Fishing Port Isabel  -  Sep 25th, 2008 8:09pm

I promised myself this year I would start traveling more and catch these fish that I've always dreamed of.  To that affect, I went to Texas a few days early on my way to Austin so that I could go fishing with Danno Wise in Port Isabel.

I'm happy to say that while the weather threatened to squash my dreams a couple of times, we persevered and had an amazing time.  Before I get into the fishing though, I think its worth mentioning the place we stayed.  The White Sands is definitely a fisherman's hotel.  Its light on the decor and a little down and dirty, but each room has a freezer for your fish and the restaurant opens at 6am so you can eat before catching your boat at their dock!  I can't stress enough how cool it was to walk 20ft out of your room and step onto the boat you'll be fishing in that day.  Did I mention that its only 40 bucks a night?  That alone practically guaranteed that I'll come back.

But enough about the high class caves that keep us warm - lets talk fishing so you'll know what I want to go back to.  The first day started out pretty windy.  We braved the initial waves and began catching "trout" almost immediately.  Using a strange float/rubber shrimp combo as well as the shrimp jig alone we probably produced 18 or 20 of them that first day.  Many were below the 20inch legal size limit but a half dozen made it over and I caught one that was nearly 3lbs.  We spent most of that first day searching for redfish but they never materialized.  What did show up on the last cast of the day though was a monster Jack Crevalle.

When your using rods designed for 4 and 5lb fish, your really not prepared to boat a tuna-class critter.  Nonetheless, as my father held onto my shorts to keep me upright in the ever increasing waves, we chased after the fish to prevent it from spooling me.  Somewhere in the back of my head I knew it probably wasn't going to happen but I kept as much pressure as I dared on 10lb test and after 2 or 3 good runs and about 15 minutes I managed to boat the thing.  We estimated that it weighed between 30 and 35lbs and after a few pictures of me grinning like an idiot on Christmas day we let the brute go.

I honestly thought the trip would all be downhill from there.  Fortunately the 2nd day my father and I each managed to catch our intended prey - a Texas Redfish.  Unfortunately, both were just below the legal size limit of 25 inches, but they were still beautiful fish.  Towards the end of the day, Danno shuffled us over towards the mangroves in quiet hopes that we could latch onto a Snook.  My dad was the recipient this time and both Danno and I knew what he had the second it rocketed out of the water.  Pops is an angler to the core and laded it without a hitch, but according to Danno they get off most of the time.  It was quite a catch and a great exclamation point to another good day on the water.

I could go on about the quirky little town, the restaurants we ate at, even the convenience store across the street that sold shoes, hats, food, drink, liquor, bait, and fresh seafood, but its a bit much.  Its simpler for me to post a few images and let your imagination fill in the blanks.  Needless to say - Port Isabel is a real gem.  At least for October fisherman, the town is nearly deserted, the fishing is great and I can speak for at least 1 guide who was a lot of fun.  I think I'll just have to make the sacrifice and go back next year :)