Texas Hunting Leases

Texas is blessed with 262,000 square miles of land that boasts some of the world’s greatest hunting opportunities.  Hunters from all over the country and the world converge on Texas every year for all sorts of winged and four-legged game to hunt.  But, with 367 miles of coastline that boarders 600,000 square miles of ocean known as the Gulf of Mexico, there are other big game targets to look for as well - and they have fins!  These aquatic trophies may not have the horns, but they can lead to “big bucks” - the green kind.

The big game fishing season in Texas starts around April and runs through November.  During this time, boats of all sizes venture offshore in search of various fish species in the near-coastal and deep waters of the gulf.  Snapper, Cobia (Ling) and Kingfish are near-shore fish that can be targeted by most “mosquito fleet” boats depending on the weather conditions.  Further offshore (and in most cases hundreds of miles offshore) bigger sport fishing yachts target the pelagic and open-ocean species that inhabit the deepest waters of the gulf.  These include Tuna, Wahoo, Dolphin (Dorado) and the highly coveted Billfish.

BIG BOYS AND THEIR TOYS

To go after the pelagics, you need to have a serious commitment to do so.  First, you need a sea-worthy craft that can handle surprise weather conditions and can take on enough fuel for the long run to the fishing grounds.  That means leaving the Jon boat at home.  Next, you need to upgrade those $6.00 Zebco 202 reels to something a little more substantial like a Penn International PEN30VSX at about $550.00.  Finally, just put a little aside for baits, rigging and general maintenance for all the above and you have a nice little nest-egg in a guaranteed depreciating asset.  But, then again, a round of golf really never grew in value - did it?

If you are up for it, you can even try your luck at one of the many offshore fishing tournaments as they work their way down the coast.  After several tournaments on the East Coast and the Bahamas, the Gulf Coast tournament scene begins in Alabama in late May and continues down to southern Texas in August.  Tournament rules, regulations and prize money vary from venue to venue but prize money can be as high $500,000 or more for a winning billfish.  The 2008 Big Game tournament dates are as follows (subject to change):

Mobile BGFC Tournament, Orange Beach AL          May 25th - 28th

Cajun Canyons Billfish Classic, Venice LA          May 29th - June 2nd

Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic, Biloxi MS         June 6th - 10th

New Orleans Invitational Billfish Tournament, Venic LA          June 14th

Emerald Coast Blue Marlin Classic, Destin FL          June 19th - 24th

Houston Big Game Fishing Club, Houston TX          June 26 - 28

Pensacola International Billfish Tournament        June 29th - July 1st

POCO Bueno, Port O’Connor TX          July 16 - 20th

The Rockport Offshore Challenge, Rockport TX          July 23 - 27th

The Texas Invitational, South Padre Island TX          July 30 - August 3rd

Orange Beach Billfish Classic, Orange Beach AL        August 1st - 5th

Texas Legends, Port Aransas TX          August 7 - 10th

Outcast Blue Marlin Classic, Pensacola FL          August 15th - 19th

Texas Woman’s Angler Tournament, Port Aransas TX          August 22 - 24th

If you got the money and the time, not to mention the equipment, then there is a billfish tournament waiting for you.  A rifle or a bow are not the only way to go for “big bucks” around here.  And these you hunt out of season!

Back to back weeks of blue water tournament fishing is hard on the body.  Its no wonder that a large majority of deck hands are young guys.  They not only endure the constant pounding of the waves and sun, but actually have to work through it on their feet all day.  Following up to my recent blog, Hunting Blue Marlin at the “Poco Bueno”, this entry is about the Rockport Offshore Challenge 2007 and my adventures at sea.  The “Rock” as the tournament is known, is a follow up to the famous “Poco Bueno” tournament the week before.  Although only in its 5th year, the event attracted over 90 boats this year and offers a broad array of offshore fishing opportunities.  The name of the game here, like most large offshore venues, is billfish.  But unlike the Poco Bueno, it is all billfish and not just the Blue Marlin.  The ROC also has awards for other species as well.   Dolphin, Wahoo, Ling, Tuna and Red Snapper are all fair game.  But, the big money is on the big pelagic species that roam the world’s open oceans. 

Thursday afternoon, the offshore buoys were not looking very good for our official start that evening.  Even in a 50 foot Hatteras, it is no fun running headlong into 6 to 8 foot seas at night with thunderstorms in the area.  With such a great forecast, the tournament directors wisely decided to postpone the start.  So, Friday evening, we broke out of the Port Aransas jetties for the two days of fishing ahead of us.  For the rest of the weekend, we enjoyed mostly fair skies and decent seas in which to make our lure ”presentation” to our prey.  Fishing for a broader array of sport fish requires a different set-up on the boat then the week before.  Smaller reels, natural and artificial baits and various teaser lines are used to attract fish into the strike zone.  And Saturday morning at first light, it was game time.

Fishing near an offshore production rig is always a good way to get things started.  Saturday morning found us near the ever popular “Tequila” rig, an offshore platform near the continental shelf in about 600 feet of water.  A few miles away, the depths reach over 1,000 feet and various under water structures called “The Hilltops” are within trolling distance.   The first bites of the day brought us two small Dorado and Wahoo as we made our way around the sargassum weed or “grass” lines formed by wind and currents.   With the grass productive, we continuously worked the edges.   Then, a large grass-mat came into view, the Captain skillfully drug our baits in close for a pass and Wham!  Fish on!  One of our guys picked up the rod and placed it in his fish-fighting belt for the long tug-of-war.  Watching from the bridge, we could see the line start to make its way to the surface and then a large “bull dorado” broke out of our wake into the air.  We all knew in an instant that this was a good fish.  With the captain and angler working in tandem, the fish was raised and the deck hand made a successful gaff and brought him on board.  We hoped that this guy had a chance as we stretched him out in the live well.  Educated guesses had him going in the high 40lbs or maybe even 50lbs.  A fish that size could put us in the money, but we had to wait another day to find out.

The rest of the weekend brought us several Sailfish and one White Marlin all of which were released.  But it was the big “Doe-Doe” that had us all excited when we came in.  The other fish were great (I caught one myself), but not enough of them to get us in the hunt.  At weigh-in Sunday night, the big Dorado came in at about 52lbs. which was enough for us to win the 1st place prize; High-fives and bragging rights all the way around.  Winning among such an elite and experienced group of anglers is very rewarding.  Not to mention addictive.  Though the billfish season will continue on for the rest of August, I am moving on to other things.  But, next season, I will be back on the hunt for the “Blue Nasty” and his friends.

I know, it’s not about hunting on land, but what else are you going to do in July and August?  Like many hunters in Texas, I find that fishing can fill in the gaps between hunting seasons.  My kind of fishing happens to be in salt water.  I have nothing against ole Mr. Bass, but to me, it’s not near as fun as stalking a tailing Redfish in the flats or taking a shot at a billfish deep in the Gulf of Mexico.  This is where I have been for the past two days aboard a 50′ Hatterras fishing the “Poco Bueno” out of Port O’Connor, Texas.

The Port O’Connor Offshore Association Invitational Fishing Tournament, otherwise known as the “Poco Bueno”, is a Texas sportsman’s institution and world renowned sport fishing tournament.  It’s also a big party and a great time even if you are not fishing.  This year, I entered the offshore division aboard a friend’s well equipped and crewed sport fishing yacht.  Over 90 boats ranging from 30′ to 75′ left the docks beginning at 12:01 AM last Friday to head for their favorite fishing grounds.  We took our place in the parade of boats making their way out of the jetties among great fanfare from the shore.  You feel like the crew of a NASCAR racing team as all the revelers cheer you on, shoot fireworks and honk their horns.  It is a pure adrenaline rush.  As we put the twin Detroit Diesel engines up to 1800 rpm’s, the reality of trip begins to set in.  For the next two days, these engines will be on a constant hum as we prowl the Gulf for the biggest saltwater game fish trophy of all, the Blue Marlin.

 7:00 AM Friday morning; Tournament fishing start time!  The Captain and deckhands work quickly to set a “Big Fish Spread” of 6 lines, and four “teaser” baits from the back of the boat.  The basic pattern is two long lines dragged out furthest from the boat via outriggers, two short lines dragged from the middle of the same outriggers and two “flat” lines pulled directly in back of us.  There are four teasers (baits without hooks but with lots of movement in the water) to attract fish into spread behind them.  The engines are idled down to a crawl and we begin the long wait for a strike.

3:00 PM Friday afternoon; Nothing but ocean.  We have been trolling in 4 foot “rollers” all day and saw only one small fish come up from behind only to move on.  A call on the radio tells us some nearby boats have caught Dorado, Wahoo and some small Blue Marlin, but not big enough for the tournament minimum of 100″.  They receive a tag and are released to be caught again when they grow up.  A 100″ Blue Marlin could way in the upper 300 lbs range.   All you need is one, and you have a shot at prize of nearly $350,000 dollars.  That is enough to get anglers from all over the Gulf Coast to arrive here every summer to fish this tournament.

6:30 AM Saturday morning;  Last night, we decided that we were not in the kind of conditions we wanted for “Big Blues”.  The water was too green and the floating grass (Sargassum weed) was keeping us busy cleaning the lures and limiting their time in the water.  We cruised all night at to get here; 80 miles to the south of our previous day’s location.  This fishing ground has upwellings of underwater “mountains” that bring currents and bait towards the surface.  We were hoping it brought Marlin with them.   At 7:00 Am, we begin the same process as the day before.  But the water was as cobalt blue as any in the world’s deep oceans and exactly what we were looking for.  Later in the morning, we find a “rift”.  Currents have come together to form a line of grass and these are always a good place fish as the cycle of ocean life is accentuated here.  Small fish hide in the grass; bigger fish look to eat them and so goes the chain all the way to the billfish.  We troll down one side and approach a large raft of Sargassum.  Suddenly lures go popping out of the water as small Dorado punch at the oversized baits.  Then, back to back, the right-long line and flat line hook up.  Reels “zinging” as the fish pull line against the drag.  Two anglers grab the rods as the rest of us reel in the others to get them out of the way.  A few minutes later, two Wahoo on board.  Thirty minutes later a nice Bull Dorado is landed and we are happy to have the action.

2:00 PM Saturday afternoon;  Time is running out, we need to get a blue on board so we can make it back to dock by 8:00 PM.  Lines have to be out of the water at 4:00 PM and we have not seen any sign of a Marlin or any billfish for that matter.  Zing - the big Penn reel screams and I am there.  I see a huge blue flash from the wake and hope it is what we are after.  I sit in the chair and start the long process of fighting the fish.  Reel and pull hard.  No slack or he might throw the bait.  As I get him closer, we see that he is not a blue, but a nice size Wahoo instead.  The crew gaff and bring him in.  I am excited as this is a personal best Wahoo - nearly 50 lbs.  But still no Marlin.  And when 4:00 comes around, we still have no “money fish” to show for our two days of effort.

7:58 PM Saturday night:  As we were coming back to Port O’Connor, no one on the radio was happy.  No one had a minimum Blue Marlin to weigh in.  All 90 boats came back empty handed.  It is a rare ocassion when 90 highly competitive boats troll the gulf for two days and not one of them come home with a winning fish.  Incredible!  If anything, I feel better that we had a lot of company.  But, $350,000 dollars was only one fish away.  And, I will have whole year to think about it.