Galveston Fishing Report

Conditions appeared good for fishing this morning; however, fog was the culprit in keeping fishermen off of the water.

Later in the day a cold front cleared out the mess and, with the accompanying gusty winds, it was a bit too much for most folks to handle.

After reading Monday’s column about the wintertime fishing Galveston area anglers enjoy with whiting and sand trout, Jeff Carlson asked about how and where to fish for those two species of fish.

Carlson recently moved to League City from Plano and enjoys freshwater fishing and now is interested in learning about fishing Galveston Bay.

Sand trout and whiting are two of the most common fish around the Galveston Bay Complex and offer excellent table fare along with the pleasure of catching your own meal.

Both fish are known as pan fish, which means they are not game fish and are sought after for the frying pan. Both are fairly easy to catch and will hit a variety of baits.

There likely are more of these fish caught using dead shrimp than any other bait.

Peeled shrimp, that is dead shrimp with the shell peeled back to the small tail, is an added attraction for whiting.

Both tend to be bottom feeders, especially this time of year.

Small hooks such as size 8 and 10 treble hooks and 4/0 and 5/0 J-hooks work best for these relatively small fish.

The state recordfor sand trout is 6.25 pounds, and for the southern whiting is a mere 3.62 pounds.

Pan fish rigs are a good choice for anglers trying to catch both fish.

The rig is a double- hook lightweight fishing rig with snaps for both the hooks and a weight.

Almost any pier, dock or rock groin is a good candidate for holding one or both fish.

They are abundant, reproduce prolifically and have no bag or size limit.

This is a good time to go for the great tasting little fish.