Galveston fishing report

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

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Saturday, weak tidal movement slowed the action on flounder. While there were a lot of limits taken, anglers were not picking up quick limits as had been the norm earlier in the week.

Very few other species of fish were caught around Flounder Alley, as the weak tides caused most fish to retreat until the water started flowing with bait.

East Bay produced some nice catches of trout early Friday and Saturday. Page Henley and Marco Delgado fished Hanna’s Reef early Friday and landed seven trout to 22 inches. Two flounder and a large croaker rounded out their catch, with the action stopping around 9 a.m.

Otto Adams fished out of Stingaree Marina Saturday morning and returned around 10 a.m. with five trout, a slot red and two puppy drum. Adams said that the bite started just after daybreak and lasted for just over an hour. Live shrimp fished under a popping cork, with a duel leader of a shrimp on one hook and a jig on the other, did the trick.

Lawrence Arnold was one of the many anglers returning to the Yacht Basin cleaning table with a limit of flounder. His catch measured 17 and 19 inches and took most of the morning. Several undersized flatfish were caught and two small keepers were released while Arnold waited for larger fish to fill out his limit.

Gary Kroll gave a report on night fishing from his pier on Channelview. Kroll has been taking close to limits of trout and a few reds and flounder using live shrimp free-lined. The action took place much later than usual, with 3 a.m. being prime time for getting bites.

Albert Miller called in to say that the crabs have moved away from the shoreline of West Bay. Miller crabs from his dock at Lafitte’s Cove and had been catching some nice blue crabs up until the last cold front.

Galveston fishing report

Galveston fishing charter company

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Black Friday likely will draw many anglers away from the water today, and for those who are able to dodge the malls, flounder are out there in good numbers just waiting for you.

No reports have been received from Thursday and that is not surprising with the early press time for the Reel Report. Wednesday, however, there was a lot of action around Flounder Alley as I have nicknamed the Galveston Channel during November.

First let me give my report from a late morning trip to the Cedars and the Yacht Basin Flats. It did not take long to catch our four fish and this time we held off on the last fish until a saddle blanket was caught.  

Surprising to me was the number of undersized flounder being landed by anglers all around us. In fact Polly caught her smallest flatfish ever, one that could not have measured over 8 inches in length. 

Obviously flounder are not cannibalistic or that little fellow would have been devoured by the huge number of fish around the piers and pilings.

Number four to complete our catch was a 23-inch saddle blanket caught in front of the cedars in 12 feet of water just before noon. 

Another surprise was that no other fish were caught. Normally that would not be an issue; however, we were planning on bringing back a bunch of sand trout for the smoker. All other trips this month the sandies were aggressively taking our baits.

Incidentally, they make excellent smoked fish logs! 

Lori, the Saltwater Hooker, was in the area with guests from Bayou Vista, Michelle, Neil and Toby. Their limits consisted of fish in the 15 to 21-inch range.

Gilbert Santos fished the Galveston Causeway Tuesday night with no success and moved into Offatts Bayou to fish a few lights. He finished the night with four specs to 18” and a 22” red using Gulf shrimp for bait.

Galveston fishing report

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

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The weather has finally settled to the point that anglers should have access to their favorite fishing spots. Monday and Tuesday the flounder run continued, with lots of the flatfish being taken from around the Texas City Dike, Galveston Channel area and from the Bolivar Pocket.

Speckled trout action in Trinity Bay has been excellent lately, with most of the fish coming from the vicinity of the mouth of the Trinity River, including Southwest Pass and Bulkhead Cove. Wade fishermen have been taking good numbers of specks from those areas. The Anahuac Pocket has been a hot spot for drift fishermen, especially early in the day.

Capt. James Plaag, Silver King Adventures, has been finding limits of trout around Trinity Bay while fishing in three to four feet of water over clam shells. Saturday, Plaag’s guests landed 32 trout using pink and yellow Mirrolures in the 5100 series.

Sunday, his charter fished out flow drains using limetruese Bass Assassins and caught limits of trout along with two 18-inch flounder.

Bobby Ballard fished the Galveston Channel Sunday with Walter Clifton and Roger Upton and had limits of flounder weighing a total of 22.5 pounds.

Saturday, Ballard fished with his wife Sharon and they caught their limits of flounder to four pounds.

Another good report for last Saturday came from Capt. Jaime Cantu who hosted a couple from Omega Bay and their guests from San Antonio and ended up with five limits of flounder using Chicken Boy lures and live shrimp.

Harold Crump and his son David fished the Texas City Dike Monday afternoon and landed limits of flounder to five pounds and two slot reds. The anglers were anchored off of the end of the dike near the popular Drum Hole.

Crump said that he observed several fishermen on the bank landing nice flounder.

Galveston fishing report

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

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Saturday, conditions just were not favorable for fishing or being on the water. While there may be a window or two of opportunities over the next couple of days, mid-week looks best based on the forecasts.

That should be good news for everyone planning fishing trips over the Thanksgiving holidays. For the benefit of those asking about what fishing will be like around Thanksgiving, let’s take a look at prospects for the holiday period.

The flounder run still should be in full swing, with more of the larger females beginning to stack up along the Galveston Channel, Pelican Island (including Seawolf Park) and other areas along the pathway to the Gulf of Mexico.

Trout action has been, overall, a disappointment this year; however, fall and especially late fall tends to bring the specks out of hiding. Look for Trinity Bay along with upper West Bay and all of East Bay to produce some nice stringers of trout.

Finding schools of trout should be fairly easy if seagulls are working and pointing them out to anglers in boats.

If conditions are such that allow access to the jetties, add reds and other fish to the list for next weekend. During periods of light to moderate winds, the Gulf side of the South Jetty and the channel side of the North Jetty have produced some nice fish recently.

Our only fishing report Saturday came from Don Ciaccio, who may have set the record for fastest time in limiting out on flounder. Friday, Ciaccio walked up to his favorite flounder spot, cast his line and then stopped to remove his jacket. When he picked up his rod, he felt something and set the hook. Two flounder were caught at the same time ending his trip with his two-fish limit in just 45 seconds.

Galveston fishing report

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

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Flounder catches are dominating the fishing reports lately and the trend continued Thursday and likely will continue for the remainder of November.

Bulldog’s Bait Shop reported a limit of flounder taken by Darrell Purvis at Seawolf Park on Wednesday.  Live shrimp was the bait.

Nathan Chain took his limit Thursday and the two flounder were genuine saddle blankets.  They measured 23 and 23.5 inches and weighed 6.13 and 6.26 pounds respectively.  Live mullet was the bait.

Johnson Sem took his limit of flatfish using Chicken Boy soft plastics baited with a piece of mullet. His fish measured 20 and 22 inches.

Bulldog mentioned that many flounder fishermen tend to panic when they find that live mullet are in short supply.  While mullet are definitely a great bait for flounder, live shrimp work well and are more widely available during the annual flounder run.

Before signing off on his fishing reports Thursday, Bulldog mentioned that on Thanksgiving Day he will open at 5 a.m. and will be serving a turkey spread for his customers.

While flounder are the main topic of catches, other fish are being caught.  Chuck Papalucas said that he has been catching large sand trout in Offatts Bayou near Teichman Point.  Paplucas has been fishing yellow Gulps with curly tails bottom bumping style and landing dozens of 12 to 15-inch sand trout.  Several large flounder were taken as well.

We continue to receive a number of calls from readers complaining about observing other anglers retaining more flounder than their two-fish daily bag limit.  One caller said that she observed a boat next to her with two fishermen placing 13 flounder in their ice chest Wednesday.

Anytime you observe any of our game and fish regulations being violated, call either the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Operation Game Thief number (800) 792- GAME or the U.S. Coast Guard at (361) 939-6393.

Galveston fishing report

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

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If you want to enjoy the peak of the flounder run, my suggestion is to plan your trip within the next week to 10 days, as most seasoned flounder fishermen feel that this year’s run will begin rapidly dropping off after that.

Wednesday morning conditions were about as nice as they get during late autumn. Polly and I headed out early to take advantage of the flounder run and as we were making our way down the Offatts Channel to West Bay, I had an urge to turn left toward the Deer Islands and go after trout.

With those conditions, trout had to be schooling in West Bay.  

We continued with our plans, however, and headed to the Galveston Ship Channel where everyone was catching fish.  This time it was decided to not retain any fish below 16 inches and with that restriction, we still quickly limited out on flounder to 20 inches. 

The action came from near the wall of the Galveston Yacht Basin and every angler nearby, whether fishing from a boat or pier, was catching good numbers of flounder.

The wind picked up about the time we limited out and, instead of moving to the jetties, we decided to save the live shrimp and do some night fishing Wednesday evening.

On the way back we passed Capt. Lori, The Saltwater Hooker, anchored at one of her favorite spots.  She was hosting Michelle Gauthier and her nephew Ryan Gauthier and his wife Donna.  They landed 32 while retaining only their limit of eight.

A tip if you plan to fish this week, the flounder were taking gentle bites and not aggressively hitting the baits.  Each flatfish we caught felt more like we were initially pulling in debris. A lot of fish were lost due to weak hooking.

If you were planning to fish Serious Tackle’s flounder tournament on Dec. 6, note that the date has changed to Dec. 13.

Galveston fishing report

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

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There is little doubt that we are in the peak of the flounder run, as easy limits of quality fish have been caught. Last Saturday, just about every angler fishing Seawolf Park returned with a flounder and most had their two-fish limit.

Jim Fortune, Tommy Brown and Arnold Bronstein were among the hordes of fishermen and each had his limit of flounder, with all being quality fish.

While a high percentage of flounder are heading toward their winter home in the Gulf of Mexico, a good number are still being caught in the back bays and marshes. Betsy Hatherill landed some nice-sized flounder in her canal in Spanish Grant on the west end of the island.

Hatherill said the flatfish are still hanging around in her area.

The next couple of days could offer some of the best conditions for fishing this week. Expect to see the Texas City Dike to be one of the hot spots as well as the mouths of Moses and Swan Lakes.

Wade fishermen were catching a lot of flounder while targeting trout around Sand Island at the Pelican Island Cut. All were caught on soft plastics.

Just about any of the traditional flounder run hot spots should be productive as the flat fish are stacking up and moving toward the deeper Gulf waters.

Bull red activity was good around the jetties before all the high winds associated with the cold front set in Sunday.

If flounder do not interest you, possibly red fish will. The ends of both the North and South Jetties were where a lot of bull reds were caught last weekend and there is no reason to believe that the action will not continue this week.  The only issue will be wind velocity as the forecasts call for higher velocities later in the week.

Live mullet might be in short supply as more fishermen appear on the scene.

Galveston fishing report

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

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It was no surprise to not see any fishing reports for Monday as near gale force winds and biting cold temperatures prevailed across the Galveston area.

One interesting observation came from a reader driving down Seawall Blvd. early Monday. Steve Chapman called in to say that he saw an individual fishing from the end of one of the rock groins on the east end of the island. Chapman wanted to stop and ask the angler if he really thought something was going to bite in those conditions. After rolling down his car window he decided it was too cold to just walk out to see what was going on.

“That guy must have really wanted some fresh fish to endure what was hitting him,”Chapman said.

Dean Leathers sent a note saying “on Saturday, Michael and Moriah Geinger and Doug and Jessica Bowen of Galveston Central Church rented out the morning bay trip on the party boat Cavalier so some local youth could get a chance to fish. It was tough fishing, but the kids caught several whiting and hardheads. The big prize came just a few minutes before we had to head in when a bull red was brought over the rail. Despite the weather, everyone had a great time.”

While several bait camps either did not open or closed early Monday, one apparently is permanently closing.

Tucker’s Bait and Seafood on 61st Street has a sign posted on the door that they are retiring, and at noon on Thanksgiving Day, everything in the bait shop must go.

A call to the bait shop was automatically transferred to another number that had a full voice mailbox.

 Tucker’s was probably the longest-running, continuous owner-operated bait shop in Galveston.

Smitty’s on Broadway has been in business the longest; however, it had several different operators prior to Dana Gregory taking over several years ago.

Galveston fishing report

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

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www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

There was not much taking place on the fishing scene Wednesday as the forecast of rainy conditions kept anglers away. That will change over the next few days as many old timers on the flounder fishing scene are sensing a big run being triggered by today’s Full Moon. Many feel that the peak of the run will take place between now and December’s full moon on Dec. 6.

While we have a lull in fishing reports let’s take a look at one of the more frequent questions from readers during flounder season and that is what baits work best. John Wilson was one of those readers and his question is “while most flounder fishermen are aware that mud minnows and fingerling mullet are two of the best baits, there seems to be a difference of opinion on what artificial baits work best.” “Can you shed some light on this?”

When it comes to which artificial baits work best I think the answer has more to do with the particular angler and his or her skills in using such baits. Practically all anglers who use other than natural or live baits agree that soft plastics would be the choice, now which one or ones?

Personally, I have found three to be excellent and that is not intended to imply that they are the best choices. The ones that work well for me are Gulps, Flounder Pounders and Chicken Boys.

Two of the fishing guides I know well use tandem jigs with a different soft plastic on each and do very well with that setup. Both have no problem limiting on flatfish.

On the tournament scene, the West End Anglers Fishing Club is holding its winter trout tournament Saturday at the West End Restaurant & Sand Bar. Fishing is from 6 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. with weigh-in from 3 p.m. until 4:30. For information call (713) 594-4252.

Galveston fishing report

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

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Tuesday it was apparent that a pre-front bite was on. While very few boats were on the water, those that fished the Galveston Channel area found plenty of action.

A gusting southeast wind kept anglers off the open bays, from around the jetties and surf. Protected areas scored well for the few anglers making it out on Tuesday.

Polly and I were out early despite wind readings at the North Jetty Buoy exceeding 20 knots. Our plan was to work the Galveston Channel area and pick up some flounder and other fish. Not long after we arrived at one of our favorite spots, Capt. Lori, The Saltwater Hooker, dropped by with her guests Michelle and Neil of Bayou Vista. They were fishing the channel early and already had some nice fish.

Later in the day their report was received, 16 flounder between 12 and 17 inches with most being released.

For our trip, we did manage limits of flounder with all of the fish being males between 14 and 16 inches. The 14-inch fish would have been otherwise released; however, hook damage from swallowing a Pearl Gulp encouraged us to keep it as part of our four-fish limit.

There is no doubt in my mind that a lot of flounder were around us; however, they did not have a chance at our baits because of very aggressive sand trout. We retained the sandies that measured at least 14 inches and at the end of the day had 30 in the ice chest all between 14 and 17 inches in length. At least that many and likely more were released.  

Tony Dodge fished from a pier off Sportsmen’s Road and landed a limit of flounder to 19 inches, 12 sand trout to 15 inches and a mud fish. Live shrimp was the bait.

Galveston Fishing Report

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

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Monday’s southerly wind ignited fishing again, as water levels in the bays returned to normal and the fish responded accordingly.

On the flounder scene, the run is getting into full swing with a couple of excellent reports, one from the Galveston Ship Channel area and the other from the junk yard, also called the Old Barge Grave Yard, off the end of Bolivar.

Lori, known in fishing circles as the Saltwater Hooker, fished the Galveston Channel area with a friend and landed 20 flounder in the 14 to 18 inch range while retaining their limit of four.  Flounder Pounders accounted for all of the fish.

Sterling Hicks and Mike Malone fished the junk and rebar off the end of Bolivar and landed two quick limits of flounder.  Their fish ranged from 13 to 19 inches in length.

Malcolm Mencacci and his brother Frank fished lower Galveston Bay and found the birds feeding over trout and reds. Fishing in four to six feet of water, they caught 17 trout, three sand trout, three reds and an 18-inch flounder. Only eight trout passed the minimum size test and were retained along with the reds and flounder. Hackberry Hustlers on 1/4 oz. jigs was the bait.

Chris Darthard of Richmond and Jim Lamb and Rick Maddox of Missouri City fished Monday with Capt. Ron Woods, 2 Fish’Aholics Charters, and the group lost count on bull reds landing over 15 and retaining only two.

The anglers limited out on flounder within the first 20 minutes of the trip. Also caught were two huge black drum. The action came from the Galveston Ship Channel and the North Jetty Boat Cut using a variety of cut bait and Gulps.

Richard Belleau, 61st Street Fishing Pier, reported the wind out of the south at 10 mph at 2:30 a.m. and catches of whiting, sand trout, jack crevalle, sharks and bull reds.

Galveston fishing report

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

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Week 10 of Galveston County high school football saw postseason-bound teams make their playoff pictures clearer as the regular season begins to wind down. Some notable notes from the past week’s games include:

Slowing down the ‘Cats

While Clear Creek’s potent offense is pretty much impossible to stop, the Dickinson Gators defense did the best job of any District 24-6A team, so far, in slowing the Wildcats down in Saturday’s 42-20 win.

“Defense has been carrying us all year long,” Gators head coach John Snelson said after the game. “The offense has been hot and cold, but the defense has been stellar all year long.”

The Wildcats were held to their lowest scoring output (by two touchdowns) in their district schedule, and with an interception, a fumble and a recovered blocked punt, Dickinson forced more turnovers against Clear Creek than any other 24-6A team.

The Gators also were only the second district team (Friendswood being the other) to hold Clear Creek quarterback Chase Hildreth to less than 250 passing yards and running back Jaiden Woodson to less than 150 rushing yards in the same game.

Defensive treats, offensive tricks

The Friendswood Mustang defense bent but never broke in Friday night’s 35-11 win, holding the Falcons offense to one-for-five on fourth down conversion attempts. Going for it on fourth down proved costly for the Falcons as the failed conversions set Friendswood up in prime field position in the first half.

Was it maybe the spirit of Halloween that possessed the Mustang offense to flash tricks in the game?

Receiver Joey Crespo, who hauled in five catches during the game also attempted a pass on a trick play to sophomore Reed Roher for 28 yards. Defensive back Sean White also got in on the offense action at running back, carrying the ball five times for 31 yards.

Giving up the big plays

La Marque head coach Mike Jackson was incensed with his defense’s performance after Thursday’s 51-38 win over Houston Worthing and with good cause.

The Cougars gave up six plays of 30 yards or more with four of those plays going for touchdowns.

Remarkably, the uncharacteristic defensive performance came against a Worthing team that La Marque dominated just three weeks prior.

In that 59-6 win for the Cougars, the defense gave up only 86 total yards (compared to 403 yards on Thursday), 67 rushing yards (compared to 209) and 19 passing yards (compared to 194).

In the game three weeks ago, La Marque limited Worthing to 1.93 yards per rush (compared to 5.97) and held Worthing’s standout quarterback Alfred Robertson to 63 total yards (compared to 382).

Playoff picture

With one week remaining in the regular season, the postseason matchups are pretty much set for most local teams.

For the District 24-6A teams, Dickinson will be the No. 1 seed and Clear Springs will be the No. 2 seed in Division I. That will mean first round playoff matchups with Alief Taylor, most likely, for Dickinson and Alief Elsik for Clear Springs.

Clear Creek will be 24-6A’s No. 1 seed in Division II with Friendswood snagging the No. 2 spot.

 That will give the Wildcats a likely date with Fort Bend Austin, while Friendswood will face Fort Bend Hightower.

Texas City will enter the Class 5A playoffs as a No. 2 seed in Division II unless the Stings can upset state power Ridge Point and Fort Bend Marshall is topped by lowly Fort Bend Willowridge this week.

Should Texas City hold that No. 2 seed in Division II, the Stings will meet Angleton in the first round of the playoffs.

The La Marque Cougars ended their regular season Thursday at District 10-4A-II champions and will meet the fourth-place team out of District 9-4A-II, which will be the loser of this week’s Orangefield versus Hamshire-Fannett game.

A win over winless Vanderbilt Industrial this week will wrap up a third place playoff berth for the Hitchcock Bulldogs. That spot will mean a likely playoff date with the loser of this week’s District 13-3A-I matchup between the Ingram Tom Moore Warriors and the Comfort Bobcats.

Galveston fishing report

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

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Saturday’s gusting north winds benefited waterfowl hunters much more than fishermen.  With winds blowing in the 20 knot range at the North Jetty Buoy, anglers desiring to fish had to find protected waters.

Canals feeding into the Intracoastal Waterway west of Harborwalk offered suitable water for escaping the effects of the wind.  Alfred Hancock and his two young sons fished one of the canals and caught a variety of pan fish along with several undersized reds.  

Penny Turner and Helen Montgomery found the wind too much to deal with in West Bay and returned to Harborwalk where they fished two of the original canals from an earlier development. 

Using soft plastics for bait, the lady anglers caught five trout, two keepers and three throwbacks, along with a red and flounder, both undersized.

Friday fishing was much better as Nick Endres, his wife, Linda, his sister Jeanne and her husband, Jim Delano, fished the North Jetty with Capt. Shawn Warren.  Their catch included six slot reds, four trout to 25 inches and a bull red that was tagged and retained. A large sheepshead rounded out their catch. The action took place during the outgoing tide.

Also fishing the North Jetty Friday was Sarah Melcer. Her catch included 13 bull reds and six hardheads. The action came from the boat cut and all of the fish were released.

Saturday, the surf was not in shape for good fishing with the gusting north wind; however, Friday there were some nice fish caught.

Capt. Lloyd Pepper fished the surf in front of Terramar on Friday and landed a 32-inch bull red that was released.  

Michael Nowell fished the rock groins west of the Pleasure Pier early Friday and landed a shark, flounder and sheepshead using fresh peeled shrimp for bait

Galveston fishing report

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

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Today begins the monthlong special flounder regulation which states that the daily bag limit is dropped from five to two fish and flounder may be taken only by pole-and-line, meaning no flounder gigging during November. This year there has been an extension of the bag limit beginning Dec. 1 and ending Dec. 14; however, after November, flounder may be taken by any legal means. The possession limit all year long is equal to the daily bag.

During the big flounder run in November we receive many calls and notes from readers complaining about observing other anglers violating the two-fish limit and or retaining undersized flounder.  My recommendation is to have the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Operation Game Thief number with you and call in a violation when you observe it.  

For several years now, game wardens have been on call and respond rapidly resulting in apprehension of the violators.  That phone number is (800) 792-4263.

It will be interesting to see how this cold front will affect the flounder run.  Friday, Gilbert Santos found the flatfish still to be in Moses Lake.  Santos fished for two hours and picked up a quick limit of five fish to 21 inches.  The only bait they seemed to be interested in was three-inch Pearl Shrimp Gulps.

The frontal system should spark more movement of flounder; however, most seasoned flounder fishermen feel that it will take more fronts to drop the water temperatures to levels that ignite a big run. 

Friday, the surf was in excellent shape, with fair numbers of wade fishermen as well as pier and rock groin anglers testing the waters.

The 61st Street Fishing Pier reported catches of bull reds, jack crevalle, whiting and sand trout.

Courtney Parks wade fished the surf between the two beach front fishing piers and caught two Spanish mackerel and a bull red using live shrimp fished under a popping cork.