Mid-Coast Bays: June 2025

Late April and early May fishing along the middle coast has been very good for me and my clients. There were a few days during periods of exceptionally low tides when my guys didn’t want to wade and we struggled to stay with the extremely leery specks and reds fishing from the Shallow Sport X3. Despite the challenges we were still able to end those days with decent catches and had great fun doing it. Deep down inside, though, I knew it could have been better.

Fast forward to mid-May; our tides have recovered and we are experiencing our normal howling spring winds. We no longer have to worry about the low tides but we are now concerned daily with the decision of where we might find decent water conditions amid these crazy winds. Hopefully both of these concerns will be in the rearview heading into June as our early summer weather patterns set in.

As the summertime weather patterns begin to dominate I will soon be targeting main bay shorelines in San Antonio and Espiritu Santo. The structure types I will be searching for include guts with scattered grass and any other irregularities; such as coves, drains, and possibly patches of oyster shell.

If you might decide to try wading the north shoreline of Espiritu Santo along Dewberry and Long islands, you will find numerous features that will work to your advantage. Similar to the south shoreline of West Matagorda Bay there are many cuts and wash-throughs to backwater areas that game fish and bait fish utilize often in their regular travels. There are also a series of bars and guts that lie parallel to the shoreline formed by southeast wind and current action. Quite typically we find solid grass bottom close to the shoreline that diminishes to scattered grass further offshore. Another prominent feature is a fairly abrupt drop-off that lies anywhere from 100 to 200 yards offshore. Perhaps the only drawback to fishing here is the proximity to Port O’Connor and Charlie’s Bait Camp. Mornings can get pretty busy, so you might want to try the afternoon and evening hours after the crowds are gone.

Not to worry though; if you oversleep or just aren’t mad enough at the fish to rise in the wee hours, there are plenty of other areas that will produce fish in June. My favorite is San Antonio Bay’s oyster reefs, mostly on the north side of the ICW. I prefer to wade the reefs but we also do well fishing out of the boat. Favored baits are the tried and true Saltwater Assassins in Purple Chicken and Magic Grass colors. We rig these on 1/16 ounce Bass Assassin jigheads (p/n 05001). All but a few of these reefs run east to west and there are still a few of what we call dry lumps, which are what’s left of a longstanding shell island after being pounded by hurricanes and northers over the years. While these lumps can attract and hold lots of fish at times they are also the most frequently targeted due to being very visible to the average angler.

If none of the areas I have described tickle your fancy, there is always the west shoreline of San Antonio Bay. This area can be very productive for both boat-bound and wading anglers but you need to be aware of certain hazards. Number one is alligators which are plentiful along the sandy shoreline and will not hesitate to get nosey with the unassuming angler, especially one with fish flailing on a stringer. Another hazard is stingrays. While stingrays inhabit all of our mid-coast bays, I have had more clients feel the pain of a stingray barb on this stretch of shoreline than all other shorelines combined. Foreverlast Hunting and Fishing Products makes a fine Ray Guard that will help in this situation. The last hazard I will mention is not so much a danger as an inconvenience, and that is boat traffic coming up from Rockport. For the most part these will be guides fishing the reefs out of the boat but I mention it because they do sometimes tie up some of the best real estate on that side of the bay.

Now, if you still haven’t found an area that appeals to you, do not forget the entire south shoreline of San Antonio and Espiritu Santo bays and all the back-lakes on Matagorda Island. Perhaps the greatest part of fishing the Seadrift-Port O’Connor region is the almost endless list of options and angling opportunities.