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				“Texas' Yarborough Pass” The action was virtually non-stop and we never left the half mile stretch of surf right in front of our beach camp. Fly Fishing In Salt Waters By Phil H. Shook As the early sun crested the North Padre Island surf, sanderlings scurried over the wet sand like wind-up toys. Out over the first bar, black skimmers, their bright red bills shining like war paint, begin low strafing runs down the beach. From our camp at the base of the dunes to see a modest surf breaking with clear, green water tight to the beach. On a day like this, we knew, 40-inch "bull reds" would be running on the surf side of the barrier island, and big speckled trout would be holding in ridges and pockets waiting to ambush finger mullet. The clear, green water also would draw Spanish mackerel, ladyfish, jack crevalle, bluefish and tarpon close enough to reach with Clousers or Deceivers as they moved down the troughs, hazing baitfish under diving birds. We were excited by the prime conditions, but it would be tough deciding where to fish. Just a short drive from our camp on the Padre Island National Seashore was a winding back country road barely visible in the dunes, that led to a remote primitive campsite at Yarborough Pass and miles of prime wade fishing and sight casting on the sand and grass flats of the Laguna Madre. Big trout and broad-shouldered redfish cruise those flats, sometimes with their bronze backs poking out of the water, offering fly casters a tantalizing feast of tails and targets. There were six of us, and for three days last July we waded the Yarborough shoreline, casting shrimp patterns, Seaducers, poppers and rattle flies to cruising trout and redfish. When the sun was high, the fish were often easy to spot, moving slowly with heads down, rooting in the grass for the rich bounty of finfish and crustaceans that thrive in the lagoon. Once you saw a redfish, there was often ample time to get in good position and make a number of presentations. Most of the reds were in the 20- to 25-inch range, with an occasional 28- to 30-inch bruiser. Often a red would take a fly so aggressively that even a barbless hook was difficult to remove from deep in the fish's mouth near the rough-edged crushers. Adding to the allure of Yarborough Pass is its close proximity to Baffin Bay, the state's legendary big trout water. The Texas record speckled trout, a 13-pound, 9-ounce monster, was caught there in 1975, and six to 10-pound fish are taken in the area every year. As wary as the coyotes that roam the barrier island, the big specks can turn up on the shallow flats at any time, providing an exciting target for anglers. Veteran Laguna Madre guides get as excited as beginners when a big sow trout is spotted cruising in inches of water. "You always have the chance of getting a 29- to 31-inch fish...they are there," says Laguna Madre guide Bill Sheka Jr. Sheka, who has fished these waters for a quarter century, says he has hooked three trout on a flies that would have topped the 30-inch mark, only to loose all of them right at the landing net. "I had them all whipped and lost all three," he says. "I don't understand it." One morning during or trip last July, I got two chances to cast to long, lanky specks cruising undisturbed down a Yarborough shoreline in about eight inches of water. Unlike the big V-wakes and exposed backs that reveal a cruising redfish, the head, dorsal and tail fin of a big trout leave only a faint wake, just a long straight line on the surface. The first big trout allowed me a half dozen casts, but stubbornly refused a caribou shrimp pattern. When the second one came along, I was fishing a bright orange cactus shrimp pattern weighted with bead chain eyes on a 10-pound tippet. Holding my breath and leading the fish slightly in the brisk, late-morning crosswind, I dropped the fly a little ahead and beyond it, then pulled it into the fish's path with a couple of short strips. For a long moment time stood still-and then the fish exploded on the little fly. As coils of loose fly line began clearing the guides, you could have heard me yell all the way from the Intracoastal Waterway. It wasn't a double-digit monster, but at 27 Þ inches it was my best trout in 40 years of fishing the Texas flats. Even with this brand of sightcasting action available on the Laguna Madre's shallow flats, there are times when the fishing in the Gulf surf along the 60 miles of beach front is too good to pass up. During the big migrations of finger mullet and glass minnows in the fall, anglers have a chance to sightcast to redfish popping baitfish as they move down the first and second bars. During this time of year specks, ladyfish and bluefish go on a feeding frenzy that attracts intense bird activity. Neal Lillard, a former program manager for the Texas Nature Conservancy, is a long time observer of the air and water shows that take place in the fall off the Texas barrier islands. "When the huge schools of fry are pushed to the surface by reds and trout, the avocets, cormorants, white and brown pelicans go into a feeding frenzy," he says. "The water is alive with activity." Billy Sandifer, a veteran North Padre beach guide who takes shellers and birders as well as anglers on "down island" safaris in his truck, says he spends a lot of time inspecting the big schools of ladyfish that fill the surf in the fall. "The only way you can make sure it is ladyfish is by wading out in the surf and looking," says Sandifer. "I have gone out there and immediately, in four feet of water, seen tarpon and jackfish right in with the ladyfish." The problem, Sandifer says, is that there will be 150 places with birds and surface activity for you to check out. Sandifer, who sports a tiger shark tattoo on his arm and a hammerhead on the back of his hand, has some advice for flycasters on how to read the surf for the prime places to throw Deceivers or Clousers. He suggests that anglers drive along the beach looking for pockets and dead end guts - the carved out ridges and holes that offer ambush points for larger predators. "What you do is watch the steady line of the surf breaking on the sand bar and then all at once it won't be breaking, or all at once it will just run dead into the beach," he says. "You look up ahead of you a quarter mile and you can see where it dead ends right into the beach. When you find that, that's the old box canyon scenario and (you have) the reds and the trout and everything else in there." But these fish-attracting features also are subject to winds, tides and currents, constantly changing, disappearing and reappearing along the 60 miles of beach open to vehicle travel, and a sharp eye and some beach smarts are need to find them. Once you do find a good spot, chances are there won't be any competition. Even on the busiest summer weekend days, there is plenty of elbow room available in this Texas wilderness. On some weekdays, as few as 10 vehicles make the run to the southernmost end of the beach. "It's not like Cape Hatteras," as one park ranger puts it. About six miles down the beach from the visitor center at Malaquite Beach, a sign cautions against proceeding any farther south without 4-wheel drive. Jean Andrews, author of Shells and Shores of Texas, notes that the 60-mile trip down the beach to the Mansfield jetties can take as little as 2 1/2 hours after a storm has firmly packed the beach sand. On other occasions during dry weather a loaded vehicle can require 35 gallons of gasoline for the round trip run because of so much low gear grinding in deep sand. Observing the birds and other wildlife along this route is an adventure in itself. Ghost crabs and kangaroo rats are among a wide variety of animals that thrive on the island. At sundown, coyotes move out from the dunes to scrounge for food along the water's edge, and at night, raccoons dig for clams and mollusks in the shallow surf. Yarborough Pass is located at the 15 mile marker about midway between Big Shell and Little Shell beaches. A 4-wheel drive vehicle is essential to navigate the short stretch of soft sand on the fore-island dune ridge. Once over the hump it is an easy run of about a mile over a hard sand surface to the lagoon. Some anglers trailer in shallow draft flats boats and launch from the old dock at Yarborough. This provides access to prime fishing on Baffin Bay, the Kennedy Land Cut and the "boat hole" or "Graveyard" - a shallow, remote stretch of flats behind the Land Cut that draws big schools of tailing redfish during the summer months. Near the 50-mile marker is the wreck of the Nicaragua, a 180-foot steamship that ran aground in 1912. It is one of several shipwrecks on the southern end of the island. Only the Nicaragua's boilers are visible and the structure is out of casting range from the beach. On a two-day return trip to the Yarborough Pass area in September, we spotted, hooked and landed seatrout, redfish, tarpon, ladyfish, pompano, jack crevalle, and Spanish mackerel, not to mention several species of baitfish that also had a weakness for Clouser and Deceiver patterns. The action was virtually non-stop and we never left the half-mile stretch of surf right in front of our beach camp. When water and wind conditions are favorable, a 5- or 6-weight rod and a saltwater reel equipped with a smooth drag or exposed rim for palming is the most exciting way to fish the surf and the flats. A 2-pound skipjack will get into the backing and a 22-inch redfish with an "attitude" will keep an angler occupied on the flats for a good spell on such light tackle. The stiff winds that are a fixture on this open stretch of the Texas coast often call for a heavier rod and line, however. An 8- or 9-weight rod matched to a weight-forward floating line is a good all-purpose outfit for most conditions on the Texas flats. One day last summer I learned a lesson when I found myself somewhat undergunned on a windy flat with a 6-weight outfit. I was wade fishing on an Upper Laguna Madre flat with Corpus Christi guides Sam Wigginton and John Mendleski. We were stalking tailing reds that the guides were spotting 50 to 75 yards out. Faced with a stiff crosswind, it was difficult getting into position for a favorable cast with the 6-weight. Every fish demanded a tedious stalk, and it was nerve wracking to watch a big, wet, glistening tail waving for what seemed like an eternity, only to have it disappear just when I was finally in a good position to cast. A heavier outfit would have given me much more range nad accuracy and greatly increased the chances of a hook-up. Shooting heads, sink-tip lines and stripping baskets also are good items to bring to the beach. My favorite outfit when the surf is pounding is a 9 Þ-foot, 10-weight Powell rod with a Marryat MR9 reel loaded with a Scientific anglers Uniform Sink V line. The longer rod provides the extra leverage needed when you're being bounced around in the breakers, and the Uniform Sink cuts through the swift currents. A leader of three feet or less keeps the fly in contact with the sinking line. Effective fly patterns on the flats include Seaducers, crab and shrimp patterns, deer-hair divers, and poppers. When the reds have their heads down rooting in the grass, I like to use a slow-sinking pattern tied in bendback style or with a weed guard. When the reds are kicking up sprays of minnows on the surface, little hard-bodied poppers worked in short, continuous strips draw explosive strikes. In the surf it's wise to have a big supply of Clousers and Deceivers with yellow, chartreuse, and white bucktail the popular shades. Ladyfish and Spanish mackerel are hard on flies and leaders, requiring frequent changes. Many fly casters fishing the middle Texas coast are put off by the thought of having to cast into the stiff breezes that have made the area attractive for wind-surfing championships. But a good casting stroke and a tight, well-formed loop will get you through even the most trying day. Sheka, the veteran guide, says good sunlight is more critical than calm conditions when you're sight fishing on the shallow flats. We fly fish in 30-mile-an-hour wind," he says. March/April 1995