July and August have delivered an incredible summer season on the Texas Coast. Port O’Connor has been loaded with menhaden, and where you find the bait, you find the predators. The abundance of bait has created some of the most exciting opportunities of the year for jack crevalle, along with the possibility of bull reds and other big coastal predators.
Getting offshore for blitzing schools of jacks
A big part of the fun right now has been getting offshore and into deeper water with 10- and 11-weight fly rods, looking for birds working over bait, nervous water, and those unmistakable blitzing schools of jacks. When a school shows up, things can get wild in a hurry — these fish are so fired up that sometimes you can strip a fly as fast as your hands will move and still struggle to keep up with them.
Once a jack eats, the game changes
And once a jack eats, the game changes immediately. The first run is often straight to the backing, with the fish heading for open water and leaving you wondering if you brought enough line. It’s powerful, visual, adrenaline-filled fly fishing — and exactly why summer in Port O’Connor is such a special time.
The final stretch of the summer Gulf season
As we move through August, we’re approaching the final stretch of this summer Gulf action. The bait is still here, the predators are still feeding, and the opportunities are still very real. If chasing hard-running jack crevalle on a 10- or 11-weight sounds like your kind of fishing, now is the time to get on the water. Book a Port O’Connor fly fishing trip, compare our guided trip options, or get in touch about open dates — come fish the last of the summer Gulf season while it’s calm!
