Galveston Fishing Report

Thanksgiving Day and the whole holiday weekend look promising for fishing. Tolerable wind velocities should allow boaters to hit the open waters and, with a predicted wind direction shift to the east, the marshes and back bays will begin to fill with fresh saltwater.

No doubt that the recent blast of cold air helped the flounder run. The larger females are making their move. The areas from which the fish were driven should refill quickly, which might slow down the exodus as fish return to their habitat until the next spell of strong northerly winds.

While there were no fishing reports from the cold, rainy and windy weather Monday and Tuesday, this presents an opportunity to address some frequent questions by readers.

One of the most common questions deals with the term “knot” as used in wind velocity. Two questions that are asked most often are what is the definition of a knot and how did the term originate?

The knot is a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile or about 1.151 mph.

When you hear of wind velocities or the speed of a vessel, multiply the knot speed by 1.151 to translate to mph.

The term originated during the era of the ancient mariners from counting the number of knots in the line that unspooled from the reel of a chip log in a specific time.

The knots were placed at a distance of 47 feet, 3 inches and passed through a sailor’s fingers while another sailor used a 30-second sand glass to time the speed of the knots passing behind the boat.

The knot count would give them the speed of the vessel and was used in “dead reckoning” and navigation. The number of knots that passed during the 30-second time frame determined how fast the boat was traveling in nautical miles per hour.

For example, if 10 knots passed through in 30 seconds, it was concluded that the vessel was traveling 10 knots per hour, or 11.51 mph.

Today, many GPS systems give distances to waypoints in nautical miles. The captain must multiply that number by 1.151 to obtain the distance in statute miles.

Galveston TX. Fishing Report

Monday I visited with one of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game wardens regarding Sunday’s Reel Report in which an angler mentioned giving away his catch of flounder.

The warden called after reading the report and asked that we clarify the rules regarding giving away fish that are under bag and size limits.

Fishermen are free to give away fish up to their limit. Once that happens, they are not allowed to retain any more fish nor give away any. The person receiving the fish can take up to their limit, meaning if they do not possess any of that particular species they can accept your full limit.

Now, if the recipient has fish, he can add to his catch up to a limit without any problems.

Texas fishing regulations do allow for additional fish to be accepted as long as the recipient has a Wildlife Resource Document.

The document can be written on any piece of paper and the contents required can be found on Page 102 of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Outdoor Annual.

The main point of this is that once you catch a limit of fish, you cannot retain any more even if you give away your fish.

The Sea Isle Bait Camp Pier was the site of a nice catch of fish Sunday. Coach Nick Voris of Sea Isle landed a 32-inch bull red, 25½-inch slot red and five sheepshead to 19 inches while fishing in the rain. All of the fish were caught using live shrimp for bait and released.

Last Saturday,the Kellogg family to a great trip in the cold rain. Fishing the Galveston Bay Complex, the family landed large bull reds and flounder. Frozen shad worked for the reds with Gulps and Flounder Pounders taking the flatfish.

Cantu reported both males and females are making the run.

Galveston Fishing

It was amazing to see anglers fishing on Saturday. The cold, rainy and wet conditions that most would describe as miserable did not deter them.

I noticed from the docks around the Galveston Yacht Basin that only one boat was fishing around Pelican Island. There were several fishermen standing on docks with lines in the water. Also, the same observation was made of anglers fishing from boats berthed in slips.

Two of the hardy souls were leaving about the time I passed through and both had limits of flounder on their respective stringers. 

The fish appeared to be small for this time of year, which goes along with recent reports from the Galveston Ship Channel area.

Friday night Joel Matranga fished from his lighted dock along Dickinson Bayou and landed a limit of reds to 24 inches. Live shrimp was the bait.

Fred Aston, an avid flounder fisherman in the Clear Lake area, has been catching near limits of five flounder all fall. During the first week of November, he was taking easy limits of two from around bulkheads and docks along the Clear Creek Channel; however, Friday he reported that since Nov. 8, he has not seen or caught a single flatfish. He assumes that they have all migrated out of the area and are heading to the Gulf of Mexico.

Aston’s report came at an interesting time as Brandon Rowan reported the same results recently. Perhaps the flatfish have moved on; however, it would not be surprising if more cropped up soon. Most flounder do migrate at some point; however, many hang around, especially if bait is plentiful.

Paul Shaffer of Bayou Vista has found the flounder biting along the shores of Pelican Island near Texas A&M University at Galveston. Shaffer said most were about 18 inches long and that he had been giving his limits to other anglers who were not faring as well with their catches. He said that someone will walk up and he will give them their limit to take home.  

Thanksgiving as you know is for sharing.

Galveston Fishing

Thursday offered mixed results in fishing.

Overall, flounder action around the Galveston Ship Channel was not as productive as it has been lately.

Still, lots of flounder are being caught, just not the size expected for this time of year.
Wednesday, Lori, the Saltwater Hooker, fished the channel area in the afternoon with her friend Ellen Matthews of Houston.

They landed 12 flatfish with her guest bringing in a 23-inch beauty. Lori said it looks like it will stay slow until this weekend’s cold front pushes water out of the marshes.

The recent high tides and warm weather have kept many of the big flounder from leaving.

Polly and I hit the water Thursday morning hoping for a prefrontal bite and a last trip before all of the cold weather hits.

We did catch flounder; however, they were on average the smallest I have seen for this late in November. Others fishing around us reported the same results.

We did run into some undersized trout around pilings near the wall of the yacht basin; however, for trout, Capt. James Plaag was the winner on Thursday.

Marita Schultz, Pelican Rest Marina, reported Plaag and his guests caught 40 along with six reds while drifting over mud flats in 3 to 4 feet of water during the outgoing tide.

Slamming chicken Bass Assassins and pink and yellow 52 series Mirror Lures were the baits.
Last weekend the party boat Capt. John made an overnight tuna safari with Capt. Johnny Williams and his daughter Capt. Jill Williams sharing duties at the helm. Fishing various spots in the distant Gulf of Mexico, including the Boom Bang Spar Floating Platform, the 31 anglers aboard returned with a catch that included seven yellowfin tuna to 95 pounds, 66 blackfins, amberjack, Almaco Jack, rockhind and scamp grouper, king, Vermilion and lane snapper.

Rita Baumann of Texas City caught the 95-pound yellow fin using a Snapper Slapper Lure.

Galveston Fishing

Strong gusty winds held back serious fishing activity Tuesday. Protected areas around the Galveston Ship Channel, along with bayous and canals, were about the only spots yielding any catches.

We have mentioned the Galveston Channel so often lately that it is sounding like a broken record. This month, and parts of October and December, are when that area is at its peak, especially for flounder.

Tuesday, the channel area continued to produce limits of flatfish; however, there still is not a noticeable difference in the size of the fish being caught. Nice flounder in the 16- to 20-inch range are being taken; however, the really big ones, those well above 20 inches in length, have not shown up in good numbers yet.

Recently, Brandon Rowan fished near the wall of the yacht basin with his friend Capt. Weigelt and landed a 26-inch flatfish. Soon, fish in that size range will be more plentiful as the last phase of the big migration takes place.

The dock at Louis’ Bait Camp on Highland Bayou near Bayou Vista has been producing some nice fish. Barbara Garibaldi reported good numbers of sand trout, flounder and large sheepshead being caught just outside her facility. Dolf Taylor limited out on flounder to 20 inches while fishing off her dock.

Also included in her report was action from the Diversionary Canal where lots of reds and sand trout are being caught.

Ford Arnold and Joe Burk dodged the wind by fishing a canal off of the Intracoastal Waterway, west of Harborwalk. Using live shrimp for bait, they landed 15 sand trout and a number of rat reds that were released. Rounding out their catch was black drum, croaker and a 19-inch flounder. Most of the fish were caught near some abandoned barges.

Along the beach front, croaker, sand trout, whiting, pompano, bull reds and slot reds were being caught by anglers at the 61st Street Fishing Pier.

galveston fishing

Strong gusty winds held back serious fishing activity Tuesday. Protected areas around the Galveston Ship Channel, along with bayous and canals, were about the only spots yielding any catches.

We have mentioned the Galveston Channel so often lately that it is sounding like a broken record. This month, and parts of October and December, are when that area is at its peak, especially for flounder.

Tuesday, the channel area continued to produce limits of flatfish; however, there still is not a noticeable difference in the size of the fish being caught. Nice flounder in the 16- to 20-inch range are being taken; however, the really big ones, those well above 20 inches in length, have not shown up in good numbers yet.

Recently, Brandon Rowan fished near the wall of the yacht basin with his friend Capt. Weigelt and landed a 26-inch flatfish. Soon, fish in that size range will be more plentiful as the last phase of the big migration takes place.

The dock at Louis’ Bait Camp on Highland Bayou near Bayou Vista has been producing some nice fish. Barbara Garibaldi reported good numbers of sand trout, flounder and large sheepshead being caught just outside her facility. Dolf Taylor limited out on flounder to 20 inches while fishing off her dock.

Also included in her report was action from the Diversionary Canal where lots of reds and sand trout are being caught.

Ford Arnold and Joe Burk dodged the wind by fishing a canal off of the Intracoastal Waterway, west of Harborwalk. Using live shrimp for bait, they landed 15 sand trout and a number of rat reds that were released. Rounding out their catch was black drum, croaker and a 19-inch flounder. Most of the fish were caught near some abandoned barges.

Along the beach front, croaker, sand trout, whiting, pompano, bull reds and slot reds were being caught by anglers at the 61st Street Fishing Pier.

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

Water temperatures are warming, resulting in a slowdown on flounder action. Still, good numbers of the flatfish are being taken from the seasonal hotspots during the big run.

According to a report from 3-G Bait Camp at the yacht basin, bull red action around the jetties continues to be excellent and, while anglers are bringing in good numbers of flounder, the sizes reflect mostly the smaller males making the run so far. 

A few of the larger females were beginning to appear last week.

Trout action in the bays is picking up, especially Trinity Bay. Gordon King of Baytown drifted near the mouth of the Trinity River Sunday morning and limited out on trout to 4 pounds. Kelly Wigglers and Norton Sand Eels were the baits. King said that the soft plastics with chartreuse tips caught most of the fish.

Freddy Havis of Texas City limited out on slot reds while fishing near the flood gates of Moses Lake on Saturday. Havis used fingerling mullet for bait and landed a half-limit of flounder as well, which was a single, 17-inch flatfish.

Jones Lake produced a number of reds for Marvin Sloan and his wife, Paula. Unfortunately, all of the fish had to be released, as they ranged in size between 15 and 18 inches in length. Reds must be at least 20 inches long to retain.

Otis Raymond reported slow action around San Luis Pass on Sunday. Last weekend the angler from Jamaica Beach limited out on flounder and caught a variety of other fish including a Spanish mackerel at the same spot near the big bridge. 

This weekend, only small black drum, sharks and whiting were biting. Raymond said he used fresh dead shrimp with the heads peeled off for bait both times.

Reports from the Texas City Dike indicated flounder, black drum and reds were being caught last Saturday.

Another frontal system in on its way and should cross our area today. While not as strong as the earlier front, it should help get the fish to moving.

Galveson Fishing

Lots of good reports started arriving Saturday afternoon and while flounder continued to dominate the catches, trout action in West Bay was picking up.

Danny Dietz and Joe Vance found the upper reaches of Greens Lake to be productive for both reds and trout. Lots of both species were landed Saturday morning along with one 17-inch flounder; however, only three trout and one red passed the minimum length to retain. Texas Chicken Boys in red and white were the baits.

Paul Miller fished the causeway and railroad bridge areas landing eight specks to 20 inches using live shrimp fished under a popping cork. The action took place between 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

Joey Dean and a friend made a quick trip to the flats around Pelican Island on Friday and were greeted by ideal conditions.

In just more than an hour they managed to catch a few flounder, retaining only an 18-inch flatfish.
Dean said that the flounder action is slowly picking up with each passing cold front and that the big females still are not yet stacking up in the Galveston Ship Channel area. Tandem rigs with mud minnows and curly tail Gulps caught most of the fish.

Lori, the Saltwater Hooker, fished the Galveston Channel area again Friday, landing 14 flounder, all under 20 inches. The well-known flounder angler uses Flounder Pounder lures almost exclusively when going after the flatfish.

Flounder fishermen, mark your calendars for Dec. 7 for the date of the Texas Chorizo Flounder Fishing Tournament sponsored by Serious Tackle and Strike Pro Lures. The event is from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. with weigh-in at Serious Tackle, 14065 Delaney inside the Gulf Way Plaza in La Marque.

T-shirts will be provided for those registered by next Friday. You can register at Serious Tackle and for more details e-mail Elias Garcia at team
 lalito2@gmail.com or call him at 281-216-3215.

Galveston Fishing

A survey of several flounder pros, those anglers who have fished for flounder for years, indicates that this year’s flounder run is getting off to a slower start than in recent years.

Normally, by mid-November, the annual migration is peaking with lots of large female flatfish stacking up around the migrations hot spots. 

This year, there are lots of flounder being caught around those locations; however, the size still is reflective of largely males, the first of the crop to head to the Gulf.

The hot spots typically are areas all along the Galveston Ship Channel from the Pelican Island Bridge to the end of Sea wolf Park.

Paul Shaffer of Bayou Vista gave a comparison to last year in his report. In November 2012, Shaffer fished every night around the Texas A&M University at Galveston campus and limited out each night resulting in a catch of 60 fish that month. This year, Shaffer has found the action slower and, as luck has it, purchased a new freezer to hold his flounder with not nearly the number of fish he had last year at this time.

After work Thursday night, he fished for about 15 minutes and caught a 21-inch flounder using Gulps and jigs for bait.

Lori, who prefers going by her nickname, The Saltwater Hooker, has had similar results and, like Shaffer, feels that we are having a late start to winter. In fact, she thinks we will be catching limits of the flatfish until Christmas.

Thursday, she took Neil McLaren of Bayou Vista to the Galveston Ship Channel where they caught 18 flounder to more than 23 inches. Their four-fish limit consisted of fish less than 20 inches with the big girls all being released.

galveston fishing

It will be interesting to see how the recent cold front affects fishing.

Water temperatures have dropped to the lower 60s in the bays and there was a report of a 55-degree reading at Seabrook.

While there was a major drop in water levels associated with the strong northerly winds, a shift to the east on Thursday started replenishing the marshes and back bays.

If the low water levels had persisted for several days, which are common with strong northers, there likely would have been a major exodus of flounder.

No doubt that more flatfish will be moving now and bird action in the bays should increase.

Last Monday, there were reports of trout action under the birds in both East and West Bays; however, as the week progressed, all of the bays became choppy and rough keeping anglers away.

Thursday, there were some good catches of flounder along the Galveston Ship Channel. Matt Garner, 3-G Bait Camp at the yacht basin, said that lots of the flatfish were appearing on his cleaning table.

While the fish were solid keepers up to 19 inches, the really big sows have not started appearing in large numbers.

Mangrove snapper continue to be caught around the edge of the channel on the Pelican Island side; however, expect to see that species follow the flounder offshore as they are very sensitive to cold temperatures.

Anglers interested in good meat for the table should try to catch sand trout. They seem to be everywhere in deeper waters. The Pelican Island Bridge is noted for being a hot spot for sand trout year round.

With the east wind refilling the back bays, expect to see reds returning to the marshes this weekend.
We mentioned in Thursday’s Reel Report that another strong front is expected early next week. This time of year, windows between those frontal systems are what most anglers are focusing on for fishing.

Cold, biting wind dominated the weather picture around Galveston on Wednesday, and the only sportsmen enduring the elements appear to have been duck hunters. Fishermen certainly were not to be found.

The good news is that beginning today, and for the next two to three days, conditions should continue to improve. A return to south and east winds likely will quickly replace water levels in the marshes and back bays that were emptied by the current cold front.

It looks as if another major frontal system is on the heels of this one and that one is expected to pass through early next week.

The windows of fish able conditions during the weekend should offer anglers an opportunity for some excellent fall fishing and easy limits of flounder.

Earlier this week, Isaac Moreno fished the Texas City Dike and landed a 58-inch black drum and a limit of flounder to 19 inches. Moreno did not mention whether he retained the big fish; however, while the maximum size length limit for black drum is 30 inches, one fish above 52 inches can be retained. The exception is to allow for a new state record. Currently, the record for black drum is a fish that measured 51.18 inches and weighed 81 pounds, a record that has held up since January 1988.

Before the cold front blew through, sand trout, croakers, gafftop, black drum and bull reds were being caught off the 61st Street Fishing Pier.

Last weekend’s Red Fish Fishing Tourney at the Galveston Fishing Pier was a success. The proceeds from the event benefited the Galveston Urban Ministries and the winners were: Javier Gutierrez, first place; Keith Hogan, second place; and Jonathan Martinez finished third.

galveston fishing

The weather forecast Tuesday evening was not encouraging for fishing for the next couple of days, as the strongest cold front of the season will be passing through.

Gale-force winds and temperatures in the low to mid-40s will keep anglers off of the bays; however, there is a bright side to this.

After the front passes, fall fishing and the flounder run are going to head toward their peaks for this year. In regard to this cold front, Guide Service, sent this note from his fishing diary. 

“Thirty years ago on Nov. 12, 1983, a cold front swept across the Upper Texas Coast. That cold front triggered one of the greatest trout movements of modern times which lasted until the fish killing freeze on Christmas Eve of 1983.” 

Williams said the time span of 42 days, in periods of fishable weather, might have produced the best wade fishing for trophy trout that ever took place in the Galveston Bay Complex by fishermen using artificial lures.

Last weekend, the party boat New Buccaneer made a 30-hour safari/tuna trip. Leaving dock on Saturday with 49 anglers aboard, Capts. Matt Smith and Chris Minardi headed for the Hoover-Diana Spar Rigs, where they had their guests fishing for both bottom and pelagic fish.  
They returned Sunday with a catch that included 286 large vermilion snapper, 202 blackfin tuna, eight yellowfins, four amberjacks, five almaco jack, three barracuda, two Warsaws, two yellow edge grouper, seven scamps, a 20-pound king and a 40-pound Dorado.

Again this year, flounder fishermen are complaining about illegal size and bag limits being taken by their peers. Before November, it was mostly undersized flounder that were observed being retained and since Nov. 1, it has been both undersized fish and exceeding the two-fish bag limit.
  
While we are always interested in hearing from readers, for game violations the Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Thief Hotline should be called. That number is 800-792-4263. I recommend having that number on your cell phone contacts.

Galveston Fishing

Monday was an excellent day to fish. Light winds, fair tidal movement and comfortable temperatures made conditions special. Welcome to fall fishing in the Galveston Bay Complex.

Polly and I took advantage of the conditions and headed to our favorite flounder holes after loading up with live shrimp, mullet and gulps. Surprisingly, there were few anglers on the water considering it was a holiday for a lot of people.

We started our fishing along the Galveston Ship Channel and fished near two fine gentlemen named Ryan and Zack who were anchored close to one of the docks. At that point they had two flounder in the box and soon after we arrived, caught a third and pulled anchor. The fourth slot was saved for a saddle blanket.

We spent all morning working that area and eventually left with our limit of four flounder. At noon, two anglers taking advantage of their lunch break from their jobs on Pelican Island drove up and fished along the edge of the bulkheads. They fished with tandem soft plastics bouncing them off the bottom. During the short time they fished, I saw them catch and release at least six or seven nice flounder.

With our limit of flounder, we headed to the North Jetty to try for some reds. Murphy’s Law again prevailed as large flounder were stacked up just north of the Boat Cut. Each flounder we caught and released was much larger than the 16- to 18-inch flatfish in our fish box. A large sheepshead was the only other fish caught at the jetties. Oh well, next time it is to the jetties first and with some tandem soft plastics, probably Flounder Pounders.

Malcom Mencacci found the birds working in Upper West Bay on Monday and limited out on trout by 11 a.m. A large flounder and two reds rounded out his Texas Grand Slam. Chicken On A Chain Assassins and Storm Jerk Minnows on quarter-ounce jigs were the baits.

Barbara Garibaldi, Louis Bait Camp, reported good catches of flounder and reds coming from Highland Bayou and the Diversionary Canal. Robert Ewing, Zachery Wallis and Calvin Rockett limited out on flounder to 20 inches and had two reds as well. Garibaldi said she has a good supply of bait.

Along the beach front, sand trout, croaker, pompano, gafftop, black drum, bull reds and black-tip sharks were being caught off of the 61st Street Fishing Pier.

Readers often ask why they are not catching fish like others they see around bait camps or read about in the Reel Report and Sunday, Vince Cavarretta of Omega Bay sent a note addressing that topic.

Cavarretta and his wife recently bought a boat and have been fishing Highland Bayou, Jones Lake and parts of West Bay and have not been satisfied with their results. 

He asked: What is the best time to fish? High tide, low tide? Are the feeding charts I see online accurate, worth looking at? What’s your thought on the barometric pressure as far as being a good indicator to fish? When I look at the high/low charts, what exactly am I looking for other than the time? How does the tide movement come into play? 

Vince, of all of the factors you mention, tidal movement is, in my opinion, the most important factor in catching fish. Both high and low tide can be good and dictates where you fish. Generally speaking, fishing the beach front is best around high tide. Again, tide movement is the key whether it is outgoing or incoming. Low tide is my least favorite time to fish; however, if you fish the area where the fish retreat, you likely will run into some action.

When you mention feeding charts, I assume you are referring to periods shown as excellent to poor on charts like the Wells Fishing Forecast. Personally, I do not rely on those charts; however, many anglers swear by them. Used in conjunction with tide charts, they are a good supplement.

Barometric pressure changes are useful tools in planning a trip, especially during the fall and winter.
When you look at a tide chart showing the levels of the highs and lows, that is valuable information. The difference between the two tide levels in feet above and below mean sea level tells you how strong the tide will be and the stronger the tide flow, the better the fishing.

Look for at least a foot difference for the best chances of good fishing.

Galveston fishing

The high probability of rain Wednesday turned out to be for later in the day and allowed anglers on the water before noon to get in on some excellent fishing.

Flounder continue to make the news as more fishermen focus on the flatfish this time of year rather than most other species. Along the Galveston Ship Channel, flounder continue to build up with more of the big females beginning to show.

Perry Hitchcock of Friendswood fished near the sulfur docks with two neighbors and all limited out on flounder to 19 inches in length. Live fingerling mullet and Texas Chicken Boy lures were the baits.

Galveston Bait and Tackle reported good flounder catches coming from the base of the causeway bridge.  Gafftop and sand trout also were hitting well.

Trout action has been excellent for Capt. James Plaag and his parties.  Marita Schultz, Pelican Rest Marina, reported full limits of trout to 3 pounds along with a few reds being caught by Plaag and his guests.  Electric Blue Bass Assassins and white Top Dogs have taken most of the fish, which were scattered in 5 to 7 feet of water over shell during the outgoing tide.

Highland Bayou continues to produce some nice-sized flounder when the tide is moving.  Roy McKinney and his son Ray limited out on flatfish to 20 inches using live shrimp and mud minnows for bait.

Wednesday, an interesting bit of information was passed on by a reader about what is commonly called the Bolivar Barge Grave Yard.  The spot is mentioned often this time of year as a flounder fishing hot spot.

Capt. Michael Heichelheim, a captain on one of the Galveston/Bolivar ferries, called in to say that the barges, as we call them, are actually old wooden dry-docks that were used to haul ships out of the water.

Galveston Fishing

The fall weather pattern is in full swing now, with one cold front after another crossing the upper Texas Coast. While there has not been that “Blue Norther” that we need, the water temperature is dropping and each time a norther pushes water out of the marshes, along with it comes flounder and bait fish.

Flounder anglers are anxious to see this trend as it will eventually get the big female flatfish on the move. The flounder crowd is not the only one interested in this. Trout anglers and seagulls also are anxious to see shrimp moving. When that happens, schooling activity will pick up in the bays and there will be double dipping on the shrimp from below and above the water.

Schools of trout will be attacking the migrating shrimp and driving them to the surface where sea gulls hovering overhead will be waiting for an easy meal. A third element is part of this process and that is trout anglers watching for their friends the sea gulls to point out where the action is going to take place. Soon we should see birds, mainly seagulls and pelicans, working bait in all of the bays.

It looks like rain followed by strong northerly winds will be the weather pattern for the next few days.
Once conditions settle by later this week, fishing should get hot.

Our only report Monday came from the 61st Street Fishing Pier where croaker, flounder, gafftop, sheepshead, bull reds and blacktip sharks were being caught.


Saturday, the West End Anglers Fishing Club is holding its November Winter Trout Tournament at Sea Isle. Guides are allowed and there is no captains meeting. The entry fee is $120 per angler for two-man teams and a $20 big trout side pot. For more information call 713-594-4252.

Galveston area Fishing

Sunday, conditions improved and fishing picked up from the blowout on Saturday. The cool weather brought on by Saturday’s frontal system dropped temperatures and with each degree drop in water readings, the prospects increase for getting the big flounder to move.

Jetty Joe at Galveston Bait and Tackle reported several boats returning Sunday afternoon with limits of flounder taken from the Galveston Ship Channel area near the Texas A&M University at Galveston campus.

Gafftop, reds and a few trout also were being caught.

Lots of bull reds are being caught around the end of the South Jetty and the North Jetty Boat Cut according to a report from 3 G Bait Camp at the Galveston Yacht Basin. 

Closer to the bait camp, limits of flounder are being caught all along the Galveston Ship Channel. Most of the flatfish were in the 15- to 20-inch size range.

Moses Lake has been a hot spot recently for red fish. Kyle Conner of Dickinson has been catching limits of slot reds each time he fished the lake last week. Most of the action has come on Swimming Mullet Gulps and Norton Sand Eels.

Prior to Saturday’s strong winds, the spoil banks around the Houston Ship Channel near San Leon were producing some large sand trout and croaker. Henry Hall, who fishes all around the San Leon area, said the croaker and sand trout were the largest he had caught in years. The bait did not make any difference as the fish were hitting cut sand trout just as fast as live shrimp.  

Another cold front is forecast to hit the Galveston area mid-week and anglers able to get on the water beforehand might experience a good pre-frontal bite. With each passing cold front more and more large flounder will be appearing along the pathways to the Gulf.

Galveston Fishing Report

                                                         The New Look for the Boat



Saturday was not a day to be on the water, with north winds gusting to 30 knots. This is a pattern that anglers get accustomed to this time of year.

Today, conditions are forecast to improve with lighter winds and a switch in direction to the east/southeast.

The strong northerly winds Saturday pushed water out of the back bays and marshes thus triggering an exodus of flounder and bait fish. Just how far the flatfish move is one of the keys to whether a major run to the Gulf of Mexico is on.

If today’s forecast of easterly winds is on target, they will quickly push fresh Gulf waters back into the grasslands and marshes and with it good numbers of flounder are likely to return.
 
The weather event that really gets things moving is a sustained north wind for two or three days, followed by accompanying high pressure that keeps the marshes dry for a few days. During that time, flounder will hit the road along with other marine life to seek deeper habitat.

Trout should get the signal to start moving and, if bait pushed out of the marshes makes it to the bays, look for serious schooling activity to begin. Drains, which include just about any stream of water emptying into the bays, should be a good spot to fish during the next few days.

If you were on the water Friday and saw what appeared to be pink dolphin, don’t worry, your eyes were not playing tricks on you.

Sarah Melcer reported from her trip to the South Jetty on Friday that conditions were not the best; however, she was entertained by pink dolphins swimming all around her boat.

Fishing Galveston

Thursday’s heavy rains continued to help balance the salinity in the bays and marshes, while the accompanying frontal system dropped temperatures which ultimately will result in lower water temperatures.

Both effects will be good for fishing. Conditions improved rapidly as the wind dropped quickly after the frontal passage and by morning good conditions existed for fishing. 

Unfortunately, the thunderstorms and high winds of Thursday caused many anglers to cancel fishing plans for Friday.

One of the more productive spots Friday was around the causeway and railroad bridges, which yielded some nice trout and flounder Friday morning.  

While reports were sparse Friday, Jerry Jennison called in his report from a late morning of fishing the wall at the base of the railroad bridge where he landed five trout, three keepers and two throwbacks along with three flounder, retaining his bag limit of two and releasing the third. All of the flatfish were in the 16- to 18-inch range.

Betsy Hatherill of Spanish Grant had a nice morning of fishing near her subdivision, where she landed a large flounder. 

Richard Belleau, 61st Street Fishing Pier, reported calm winds around 1:30 a.m. on Friday morning with catches of sheepshead, gafftop, croaker and bull reds being made by his customers.

An unconfirmed report was received of good catches from the rock groins near the Pleasure Pier. 

Galveston Fishing Report

Where did October go?  Here we are in November and in the minds of a lot of anglers, the best month of the year for inshore fishing.  The way October ended reminded me of an analogy to March, which has the reputation of coming in as gentle as a lamb and leaving with the roar of a lion.

Thursday was literally a washout for fishing.  Winds blew just below gale force early, then came heavy thunderstorms.  Perhaps the weather events Thursday will help jump start the fall fishing patterns for which we have been waiting.

Unfortunately, this frontal system is not predicted to drop temperatures significantly, particularly to the levels needed to get fish schooling and bait exiting the marshes and estuaries. 

We have been mentioning the below-par trout catches a lot recently, and Capt. James Plaag called in to give us his observations and results.  Plaag, who heads Silver King Adventures Guide Service, said that trout action has been good, just different this year.

All year he has had to adapt to the changing habits displayed by trout.  His groups have been fishing in deep water just like summertime and recently have been averaging 30 fish per day. 

Last Wednesday, he wade-fished drains and limited out on trout to 4 pounds using Slammin Chicken Bass Assassins and white Top Dogs.

Today, the weather should be favorable for fishing as light winds are in the forecast; however, the remainder of the weekend has some uncertainties with wind.  Rain should not be an issue, and protected waters should be holding flounder.

Another month-long flounder tournament has cropped up.  This one, Flat Out Flounder Tournament, will be headquartered at Bulldog’s Bait Shop on 61st Street and will run all of November. Flounder must be at least 20 inches long to enter.  The entry fee is $10 for students and $20 for all others.