Galveston fishing report 9-25-15

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

832-917-FISH(3474)

www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

www.fish-n-lodge.com

A moderate to strong easterly wind caused a hiccup on fishing Thursday, as the bays became choppy and water levels were rising well above normal.

Hopefully this is just a temporary interruption to the excellent fishing we have been experiencing this week.

Wednesday Capt. Billy Howell joined Capt. Michael LaRue helping with LaRue’s two-man tarpon charter. Their guests landed and released a 140-pound silver king and also enjoyed plenty of action on sharks, bull reds and jack crevalle.

  

Speaking of jacks, Warner Kemp had the line stripped from his fishing reel twice Wednesday by jack crevalle while wade fishing San Luis Pass. Kemp said his target was trout, reds and Spanish mackerel; however, the jacks would not stop attacking the shrimp he was fishing with under a popping cork. 

The second time his line was stripped was the final straw that ended the trip, as he brought only two rods and reels and no additional spools of line. 

Fred Griffith read a recent report about catches at the old helicopter pad which we mentioned earlier this week and asked if we had the GPS coordinates. He fished that area with success a lot during the 1980s and would like to return to the spot.  

Fred, you are in luck as I do have the coordinates. They are N29-26-33; W94-49-02.

Saturday the West End Anglers will be hosting Kids Fish 2, their second annual kids fishing tournament. The event is from 7:10 a.m. until 1 p.m. and takes place at the West End Restaurant & Sand Bar in the Sea Isle Subdivision on the west end of Galveston Island.

The tournament is open to kids 15 years old and under, with two divisions, ages 13 to 15 with an entry fee of $15 and ages 12 and under with a $10 fee. For information, call (713) 594-4252.

Galveston fishing report 9-23-15

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

832-917-FISH(3474)

www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

www.fish-n-lodge.com

Monday the bite was on, and it was not at all surprising that tarpon were among the catches reported.

Tarpon Express Guide Capt. Mark Gonzalez hosted Robert Fox to a memorable fishing trip Monday on which the angler from Houston landed a silver king estimated to weigh 130 pounds.

Gonzalez said the water was in excellent shape with heavy schools of bait. The action took place just off Galveston with a Woody red and white coon pop.

Capt. Mike Williams, owner of the guide service, said that the big tarpon are here now and that a large tarpon in the 180-pound range can easily destroy tackle.

Another tarpon report came from Capt. Michael LaRue, LaRue’s Guide Service, who placed his guest Mike Lewis into action landing a 90-pound silver king.

In my opinion, we are in the best time of year for tarpon action, and during periods of favorable conditions between now and mid-October, the chances of a hookup with a heavyweight tarpon is at its best. Note that tarpon are catch and release only.

While the tarpon were roaming the nearshore waters off Galveston, Debby Brady was fishing inshore and landed her first drum, which hit the scales at 16 pounds and measured 29 inches. Brady said she thought the fish would weigh 100 pounds by the way it fought.

The old helicopter pad was the site of a good catch of trout and Spanish mackerel by Jonathan Black and Oliver Littleton. The anglers used live shrimp fished on the bottom to land 16 trout to 20 inches and a number of Spanish mackerel that were released. Black said that they had to fight off lady fish, as hundreds were swarming the area.

The site mentioned above was once a production platform that had a large helicopter pad on top and is located just north of the Bolivar gas wells. GPS coordinates are needed to locate the spot.

Galveston fishing report 9-12-15

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

832-917-FISH(3474)

www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

www.fish-n-lodge.com

Saturday, the rain moved out; however, with it came increasing wind velocities. 

The heavy rainfall over the past several days will continue to help trout fishing. While we continue in our summertime patterns with the warm water temperatures, the shorter periods of sunlight will help cool the water.

As the temperature and length of daylight decrease, trout action will pick up as Mother Nature signals winter is not far off, and adding layers of fat is a must for survival over those long cold months.

With all of the heavy rainfall and spotty flooding last week, anglers fishing near the mouth of drains or inlets into the bays might find some excellent action early this week. The floodwaters flowing through small creeks and bayous will flush baitfish out of the wetlands and into the open bays. Fish, especially trout, have learned that such conditions usually result in easy meals as the bait fish concentrate not far from the inlets.

Last week, especially the early part, the surf was alive with fish, with tarpon being the highlight of the action.

Stormy weather shut down fishing Thursday and Friday; however, once things settle, we should have a return of hot action in the surf if calm to slightly choppy conditions return to the beach front.

This week could see a return of unsettled weather, as there are some uncertainties over the effects of the latest cold front when it dies down in the Gulf of Mexico later this week.

A reader called in asking about Lake Pasadena mentioned in an earlier Reel Report. The question was where it is and also he pointed out that NASA Road 1 is on the north side of the lake.

Lake Pasadena is known to old timers as Mud Lake and is, in fact, to th

Galveston fishing report 9-5-15

Galveston Fishing Charter Company

832-917-FISH(3474)

www.galvestonfishingchartercompany.com

www.fish-n-lodge.com

The most common question from visitors to Galveston this weekend comes from those wanting to fish and asking where to go and what will be biting. For an answer, let’s take a look at what took place on the fishing scene Friday night and Saturday.

Scattered thunderstorms were the culprit in keeping a lot of anglers off of the water early Saturday; however, those that waited it out and fished during windows between the storms caught fish.

An example came from Hal Masterson who, along with three of his wife’s cousins, fished East Bay between the thunderboomers. Masterson and the group are spending the holiday weekend in Crystal Beach and plan to be on the water as much as they can through Monday morning.

Saturday they were run in early by lightning and did not have their lines in the water very long. After waiting out the storms, they headed back to Hannah’s Reef and drift fished it using live shrimp fished under popping corks. The threatening weather sent most of the other boats home; however, for two hours they were able to make the most of the fishing and landed 12 trout to 21 inches along with three puppy drum and lots of ladyfish.

Oscar Reed reported lots of small trout under the lights at Tiki Island on Friday night with a few keepers mixed in. Reed fished from the middle of the night until 2 a.m. and managed three keeper trout along with a small Spanish mackerel. Reed said that he released at least a dozen under sized trout.

A report from Seawolf Park indicated good action on trout, drum, gafftop, sheepshead and ladyfish. The rocks produced more fish than the fishing pier according to Frank Hernandez, who was one of the early birds at the park.

The only report from the surf indicated slow fishing, with only pan fish being caught Saturday.