Located on the western shore of the upper Laguna Madre, the King Ranch shoreline is a productive area for reds and trout and an excellent choice for fly fishing. The site draws a lot of boats but can offer excellent wadefishing in light to moderate wind conditions. When the wind kicks up, making the water murky along the shoreline, there are opportunities for flyfishers casting shooting heads from a drifting boat in water 4 to 6 feet deep. Drift anchors are often necessary to slow down drifting boats in the stiff winds but anglers can cover lots of water this way and have a chance at trout, reds, and black drum."Whenever you have a strong wind, you want to go to a big body of water," says Corpus Christi fly-fishing guide Joe Mendez. "It feels like you are catching a lot of fish, but it is because you are covering a lot of water. If you go back on a calm day, you may not catch anything because you are not covering the water." On the other hand, Mendez says, calm conditions are ideal for driftfishing smaller areas around spoil islands. "That is when you want a lighter wind, so you will stay in the zone longer."
The Pure Oil Channel, which bisects the King Ranch shoreline, attracts good numbers of redfish, trout, and black drum. Anglers can access this site by boat from marinas around the JFK Bridge at Corpus Christi. Flyfishers will have success drifting across the channel or anchoring up and casting along the channel
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