FISHING GALVESTON

Before the stormy weather Friday, the fish were biting. 

Kelly Hudspeth and Leo Bernier of Houston fished the North Jetty with a supply of cut mullet and shad to use for bait.

They barely beat the bad weather to the dock as the anglers were into fish. During the short time at the jetties, two bull reds were caught, tagged and retained. Several sharks and gafftop were caught, with all of the sharks being released.

Louis Miller and Buck Bufford wade fished Hoeckers Cove in West Bay for two hours before being run in by thunder. Three specks and three flounder along with several rat reds were their catch. Chicken on a Chain and Bass Assassins were the baits used.

One of the top five questions asked by readers is where to go wade fishing around Galveston. Most of the questions are from anglers who do not have use of a boat and often are new to fishing the Galveston Bay complex.

Each time when replying, I hedge my answer by saying that I am not the best person to ask.

My favorite time to wade fish in the bays is during late fall and early winter. Now, with that said, if I had my choice of places to wade fish under ideal conditions, it would be at the surf beginning about now.

During windows of light winds combined with green water and tidal movement, the surf along the beach front is often red hot with action.

Unfortunately, ideal conditions just do not set in that often. July and August are probably the two months that offer more acceptable days for wade fishing the surf.

Experienced anglers use a variety of artificial baits to catch schooling trout and other fish roaming the beach front. For beginners, I highly recommend using live shrimp fished under a popping cork.

As we progress into the warm months, we will address the topic of surf fishing even more.