Galveston Fishing Report

The weather forecast played tricks on anglers expecting light winds and slight seas for their offshore trips Tuesday.

What was supposed to be wind velocities in the 5 to 10 mph range ended up being much higher and seas forecast to be in the 1- to 2-foot category also were higher.

My boat was one of those turning around after venturing about 5 miles past the jetties as the seas were just too much for comfort. Two red snapper per person were just not worth a 35-mile ride in those conditions.

The cool mornings triggered by last weekend’s cold front are causing anglers to think about fall fishing and particularly the upcoming flounder migration to the Gulf of Mexico, more commonly referred to as the fall flounder run. If Pam Garner’s report from 3-G Bait Camp at the Galveston Yacht Basin is any indication, big flounder are beginning to move.

Monday, Gino Asuncion Sr. weighed in a 26-inch, 9.2-pound flatfish at the bait camp.

While that flounder definitely would be considered a saddle blanket, the record southern flounder in Texas was caught in 1976 in Sabine Lake and weighed 13 pounds and measured 28 inches. With the successful efforts to replenish our flounder stocks, it would not surprise me to see that record broken and the Galveston Bay Complex could be holding that fish.

Garner also gave an update on their flounder fishing tournament. The event will take place each Saturday during October and November. Entry fee is $25, and participants must be signed in by 8 a.m. with weigh-in taking place at 4 p.m. Each week, first place wins 50 percent of the pot and second place receives 25 percent. The last Saturday of November, all of the first-place winners will fish.