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On Galveston: October 2008
We were sitting here wondering what Hurricane Gustav might have in store for us a few days ago and now we've got Ike headed our way. Hopefully we'll get lucky and dodge Ike's wrath the same we did with Gustav. With storms brewing in the Atlantic off Africa and possibly heading into the Gulf of Mexico the next month is sure to keep everyone on the edge of their seat. Fishing has been real good in general although we have not been out on the water as much as we'd like with the threats of the storms and all the crazy weather they generate. But for the most part fishing in the Galveston system has been real good and lots of people are having a great time catching lots of fish.
Trinity Bay
There are quite a few hot spots in Trinity right now. The well pads in the middle of the bay from the Yellow Separator back to the old Exxon C-Lease platforms have been holding real good trout. These fish are mainly holding right off the edge of the shell pads. We are catching them in about eight or nine feet of water and soft plastics have been the ticket. Weights have been running between two and four pounds, anything heavier is a bonus. We have seen some redfish mixed in there but they are hit or miss, nothing too consistent, but fun when they show up. The main mid-bay reefs are holding lots of fish too in about four to seven feet of water, plenty of trout of similar size as we're finding around the well pads and the reds are more plentiful here. We are catching them on spoons, topwaters and soft plastics and doing pretty well. We have begun seeing some decent flounder. They are starting to gather in the deeper water near the bayou mouths and also along the adjacent guts and sand bars. We have been targeting these areas primarily for redfish and throwing mostly spinner baits and some soft plastic. It's pretty cool when you're out there fishing for reds with spinner baits and catching flounder. Some of the flounder have been weighing up to four pounds and I consider these very solid for late summer. The water conditions in Trinity Bay have been excellent over the past several weeks. We have been seeing a lot of baitfish and so naturally we're keying on rafts of mullet and big balls of shad. It looks like we are going to have a great fall season if we can avoid any major storms or a flood. Bottom line; Trinity Bay is in great shape and I'm hoping for great fishing in October.
East Bay
The patterns in East Bay are just about identical to what we're finding in Trinity. Mid-bay shell structure is holding lots of good trout and your soft plastics are the way to find a bunch of bites. All the reefs along the north shoreline are holding good numbers of trout, redfish and flounder. If you're hoping for reds, you'll do well to mix in some spoons with the soft plastics. Just the same as Trinity, the drop-offs and guts around the bayou mouths have been places to pick up a few flounder. It is showing signs of fall starting to roll around. The fish have started to get into what I call their "pre-fall" pattern.
Chocolate Christmas - Bastrop Bays
Here is another area where some good fishing has been going on. I call it the "Tri-Bay" area. There have been some good numbers coming in from behind San Luis Pass. There have been reports of trout measuring as long as 26-27 inches. It has been an every other day pattern, reports I've received seem to say the fish are not eating every day over there. Topwater, spoons and jigs have been working well. Redfish has been good over the small tow heads. Wading those with spoons or the Mansfield Mauler has been working. They also have been doing well in the bayous with soft plastics and topwaters when working the ledges and the flats. The redfish are being caught right along the drop offs there on the edge of the bayou. The flounder have been showing up here too in the deep guts and bayous. Things are looking pretty good.
Summary
Fishing overall in the Galveston Bay complex is doing real well, holding its own so-to-speak. Anglers on the beachfront and the jetties are getting good numbers of reds, drum, pompano, trout and all kinds of fish, even Spanish mackerel. Both live bait and soft plastics seem to be working the best out there. The guys who have been getting out on the rocks real early are bringing in some nice trout on topwater when the conditions will allow. The best thing going on the beach front right now is tarpon fishing. It has just gone through the roof here lately. Depending how the tropical storms develop this could last all through September. We have reports suggesting that there has been excellent tarpon fishing all the way from Galveston to Freeport and the Brazos River. The guys who are on them report schools being found in about 35-40 feet of water. They are catching them on anything and everything, artificial or bait. Keep your fingers crossed for the rest of hurricane season!
Trinity Bay
There are quite a few hot spots in Trinity right now. The well pads in the middle of the bay from the Yellow Separator back to the old Exxon C-Lease platforms have been holding real good trout. These fish are mainly holding right off the edge of the shell pads. We are catching them in about eight or nine feet of water and soft plastics have been the ticket. Weights have been running between two and four pounds, anything heavier is a bonus. We have seen some redfish mixed in there but they are hit or miss, nothing too consistent, but fun when they show up. The main mid-bay reefs are holding lots of fish too in about four to seven feet of water, plenty of trout of similar size as we're finding around the well pads and the reds are more plentiful here. We are catching them on spoons, topwaters and soft plastics and doing pretty well. We have begun seeing some decent flounder. They are starting to gather in the deeper water near the bayou mouths and also along the adjacent guts and sand bars. We have been targeting these areas primarily for redfish and throwing mostly spinner baits and some soft plastic. It's pretty cool when you're out there fishing for reds with spinner baits and catching flounder. Some of the flounder have been weighing up to four pounds and I consider these very solid for late summer. The water conditions in Trinity Bay have been excellent over the past several weeks. We have been seeing a lot of baitfish and so naturally we're keying on rafts of mullet and big balls of shad. It looks like we are going to have a great fall season if we can avoid any major storms or a flood. Bottom line; Trinity Bay is in great shape and I'm hoping for great fishing in October.
East Bay
The patterns in East Bay are just about identical to what we're finding in Trinity. Mid-bay shell structure is holding lots of good trout and your soft plastics are the way to find a bunch of bites. All the reefs along the north shoreline are holding good numbers of trout, redfish and flounder. If you're hoping for reds, you'll do well to mix in some spoons with the soft plastics. Just the same as Trinity, the drop-offs and guts around the bayou mouths have been places to pick up a few flounder. It is showing signs of fall starting to roll around. The fish have started to get into what I call their "pre-fall" pattern.
Chocolate Christmas - Bastrop Bays
Here is another area where some good fishing has been going on. I call it the "Tri-Bay" area. There have been some good numbers coming in from behind San Luis Pass. There have been reports of trout measuring as long as 26-27 inches. It has been an every other day pattern, reports I've received seem to say the fish are not eating every day over there. Topwater, spoons and jigs have been working well. Redfish has been good over the small tow heads. Wading those with spoons or the Mansfield Mauler has been working. They also have been doing well in the bayous with soft plastics and topwaters when working the ledges and the flats. The redfish are being caught right along the drop offs there on the edge of the bayou. The flounder have been showing up here too in the deep guts and bayous. Things are looking pretty good.
Summary
Fishing overall in the Galveston Bay complex is doing real well, holding its own so-to-speak. Anglers on the beachfront and the jetties are getting good numbers of reds, drum, pompano, trout and all kinds of fish, even Spanish mackerel. Both live bait and soft plastics seem to be working the best out there. The guys who have been getting out on the rocks real early are bringing in some nice trout on topwater when the conditions will allow. The best thing going on the beach front right now is tarpon fishing. It has just gone through the roof here lately. Depending how the tropical storms develop this could last all through September. We have reports suggesting that there has been excellent tarpon fishing all the way from Galveston to Freeport and the Brazos River. The guys who are on them report schools being found in about 35-40 feet of water. They are catching them on anything and everything, artificial or bait. Keep your fingers crossed for the rest of hurricane season!