Kayaking Fishing the Lighthouse Lakes

[rhorn27]

I have a family reunion in Port A coming up in August. I was thinking about breaking away and fishing early one morning. How reasonable is it to expect to be finished with one of the loops by midday if I get an early start (6:30-7am)?

How id the fishing? Crowded? Is GPS mandatory?

I also noticed that the seagrass in that area is protected. Does that mean I will not be able to get out and wade?

Thanks.

 

[Lat22]

I've fished it a couple of times. It's very relaxing and the fish are usually there. If your goal is to catch fish, you probably won't finish any of the loops. You spend so much time just barely moving looking for signs of fish that you soon stray from the loop. If you're just out for a paddle, you might be able to finish. If I were you , I'd pick the Redfish Loop to start out with. The seagrass protection applies only to power boats and their props. You'll want to check the tide on the day your looking at fishing or there may not be any water on the flats. I've never felt remotely crowded out there and I've only fished it on weekends. GPS isn't mandatory, but it's nice. I could go on and on.

Here are some pics from two weeks ago:

 

[rhorn27]

Thanks Lat. Nice pics. A few more questions:

1. If I do the redfish loop, is it easy to break off from the loop and find access to the flats?

2. Do you have to complete the whole loop or can you turn around and backtrack?

3. Any recs on how to check the tide prior to my trip?

4. Is there an outfitter nearby that rents kayaks? I have my own, but my cousin and brother-in-law will likely come as well and they don't have kayaks. Also, I can only carry one kayak, so we'll need to rent close to the put-in.


I will mostly be focusing on fishing versus paddling. I don't intend to stay on the water any further than noon so a half-day type trip is ideal.

 

[crash_davis]

i too am interested in this trip.

rhorn or lat, please let me know if you go. I'd like to tag along.

 

[Lat22]

1. The whole area is flats. After you cross the shrimp boat channel, the deepest water you'll encounter will be around 18 inches.

2. You don't have to complete the loops. The area is pretty wide open and you can just cruise around wherever you want. Everytime I try to follow a loop, a school of redfish changes those plans.

3. Check this site. If the red line (observed) is below the black line, there might not be enough water to get around in. Fear not, you can just launch on the other side of 361 and fish the Brown & Root flats and the dropoff at the Morris & Cummings cut.
The Link
The Link

4. This one is a no brainer. Call Dean at Slowride Guide services before you get down there. He'll rent you kayaks, deliver them to the launch spot and tell you where the fish are.
The Link

Another site that has TONS of info on this area isThe Link Let me know when you come down if you want. I'm always looking for an excuse to hit the water.

 

[crash_davis]

funny that you bring up slowride/dean. there is a thread on tkf about LHL. (rhorn, did you start it?). anyway, dean advises against going to LHL, for fishing anyway becuase of the fishing pressure and the boat/yak traffic there.

anyway, i'd post a link to the thread but i'm too lazy this a.m.

 

[rhorn27]

I saw that too, but I did not post it.

 

[LosIllini]

Lat- What kind of kayak are you in? Tarpon?

Cool looking rudder controls- i have the old style on my Ride and 160i.

 

[Lat22]

It's a Ride 135. The rudder pedals are called toe pilots. I'm pretty tall so I didn't like having to bend my knees to steer. You can check them out at this link. The Link

Don't let that thread cause too much concern. I know Dean is out there just about every day, but I've never had any issue with overcrowding. The Sunday I took those pictures, there were hundreds and hundreds of redfish swimming all over the place. They just had lockjaw and wouldn't bite anything you threw at them.

 

[Mrmyke709]

Nice Ride, Lat.
Definitely mind the tide and wind. The oyster shell is unforgiving to the bottom of a plastic yak in skinny water.

 

[rhorn27]

Lat,

Nice boat. I paddling with a 12 ft Manta Ray. I don't have a rudder, yet. Do you find this to be a necessity on the flats?

 

[Lat22]

It's not a necessity on the flats, but I'm usually fishing in 3-5ft of water in the back of Baffin. It's really nice to have out there when the winds pick up. Oh yeah, I have no idea why I took my depth finder out that day. Talk about unnecessary!

 

[brntorng]

Agree that Slowride is the best kayak outfitter in the area. I've tried others, and Dean's the best. You might want to consider hiring Dean as a guide if you're not familiar with the area and are only going one day. GPS isn't mandatory, but it definitely makes it much easier to find your way around the maze and most importantly, your way back out without extra paddling. Brown and Root is also a very good area as is the Shamrock Island area that also has a kayak trail. Unfortunately I've heard that the Shamrock area is being developed and may no longer be accessible in the future. If you're staying in Port A you don't have to cross the ferry to fish Shamrock, a nice time saver. Austin Canoe and Kayak on Burnet has nice satellite maps of the Port A fishiing areas that can also be helpful. And while I know it's not always cool to suggest it, consider taking live bait to improve the action if the bite is slow and it's your only day.