November 5-6, 2011

Location:  Galveston North Jetty
Air Temp:  70-76
Water Temp: 68
Depth: 20-30 feet
Water Clarity: stained
Tide: Outgoing
Winds: 15+ mph
Seas: 2-3 feet
Bait: shrimp and soft plastics

A buddy and I made the trip from Austin to Galveston this weekend and enjoyed two fun days on the water.  The winds were 15+ both days which is always a little bit of challenge at the jetties, but we gave it a shot both days.  The first day was slow with only hardheads at the jetty and one lone flounder at the flats behind the Yacht Basin.  The second day was better with a 25 inch trout and a middle slot red.  We had two good pulls on the big reels but lost both fish with one leaving the leader in the anchor rope.

 

We moved into the ship channel near an oil rig platform and had a blast catching a bunch of sand trout and two Spanish mackerel (smacks).  We released about 60-70 sand trout and kept about 8, kept two smacks along with one slot red and one trout.  The sand trout were very agressive and hit every lure I threw at them.  The only lure they would not hang onto was a bucktail jig that I typically only use in fresh water.

 

I am usually a catch-n-release guy, but I did enjoy the sand trout tacos that my buddy shared with me at work today.  Good stuff - may need to keep a few more in the future.

 

It was fun to be on the saltwater again and I look forward to possibly one more trip this year.

 

September 30 & October 1, 2011

Location: Galveston - North Jetty
Air Temp: 80-88
Water Temp: 82
Depth: 20-30 feet
Winds: 5-20 mph

Seas: 1-3 feet and choppy

Bait: live shrimp

My buddy Alan and I made the trip from Austin early on Friday morning and knew that Friday would be our best weather day. We arrived at the Yacht Basin around 9:30 AM, picked up some live shrimp and headed to the boat cut at the North Jetty. The wind started out from the North which made for a bumpy ride to the jetty but created calm conditions once we made it to the leeward side of the rocks on the channel side.

We fished close to the rocks for about 30 minutes near the boat cut and only had one exciting bite. I was almost spooled by something (shark, jack??) on a small bait casting reel when suddenly the line went slack. I thought the fish cut me off but discovered the 5/0 circle hook had been straightened. I had used the same leader and hook back in the spring and must have weakend the hook when removing some sheepshead back in April. It was my last VMC hook because I typically use the much stronger Gamakatsu 7/0 and 8/0 circle hooks for black drum and redfish.

We then moved out to the rocks near the orange weather station on the channel side for the remaining outgoing tide. We had a blast catching 10 slot redfish, 2 bull reds and lost 4-5 in the rocks. We were in about 22 feet of water and Alan figured out the redfish were suspended above the rocks in about 10 feet of water. This was also evident on the fish finder which showed the fish suspended and not on the bottom. We used the typical Carolina rig with 12-24 inches of nylon coated wire and about 1/2 ounce sinker to get the live shrimp down to about 10 feet in the strong outgoing tide. We had several double hookups and considered making some room in the cooler for a few fish, but decided to release them.

The wind was too strong on Saturday to make it to the jetty. We made it about half way and I decided not to chance it in my small boat. We fished the Pelican Island bridge and the causeway bridge with only a few sand trout for our efforts which was still fun. It was great to be back on the water again and I'm hoping for at least one more saltwater trip in October or November.

September 24-25, 2011

Location: Galveston Jetties and Concrete Ship
Air Temp: 80-88
Water Temp: 83
Depth: 20-32 feet
Winds: 5-20 mph
Seas: 1-3 feet
Bait: live shrimp and whole shad

I hosted my friend and his son to a fall fishing trip and was hoping for more action, but the bite was slow this time. We tried a usual good spot at the North Jetty near the boat cut on Saturday and never had any luck then we tried the end of the South Jetty with no luck (0 for 2). We then moved in the Galveston ship channel and finally found some sand trout that were ready to feed and landed about 10-12 average size sand trout along with some large ribbon fish.

The wind had picked up on Sunday morning and I knew it would be too rough at the jetties even though I knew the big bull reds were likely roaming the rocks. I opted for plan B and we fished near the concrete ship where we landed one upper slot red (27") and two bull reds (19 and 23 pounds). We also caught a small shark and about a 25 pound sting ray. We tried the Pelican Island bridge with no luck and then called it a day.

The fish were just not biting this trip in the places where I have found them before this time of year, but it was still a fun trip. As usual, we enjoyed some good Casey's seafood for dinner and brought home some redfish for dinner.

July 30 - 31, 2011

Location: Galveston Jetties and Concrete Ship
Air Temp: 82-92
Water Temp: 86
Depth: 6-32 feet
Winds: Calm to 15 mph
Seas: 1-3 feet
Bait: live shrimp and live croakers

I am very blessed to have a family and especially a daughter that enjoys saltwater fishing. The rest of the family had other commitments this weekend, so my daughter and I watched the weather closely at the end of the week as tropical storm Don approached the Texas coast. With mixed emotions knowing how much we need the rain in Texas, I was hoping the storm would at least stay south of Galveston to give us an opportunity for this fishing trip. Even though the conditions would not be ideal on our first day, we still decided to make the trip from Austin to Galveston early Saturday morning because the best time to fish is "when you can". We've had a busy spring and summer and have not been to the coast for several months.

After about 4.5 hours of driving, we arrived at the Galveston Yacht Basin around 9:30 AM on Saturday and made the short trek out to the North Jetty to check out the water conditions. The channel side was too rough and the Gulf side looked a little better so we went through the boat cut and anchored near the sunken barge. After about an hour with only two small croakers and bouncing around due to the 3-4 foot seas, we decided to make a move back into the ship channel near the concrete ship. That was a good move. My daughter had a blast catching croakers, whiting, several large sand trout, piggy perch, a large gafftop (7+ pounds) that took about an 8 inch croaker and two bull reds. I managed a few sand trout on artificials between baiting and releasing fish for my daughter. I baited two of the larger reels with the live croaker she caught and it wasn't long before we had an Okuma reel singing. A few minutes later she landed the first 20 pound bull red for the day. The 2nd and final bull red for the day was a 44" that came in at 28 pounds and beat my daughter's personal best by 3 pounds.

We started Sunday very early leaving the hotel at 5:00 AM and launched at the Yacht Basin in the dark about 6:00 AM. The wind was much calmer on Sunday with seas around 1-2 feet on the Gulf side of the North Jetty and a little rougher on the channel side for the first few hours until it really started to calm down. We first tried the North Jetty on the Gulf side with only a few whiting after about one hour. We also tried to attrack some sharks, but never had success. We then moved to the South Jetty and it was a good move. We anchored on the channel side of the South Jetty close to the lighthouse foundation within about 50 feet of the rocks to give plenty of room to cast in all directions along the rocks. After about 30 minutes we noticed the mullet that had been cruising around became nervous and that's when the action started. Using live shrimp freelined and fished under a popping cork, we landed and released 8 speckled trout that ranged from 16-22 and one puppy drum in about 45 minutes then the action shut off as fast as it started. We then made the move back to the concrete ship with more fun on croakers, whiting and healthy sized sand trout. My daughter caught 54 fish on Sunday for a total of 119 fish for the weekend. She likes catching fish and is not concerned about the kind or size which is great this time of year.

It was a great trip and one we will both remember for a long time.

Sunday morning headed to the jetty before sunrise.

March 26-27, 2011

Location: Galveston Jetties
Air Temp: 75
Water Temp: 71
Winds: 5-15 mph
Seas: 2-3 feet
Bait: live crabs and live shrimp

Made the trip from Austin to Galveston with two of my good fishing buddies this past weekend. We were hoping to entice some big uglies to bite but only managed two on this trip and lost one. Not sure if our timing was a little late for the black drum, or maybe they were just not biting. Another factor was the very strong current (2 kts) near the north jetty at one of my favorite spots. It was almost impossible to keep the bait on the bottom for the black drum. No live shrimp available on Saturday, but after touring the island on Sunday morning, we did manage to pick up some live shrimp at Smitty's. We caught a nice variety of fish which is typical for this time of year. Our catch included over sized and a keeper black drum, sheepshead, sand trout, Spanish mackerel, croakers and a redfish. It was great to be back on the saltwater after several months and I'm looking forward to more trips now that spring is here.