Ten boats departed Port Mansfield Harbor at 6:30 a.m. Saturday under gray, overcast skies and lighter-than-normal winds for the 2026 Getaway Lodge Reel Lifesaver Invitational.
Most of the field turned south after clearing the harbor, hoping to capitalize on a strong pre-fishing bite. Captains Ruben Garza and Wayne Davies didn’t have far to run, choosing instead to return to a sandbar that had produced plenty of fish the day before.
The anglers aboard both boats were confident they were in for another productive day.
Mother Nature had other plans.
A wind shift overnight changed the conditions, and the fish that had been active the previous day were nowhere to be found. One angler managed about a half-dozen quality trout and a few redfish, while another landed just a single fish.
A pink Skitter Walk top-water lure generated several aggressive strikes and hookups during the morning wade.
Recognizing the need for a change, Davies moved his anglers to another location.
“Guys, you’re just going to have to grind it out here,” Davies told them. “It’s not an easy wade.”
That advice proved valuable for Everett Johnson, owner of Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine. While many anglers worked topwaters, Johnson stuck with his confidence bait — a blue-and-white Wig-A-Lo soft plastic.
Methodically working the lure along the bottom in waist-deep water, Johnson hooked a 25-inch-plus trout with four spots. Soon afterward, he landed a 28 1/4-inch red and then another of the exact same size. Combined with a 16-inch trout caught earlier, Johnson suddenly had a tournament-winning stringer.
Fishing partner David J. Sams, CEO of Lone Star Outdoor News, waded over to congratulate him.
“I just came over to congratulate you on winning the tournament,” Sams said. “That’s a heck of a stringer, and you’re going to be hard to beat. Can you give me the lure you’re catching all the fish on?”
Johnson dug through his pocket, handed Sams the same color bait, tied it on for him, kissed it for good luck and sent him back to fishing.
Jeff Hall of New Braunfels experienced a much different day.
Hall caught plenty of trout and redfish, but most were under the slot.
“It’s a good thing we had a lot of cold beers in our ice chest,” Hall said. “It was a long day.”
The team from Waterloo Rod Company also struggled. Fishing with Garza, they came up empty on their opening wade and spent much of the day searching for a productive bite.
As the afternoon progressed, the wind increased and boat traffic became a factor. One angler counted 25 boats working nearby flats, while another estimated seeing 27.
The crowded conditions didn’t stop a late flurry of action.
Two anglers landed redfish during the final 10 minutes of fishing. One of those fish, a 28 1/2-inch red caught by Clay Pope, earned top honors in the redfish division.
Following the fishing portion of the event, all 10 boats gathered at the American flag for the tournament’s traditional fish-off using an old KWiggler shrimp tail. Brittney Geer caught the first trout to win the challenge.
Back at Getaway Lodge, anglers cooled off in the swimming pool, enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and cold beverages, and swapped stories while trying to gather intelligence on what everyone else had caught.
Many were surprised by the weigh-in results. Despite larger trout being caught during pre-fishing, the biggest trout entered in the tournament measured just 22 inches.
When the scales settled, Johnson’s impressive stringer secured the Grand Champion title.
Tournament Results
Grand Champion — Everett Johnson
Second Place — Michelle Counterman
Largest Trout — Robert Duncan
Largest Redfish — Clay Pope (28 1/2 inches)
Spot Category — Shane New (14 spots)
One-Lure Challenge — Brittney Geer
