Galveston fishing report 5-29-15

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

832-917-FISH(3474)

www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

We have talked about the effects of the recent floods on fishing, and while this does not directly affect the sport, those effects can affect fishermen.

Often following heavy floods, health warnings are issued for swimmers as bacteria levels tend to increase with the reduced salinity in the water. One strain in particular, Vibro Vulnificus, is of particular concern as it is a deadly flesh-eating bacteria.

Each year there are several cases reported and a few die from the infection. As a coastal fishing writer, I feel I would be remiss in not addressing this at least once each summer.

Although medical experts say that there is only a slim chance of contracting this deadly bacterium, I have personally known two victims. One died from the infection and the other suffered terribly during his recovery.

Experts say that the only people who are at risk are those with immune system disorders or diabetics; however, a number of cases involve neither pre-existing condition. Before getting alarmed about all of this, let’s take a look at how the infection occurs and the places offering the highest odds of exposure.

The infections almost always occur during the warm summer months and the most likely spots are areas where the water does not change often with tidal movements. Marshes and shallow areas along the bay shorelines are good candidates for breeding the bacteria. Also, following heavy rains, the surf is vulnerable to the bacteria.

A scrape or open sore or wound is where the bacteria enter and a preventative is to wash the abrasion with an antiseptic or Clorox. If after a day on the water, you notice a darkening around a cut or sore, you should promptly get to an emergency center and tell the paramedics or doctors what you suspect. Early treatment can spare fingers, toes, limbs and yes, your life.

Galveston fishing report 5-28-15

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

832-917-FISH(3474)

www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

Good conditions for fishing appear to be ahead for the next few days. The only question is how all of the flooding above here will affect things. The best way to tell where the better fishing is taking place is from reports of catches. Unfortunately, successful anglers tend to keep such information close to their vests.

There are certain areas where trout action should be good considering the water quality and those are all along the lower part of Galveston Bay closer to the passages into the Gulf of Mexico.

We mentioned earlier that deep water tends to attract fish during flood runoffs, as salinity levels tend to be higher well below the surface. Both upper and lower West Bay should offer good possibilities for trout action.

East Bay also is a good bet as fish running from the low salinity levels of Trinity Bay tend to be attracted there first.

My choice would be the jetties, both the North and South jetties. Currents on the channel side could present a problem with all of the water flowing out of the bays. Also water clarity could be an issue.

The Gulf side of both jetties also is a prime spot to find fish as the ebb and flow of tides should help bring in salty water.

In retrospect, just think that a short time ago we were talking about the high salinity levels in the bays caused by the ongoing drought. This goes to show that conditions can change in a short time span.

With all of the flooding, another problem will be coming and that is large pieces of debris floating down rivers and eventually into the bays and on to the Gulf of Mexico. Keep an eye out for logs and other objects being swept this direction. While this exposure exists, it would be best not to push the throttle very hard on your boat.

Galveston fishing report 5-26-15

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

832-917-FISH(3474)

www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

The good news on the fishing scene is that the Galveston area dodged all of the heavy rain Monday night; however, the effects of the flooding north of here should be felt in a few days.

Tuesday morning, Richard Eberle was at the Texas City Dike at daybreak and fished the end of the dike. Using squid for bait, he landed 10 gafftop in an hour, retaining seven in the four to five pound range. A couple of larger fish broke off in the rocks as he attempted to land them.

Dean Silvers went fishing with Bill Zimmer and Patrick Arteaga on Monday. They wade-fished the south shoreline of West Bay, near Jamaica Beach, and caught no keepers. Then on to Offatts Bayou where they finally found clear water.

“As you know, Offatts is nearly always clear, even in nasty wind. Zimmer caught a nice 22-inch trout and sheepshead behind Moody Gardens and then we headed back to Jamaica Beach,” Silvers said.

“On the way we saw some major bird activity near Confederate Reef. There were large flocks of gulls swooping and diving (no liar birds); however, the fish were behind the reef and we could not get to them. That area should really turn on with working birds when the wind lies down.”

Last Sunday was supposed to be another of the rainy and windy days over the Memorial Day weekend; however, by afternoon, the rain had ceased and the wind, while still strong, did allow some fishing from protected areas.

Jimmy Thomas took advantage of the situation and fished the Diversionary Canal near the FM 2004 Bridge in Hitchcock. Using dead shrimp for bait, he caught gafftop, hardheads, croaker, drum and the highlight of his trip, a 16-inch flounder.

Galveston fishing report 5-21-15

Galveston fishing charter company

832-917-FISH(3474)

www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

It seems that there is always something we can find as an excuse for not catching fish and currently it is weak tidal movement that is slowing action during the day. Weak tides are associated with the first and last moon quarters or half-moon phases as they are commonly called.

Thursday I worked the North Jetty most of the morning and, with the slack tide that set in around 9 a.m., nothing was biting. Only a lone gafftop in the four pound range was caught, and I’m not sure whether the hit was out of hunger or retaliation toward the live shrimp.

Bobby Martin of Bayou Vista and his guests Donald Box and John Majewski found the fishing slow Wednesday morning; however, that afternoon they hit the North Jetty where they found action on reds and Jack crevalle.

Martin said that during the afternoon trip they ran into a school of redfish in a feeding frenzy off the Bolivar beach front in eight feet of water. Reds were jumping out of the water chasing baitfish and it was a sight to behold.

Richard Belleau, 61st Street Fishing Pier, reported excellent night fishing from the pier. Croaker, bull reds, sheepshead and speckled trout all were being caught during the late evening by his customers.

East Bay was the only area where daytime trout activity seemed to be taking place. Horace Hemphill and his wife, Sonya, fished the area around Deep Reef early Wednesday and landed 16 specks to 20 inches in length. Soft plastics in dark colors with pink or chartreuse tails were the baits.

Capt. Paul Stanton and a crew of two hosted eight customers aboard Aqua Safari’s Island Girl on Wednesday and found the fish biting 22 miles from the jetties. Bump trolling Spanish sardines, the guests landed 20 kings, two sharks, a jack crevalle and numerous red snapper that were released.

Fishing report 5-18-15

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

832-917-FISH(3474)

www.galvestonfisingchartercompany.com

Our weather pattern looks like it is beginning to settle with lighter winds in the forecast this week. It is about time and lots of anglers are waiting on the sidelines for favorable conditions to return.

Not much to report from inshore fishing from last weekend. The better catches seem to have taken place in the wee hours of the morning when most anglers would rather be sawing logs than tossing baits around the lights.

While offshore seas were far from calm last Saturday, the party boat Capt. John made an offshore trip, and Capt. Johnny Williams found fish for his 80 guests approximately 55 miles southeast of the jetties.

Fishing over rocks in 100-foot depths, a variety of fish were caught including limits of red snapper to 16 pounds, vermilions, Gulf trout, sharks and a 35-pound ling which was caught by Steve Bamberg.

Speaking of offshore fishing, on June 11, I will be conducting a class on the basics of offshore fishing at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) located at 4700 Broadway.

The class will be aimed at acquainting newcomers to offshore fishing out of Galveston.

Topics to be covered will be minimum requirements for smaller boats heading offshore, tackle, baits and fishing techniques for catching pelagic fish. We will discuss where to fish within 20 miles of the jetties and other valuable information needed for that first venture offshore.

Additionally, we will address how to select a reliable charter if you prefer going with an experienced captain.

The class will take place from 10 until noon. For more information and/or to register call 409-763-5604.

Throughout the years, I have found that there are many anglers who would like to take their smaller yet seaworthy boat offshore; however, not much information has been available about how to fish, equipment needed and where to go within easy reach of the jetties. This class will address those questions. 

Galveston fishing report 5-16-15

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

832-917-FISH(3474)

www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

Fishing the outgoing tide at night has been quite productive for anglers willing to miss a few winks of sleep. Friday night, I was among the group taking some nice trout after midnight when the tide was moving out. Others in the vicinity were catching a mixed bag of fish including trout, reds, black drum and a lone flounder.

While I retained five specks, it would have been easy to have limited out the way the action heated up between midnight and 1:30 a.m. Live shrimp was the bait and everyone I observed fishing was using the popular live bait. The action came from lighted piers all around Offatts Bayou and English Bayou.

Dean Silvers found the fishing tough Saturday morning with stops at Greens Lake, Offatts Bayou and Seawolf Park. Later he and his guests, Nancy and Richard Newsom of Marathon, crossed the channel to the Bolivar side and found fish among deep structure. Their tally for the day was 10 trout, two slot reds, two black drum and a sheepshead. 

Jetty Joe at Galveston Bait and Tackle reported some excellent catches coming from West Bay and the South Jetty.

Justin and Blake Crocker fished with Galveston Bay Outfitters Guide Service and landed 15 trout and three reds using live croaker.

Three anglers named Trey, Cullen and Ross returned to the bait camp with 10 trout and five flounder caught using live shrimp for bait.

Three G Charters took two guests to the South Jetty where they landed 15 gafftop and two bull reds while using squid for bait.

Debbie Deckard of Bolivar Yacht Basin Bait Camp reported a 26-inch trout caught by John Larocca of Beaumont. The catch came from just outside of Siever’s Cut. There was no mention of the bait employed.

Galveston fishing report 5-14-15

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

832-917-FISH(3474)

www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

Thursday turned out to be a pleasant surprise for fishermen; however, most would-be anglers that day shied away because of the forecasts.

Light to moderate southeasterly winds prevailed and the few fishermen who hit the water caught some nice fish.

We are getting reports of fresh water in the bays which is reducing salinity levels.  This is particularly true of Trinity and parts of East Bay.

One interesting, but unconfirmed, report came from an angler on the west end of Galveston Island who told of a neighbor returning from Chocolate Bayou with two channel cats that were caught along with two reds.  The fish came from grassy areas above the FM 2004 Bridge.

Obviously the water is fresh in the bayou or the catfish would not have been there.

Bulldog’s Bait Shop reported some excellent night action from West Bay along Sportsman’s Road.

  The Hoffman family from Breckenridge and the Leveridge family from Arlington fished around lights using live shrimp for bait and landed 13 keeper trout to 18 inches.

Several of the bait camp’s customers reported good action on puppy drum from around the beachfront rock groins.  Rain did not hinder the fishing and live shrimp was the bait.

Fred Eastman sent a note saying that Thursday morning there was an unusually large amount of bait fish around his dock off of the Intracoastal Canal near Crystal Beach. He asked if all of the fresh water in the bay could have driven them to his canal which connects with the Intracoastal.

That certainly is a possibility; however, at this point I am not certain just how fresh that part of East Bay is at this time.

Today could be another pleasant surprise for fishing if the recent change in forecast holds.  If so, you just might see my boat at the jetties this morning.

Galveston fishing report 5-11-15

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

832-917-FISH(3474)

www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

Monday’s forecast kept most anglers off of the water, and while the early part of this week does not look great, there is good news and that is the wind velocities are dropping. Good probabilities of rain are in the forecast all week, so keep an eye on the weather if you are planning a fishing trip later this week.

Conditions are prime for some excellent trout action when conditions settle.  

Last weekend, wind was the killer for fishing and the only reports of fair to good catches came for anglers finding sheltered waters or battling the wind in the marshes and back bays.

With all of the uncertainties surrounding fishing this week, let’s look ahead and visit about how fishing will be later this month. We mentioned earlier that shrimping is being closed in both federal and state waters on May 15.

This is an annual event to allow the smaller brown shrimp to have a safe migration, at least safe from shrimp trawls. Predator fish will be after them and we all know that where there is bait, there also will be fish.

This migration, which usually lasts until early to mid-July, is the time when a lot of schooling activity takes place in the surf.  

Once seas settle enough to allow smaller boats to make offshore runs, expect some excellent action on a variety of our pelagic fish, especially king mackerel and ling. Sharks will be around as well and will be offering some excellent fights when hooked on a rod and reel.

The federal regulations governing a large variety of our offshore fish are constantly changing, so it is highly recommended to check the NOAA fisheries website for updates on what fish are in closed season and the size and bag limits on those in season. The website is found at www.gulfcouncil.org.

Galveston fishing report 5-10-15

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

832-917-FISH(3474)

www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

One of the most common questions from readers lately has been about the wind. Most are asking if this is normal to have such an extended period of high winds and if this is a sign of a windy summer.

Fishing has been slowed considerably by all of the recent wind. Velocities in excess of 20 knots are just too much to deal with for most anglers and that is especially true of speeds close to 30. One negative outcrop of this has been the extraordinarily high tide levels.  

In response to the questions, it is not at all unusual for our area to experience a lot of high winds during May, especially the early part. May, after all, is the third-windiest month of the year preceded by April, the windiest, and then March.

Sustained high winds this time of year do not indicate that we are going to have higher than average wind velocities during the summer. If tradition holds, more stable weather along with lighter winds should set in close to Memorial Day Weekend. Let’s hope for that pattern to repeat itself this year.

Now, on the fishing scene, fish are being caught, just in selected areas. During times of above-average tide levels, red fish will be found of feeding around newly-covered terrain by the rising waters. Anglers fishing the marshes of Bolivar along Big Pasture Bayou have been finding good action on reds, with most being taken by kayakers and waders.

The weather reports seem fairly consistent that we are in for unsettled weather this week. Keep an eye on the weather if you are planning a fishing trip, and if not, keep your tackle ready because at the first sign of stable weather setting in, action is going to bust wide open. Those conditions could be appearing as early as late this week.

Galveston fishing report 5-9-15

Galveston fishing charter company

832-917-FISH(3474)

www.galvestonfishingcharetercompany.com

For anglers wanting a good shot at catching fish this weekend, protected waters will be the answer. 

For a number of days now strong southeast winds have been too much for recreational boaters to deal with, and extraordinarily high tide levels have added to the problem.

While protected waters will offer fishable conditions, anglers fishing the upper reaches of back bays and marshes are likely to find action on red fish.

Henry Curtis reported lots of reds in the flooded grass areas along Dickinson Bayou and Dickinson Bay. Thursday, the angler from Bacliff landed two slot reds while working flooded grass. Soft plastics, mostly Norton Sand Eels in bone with chartreuse tails, did the trick.

Jimmy Hernandez of Bolivar reported similar action from flooded areas off of the Intracoastal Waterway between Bolivar and Crystal Beach. Hernandez observed two anglers battling reds; however, both were just below the 20-inch cut off and had to be released. The anglers encountering the action were wade fishing in 25 mph winds.

While the surf has been churning lately, fish are being caught from the beachfront fishing piers.

 Richard Belleau reported whiting, croaker, blacktip sharks and bull reds being caught by his customers at the 61st Street Fishing Pier.

Mike Crockett and Marty Griffin fished the East End Lagoon early Friday, and while the fishing was not anything to brag about, they did manage 11 nice-sized blue crab. The crabs were caught using rod and reels with cut bait.

Crockett said that at first they looked upon the crabs as a nuisance; however, when a third one of edible size was caught they began focusing on the popular shellfish.

With the strong winds and high water levels, canals could be a productive place for fishing. No reports were received from the Diversionary Canal; however, it could be a sleeper this weekend.