To celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary, my husband and I journeyed to Rockport, Texas to fish the saltwater bays. We don’t own a boat so we hired a guide to take us out for the day.
Texas experienced a chilly winter by normal standards and even in early May, the morning temperatures were still in the mid-50’s. This meant that the temperature of the water in the bays was cooler than normal, at around 70 degrees. In cool water fish become dormant, feeding and moving less. The report from our guide and other guides in the area was that a lot of fishing was required, and a little luck, if you hoped to bring home any redfish.
Adding to the challenge of the day was a wind blowing from the west, which according to fishing lore, is not conducive to catching fish. As we pulled up to the boat launch, we observed that we were far from the only people there in the early morning hours. We soon learned that on this beautiful Saturday morning, we would also be competing for great fishing holes along with participants in two different fishing tournaments. It was adding up to a slow, but beautiful, fishing day.
As we made our way across the bay, we counted the number of boats in one area: 7, 10, 14, 19 and more. The fish didn’t stand a chance — or was it going to be the other way around?
Our first stop in 2 feet of crystal clear water netted us two keeper redfish, one each by the way! We were pumped and then the action slowed. As another boat 200 feet ahead of us on this shoreline pulled away, our guide gently repositioned the boat another 50 feet closer to where they had been. Again the water was only 2 to 3 feet deep, but here we had an alternating mix of sand and grass bottom, ideal conditions for fish — but would they be hungry for our bait?
Dormant fish require a bit more enticing, so smelly bait was needed. We switched from live to cut bait and cast on the edge where the grass met the sand bottom. Boom! The fight was on. Redfish are some of the greatest sport fish to catch. They are active and fight, even more so the closer they get to the boat. Game on! We netted 4 more keepers (the limit is 3 per person), by 10:43 a.m. and had enjoyed catching and releasing a ½ dozen more that were just under the 20 inch requirement.
Why do I share this story with you? It is a fantastic example of the benefit of having a guide for fishing or business. Here’s why:
- Without a guide and thus a boat, Ed and I would have been limited to fishing from the pier with only a very small portion of the bay influenced by our bait.
- Without a guide, Ed and I would have guessed where the fish might be, utilizing our experience from past fishing trips, but without the knowledge of current conditions.
- Without a guide, our bait options would have been limited by our lack of knowledge of current feeding trends of the fish.
- Without a guide and his years of experience and knowledge of the bays and the current conditions, we would have had fewer fish in our box.
Can you see the parallels for your business?
- A guide provides access to tools and resources to expand your capabilities.
- A guide helps you shortcut the learning process and get results more quickly.
- A guide provides knowledge of other options that can generate greater results.
- A guide focuses your efforts getting you to your goal far more quickly than going it alone.
Would you like more fish in your box? Email or call 713-705-3815.