Gulf Coast Region Week of May 29, 2024

Redfish Bay

GOOD. 75 degrees. Fishing patterns are steady. Trout are slow on the outside of Dagger Island and Ransom Island on croaker near shoreline drop-offs in the 4 feet of water. Redfish are slow to bite with fish concentrated in 30-50 fish schools knee deep of water creating mudlines. They rip up the grass feeding on shrimp and crabs. Black drums have been on the outside of Traylor Island with dead shrimp off the bottom. Captain Aerich Oliver, Rockport Paradise Outfitters.

San Antonio Bay

GOOD. 80 degrees. Trout are good with croaker on the reefs, in the back lakes on grass and sand. Seeing many oversized trout which is a good sign for the summer. Tides are high, so expect redfish and drum in the back bays. High south east winds in the forecast for the weekend which should keep the tides. Report Captain Lynn Smith, Back Bay Guide Service.

Sabine Lake

GOOD. 78 degrees. The word must be out on the good bite because there is increased boater traffic and anglers on the water. Freshwater flushed the shrimp into Sabine Lake, so birds are feasting on the jumping shrimp leading to limits of redfish. Cast ¾ ounce gold spoons. Threadfin shad, mullet, and mud minnows are in abundance. Expect bird action to continue for a month. Limits of redfish with flounder, drum and sheepshead mixed in along the banks with shrimp under a popping cork. Also, along the bayous, points and drops on glo chartreuse plastics, something fish can see in the brackish water. Water continues to be too fresh for speckled trout. Winds have been too high to fish the channel but when the weather allows trout, flounder, and redfish can be caught on the rock piles, shell humps and flats with glo chartreuse or live shrimp under a popping cork. Shoreline anglers are reeling redfish, flounder, sheepshead and drum from the south and north levee walls with live shrimp popping cork and Carolina rig. Report by Captain Randy Foreman, Captain Randy’s Guide Service Sabine Lake.

Bolivar

GOOD. 78 degrees. Water levels are fluctuating with tides and wind this week changing back to four tide days on Friday. Still lots of freshwater on the bay side dumping from up north. The best bite conditions this week will be on edges of the deeper spots holding saltier water. People are catching plenty of redfish of varying sizes everywhere! Small croakers showed up along with sand trout, sheepshead, black drum, speckled trout, and crabs caught along the jetty with more stingrays and sharks. Pompano and Jack Crevalle are running. The surf is producing reds and black drum, gafftop, lots of stingrays, and bigger sharks along the whole peninsula. The sargassum, or seaweed, is thick in spots. People were using all kinds of different things for bait this past week with good results. We did sell out of live shrimp this past week again with plenty in stock so call ahead to your favorite bait shop. Report by Captain Shane Rilat, North Jetty Bait Camp.

Trinity Bay

SLOW. 85 degrees. Bay is still hampered by freshwater runoff. Dam release has dropped significantly. Few catches of fish coming from the edges and rocks of the Houston ship channel. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. The bay is stained like chocolate milk, but starting to bounce back near the ship channel. Drum are being caught on rocks and structures. Trinity River rate of release slowed down, so salinity level should start to return. Redfish are being caught by the ship channel deep. Be safe, be prepared and pay attention to the weather. Report by Captain Zackary Scott, Zack Attack Fishing.

East Galveston Bay

GOOD. 86 degrees. South shoreline reefs holding speckled trout, best on soft plastic. Those using shrimp catching a mix of trout, black drum, and gafftop. Waders on the south shoreline finding better action on speckled trout with soft plastics. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. East Bay and Intracoastal waterway are holding plenty of small speckled trout, black drum, sheepshead, and redfish caught on live shrimp, croakers, and top water lures. Report by Captain Shane Rilat, North Jetty Bait Camp. Surface water temps 81 degrees, water clarity stained in most places for East Galveston Bay. Still a large amount of freshwater in the Bay system, however we have been able to locate trout without running too far from the launch spot. Winds have been less than 20 mph for the most part, allowing us to fish pretty much wherever we choose, which has increased our success rates over the past week. We have been able to find a good number of baitfish and shrimp over shell and grass lines, and the predators have been close by. We have been utilizing live shrimp, under a popping cork, as well as paddle tails and ¼ ounce jig heads on our artificial only charters. WacAttack Purple with Chartreuse worked well for us again this week. We have been able to catch trout, redfish, and flounder up and close to the shoreline, as well as open water reefs, with our larger fish coming off open water reefs. Tide movement as well as major feeding times have been where we have experienced the most success of late. Report by Captain Jeff Brandon, Get the Net Guide Services, LLC.

Galveston Bay

SLOW. 86 degrees. Wind and freshwater have the open bay stirred up. Few catches of black drum, redfish, and an occasional trout coming from protected, green pockets of water. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing.

West Galveston Bay

GOOD. 87 degrees. Wading with live croakers producing good numbers of solid fish, with many of them over the legal size limit. Those using live shrimp catch a mix of redfish, black drum, and trout. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing.

Houston

GOOD. Water stained; 66 degrees; 0.64 feet below pool. Water clearing up and lake level dropped 1 foot. White bass are starting to bounce back and will be schooling up very soon. Largemouth bass are really starting to pattern on docks and structure using worms and grubs. Crappie are tight to structure in Luces Bayou and East Fork using hand tied jigs in 8-14 feet. Catfish are in abundance on the bulk heads being caught on fresh shad. Report by Captain Zackary Scott, Zack Attack Fishing.

Texas City

FAIR. 85 degrees. Galveston causeway bridge fair for speckled trout and black drum on live shrimp. Galveston north jetty holding speckled trout, black drum, and redfish, up tight to the rocks at the end, best on live shrimp. Decent shark bite further away from both jetties. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. Anglers continue to catch plenty of speckled trout, redfish, and flounder everyday with some occasional black drum, sheepshead, sand trout, and gafftop. People caught limits along the levee, Mosquito Island and the Moses Lake Tidal Gate. Along the dike has been successful in some spots and sporadic at others. Live shrimp and finger mullet have been the best baits. Report by Captain Shane Rilat, North Jetty Bait Camp.

Freeport

GOOD. 85 degrees. Fishing been steady for trout, redfish, sheepshead, drum, and flounder around the San Luis Pass. Bastrop Bay, ChristmasBay, Chocolate Bay and the west end of Galveston Bay have been good for trout, gafftop and redfish. Fishing under the birds with shrimp under a popping cork or gulp shrimp. The Freeport Harbor has been steady for sheepsheads, drum, redfish and mangrove snapper free lining shrimp with a split shot. Report by Captain Jake Brown, Flattie Daddy Fishing Adventures.

East Matagorda Bay

SLOW. 82 degrees. Tides are high and the surf has been rough. Redfish can be grind with scattered schools on cut mullet. Bait camps holding fish. Trout are good drifting and wading with artificials. Report by Captain Charlie Paradoski, Captain Charlie Paradoski’s Guide Service.

West Matagorda Bay

SLOW. 82 degrees. Tides are high and the surf has been rough. Redfish can be grind with scattered schools on cut mullet. Bait camps holding fish. Trout are good drifting and wading with artificials. Report by Captain Charlie Paradoski, Captain Charlie Paradoski’s Guide Service.

Port O'Connor

GOOD. 80 degrees. Trout are good near Bird Island on live croaker. Redfish are half way down the South jetty on Spanish sardines or dead shrimp. Drums are near Alcatraz on dead shrimp. Sharks are near Alcatraz Island. Bull redfish and jack crevalle are in the back of the jetties and near Bird Island. Report by Captain Marty Medford, Captain Marty’s Fish of a Lifetime Guide Service.

Rockport

GOOD. 84 degrees. Fishing patterns are consistent. Trout are great on croaker along grass in 3-4 feet of water and on popping cork and shrimp in flats. Redfish have been fair on shrimp, cut menhaden or cut mullet on flats and along channel edges. Black drum are great on dead shrimp along channel edges drains and in flats in the flats you want to find sand pockets and place baits in them. Report by Captain Kenny Kramer, Kramer Fishing Charters.

Port Aransas

GOOD. 84 degrees. Mangrove snapper are good free lining shrimp or using a pinch weight along rock structure. Redfish are good on shrimp, blue crab and cut bait. Trout are good with croaker or shrimp free lined along rocks. The surf fishing has been producing good redfish and trout in the first and second gut with an occasional shark. Lots of bait coming in the jetties right now. Report by Captain Kenny Kramer, Kramer Fishing Charters.

Corpus Christi

GOOD. 75 degrees. Trout are slow on croaker near shoreline drop-offs in the 4 feet of water. Rocks and oyster reefs. Redfish are slow to bite with fish concentrated in 30-50 fish schools knee deep of water creating mudlines. They rip up the grass feeding on shrimp and crabs. Black drums have been on the outside of Traylor Island with dead shrimp off the bottom. Report by Captain Aerich Oliver, Rockport Paradise Outfitters.

Baffin Bay

GOOD. 75 degrees. Beautiful green water clarity in the bay. Trout 4-5 rocks along the shorelines with bone silver or chrome and black topwaters. Redfish in the same areas hitting gold spoons. Lots of baby crabs in the water so the spoon imitates baby crabs. Report by Captain Cliff Webb. Winds are still blowing and the fish are still feeding in their pre-spawn and spawn patterns. On extra windy days, fishing is a little deeper and on calmer days move up shallower. Water levels have dropped somewhat so fishing out off of grass edges and drops is possible now. There are great grass beds on Baffin Bay, more than the last five or six years, and this means that the South Shoreline is clearing up very nicely. When the winds subside a little, back waters such as the Cayo del Grullo and Alazan Bay are really coming to life. Mullet is still the favorite Trout food so where there is good bait, there are usually good predators. Redfish have been tough to locate lately, but that won’t last! With all the great grass beds, sandy potholes and lots of bait, reds and black drum will fall into their usual summer patters and roam up shallow, ripe for sight casting! Report by Captain Sally Black.

Port Mansfield

GOOD. 85 degrees. Redfish bite continues to be strong with good catches coming on Mansfield Knockers despite the high winds and high tides. Keep in mind that sometimes you may have to use in-line hooks because of the floating grass. Flounder are also good on Junior Wigalo’s. These fish are concentrated around ledges near deep water. Trout fishing is fair and most fish are in 4-5 feet of water. There are a few good ones shallow and those have been taken on Mansfield Knockers while fishing for redfish as noted above. Report by Captain Wayne Davis, Hook Down Charters. Tough conditions here in Port Mansfield. The wind plays a big factor in when, where and how we fish certain areas. Luckily, for us this time of year, the tide is extremely high and allows for more opportunities to fish areas you normally cannot. The water is extremely clear due to the gulf water influx from the incoming tides, which has been bringing in and moving around a lot of baitfish. Target areas knee to mid thigh deep, focusing on pot holes and edges of grass beds and or grass lines. Solid redfish and trout have been hanging out on the edges of these structures waiting to ambush their prey. Lures of choice have been Custom Corky Pro Series Softdines, the copper and silver inserts in these baits offer a nice trigger when it's sunny or overcast. MirrOLure Little John's/XL's in Golden Bream and Purple demon are still the top producing colors. In clear water, we are downsizing and throwing lighter colors. This time of year, be careful and vigilant of stingrays, they can cut your fishing day short. Best protection against them is Bart's Bay Boots. I don't wade without them this time of year! Stay safe, hydrated and courteous of other boaters and fishermen. As always, tight lines! Report by Captain Reanna DeLaCruz, Captain Reanna’s Baffin Bay Adventures.

South Padre

GOOD. 80 degrees. Hot light winds redfish good with cut mullet on bottom, live shrimp under popping cork and small croaker free lined. Best bet Gas Well Flats, Laguna Vista Cove and drifting west side east of Unnecessary Island. Trout good on the edge of the Intracoastal at Three Islands with live shrimp and small croaker if available. Report by Captain Lou Austin, Austin Fishing South Padre.

Port Isabel

GOOD. 80 degrees. Hot light winds redfish good with cut mullet on bottom, live shrimp under popping cork and small croaker free lined. Best bet Gas Well Flats, Laguna Vista Cove and drifting west side east of Unnecessary Island. Trout good on the edge of the Intracoastal at Three Islands with live shrimp and small croaker if available. Report by Captain Lou Austin, Austin Fishing South Padre.

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