Reports & Forecasts: September 2022

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com – 409.935.7242
James says the fishing in the Galveston area lately has been mostly good for him, but that it might be tougher for others, with less experience and knowledge of exactly how to catch fish around deep structures. "This time of year, when it's so hot, I typically rely on catching fish around deep structures in open water. The bite can be really easy when it's on, but the timing is critical. In lots of cases, the fish only bite in flurries, related to the tide movement and on our ability to get them started. In some cases, once we're able to get a bite or two, the fish become more active and aggressive and move up in the water column. Then, we'll catch pretty easy for a bit. But, it will screech to a halt, and we have to start all over again. Knowledge of precise locations of structures in deep water, how to position the boat and how to match the weight of the lure to account for depth and current are critical. All this is partly why I'd rather fish for tarpon in September. If winds cooperate, we might just have a really good season chasing the silver kings."

Jimmy West - Bolivar Guide Service – 409.996.3054
Jim describes the fishing in the Galveston area lately as a typical summer pattern. "The key to success lies in the amount of wind. As long as the winds stay below about 15 mph, fishing is good. Most of the trout and redfish are out in the middle, both in East and Trinity bays. The trout are biting best around the reefs. Finding them means keying on slicks and areas where there's lots of bait working. The schools of reds prefer a little deeper water, and they're usually roaming around in areas with a muddy bottom. Locating them often means finding areas with off-colored water. The good news is people are spread out, since we haven't had much rain. Trinity and Upper Galveston bays are salty to the mouths of the rivers, so there's green water and good potential for catching in lots of places. And, I'm expecting another good run in the surf soon. We've had some real windy weather, and it's mucked things up out there, making it tough, but we're supposed to have some calmer days soon, and in September, if the winds lay on a regular basis, the action might be fast and furious along the beach."

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves - Groves Guide Service 979.849.7019 – 979.864.9323
Randall looks forward to a continuation of excellent surf fishing in September, and an improvement in the action catching redfish. "We usually have plenty of calm days at the end of summer. This creates excellent potential for catching trout in the surf, and on the flats behind the pass. We also keep our eye on the wave heights, and run offshore from time to time, when conditions allow. Throwing topwaters works great most days this time of year, whether we're targeting trout in the surf, kings offshore or reds in the shallows. We do best on light colored topwaters like the pearl SkitterWalks and the bone One Knockers. The redfish bite live bait better most of the time, so we are always ready to take advantage of that. But when they want topwaters, they usually attack with real attitude, flying out of the water on the take. Catching reds in the shallows on top can be one of the most exciting things we do all year. When winds pick up some, we're often able to find clear water on some of the protected shorelines in the back bays and lakes, and these days seem to make the reds especially aggressive."

Matagorda | Bay Guide Service
Charlie Paradoski – 713.725.2401
In the weeks prior to Charlie giving this report, south and southwest winds of stronger than normal speeds had created issues for anglers in the Matagorda area. "With these winds, we've been fishing in the river quite a bit, targeting the fish on the ledges and drop offs, catching pretty good at times on topwaters, but better when we're throwing soft plastics on jigheads which keep them closer to the edges while they fall. We've caught a decent number of redfish, and we're catching plenty of small trout, not as many keepers. It's also possible to hide from these winds in the bigger coves in both bays, and we've done okay at times in some of them, when tides are high. September is usually a great month for redfish in both our bays. We catch plenty wading in the coves and throwing tight to the banks, also under the birds at times, and if the tide dumps out, in some of the guts at the fronts of the coves in West Bay. We're still hoping to have a good run in the surf. September can be great for the beach when we haven't been able to fish it most of the summer."

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam
www.palaciosguideservice.com – 979.240.8204
Fishing for reds has been consistently excellent lately in the local rivers and marshes. We're looking for the schools of shad first, to find the reds following and feeding on them. We've been catching them several ways, including using live shrimp under popping corks, also by reeling crawfish colored deep diving crank baits and spinnerbaits with pearl/chartreuse trailers along the edges and drop offs. We're catching fish of an excellent average size for the table, most in the lower half of the slot. Our trout bite has been somewhat slower; we're catching lots of undersized fish, but not as many in the keeper slot. With the hot water temps, the best bite has been around structures in deep water out in West Matagorda Bay. The tripletail bite has been excellent this summer too, and the drought seems to have brought fish around structures close to town. We've been averaging about three fish per trip, with most biting large live shrimp rigged five or six feet under popping corks. The flounder bite in the mouths of ditches and drains has improved recently, with most biting shrimp under corks tossed out for redfish. September usually means working birds and better flounder gigging on cool nights.

Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith
Back Bay Guide Service – 361.983.4434
Lynn says the fishing in the Port O'Connor area has been predictable lately, and not always easy. "We're doing fine early in the mornings, throwing topwaters around grass beds on flats lying adjacent to deeper water. The trout and reds push the bait up on these flats late at night and feed vigorously for a while once the sun comes up. But, the action doesn't often last very long in this heat; the predators pull off the edges of the flats, into the cooler, deeper water during the middle of the morning. Then, they become much more difficult to catch. Another factor is moving water. Around here, it really doesn't matter whether the tide is coming in or going out, as long as it's moving. Once the tide falls slack, catching is always difficult, especially in such hot water temperatures. So, people hoping to enjoy success catching fish in this area in the near future should pay close attention to the tide charts and time their outings so they'll have moving water where they intend to fish. Ideally, the tide comes in strong early in the morning, in places like the surf. We've still got time to have some great days out there."

Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894
A variety of options are on the menu for Blake during the month of September. "It's cast and blast season, so I start off a lot of mornings wading the flats, then wind up hunting doves in the afternoons. And, we throw in some teal hunts too. With the cooling temperatures we usually have this month, fishing on lures picks up some. Lures have been working well on some days lately, but we do better on live croakers until about Labor Day. September is usually an excellent topwater month for me. We catch plenty of trout on top and some reds too. The reds school up and head toward the passes this time of year, so I'll be looking for them in those areas, in bays like Corpus Christi and Aransas, also Mesquite, now that the water's flowing through Cedar Bayou. Sometimes, locating the schools means seeing big muddy patches in the water, but other times, we locate 'em by watching flocks of gulls working in the shallow areas, on sandy, grassy flats and near shell reefs. On some of the calmer days, fishing out at the jetties and in the surf can be really great this time of year too."

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut
Robert Zapata – [email protected] – 361.563.1160
I'd give the recent fishing and catching in and around Baffin Bay a high rating. We're catching good numbers of both trout and redfish. Plenty of slot-sized trout are coming to hand early in the mornings, biting best in two to three feet of water. We've been throwing Bass Assassin Die Dappers in colors like chicken on a chain and salt&pepper/chartreuse rigged on sixteenth-ounce Assassin Spring-lock jigheads for best results. As always, we're attaching them to the end of a fluorocarbon leader at least twenty inches in length, because the water is running so clear. The trout have been hanging around areas with sandy potholes breaking up a grassy bottom, and along deeper edges of the grass beds. Live shrimp dangled about fifteen inches below popping corks have worked well to catch the trout and reds too. I'm finding good schools of both red and black drum along the deep drop offs of grassy flats, catching them on Die Dappers on eighth-ounce heads best. During the bright parts of the days, we're doing well sight-casting both species of drum in water a foot deep or even shallower, using shrimp-flavored Fish-bites. All these patterns should continue productive well into September.

Corpus Christi / Joe Mendez—www.sightcast1.com—361.877.1230

Fishing the vast expanses of shallow water in the ULM and Baffin during a month when bull tides and generally light winds consistently create stagnant conditions can prove difficult at times, Joe says. "It is certainly possible to catch plenty of reds migrating toward the passes this month. We usually find those in calm conditions by watching for schools pushing wakes to get away from the boat noise, then working upwind of them to cast into the schools. Light to moderate winds make this drill easier, helping us see into the water better, and helping us make longer casts, to reach the schools without crowding them. When targeting trout, we usually do better at the end of summer/beginning of fall by fishing closer to places where the water moves some on a daily basis, including areas around both the Packery Channel and the Lydia Ann Channel, and near the northern entrance of the Land Cut. In those kinds of places, we look for massive concentrations of baitfish and signs of feeding activity, like slicks and mud stirs. The best bite usually happens along ledges if we're fishing around the channels, and around the edges of rocks in deeper water down south."

P. I.N.S. Fishing Forecast | Eric Ozolins
361-877-3583 | Oceanepics.com
The end of summer usually signals the beginning of the dusky anchovy migration along the Texas beach fronts. During this event, millions of anchovies pass through the surf zone, mostly in bait-balls measuring in acres. This starts a feeding frenzy among many of the ocean's predators. Birds of all kinds take advantage of the short-lived supply of food, and keying on their presence helps anglers locate the fish feeding on the bait-balls. Spanish mackerel, jack crevalle, bluefish, red drum, speckled trout, tarpon and sharks all take part in the feast. Lures often don't work well in the presence of so much bait, but spoons do work well at times. Live mullet tend to work better in this situation to target the desired species. Blacktip and bull sharks usually lurk in the midst of the migrating herds of anchovies too. Typically, fishing for the sharks in the daytime is slow, but in the immediate vicinity of large bait-balls, the action can be fast and furious. Late at night, tiger sharks will bite, if you can keep smaller, more numerous species from taking the baits intended to entice them. September can be a great month, with easy catching, but dynamic, rapidly changing weather presents challenges to anglers too.

Port Mansfield | Ruben Garza
Snookdudecharters.com – 832.385.1431
Getaway Adventures Lodge – 956.944.4000
With the changing seasons, I'll be changing my plans somewhat. When dove season arrives, I'll be fishing for half the day, hunting the other half. During September, the redfish make their annual migration to the Gulf of Mexico, usually starting around the middle of the month and picking up steam toward the end. Toward the end of the run, the action really picks up in places close to the East Cut. Lately, fishing has been best in water between about two and a half and three and a half feet deep. We're targeting grass beds in those depths for both trout and reds, mostly in areas near the Saucer and Butcher's Island. On days when winds are light, the west side is better. The spoils north of Bennie's Shack Island and the ones just south of the Land Cut have been producing well too. Mansfield Knockers in zombie or golden croaker have earned lots of blow ups early in the mornings. For those who don't like topwaters, KWigglers in pollo loco and bond diamond have worked great. On the east side, the reds have been chasing mullet in the shallows over a sandy bottom early, then dropping off the edges of the flats mid-mornings.

Lower Laguna Madre—South Padre—Port Isabel
Aaron Cisneros | tightlinescharters.com – 956-639-1941
With the heat wave, we've experienced consistent trout fishing in the Lower Laguna Madre. The high water temperatures have the trout concentrated on deeper grass beds. We're catching best throwing KWiggler Ball-tails on quarter-ounce jigheads at grass beds lying in at least three feet of water, often closer to five feet. The heavier heads allow us to reach out to the deep beds, and also to keep the lures close to the bottom during the retrieves. Dark ones like plum with chartreuse tails have been producing best. We've had a pretty consistent redfish bite in the same types of areas, with the reds showing up better later in the morning, toward the middle of the day, after the trout bite dies down somewhat. We will be thinking the same way as we head into September, using relatively heavy jigheads to keep our lures low in the water column, where it's cooler. With the bull tides of fall on the way, the fish will start moving around more, so keeping an eye out for the big concentrations of bait will become more important. And, this fall, I look forward to making some cast and blast trips, targeting both teal and doves.