December 31, 2011 and January 1, 2012

Location: Galveston Ship Channel
Air Temp: 65-72
Water Temp: 57

Depth: 18 feet

Water Clarity: clear on day 1 and stained on day 2

Winds: calm to 15 mph

Bait: live shrimp and Gulp 3" and 4" shrimp (color:  new penny)

My daughter gave me a fish counter as a gag gift a few years ago, and I never thought it would make it to 185 for a two day fishing trip.

What a fun way to start the new year.  Our family made a trip to Galveston and had a great time on the water. We arrived at the Yacht Basin on Saturday around 11:30 AM to slightly foggy conditions and decided to stay close and not try the jetties due to the fog. We first tried the concrete ship and only caught 1 whiting, so after about 30 minutes we moved into the Galveston Ship Channel near the cruise ship terminal. We had a blast there on Saturday and caught 98 sand trout and finally left about 5:00 PM with dense fog rolling in around 4:30 PM. The cold front pushed the fog out on Sunday, but made some windy conditions so we decided to stay in the ship channel again on Sunday and caught another 87 sand trout for a total of 185 sand trout and 1 whiting.
 

The fish were caught using live shrimp and 3" and 4" Gulp shrimp.  The GYB bait camp was closed on Sunday for the new year, so we left the dock with no live bait or dead bait (not something I usually do after driving 4+ hours to get on the saltwater). It didn't take long to catch some on the Gulp shrimp and provide cut bait for those wanting to fish with it.

Most of the 185 sand trout were between 12 and 15 inches, but we did catch several really nice 16-18"+ fish. All of the fish were released except for 4 or 5 due to being hooked too deep or the necessity for cut bait.

The boat traffic was very light on Sunday and when we left the Yacht Basin on Sunday around 5:00 PM, it looked like a ghost town.  We were the only truck/trailer in the parking lot.  I can't recall that ever being the case on past fishing trips.  It was like we rented out the place for the day. 

As usual, we enjoyed some Casey's for dinner on Saturday and left the island on Sunday hoping we can make another trip soon. My wife, son and daughter really enjoyed the trip and it was great family time.  Talk about some Reel Fun.



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.

October 13-14, 2010

Location: Galveston Jetties
Air Temp: 65-83
Water Temp: 78
Depth: 20-27 feet
Wind: calm to 20 mph
Bait: cut mullet and live shrimp

This was my fourth annual fall fishing trip with my buddy Alan. We were hoping for some action with some big redfish and this trip was not great, but we did land 5 and lost a few. The winds were about 10-15 mph on Wednesday when we dropped the anchor about 10:30 AM near the boat cut on the channel side of the North jetty in about 27 feet of water. It didn't take long for a bull red to find our bait in a strong outgoing tide, but the action was slow compared to that same location a few weeks ago.

The winds were around 17 mph out of the North on Thursday morning which made for a bumpy and wet ride out to the South Jetty. We anchored with a few other boats on the Gulf side of the jetty in about 27 feet of water and managed one bull red and a few small sharks before we decided to try the North Jetty. Things were really slow with no tidal movement at the North Jetty, so we headed into the ship channel and had some fun with sand trout for about two hours. We must have caught and released 30+ sand trout.

Another great time on the water in Galveston.

September 25-26, 2010

Location: Galveston Jetties

Air Temp: 80-88
Water Temp: 85
Depth: 27 feet
Wind: calm to 15 mph
Bait: cut mullet

I had planned to make the trip from Austin with a buddy and his brother, but plans changed due to the iffy weather conditions and one person prone to sea sickness. I took advantage of the open weekend and fished with my best fishing buddy - my daughter.

We made the long trip from Austin early Saturday morning and finally dropped the anchor about 11:00 AM just past the boat cut on the channel side of the North jetty in about 27 feet of water. It was a bumpy ride out to the jetty from the Yacht Basin, and choppy the entire day with stained water conditions but that did not discourage the big reds. My daughter caught her first of nine bull reds within about 15 minutes and it was good steady action until about 4:30 PM. We thought about trying another spot around 5:00 PM, but decided to call it a day, and have some Casey's for dinner.

We didn't get our usual early start on Sunday morning and missed the early super calm conditions. As we drove down the seawall, the Gulf looked great with only small rolling waves. Within about 15 minutes, the wind started from the north, but it was still not as bumpy or choppy on Sunday. We started at the North Jetty again and added number 10 and 11 bull reds to the 4-digit fish counter that my daughter bought me for my birthday. Not sure I'll need more than two digits on the counter but it's nice to dream. Anyway, the action slowed at the North Jetty and it turned into hardhead and gafftop action so we decided to move to the South Jetty. We anchored on the Gulf side near the end of the jetty in about 25 feet of water and it was slow for about an hour. Then number 12 bull red took a huge mullet head and had the Okuma singing (Z Z Z Z Z Z Z) and once again I enjoyed seeing my daughter take care of business. It was slower, but she did catch two more big reds to end the trip with 14 bull reds and one agressive Atlantic Sharpnose shark.

What a fun weekend!

June 22-25, 2010

We had a great time on our annual family vacation in Galveston. The weather was perfect - hot with mostly calm seas. We spent several days on the beach and also made 3 boat fishing trips to the bay and north jetty. We rented a nice canal home in Sea Isle, and I had great fun catching and releasing trout at night. I threw the cast net in the canal and tried piggies and live shrimp, but only managed small trout with live bait. The larger trout came with plastics and a small top water silver Rapala. It was really cool to cast just outside the two halogen spots with a few twitches on the Rapala, hear the blow up and then feel the tug of a nice trout. The largest trout was right at 24".

Our trips to the North Jetty consisted of numerous Spanish mackerel, a few small sharks, several large whiting and one lone flounder. My mom and daughter were having a ball on our second trip to the jetties with the Smacks. They were using live shrimp under a popping cork and it was usually only a few seconds after the bait would hit the water when the cork would go screaming underwater. It was constant for about two hours and we could have filled a cooler with Smacks, but all were released.

I have only been saltwater fishing for a little over four years, but I learned quickly to keep a good distance from other boats when they are "on" the fish and I especially keep a good distance when I see a fishing guide with clients. I did not receive that same treatment from a local Galveston guide that was trying to "Get Hooked" by anchoring far to close to my boat when my mom and daughter were catching nice Spanish mackerel on almost every cast. The guide did half-way apologize and said something about not being able to control the wind. After running over the exact spot where most of our action was coming from, our action died for about 30 minutes and then we started catching again but not at the same pace. Oh well, nothing to get too excited about but it did help me if I ever decide to hire a guide in Galveston.

June 12-13, 2010

Date: Saturday, June 12 and Sunday, June 13, 2010
Location: Galveston Ship Channel
Air Temp: 85-90
Water Temp: 85
Wind: 15-20+ mph
Bait: live shrimp and live croakers

Even though the winds were predicted to be tough, my buddy Allan and I made the trip to Galveston and still had a great time. I was hoping for a trip out to the jetties for some Spanish mackerel, trout, sheepshead and sharks, but the seas were too rough and we had to stay close to the ship channel.

We fished a top secret location (ok, not really as you can see from the background) near Seawolf Park known as the concrete ship or the S.S. Selma: http://www.crystalbeach.com/selma.htm
I also donated my favorite anchor to the Selma.

We caught and released 6 bull reds (redfish) on Saturday and all were about 20 pounds. We were catching small croakers on the light reels and then baiting the larger reels with the live 4-6 inch croakers. The redfish were pounding the live croakers and we even lost a few circle hooks deep inside the redfish. We also landed and released a few small sharks and had about a 5 minute fight with what had to be a 100+ pound shark that eventually ran around the end of the Selma and cut my line. It was good fun while it lasted.

The winds were still howling on Sunday morning, so we decided to try for some sand trout in the ship channel. We caught about 15 and kept a few that were large enough to eat. Allan also caught a 3-4 pound gafftop catfish that hit the cooler for his neighbors.

As always, we enjoyed some Casey's for dinner on Saturday night. It was a great weekend on the water with a great friend.

May 8-9, 2010

Date: Saturday, May 8 and Sunday, May 9, 2010
Location: Galveston Ship Channel
Air Temp: 75-80
Water Temp: 76
Wind: 15-20 mph
Bait: live shrimp, cut shad and Mirror Image Darting Shad

Made a daddy/daughter trip to Galveston since the wife and son could not make it. Saturday was slow with only about 10 fish caught, but Sunday was "fish on" most of the day. Kat caught and released 60 fish (33 sand trout and 27 gafftop up to 6 pounds). I was too busy baiting and releasing, so I had to stick with a soft plastic and caught 7 sand trout verses 33 with live shrimp.

It was a great way to spend the weekend with my daughter and I look forward to another trip in the future.