Gulf Coast Region Week of May 22, 2024

Redfish Bay

GOOD. 75 degrees. Fishing patterns are steady. Redfish are good on shad, menhaden and mullet. Trout are excellent on croaker near Dagger Island. Black drums are scattered. Trout are good on breaks outside of edges in 4-5 feet of water. Captain Aerich Oliver, Rockport Paradise Outfitters.

San Antonio Bay

GOOD. 75 degrees. Trout are good over shell hitting topwaters and soft plastic lures. Redfish are steady in the back lakes on dead bait. Report Captain Lynn Smith, Back Bay Guide Service.

Sabine Lake

GOOD. 72 degrees. Speckled trout and slot redfish are biting in the jetty near the rocks with popping corks under live shrimp. Slot redfish, few trout, flounder, drum and sheepshead are being caught fishing rock piles and shell banks. Still an influx of water coming in from the river, so we will be fishing the deep water where the salinity is higher. Report by Captain Randy Foreman, Captain Randy’s Guide Service Sabine Lake.

Bolivar

GOOD. 74 degrees. Water levels are normalizing, except for a few big tide changes. The best bite conditions this week will be on edges of the deeper spots holding saltier water. Not to sound like a broken record, people are catching plenty of redfish of varying sizes everywhere! Sand trout, sheepshead, black drum, speckled trout, and crabs caught along the jetty with more stingrays and sharks. The surf is producing black drum, gafftop, stingrays, and bigger sharks along the whole peninsula. 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 with plenty in stock. Report by Captain Shane Rilat, North Jetty Bait Camp.

Trinity Bay

SLOW. 80 degrees. The bay is fresh and off-colored. A few fish are being caught near Bayport, and inside Clear Lake. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. Redfish being caught on WACky Shad XL are starting to show back up slowly but surely by the ship channel. Good weather ahead of us, we are in for a great season. Trout will follow as soon as the salinity level returns as for the sheepshead and flounder. Drum are in abundance around rocks off the ship channel. Be prepared and always wear your kill switch when under way. Report by Captain Zackary Scott, Zack Attack Fishing.

East Galveston Bay

GOOD. 83 degrees. South shoreline and reefs right off the shoreline holding fair numbers of speckled trout, a few black drum, and the occasional redfish. Open bay off colored and muddy. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. The freshwater is not affecting the trout bite! Caught a couple limits and many undersized trout on top waters, Fish Smack popping cork with Marker 54 Glide Shrimp, and Deadly Dudley lures paired with a Yellow Mouth Baits jig head all caught fish. Report by Captain Shane Rilat, North Jetty Bait Camp. Surface water temperature 78 degrees in East Galveston Bay. Water clarity stirred up more than usual with all the freshwater entering the bay system from the heavy rains up above us. The further we ventured east, the more muddied up the water became. This week we had a few days with lighter than normal winds and we found fish in our typical springtime spots. We are still finding good numbers of solid trout on the Shorelines over shell pockets, where we have good tide movement, as well as Redfish along the grass lines and over shells with the higher tides. If you see bait flipping on the surface the fish are close by, if not, you are best to move on to another spot, after making a few casts. The lighter the jig head the better, 1/16 to 1/4, determined by the wind and current, and tails without paddles, are still performing the best, as we were utilizing Anahuac based, Wac Assassin's and top performing colors varied, depending upon water clarity and light conditions. Our clients are still finding good success using Fish Smack Popping corks with a 1-2 feet leader above a Marker 54 Glide Shrimp, with a hard pop and a 5-10 second pause gathering the most strikes. The new 1/8 ounce Shrimplets are coming on strong as well, enticing some nice catches this week, but not as durable as the Glide Shrimp. The Topwater bite has also been good when utilized on our early morning and late afternoon trips, so if you like throwing walking baits, now is the perfect time to get on the water and make it happen. We did have one day where we ventured out to an open water reef and it did produce some trout action for us, so that bite should get better as we progress into more of a summertime pattern. Report by Captain Jeff Brandon, Get the Net Guide Services, LLC.

Galveston Bay

SLOW. 84 degrees. Lots of freshwater are still in the bay. A few black drum and trout being caught near Moses Lake. Some black drum in the wells, using live shrimp fished on the bottom. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing.

West Galveston Bay

GOOD. 83 degrees. Birds are working over schools of speckled trout, sand trout, and gafftop. Waders still catching the better fish, especially those throwing live croaker. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing.

Houston

GOOD. Water stained; 66 degrees; 1.11 feet above pool. Water is stained and current is back to moderate. With good weather in the forecast, we should have a fantastic season ahead of us due to several factors including less pressure on the fish. Great time to get safety gear in order and be prepared for boat checks. A lot of debris is floating, so take your time and be safe while navigating. Largemouth bass are hitting in the back lakes off the main channel on frogs and dark worms. White bass are around bulkheads and docks early in the morning hitting on small spins and small jigs. Catfish are in abundance on live shad. Crappie are north in 8-14 feet of water being caught around structure with small hand tied jigs. Report by Captain Zackary Scott, Zack Attack Fishing.

Texas City

FAIR. 82 degrees. Rocks near Swan Lake holding a few speckled trout and redfish, best on live shrimp. Gulf side of the north and south jetty good for black drum, slot redfish, a few bulls and speckled trout. Beachfront shark action picking up. Reported catches of redfish, black drum, sharks, and jackfish at the Galveston Piers. Some speckled trout showing up under the lights at night. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. The wade anglers are still catching plenty of speckled trout, redfish, and flounder 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. 82 degrees. Fishing has been steady with trout, redfish, sheepshead, drum, and flounder around the San Luis Pass. Bastrop Bay, Christmas Bay, Chocolate Bay and the West end of Galveston Bay have been good for trout, gafftop and redfish fishing under the birds using shrimp under a four horseman pop n cork or gulp shrimp. The Freeport harbor has been steady with 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. 72 degrees. Trout are good with fewer catches of redfish drifting and wading with artificials. Report by Captain Charlie Paradoski, Captain Charlie Paradoski’s Guide Service.

West Matagorda Bay

SLOW. 72 degrees. Trout are good with fewer catches of redfish drifting and wading with artificials. Report by Captain Charlie Paradoski, Captain Charlie Paradoski’s Guide Service.

Port O'Connor

GOOD. 74 degrees. Consistent weather makes for a consistent fishing pattern this week. Trout are good at the back of the jetties near Honey Hole and Alcatraz Island. To locate Alcatraz Island look to the right of the jetties for a mound of rocks that were once a rock wall. Honey Hole will be to the left of the jetties. Oversized trout on the outside of the jetty 100 feet back from the surf. Gafftopsail catfish are good throughout the jetty in 15-25 feet of water on Spanish sardines or dead shrimp. Redfish are good in the shallow water of the washouts of the Little Rocks. Little Rocks is what many refer to as the entrance of the jetties, but the jetty actually begins about a half of mile into Little Rocks when the jetty widens into a flare or apron. Black drum are good near Alcatraz Island and halfway into the South Jetty in 15-25 feet of water on fish bites, crab and dead shrimp. Report by Captain Marty Medford, Captain Marty’s Fish of a Lifetime Guide Service.

Rockport

GOOD. 76 degrees. 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. 76 degrees. 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. Fishing patterns are steady. Redfish are good on shad, menhaden and mullet. Trout are excellent on croaker near Dagger Island. Black drums are holding to the outside of Traylor Island on scattered oyster shells and sand with dead shrimp. Report by Captain Aerich Oliver, Rockport Paradise Outfitters.

Baffin Bay

GOOD. 75 degrees. Windy conditions return and the fish are getting ready to spawn on Baffin bay. They are eating up big to have the energy to put their eggs down in shallow areas. Big trout do not have muscles to expel their eggs. They have to beat their bodies down on the sand or in potholes or along edges and rocks, where the male trout can come along and fertilize their eggs. They need a lot of energy to expel their eggs, so they are still eating up hard on Baffin Bay. This major spawn has been late this year, and it is appreciated nonetheless by all of us big trout fisherman who will be targeting these extra heavy fish through the middle to the end of June. We are throwing down south lures in the big Papa pearl color with the chartreuse tail, which looks a lot like a mullet and is the right size . The saltwater assassin salt and pepper in the 5 inch size which similarly looks like a mullet and has been catching a lot of big trout as well. See y'all soon on Baffin Bay and good luck catching your personal best this year! Report by Captain Sally Black.

Port Mansfield

GOOD. 85 degrees. Redfish action continues to be strong on topwaters in back bays and flats. Trout have been out a little deeper with the occasional big girl up shallow while targeting reds. Flounder are strong in the sand and drains. Water is still pretty high and the water clarity is good. Mansfield Knockers are still the lure of choice for topwaters and junior Ball Tails and Wigalo’s have been working best as far as plastics go. Report by Captain Wayne Davis, Hook Down Charters. Fishing continues to be good. The weather has allowed some calm and hot days out on the water. The tide up high and there is a plethora of small sized baitfish in the bay. We are finding redfish and trout in knee to waist deep water along drop offs, grass lines and scattered grass beds. Lots of activity is happening in the water, baitfish are schooling up, gulf water influx due to the incoming and outgoing tides and the speckled trout are spawning. The bite amongst the trout have been fully committed and aggressive, as the females are feeding heavily due to their spawn. The bite can get tough when the barometric pressure is high and the winds die down, so we will downsize our lure. This time of year you can read the water for positive signs such as pelicans diving, slicks, small bait flipping, bait and or wind lines. Stay big for these things as it most likely will point towards bigger fish. Summer break is here and the traffic has increased significantly on the water, remember to be safe and courteous of other boaters and wade anglers on the water. As always, tight lines! Report by Captain Reanna DeLaCruz, Captain Reanna’s Baffin Bay Adventures.

South Padre

GOOD. 75 degrees. Water conditions are good with a light variable wind turning to the southeast off the Gulf. Plenty of trout, but with a lot over slot limit up to 26 inches. Redfish are good on Gas Well Flats near the edge of Intracoastal but best on the south end of Gas Well Flats using live shrimp under popping cork. Stay safe out there! Report by Captain Lou Austin, Austin Fishing South Padre.

Port Isabel

GOOD. 75 degrees. Water conditions are good with a light variable wind turning to the southeast off the Gulf. Plenty of trout, but with a lot over slot limit up to 26 inches. Redfish are good on Gas Well Flats near the edge of Intracoastal but best on the south end of Gas Well Flats using live shrimp under popping cork. Stay safe out there! Report by Captain Lou Austin, Austin Fishing South Padre.

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