Nice time to fish in Galveston

Calm conditions prevailed most of Friday; however, the Gulf was full of thunderstorms, none of which made its way to give us some badly needed rain.

Inshore, fishermen hitting the jetties and Houston Ship Channel spoil banks enjoyed good catches of trout and other fish.

Dewey Jones of Port Bolivar took his son-in-law John Lewis of Longview to the North Jetty on Thursday morning where the pair of anglers caught 11 trout using live shrimp for bait.

Houston Ship Channel Marker 59 is known for producing lots of fish this time of year and Friday was no exception. Mark Raymond and his wife Hazel were anchored close to the marker by 7 a.m. and before 9 a.m. had 15 trout, two slot reds and a bunch of croaker in their ice chest. Live croaker and shrimp were the baits.

Marker 59 is just outside of San Leon heading toward Morgan’s Point.

The Texas City Dike has been giving up stringers of mostly pan fish with a few flounder and reds. Night fishermen are catching trout under lights around the dike. Many of the trout are undersized, however.

Julio Ramirez landed a 4-pound flounder and 12 sand trout fishing Seawolf Park on Friday morning. Dead shrimp was the bait.

The party boat New Buccaneer has been offshore several times this week and returned each time with nice catches. One of the best trips this week came Wednesday when Capt. Matt Smith hauled 57 anglers 60 miles out and returned with 545 vermilion snapper, 25 tomate, eight almaco jack, five lane snapper, four rockhinds, four rainbow runners, three scamp, two whitebone porgy, two barracuda and a variety of other fish including a Spanish hog fish and a 200-pound dusky shark.

Earlier this week, one of the trips had to return to dock when a passenger passed out because of a Dramamine overdose attributed to not reading the dosage instructions. The incident spoiled the trip for the other anglers onboard. Don’t let that happen to you. Anti-seasickness medications are drugs. Prescription or not, they should be respected as such.

July 10 2013 fishing report galveston

With all of the high probabilities of rain for Galveston early this week, the badly needed freshwater skirted our area. Reports from some of the bait camps indicate problems keeping their inventories of shrimp and croaker alive very long.

As salinity levels increase, trout will be moving out of the bays to areas where it is more in balance. Such areas include the passes into the Gulf and the surf. This same scenario takes place during periods of low salinity.

Recent reports indicate a few trout are being caught, just not in the numbers that should occur this time of year. Reds, sharks, gafftop and sand trout are taking up the slack and are saving the day for many fishing trips.

The Baker family fished with Capt. “Chop” Derrick of 3-G Fishing Charters during the weekend and caught five reds, a blacktip shark, hardhead and — the highlight of the trip — a stingray estimated to weigh more than 100 pounds.

Capt. Jaime Cantu, Cantu Charters, hosted the Connally family to the Galveston Bay complex, where family members Steve, Ross, his wife, Kelly, and son Patrick dodged stormy conditions Saturday to land bull reds, blacktip sharks and gafftop.

Cantu said the early morning bite was slow; however, by midmorning, the action picked up.

Monday, Jetty Joe of Galveston Bait and Tackle reported a good catch from the Texas City Dike where Galvestonian Ed Lambrand landed eight trout and two reds. Live shrimp was the bait.

Emeril Harris fished the area around the U.S. Corps of Engineers facility along the Galveston Ship Channel and caught four sand trout, two gafftop, a trout and a flounder.

Clear Lake angler Big Joe fished near Mecom’s Cut on Monday and landed eight trout, five reds, 10 sand trout and a 5-foot blacktip shark using live croaker and shrimp for bait.

Along the beach front, whiting, gafftop and bull reds were being caught by anglers at the 61st Street Fishing Pier.

Galveston Fishing 7-9-13

Last weekend’s fishing was overall disappointing and that was not surprising with all of the unsettled weather around Galveston. This week, we should be in a more normal pattern for July, with the only hiccup being the wind from the southwest. If velocity forecasts hold, it might not cause that much of a problem.

There were reports of isolated catches of fish mostly in small numbers; however, there were some good quality fish reported. The best reports came from along the Houston Ship Channel near San Leon where a few trout were being caught along with a number of other species including reds, sand trout, black drum and croaker.

Horace Moore sent a note asking why unsettled weather affects the feeding habits of fish. His theory is that they are under water and should be feeding regardless of what takes place on the top.

Fish, like other wildlife, have a built in sensory to changes in weather. The same sensory that humans have; however, their instincts call for quick reaction while ours allow for reasoning through a more sophisticated brain.

Changes in weather really affect fish a lot more than most anglers realize. The change could signal that they could be left high and dry behind a strong cold front or blown out of the water by a tropical storm.

The usual reaction is for fish to move to deeper water and that is where seasoned anglers go to fish during unsettled weather patterns. Often the change will slow the bite; however, there are fish that will feed and also strike baits out of vengeance. Many books have been written on that subject.

Now, what are the best conditions to find fish content and willing to feed? There are many; however, calm weather probably is one of the top conditions on the list.
 

Soon after the wind drops and visibility in the water is good, action usually heats up. Hopefully we will experience this later in the week.

Galveston fishing

Sunday, fishing was affected by the unsettled weather in our area and catches were scattered. Offshore fishing, which has been close to red hot lately, was set back by seas running 5 feet and higher Sunday.

While fishing overall was slow last weekend, the best reports continued to come from night time fishermen.

Cold Pass produced some nice catches of trout, ladyfish and sharks Saturday night. Carlos Hernandez and his cousin Manny set up their flood lights powered by a portable generator and had sporadic action most of the night. Sharks came through the area around 2:30 a.m. and all of the other fish scattered. Live piggy perch and other small fin fish caught in a cast net was the bait.

Before the east wind taking over Saturday, deep reefs around East and Trinity Bays were producing good numbers of trout and other fish. Deep shell was the key, according Norman Cahoon, a seasoned trout fisherman who fishes Trinity Bay.

Deep Reef, Hannah’s Reef and shell pads around gas wells in East Bay were where trout were hanging out and once this spell of inclement weather passes, expect to find the fish in those locations again.

Reports so far from the jetties, do not show the trout action we are accustomed to this time of year. Perhaps that will change once conditions settle.

In connection with the current weather conditions, the National Weather Service issued a warning for the possibility of waterspouts and weak tornadoes across the coastal waters through today.

 Atmospheric conditions are favorable for the formation of weak water spouts and short-lived funnel clouds during the daytime hours. Any sightings of water spouts or funnel clouds should be reported to local law enforcement who will then relay that information to the National Weather Service.

Galveston Fishing Report 7-7-13

A sandy, off-color surf was greeting fishermen Saturday morning. Less than 1 mile from the beach, turquoise clear water was holding; however, just far enough to prevent waders from reaching the fishable water.

An east wind prevailed most of the day and, as the old saying among fishermen goes, “When the wind is from the east, fishing is least.” While that may be a valid statement, fish were caught, especially during nighttime hours.

Barbara Garibaldi, Louis Bait Camp, reported some good catches from the Highland Bayou area. Johnny Walker and his son Chase caught black drum, hammerhead sharks, specks and sand trout.

Garibaldi’s customer Michelle returned to the bait camp with a Texas Grand Slam — trout, red and flounder.

While live croaker seem to be the bait of choice, Louis’ was running out. Lots of live shrimp are being sold to nighttime fishermen at Bayou Vista.

Carl Able of Rockwall found comfortable water to fish in around the piers and pilings between the Galveston Yacht Basin and ferry landing. He and his two small sons fished the area Saturday morning, landing three flounder — two keepers and a throwback — along with 11 sand trout, two ladyfish and a bunch of piggy perch.

Able said the area was perfect for fishing with his young sons as they do not tolerate choppy conditions very well.

Night fishing continues to take the lead over daytime for results and comfort. The John Morgan family from Buda received a double treat in entertainment Friday night. They anchored off Teichman Point near some fishing lights and caught a variety of fish while watching the fireworks display at Moody Gardens.

Jerry Arnim worked the outside of piers and pilings along Offatts Bayou late Friday and caught a limit of slot reds and two specks. Lots of lady fish were caught and released.

Today, the forecast calls for a good chance of badly needed rain along with moderate winds. Hopefully, the rain will come and reduce the high levels of salinity that have built up in the bays.

today fishing report galveston

Excellent conditions continue to greet fishermen this holiday weekend, and the bite is on early.
Crabbing is improving along the beach front, although there were no confirmed reports of big catches. If you are one of the many crabbers working the beach front this weekend, let me know how the crabbing is going. Earlier, reports indicated the annual spawn was beginning to take place.

Offshore fishing is getting the nod over inshore this weekend. Lots of small boats are taking their first trip of the year beyond the jetties and all are bringing back fish. Unsettled weather likely will be coming, resulting in increasing wind and seas for the latter part of this weekend.

Don’t risk a dangerous and/or unpleasant trip if the seas are choppy. There likely will be many other days during July and August when conditions will be inviting to the Mosquito Fleet.

On the inshore scene, lots of stingrays are being reported in the surf. If you are planning to wade-fish the surf this weekend, take precautions as a stingray barb in your foot or leg is a painful experience which likely will end your fishing trip.

If you do not have ray protectors, be sure to drag your feet when wading. Stingrays are going to be found where the bait fish are located, especially in areas inhabited by flounder.

Weaker tidal movement will be with us for a few days, and that does not bode well for trout fishing. There will be times of feeding, just closer to tide changes.

Night fishing has been particularly good lately, with the best activity reported from around midnight until an hour or so before first light. Lights around Teichman Point have been holding reds, trout, ladyfish and concentrations of big hardheads.

Reports from Harbor-walk, Tiki Island and Pirates Cove also indicate good action on trout at night.

Galveston Fishing Report

The surf is beginning to shape up for some excellent fishing especially if the light northerly winds continue. While there were no surf reports in by press time on Monday, there should be some nice catches reported in coming days.

The only surf report came late Sunday night when the 61st Street Fishing Pier reported lots of crabs being caught along with croaker, sand trout, bull reds and sharks.

It is about time to see the annual spawning of crabs in the surf and this might be an indication of the beginnings of the spawn. Normally during that event, crabs, mostly female, are everywhere in the surf and those of you fishing the crab spawn for the first time need to be aware that sponge crab, those with orange colored eggs resembling a sponge attached, are to be immediately released.

Sunday Jeff Moyer, Stan Shoemake, Brian Griffin, Randy Robertson, Scott Robertson and Don Raines. They fished the Galveston Bay Complex using frozen menhaden and fresh sand trout landing bull reds, sharks, sand trout and whiting.

Capt. Bryan Brawner’s weekly East Bay Update from Crystal Beach indicates that last week’s west wind had the water rough and dirty.

“When the winds died some and the water conditions improved, the bite was on. However, the strong winds for the most part kept East Bay rough and dirty which made finding a steady bite challenging most days. Thursday was the best day when we limited early then went and scouted some different areas where we caught and released fish all morning. We have been landing lots of nice specks up to 25 inches in the dirty water.”

“Most of our fish are being caught on free lined croaker over shell reefs but the bite on soft plastics is definitely improving each day.”