[PiePuncher]

Location: Between the 18 and 20 mile markers on PINS. We were looking for pinches, well defined guts and structure. That is exactly what we found.

Tackle: Curado 200 DHSV on St.Croix rod with Spooled with 20lb power pro. The lures of choice were Lucky Strike Pointers and Yozuri 3D Minnows.

We headed to the surf at 8 in the morning, knowing it was going to be an extreme low tide and that all the fish would be stacked. Sure enough they were. We had heard the fishing had been very slow but that didnt keep me from fishing. We caught fish every few cast in the second gut from the time we arrived till about noon and then we called it quits. We caught Bluefish, Spanish Mackeral, Red fish, Skip Jack, Jack Crevelle and even whiting on artificial. The whiting came as a shock as I have never caught them on artificial and I have also never caught so many bluefish. I think we might have caught over 40 bluefish this last weekend. Wild.
The trip was awesome and I dont think I will ever use any lure in the surf other than a lucky craft or a 3D Minnow from here on out. While everyone else was getting skunked, we were slamming them.
Everyday was the same, we fished from morning till about noon with the same results. On saturday we left after we were asked to leave by some DEA angents. They were in the process of making a big bust. It was funny because on friday we saw a big panga beached with big bags in it. There was no one around the boat and it almost looked like it had been vacated. Well, on the way back, the boat was gone!!! Weird that such a big boat had been dry docked and somehow got back to water even with the LOW tide. Was a wild weekend but very productive fishing wise.

 

[PiePuncher]

By the way, we kept a cooler of blues and I had planned on cleaning them. After filleting one, I decided to donate the rest of them to a fellow angler that was fishing for whiting. I couldnt let the fish goto waste but they didnt look to appetizing to me. Dark meat.

 

[Pope]

Awesome report. I am glad you guys got into the fish and the variety was great. That is a fat trout too!

 

[Bret]

sounds like fun at PINS. we used to do a big camp out there every spring..
good job on the fish.. That trout will be good eating.

 

[Ragman]

Great report PiePuncher!

Though I've never had much success at the shore, I do fish everytime I take my family to the beach, wherever it is.

I've read about all of the gatherings at PINS, but have never gone.

We should think about setting one up, maybe the same time as the 2Cool gathering, for next spring?

 

[Pope]

I am all over that, but the spring is tough. Too much wind. Maybe early summer before it gets to hot or the fall?

 

[Bret]

Yeah, Brandon is right. Spring is tough.. every time we have planned a trip, It never fails a big norther blows in at some point in the trip and pretty much blows out the fishing. We still have fun though. I would be in on a PINS Trip.

 

[PiePuncher]

I am down to go anytime. The surf fishing is unreal down there, you just have to know what to look for. If you are just a few feet off, you dont catch anything. It was amazing at how tight the fish would hold to a specific structure or bar. The further south you go, the more defined the bars get. The first gut was almost dry and the second gut would have tons of sand in some places. The trick was to find deep guts that did not have sand in them. Those guts would be full of trout, reds, smacks and blues. We caught quite a few trout, these are just a few of the pics I took. The average trout was between 21 inches and 27 and all were fat footballs.
Sometime we will all have to get together and do a camp or something, that would be fun and we could fill a few coolers with trout and reds. I kept a few smacks, probably about 10 of them or so and gave the rest and blues away.
If anyone plans on doing any inshore fishing over the next few weeks, make sure you check the beach out. The lure selection also made a big difference. While using cocahoes and touts, we caught nothing but whiting but the minute I switched over to the Yozuri and Lucky Craft I got hit after hit from BIG fish.
One last note, Jacks fight like a champ and blues have some of the strongest jaws of any inshore species, maybe even stronger than a sheepshead. WILD>..

 

[PiePuncher]

One last note and I hope the person I am talking about reads this.. While fishing, a friend of mine told me that the lure I gave him didnt work. He had tossed it for two hours straight without a bite. I told him that he is crazy and that we killed them yesterday on the exact same color lure. Well, he got pissed and told me to put it on my rod. I said,"no problem". On my third cast I hooked into a nice smack. On my fifth cast, I caught a nice trout. on about my 10th cast, I caught a nice blue. I dont know what he was doing wrong but obviously something. I was able to hit right on the edge of the third bar, which made a little difference but he still should have caught something. Here is the lure that supposedly didnt work..

If you notice the lure is now clear and all the paint has been worn off. After catching a few, I told him," I thought the fish didnt like this lure". Man I am mean!!!! I just had to rub it in.

 

[PiePuncher]

The wind was ripping this weekend but it didnt seem to matter too much. It would however make camping tough. whenever everyone is ready, lets do this!

 

[Ragman]

The summer sounds good that way to include Sandi and our girls.

I've got some inshore lures that I'd love to try out on jacks, reds, specs whatever!

Would it be something like a 3-4 day weekend and everyone meets somewhere at the coast, pick a spot and then everyone just set up tents, grills, etc?

Sounds great!

 

[MrBill]

18 and 20 mile markers on PINS?

What does PINS stand for?

 

[Ragman]

Padre Island National Seashore

It's a primitive (undeveloped) stretch of shore.

 

[MrBill]

Fancy phrase for BEACH.

I guess I could have figured out what PINS meant. I've only been going to Port A since I was 2 months old. All of us second home owners and locals still call PINS the beach. Next time I'll know what you mean.

 

[Bret]

Mr Bill, I grew up in Portland, and we never called it pins either.. it was either Big shell or little shell or to the mansfield jetties.

 

[PiePuncher]

Yep, its called little shell or big shell too but little shell starts at 14 mile marker or so and big shell is about 16-18 or so. You can actually see the difference in the shoreline at each. PINS is what the entire section of shoreline is called, as opposed to just a section. Mile markers are about every five miles or so. If I was just going to the beach, I would be going to JP Luby or Malachite beach, that is local from where I stay. I guess that just depends on how you look at it, either way I was on the beach and putting a hurtin on the fish.

 

[Pope]

I think we should shoot for the Mansfield Jetties. I will pull my boat down there and beach it. We can fish the bays and if someone has a deep vee boat we can beach it on the channel side, we can shoot out for some of the best snapper fishing on the Texas coast. Snook, tarpon, reds, trout and kings abound right at the beach. Anyone with yaks... bring em! I will bring mine and we can fish it at the rocks and take baits out for big sharks at night! Oh, this could get fun!

 

[jaredchasteen]

Sounds like a fun trip, but if i am in port a for 4 days i am not fishing from the beach. I only get a few shots at the deep, when i am there i want to be on the water. the deep water. I dont thnik my wife would like the chance to camp without me for 24-40 hours straight.

 

[PiePuncher]

Not to rain on your parade but a true fisherman is happy to catch at any given opportunity. Sure, we all like to get offshore and catch that big fish but an opportunity fishing from the second bar with a bunch of great fisherman catching tons of good size fish with the occasional monster is priceless. You would even learn quite a bit. Sounds like a dang good time to me. I like to get offshore quite a few times a year but still enjoy any pull on the end of my line. If you dont like to cast all day, you can always break open your can of worms and chill on the bank... If you are nice, someone might catch you some mullet so you are not stuck using your dead shrimp from the circle K.
Pope, running some big baits would be tight!! They catch tons of BIG sharks on PINS. You can catch lots of good bait down there, jacks, bonita, whiting, bluefish, skip jack and spanish mackeral(I think they are illegal but they make excellent bait). Sounds like a heck of a deal and one heck of a fun evening. A few beers and a nice hand rolled cigar would make for an even better trip. When's the party?

 

[Minnow]

Rue and I might be interested.
How is the water over there? is shallow and calm?
We are planning to get a 2 person kayak.