Kayak Fishing shines at the Lighthouse Lake Trails.
By Robert Sloan
If you're an avid kayak angler, you probably like to fish off the beaten path, where powerboaters are less likely to go. You expect to find outstanding fishing in such places, a just reward for your physical effort. Texas has just the place for you—the Lighthouse Lake Trails, located in Redfish Bay near Port Aransas on the middle Texas coast. It's a kayak fishing dream world encompassing nearly 20 navigable miles of water averaging 8 inches to 2 feet deep.
The popularity of these trails has exploded since they were first put together in 2000. That's when Larry McKinney, a senior director for aquatic resources with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, was in the area working on a seagrass project. He went in and got lost. When he got out a light went on in his head.
“I thought it would be the perfect place for paddlers,” says McKinney. “It has easy access. It is aesthetically pleasing. And you can get in here and fish by yourself.” McKinney, along with Bill Harvey, policy coordinator with the resource protection division of TPWD, took on the project and the rest is history.
“We flew over the area and saw how interconnected the open flats were via the islands and channels,” says McKinney. “The success of the trails has exceeded expectations. It's a remote area, and that's what angling kayakers like.”
There are four Lighthouse Lake Trails, all of which are easy to navigate with kayaks. The two longest trails are the 6.8-mile Redfish Loop and the 6.7-mile South Bay Loop, followed by the 5-mile Cutter's Loop, and the 1.25-mile Electric Lake Loop. That's an incredible 20 miles of flats and mangrove “alleys” that you can easily get lost on. So how do you keep track of where you are and where you might be heading? That's done with GPS coordinates. All those coordinates are listed on a map of the trails. And while you are paddling those trails you will see small marker signs along the way. Each of those signs has a number. You locate that number on your GPS waterproof map of the Trails, which is available at many Texas fly shops and outdoor gear retailers, and can be ordered and even downloaded from the Internet (see sidebar). The numbers on the map will be listed with corresponding GPS coordinates. Plug those into your hand-held GPS, along with the numbers of your desired destination, and you are good to go.
Lefty Ray Chapa is one of a handful of local guides and outfitters who know the Trails intimately. The first time I met and fished with Chapa was at the Crab Man Marina, located about midway between Aransas Pass and the ferry crossing on Highway 361. It was dawn when I drove up and saw him about to unload a single kayak from his vehicle. “You won't be needing a kayak,” he explained. “This is a tandem. I'll get in the back and do the paddling. Your job is to catch the fish.”
Talk about strange. I had never heard of a kayak fishing guide, much less one that worked out of a tandem rig. But, hey, if somebody wants to paddle me around the flats while I fly fish for reds and trout, what the heck. Actually Chapa offers the options of using your kayak or his.
“The fishing here is outstanding for reds and trout, and it's not unusual to find tailing reds on one flat and seatrout on another. We'll fish a few massive flats connected by guts and channels cutting through islands of mangroves. It's some of the most beautiful water you'll ever fish along the entire Gulf Coast, let alone Texas,” said Chapa.
We put in at Shrimp Boat Channel and paddled 25 yards to the flats. Once you make it across this deepwater channel you can literally disappear for hours, or days, if that's your aim. On weekdays, chances are good you won't see more than a few boats, if any. That's especially true the farther in you go.
“As a guide I get to spend a lot of time out on the Trails,” says Chapa. “The cord grassflats and mangrove alleys go on forever. And the water is aquarium clear on just about any given day. You have the option of fishing from a kayak or getting out and wading.”
Wading is usually the best option on the trails. You'll find that much of the bottom is firm sand on the open flats. The bottom around the mouths of mangrove canals is not so wader-friendly. That's where you can drift fish from a kayak.
Go it Alone
The following guides and outfitters specialize in fishing the Lighthouse Lake Trails.
Slowride Guide Service, located in Aransas Pass, (866) 856-9477; www.slowrideguide.com
Captain Sally’s Rockport Outfitters, located in Rockport, (866) 729-1505; www.kayakrockport.com.
Kayak 4 Redfish, Lefty Ray’s fly casting and guide service, (210) 543-1865; www.leftyray.com. (The site has lots of how-to kayaking information for do-it-yourselfers.)
Shoal Grass Lodge, an Orvis endorsed fly fishing lodge with full guide service, (866) 758-5307; www.shoalgrasslodge.com.
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Though the Trails can be fished year-round, anglers naturally tend to fish when the comfort level is ideal. “My season runs from April 1 though October 31, mainly due to winter's inclement weather,” said Chapa. “It's not that you can't find and catch fish. You have to consider that winter cold fronts and accompanying winds can make the trek a lot tougher, as well as casting and maneuvering a kayak in general. And our most extreme cold snaps chill the shallows, which have a median depth of 15 inches or so, to the point that reds and trout hunker down in deeper holes, and sight fishing suffers.”
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If you're an avid kayak angler, you probably like to fish off the beaten path, where powerboaters are less likely to go. You expect to find outstanding fishing in such places, a just reward for your physical effort. Texas has just the place for you—the Lighthouse Lake Trails, located in Redfish Bay near Port Aransas on the middle Texas coast. It's a kayak fishing dream world encompassing nearly 20 navigable miles of water averaging 8 inches to 2 feet deep.
BOWHUNTER