Rockport Fishing Report – March 17th, 2018

We are finally back around to another Rockport fishing report for the middle of March. We are back from the Fly Fishing Brew Fest in Plano, TX and have multiple boats on the water every day this week. So we are here to update you on what we are seeing/have seen this past week. The Rockport fishing report is improving by the week and should continue to for the foreseeable future.

After a quick weekend spent indoors in Plano last weekend, it was great to be on the water again this week. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t as willing to cooperate. Monday and Tuesday were cloudy and windy, making it pretty tricky to find decent shots at fish. We were able to grind it out here and there, but the end results were certainly not good in the numbers department. But it wasn’t for lack of effort by anglers, or all the guides out those days.

The fish these days were very sluggish. This is a trend that is becoming far too familiar on the darker, cloudy days. Especially those with a decent breeze. The majority of the fish seen each day are laying in the mud facing the breeze. Most are unwilling to move, until the boat forces them too. This has created very few shots of the angler, unfortunately. Tough sledding in these conditions for sure.

Wednesday last week brought us sun from dawn to dusk. And what a difference a day makes! We had the boats in the water by sun up and had crashing and tailing fish right out of the gates. As the sun continued to rise, the fish continued to move around the flats and cruise in pairs or as singles. A trend that continued throughout the remainder of the day. Clearly a much happier population of fish.

Thursday and Friday (today) we were again dealt mostly cloudy skies and low pressure. This again had fish laying in the mud facing the wind, current or incoming tides and very unwilling to move. There were a small handful of shots available in total throughout the day. But far from what we would expect this time of year. That being said, we did find some quality fish. Just not the number of opportunities one would expect.

At some point, this weather has to give. We are always used to a little unstable weather during the early Spring. But this is a bit much. Four days of clouds, cool temps and North wind is way out of scope for this time of year. And it sure seems that the fish know this too, by their actions. Most could care less about anything presented to them, and are plenty content simply sitting in the mud and waiting for the next sunny day.

We would call these conditions… Frustrating! It isn’t bad. It isn’t good. It’s just frustrating. It is very good, when the sun is out. It is far from good, when it’s not. It just seems like we are on the verge of it blowing up and being absolutely outstanding every day. We keep getting a glimpse of it, here and there. A day of sun. Or maybe only a half day. But the fish respond accordingly. Then we are thrown another couple days of dark skies and wind to slow everything down again. But it feels like it is so close. Maybe tomorrow is the day? Maybe next week???

The fish that are feeding, are feeding on the usual. Crab patterns are still our first choice. Then maybe a smaller baitfish pattern. Early mornings have started teasing us with a few fish chasing bait to the surface. So we definitely have a rod strung up with a topwater these days. The Tube Top in black/chartreuse is our favorite lately. But many other patterns are working well also. We’ve had fish eat the Crabcake, Tube Sock, Tube Top, Reducer, Marsh Mop and The Pronz in the past few days alone. So as always… choose your fly and fish it with confidence. Good things will follow.

We are now wrapping up Spring Break week here on the Texas Coast. This is always a pretty crazy week around here. This year has proven to be no different. It is actually a nice sight to see, as we weren’t sure how things would go, post Harvey. But there are certainly plenty of folks enjoying the coast, enjoying the beaches and enjoying the flats with us. Thanks to all those who fished with all of our Fly Fish Rockport fishing guides this week. We enjoyed having you and look forward to fishing with you again.

The busy schedule continues on through the end of this month, with multiple boats out most every day. We will do our best to keep up with the Rockport fishing reports, and let folks know whats going out here on the flats. You can always email any time if you would like any up to the minute fly fishing or Rockport type news. We continue to post on  Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat. Or perhaps SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel as well. We continually are trying to add more videos and stuff there. We try to keep stuff fresh for those of you that are wishing you were on the flats with us. So be sure to follow us on all our social media stuff. And don’t forget to sign up for our monthly newsletter below.