went down to about mile 50 or so. He also reported that fishing was slow.
How about 4 o’clock Saturday we decide to gather back at camp, start our grill, as we had foil wrapped sweet potatoes that were going to take a long time to cook. As the sweet potatoes cooked, we settled in camp, washed a few things down, rinse things off, and generally just relaxed.
Once the potatoes were done, steaks were added to the grill. Tim cooked, and once again did very well.
As the sun filled the four of us traded stories around the campfire, with two of our older folks crashing before midnight. I don’t know when the other two finally went down, because I was one of the one sound asleep.
Again very early in the morning a light rain came in. It didn’t get very much wet, as it only lasted for a few minutes.
Before sunrise the coffee was started, and there was a light breeze that kept the vampires down. Two of us were walking the beach before the sun rose, and the fish were already there. Our plan was to have our coffee have our breakfast, and get on the road headed north and off the beach by about 9 o’clock. Not all of us were moving by 9 o’clock, but it was close.
We ran into pods of feeding birds in the surf. But because there was so much bait there was not always feeding fish under them. One of us would run ahead find the birds and wait for the others.
It was very difficult to leave feeding fish, but we knew this was our last day we had to get off the beach.
After hundreds of fish caught, mostly lady fish, We did find a pocket of blue fish working in extremely shallow water, and right in front of us less than a rod length away, making a cast impossible. Four were landed, after multiple break-offs.
We made one last stop around mile seven. This was a flurry of activity in the super clear water, both birds and fish feeding less than a rod length away from shore.
We made it off the beach by about 1230 into the Malaquite parking lot. The Malaquite shower facility is still being reconstructed, and upgraded. The outside rinse off still works so that’s where we parked and that’s what we used.
There were only four of us on this trip, and I thought that was an anomaly, until I realize that on Saturday there were no other anglers down where we were on the beach. What was going on this weekend that kept people off the water in such beautiful weather?
This is what came out of the stomache of the Smacks we keptBirds are working like crazy hereBirds are working like crazy hereSwapping the secret flyIn the middle of the fishComfortable castingUnderwater phot of the baitUnderwater phot of the baitBait from abovePhil is almost ready to start casting. Let the coffee kick in.Floweres on the beach, and a ghost crab.Almost sunriseAbsolutely wonderful meal on the beach.Camp with a lone guardEdaurdo’s troutMorning set upPhil is surrounded by feeding birdsBeach veiw Beach veiw Camp is set upEdaurdo is casting into feeding fishThese are the folks that made the tripThat brown cloud are the anchoviesPhil captures the flavor of sunrise on PINSThis is how many anchovies were in the surfCasting to the next gut.Our guys are in the middle of the birds, and the fish.
Texas FlyFishers of Houston: 2022 PINS (Padre Island National Seashore) Trip Description: We will take four-wheel drive vehicles down Padre Island National Seashore during the anchovy migration, and target blitzing schools of ladyfish, jacks, redfish, and tarpon. We will beach camp Friday and Saturday nights, returning on Sunday. Continue reading →
Texas FlyFishers of Houston Event: 20210 PINS (Padre Island National Seashore)
Trip Description: We will take four-wheel drive vehicles down Padre Island National Seashore during the anchovy migration, and target blitzing schools of ladyfish, jacks, redfish, and tarpon. Continue reading →
Texas FlyFishers of Houston Event: Yarborough Pass – Padre Isl National Seashore
Trip Description: We will take four-wheel drive vehicles down Padre Island National Seashore and fish the Yarborough Pass area. Meet Fri April 30 at noon at Malaquite Campground, drive and camp Fri/Sat nights, return to Malaquite Campground by Sun noon.
