Fishing Reports and Forecasts

from Big Lake to Boca Chica

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com - 409.935.7242

James reports catching limits most every day in June and July, usually by working shallow structures lying close to deep water. “Not sure why all the fish are so close to deep water. You could shoot a BB Gun and hit water 30 feet deep in most of the spots I’m catching lately. If you have some rocks and shell in the shallows and deep water close by, with some mullet rafted up in the shallow part, it’s been money in the bank. We’ve been catching a fair number on pink ShePups. The shrimp colored Assassin Sea Shads are working well too. Today, the glow/chartreuse Lil’ Johns worked best. For a while there, it was a dark bodied lure with a white tail. I expect this to continue as we head on through the summer. Not seeing a reason for the fish to move shallow until we get some cooler weather now. Average size of the trout has been pretty good, with lots of two and three pounders, a few around four or a little more. No big ones really. But it’s good fishing. Better than I expected after the freeze and better than last year, with more spots producing fish consistently.”

Jimmy West - Bolivar Guide Service - 409.996.3054

Jim says the fishing in East Galveston Bay during the heat of the summer is best in deeper water, on average, with a few exceptions. “Mostly, we catch ‘em out in the middle this time of year. We key on slicks and rafted baited, occasionally mud stirs and working birds to find fish around some of the deep reefs. Topwater bite can be good at times, but it’s mostly a soft plastic thing. Mostly, though, location is more important than lure choice. Wading can be better than fishing out of the boat at times. When it’s windy, sometimes we’re forced to wade the shorelines, or fish in the bayous and marshes. The shorelines produce better when tides are pretty high, especially when they’re coming in early in the mornings. Low tides and high winds are tough this time of year. It’s sometimes possible to catch fish in deeper holes in the bayous on low tides, when it’s windy. Of course, when the surf is right, wading out there is often as good or better than the fishing in the open waters of East Bay. I don’t do it much as a guide, but it works really well for others, for sure.”

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays Randall Groves - Groves Guide Service 979.849.7019 - 979.864.9323

August is a great month to fish in the vicinity of San Luis Pass, with multiple productive options, Randall says. “When winds are light, the surf on both sides of the Pass produces limits of trout on a steady basis. Topwaters work great out there when the waves are quiet. We also like to make some quick runs offshore to target king mackerel, snapper and other pelagics this time of year, when conditions allow. It’s really a hoot to watch kings blow up on topwaters. Calm winds also make the fishing good on the flats behind the Pass this time of year, when the tide is right. A decent high tide without too much strength in the current makes the fishing best. On windier days, and when tides are a bit lower, fishing the deeper water in West Bay is better. The spoils close to the ICW often produce good catches of trout on days like those. And, of course, fishing for reds in the backwater areas can be excellent this time of year. Some days, the reds will make fools of themselves taking topwaters like SkitterWalks. On other days, throwing soft plastics at them works a whole lot better.”

Matagorda | Bay Guide Service Tommy Countz- 979.863.7553 cell 281.450.4037

Tommy anticipates some fast action in the surf in August. “We’ve had some light winds recently, and August usually brings more calm days, with green water to the beach. When that happens, we head out to the beachfront. I like to wade early, working topwaters in the first gut, especially if I see birds working close to the sand, or lots of mullet in the shallows. We’ll walk out a little deeper once the sun gets higher and switch to soft plastics. If we’re fishing East Bay, we’re usually drifting and throwing live shrimp under popping corks, unless winds are light and water clarity is good. Then, we do well with topwaters early and soft plastics later. Usually, we throw quarter-ounce heads and light colored worms, but if the bite is tougher, it’s sometimes better to move to a sixteenth-ounce head, which forces you to slow way down in order to stay low in the water. Same kind of plan works well at times when we’re wading West Bay. Especially on falling tides, the reds will sometimes pile up in some of the deeper guts a ways from shore, and they’re easiest to catch with low and slow presentations.”

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam www.palaciosguideservice.com - 979.240.8204

Lately, out trout bite has been pretty fast and furious out around the wells in West Matagorda Bay. We’ve been fishing live shrimp rigged four to five feet under popping corks, also working closer to the shell pads on the bottom at times, with good success rates. The surf has also been quite productive when winds are light. We caught good numbers of trout out there on SheDogs in green/chrome and pink/chrome recently, fishing the first gut just after daybreak, then moving out to the deeper guts later, where we caught better on pearl paddletails. Fishing for reds remains great; we’ve been catching most of our reds in the upper reaches of Tres Palacios Bay on live shrimp or mullet rigged about a foot under popping corks, close to any concentration of shell we find. Lots of black drum in the lower end of the slot have been running with the reds. Flounder gigging has picked up lately, as the water has gotten more salty, and we’re starting to see lots of good sized ones on most trips. Best time for gigging is on a falling tide early in the night. In August, we’ll continue to work these same summer patterns for the most part.

Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith Back Bay Guide Service - 361.983.4434

Heavy rains and flooding conditions in the rivers dumping into West Matagorda and San Antonio bays will likely concentrate the fish in the area around Pass Cavallo at the end of the summer, Lynn says. “All this rain generally sends the fish right to us here in Port O’Connor. We’ll be fishing the shoreline flats close to the pass the rest of the summer, most likely, with trips out into the surf when winds get light enough to green the water up along the beach. This time of year, we spend most of our time wading and throwing topwaters early in the morning, then switch over to soft plastics as the day heats up. On some of the cloudy days, the switch is never really even necessary. As always, when the weather’s warm, finding concentrations of bait is a big key to catching the fish. That really shouldn’t be a problem as we get so many fish crowded into the area around the jetties and the pass, except it’s important to look for signs of the predators within

Rockport | Blake Muirhead Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894

Blake had been experiencing good fishing prior to giving this report, and he expects it to continue through the rest of the summer. “We’ve had some good days in the surf lately. Conditions haven’t allowed us to get out there that much, but when we have been able to, it’s been easy fishing. Fishing in the bays has been good too. The average size of the trout has been nice, and we’re catching plenty, mostly using live croakers, but some days the lure fishing is steady too. With all this rain, we might see a concentration of fish around the areas which already produce well this time of year, meaning the sandy flats adjacent to both deep channels leading out of Port Aransas. These places normally produce big catches of schooling trout and reds in hot weather. The reds begin to show up in concentrations there by August, on their way out to the Gulf for winter. I also expect the dove hunting to be excellent this year. All this rain helps produce crops on the ag fields inland from here. There’s lots of milo and other crops flourishing right now, so we should be set up for fast shooting.”

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut Robert Zapata – rz1528@grandecom.net - 361.563.1160

The water in Baffin Bay looks beautiful right now, as is usually the case when the area receives plenty of rain. The clarity of the water is about as good overall as I’ve seen in a long time. I’ve been seeing a few schools of redfish early in the mornings on days when the winds are blowing light, less than ten miles per hour or so. The best way to approach the schools after they’re located is to move well around upwind of them with the big motor, at least one hundred and fifty yards or so, then approach them slowly with the trolling motor. Stop the boat at a distance where the casts will just reach the edge of the school and throw Bass Assassin Die Dappers in natural colors rigged on sixteenth-ounce heads for best results. Half-ounce gold weedless spoons also work great. Don’t allow the boat to drift through the school, as this normally breaks it up and scatters the fish. When the fish aren’t visible, live shrimp rigged about eighteen inches under popping corks tossed into water about two or three feet deep have been producing decent numbers of reds, black drum, flounder and trout.

Corpus Christi | Joe Mendez – www.sightcast1.com - 361.877.1230

In August, Joe still likes to do some fishing in the shallows, especially early in the mornings. “It’s still possible to locate plenty of schools of redfish in shallow water covering grassy flats this time of year. We get calm winds on a good many August mornings, and that allows us to find the schools by looking for the wakes they push. Sight-casting later in the day can be tougher, on average. Some of the fish definitely retreat to cooler, deeper water during the heat of the day, and calm conditions under bright skies can create a mirror effect on the water’s surface, making it tough to see the fish if they’re scattered in small pods, or as singles. In conditions like those, fishing deeper water and targeting trout makes more sense some of the time. Areas in Baffin where rock formations lie in deep water, also the outside edge of the rock line on the Kenedy Shoreline are good places to try down south. Up north, the wells and platforms in the deep parts of Corpus Christi Bay hold lots of fish this time of year, and they’re easiest to catch when winds are light and the tide is moving.”

P.I.N.S. Fishing Forecast | Eric Ozolins 361-877-3583 | Oceanepics.com

Hot, calm days generally deliver large schools of baitfish cruising down the beach, usually well away from the sand during the day, closer to the surf zone near sundown, when predators chase them more actively. Dusky anchovies begin their migration late this month, or early next month. A variety of gamefish will follow them, including great numbers of skipjacks, Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, speckled trout, redfish, jack crevalle and tarpon. Throwing lures into the chaos could result in a hook up with any of these species. Sharks will also be on the prowl, mostly blacktips and bulls, feeding on both the anchovies and the predators attempting to eat them. Typically, August shark fishing is slow, but this can change in a hurry when a bait ball comes through. Late night outings can produce bites from big tigers, which come into the shallows under the cover of darkness trying to feed on the plentiful adult stingrays there to give birth. Wading anglers should keep their feet tight to the bottom this month. Unfortunate folks who do get stuck by a ray should seek medical attention immediately, to offset the effects of all the bacteria generally inserted into the wound with the barb.

Port Mansfield | Ruben Garza Snookdudecharters.com – 832.385.1431 Getaway Adventures Lodge – 956.944.4000

Fishing has been inconsistent in Port Mansfield lately, good for a few days, then slower for a while. The trout bite better on days when winds are calm, mostly in fairly deep water, north of the East Cut. Wading deep from the old weather station up to Dubb’s Island has been the best bet. The prime part of this area is the break from the shallows to the depths. We’re catching best by targeting the fish in areas where we find schools of finger mullet. South of the East Cut, the deep area east of Bennie’s Island all the way past the Pipeline has produced on some days, a mix of trout and reds. On the west side, on days with light to moderate winds, the stretch between Century Point and the Oak Mottes has produced at a fair rate, as has the entrance to Gladys’ Hole. The action on the reds has been steady, but a high percentage of the fish measure under the slot. Best lures lately have been KWigglers in Lagunaflauge and plum/chartreuse Ball-tails, rigged on eighthounce jigheads. KWigglers shrimp-tails dangled under the STX Tackle popping corks have also been calling up some fish.

Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel Aaron Cisneros | tightlinescharters.com – 956-639-1941

With the summer heat in full swing, we’re catching most of our fish by wading deep water, about as deep as we can. Trout fishing has improved somewhat over the days just after the freeze. We’ve been finding decent numbers of fish in three to five feet of water, focusing on bright sand spots on the bottom. Our best presentations have been low and slow, close to the bottom. Soft plastics have worked best. KWigglers Mansfield Margarita Ball-tail Shads have been the steadiest producers. The reds have also been hanging in pretty deep water, taking topwaters in the mornings, but biting soft plastics better the rest of the day. Searching for signs of bait in depths about three to five feet has helped us locate them on most days. Early morning wades along the spoils have also produced decent catches of reds before the boat traffic ramps up too much. KWigglers Ball-tails rigged on quarter-ounce screw-lock jigheads have worked best, since they’re easy to keep close to the bottom. I expect the fish to remain concentrated in the deeper sand pockets until we get some cooler weather at the end of the summer and heading into fall.