Galveston Fishing

Fishing was slow for the most part last weekend and the weather had a lot to do with anglers choosing to do other things besides fish.

Jose Aceves and Jesse Lopez were two anglers who decided to go ahead with their plans to fish the afternoon tide Saturday.

Fishing around the Bolivar Gas Wells, they each caught limits of reds between 26 and 28 inches along with a bunch of bull reds that were released. Several gafftop in the 5-pound range also were caught and released.

The party boat Texsun II made a trip to the South Jetty on Saturday where the guests on board landed bull reds and gafftop.

The Capt. John meanwhile made a 10-hour offshore trip with 43 fishermen aboard who landed 43 sharks, 108 spadefish, gulf trout, stingray and a 37-pound ling. The party boat will be making trips during the extended red snapper season beginning Tuesday and has space available on all of their scheduled trips.

There have been several readers who reside on canals in subdivisions mentioned for recent night time action complaining about the lack of manners and respect by visitors fishing their canals.
Among the complaints were mooring to private docks and getting off their boats, fishing from private piers, damaging underwater lights and making excessive noise late at night.

While we report night time catches around lighted areas, anglers must observe some basic courtesies while fishing around the lights belonging to others. First, you should keep a distance from the private piers and docks and never tie up to them without permission of the owner. Lots of pilferage has been blamed on uninvited guests around private docks, especially night time fishermen.

Picture of Trips this past Week... Galveston

Some Picture of Our Trips this past Week...

of Our Trips this Week....

Galveston Fishing Report

A moderate to strong south wind did its job to slow down fishing Saturday. Anglers fishing protected waters had mixed results, while those fishing Friday night had the best results.

Greg Hagerud was back fishing the East End surf Saturday morning and, while conditions were rough and the water sandy, it was fishable. Hagerud found drum, reds, whiting and a few specks in knee- to waist-deep water. Live shrimp was the bait.

Charles Edwards, Fred Griffith and William Armor fished the shoreline of Pelican Island, working their way from the bridge to Seawolf Park, and caught a variety of fish including mangrove snapper, sand trout, black drum, ribbonfish and whiting.

Tony Sandlin reported the waters around the North Jetty too choppy and off-color to fish and ended up finding protected water around the shoreline between the Galveston Yacht Basin and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ docks. 

Fishing with Robert Kuykendall, the anglers used live shrimp to land five flounder — three were undersized and released. Lots of sand trout were landed and released along with lots of piggy perch.
Mark McDavid fished Offatts Bayou on Saturday morning and landed 30 sand trout while fishing from his kayak.

Night fishing seems to be the best choice for catching trout this weekend. Mike Ramsey reported good numbers of small specks appearing under the lights of Tiki Island. 

Several reports, although unconfirmed, of specks being taken under the lights came from Bayou Vista and Cold Pass.

Galveston Fishing

Thursday saw a continuation of great conditions all around the Galveston Bay Complex.

The beach front is turning on with action and trout are coming out of hiding.

Flounder are beginning to move and red fish action around the jetties is outstanding.

Thursday, Marita Schultz, Pelican Rest Marina, sent a report from Capt. James Plaag, Silver King Adventures, whose charter returned with 30 trout and three reds.

The fish were caught over deep shell in 9 to 10-foot depths using Slamming Chicken and Sea Shad Bass Assassins.

Fred Forney sent a note about his morning of fishing the surf near San Luis Pass.

Using cut shad for bait, the angler from Isla Del Sol caught and released three bull reds, a large shark that Forney could not identify and a large gafftop.

The water was in excellent shape, and mullet were jumping all around.

Good Fishing this Weekend in Galveston

Fall-like mornings are upon us and, while mid-day temperatures still remind us of summertime, I think we can say that fall is in the air.

The bays, jetties and surf are rebounding from all of the high winds this past weekend, and the next several days look great for fishing. Now, let’s just hope that the fish cooperate.

Greg Hagerud fished the surf Tuesday morning and here is what he had to report.

“I fished this morning from 6 a.m. until 8:30 a.m., and the water is starting to turn. Someone will catch some nice fish today, as the bait fish were really moving in as I left. Lots of shrimp and mullet are in the surf. I saw a couple of good blow-ups and used live shrimp to catch lots of whiting. No hardheads, just whiting. Mullet will be the preferred bait.”

Richard Belleau, 61st Street Fishing Pier, reported 25 bull reds being landed Monday night and into the early hours of Tuesday. Croaker, whiting and sand trout made up the remainder of fish being caught.

Night fishing continues to get a lot of attention. Gary Moss sent a note saying that he has seen more gar this year around the lights of Highland Bayou than in any year in the past. He does not like to try to catch them; however, he does attempt to run them off, with no luck. Moss said that when one arrives around the lights, the other fish disappear.

Speaking of gar, Justin Moore called in after reading reports of gar in Offatts Bayou. He said that they are one of the tastiest fish around and if anglers would try some fresh fried gar, they would start competing with pan fish for the table.

Ralph Sendejas sent a sad note reporting the loss of one of Galveston’s better known anglers, Dwayne “Peewee” Keeler. He was an active member of CCA-Texas and an avid fisherman. Keeler died Thursday of liver disease.

Galveston Fishing

The frontal system that passed through Saturday shut down already-slow action on the fishing scene.
Badly needed rain accompanied the system and will give fishing a boost in the coming days.

Once the frontal winds die down, look for some excellent fishing to follow. Beginning early this week, probably as early as Tuesday, the beach front should turn on with action. Light winds are predicted for mid-week and, with the heavy rains diluting the salinity levels in the bays, we should see trout begin to move.

Cooler temperatures this week should start dropping the water readings and that, in itself, could be a big boost to fishing.

It is too early to think about our fall fishing patterns getting underway; however, we are headed in that direction. The bull red run should pick up momentum this week and, if the surf clears up quickly, a variety of offshore fish, including tarpon, could be making a run into the shallower waters in search of food.

With the lack of fishing reports Saturday, I want to share a note from Ken Clark of Ennis who plans to spend a few days here early next month and wants to fish the jetties.

Clark plans to bring his 19-foot bass boat to fish the jetties and is interested in what might be biting, which jetty is best to fish and the best baits.

During early October, reds are almost a sure bet around the jetties and both sets of rocks offer potentially good fishing. My favorite areas during early October are the Gulf side of the South Jetty and the channel side of the North Jetty, especially in the vicinity of the Boat Cut.

Galveston Fishing

Anglers are getting frustrated with the poor conditions that have dominated the fishing scene for days now.

Hopefully, the forecast for early next week is on target and lighter winds will take over.

With such conditions, we should see fishermen back on the water who can give updates on where the fish are biting.

The only bright spot lately has been action on bull reds along the beach front and night fishing off lighted piers.

The choppy surf continues to attract large reds preparing for the fall spawn.

The 61st Street Fishing Pier in its Friday fishing report listed 11 bull reds as being landed by customers.

Other fish included sand trout and two blacktip sharks.

For anglers having access to piers with fishing lights, night fishing has been excellent during this full moon phase.

galveston fishing

Moderate east winds continued during the weekend.

While wind from such a direction tends to slow fishing overall, this time of year it often ignites a run of bull reds.

It appears that is what is taking place.

East winds create more intense waves and when they roll across the surf and around the jetties, bull reds begin to take action.

Reports from the beach front indicate that night time action has been prolific and the jetties are taking up the slack on reds during the day.

Chester McMillan was one of the anglers fishing the rock groins across from Academy on Friday night and reported that he landed two bull reds, tagging and retaining one and releasing the other.

Others fishing nearby also were hooking up with the big reds.

Mark Hill and Rocky Listen fished San Luis Pass on Friday night and encountered a flurry of action on both bull reds and sharks. The anglers from Sea Isle battled at least 10 fish ranging in size from estimated lengths of 3 to 5 feet. The action came between 9:30 p.m. and midnight when the anglers wore out bringing in the brutes. Large shad and whole mullet were the baits.

Galveston Fishing

Friday, the long awaited announcement came regarding a special recreational red snapper season this fall.

NOAA announced a quota increase for Gulf of Mexico red snapper and a 14-day supplemental recreational season beginning Oct. 1.

Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico will open for red snapper recreational fishing beginning on October 1, 2013, at 12:01 a.m. local time. The season will close at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 15.

This is good news for all recreational anglers and especially Galveston’s party and charter boat operations. There has been no change in the bag and size limits, with a two fish per person bag limit and 16-inch minimum length still applicable.

On the fishing scene Friday, the early morning calm conditions, the first in a while, were too much to pass up, so my fishing partner and I loaded up with live bait and headed to our favorite fishing grounds this time of year.

The water in most spots, including the Galveston Ship Channel and North Jetty, was not as clear as desired. This was surprising with the continuous east wind that has prevailed lately. Friday morning, however, we were dealing with a northeast breeze that continually increased throughout the morning.

The trip was productive, just not the quantity of fish we expected. Lots of mangrove snapper were caught, especially around Pelican Island. Reds, sand trout and ribbonfish rounded out the catch for the day. Polly’s slot red was the best of our catch.

At the North Jetty Boat cut (channel side) several other boats were anchored and landing bull reds and sharks. It appeared that shad and other small finfish were the baits working best for the big fish.

A continuous siege of east winds has been plaguing the Galveston area for too many days now. While this wind has the opposite effects of the cursed southwest wind, both have one thing in common and that is neither is good for fishing when gusting at velocities into the teens and higher.

While an east wind is not looked upon favorably for fishing, it does have benefits in that it brings clean Gulf waters into the bays and, with its traditionally high tide levels, helps to flush the back bays and marshes.

There is an exception on the fishing scene and that is moderate to strong east winds during the fall tend to trigger a run of bull reds in the surf.  Apparently that was the case Monday night as the 61 Street Fishing Pier reported 34 of the big fish being landed by anglers fishing late at night.

Tuesday’s five-day forecast predicted a continuation of easterly winds with velocities increasing later in the upcoming weekend.  If the forecast holds, there might be a flurry of bull red activity in the surf on the horizon.

Night fishing has outpaced the daylight hours with fair to good catches coming in the early hours of the morning.

Hal Rogers was one of the anglers who fished from his dock on Offatts Bayou following the end of the Texans’ Football Game on Monday night. He found a lot of action using live shrimp for bait.  Rogers landed several large ladyfish, three reds, a keeper and two throwbacks, and some very large hardheads.

The party boat Capt. John made another of its overnight tuna safaris Sunday and Monday, fishing areas well past 100 miles offshore.  Co-captains Jill Williams and her dad Johnny placed their 31 guests into action around the Boon Vang Platform and other locations where the anglers landed 29 blackfin tuna, four yellowfins, 330 vermilions, African pompano, rockhind grouper, Dorado and a variety of reef fish.

Galveston Fishing

There were not a lot of anglers out fishing last weekend, as threatening weather caused many to make changes in their plans.

Early Sunday, there was a window of nice conditions and those few anglers on the water at daybreak found some fair-to-good action.

Billy Martin spent the early hours of Sunday morning testing the waters around the Galveston Ship Channel for flounder.

Martin and his nephew Charles Hardy used flounder pounders, gulps and live shrimp to test the area and found a few flounder scattered along the shoreline of Pelican Island and in the area between the yacht basin and ferry landing.

Martin said they caught six or eight with only two making the cut for retaining.

Eddie Cruse sent a note describing his Saturday morning fishing trip.

“Fishing Saturday in West Bay during the morning hours produced some action for George Payne and Eddie Cruse...one keeper spec, two gaff top and two drum. All fish were caught with live shrimp over shell at Karanchua Reef inWest Bay. Monster black clouds, lightning strikes and rainbows were all around thea rea. What a day to be out on the water!”

Karen Moulten called in to say her family fished from a friend’s lighted dock on the Diversionary Canal on Saturday night where they caught four ladyfish, two croaker, a gafftop and a stingray.Peeled dead shrimp was the bait.

The 2013 CCA-Texas STAR Fishing Tournament ended Monday.

While final results will be issued by Sept. 16, Galveston County had an excellent showing on the list pending final approval.

The State of Texas Anglers Rodeo kicked off Memorial Day weekend and ran through Labor Day.
Nine anglers representing both adult and youth divisions are listed.

Our two first-place leaders each poised to win a $50,000 scholarship are Nicholas Gilstrap, 8, from Santa Fe in the flounder contest and Allison Schwartz, 9, of Texas City in the sheepshead group.
Jonathan Wright, 7, of Santa Fe is in the fourth-runner up position for gafftop.

Competing for a $20,000 scholarship and in the second-runner up slot for flounder is Parker Gilstrap, 16, of Santa Fe. The fourth-runner up in that category is Hunter Thiem, 14, of Hitchcock.
In the adult group, Pam Wood of Hitchcock is sitting in the second-runner up spot for gafftop while third-runner up lists Dutch Kueteman of Tiki Island.

Galveston Fishing Report

Offshore fishing continues to get the nod for best results as inshore fishing has been in a slump lately with catches not up to par with conditions. This has been particularly true with speckled trout.

Several fishing guides have told me that while they are able to find trout for their guests, they have to work hard and the number of trout caught is less than what they feel it should be. We all agreed that several factors contribute to this and once better tidal flow sets in during the day, action should pick up.
Reds have been fairly consistent, especially around the jetties when Labor Day usually signals the start of better fishing for reds, especially the larger oversized bull reds.

On the fishing scene, Brian Goodwin, his wife, Brenda, and daughter Bri’Ana fished Highland Bayou where they landed their first Texas Grand Slam. Two 16-inch trout, two reds to 23 inches and a 15-inch flounder made up their catch.

Monday, fishing the Seawolf Park area with was Savedra family from Georgetown. Their catch included bull reds, blacktip sharks and large spinner sharks. Frozen mullet and shad were the baits.

The party boat Cavalier has been returning from morning and afternoon bay trips with catches of whiting, gafftop and sharks.

Monday, the party boat New Buccaneer fished 65 miles out of Galveston and returned with a great catch including 155 vermilions, 10 kings, two amberjack, rock hind, red hind and scamp grouper along with mangrove and lane snapper

The party boat Capt. John returned from its trip to the Heald Bank area with a big catch that included two Dorado, 13 sharks, 268 spadefish, a ling, mangrove, Spanish mackerel and king.

Fishing Report Galveston

The Labor Day Weekend turned out to be fair for fishing with the best reports coming from anglers fishing offshore.

The action in the bays and along the beach front was mainly very early with some nice catches of trout taking place near daybreak.

The Labor Day Weekend turned out to be fair for fishing with the best reports coming from anglers fishing offshore. Pat McNally was one of the anglers in the water before daybreak Monday and immediately started catching speckled trout with live shrimp fished under a popping cork. The action took place in the surf between Crystal Beach and Gilchrist from 6 a.m. until close to 7 a.m. McNally ended up with a stringer of eight trout to 19 inches in length.

Mark Breaux and his wife, Laura, fished the wall at the Galveston Yacht Basin early Sunday and landed 10 mangroves, four small jackfish, two large hardheads, a black drum and a dog fish.

Cooter at North Jetty Bait Camp reported rock walkers taking flounder, golden croaker, sand trout, some reds and lots of crabs. Live mullet and dead shrimp were the baits of choice.

Capt. Paul Stanton, Aqua Safari Charters, reported a big catch on the Sea Trek. Fishing the jetties, Capt. Mike Malloy found a spot where his guest Dr. Kevin Smith landed a 7-foot spinner shark.

Dean Silvers and Rolan Gutierez fished the short rigs out of San Luis Pass and hooked up with some nice fish, including King mackerel, Spanish mackerel, an undersized ling that was released, along with sheepshead and bluefish.

Capt. Ron Woods hosted Jaime Escobar, Javier Lehtinen and his brother Kristian to a trip to the concrete ship where they each landed and tagged a bull red, along with a variety of other fish that were released

Galveston Fishing Charter Company Trip

                                                           From our Trip 9-2-13

Conditions remained outstanding for fishing on Sunday, with the surf continuing to outproduce other areas of inshore fishing. The heat is driving bay fishermen in early as the bright sun and high temperatures are shutting down action well before noon.

Offshore fishing is in its prime and will be for a little while longer. Usually by mid-September we start to see a decline in the numbers of pelagic fish close to shore. Still late summer and early fall offer good opportunities to catch king, ling, Dorado, sharks and other surface-feeding fish in the Gulf.
Sunday morning, Kayden Drake, 11, and his grandpa Ken Drake fished the surf and landed Spanish mackerel to 28 inches, slot reds, small sharks and ladyfish. The anglers used live shrimp for bait while wading the beach front.

Saturday night, trout were thick under the lights of piers along Sportsmen’s Road in West Bay. Gerald Moore and Lanny Garcia used free-lined live shrimp to catch 13 specks to 19 inches. The action started around 10:30 and was still going at midnight.

Good reports also were coming from canals of Harborwalk and Bayou Vista.

Mark Wellington hosted a group of friends to an overnight trip to the East Breaks where they fished for marlin and other deep-water fish. While no hookups with bill fish, they did land a 130-pound mako shark, four wahoo to 22 pounds, two ling to 48 pounds along with numerous kings, other species of sharks, bonito and barracuda.

The party boat Capt. John made a 25-mile trip east of the jetties where the 79 anglers aboard landed 55 sharks, 13 gafftop, 582 spadefish, 18 Gulf trout, 11 blue fish and a catch of four mangrove snapper which were all caught by Capt. Johnny William’s grandson Justin Williams.

Galveston Fishing

Saturday was one of our hottest days this year and the fish responded accordingly, at least in the bays and around the jetties and beach front. It seems like when the outside temperature is the hottest, offshore fishing is at its peak.

Anglers out at daybreak showed the best results of the inshore group and for the deep water fish, the time did not matter as the bite continued all day.

Bulldog’s Bait Shop reported a nice stringer of trout to 25 inches taken by Simon Gerbert, who was in the surf early using live croaker and mullet for bait. Lots of mullet are in the surf right now, and predators such as speckled trout are feeding upon them.

There are still no tarpon reports, and that is surprising with the calm, clear water running all the way to the beach. Such conditions attract the silver kings, and with the reports of the large pods of mullet in the surf, it is even more surprising. Rest assured, tarpon are out there.

Friday, Sarah Melcer fished her favorite hole at the end of the South Jetty named after her late canine fishing companion Abby. Melcer’s catch included 14 gafftop and a blacktip shark.

Offshore fishing is almost off the charts. Lamar Collins of League City and three of his neighbors fished about 35 miles east of the jetties where they encountered a variety of fish. Using natural baits such as sardines, shad and live mullet along with artificials such as Russell Lures and sand eels, the anglers landed a limit of eight king mackerel, five Spanish mackerel, two Dorado, three bluefish and a 4-pound mangrove snapper.

The party boat Capt. John made a 30-mile trip south of the jetties where Capt. Johnny Williams found action for his 63 guests in 70 feet of water. Their catch included 433 spadefish, 28 sharks, mangrove and lane snapper, rockhind, pompano and Spanish mackerel.