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.