Bink Grimes

Warmer duck season befuddling
It just hasn’t seemed like duck season to me. Short-sleeved shirts, shorts, under waders and flip-flops after the hunt seems more like the September teal season.
November 15, 2009

Usual fall fishing pattern fails to appear
What many considered to be the cold front to kick off the fall fishing season, wasn’t. What many thought would be the weather pattern to get birds working over shrimp in East Matagorda Bay, didn’t. So, why not?
October 25, 2009

Teal season off to fast start on prairie
The Columbia-blue chevrons displayed in unison as the acrobatic flock banked to the right before tumbling into the Wharton County pond. Five bluewings hit the water, and we jammed another trio of shells in the shotgun just in time for another dozen to bombard our milieu.
September 13, 2009

Duck hunting seasons look promising
Thermometers pegging out past the century mark is not the opportune time to strike up a conversation about ducks. That usually comes after the first cool front of the fall.
July 19, 2009

Lack of rain might be culprit in slow fishing
We need rain, that’s no big news these days, just listen to your yard crying for moisture. However, that lack of fresh water could be affecting our saltwater fisheries, evident by the lack of catches in some of Texas’ summertime hotspots.
July 12, 2009

Old salt just grins at the wind
When Rockport guide Charlie Newton backed his boat down the ramp at Cove Harbor, he didn’t have to tell me he had been doing this for 25 years — his tanned, leathery skin conveyed that message. Had I missed that tell-tale sign, his boat trailer would have spoken up.
May 03, 2009

Find fitting forecast to fool fickle fish
March truly is that in-between, transition month where winter is not sure it wants to give up, and spring is not quite strong enough to hold its own.
March 15, 2009

Adjust your baits to what’s on the menu
Temperatures reaching the 80s were a big hit this week, especially for anglers wading the shallows in search of big trout.
March 08, 2009

Drought affects duck season
Exactly one week from today, the 2008-09 duck season will come to a close. It has been another dry year, maybe the driest of the decade.
January 18, 2009

Go deep when it gets chilly
I fondly remember my first trip to the bay. It was a cold December night in 1982 when my dad and I, along with a friend who was an experienced navigator in Trinity Bay, headed to the warm-water discharge of what was then the Houston Lighting and Power Spillway.
December 07, 2008

Weather o blame for lackluster duck hunting
A trio of blue-winged teal darted out of the ground fog just above the tops of a wad of cattails in the Collegeport marsh. A mature drake led the charge, evident by its distinct cobalt head and white crescent that caught the first rays of the morning.
November 30, 2008

Time to count outdoor blessings
With Thanksgiving a few sunrises away, allow me to reflect on all that is good in God’s great outdoors.
November 23, 2008

Rain provides shot in arm to waterfowlers
Showers of blessing fell across the coast in buckets Monday and Tuesday. Dry, parched, cracked earth came back to life as the moisture fused the gap.
November 16, 2008

Duck season opener steady
Blue-winged teal darted in every direction. Pintails hovered suspiciously just out of range. A trio of canvasbacks flew in circles, undecided about what piece of water held the tastiest breakfast.
November 09, 2008

Fall fishing so-so, so far
The crisp, clear, calm mornings this week almost made me sick enough to miss work. Admit it, you would have rather been on a boat at dawn than in a car headed to the workplace.
November 02, 2008

Prospects remain iffy for waterfowl
Ladies, if you think you haven’t seen your husbands enough lately, you better get used to it — duck, goose and deer season opens Nov. 1, and quail season already has begun.
October 26, 2008

For anglers, October offers chance at Big 3
Saturday I positioned my boat parallel to the grass line of the old Intracoastal channel in Oyster Lake.
October 05, 2008

Ike came at right time for redfish
So how is the hurricane going to affect fishing? I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked that question.
September 28, 2008

Hurricane Ike made believers out of us all
Monday I viewed firsthand the destruction that occurred on the east side, or dirty side, of Hurricane Ike. I grew up in Chambers County and my parents and many dear friends still reside there.
September 21, 2008

Many fishing holes can be reached on foot
I often receive e-mails from time to time asking where is the best spot to catch a fish if you don’t have a boat. Here are a few suggestions from the middle coast.
September 07, 2008