Sabine Lake
GOOD. 68 degrees. Redfish are holding in the potholes, rock and shell in the ICW biting live shrimp under a popping cork. Slot redfish and trout can be caught in the ICW in 12-15 feet of water with red shad quarter ounce jigs during incoming tides. Sabine Channel is good for slot redfish and slot trout with live shrimp under a popping cork. Sheepshead and drum are in the shallows off shell banks and rock piles. North Levee speckled trout are excellent live shrimp popping cork, glo chartreuse 1/16 ounce plastics. Report by Captain Randy Foreman, Captain Randy’s Guide Service Sabine Lake.
Bolivar
GOOD. 70 degrees. The water clarity and color are murky due to the weather changes and high winds. The best bite conditions this week will be on the incoming tides for the jetty and surf. Plenty of redfish of varying sizes, stingrays, sheepshead, black drum, small slot speckled trout, and crabs caught along the jetty with an occasional pompano. The surf is producing black drum, gafftop, stingrays, and small bonnet head and spinner sharks with reports of some big fish breaking off lines. East Bay and the Texas City Dike have been steady producing drum, gafftop, small trout, and redfish. Report by Captain Shane Rilat, North Jetty Bait Camp.
Trinity Bay
FAIR. 72 degrees. Wade anglers are finding good numbers of speckled trout in water 2-4 feet deep, over shell reefs. Further north, up the ship channel, scattered catches of speckled trout and black drum on live shrimp. A few redfish are also being caught. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. The trout bite is firing up in 3 feet of water on live shrimp under a popping cork and WAC Assassins in the chartreuse color. Redfish are pushing shallow and the need for a vessel that accommodates this will prevail. You can find schilling redfish that can be enticed with live shrimp. Sheepshead are abundant on docks and rocks with drums mixed in. Pay attention to wind and weather prior to your trip and be prepared. Your life is not worth saving a boat so be smart about life jackets and kill switches. Report by Captain Zackary Scott, Zack Attack Fishing.
East Galveston Bay
GOOD. 72 degrees. East Bay Protected shorelines producing scattered speckled trout. Other catches consist of black drums, flounder and the occasional redfish. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. Water clarity is very good for the majority of East Galveston Bay. This week we once again fished shoreline shells in close vicinity to drains in the 3 foot depth range and found good numbers of trout and redfish, and a few flounder. If you catch a fish, powerpole down and fan cast the entire area, as we have been picking up three to five fish in close proximity. If you get into an area and do not see bait activity, make a few casts, and move on, as our experience has been, if you find good amounts of bait the fish are close by. This week we have thrown �¼ ounce jig heads with Wac Attack straight tails in chartreuse, as well as marker 54 Glide Shrimp, under a 1-2 foot leader and a Fish Smack Popping Cork. The popping cork and shrimp setup was the top performer for us this week resulting in some of the most aggressive bites of the year. Spring is finally here, and fishing will continue to heat up as the water warms and the fronts blowing thru become less prevalent. If you are looking to get out on the water and beat the crowds, now is the perfect time to make it happen, and as always, we will design a trip around your expectations, and guarantee you will have a great time fishing East Galveston Bay. Report by Captain Jeff Brandon, Get the Net Guide Services, LLC.
Galveston Bay
SLOW. 74 degrees. Speckled trout bite is fair along protected areas of the bay, shorelines and rock groins. Black drum bite a little better, along with a few sheepshead. A few redfish working off the west shoreline of Galveston Bay. Live shrimp under popping corks working best. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing.
West Galveston Bay
GOOD. 73 degrees. Good number of black drum being caught on live shrimp. Speckled trout fair, but having to work for them. Best on shell reefs. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing.
Houston
GOOD. Water stained; 66 degrees; 0.06 feet above pool. Water clarity is improving on the south end. White bass are being reluctant to spawn and still being caught full of eggs on spins and jigs in the creeks and egging more and more to the main lake. Catfish are improving on bulkheads while the shad are spawning. Cast shad to reel in a bite. Crappie are tight to structure in 8-14 feet of water and pink jigs seems to be the ticket. Largemouth bass are being caught consistently on top waters and will only get better with time. Pay attention to wind and weather prior to your trip and be prepared. Your life is not worth saving a boat so be smart about life jackets and kill switches. Report by Captain Zackary Scott, Zack Attack Fishing.
Texas City
FAIR. 73 degrees. Catches of oversized drums have slowed from the Galveston jetties. Anglers fishing live shrimp catching slot redfish, black drum, sheepshead, and a few speckled trout. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing.
Freeport
SLOW. 72 degrees. Sheepshead and drum are biting in full force at the jetties and pass on live and dead shrimp. Reds have been good in the back lakes and bays with shrimp under popping cork. Trout have been good with soft plastics and shrimp under a popping cork in the bays. Flounder are showing up at the pass and bays using mullet and live shrimp with a split shot and dragging them on the bottom. Jack crevalles, bull redfish, and sharks showing up in the surf at surfside and Bryan beach and San Luis Pass. Report by Captain Jake Brown, Flattie Daddy Fishing Adventures.
East Matagorda Bay
GOOD. 68 degrees. Fishing continues to be weather dependent. Trout, redfish and drum can be caught in the morning drifting with live shrimp or a gulp under a popping cork. A few wade anglers are having success late in the afternoon for catches of redfish and trout. Report by Captain Charlie Paradoski, Captain Charlie Paradoski’s Guide Service.
West Matagorda Bay
GOOD. 68 degrees. Fishing continues to be weather dependent. When the wind allows fish mid bay reefs for drum, redfish and trout. Redfish and drum are fair in shallow water on cut mullet. The Colorado River is clearing and there are redfish in the river. A few good trout, and drum in the Diversionary Canal. Report by Captain Charlie Paradoski, Captain Charlie Paradoski’s Guide Service.
Port O’Connor
GOOD. 65 degrees. Oversized trout are biting in the washouts on live shrimp. Slot redfish are good inside the jetties on live shrimp and Spanish sardines. Oversized redfish in 20-25 feet of water on Spanish sardines and live shrimp. Slot black drums are biting in the flare on the dead shrimp. A few pompano are biting near Alcatraz Island on live shrimp. Sheepshead biting throughout the jetties. Report by Captain Marty Medford, Captain Marty’s Fish of a Lifetime Guide Service.
Rockport
GOOD. 68 degrees. Redfish are great in the flats with shrimp, cut mullet,or shad. Trout are fair on popping corks with live shrimp or soft plastics. Black drum are good on blue crab and shrimp. Report by Captain Kenny Kramer, Kramer Fishing Charters.
Port Aransas
GOOD. 68 degrees. Sheepshead are still great along rocks and at tips of south and north jetties on live or dead shrimp Trout are slow on freelined shrimp and popping corks. Slot redfish and oversized redfish are good on cut mullet, shrimp, blue crab and spoons. Report by Captain Kenny Kramer, Kramer Fishing Charters.
Redfish Bay
GOOD. 68 degrees. Redfish are good on the middle of the flats and along the shorelines with dead shrimp, sea lice and menahaden. Drum are good in grass, oyster reefs, and shell bottoms on dead shrimp. Trout should move towards outside breaks within the next month. Captain Aerich Oliver, Rockport Paradise Outfitters.
San Antonio Bay
GOOD. 65 degrees. Fishing has been slow due to high pressure, but it should move out, improving the bite. Pods of tailing redfish in the back lakes biting live shrimp on flats over grass and mud. Redfish and trout can be caught along the shorelines for wade anglers. Trout are biting on shells with live shrimp. Sheepshead, oversized redfish with a few slot fish, and oversized trout are being caught in the jetties. Report Captain Lynn Smith, Back Bay Guide Service.
Corpus Christi
GOOD. 68 degrees. Limits of redfish on dead shrimp, sea lice, and menhaden and limits of black drum on dead shrimp on the East Flats. The tide is high pushing fish into shallow water in the back lakes. A few sheepshead are still biting at the Fina Docks and jetties. Trout are starting to show up on the flats with live shrimp under a popping cork, or live shrimp around the rigs. Report by Captain Aerich Oliver, Rockport Paradise Outfitters.
Baffin Bay
SLOW. 73 degrees. Fishing is off due to a brown tide. Catches of drum in the land cut, and redfish in the mouth of baffin with live bait under a popping cork. Trout are scarce with a few being caught in 2 feet of water on topwaters. The fish are feeding on tiny shrimp, so downsize your bait. Report by Captain Cliff Webb. Spring patterns are starting to develop on Baffin Bay with water temperatures staying between 70-75 degrees. Bait is plentiful on shorelines now, look for active, jumping bait for best results! Female trout are just now starting to develop some eggs and that means the spawn has not yet begun. Trout are still eating up and getting ready to develop large eggs sacks. They will spawn when the water temperature arrives at 75 to 80 and stays there for a while. Trout do not have muscles to expel their eggs so they will beat themselves on the bottom on shorelines where there are Sandy pockets or between rocks in shallow areas of Baffin Bay. That’s why when you catch spawning trout they will be red and scarred up from all of this activity, which requires a lot of energy. So because of this, they eat a lot and gain a lot of weight at this time of the year. Mullet are the main source of food on Baffin Bay for big trout . This is why when you see jumping mullet, they are most probably jumping away from predators and that is where you’ll want to key on to throw your lure for best results. Good luck this week! Report by Captain Sally Black.
Port Mansfield
GOOD. 71 degrees. Fishing is starting to improve with many good trout coming on topwaters. Targeting potholes surrounded by heavy grass has been key. Redfish have mostly been in shallower water and can be taken on Wigalo juniors and 4 inch paddle tails. The flounder bite is also improving and some are being caught in small drains and cuts. This pattern should continue unless a late norther comes through. Report by Captain Wayne Davis, Hook Down Charters. The bite has been tough this past week here in Port Mansfield. The weather has played a huge role. Fish shallow to get good cover from the wind, knee to mid thigh deep water around scattered grass beds and sand pockets. Best producing colors have been Custom Corky’s and MirrOlure Little John’s in Purple Demon, Golden Bream and “Boogie Man”, to add a nice little attribute we are using a chartreuse jig head to the plastics to add a nice pop of color to the “strike zone” in dirty water. Remain confident in your technique, look for bait, birds and slicks, if those positive attributes are there then there’s a great opportunity to catch some good fish to take home or a personal best. Remember to stay safe and courteous on the water, check the weather before heading out and as always tight lines! Report by Captain Reanna DeLaCruz, Captain Reanna’s Baffin Bay Adventures.
South Padre
GOOD. 67 degrees. Trout limits are good in the Intracoastal and Gas Well Flats. Flounder are fair on the edge of the channel and mouth of Arroyo Colorado with white gulp chartreuse tail. Redfish and smaller black drum in small schools along the East Side color line. Sheepshead are still plentiful at jetties and old causeway. Report by Captain Lou Austin, Austin Fishing South Padre.
Port Isabel
GOOD. 67 degrees. Trout limits are good in the Intracoastal and Gas Well Flats. Flounder are fair on the edge of the channel and mouth of Arroyo Colorado with white gulp chartreuse tail. Redfish and smaller black drum in small schools along the East Side color line. Sheepshead are still plentiful at jetties and old causeway. Report by Captain Lou Austin, Austin Fishing South Padre.
Source: TPW