Sabine Lake
GOOD. 86 degrees. Bird action on Sabine Lake has increased on outgoing tides on the south end working north to midlake for catches of redfish and bull redfish. Work ¾ ounce gold and silver spoons, or ¾ ounce jig head glo chartreuse plastics off the bottom. South Levee producing nice trout and redfish along the rocks with live shrimp under a popping cork or four foot white crankbaits. North Levee first and second pike continues to boast good catches of trout early morning with 4-5 inch topwaters, midday crankbaits or ¾ ounce jighead with glo chartreuse plastics. Nice speckled and redfish along the ICW rock piles and points with live shrimp under a popping cork, or ¼ ounce jig heads with glo chartreuse plastics. The cold front pushed a lot of bait out of the Bessie Heights Marsh so key on jumping shrimp and bird action. Redfish, sheepshead and drum are good on ¼-¾ ounce jig heads with glo chartreuse plastics near buoys, mouths of turnarounds and points. Report by Captain Randy Foreman, Captain Randy’s Guide Service Sabine Lake.
Bolivar
GOOD. 80 degrees. The surf is holding numbers of black drum, shark, and some big redfish on cut bait or live bait on the bottom. The gulfside of the North Jetty is holding limits of trout, redfish, sheepshead with an occasional bull redfish against the rocks with live shrimp with popping cork. The cuts leading in the bay from ICW holding redfish against shorelines by the rocks. Lots of black drum around Goat Island. Report provided by Captain Raymond Wheatley, Tail Spotter Guide Service LLC.
Trinity Bay
GOOD. 76 degrees. Birds are working over schools of speckled trout in the northern end of the bay. Numbers of bull redfish being caught in the open bay under diving birds. The bays north of the Fred Hartman Bridge giving up decent numbers of speckled trout. Best bite on live shrimp. Rocks along the channel in this area are good for redfish and black drum. Best bite on live shrimp under corks. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing.
East Galveston Bay
FAIR. 73-77 degrees. Calm winds have allowed the anglers to chase schools of trout under working birds. Those drifting deeper reefs are finding scattered trout and redfish. Shorelines have been better for redfish and flounder near drains on the outgoing tide. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter. Surface water temperature 73 degrees, water clarity good for the most part. Fishing continues to improve in East Galveston Bay with cooler air and water temperatures due to the mild front that pushed through and good tide movement over the past week. We were able to fish near and off the shore reefs this week, and both areas produced great catches of trout, redfish and a few black drum on our artificial trips. We also fished flats around pinch points with current and nervous bait, with great success, when the wind did not cooperate with us. Marker 54 Glide Shrimp with Fish Smack popping corks with 12-18 inch leaders, and live shrimp are producing continuous bites for anglers. Until next time! Report by Captain Jeff Brandon, Get the Net Guide Services, LLC. The gas wells are holding some drum. Lil Hanna’s Reef is holding some trout on popping cork with live shrimp. Siever’s and Stingaree’s Cuts are holding fish against the shorelines entering the bay with live shrimp under a popping cork with 12-16 inches on the leader. Hanna’s Reef, Potluck Reef, Fat Pat’s are all holding fish early. Keep a watch on the birds and the restless bait. The big Poppa Pure Pearl DSL is working early in the day. Report provided by Captain Raymond Wheatley, Tail Spotter Guide Service LLC.
Galveston Bay
FAIR. 76 degrees. Calm conditions have allowed the anglers to fish the gas wells. Scattered catches of speckled trout, redfish, sand trout, and black drum have been reported. Live shrimp under corks or fished on the bottom working best. Shorelines near Eagle Point produce fair numbers of trout, the occasional redfish and a few flounder. Rock groins along the channel holding black drum and sheepshead. Live shrimp under corks working best. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. The surf is red hot on fire from East Beach all the way to Surfside for speckled trout, redfish and an occasional shark on live bait. Sheepshead on popping cork with live shrimp, or on the bottom with live shrimp at the wells. The A-1 gas wells off the ship channel near Brothel Island are holding some nice trout with a chatterweight and croaker. Redfish at rocks by Brothel Island on popping cork with shrimp or gulp shrimp. The speckled trout are on shrimp and artificials. The South Jetty is holding some big redfish with a few nice slots, and sharks on the end. Gulf side of the jetties is on fire for speckled trout, sheepshead and redfish close to rocks on a popping cork with live bait free-lined shrimp, or Carolina rigged float with shrimp, or chatter weight and croaker. Report provided by Captain Raymond Wheatley, Tail Spotter Guide Service LLC.
West Galveston Bay
GOOD. 76 degrees. Flounder bite has been good in the back lakes. Those fishing open water catching fair numbers of speckled trout and redfish, either drifting over shell or chasing working birds. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. West Bay’s South Shore holding a lot of speckled trout and redfish for wade angler and those drift fishing around the coves and grass lines from Waterman’s to Bay Harbor using a chatterweight 12 inch fluorocarbon leader 3/0 k hook. Both sides of Bird Island holding fish Bird Island flats still holding good numbers of speckled trout, and good numbers of redfish for wade anglers. North shorelines between Carancahua Reef and Confederate Reef holding good trout and redfish with an occasional flounder drifting. The off pole A to D poles with a chatterweight, croaker or popping cork with shrimp. The rocks at the opening of Chocolate Bayou, holding some nice fish on both sides. Report provided by Captain Raymond Wheatley, Tail Spotter Guide Service LLC.
Houston
FAIR. Water slightly stained; 73 degrees; 0.94 feet below pool. Catfish are good on live or cut bait. Crappie are fair on submerged structures in 10-20 feet of water with small jigs. Bass are fair on topwaters and edge of structure with flukes and crankbaits.
Texas City
FAIR. 76 degrees. Galveston jetties are productive for bull redfish and slot redfish. SeaWolf Park and the S.S. Selma Concrete Ship producing fair numbers of bull redfish. Flounder bite is steady in the Galveston channel. A few trout catches near the jetties, along with keeper size black drum. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. The rock shoals in front of Swan Lake producing some speckled trout under popping cork with shrimp. Trout in the guts between the shoals. The shoreline across from the right side of the dike behind the barges holding nice trout and flounder with artificial or live bait. Mosquito Island holding trout with an occasional redfish on artificial bone color working the best. Moses Lake is holding some redfish near the gun range, and rocks in front of the deep hole passed the three islands. Report provided by Captain Raymond Wheatley, Tail Spotter Guide Service LLC.
Freeport
GOOD. 74 degrees. Shrimp are slowly moving out of the bays, and fish should really start schooling in the next week. Redfish are starting to move off the sand to rock and shell in the bay feeding on shrimp under the birds. Drum and sheepshead are in the passes and the rivers biting shrimp or live mullet. Flounder catches at the San Luis pass and in the guts in sand flats. Report by Captain Jake Brown, Flattie Daddy Fishing Adventures.
East Matagorda Bay
FAIR. 73 degrees. Unusually warm weather has made fishing unusually slow for this time of year. Waiting for another cold front to turn the back bite on after the most recent warm up. Mainly catches of redfish with a few catches of trout on live shrimp under a popping cork or mullet. Bait camps are holding bait. Flounder giggers are catching and the south shoreline bayous are full of flounder in the mud. Report by Captain Charlie Paradoski, Captain Charlie Paradoski’s Guide Service.
West Matagorda Bay
FAIR. 73 degrees. Unusually warm weather has made fishing unusually slow for this time of year. Waiting for another cold front to turn the back bite on after the most recent warm up. Mainly catches of redfish with a few catches of trout on live shrimp under a popping cork or mullet. Bait camps are holding bait. The Colorado River is fair with a few catches of trout and redfish. The river bite will pick up after another cold front. Report by Captain Charlie Paradoski, Captain Charlie Paradoski’s Guide Service.
Port O’Connor
GOOD. 75 degrees. Fishing patterns should hold steady for the next few weeks. Redfish are good at the ends of the jetties using Spanish sardines, cut bait, or dead shrimp. Bull redfish are numerous at the backs of the jetties using cut bait or Spanish sardines. Some black drum in the flare of the jetty on dead shrimp. Pompano are in 20-30 feet of water outside of the jetties on live shrimp. Trout are biting in the mornings where the surf and jetty meet using live croaker or shrimp. Tarpon are in the jetties biting live croaker off the bottom. Flounder can be caught drifting live croaker in the ship channel. Report by Captain Marty Medford, Captain Marty’s Fish of a Lifetime Guide Service.
Rockport
GREAT. 74 degrees. Fish prefrontal conditions for the best bite. Speckled trout are good in 2-4 feet of water over grass and sand on live bait, topwaters, and soft plastics. Redfish are great as shallow as one foot around the islands and marsh inlets on gulp and cut bait. Sheepshead catches near structures on live shrimp. Black drum are good in 3-6 feet of water on dead shrimp and Fishbites. Report provided by Captain Damian Hubbs, Top Gun Outfitters.
Port Aransas
GOOD. 72 degrees. Easy limits of redfish using cut or live mullet and piggy perch on a Carolina rig or knocker rig at the jetties. Grouper, red snapper, and Spanish mackerel have been caught in the same area. Redfish Bay around Dagger Island in the mangroves with cut mullet. Channel edges are hit-or-miss for flounder gigging with a few more catches on rod and reel during ingoing tides, as flounder use the outgoing tides to migrate off shore. Report by Captain Doug Stanford, Pirates of the Bay Fishing Charters.
Corpus Christi
GOOD. 72 degrees. Trout are good with a few catches of black drum and bull redfish free lining shrimp on a day with calm winds. Channel edges are hit-or-miss for flounder gigging with a few more catches on rod and reel during ingoing tides, as flounder use the outgoing tides to migrate off shore. Report by Captain Doug Stanford, Pirates of the Bay Fishing Charters.
Baffin Bay
GREAT. 70 degrees. Temperatures are quickly warming up in between cold fronts with cool crisp and foggy mornings. This time of year can be challenging with the changing conditions, rising and falling water levels, shifts in the wind direction and fluctuating water temperatures. During these cooler months what was a 2.5-3 foot dinner plate for speckled trout, will shrink to a smaller plate. Instead of making two casts to a particular area, you will now need to make 5-8 casts. Smaller profile bait is what the fish are feeding on, so your ideal lure size is gonna be 2-3 inches long. MirrOlure MirrOdines, MirrOlure She Pup topwaters and Paul Brown Soft Dines are good staples this time of year. Lures with treble hooks also offer you a higher percentage catch rate. Knee to waist deep water with parallel guts and grass lines with surface activity is surely to produce some great fish. Slow your stride, focus on one particular area and fish it twice as long as you would before. Patience is key this time of year, remain confident and pay close attention to all aspects of the area you’re fishing in, it will certainly help guide you to a personal best fish or a nice stringer to take home. Stay safe out on the water, and as always, tight lines! Report by Captain Reanna DeLaCruz, Captain Reanna’s Baffin Bay Adventures. Redfish and trout are great targeting fish in about five feet of water where there is some structure in the water using live croaker. When the water temperature drops into the mid 60s it will be time to switch to shrimp. Report by Gilbert Barrera, Baffin Bay Hunting and Fishing.
Port Mansfield
GREAT. 80 degrees. Expect windy conditions this coming week. Fishing still remains good up on the flats while redfish and trout are eager to take soft plastics such as the Wigalo’s rigged on a 1/8 ounce jighead. Mansfield Knockers are also good in the same areas, but you will need single hooks because of the floating grass. Concentrate where bait is active along with potholes. Report by Captain Wayne Davis, Hook Down Charters.
South Padre
GOOD. 75 degrees. There is spotty rain in the forecast at the end of week, and light southeast winds off of the Gulf. Some catches of trout along Intracoastal, but mostly are undersized with a few keepers. Flounder can be caught on the edge of the Intracoastal throwing an eight ounce jighead with a 4 inch white saltwater gulp on to the edge then allowing it to drift off the edge for flounder to bite on the fall. Schools of drum in the Intracoastal at shacks biting dead shrimp near bottom. Redfish are at the North end of the gas well flats to the gas well channel. Small schools of drum with a few good trout can be found at the southeast corner near the causeway. Mixed bag of mangrove snapper, trout, redfish and black drum can be caught free shrimping live shrimp while anchored at the Old Causeway. Good mangrove snapper at end of Brownsville Channel. Stay safe out there! Report by Captain Lou Austin, Austin Fishing South Padre.
Port Isabel
GOOD. 75 degrees. There is spotty rain in the forecast at the end of week, and light southeast winds off of the Gulf. Some catches of trout along Intracoastal, but mostly are undersized with a few keepers. Flounder can be caught on the edge of the Intracoastal throwing an eight ounce jighead with a 4 inch white saltwater gulp on to the edge then allowing it to drift off the edge for flounder to bite on the fall. Schools of drum in the Intracoastal at shacks biting dead shrimp near bottom. Redfish are at the North end of the gas well flats to the gas well channel. Small schools of drum with a few good trout can be found at the southeast corner near the causeway. Mixed bag of mangrove snapper, trout, redfish and black drum can be caught free shrimping live shrimp while anchored at the Old Causeway. Good mangrove snapper at end of Brownsville Channel. Stay safe out there! Report by Captain Lou Austin, Austin Fishing South Padre.
Source: TPW