Galveston Fishing Charter Company
832-917-FISH(3474)
Not much to report on the fishing scene around Galveston Tuesday, so let’s use this time to answer a question from Tom Henry of Friendswood. Henry moved to this area from Lufkin where he fished fresh water lakes and read one of the Reel Reports several months ago that gave some pointers on how to improve your odds when planning a coastal fishing trip.
He asked if we could address that again.
The article to which Henry is
referring mentioned some key elements to look for when planning a
fishing trip. Hopefully others will again find this information useful
as well.
While there are a lot of
similarities in planning both fresh water and coastal fishing trips, no
doubt there are more factors to deal with when fishing saltwater.
While wind velocity, water
clarity and heavy boat traffic are common elements between the two,
tidal movement, wind direction, presence of bait and a wider expansion
of territory to cover are additional factors in saltwater.
Inland lakes tend to be less
affected by wind, as there usually exists more protected areas and the
water is not as sensitive to wind direction as on the coast. For coastal
fishing, a southeast breeze less than 15 mph is the most ideal with a
light south wind being the second best.
Good water clarity is vital to catching fish, as murky conditions cause fish to become skittish.
Tidal movement is essential and
the strength of the tide is equally as important. Try to fish the
strongest tide the day of your trip.
Presence of bait is a key to finding fish. Look for “nervous water” which indicates concentrations of small baitfish.
In saltwater, a school of fish moves frequently and to find them often requires covering a lot of territory.
My opinion, in order of
importance, is: 1. Tidal movement 2. Water clarity 3. Favorable wind 4.
Baitfish and 5. Light boating traffic.
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