I couldn't stand it and had to get back on the flats today after yesterdays outing. I called my fishing partner and we launched the skiff at 11:00am. The bite must have started earlier than yesterday as the fish were very active upon our arrival. Dale took the casting deck and soon had a rat red in the boat. A few minuets later he hooked up with a large Red. After a hard fight the fish came to the net. The fish was 27" long and weighed 8 pounds even, this fish would have been in the money during the local O.C.A.R. tournament. Dale was fishing a flats master gold spoon with a CastAway HG40 Titanium "Speck and Red special" casting rod.http:///www.castawayrods.com

I have fished a lot of rods over the years and this one has to be my favorite. The rod is extremely light and telegraphs the slightest nibble through the rod handle.It has a soft tip but a strong back bone to turn big fish. A recent client made an analogy of the feel," its like holding a live spark plug wire" compared to other rods he had fished. We revived the fish and watched it swim off with the falling tide. It was my turn on the deck and I was on the hunt for a Sheep's head fish using fly fishing tackle. It wasn't long before Dale spotted one feeding just off the grass line in a foot of water. A well placed cast and the fish ate. As I set the hook the fish made a good 30 foot run and had the drag screaming and the 5 wt rod bent over. After a good fight we landed the fish and weighed it, 3lb. even, what a beautiful fish. If you have never seen a Sheep's head up close you just can't appreciate how colorful and well marked these fish are. I have really come to love these convict fish of the flats, their very tuff to sneak up on,will eat the right fly presented properly and most give a hard fight on tackle that's sized accordingly. I was only able to trick one of these fish into eating a fly today and spooked many more, that's why they have been called "Texas Permit" and a challenge on the fly. When the day ended Dale had eight Reds on conventional tackle and I had the one Sheep's head. It was a great outing for just 3-1/2 hours fishing. Tight lines, Mike http://rectorsguideservice.com/