Fishing in Galveston

Saturday was an unfortunate time to plan any outdoor activities, especially fishing trips.

While two local tournaments continued with their plans, the number of participants appeared to be down from what it would have been under more normal weather for early December.

I stopped by Serious Tackle just after the 1 p.m. weigh-in started and visited with Chris Gonzales and Lee Garcia, two of the tournament officials. They appeared to be pleased with the turnout in spite of the bitter cold conditions.

At that point, two participants had weighed-in. Results from that event will be forthcoming.

An angler scheduled to participate in the West End Anglers’ December Winter Trout Tournament called in to say that he was delighted to see the bad, cold weather hit as it would reduce competition in the tournament. The participant, who did not want to give his name, said that conditions like this weed out the serious participants from the fair-weather guys.

I suppose he is correct, as I am one of the fair-weather guys, and I certainly did not want to be out on the water Saturday.

While labeling myself as a fair-weather fisherman, hot weather — even readings around the century mark — do not bother me; however, a cold, biting wind quickly takes its toll on my enjoyment and endurance.

That is a product of having been born and raised on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Monte Wisdom sent a note in response to Saturday’s Reel Report asking that I add another category to the list of items to avoid buying for the angler on your Christmas list.

Wisdom said that all of his life, friends and family have tried to pick out lures for him at Christmas and almost all of them are stashed away in a box in his garage.

Wisdom said, “In my case, I prefer using live bait, and while I do use artificials at times, my choice is very limited and centered around a few brands and colors of soft plastics.”