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Reports & Forecasts: July 2010
Lake Calcasieu Louisiana
Jeff and Mary Poe | Big Lake Guide Service | 337.598.3268
July is a great month for fishing because of all the options that are available. Salinities are unusually high at the present time, and this opens up even more areas to fish. In July, we will be catching fish from the saltwater barrier, north of Lake Charles, all the way to the close rigs in the Gulf. The areas we prefer to fish at this time of year are along the beachfront, at the Cameron Jetties and up and down the ship channel. The open by waters of Big Lake itself will also offer great potential. Trout and redfish will be found mid-lake and close to the ship channel, both around oysters reefs and chasing bait over mud bottoms. Be on the look out for slicks and circling and diving gulls to locate the fish chasing bait over mud. Sometimes, even one or two birds can lead to a big school of fish. Shrimp imitations in soft plastics will be catching the bulk of the school trout. Topwater baits are probably a better bet if you're after a big trout. Redfish will bite all of the above, especially when they are found in schools.
Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures | silverkingadventures.com | 409.935.7242
James had that positive ring in his voice, the one he gets when the weather gets right and the fishing is easy. "It's lock and load buddy. You can catch solid trout wherever you want to right now. The Pass area was good on that last big moon. We caught some nice trout down there on Top Dogs. Birds are still working in West Bay. Campbell's has birds and fish under slicks. In East Bay, working slicks on mid-bay reefs is productive, as is most of Lower Galveston Bay on the same pattern. Of course, the croaker guys are slamming them already along the ship channel. That will only get hotter with the rising temperatures. Trinity Bay, especially the west shore, has probably more reds than the other bays. Locating them means finding slicks and maybe a few little diving terns. Mostly, I'm fishing the Bass Assassin Sea Shads, because they are easy to use, but you can catch fish on all kinds of lures when it's right. As long as the wind's not cranked up over fifteen miles per hour, it's wide open and looks like it will stay that way."
Jimmy West | Bolivar Guide Service | 409.996.3054
"We've had some calm weather the last few days and the fishing is on fire," Jim says. "Easy limits on some days, near limits on others, and the quality of the fish is good too, especially the trout. Biggest have been over twenty seven inches and pushing seven pounds. We're catching lots of three to five pounders. Doesn't much matter what you throw at them, especially soft plastics. Just about any color seems to be working. I'm using Texas Trout Killers, Bass Assassins and the new soft plastics made by MirrOlure. We've had some decent topwater action and caught some on 51 MirrOlures too, but the key is locating the fish more than what lure you throw. We're finding our fish by keying on five to seven feet of water with scattered shell. The slicks are the main indicators leading us to the fish. This type of pattern should hold through the summer months. Wading will still be fairly productive at times if the wind is up and the tide is coming in, especially in the early morning hours, but slick hopping in the middle is a better bet."
West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves | Groves Guide Service
979.849.7019 | 979.864.9323
Randall reports decent to excellent fishing in his area at the time of the report, especially on quality trout. "Today, we struggled a little early because of a west wind around fifteen knots. It had the water mucked up some, but now the wind has calmed and the water's clearing nicely. We've caught a handful of reds and about nine trout, all on bone Super Spooks. The biggest trout is just over twenty six inches. Last week, we had nine big trout like that, couldn't keep any of them, they were that big. All those came on bone Spooks too. We're fishing sandy bottom, and keying on schools of mullet. Find the mullet and you'll find the trout. They bite best lately when the tide is moving, either way is okay, but it has to be moving. We haven't had strong tides, so any movement is key. When the tides get stronger, the ebb of the tide is best. We have been catching some fish on Norton Sand Eels too. Best color on those has been tequila gold, and we're rigging them on a three eighths ounce Norton Laser Lock head."
Matagorda | Charlie Paradoski
Bay Guide Service | 713.725.2401
"July is the start of the peak season for fishing the surf. There's at least a fifty per cent better chance of being able to get out there than there is in June. When you can get there, meaning when the waves are flat and the water's clear, you'll usually catch 'em pretty easy, mostly solid trout from keeper size to three or four pounds, with an occasional bigger fish. For the surf to lay flat, we need north, northwest winds ideally and it needs to stay that direction and/or really light for a while. With those same conditions, or with southeast winds under about twelve miles an hour, the mid-bay reefs in East Bay will produce. The trout are bigger over there than in West Bay in general. But West Bay is better when it's windy. You can catch limits of both trout and redfish on grass in the coves over there even when it's windy, as long as it's not a west wind. Topwaters work well in the summer, especially in the morning. Soft plastics tend to catch more fish when the blow ups slow down sometime after the sun gets higher in the sky."
Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam
www.palaciosguideservice.com | 979.240.8204
Our summer patterns are already in full effect with almost all our fish relating sand and grass bottoms. Solid trout in the sixteen to twenty inch range have been common on the south shoreline of West Matagorda Bay around pods of glass minnows and under schools of roaming mullet. Topwaters that have been effective are pearl Skitterwalks, bone Spook Jrs., and chrome/green ShePups. Tails that have been pretty consistent have been pumpkinseed/chartreuse and pearl/chartreuse Norton Bull Minnows. Our redfish bite has stayed solid, with easy limits coming from area sand flats and grass beds, with Gulp shrimp in pearl being the go to bait. July should bring some warmer water temperatures, which will drive some of the fish to the deeper wells of Tres Palacios Bay. On a safety note, there are more sharks in the bay than I have seen in a long time. If you are keeping fish, carry some kind of cooler or floating bucket to keep the sharks from stealing and eating your fish.
Port O'Connor | Lynn Smith | Back Bay Guide Service | 361.983.4434
Like others up and down the coast, Lynn is champing at the bit to get in the surf. "By July, we should be waist deep in the Gulf whackin' 'em on topwaters. Whenever winds allow, we'll head that way. Usually, it's best early with topwaters. I like Spook Jrs, particularly the white one with the chartreuse head and the one that's clear with chartreuse on the back. Around daybreak, we like to stand on the first bar and cast toward the shore. Sometimes, it's best to have the lures land almost on the beach. The fish will attack it when it comes into the gut right next to the sand. Once it gets to be mid-morning, the wind typically blows a little and we move out to the deeper guts. When out there, we still catch on top some, but we also like 52 MirrOlures as well. It's easy to work them close to the bottom and the fish love 'em. If we can't get to the surf, we'll wade waist-deep grass beds mostly, using the same lures. That drill works best early in the morning, especially when the tide is coming in at that time. In the surf, tide movement matters less."
Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service | 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894
"I will be heading to the surf as much as I can this month. Hasn't been really good out there yet, from what I've heard, but it should be good in July. We've had a lot of calmer than usual weather, so if that holds, we'll see a lot of trout in the surf. Sometimes, the areas farther from the Port Aransas Jetties are better than those close to town. Those wanting to fish the surf around Cedar Bayou need to be aware that the bayou is silted in and very shallow. Watch out for sand bars if trying to approach the surf from Mesquite Bay. Otherwise, I'll be fishing grassy, sandy shorelines in most of the area bays. Our fishing for trout is much better than last summer, and most of the local bays have plenty of fish. We've been having some good topwater sessions already, and this is typically a good sign that the fishing will be productive that way all summer. I like the Super Spooks in bright colors, especially those with chrome on them this time of year. Won't hesitate to use bait either, if it's necessary. Overall, we are set up for a great summer."
Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut
Robert Zapata | [email protected] | 361.563.1160
So far so good, and the water in the Upper Laguna Madre continues to remain in great shape. I have seen very little evidence of Brown Tide in any part of the Laguna. Yahoo!!! My fishing clients have been getting some excellent catches of trout, with many of them getting close to thirty inches long. The redfish are schooling, and they should continue running in schools for the rest of the summer. The rocks, grass lines, drop offs and pot holes are easy to spot with the current water conditions and these targets that are in two to three feet of water are holding many trout, reds and some flounder as well. Some of the trout are coming up for MirrOlure She Dogs, but we are catching more of them on sixteenth ounce jigheads rigged with bone diamond and plum/chartreuse Bass Assassins. Fishing from the boat has been good, but wadefishing has been a little more successful. Many of the flats covered with twelve inches of water are holding reds and black drum for sightcasting with three inch good penny Berkley Gulp shrimp.
Corpus Christi | Joe Mendez www.sightcast1.com | 361.937.5961
Because the water in the Baffin Bay/Laguna Madre area is so clear, a variety of summer options are available. "You can see everything right now, so it's easy to target trout along drop offs, whether that's in the Land Cut, around rocks in deeper water like at Rocky Slough, or along the edges of deep holes like Emmord's and Beacroft's. Remember to adjust your jighead size to the depth you are fishing, using a heavier one if you want to fish deeper structures and edges, especially if the wind and current are strong. If fishing shallower for other fish is your thing, that's good right now too. It's possible to target reds and other species on shallow grass flats. The herds of reds will appear as a dark orange ball and will make the water bulge up in front. You can catch them on a variety of lures once you find them. Try to work fish around the edges of the herd, not throwing right on top of them, as it will break them up and make catching more a real challenge. Also available on the shallow flats are for sightcasting drum and sheepshead."
Padre Island National Seashore
Billy Sandifer | Padre Island Safaris | 361.937.8446
July begins the summer doldrums and while they are dreaded by bay fishermen this is the month knowledgeable surf anglers have been waiting for all year. Speckled trout numbers in the surf will peak in July on a variety of artificial baits. Remember Harte Institute is tagging surf trout and placing radio transmitters in their bellies. Please don't kill/keep trout with green tags. Get the tag number and release them. Call Harte Institute to receive a reward. Spanish and king mackerel, Atlantic bluefish, some reds, and large numbers of whiting and ladyfish are usually present. Tarpon, jack crevalle, sharks, palometa, mangrove snapper and stray tripletail are all possible. Snook are present at the jetties and at times bonita and even sailfish are caught there. Large tiger sharks are usually available but most are on long distance "kayaked" baits at night. Topwaters or plastics work well on the trout although sometimes a silver spoon saves the day. Anchovy and menhaden shoals can show in July and when they are present anglers should concentrate their efforts around the shoals.
Port Mansfield | Terry Neal
www.terrynealcharters.com | 956.944.2559
Summer time is here and guess what? It's hotter than Hades! The water temperatures are in the 80s and will remain there throughout the summer. Shallow water cools significantly overnight and hitting the flats at daybreak has been producing some nicer redfish. Your best bet is to follow the schools of mullet off the flats as they warm toward mid-morning, if you can stay with them, and you should be able to catch a couple of reds and maybe a nice trout. The deeper grass beds on the east side of the I.C.W. will produce good catches of trout and the occasional redfish. For those who prefer live bait; live shrimp and croakers fished on the edge of the I.C.W. will also produce some good catches of trout. Offshore fishing will really start to turn on as the Gulf Stream current moves inshore. The new offshore reef should start producing some good catches of everything from billfish to dog snapper. Remember to keep what you can eat fresh and release the rest. Good Luck Fishing!
Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel
Janie and Fred Petty | www.fishingwithpettys.com | 956.943.2747
The trout bite remains phenomenal even as we are experiencing lower than normal tides for this time of year. Every trip we're boating several trout in the twenty to twenty seven inch category and at least one twenty nine or over a week. However, if you want to catch a big trout, don't call for a Saturday, because boat traffic is at an all time high. Every weekend, there are several tournaments going on, and that probably won't let up until October. Even with the high levels of traffic, we're still catching reds; at least a couple of days a week we limit, we're just not limiting every trip like we became accustomed to over the last few years. We're throwing a variety of lures, but the Cajun Thunder cigar corks with Gulp three inch shrimp remain the most effective for both our target species. Freddy says, "When it's calm, you want to use the CT cigar cork with a fifteen inch leader and a quarter ounce jighead and pearl or molting Gulps. On windy days, switch to the heavier, round Cajun Thunder cork with the same set up."
Jeff and Mary Poe | Big Lake Guide Service | 337.598.3268
July is a great month for fishing because of all the options that are available. Salinities are unusually high at the present time, and this opens up even more areas to fish. In July, we will be catching fish from the saltwater barrier, north of Lake Charles, all the way to the close rigs in the Gulf. The areas we prefer to fish at this time of year are along the beachfront, at the Cameron Jetties and up and down the ship channel. The open by waters of Big Lake itself will also offer great potential. Trout and redfish will be found mid-lake and close to the ship channel, both around oysters reefs and chasing bait over mud bottoms. Be on the look out for slicks and circling and diving gulls to locate the fish chasing bait over mud. Sometimes, even one or two birds can lead to a big school of fish. Shrimp imitations in soft plastics will be catching the bulk of the school trout. Topwater baits are probably a better bet if you're after a big trout. Redfish will bite all of the above, especially when they are found in schools.
Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures | silverkingadventures.com | 409.935.7242
James had that positive ring in his voice, the one he gets when the weather gets right and the fishing is easy. "It's lock and load buddy. You can catch solid trout wherever you want to right now. The Pass area was good on that last big moon. We caught some nice trout down there on Top Dogs. Birds are still working in West Bay. Campbell's has birds and fish under slicks. In East Bay, working slicks on mid-bay reefs is productive, as is most of Lower Galveston Bay on the same pattern. Of course, the croaker guys are slamming them already along the ship channel. That will only get hotter with the rising temperatures. Trinity Bay, especially the west shore, has probably more reds than the other bays. Locating them means finding slicks and maybe a few little diving terns. Mostly, I'm fishing the Bass Assassin Sea Shads, because they are easy to use, but you can catch fish on all kinds of lures when it's right. As long as the wind's not cranked up over fifteen miles per hour, it's wide open and looks like it will stay that way."
Jimmy West | Bolivar Guide Service | 409.996.3054
"We've had some calm weather the last few days and the fishing is on fire," Jim says. "Easy limits on some days, near limits on others, and the quality of the fish is good too, especially the trout. Biggest have been over twenty seven inches and pushing seven pounds. We're catching lots of three to five pounders. Doesn't much matter what you throw at them, especially soft plastics. Just about any color seems to be working. I'm using Texas Trout Killers, Bass Assassins and the new soft plastics made by MirrOlure. We've had some decent topwater action and caught some on 51 MirrOlures too, but the key is locating the fish more than what lure you throw. We're finding our fish by keying on five to seven feet of water with scattered shell. The slicks are the main indicators leading us to the fish. This type of pattern should hold through the summer months. Wading will still be fairly productive at times if the wind is up and the tide is coming in, especially in the early morning hours, but slick hopping in the middle is a better bet."
West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves | Groves Guide Service
979.849.7019 | 979.864.9323
Randall reports decent to excellent fishing in his area at the time of the report, especially on quality trout. "Today, we struggled a little early because of a west wind around fifteen knots. It had the water mucked up some, but now the wind has calmed and the water's clearing nicely. We've caught a handful of reds and about nine trout, all on bone Super Spooks. The biggest trout is just over twenty six inches. Last week, we had nine big trout like that, couldn't keep any of them, they were that big. All those came on bone Spooks too. We're fishing sandy bottom, and keying on schools of mullet. Find the mullet and you'll find the trout. They bite best lately when the tide is moving, either way is okay, but it has to be moving. We haven't had strong tides, so any movement is key. When the tides get stronger, the ebb of the tide is best. We have been catching some fish on Norton Sand Eels too. Best color on those has been tequila gold, and we're rigging them on a three eighths ounce Norton Laser Lock head."
Matagorda | Charlie Paradoski
Bay Guide Service | 713.725.2401
"July is the start of the peak season for fishing the surf. There's at least a fifty per cent better chance of being able to get out there than there is in June. When you can get there, meaning when the waves are flat and the water's clear, you'll usually catch 'em pretty easy, mostly solid trout from keeper size to three or four pounds, with an occasional bigger fish. For the surf to lay flat, we need north, northwest winds ideally and it needs to stay that direction and/or really light for a while. With those same conditions, or with southeast winds under about twelve miles an hour, the mid-bay reefs in East Bay will produce. The trout are bigger over there than in West Bay in general. But West Bay is better when it's windy. You can catch limits of both trout and redfish on grass in the coves over there even when it's windy, as long as it's not a west wind. Topwaters work well in the summer, especially in the morning. Soft plastics tend to catch more fish when the blow ups slow down sometime after the sun gets higher in the sky."
Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam
www.palaciosguideservice.com | 979.240.8204
Our summer patterns are already in full effect with almost all our fish relating sand and grass bottoms. Solid trout in the sixteen to twenty inch range have been common on the south shoreline of West Matagorda Bay around pods of glass minnows and under schools of roaming mullet. Topwaters that have been effective are pearl Skitterwalks, bone Spook Jrs., and chrome/green ShePups. Tails that have been pretty consistent have been pumpkinseed/chartreuse and pearl/chartreuse Norton Bull Minnows. Our redfish bite has stayed solid, with easy limits coming from area sand flats and grass beds, with Gulp shrimp in pearl being the go to bait. July should bring some warmer water temperatures, which will drive some of the fish to the deeper wells of Tres Palacios Bay. On a safety note, there are more sharks in the bay than I have seen in a long time. If you are keeping fish, carry some kind of cooler or floating bucket to keep the sharks from stealing and eating your fish.
Port O'Connor | Lynn Smith | Back Bay Guide Service | 361.983.4434
Like others up and down the coast, Lynn is champing at the bit to get in the surf. "By July, we should be waist deep in the Gulf whackin' 'em on topwaters. Whenever winds allow, we'll head that way. Usually, it's best early with topwaters. I like Spook Jrs, particularly the white one with the chartreuse head and the one that's clear with chartreuse on the back. Around daybreak, we like to stand on the first bar and cast toward the shore. Sometimes, it's best to have the lures land almost on the beach. The fish will attack it when it comes into the gut right next to the sand. Once it gets to be mid-morning, the wind typically blows a little and we move out to the deeper guts. When out there, we still catch on top some, but we also like 52 MirrOlures as well. It's easy to work them close to the bottom and the fish love 'em. If we can't get to the surf, we'll wade waist-deep grass beds mostly, using the same lures. That drill works best early in the morning, especially when the tide is coming in at that time. In the surf, tide movement matters less."
Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service | 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894
"I will be heading to the surf as much as I can this month. Hasn't been really good out there yet, from what I've heard, but it should be good in July. We've had a lot of calmer than usual weather, so if that holds, we'll see a lot of trout in the surf. Sometimes, the areas farther from the Port Aransas Jetties are better than those close to town. Those wanting to fish the surf around Cedar Bayou need to be aware that the bayou is silted in and very shallow. Watch out for sand bars if trying to approach the surf from Mesquite Bay. Otherwise, I'll be fishing grassy, sandy shorelines in most of the area bays. Our fishing for trout is much better than last summer, and most of the local bays have plenty of fish. We've been having some good topwater sessions already, and this is typically a good sign that the fishing will be productive that way all summer. I like the Super Spooks in bright colors, especially those with chrome on them this time of year. Won't hesitate to use bait either, if it's necessary. Overall, we are set up for a great summer."
Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut
Robert Zapata | [email protected] | 361.563.1160
So far so good, and the water in the Upper Laguna Madre continues to remain in great shape. I have seen very little evidence of Brown Tide in any part of the Laguna. Yahoo!!! My fishing clients have been getting some excellent catches of trout, with many of them getting close to thirty inches long. The redfish are schooling, and they should continue running in schools for the rest of the summer. The rocks, grass lines, drop offs and pot holes are easy to spot with the current water conditions and these targets that are in two to three feet of water are holding many trout, reds and some flounder as well. Some of the trout are coming up for MirrOlure She Dogs, but we are catching more of them on sixteenth ounce jigheads rigged with bone diamond and plum/chartreuse Bass Assassins. Fishing from the boat has been good, but wadefishing has been a little more successful. Many of the flats covered with twelve inches of water are holding reds and black drum for sightcasting with three inch good penny Berkley Gulp shrimp.
Corpus Christi | Joe Mendez www.sightcast1.com | 361.937.5961
Because the water in the Baffin Bay/Laguna Madre area is so clear, a variety of summer options are available. "You can see everything right now, so it's easy to target trout along drop offs, whether that's in the Land Cut, around rocks in deeper water like at Rocky Slough, or along the edges of deep holes like Emmord's and Beacroft's. Remember to adjust your jighead size to the depth you are fishing, using a heavier one if you want to fish deeper structures and edges, especially if the wind and current are strong. If fishing shallower for other fish is your thing, that's good right now too. It's possible to target reds and other species on shallow grass flats. The herds of reds will appear as a dark orange ball and will make the water bulge up in front. You can catch them on a variety of lures once you find them. Try to work fish around the edges of the herd, not throwing right on top of them, as it will break them up and make catching more a real challenge. Also available on the shallow flats are for sightcasting drum and sheepshead."
Padre Island National Seashore
Billy Sandifer | Padre Island Safaris | 361.937.8446
July begins the summer doldrums and while they are dreaded by bay fishermen this is the month knowledgeable surf anglers have been waiting for all year. Speckled trout numbers in the surf will peak in July on a variety of artificial baits. Remember Harte Institute is tagging surf trout and placing radio transmitters in their bellies. Please don't kill/keep trout with green tags. Get the tag number and release them. Call Harte Institute to receive a reward. Spanish and king mackerel, Atlantic bluefish, some reds, and large numbers of whiting and ladyfish are usually present. Tarpon, jack crevalle, sharks, palometa, mangrove snapper and stray tripletail are all possible. Snook are present at the jetties and at times bonita and even sailfish are caught there. Large tiger sharks are usually available but most are on long distance "kayaked" baits at night. Topwaters or plastics work well on the trout although sometimes a silver spoon saves the day. Anchovy and menhaden shoals can show in July and when they are present anglers should concentrate their efforts around the shoals.
Port Mansfield | Terry Neal
www.terrynealcharters.com | 956.944.2559
Summer time is here and guess what? It's hotter than Hades! The water temperatures are in the 80s and will remain there throughout the summer. Shallow water cools significantly overnight and hitting the flats at daybreak has been producing some nicer redfish. Your best bet is to follow the schools of mullet off the flats as they warm toward mid-morning, if you can stay with them, and you should be able to catch a couple of reds and maybe a nice trout. The deeper grass beds on the east side of the I.C.W. will produce good catches of trout and the occasional redfish. For those who prefer live bait; live shrimp and croakers fished on the edge of the I.C.W. will also produce some good catches of trout. Offshore fishing will really start to turn on as the Gulf Stream current moves inshore. The new offshore reef should start producing some good catches of everything from billfish to dog snapper. Remember to keep what you can eat fresh and release the rest. Good Luck Fishing!
Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel
Janie and Fred Petty | www.fishingwithpettys.com | 956.943.2747
The trout bite remains phenomenal even as we are experiencing lower than normal tides for this time of year. Every trip we're boating several trout in the twenty to twenty seven inch category and at least one twenty nine or over a week. However, if you want to catch a big trout, don't call for a Saturday, because boat traffic is at an all time high. Every weekend, there are several tournaments going on, and that probably won't let up until October. Even with the high levels of traffic, we're still catching reds; at least a couple of days a week we limit, we're just not limiting every trip like we became accustomed to over the last few years. We're throwing a variety of lures, but the Cajun Thunder cigar corks with Gulp three inch shrimp remain the most effective for both our target species. Freddy says, "When it's calm, you want to use the CT cigar cork with a fifteen inch leader and a quarter ounce jighead and pearl or molting Gulps. On windy days, switch to the heavier, round Cajun Thunder cork with the same set up."