Reel Fun Saltwater Fishing

July 11 & 13, 2014

Location: Galveston
Air Temp: 78-92
Water Temp: 87
Depth: 10-32 feet
Water Clarity: clear
Winds: calm to 10 mph
Seas: calm
Bait: live shrimp, cut mullet and squid

My daughter and I hosted Emily from Virginia to some Texas saltwater fishing. It was good to see childhood friends catching fish and having a good time on the water. I enjoyed being bait boy and deckhand on the boat and fished the surf and caught some large whiting and released two slot black drum. I fished the canal in Sea Isle at night, but could not entice the trout swimming in the lights with natural or artificial baits.

The conditions were great on both days with very calm seas and the temps were good for this time of year, but the fishing was a little slow, at least for anything big. We fished the North Jetty, South Jetty, and the concrete ship with similar results at all three spots. Both girls caught numerous croakers (about 60 total), a few small sharks, a lone sand trout and a few hardhead catfish. I also missed a few Spanish mackerel using a popping cork rigged with a live shrimp.

It was fun to get back on the water and I'm already looking forward to it again.

June 5-6, 2014

Location: POC
Air Temp: 78-85
Water Temp: 84
Depth: 10-32 feet
Water Clarity: clear
Winds: 10-15 mph
Seas: choppy
Bait: live shrimp, cut whiting and squid
Rigging: Carolina rig using 80# nylon coated wire, 7/0 circle hook and 1 to 5 oz. egg sinker above the swivel and Texas rig with small J hook for smaller fish

It sure was fun fishing with my Mom and my son in Port O'Connor on Thursday and Friday. The wind made the fishing a little tough, but we adjusted and found some protected water both days. We basically fished an incoming tide on both days and the fishing was better on Friday than it was on Thursday.

We decided to make the trip to POC instead of Galveston to avoid the traffic around Houston since we would be hitting rush hour going down on Thursday and coming home on Friday. It was a good choice because the traffic was a breeze going to POC. We got on the water around 11:00 AM on Thursday and fished until about 5:30 PM, then enjoyed seafood at Cathy's. On Friday morning, we got on the water around 7:00 AM and enjoyed the sunrise in the first picture below.

We landed a variety of fish which included a few bait fish and a large whiting that was kept, and we released a slot black drum, several sharks, several jack fish, a 25 pound redfish and of course, several, elusive, slimy, gafftop catfish. We fished the big jetties and the bay on the back side of the big jetties. We found a school of jacks in about 10-15 feet of water close to the rocks at the jetty and they were really fun on light tackle. We snagged a few that were too much for the light tackle, but landed the ones that were about 4-7 pounds. Once the jacks moved on, we did too.

We relocated to the back side of the big jetties and fished in about 32 feet of water and had fun catching sharks, another jack, slimy gafftops and finally a nice redfish. We were about ready to call it day, so I kept one rod out while we cleaned up and broke down the tackle on most of the reels. We had used squid to catch some bait fish, but I decided to toss out a whole squid on one of the medium reels. It was a good call, because the reel started screaming in about 5 minutes. My Mom fought the fish for about 5-10 minutes and we were playing the guessing game trying to figure out what it was. It ran like a shark several times, but ended up being a nice, 25 pound redfish. My Mom handled it like a pro and this fish became her personal best redfish.

It was fun to watch my son catch sharks and see my Mom catch the redfish. We are already looking forward to another future trip.

These jacks were fun, but we are still talking about my Mom's first jack fish that she caught in the fall of 2012 that went 30 pounds and put up a heck of a fight.

March 29-30, 2014

Location: POC
Air Temp: 60-70
Water Temp: 66
Depth: 36 feet
Water Clarity: clear
Winds: calm to 15 mph
Seas: calm to choppy
Bait: cracked blue crab
Rigging: Carolina rig using 80# nylon coated wire, 7/0 circle hook and 1 to 5 oz. egg sinker above the swivel

I was planning a trip to Galveston and decided to cancel my room there due to the oil spill and head further south to Port O’Connor. I wasn’t sure we would even get to make the trip to POC due to reports of oil showing up along the coast in that area. After reading reports on a fishing forum and news reports on Friday morning and a call to the Inn at Clark’s, it sounded like there was a lot of prevention and activity taking place in POC but not much damage caused by the oil that made its way down the coast. I was glad to see that was the case after fishing the big jetties and outside the big jetties for a short while on Saturday afternoon. The water was calm, it looked great and no sign of oil on that part of the island near the jetties. We did see a young man with the Coast Guard walking the entire south jetty looking for signs of oil.

I have only fished POC a few times and never this early in the year, so I was not sure if our target fish, Black Drum, would be concentrated there this time of year. After the long drive, we got on the water about 11:00 AM on Saturday with good weather conditions and only caught one big drum close to the rocks at the jetty. The wind started out around 10-15 mph, but really started to calm down around 2:00 PM for the rest of the day. It was so calm, we decided to go outside the jetties and check out the beach front more for the scenery than anything else and only got slimed (gafftops). We tried for sheepshead with dead shrimp and Gulp shrimp (no live shrimp was available) all along the rocks, but never got a nibble. It was still great to be out on the water on Saturday, but the fishing was reaaaaaallllly slow.

My son and my long time fishing buddy, Alan, and I got on the water early on Sunday morning. Alan fished POC many years ago and he was glad to get back down there and see how things had changed since the 80s and since our last trip there a few years ago. My son is super busy with college, work, and extra activities and it was great that he could take the weekend to spend some father/son time. He enjoys the outdoors a lot, but fishing is not a passion for him like it is for me. I really appreciated him taking the time to relax with his dad for the weekend – good memories.

On Sunday, the wind was ok early in the morning, so we decided to try near the big jetties again and this time our plan worked. We tried the back side of the big jetties between the jetties and Bird Island in about 36 feet of water. We boated and released 7 big, Black Drum, 1 really nice bull redfish that taped at 44 inches and weighed 32 pounds, lost two due to pulled hooks and had a triple hookup at one point. After the great morning of fishing and steady action, the wind had really picked up and we were thinking about finding some calmer water for lunch, but decided to stay put while we rocked and rolled and had lunch just to see if we could get another bite before heading to calmer water. One of the large Okuma reels baited with cracked crab started to sing with two very fast runs. We were too focused on our turkey sandwiches and not quick to pick up the reel. When we finally did, it was gone. We reeled in the line to check the bait and were surprised to see a large whiting that was half eaten and still alive. I guess he was chewing the crab, barely hooked himself and then something decided to chew on him. We will never know what it was (Jack, shark?), but it definitely pulled more line than anything I’ve seen in a while.

We fished the area noted in red behind the big jetties.

Double hook up.

March 8-9, 2014

Date: 3/8 and 3/9/2014
Location: Galveston North Jetty
Air Temp: 53-65
Water Temp: 57

Depth: 36 feet
Water Clarity: clear
Winds: 10-15 mph
Seas: 1-3 feet and choppy
Bait: cracked blue crabs

It had been too long since our last daddy/daughter trip (July 2013), so we were due for some fishing time together. My daughter has been really busy with school and cheer and this trip came together with only a 24 hour notice. I had prepped the boat the prior weekend from being stored all winter, so I knew the boat was ready and was hoping the weather would cooperate for us. The weatherman was right on target this time with Saturday forecasted to be about 65, with southeast winds around 10 mph and seas of only 1-2 feet. Sunday was not supposed to be as nice and it was a little tough with the temp only reaching about 53, with a shift of the wind from the north and 15 mph. We made it to the North Jetty both days, but the ride back from the jetty to the Yacht Basin around 1:00 PM on Sunday was very bumpy and wet.

Our target for this time of year was none other than the ugly, black drum and the North Jetty did not disappoint. My daughter landed and released 8 big uglies with the largest one going about 55 pounds. We used our medium and heavy gear, so all of the fish were landed in about 5 minutes and some needed to be vented (air bladder punctured) before they were released. I released a few alongside the boat and did not pull them out of the water and all but one was able to go right back down on its own. We did have to pull the anchor, move the boat, net one and vent it because it was on its side and couldn’t go back down. Considering these fish are estimated to be 15+ years old, we do all we can to help them survive.

As always, it was great trip and I know I am a lucky dad to have a daughter that likes to get out on the water even when the conditions are tough. Why do they grow up so fast?

October 8-9, 2013

Date: 10/8 and 10/9/2013
Location: Galveston Jetties
Air Temp: 75-82
Water Temp: 77
Water Clarity: clear
Winds: 5-10 mph
Seas: calm
Bait: dead shad and live shrimp

Had a great time hosting my sister, brother-in-law, nephew and his wife to their first saltwater fishing trip. The weather was great and the fishing was good on both days. We targeted redfish and ended up catching a nice variety of fish on both days.

On the first day, I took my sister and her husband and we ended the day with 5 big redfish going from about 17 to 22 pounds and all were about 34 to 36 inches. We also caught whiting, sand trout, flounder, hard head catfish and numerous large gafftop catfish. We lost several fish which cut the line on the small reels and was likely Spanish mackerel. It was a great to watch my family fighting the big bull redfish.

On day two, I took out my nephew and his wife and we caught one big redfish, about 18 pounds, several Spanish mackerel, some sheepshead, black tip sharks, and of course, catfish. The fishing was a little slower on day two, but it was still great to be out on the water.

I am already looking forward to them coming back the next time they get a chance so we can head back down to the saltwater for some fun.

July 6, 2013

Date: 7/6/2013
Location: Pelican Island Bridge
Air Temp: 80-88
Water Temp: 84
Water Clarity: stained
Winds: 15-20 mph
Seas: choppy with white caps
Bait: squid, dead shad and live caught croakers and shad

Made the trek from Austin to Galveston this past weekend for a little family time. We knew the winds would be pumping, but it was our only open weekend for several weeks so we decided to give it a shot anyway.

We made the turn near the Coast Guard Station and decided it was way too rough to try the jetties and played it safe by heading to the Pelican Island bridge. There were several boats there already likely for the same reason - to find some protected water.

We started out with some dead shad soaking on the larger reels and tried squid on a few bait reels. It wasn't long before my wife caught some perfect bait size croakers and we put two of them on the big reels. We noticed that shad were surrounding us and the Pelicans were having a field day, so my daughter tossed the cast net and caught about 20 small shad and on the next cast she caught about 6 large shad. The small shad were good for catching a few sand trout and we saved the larger shad for a little later.

Whatever attacked the first large croaker threw the hook in deep water after a good 2-3 minute fight. It wasn't long before we had another Okuma reel singing and this time my daughter caught what was likely her 30th bull red. As always, it was good fun to watch her fight the red. After a few quick pictures and venting, the red was released to fight another day.

We then decided to free line one of the large live shad. It didn't take long for a shark to bite the shad in half and never touch the hook, so I put another live shad on the 8/0 circle hook. This shad was pretty active for several minutes, but then the line really started to move and I knew he was likely trying to avoid something and then it was Fish On. I started clearing rods and my daughter got on the rod and gave it a nice steady pull to hopefully set the circle hook. While clearing rods, I barely got a glance of what appeared to be about 3-4 foot fish jump about 20 yards behind the boat. My daughter saw the fish jump and confirmed it was definitely not a spinner shark and was too large for a ladyfish and says it had to be a tarpon. Based on the noise and splash, I bet she was right. He tossed the hook, but it was still fun to be hooked up for only a minute or two.

Had a little illness in the family on Sunday, so we decided to stay off the water and just enjoy a little time on the island. Good fun with the family and already looking forward to another trip this summer once we all have a chance.

May 11-12, 2013

Location: Galveston Jetties
Air Temp: 70-84
Water Temp: 74
Water Clarity: 6 out of 10
Winds: 5-15 mph
Seas: calm, choppy and rollers to 3-4 feet depending on location
Bait: live shrimp and cut mullet

It was fun to get back on the water with two of my good fishing buddies: Allan and Alan. My daughter says I'm not good with names, so I pick friends with the same name, but that's not completely true (ha, ha). These guys have been fishing with me since I started saltwater fishing about 7 years ago, and we always have a good time.

After driving about 3 hours on Saturday morning, I heard a noise coming from the boat trailer and that is never a good sign. We exited the loop around Houston and sure enough, one of tires was just about ready to come apart. We found a safe place in a parking lot to change the tire and were on our way after dealing with some rusty lugs and studs on the wheel and a rusty mounting bolt that made removing the spare a little tricky. Oh, well, I guess I will put the WD-40 back in the plastic bin that goes with me on every trip next time I use it at home. We used the parking lot of a brake place and one of my buddies borrowed a little WD-40 which made the job easier.

We got on the water around 11:00 AM on Saturday and had good fun catching and releasing some bull reds at the North Jetty along with several sharks and of course, we managed to catch a few elusive hard head and gafftop catfish.

On Sunday, we decided to hit the South jetty and try for some trout or sheepshead based on some intel provided by guide:

Capt.Chris Hayes
Reel Safaris Charters
reelsafarischarters.com
832-425-1482

that was in the slip next to us at the Yacht Basin. The info he provided was good, because we almost filled the cooler with sheepshead from that location along with a 25" slot red from the day before caught in an area where I typically catch sand trout, sand trout, whiting, a croaker and two large, slimy gafftops. We released 5 bull reds that ranged from about 20-25 pounds. The sharks were trolling both jetties and we probably released about 8-10 sharks (mostly sharpnose and one bonnethead).

Great to be back on the water with good friends.