Reports & Forecasts: October 2023

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com - 409.935.7242
James likes the changing patterns which usually occur in the Galveston-area fishing scene during the first full month of autumn. “We will still maybe have some good luck targeting the silver kings during October, if the storms stay away, especially during the first half of the month. Fishing in the bays for trout and reds begins to get significantly better during the second half of the month. We usually have good wading opportunities in East, West and Lower Galveston bays this time of year, as tides become a little higher on average, and water temperatures cool off some from the extremes of summer. When we’re wading, we do well when throwing a variety of hardbaits like Catch 5s, Catch 2000s and old-school 51M MirrOlures. Often, the best retrieve is a steady one, without much twitching. Small topwaters like She Pups work great for waders too. I’ve always favored the pink and chrome ones. If we don’t have any heavy rains, the fishing in Trinity Bay can be great in October too. The bird activity often starts a bit sooner up that way. Wading in places like the North Ridge and Jack’s Pocket can produce some epic catching too.”

Jimmy West | Bolivar Guide Service - 409.996.3054
Jim says the dry weather has put a damper on his teal hunting prospects, though he expects those to improve, and also that he always has good luck hunting doves in October. “Dove hunting will be good as we get ready for the big-duck season. This drought opens the potential for fishing in Trinity Bay to bust wide open in the near future. The flow has become a mere trickle lately, as the Livingston Dam is releasing barely any water from the lake. When that happens, the saltwater begins to make its way up the river and into the lakes, ponds and bayous in the upper end of Trinity Bay. This creates excellent potential for a run of good fishing up that way. The same scenario develops in the back parts of East Bay. I expect the fishing in the bayous and back-lakes along the bayous to be great this fall, as long as we don’t have any heavy rains in the wrong places. No matter what happens with that, we’ll have better fishing along the shorelines and in the shallows adjacent to the major reefs once a few cold fronts come and drive the water temperatures down some.”

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves | Groves Guide Service
979.849.7019 - 979.864.9323
Randall expects the catching to pick up dramatically in the coming weeks, once tides rise and water temperatures fall some from their summer extremes. “In October, when tides are usually pretty high around here, we do well targeting reds along the shorelines in the back-lakes and coves. We find them by watching for bird activity, sometimes gulls hovering over schools, other times terns diving repeatedly in the same area, or even groups of large wading birds scampering around on small stretches of shorelines. The shrimp migration is the main key to our bite this time of year. The hot weather might delay the start of the action some, but things usually get into full swing by about the third week of the month. Once the shrimp start their move, lures with gold and orange on them seem to work best. We catch well on gold topwaters with orange bellies and black backs some of the time, also on Norton Sand Eel Juniors in colors like Trick or Treat. If the reds aren’t attacking small topwaters with reckless abandon (which they sometimes are), we’ll catch all we want on live mullet. This is among my favorite times to be on the water.”

Matagorda Bays | Capt. Glenn Ging
Glenn’s Guide Service - 979.479.1460
www.glennsguideservice.com
October is one of the very best fishing months in the Matagorda area, as the first cool fronts of the year kick off the shrimp migration. They’ll move out of the marshes, into the bays and ultimately out to the Gulf of Mexico. I expect to see plenty of flocks of gulls hovering over schools with a mix of speckled trout, sand trout and redfish. Bass Assassin Lit’l P&Vs, 4” Sea Shads and Vudu Rattlin’ Shrimp are all great bets for anglers throwing at squawking flocks. They work great fished alone, or dangled a foot to 18 inches under Coastal Corks. Redfish action will pick up along the shorelines and in the coves and back-lakes this month, as tides rise and water temperatures decline. Topwaters, paddletails and live shrimp suspended under corks are all good choices for catching hungry reds in the shallows. Wading should remain good throughout this month, and I expect to catch some quality trout, reds and flounder around marsh drains and on the reefs, primarily throwing soft plastics and topwaters. October is a time of plenty, and it’s easy to go overboard with the harvest; please consider keeping just enough fish for a meal or two.

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam
www.palaciosguideservice.com - 979.240.8204
Fishing has improved dramatically with calmer winds and slightly cooler weather. Our surf fishing finally turned on with some early, weak fronts blowing through and calming the beachfront. We had great luck targeting trout and redfish with green/chrome She Dogs in the first gut early in the mornings. We waded out to the second gut as the sun came up a little higher and kept catching on DSL lures in magic grass. Redfish have been schooling well on shorelines, chasing migrating shrimp, and we have been throwing Norton Bull Minnows in pumpkinseed and pearl at them for best results. We’ve had some schools of monster drum in our bays this year, which has made for some fun sight-casting. DOA shrimp rubbed with a little Pro-Cure Gel have produced some giant fish. Flounder fishing and gigging continue to improve as well. Giggers have been doing well lately, with fish getting bigger, some measuring over 20”. Lots of solid keeper flounder have been found out in front of drains by lure fishermen. As we ease into fall, birds should be working in in both Turtle and South bays. Sometimes, throwing soft plastics on heavier jigheads results in catching bigger trout under the birds.

Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith
Back Bay Guide Service - 361.935.6833
Lynn says he had experienced some quality trout fishing in the surf in the weeks prior to giving this report, and he hopes to have some more opportunities out along the beachfront in the coming months. “I’ll still be looking to fish the surf when winds calm and the green water moves in. We’ve got plenty of solid trout out there, and the number of reds is picking up. When not fishing the surf, I’ll be keying on flats adjacent to the guts and open basins for a while longer, while the water is still really hot. We do best targeting trout this time of year by wading shorelines close to the pass and spoil banks along the channel, in places with plenty of shell on the bottom. Fishing for reds has been great lately in the coves and back lakes, even with the water so hot, but the trout bite in those places has been sluggish. Once the cooler weather comes, and the tides rise, the trout fishing will likely improve quite a bit in places like that, which proves helpful, especially when it’s windy. Once we start seeing a significant transition in the weather, we’ll start watching for signs of working birds.”

Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894
Blake looks forward to the variety of good options for catching during October. “We’ll head out into the surf around Cedar Bayou if winds allow. The fishing can still be good out along the beachfronts in October, for both trout and redfish. But mostly, I like fishing around shell reefs this time of year. I spend a good deal of time on reefs out in the open bays when winds are lighter, but I fish reefs on protected shorelines when the winds blow harder. Fishing around the reefs this time of year is usually best for me on soft plastics. I throw dark Norton Sand Eels with bright tails more than any others, but most soft plastics will work well if people rig them on appropriately sized jigheads and throw them with confidence. We do have a decent topwater bite at times in October, and I’ll take advantage of that whenever I see the right signs, meaning lots of nervous bait activity in the air and at the water’s surface. I’ll be hunting doves some this month too, and gearing up for the coming duck season, so it’s a great time to experience the bounty of the Coastal Bend.”

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut
Robert Zapata | [email protected] - 361.563.1160
The weather might be cooling off during October, but the fishing almost certainly won’t. I’m hoping the water temperatures will be cooling off some, which will mean the trout will be lingering in the shallows a little bit longer in the morning hours than they have over the last few months. Trout do spawn throughout the summer, but the intensity of their mating activity picks up greater intensity during the month of October. Many of the trout I’ve cleaned lately are carrying loaded egg sacks, and this should become even more common in the cooler days ahead. The trout will also feed more aggressively as they start to get ready for the winter. One of my favorite ways to catch trout this time of the year is with a topwater, usually a bone MirrOlure She Dog. I also like to throw a CHBL colored MirrOlure Catch 5, as long as there is not too much floating or suspended grass. The maturing redfish will be looking for a way to get out into the Gulf of Mexico, and natural colored Bass Assassin Die Dappers on eighth-ounce Spring-Lock jigheads or half-ounce gold weedless spoons will work very nicely to catch them along the way.

Corpus Christi | Joe Mendez - www.sightcast1.com - 361.877.1230
In October, high tides and calmer than usual winds can cause the fishing in the ULM and Baffin Bay to become sluggish at times, but the cooling weather also opens up some opportunities for local anglers. “This month, we often have a bull tide, and this can make the fishing good in shallow parts of the satellite bays extending off the main body of Baffin, and in places like Nueces Bay, East Flats and Shamrock Cove. With the cooler nights, the trout and redfish usually prowl the shallows close to shorelines and on top of rock formations and sand bars, so catching them by wading is sometimes fairly easy. We generally have a better than average bite on topwaters and slow-sinking twitchbaits this time of year, which makes it easier to target some of the bigger trout with good results. In the tight corners of Alazan Bay, Cayo del Grullo and in the shoreline coves on the south side of Corpus Christi Bay, decent amounts of wind often make for a better bite. If it’s calm and the tide is moving, spots around the JFK Causeway produce as well or better than anywhere else in the area.”

P.I.N.S. Fishing Forecast | Eric Ozolins
361.877.3583 - Oceanepics.com
Fall is upon us. Dusky anchovy activity will be peaking in the surf, and mullet are beginning to run on the Upper Coast. The beaches along the entire coast are about to be filled with chaos. There will be many species available for anglers. Folks targeting red drum should remember they eat live mullet like candy. A drawback will be that skipjacks, jack crevalle and mackerel also love mullet. Jackfish should be plentiful. Large surface plugs get their attention best when they’re feeding in frenzies at the surface. This time of year, trout are in the surf, but are often far outnumbered by the other species. Best chances for catching them are around any available structure. Spanish mackerel will also be present, often mixed with skipjacks under the birds. Blacktip and bull sharks will move back inshore. Casting or kayaking out whole skipjack will almost guarantee a bite. Be very cautious when wading out to cast baits; blacktips and bulls will swim extremely shallow as bait balls get pushed to the sand. Tarpon will also be present, but heavier gear is advised. Keep an eye on the weather; the first part of the month is still prone to tropical storm activity.

Port Mansfield | Ruben Garza
Snookdudecharters.com - 832.385.1431
Getaway Adventures Lodge - 956.944.4000
Dove season is in full swing here in the Rio Grande Valley, which means the annual kick-off of cast and blast season. We’re seeing plenty of boat traffic during the morning hours lately, but hardly another boat in sight during the afternoons. Less-crowded water is always a joy to experience, but to be honest, the morning bite is still probably better, on average. Redfish are beginning to school in preparation for their spawning migration to the Gulf; great areas to target them have been on the flats both north and south of the East Cut. Best bet is to start shallow and then work out deeper. Starting with a small topwater like a single-hooked Mansfield Knocker in Ruby Tuesday is a good choice. Another great choice is a KWigglers Bart’s Ninja 4” paddletail. As the sun gets brighter, it’s hard to beat a weedless gold spoon. Trout action has been steady along the west shoreline, from Century Point to the Oak Mottes. The most productive depths are mid-thigh to waist-deep. Topwater action should be fairly steady this month, but a Ball-tail Shad in Mansfield Margarita or plum/chartreuse almost always produces well. West Bay and the Saucer have held lots of trout lately.

Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel
Aaron Cisneros | tightlinescharters.com - 956.639.1941
Fishing in the Lower Laguna Madre has remained steady and productive over recent weeks, even as unusually high temperatures became the norm this summer. Trout fishing has actually improved quite a bit lately, with many areas producing both numbers and quality. Fishing along the edges of the ICW early in the mornings with a ZMan MinnowZ in redbone on an EyeStrike quarter-ounce Trout Eye jighead has been consistently effective. Using slow retrieves and bumping the bottom has helped in avoiding the smaller trout. The redfish bite has been great in one to two feet of water, over a grassy bottom. They’re biting topwaters well around first light, with bone Spook Juniors being a favorite choice. Rigging them with single hooks helps overcome floating grass, which is a nuisance and prevents effective retrieves. A slow-walk presentation with occasional pauses has helped eliminate spooking the reds when conditions are calm. Later in the afternoon, as winds pick up to 15-20 knots, we’ve had a better redfish bite using ZMan Kicker CrabZ rigged on the EyeStrike eighth-ounce Texas Finesse weedless hooks, focusing our fishing on windblown shorelines and the spines of spoil islands. Tides will soon rise, creating some great potential in the shallows.