A Note Of Thanks From Bay Flats Lodge . . .
Every unforgettable trip seems to start with a trusted recommendation – and this one was no different. A sincere thank you goes out to Fly Water Travel, and especially to Max Salzburg and Mike Pleiss, for pointing the way toward an experience that far exceeded expectations. Their insight, attention to detail, and deep understanding of what makes a destination truly special set the stage for an incredible adventure on the Texas coast.
From the moment the trip was booked, it was clear this would be more than just a few days of fishing – it would be a full immersion into a unique fishery, rich with opportunity, challenge, and reward. What followed was a three-day journey defined by tight casts into mangrove pockets, explosive eats in shallow water, and the kind of camaraderie that only grows stronger with every shared moment on the bow.
What you’ll read below isn’t just a fishing report – it’s a firsthand account of discovery, progression, and pure enjoyment on the water, made possible by the right people putting everything in motion from the very beginning.
“The experience of truly hunting redfish in the mangroves, watching tails wag and backs push out of the water, was unbelievably exciting.”
Max with Fly Water Travel had recommended Captain Tyler Brown to me as his favorite guide, so we booked him in his recommended fall time frame based on occupancy availability, and my buddy and I loved fishing with Tyler! He was calm and patient with us as we got the hang of a new style of fishing and put us on fish constantly. I also thought he was a cool guy who was interesting to ask questions and share stories with all day. Day 1 had some moderately consistent “W,” but it didn’t stop us. I caught my first redfish within 10 minutes of standing on the casting platform and then my buddy and I took turns getting around 8 redfish each in the boat, and I caught my biggest of the trip that day, measuring 26″ after we pinched the tail. I also had a really sick eat from a black drum I’ll never forget, and Zach randomly caught a flounder that surprised us as we analyzed its flat-faced anatomy
Day Two
Second day we fished the beautiful labyrinth mangroves and ponds out at Matagorda Island. It was really cool scenery, with Tyler confidently poling us through the tight turns and narrow canal systems with exotic birds and marsh life around each corner as we got to take lots of shots at blue tails wagging and even saw several backs out of the water as they were feeding up against the bank. Repeatedly, after hooking redfish in the tight quarters, “all hell would break loose” in excitement. The water was rather still with a light breeze and was much easier for us to cast that day. The experience of truly hunting the redfish was tons of fun to fish that way. By the end of the day we had each put another 6–8 fish in the boat.
“The highlight of the trip was landing a Texas Slam, redfish, drum, and sheepshead, after spending the entire trip telling Tyler I wanted to catch one.”
Day Three
Third day was unreal. We each caught 12–15 fish and had truly dialed in the technique and casting and were even spotting our own fish at times and instinctively casting to them and knew what to do. We never went more than 20 minutes without catching a fish and passing the rod to one another, taking turns on the casting platform. We both found ourselves saying “THIS IS SO FUN” the entire time. We told Tyler we’d be back for sure and we aren’t lying. It was my buddy Zach’s first taste of the salt and he fell in love too. So the highlight of the trip, I got myself a Texas Slam (Redfish, Drum, Sheepshead) that last day after continuously telling Tyler I wanted to catch a Sheepshead and Tyler telling us different areas we would come across where he sometimes saw them, but reminding us they were hard to feed and to keep on the hook for various reasons.
Getting There
On the drive down to Sea Drift from the airport, Bobby at the rental car spot recommended that we check out the infamous BBQ in Lockhart, and that’s just what we did. We tried Terry Black’s on the way in and then the original Black’s on the way home and filled our bellies and souls with 10 out of 10 star rated barbecue feasts at each. I fancied Terry Black’s more compared to the old school atmosphere of Black’s personally, but they both provided excellent authentic BBQ.
“We never went more than 20 minutes without catching a fish and passing the rod to one another, taking turns on the casting platform. We both found ourselves saying ‘THIS IS SO FUN’ the entire time.”
Upon showing up at the lodge, Patsy was extremely warm and welcoming and showed us to our rooms, and we were ecstatic to find we had the guest house all to ourselves, which made the trip truly amazing in itself. Our own covered deck overlooking the Gulf of Mexico couldn’t have been more picturesque for sunrise and sunsets and every hour in between. We found out Texas storms don’t mess around after it poured down rain for an hour the first night, raining sideways and harder than the snow-hail of Colorado where we came from. The nightly sunsets were gorgeous except for the night of the storm, but to our surprise it didn’t have any negative effect on the water clarity or fishing the next day, same with the full moon that was in effect the entire trip. Tyler told us this unique fishery is not impacted much by the moon phases or tide fluctuations, and we lucked out having arrived right after a cold front had ended, which evidently made conditions prime.
The staff was unbelievably nice and warm and made us feel at home, and the food was soooooo good! Ms. Little and Patsy were very warm and made us feel at home every night we sat down for happy hour on the patio and throughout dinners and couldn’t have been friendlier. There’s no feeling homesick with such a friendly house-warming vibe they go out of their way to provide. The hors d’oeuvres each night were delicious and the “people watching” was exciting to see the different groups of people from across the country relaxing after a day of fishing. The kitchen staff made it a point to get my friend and me a different meal for dinner each night and we loved them all. Steak, pork chops, shrimp, and blackened trout were D-licious as well as the morning breakfast tacos that Ms. Judy sweetly presented each morning with a smile. She kindly was ready to serve us any breakfast dish we wanted and offered several specials each morning, but we aren’t big breakfast eaters and were thrilled to take breakfast tacos on the boat multiple times too.
The morning we checked out we slowed our role and made it to breakfast a bit late to find the team hadn’t forgotten about us and still had our breakfast tacos personally prepared for us and waiting for our arrival. We had a lovely conversation with Ms. Judy that morning, who told us her grandson was going to college on the western slope of Colorado, which we coincidentally fish every summer in search of the great salmon fly hatch, and we exchanged great engagement with her. I loved enjoying my coffee each morning as I sat at a table and met other fishermen coming and going and chatted about how the “fishing had been.” I even recognized the owner of an Arizona fly shop whose carp on the fly videos I’d watched several times, and introduced myself only to meet his staff and get a personal invite for their annual carp tournament in AZ as well as an invitation to stop by the shop in the future where they could tell me where to go and what flies to use to be successful for grass carp in his backyard. Each morning TJ kept me company with friendly conversation while he was getting everyone’s trips set up while I waited for my buddy to come join me. He was very personable and easy to talk to about fishing and beyond and had a very down to earth presence that made me feel comfortable in a foreign place.
The last night I ended up bumping into Pete the Skiff Wanderer on the patio for happy hour, and Zach and I had dinner with him the last night and thought he was a really cool guy. Tyler had mentioned he fishes with him regularly and they were buddies, and we even fished one of his innovative and surprisingly flashy orange fly pattern variations for an entire day and slayed ’em! I had seen his YouTube channel and watched several episodes in preparation for my own Texas redfishing adventure, so naturally I thought it was cool to bump into a famous YouTubing Texas coast saltwater guy that’s a big content creator in the redfish world. We tipped all of our staff generously and both brought home some Bay Flats gear to remember the trip of a lifetime.
THANKS FOR EVERYTHING BAY FLATS LODGE & FLY WATER TRAVEL!
