Reports & Forecasts: April 2026
Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com - 409.935.7242
We caught up with James just as he was returning from a few days down at Port Mansfield, fishing the Saltwater Legends Tournament. His first comment was, “Man, that’s a different kind of place down there…lots of big fish, but I’m glad to be home!” Here in the Galveston Bay System, James says all bays are in play. “We’ve been wading shorelines almost exclusively ever since the tides got really low about a month ago. Trout fishing has been decent to good, with a few five- to five-and-a-half-pounders showing up, but mostly just chunky twos and threes. The redfish action over in West Bay and Chocolate has been absolutely insane; my guys absolutely love it. Afternoons are best, especially when the tides are really low. There’s been a fair topwater bite of late, nothing to really write home about yet but improving almost daily as temperatures are rising and tides have begun returning to normal levels. Right now, I’d say that just about any place that looks right—water quality and bait-wise—should produce fish. Shorelines and shallower reefs will remain my focus over the coming weeks. We should also begin to see birds working by mid-month.”
Jimmy West | Bolivar Guide Service - 409.996.3054
Jimmy says the fishing is really good right now, in both East and Trinity bays, for wading anglers and also those riding the trolling motor and fishing out of the boat on calm days. “It’s not really like the good old days, though. We’re not catching any of those six- and seven-pounders like we used to during springtime. Mother Nature has been too hard on the fishery with floods and freezes the past six or eight years to be able to enjoy that kind of action. But we’re having no trouble finding fifty to sixty or more two- to three-pounders during a half day on the water. It’s no surprise, actually; water temps are already as high as 70° in most areas. The slicking pattern is taking off full-bore the last few days, which really makes getting on a steady trout bite something of a no-brainer, especially around reefs where they’re congregated. The topwater bite hasn’t really kicked in yet; that’ll be another week or two developing. So right now our fish are pretty much all coming on soft plastics. About half or more are keepers, averaging 17 to 18 inches or so, with the remainder just a bit undersized.”
West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves | Groves Guide Service
979.849.7019 - 979.864.9323
Coming out of winter, I always look forward to the warmer months. Sure signs of spring will be the arrival of the glass minnows and other species, such as the recently hatched shad crop that our trout will be quick to feed upon at every opportunity. Our topwater bite improves significantly as the water temperatures rise to 70° and above. Favorite surface lures are the Spook Junior and Skitter Walk, especially in colors such as bone and pearl bodies with pink heads. When the topwater bite isn’t happening fast enough, we will be quick to chunk the Norton Sand Eel Junior in the red magic color, rigged on Norton screw-lock jigheads—1/4 ounce when the current isn’t too strong and 3/8 ounce when necessary to get the lure down lower when the fish are hanging near bottom. We often work these lures very aggressively in order to trigger reaction strikes when they’re not actively feeding. When they get really picky, I switch to a Berkley 3-inch Swim Shad in either chartreuse or a natural shad color. I just took delivery of a new JH Performance BX 253 and highly recommend the JH brand to anybody shopping for a new boat.
Matagorda Bays | Capt. Glenn Ging - Glenn’s Guide Service
979.479.1460 - www.glennsguideservice.com
Spring fishing in Matagorda has started off great this year with the early warm-up, and April should be a really productive month on the water. I’ll be drifting deep shell in East Matagorda Bay and shallower shell in West Matagorda Bay a bunch this month. I like to throw slightly smaller baits in April because of the amount of smaller baitfish like shad and glass minnows in the bays. I tend to throw three- and four-inch paddletails in natural baitfish colors. I really like the Bass Assassin four-inch Sea Shad or the Down South Burner Shad rigged on an eighth-ounce jighead. I’ll also be throwing Coastal Corks with live shrimp or assorted lures under them. A popping cork with a Vudu Shrimp, Gulp! Shrimp or a MirrOlure Lil’ John is a great option as well. Redfish action has been pretty steady, and now that the tides are back up, the back lakes and shallower grass and mud flats are where most of the action is. Lots of good redfish are being caught on live shrimp under corks and on cut mullet on bottom. Gulp! shrimp under corks are also producing. We should also see good black drum action around shallow shell reefs.
Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam
www.palaciosguideservice.com - 979.240.8204
We have had great early-spring fishing in the Tres Palacios Bay area. We’ve had lots of success wading around reefs in waist-deep water, catching plenty of reds and trout. MirrOlure She Dogs in green/chrome and Skitter Walks in pearl have by far been the best baits for redfish. When wading the same areas for trout, we’ve been throwing Paul Brown Fat Boys in Gringo and Pistachio for best results. With water temperatures working their way back to the 70s, wading action should get nothing but better. Drifting has been pretty good as well. We’ve been drifting over shell in five to seven feet of water, throwing Down South Lures in Chicken of the C and Pappa Pearl rigged on quarter-ounce heads. The fish on the deeper shell have seemed to hit best when the lure is coming up off the bottom. River fishing has stayed pretty steady, with most fish coming on natural-colored three-inch Vudu Shrimp dangled under Coastal Corks. Black drum should start showing up in better numbers, and any shell pads in two to three feet of water fished with fresh dead shrimp under corks should produce plenty. Soon, flats with sand and grass on the bottom will produce the best results.
Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith
Back Bay Guide Service - 361.935.6833
On recent trips, Lynn has been finding lots of active bait like mullet and shad along area shorelines with a mix of mud or sand and grass on the bottom. The fishing for slot reds and bigger-than-average trout has been steady as the weather and water warm up. “We’re having good luck lately throwing topwaters when conditions are somewhat calm, especially when we have some cloud cover. Slow-sinking twitchbaits are also producing well at times. By far, the best way to stalk the fish and work these kinds of lures is by wading. Because many of the places we’re fishing have so much grass on the bottom, surface and suspending plugs work best, since they don’t get down into the strands of grass. This month we’ll continue to leave the dock well after sunrise because we’re still having our best bite in the afternoons, when the water reaches its peak temperature for the day. In the middle of spring, once the clouds of glass minnows show up, fishing the coves and back lakes during the heat of the day can produce some epic action. Keeping lures moving in close proximity to the bait is critical.”
Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894
April is a great month to target redfish and trout in the bays of the Coastal Bend, Blake says. “This time of year, the weather is usually pretty windy in South Texas. On average, fishing wind-blown structures and shorelines makes good sense, but if the spring wind really starts cranking in earnest, fishing protected pockets in the lee of a land mass makes better sense. A classic place to do that is on the south shoreline of Aransas Bay, where plenty of grass grows in a generally sandy bottom. Even with southeast winds humming at twenty knots, the water close to shore over there stays clear. In such situations, fishing for reds and some of the bigger trout is best in low-light conditions. Throwing lures with natural-looking color patterns and working them tight to the emergent cord grass on the bank are important choices to make. As a rule, the best fishing occurs when the tide is moving in during the early part of the day. If conditions are calm, which they sometimes are, we’ll cast an eye toward the surf. If we’re able to get out there this early in the spring, we usually find some outstanding action.”
Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay
Captain James Sanchez Guide Service - 210.260.7454
When targeting trout this month, factors to consider when choosing an area include tide levels, water temperatures and the presence of mullet. If tides are low, trout tend to concentrate on drop-offs near the edges of flats, also on shorelines and around the fringes of spoil islands. When the water is higher and warmer, they will follow their prey into shallower areas. With spawning underway, we pay attention to the full and new moon phases, which are when they’re most active. This can increase the chances of catching a trophy. Our go-to lure is the KWigglers Ball-tail Shad, but subsurface hard baits like the Mansfield Knocker Darter, Paul Brown Original Fat Boy or Soft-Dine XL all also produce good fish. Unless we experience a late-season cold front, warming water temperatures will cause redfish to congregate around shallow structures that hold juvenile fish, shrimp and crabs. Typically, we catch them while wading in knee- to thigh-deep water with grass and potholes on the bottom. On windy days, we have great success along wind-blown shorelines where distinct color changes form. If they’re feeding aggressively, we throw topwaters like the Mansfield Knocker or Spook Junior. A steadily retrieved Wig-A-Lo or a four-inch paddletail can also be effective on windy days.
Corpus Christi & Baffin Bay | Capt. Chris Elliott’s Guide Service
[email protected] - 361.834.7262
Spring is finally here, and the fishing is great. For the next couple months, we’re often forced to plan our days around what the weather gives us. Typically speaking, spring comes with a lot of windy conditions, but that doesn’t usually keep us from enjoying our days on the water. This month we look for places that lie leeward of spoil islands or other structure to reduce the fury of the wind, and we always remember that lots of bottom grass helps with maintaining decent water clarity. I’ll be downsizing my lures and throwing a lot more of the smaller paddletails to match the size of the primary forage available to the predators in April, like glass minnows and small shad. A Double D is also one of my favorite springtime baits. We’ll start to see all the young-of-the-year bait move into the bays and onto the flats, so we’re always looking for areas with high amounts of bait activity. Then we work to match the hatch with our lures and presentations. Generally, this means keeping smaller baits handy and moving them through the water with plenty of speed and starts and stops this time of year.
P.I.N.S. Fishing Forecast | Eric Ozolins
361.877.3583 - Oceanepics.com
Lately, jackfish are storming the surf in great numbers, aggressively chasing mullet and other small fish. On calm mornings, sight-casting them with topwaters and big spoons as they ambush bait is effective. The jacks also like cut mullet. The pompano are still around, but numbers will thin out as the water warms. Some will still be caught on shrimp and/or Fish-bites, especially early in April. This setup will also provide a good chance at large whiting, black drum and even sheepshead. Different species will react differently to the water conditions. If the water clarity is good, any of these mentioned species will be possible, and fishing with lures works well. When the water is dirty, live and fresh dead baits will produce much better, and targeting specific kinds of fish becomes harder. Sharks are also invading the shallows as I type. The scalloped hammerheads should be in the shallows close to shore, along with numerous blacktips. As we get closer to May, the large bull sharks will start showing up in bigger numbers. The arriving hammers will be taking smaller baits such as whiting, and any residual sandbar sharks or arriving bull sharks will prefer larger baits.
Port Mansfield, Texas | Ruben Garza
Snookdudecharters.com - 832.385.1431
GetAway Lodge - 956.944.4000
April in Port Mansfield brings consistently warm conditions, with daytime highs near 85°F and lows around 70°F. Water temperatures tend to hover in the mid-70s range, ticking up slightly through the month. Winds are typically southerly to southeasterly, averaging around 12 mph or more, with the mornings calmer and afternoons breezier. Wise boaters plan accordingly to navigate the choppy waters when returning to port. Tidal swings are modest, but rising tides push bait up onto shallow parts of the flats. Rising water and the influx of bait keep trout, redfish and flounder active near drop-offs. Early mornings are ideal for topwaters and twitchbaits. Mansfield Knockers are a great choice for both redfish and trout, especially near grass edges. As winds build, we switch to soft plastics, either paddletails or ball-tails, and retrieve them over sandy potholes and grass seams for steady bites from all three species. Specific areas in the Lower Laguna Madre to find fish include the flats north of the Mansfield Cut, the Saucer, Gladys Hole, Cullen Bay, Long Bar and South Bay Flats — all known to hold plenty of speckled trout and redfish, especially the parts with a good blend of sandy potholes and grassy edges.
Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel
Aaron Cisneros | tightlinescharters.com - 956.639.1941
Steady wind has been the norm lately, as we’re in the transition to spring fishing. In the Lower Laguna Madre, the trout bite has been great. Water and air temperatures warming up have led to us finding plenty of trout in two to three feet of water. Most of our trout are staying on grassy flats adjacent to deeper water. The sand bars have held good numbers as well, especially early in the mornings before wind kicks up. Z-Man Big BallerZ in the redbone color rigged on eighth-ounce heads have been producing as well or better for us than anything else. We’re fishing our plastics mid-way up in the water column, using fast retrieves for best results. Redfish numbers are healthy. They’re biting best in shallow water (two feet deep or less) covering a sandy bottom. Grass lines and shorelines are coming alive as water temperature and tides rise too. Topwaters have worked great when cast close to shore early in the mornings. Bone Spook Juniors rigged with weedless hooks are a great first choice for this drill. As winds pick up, the redfish will move over to big grass flats in depths of one or two feet.
