We have all seen the footage, a hungry Redfish hunting down a striped fly, mouth wide open, ready to inhale any tasty looking object in its path. If you are like me, you have thought to yourself, that looks pretty cool, I want to experience that! Sure, I have watched hundreds of trout charge a well presented dry fly and pluck it right off the surface, but somehow these Redfish just seem more dangerous, or ferocious. Which I suppose is often the case with saltwater species. They move faster, eat more and get bigger than the species we target here in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. To find Redfish though, we have to travel south, and that is how we got hooked up with Chris and his team at Bay Flats Lodge.
If you know me, or have been a customer of Anglers All over the past 7 years you may know I have been lucky enough to travel to some amazing places to fish, and most recently lead trips for our customers way, way south to Chilean Patagonia in search of those dry fly eating trout mentioned above. But I have always wanted to sight cast to tail up Redfish in clear water while standing on the front of a skiff. And bring along some of my favorite fishing buddies, family and customers to experience it with me. So why did it take me so long to make it happen?
Redfish can be found and targeted on the fly from the Carolinas all the way around Florida and through the Texas coast, but there has not existed many, if any one - stop - shop locations for fly anglers, or any anglers for that matter until now. A place that combines an amazing fishery, dedicated knowledgeable guides, comfortable if not luxury accommodations, tasty homestyle meals, and a friendly staff. These are things I look for when traveling to fish on my own, or to recommend to those anglers traveling with us at the fly shop. Bay Flats Lodge in Seadrift Texas checks each one of those criteria and more.
A few weeks ago an old fishing buddy scooped me from the airport in Houston and after a stop for good Texas BBQ, we headed for the coast. After a few hours driving through south Texas, and with the excitement rising mile by mile in the car we finally spotted the ocean. We wound our way through the coastal community of Seadrift and pulled into the lodge parking lot. With the Bay Flats Lodge flag flapping in the wind right under the stars and stripes I figured we were in the right place. We shook hands with Chris and were welcomed by his staff. A welcome cocktail was poured and we discussed the timing and details of the next 3 days. Appetizers, dinner, sleep, breakfast, fish and repeat.
The main lodge building is beautiful and comfortable. You sit at large community tables surrounded by redfish and sea trout replicas and paintings of air boats, duck decoys and bird dogs. I had forgotten that before BFL was a fly fishing destination it was first an amazing place to duck hunt. Cast and Blast anyone? The food and vibe of dinner at the lodge was exactly what you hope for on a fishing trip; delicious, hearty, loud, friendly and full of excitement for the morning. We soon called it a night in one of the dozens of rooming options on the property. All comfortable, air conditioned and nicely appointed. Bay Flats Lodge can accommodate groups up to 16 in separate houses with common areas, kitchens and views of the ocean, as well as a pair of Colorado anglers such as ourselves.
The next morning after coffee, sunrise and breakfast in that order we found ourselves swapping Gunnison River fly fishing stories with our guide Dane while stringing up rods over the bow of his skiff. A Colorado guy, born and raised, we connected the dots quickly. Fly fishing is a small world. With a trio of Winston Alpha + and Air Salt fly rods rigged and then stashed on the boat we were on the water shortly after. The boat launch can be seen from your breakfast table. After a short run the engine was switched off, and the pole came out. The sound of anything mechanical died off and was replaced by the sounds of the lakes, rivers and back bays of the Texas coast. It didn't take long to spot our first red, as the skiff slid around a point of mangroves I spotted this fish in 6 inches of water, tail and dorsal fin sticking out. A quick false cast and before we ever had a shot, the fish darted off at 70 feet. A collective groan from the two guys behind me. It was going to be a tricky day.
The life that exists in these marshlands and mangrove lagoons is wild. For the unadjusted, the boiling sporadic movements of the mullet can fool you into make a lot of cast at nothing that will eat your fly. But as time goes on you start to learn the way the water dimples when it's a redfish instead, and you are spotting tailing black drum from twice your max casting distance. Mistakes were made, shots were blown, the fish were spooky, but abundant. After lunch a short cast right across the nose of a feeding black drum resulted in our first true hookup. These fish just pull different! With high fives all the way around and a nip of whiskey for the boat we were on the board. The afternoon gave us multiple groups of tailing reds and even with some questionable casting they happily ate and shot off making our reels scream. More high fives, more whiskey, more smiles. Mission accomplished.
The next day, threw us a few weather curveballs but in between storms and being guided by Mike it went as the day before. Life in these waters showed itself endlessly. We blew some shots, made some epic casts, were refused and then rewarded for the efforts. Standing on the front of the skiff, eyes peeled fly in hand, searching for a spotted tail, all while keeping an eye on the encroaching storm I thought to myself, this really was cool, and yes, I think I will come back and do this again.
We are proud and excited to add Bay Flats Lodge to our destination fly fishing program here at Anglers All. Redfish are an exciting and accessible species to chase on a fly rod, and we have geared up many anglers to do just that, and have armed them with a few guide names and recommended areas. Now we truly have a solution for the traveling angler who has these fish on their bucket list. A place we know that once you arrive you will be well taken care of and a place where you can stay, eat and fish without ever moving your car. That is always our goal for any destination fly fishing trip!
Trips to Redfish with Bay Flats Lodge start in the $1600 range per person for a 3 night / 2 days of fishing stay, considering double occupancy. This trip length is great for a quick long weekend. Longer or shorter trips can be customized as well. And more information can be found on our Travel Page.As always, reach out to Blake and the rest of the travel team with questions about fly fishing for Redfish and checking out Bay Flats Lodge! Shoot an email to travel@anglersall.com or call 303-794-1104