THE CAPTAIN
 David Rowsey
has been fishing all of his life, cutting
his teeth on freshwater bass fishing in the
bayous of Louisiana and the clear water
rivers of the Texas Hill Country. First
learning to use a baitcaster reel at 8 years
old, fishing with plugs and plastic became
an early passion that has never wavered.
David got his first taste of saltwater in
1988, and dove into it with the voracity of
a large trout exploding on a topwater.
Utilizing baitcasters and plugs since he was
a barefooted kid, the stage was set for more
of the same on the Texas Coastal Bays. Live
or dead bait fishing is a foreign concept to
the captain, and he has spent countless
hours, days, nights, and dollars, in pursuit
of perfecting his beloved sport with the
hardware. This endless pursuit eventually
brought David much recognition from his
peers, but he knows that there is so much
more to be learned, and he constantly
strives harder to raise the bar even higher.
 His
first love is playing catch and release with
large speckled trout in the Laguna Madre and
Baffin Bay, but his animal-like curiosity
has forced him to learn many bay systems
over the years, especially those between San
Antonio Bay and Baffin Bay. Regardless of
how well he knows other bodies of water, the
Laguna Madre and Baffin Bay are considered
home, and where the vast majority of David’s
time is spent.
Over
the years, David has kept journals and
records of nearly every trip on the water.
This information has proven to be extremely
valuable over the years, as speckled trout
tend to be on reoccurring patterns and grow
somewhat predictable on there locales, year
after year. Knowing these patterns is what
sets David apart from many others in the
sport, and is why in 2002 he personally
landed 63 trout greater than 7 pounds, all
on artificial lures, and ALL RELEASED.
David’s
passion for the health of the bay and
fishery is only matched by a handful of
recreational fisherman and a few other long
time guides. Over the last ten years, after
watching countless days of “meat hauls”
being conducted by others, David decided to
do his part in bringing back “fishing” into
the sport vs. the glory photos of ice chests
filled with dead trout. To the surprise of
many, including himself, David took the time
and made the effort to become a United
States Coast Guard Merchant Marine, i.e.,
licensed captain.
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Being
a huge proponent of catch and release, David
realizes that his “fish for the moment vs.
fish for the kill” attitude may not be a
popular stance among the biggest part of the
guiding community, but he feels strongly
that a new message has to be conveyed, one
that promotes being a great steward of the
bay, as well as teaching others the
importance of being responsible fishermen
and women. The best part of all is that it
can still be done with a bent rod and many
trout on the other end of the line.
The
Captain is savvy enough to know that not
even the best of the best guides can
guarantee that the fish will bite everyday;
however, if your quest is deeper than just
catching, he will guarantee that you will
come away with a better understanding of
reading the water, lure presentation,
and how to decipher the not so obvious signs
that are critical in
improving your odds at catching the monster
trout that lurk in all
of our dreams.
David, first
and foremost, fishes for his passion of the
sport; however, his competitive spirit has
also led him into numerous saltwater
tournaments, where the best of the best
anglers compete for top honors along the
Texas coast. Although no longer pursuing
tournaments actively, some previous and
notable finishes are as follows:
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2000
Baffin Bash CHAMPION
2000
Troutmasters Classic, 2nd place
2001 Baffin Bash, 3rd place
2001 Troutmasters (Rockport), CHAMPION
2002 Baffin Bash CHAMPION
2002 Troutmasters (Open Coast Shootout), 4th
place
2002 Poco Bueno Inshore – Redfish CHAMPION
2003 Port O’ Connor Bash, CHAMPION
2003 Baffin Bash, 3rd place
2006 Baffin Bash, 5th place
2007 Port O' Connor Bash, CHAMPION
2007 Troutmasters (Corpus/Baffin) CHAMPION
2007 Troutmasters Series ANGLER OF THE YEAR
*Note: Many other top
3-10 finishes were obtained during this same
time period. |
Capt.
David Rowsey, Fishing Baffin Bay,
