Port Mansfield offers great inshore and offshore fishing, and the Get-A-Way Adventures Lodge (top right) makes a great base.

Some people love the excitement and adventure of offshore fishing while others favor the peaceful backwaters and the challenge of casting to a tailing redfish on a tidal flat. Port Mansfield, Texas, is one of those places where both of these are in easy reach. Acres of shallow flats loaded with big gator trout, redfish and tarpon are just around the corner from the port, while offshore structure that holds big red snapper, Spanish mackerel and kingfish can be found less than an hour’s boat ride away.

Oil rigs and the offshore trolling grounds start at only about 25 miles offshore from Port Mansfield and boaters who head out to these waters can expect to battle with dolphin, wahoo, kingfish, yellowfin tuna and even marlin. INSHORE

While most fish in the area are caught on soft plastic baits like Yum, Powerbaits or Gulps rigged on small jig heads, my favorite way to fish is with top-water baits. A redfish’s mouth is low on its head so when one goes after a twitch-bait like a Zara Spook, it literally explodes up on top of the bait, making for an incredible visual hook-up!

Sometimes they miss and you have to do everything possible to maintain your composure and keep the bait moving in the strike zone until the fish decides to take another swipe at it. Trout will also attack topwater baits, although they seem to favor the soft plastics. Persistence pays off since it usually takes a little time to figure out where bait and fish are depending on the tide. Luckily, local guides have a good handle on this, taking a lot of guesswork out of the equation

WADING

If you’ve ever seen an old painting or photo of a lucky fisherman chest-deep in the water, with a beautiful sunset background holding up a big gator trout, chances are the setting was the waters around Port Mansfield. Fly fishermen and light tackle anglers who enjoy the solitude and serenity of wading the tidal flats will absolutely love this area.

Wading allows you to blend into the environment and take on fish one-on-one, and some feel there is a real benefit to wading, since the fish don’t feel the displacement and sound of the boat. Of course there is always the excitement, or should I say anxiety, of seeing a shark or stingray while wading but as long as you don’t keep a stringer of fish close to you, the sharks usually keep their distance. Plus, today’s wading booties have a higher design and some have a hard front shield on them, protecting the angler from a stingray’s tail barb.

COASTAL

On a recent offshore trip out of Port Mansfield, we anchored up-current from a rock pile in 70 feet of water and dropped a chum bag over the side. A cup full of cut-up bycatch bought from a local shrimp boat the day before got things started in a hurry! Not only did a few inquisitive red snapper and triggerfish come to the surface, a silver flash announced the arrival of a good-sized kingfish. I knew we were in for a good day. We cut up some frozen mullet and hooked them to our 6/0 circle hooks and added a strip of thick squid to the hook to keep the mullet intact and to put more scent in the water. Almost immediately, the first red snapper nailed a bait and the angler struggled to get the fish boat-side. We were all thrilled when a 13-pound red snapper came over the gunwale, followed by another and another!

While all this was happening in the back of the boat, two of us headed to the bow and cast big Bomber plugs out just in case the big king was still in the area. He was, and he made a couple of high-speed swipes at the plugs but we couldn’t seem to hook up, until we tried a super high-speed retrieve and the king couldn’t resist! He hit that plug at full speed right near the boat and took off for the horizon. I also hooked up and soon after we both had released our fish, we swapped rods for bottom rigs and joined the crowd that was filling the cooler with beautiful red snapper for the evening’s dinner.

THE LODGE

If you’ve ever dreamed of catching a trout of a lifetime, or chasing a mixed bag of species, South Texas is certainly one of the best places to try. And I can’t think of a more suitable location than the Get-A-Way Adventures lodge, run by Bruce and Shirley Shuler. Besides the close proximity to the inshore flats, the Shuler’s lodge features excellent accommodations, fantastic meals and boats right in their back yard. Located on Texas' world-renowned lower Laguna Madre, the lodge is an affordable, yet top-notch destination and a light-tackle angler’s dream.

Get-A-Way Adventures Lodge; (956) 944.4000; www.getawayadventureslodge. com

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