Sabine Lake
FAIR. 62 degrees. The Neches River continues to be fresh, so continue to focus efforts on the points and drop in Bessie Heights Marsh with live shrimp under a popping cork for redfish, sheepshead and drum. Limits of redfish on the flats. Redfish are on the rock piles in the ICW with live shrimp under a popping cork. Sabine Ship Channel is good for redfish. Jetties are good for sheepshead, drum and redfish with live shrimp on a Carolina rig. Report by Captain Randy Foreman, Captain Randy’s Guide Service Sabine Lake.
Bolivar
GOOD. 60 degrees. The fish have been active this week and people caught some great ones when the weather cooperated. They caught plenty of black drum and redfish across the bay and in the surf. Off the jetty, we had reports of flounder, whiting, reds of various sizes, black drum, sheepshead, and small stingrays. The bayside of Bolivar and East Bay have been producing nice speckled trout, reds, drum, and a few sheepshead. Reports from the Texas City Dike were sporadic, but people landed small specks, lots of various sized reds and black drum along with a few flounder, whiting and sand trout. With the tide changes, we caught enough bait on the shrimp boats and more shrimp are coming back into the bay from the gulf hopefully in time to reproduce for a good late spring and early summer season. Report by North Jetty Bait Camp. The ditch has some redfish, with an occasional nice trout, against the grass sides biting popping cork or artificial. Fish the deeper ends of the reefs, or wind protected cuts with popping cork and shrimp. The jetty holding sheepshead and trout on live shrimp close to rocks. Yates Sloughs holding redfish on grass lines close to Sievers Cut fish 12-18 inches under a popping cork with shrimp, or burner shad in black or dark green. Report by Captain Raymond Wheatly, Tail Spotter Guide Service.
Trinity Bay
FAIR. 67 degrees. Water continues to salt up, but winds have not been favorable. Best water and catches of trout have come from the northwest region of upper Galveston bay and Tabbs Bay. Black drum and sheepshead, along with a few redfish are showing up on shallow shell. Best bite on live shrimp. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. Water is Texas Tea colored and redfish are loving it being caught on live shrimp and WACky shad XL. Small baits busting everywhere and believe we are very close to fry hatching and the bay coming alive. Top water season is nearing so get prepared. Trout are making a great comeback in the upper San Jacinto Bay and upper Galveston Bay being caught in live shrimp and artificial. Drum and sheepshead are running together around structures being caught on live or dead shrimp. Flounder seem to be caught a bit more frequently lately using gulp shrimp with the weedless presentation. Black Duck bay is a great walk in spot to catch fish without a boat. Report by Captain Zackary Scott, Zack Attack Fishing.
East Galveston Bay
GOOD. 65 degrees. Bayou drains and marsh still hold keeper reds, a few black drum and the occasional speckled trout. Best bite on live shrimp and soft plastics. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. Surface water temperature up to 64 degrees, water clarity still stained for the most part in East Galveston Bay, with a few areas with better clarity well in the back of the marsh and back lakes. The fish are becoming more active as we continue to get more salinity back in East Galveston Bay. We had some excellent Speckled Trout catching action once again this week, with Rollover Moon & Chartreuse color tails performing the best for us. Our best catches were fishing 1/4 ounce jig heads and Wac Attack Assassins in Rollover Moon and Chartreuse, with the fish staged in depths up to 7 feet, with most bites coming out of the 5 foot deep areas. As in previous weeks, we just need the winds to cease a little to allow us to fish more of our wintertime, early Spring areas that continue to be blown out, with the continual fronts pushing through. Fishing will continue to get more consistent as we push into Spring and water temperatures continue to rise, so now is the time to book your trips and get out and enjoy the great outdoors. Report by Captain Jeff Brandon, Get the Net Guide Services, LLC. The sloughs in Yates Bayou are holding redfish on grass lines near Sievers Cut using shrimp 12-18 inches under a cork, or burner shad in black or dark green. Smith Point holding redfish and trout. Deep Reef to Fat Pat is holding fish under birds on twitch baits and soft plastics. Lil Hanna’s has some fish on deeper sides of reefs. The East bay reefs are starting to see more action with specks early then artificials twitch baits, or split tails. Report by Captain Raymond Wheatly, Tail Spotter Guide Service.
Galveston Bay
SLOW. 69 degrees. Eagle Point area seeing some speckled trout and better numbers of black drum and sheepshead. Best bite on live shrimp under corks or fished on bottom. Water is still a bit off-colored. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing.
West Galveston Bay
FAIR. 66 degrees. Better number of speckled trout being caught by waders. Lower west end of the bay seeing improved catches of redfish, black drum and sheepshead. Best action on artificial lures and live shrimp. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. Look for sloughs off of the ICW holding fish in the calmer water. The sloughs leading to Greens Lake, Carancahua Lake and Chocolate Bayou holding redfish and trout on popping cork and shrimp or topwater baits early, then work soft plastics slowly. Jones Bay and the Diversionary Canal are holding some redfish and trout on popping cork with shrimp. The Mecum’s Reef drop-off holding a few fish early in the day. Report by Captain Raymond Wheatly, Tail Spotter Guide Service.
Houston
GOOD. Water slightly stained; 58 degrees; 0.04 feet above pool. Water clearing up. White bass are heavy in the creeks in all north ends feeding heavily in the morning eating jigs and spins with crappie mixed in feeding in the brush on the shorelines. Crappie are scattered in luces bayou and the way fork in 6-14 feet of water eating on small jigs and hand tied jigs along with minnows from waterside marina. Catfish are getting good in the creeks and rivers as well on shad and stink bait. Trotlines and long leader jugs have been doing well. Largemouth bass are coming back with decent catches burning shorelines and riprap using weightless crawls and big lip crank baits. Gar are heavy in the creeks. Report by Captain Zackary Scott, Zack Attack Fishing.
Texas City
FAIR. 65 degrees. Black drum run gaining momentum. Good numbers of over sized drum being caught at the jetties and off the Texas City dike. Sheepshead and a few slot reds being caught on live shrimp, close to the rocks. Bull red catches fair. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. The Dike is holding redfish and trout along the rocks with scattered drum and flounder. Dickinson Bayou is holding some redfish and drum on popping cork and shrimp or soft plastics. The rock shoals south of the dike are holding fish on popping cork with live shrimp. Sheepshead with an occasional trout and redfish at the entry to Campbell’s Bayou. Report by Captain Raymond Wheatly, Tail Spotter Guide Service.
Freeport
SLOW. 62 degrees. Fishing patterns are holding steady. Sheephead, drum, redfish and trout continue to be good in the old river and old intracoastal. Bastrop Bay and Chocolate Bay are good for catches of trout and redfish using live shrimp, or 1/4 – 3/8 ounce jig heads. Report by Captain Jake Brown, Flattie Daddy Fishing Adventures.
East Matagorda Bay
FAIR. 62 degrees. Fishing patterns are consistent with the best bite after the high pressure from the front has passed. Target redfish and trout drifting or wading the west end of the bay over shell with artificials. Bait camps are holding live shrimp now. Report by Captain Charlie Paradoski, Captain Charlie Paradoski’s Guide Service.
West Matagorda Bay
FAIR. 62 degrees. Fishing patterns are consistent with the best bite after the high pressure from the front has passed. Reports of redfish catches in shallow water with cut mullet. The Diversionary Canal is a good green color. Bait camps are holding live shrimp now. Report by Captain Charlie Paradoski, Captain Charlie Paradoski’s Guide Service.
San Antonio Bay
GOOD. 62 degrees. Redfish and scattered catches of keeper trout on topwaters along the shorelines as the fish leave the lakes and the tides are low. With the forecasted cold front expect fish to move deeper, but return to mud flats as the water warms midday. Report Captain Lynn Smith, Back Bay Guide Service.
Port O’Connor
GOOD. 63 degrees. Sheepshead are biting on the incoming tides. Trout catches are spotty on the outside of the jetties. Oversized drum continue to bite in the flare on shrimp and blue crab. Redfish are biting on the inside of the jetties using Spanish sardines. Report by Captain Marty Medford, Captain Marty’s Fish of a Lifetime Guide Service.
Rockport
GOOD. 63 degrees. Bull redfish and slot redfish have been good at jetties and the surf on live shrimp and cut mullet. Sheepshead are great on live shrimp free lined up against the rocks. Trout are fair with free lined live shrimp. Black drum and redfish are great in guts and channel edges on live or dead shrimp. Trout are fair on live shrimp and popping corks or your favorite soft plastics. Report by Captain Kenny Kramer, Kramer Fishing Charters.
Port Aransas
FAIR. 63 degrees. Bull redfish and slot redfish have been good at jetties and the surf on live shrimp and cut mullet. Sheepshead are great on live shrimp free lined up against the rocks. Trout are fair with free lined live shrimp. Black drum and redfish are great in guts and channel edges on live or dead shrimp. Trout are fair on live shrimp and popping corks or your favorite soft plastics. Report by Captain Kenny Kramer, Kramer Fishing Charters.
Corpus Christi
GOOD. 66 degrees. Limits of redfish on sardines, and limits drum on dead shrimp in knee to waist deep water. Sheepshead are showing up at the jetties, but still waiting on the full migration. Catches of speckled trout and sand trout free lining shrimp on the well heads. Report by Captain Aerich Oliver, Rockport Paradise Outfitters.
Baffin Bay
SLOW. 64 degrees. It’s been a wonderful week for fishing here in Baffin Bay with some positive changes in weather patterns. The bite has definitely sparked up, and we are seeing more numbers of bigger trout, healthy 5-7 pounds. Bait is lingering up shallow, and the big trout and redfish are following along with them. Always look for signs of life, bait jumping, swirls, brown pelicans floating or diving and slicks. These are all positive signs that an area has a high chance of holding some good quality fish. Lures of choice have been dark colored MirrOlure Little John Xls with a light weight jig head, Custom Corky Fat Boys and Soft-Dines in dark to medium colors and Texas Custom Lures Double D in copper, orange and silver. Throw what you are confident in, best to approach your fishing spot with all the best confidence and mindset at hand. Stay safe out on the water, keep what you need and release the rest and as always tight lines! Report by Captain Reanna DeLaCruz, Captain Reanna’s Baffin Bay Adventures.
Port Mansfield
GOOD. 71 degrees. Fishing continues to be fair to good despite rising water temperatures and high south winds. Fish are holding on the flats and have been taking topwaters such as the Mansfield Knockers in Wounded Trout color. When the topwater bite slows Ball Tail Shad’s rigged on a 3/32 or 1/8 ounce jig head have produced nice trout and reds in the same areas. Even a few flounder are showing up. Water temps are bouncing between 67-75 degrees. Report by Captain Wayne Davis, Hook Down Charters. Warmer weather along with a lot of wind, and the water levels are still low with water temperatures in the upper 70s. Springtime is just around the corner. As for the bite, redfish and speckled trout have been feeding aggressively later in the day around this full moon. Scattered sand pockets and grass beds in knee to waist deep water have been producing great numbers of both redfish and trout. Lures of choice have been MirrOlures and Custom Corky’s in darker colors. When the is high it tends to stir up the water causing it to appear dirty, so you will want to switch to darker colored baits. MirrOlure Little John XLs in dark hues with a 1/32-1/16 ounce hook and Custom Corky Fatboys and Softdines have been producing big bites. Confidence is key when you’re out there looking for one big bite or just a couple to take home, if you believe there’s fish in the area, stick with it and dissect it completely. Essentially wait them out and it will surely pay off. Stay safe and courteous out on the water and as always, tight lines! Report by Captain Reanna DeLaCruz, Captain Reanna’s Baffin Bay Adventures.
South Padre
GOOD. 67 degrees. Warm water and low tides. Trout are everywhere on the Gas Well Flats, off of the zip line and off the edge of the Intracoastal at Three Islands biting live shrimp or white Gulp with chartreuse tail. Redfish are good with live shrimp under popping cork, gold spoon 1/2 ounce weedless also working. Sheepshead are very good at the Old Causeway and jetties. Stay safe out there. Report by Captain Lou Austin, Austin Fishing South Padre.
Port Isabel
GOOD. 67 degrees. Warm water and low tides. Trout are everywhere on the Gas Well Flats, off of the zip line and off the edge of the Intracoastal at Three Islands biting live shrimp or white Gulp with chartreuse tail. Redfish are good with live shrimp under popping cork, gold spoon 1/2 ounce weedless also working. Sheepshead are very good at the Old Causeway and jetties. Stay safe out there. Report by Captain Lou Austin, Austin Fishing South Padre.
Source: TPW