Galveston Fishing Blog

Sunday morning the wind was dead calm and the water flat as a pancake.

Although we had just returned from a Christmas trip to South Carolina, it was just too much to pass up.

Polly and I quickly loaded up the boat and by 9:30 a.m., we were heading past the jetties to test the action at some platforms 40 miles out.

Recently, I told my better half the first really calm day with no threatening weather in the forecast I wanted to make a winter offshore trip.

While we expected to run into lots of red snapper that had to be released, there exist many varieties of other fish around the steel reefs offshore.

Large Gulf and sand trout, grouper, vermilion snapper and all sorts of other reef fish hang around the wells and platforms.

It had been a while since I had given my offshore boat a good workout so, with all of that to gain, off we headed to one of our favorite spots approximately 40 miles east/southeast of the jetties.

Running at between 4,000 and 4,500 rpms in the open Gulf, we made the trip in an hour and a half.

Only one other recreational boat was observed during the run, and it was tied up to a rig approximately 15 miles out.

Perfect conditions greeted us upon arrival and that was about it for positive comments.

Using large squid and Spanish sardines for bait, not one decent fish was caught.

To my surprise, no red snapper was to be found.

It is the first trip I have made offshore that not a single fish was landed.

At least the boat’s engines got a good workout and lots of old gasoline was used to make room for a fresh batch.

Upon returning through the Galveston Ship Channel, Polly looked over at one of our favorite flounder holes and said we should have stopped there this morning instead of making the long haul.

We certainly would not have done any worse, and I had to agree with her.

There were no fishing reports in by Sunday afternoon, and I have to wonder if there was an epidemic of lockjaw going around.

Galveston Fishing Blog

What is it with the flounder this year? Here it is late December and flounder still are being caught both along the Galveston Ship Channel and in West Bay. It certainly is not the lack of cold water or strong northers that are keeping them home.

There is no doubt that the big female flounder are heading to their purported winter home in the Gulf of Mexico; however, when will they all make it there?

On Christmas Day, Caitlin Smith from Austin landed a huge 26-inch flounder fishing near the yacht basin.

In West Bay, we have two reports of flatfish being caught by anglers fishing for trout.

Trout are the prime targets this time of the year in West Bay, and it usually is not long after the beginning of the new year that the big sows start showing up on stringers.

Obviously, the big girls have begun to arrive. Jerry Tucker of Bayou Vista was fishing in one of his subdivision’s canals Thursday and landed a 28-inch speckled trout that hit a red and yellow soft plastic.

Jetty Joe at Galveston Bait and Tackle reported a customer from Pearland caught five trout and two flounder last Thursday fishing around Confederate Reef. Live shrimp was his choice of bait.

North Deer Island was productive for two anglers from Houston. Their catch included 15 trout and three reds. Again, live shrimp was the bait.

Capt. Michael LaRue, LaRue’s Guide Service, fished West Bay with three guests and ended up with 21 trout and a flounder using soft plastics for bait.

We definitely are in our wintertime pattern with trout making their way into Upper West Bay. While it will be cold on the water, fishing should be good, and don’t overlook flounder. All indications are that they still are around.

Galveston Fishinf Blog

Now that most of the Christmas celebrations are winding down, let’s once again turn our attention to fishing.

The cold weather helped keep anglers at home enjoying holiday activities, and those of us that have been off of the water for a while are yearning to get back in the saddle, or better, rod and reel in hand.

Prior to the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day lull, flounder were continuing their journey to the Gulf and hitting baits along the way. The average size of the flatfish was larger than those taken earlier in the month indicating that the larger females are on the road.

Jimbo Van Ness and his nephew Jeff Smith made a nice haul of flounder from 17 to 23 inches in length from the Galveston Ship Channel on Monday.

Jackie Hart and his father-in-law Mel Greenburg fished the Intracoastal Canal near the entrance to Bolivar and landed four large flounder last Sunday. Gulps were the baits that worked.

While flounder might be a possibility for post-Christmas anglers, sand trout, and large ones at that, have been hitting all around the area.

The Pelican Island Bridge is often a hot spot for the popular pan fish and during the weekend Tony Hampton and Mike Bellows proved that the sand trout are stacking up in the area.  While targeting flounder with Curly Tail Gulps, the anglers from Dickinson landed 18 sand trout to 14 inches.  One 19-inch flounder was the lone flatfish added to their stringer.

Hampton said that they ran through three packages of Gulps as the trout tend to like to pull the curly tail off.

Jose Aceves and his brother Mike fished near the mouth of Dickinson Bayou on Sunday afternoon and caught 14 sand trout to 18 inches, a 25-inch red and an 18-inch flounder using Gulps and dead shrimp for bait.

Gaveston Fishing Blog

Many of you recall my predecessor, Vince Stigligh Jr.

One of his classic columns included a local rendition of a popular Christmas poem, and for those who have never seen it, here it is.

’Twas the night before Christmas on the island you know; Way out on West Bay where there is no snow,

Asleep in their bunks were Billy and Lou, a dreamin’ of limits like me and like you.

Not stockings but waders hung close to their bed, for those were two anglers, what more need be said?

Then all of a sudden from out of the night come such a ruckus it gave them a fright!

They saw ‘cross the water like a shot from a gun, a highly-decorated outboard comin’ on the run;
The driver was casting and reeling at will, and horsepower not reindeer he drove with such skill.

Come on there, Johnson, and you, too, Mercury, there’s going to be plenty of action for you and for me.

The driver in old levis and a shirt that was red, had a cap filled with lures on top of his head.

As he stepped from the outboard, he was truly a sight, with rod and reel ready and raring to fight.

As he burst into the cabin, the anglers awoke. And both so astonished that no one spoke.

He filled their ice chest with goodies galore, so much that neither could think of anything more.

When Billy recovered the use of his jaws, he asked in a whisper, “Are you Santa Claus?”

“Am I the real Santa? Well, what do you think?” And he smiled as he gave both anglers a wink.

Then he leapt into his outboard and called back in a drawl, “To all Texas anglers — tight lines and full limits Y’all”

In closing, I want to wish all of you a wonderful Christmas Day.

Galveston Fishing

A combination of unfavorable conditions and the Christmas lull had anglers looking at holiday activities other than fishing on Saturday.

While there were no fishing reports, we did receive a note from Maurice Higgins, who asked why live shrimp are so expensive and what is necessary to catch shrimp on your own.

Higgins said that he pays anywhere from $16 to $20 a quart for live shrimp and is interested in catching his own bait.

He owns a 19-foot boat and was told that it would be suitable for dragging a shrimp trawl.

The price referenced above is in line with the prices charged by bait camps all around Galveston and, in my opinion, is a bargain.

I do not recall the last time we had a price increase for live shrimp; however, it has been many years.

Shrimpers are on the water just about every day trying to keep up with the demand for their product and many days the boats come up with empty nets.

High fuel prices and tighter regulations have taken their toll on a large portion of our shrimping fleet, including both bay and offshore boats.

From first-hand experience, I can say that shrimping is no easy task. In my early years, I owned a 20-foot bait trawl and would go after my own live shrimp and experienced the frustrations of feast or famine.

For those of you not familiar with recreational bait shrimping, here are some of the basic regulations. Required is a shrimp trawl tag, costing $37.

The trawls are limited to a 20-foot maximum length and the daily limit on shrimp you may retain is two quarts per person or four quarts total for the boat.

Successful shrimping is not as easy as it might appear. Skill and experience are the two keys, and it is physically challenging.

One consideration should be in the time it takes away from fishing. Let’s say that you are going after your own bait shrimp, launch your boat and soon start dragging your net. If you are successful in pulling in a quart or more of shrimp, it is likely you have taken a couple of valuable hours away from fishing.

Galveston Fishing

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Coastal Fisheries Division issued a news release Thursday announcing that it would be conducting public scoping meetings to discuss possible changes to Texas Saltwater Fishing Regulations, especially for flounder and speckled trout.

While neither species is being overfished in our area and the stocks appear to be good, TPWD is looking to the future to preserve both fisheries.

The meetings will be held statewide in early January. The Galveston area meeting will be 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Jan. 9 at the TPWD Dickinson Marine Lab, at 1502 FM 517, in Dickinson.

Luis Decker, Aunt Margie’s Bait Camp, reported five flounder to 24 inches caught by Michael Aguilar and Gilbert Gonzales near the Texas A&M University at Galveston boat docks. Fingerling mullet was the bait of choice.

Joe Moughon has been sending in some good reports of his flounder fishing lately and Thursday, he sent a note saying this has been his best flounder season ever.

Moughon was back on the water fishing around docks along the Galveston Channel and limited out on flatfish to 21 inches. All of the fish were caught on Chicken Boy soft plastics in psycho red with white tails.

Wade Wallace of Uncle Buck’s Bait Shop has been hammering the flounder as well. Wednesday, he fished near the Texas A&M campus for two hours and caught two nice flounder. Thursday, he returned to his favorite spot and limited out.

Earlier in the week, Wallace and his friend Mark limited out on Monday and on Tuesday, he and his buddy Curly landed seven. All of this action is here a week before Christmas. There’s no doubt we had a later flounder run in 2013.

Galveston Fishing

The last three days have been so calm and perfect for heading offshore, it has been difficult driving down the seawall and seeing such inviting conditions knowing it was virtually impossible to take off and head out.

Not all anglers were so confined. Capt. Kenny Bleakney of Laser Marine and three friends took advantage of the window of excellent weather and made an overnight trip to the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It turned out to be a great decision.

Bleakney said it was one of his best trips, and the highlight was his landing a near-state record black grouper. The fish was weighed in at the Galveston Yacht Basin and hit the scales at more than 116 pounds, less than 8 pounds shy of the Texas State Record.

The fish was caught at the Flower Garden Reef more than 100 miles out of Galveston and hit a Purple Mauler being trolled. Bleakney said initially they thought it was a large amberjack as there was plenty of action on those; however, as the fish got closer, everyone was surprised to see that it was a black grouper. Normally, those fish are caught deep and rarely on trolled lures.

In other fishing news, the best catches lately have come at night while the full moon was overhead.
Max Henning from Edmonton, Alberta, was in town visiting friends and Tuesday night, they all fished off a private dock on Offatts Bayou. Using free-lined live shrimp, Henning landed a 5-pound trout, the largest of the evening. His hosts added six more trout in the 15- to 18-inch range before they called it quits about 11 p.m.

Harold Armour of Crystal Beach fished along the Intracoastal Waterway on Tuesday night and caught two slot reds and five trout, three keepers and two throwbacks. Live shrimp was the bait.