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February 28, 2026 11 mins
Originally aired on February 28, 2026. Doug's interview with Keith Denette, owner and captain of Redfish Lodge Port O'Connor, for your listening pleasure.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, second hour. The program starts right now, and

(00:02):
as promised, we're gonna we're gonna take a little ride
down to Port O'Connor and with the push button, Hey,
Keith Dennett, how are you, man?

Speaker 2 (00:12):
We're doing pretty dark good down there. How are you?

Speaker 1 (00:15):
I'm doing well. I heard from my buddy Scott. I
think I mentioned him to you. I just texted him
a little while ago because he was either going to
be fishing this morning or fogged in and I just
put fish or fog and he wrote all clear. So
you guys woke up to a nice morning down there,
didn't you.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
We did. We did. Actually, that fog was here.

Speaker 3 (00:33):
He got in here early last night, right around six o'clock,
and then, you know, we were kind of wondering, how,
you know, how long how dense was going to be
first thing this morning, But it did light up, you know,
after about seven o'clock. You know, it left it pretty quick,
and everyone's out there fishing right now.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
It's we're gonna have a really good day.

Speaker 1 (00:51):
Yeah, that's awesome, man, cow where do I want to
start with you? Shiny new redfish Lodge man, Welcome by
the way to Port O'Connor. What you brought to them,
from what I've seen in the pictures is something that
port O'Connor has kind of been need and hadn't it.

Speaker 3 (01:06):
Well, you know, that's exactly what what they've been needing.
They've been needing a location where the community to come
in and have a very nice meal, a place that
they can stay and then for you know, families, groups
corporate have a place that they can they can you know, eat, sleep, fish,
you know, and enjoy themselves.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
At what point in your life did you decide you
wanted to run a restaurant and a fishing lodge all
at the same time.

Speaker 3 (01:33):
Sounds crazy. It's been kind of a dream of mine
my whole life. And I don't know what kind of dream.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
I don't know if it's a nightmare, good man. You know,
it's always that dreaming.

Speaker 3 (01:46):
You know. My wife and I we all built we've
built long range sports fishing boats and I've literally been
commercial uh sport fishing my whole life.

Speaker 2 (01:55):
Uh. My wife and I we bought.

Speaker 3 (01:57):
Our first first home on Marlon tournament winning and the
long list of of you know, things that we've done
in our life that's fishing related. It's been you know,
been a long list and me, you know, someday we'll write.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
A book, but right now, you know, this is what
we're doing.

Speaker 3 (02:12):
It was one of those things while you're traveling on
the boat and you're spending you know, you're doing one
hundred day, one hundred and thirty day stretches on a boat,
not seeing home or family, and it's like, someday, I'm
going to get off this boat and I'm going to
build a sport fishing lodge with a bar and a
restaurant and I'm just sit back and enjoy myself and

(02:33):
you know, go fishing and enjoy.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
So that's what we're doing.

Speaker 1 (02:36):
You know, how did you narrow it down to Port O'Connor?

Speaker 3 (02:41):
So we you know, we we had the seventy five
footer out in Magdalena Bay, which is one hundred and
eighty miles north of Pabo Saint Lucas, and it's the
best fishing in the world for like forty five days.
And so I'm I'm rounding out my my my my
eighth trip there and they're all three and a half
day trips. And so my son Hunter, he calls me
up and he's the guy that on Lake the cannon

(03:02):
here in Texas and he's a stripperd guy there, and
he says, yeah, let's.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
When are you coming home. We want to go fish
red fish.

Speaker 3 (03:09):
And I said, well, I'll be home in about four days,
and just give me two days with mom and I'll
wash all the blood off my clothes and.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
I'll be out there with you. So we did. We
did a three day fishing deal. Uh.

Speaker 3 (03:20):
You know, we took our own boats there and and
you know, I was just my mouse just hit the floor.
You know, the community, the people from everything from you know,
the hardware stores to the marine shops, to the you know,
the restaurants in the area, and all the logistics. You know,
this is the fact that you know, you come into
town and there's no traffic lights. It's just very, very

(03:43):
very chill atmosphere.

Speaker 1 (03:44):
He struck on a really important cord right there. When
you talk about pretty much everything that you come across it,
I hadn't thought about this that much. Not everything, but
most of what you come across in Port O'Connor is
related to fishing. It's not a tourist town. It's not
there's not a put putt anywhere. I don't think hope

(04:05):
not yet. But it's it's just it's a fishing town,
and there aren't many of those left, most of the
fishing most places on the Texas, on any place around
the Gulf Coast and up the East coast and probably
down into Mexico. Even they start out as a sleepy
little fishing town and then they become something that the
originals would never even recognize. And port O'Connor hasn't had

(04:27):
that happen yet, has it?

Speaker 2 (04:30):
No, it has it?

Speaker 3 (04:31):
And what the interesting thing is that, you know, with
with the mount of space and everything. You know, yes,
we've got some great beautiful new construction, beautiful docks and
Belton Marinas and everything else, but as far as like
room for like a McDonald's or you know, any of
the chain restaurants, it's just that doesn't happen. You know,

(04:52):
they really don't have, you know, a lot of room
to do anything like that. It's just a small town,
a great but it's got just a sweet charm that
port O'Connor has.

Speaker 1 (05:03):
Well, just like you just you just said it, everything
is being built down there is either another marine shop
or another marina, or another boat repair shop something like that.
It's all boating and fishing related and I like that
keep the nut here from Redfish Lodge and Port O'Connor.
There's still a lot of tournaments going out of Port O'Connor,

(05:23):
and I guess on the weekends it can get a
little bit hairy, but otherwise you can really still find
plenty of places to go fish without getting run over,
can't you.

Speaker 3 (05:34):
Oh yeah, I mean, you know, it's it's it's turning
it into like literally a destination for tournaments on the
weekends here, and you know, we're seeing that, you know,
you know, and they're great. We support them all. You know,
there's they're great fishing tournaments and a lot of them
have great causes.

Speaker 2 (05:50):
There's a lot of them, you know. Uh, you know,
the direction of where.

Speaker 3 (05:53):
They're taking them is just fantastic. There's been nothing but good,
you know here on the weekends here, and you know,
yes it does get crazy, but on the weekends it doesn't.

Speaker 2 (06:04):
Get that busy though.

Speaker 3 (06:04):
I I you know, when I first built this, I thought, wow,
you know it's going to be it's many crazy trying
to get a you know, trying to find a spot
to park my boat and get the boat in the water.

Speaker 2 (06:13):
There is a couple of weekends that it doesn't. It
does get very busy here.

Speaker 3 (06:16):
During our Crawfish festival and during Fourth of July weekend,
and it does a little bit tougher to get to
get your boat in the water. You just got to
plan a little bit of planned, you know, just to
get your boat in the water an hour before before
you originally planned. And you should be good to get
you know, get going on and stay on schedule.

Speaker 2 (06:33):
It.

Speaker 1 (06:34):
Port O'Connor has has maintained this charm while the rest
of the Texas coast really got blown out. How many
years you think port O'Connor still got before before there
is a McDonald's, or before there is some you know,
something more a seashell shop. Yeah, you know, I think
so very disappointed when I said seashell shop, and I'm

(06:55):
with you.

Speaker 2 (06:58):
Shops, Okay, support is shells.

Speaker 3 (07:00):
You know, it's it's great, you know, it's that's the
great thing is it's been been a location for a
lot of retirees that come here.

Speaker 2 (07:06):
Yeah. Uh and and some of them have taken the
love for seashells. And we've had a wonderful lady lisz List.

Speaker 3 (07:13):
She she pays seashells and we actually have her when
them have her coming into the the restaurant and you
once or twice a month we're doing uh, you know,
getting ladies meetups and and and doing something that other
than fishing and tinuing out talking seashells and painting sea
shells and stuff. But we know we've got you know,
it really does have everything. As far as like answering

(07:34):
that question, Uh, when when do we think we oversee.

Speaker 2 (07:37):
Like a McDonald's here, I don't think so. I don't
think so.

Speaker 3 (07:40):
I don't think this is the way everything's going really
with the town, with the amount of that there's not
that many restaurants here, but they're very good, great little
little eateries, little cantinas and bars and stuff, and there's
enough to just spread out and with the growth that
we see, I think with what is here, you know,

(08:01):
with and then we also have like a little seatfood
you know, location where you can go pick up fresh
seafood and oysters and stuff and seasonal seasonalle seafood, yeah.

Speaker 2 (08:10):
Which is great.

Speaker 3 (08:11):
And so you know, between that and you know what
we've got, I think, you know, I think that port
O'Connor has got a long time. I don't know if
I will ever see McDonald's here. I hope I don't.

Speaker 1 (08:23):
I didn't mean to pick on seashells, by the way,
but I was envisioning something like from down at South Padre,
where the thing's three stories tall and there's banners flying
all around and tourists lined up to go in there
and get something to take home. I'm normal seashell collectors.
I'm I'm one of them. I'm if I'm walking down
the beach, I'm either looking for fish or I'm looking
at my feet and just to see what I can see.

(08:45):
Didn't mean to pick on your seashell people.

Speaker 2 (08:48):
Oh no, never, never.

Speaker 1 (08:50):
What is your singular favorite thing about about Port O'Connor Keithing.

Speaker 3 (08:54):
It I think the versatility that it allows everyone to
come and be able to come and experience that you
don't need to have a bunch of money to hire
a guide or have a you know, two hundred thousand
dollars boat to go to come to Enjoyport or Connor.
I mean, we've got jetties, we've got pears out here,

(09:16):
you know, and I built this lodge for for everyone
to come enjoy the value we go.

Speaker 2 (09:23):
I think we've got.

Speaker 3 (09:24):
I'm pretty sure we have the best value of all
of Texas when it comes to lodging.

Speaker 2 (09:28):
And eating and and you know, you know, and you
could just.

Speaker 3 (09:32):
Do all a card, rent a room and relax or
or or or or you know, join the package, which
is even better, you know. And so I think I
think this the fact that we have peers and jetties
and beaches and places to go and enjoy and relax
without having to rely on a guide to go enjoy

(09:53):
something is something special.

Speaker 2 (09:54):
And it's very very clean. We've got some of the
cleanings here in Texas. Yeah, a very very clean ecosystem here.

Speaker 1 (10:02):
All right, before we go, because I'm running a little
bit late, but I'm enjoying talking to you. What's the
best thing on the menu at the lodge?

Speaker 3 (10:08):
You know, I think it's it's tough, you know, the ourpastas,
our steaks, our fish, our fresh fish.

Speaker 2 (10:14):
That we have every week, you know.

Speaker 3 (10:16):
And then we have a Mexican flair, which is where Jalisco,
which is Mexican food hits the ocean. One of our
chefs specializes in augrid chiles and savices and just and
everything's fresh and when.

Speaker 2 (10:29):
You come in don't. You know, don't get bummed out
when you run in.

Speaker 3 (10:33):
If you get in the late, we run out of
food because we make everything fresh every single day, and
you know, when things get busy, we do we typically
we run out of food. And it's just not that
we don't prep enough.

Speaker 2 (10:44):
It's just we.

Speaker 3 (10:46):
Prep and we just get hit pretty hard.

Speaker 2 (10:48):
And it's just yeah, it's a good feeling. It's a
great feel. All right.

Speaker 1 (10:51):
Now, you've given me another excuse to come down to
Port O'Connor.

Speaker 2 (10:54):
I gotta get back that man.

Speaker 1 (10:56):
Our website is redfishpoc dot com. Go check them out.
Shake his hand when you get there and tell him
I said hello, Thanks Keith.

Speaker 2 (11:04):
Yeah, thank you very much for talking to hell. I have
a great, enjoyable day.

Speaker 1 (11:08):
Thank you.

Speaker 3 (11:08):
A
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