I fished the North Jetty on Saturday and had a good day with 3 large gafftops, a small bonnethead shark, 2 large sheepshead (about 5 pounds each) along with a 24 pound black drum. Crab for the drum and shrimp for the other fish. The wind was gusting until around noon and then things calmed down to normal. The water temp had warmed to 72 degrees which in my opinion is part of the reason the black drum bite was very slow. But, I also have learned that once the water temp starts to hover around 70, the fish start to return from offshore to the beachfront and jetties.
I decided to leave the larger gear in the truck on Sunday and used smaller spinning reels and a baitcaster. Wow, what a great morning at the South Jetty. Using live shrimp, I landed and kept 5 Sheepshead up to 5 pounds, 1 Black Drum at 5 pounds and 9 Spanish Mackerel up to 24 inches. I released another 5 Spanish Mackerel that were in the 16-18 inch range using a silver spoon and one bonnethead shark that would not give up. The Spanish Mackerel liked shrimp under a popping cork or free-lined and the Sheepshead were caught bottom bumping live shrimp in about 16 feet of water very close to the rocks on the Gulf side of the South Jetty. Most of the boats around me seemed to also be catching plenty of fish.
This was my first solo trip to Galveston. Of course, I promised Dawn that I'd wear the life jacket the entire time and I kept my promise. Even though my boat and battery is only two years old, I had a completely dead battery when I tried to fire up the motor after about 4 hours of fishing. I had the GPS on the entire time and I also had the aerator on the entire time. Not sure if the battery was weak or just too much use. Anyway, I was fairly close to the rocks and the tide was pulling me toward the rocks. I signaled to a nearby boat that was pulling anchor to see if they would mind pulling me away from the rocks a little more just in case my anchor slipped while I attempted to rig and then pull start my motor. I also had a pair of emergency oars on board, but that could be tough on an 18 foot boat and a strong current. The owner of the 24 foot Wellcraft also launched from the Yacht Basin and volunteered to tow me and I accepted the offer. I could barely get the young man to accept any money when we made it to the Yacht Basin. He finally accepted a very small token of my appreciation and asked me just to pass along a kind gesture to someone else next time I'm on the water. I will certainly pass it on. I sure did appreciate the tow after a great day on the water.
I decided to leave the larger gear in the truck on Sunday and used smaller spinning reels and a baitcaster. Wow, what a great morning at the South Jetty. Using live shrimp, I landed and kept 5 Sheepshead up to 5 pounds, 1 Black Drum at 5 pounds and 9 Spanish Mackerel up to 24 inches. I released another 5 Spanish Mackerel that were in the 16-18 inch range using a silver spoon and one bonnethead shark that would not give up. The Spanish Mackerel liked shrimp under a popping cork or free-lined and the Sheepshead were caught bottom bumping live shrimp in about 16 feet of water very close to the rocks on the Gulf side of the South Jetty. Most of the boats around me seemed to also be catching plenty of fish.
This was my first solo trip to Galveston. Of course, I promised Dawn that I'd wear the life jacket the entire time and I kept my promise. Even though my boat and battery is only two years old, I had a completely dead battery when I tried to fire up the motor after about 4 hours of fishing. I had the GPS on the entire time and I also had the aerator on the entire time. Not sure if the battery was weak or just too much use. Anyway, I was fairly close to the rocks and the tide was pulling me toward the rocks. I signaled to a nearby boat that was pulling anchor to see if they would mind pulling me away from the rocks a little more just in case my anchor slipped while I attempted to rig and then pull start my motor. I also had a pair of emergency oars on board, but that could be tough on an 18 foot boat and a strong current. The owner of the 24 foot Wellcraft also launched from the Yacht Basin and volunteered to tow me and I accepted the offer. I could barely get the young man to accept any money when we made it to the Yacht Basin. He finally accepted a very small token of my appreciation and asked me just to pass along a kind gesture to someone else next time I'm on the water. I will certainly pass it on. I sure did appreciate the tow after a great day on the water.
View While Being Towed
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