Saltwater Weekly Fishing Report Week of September 18, 2024

Redfish Bay

FAIR. 85 degrees. Morning has been good for redfish with a productive bite on live mullet and chunks of crab in the morning. Target windblown shorelines to find redfish. Very few catches of drums. Captain Aerich Oliver, Rockport Paradise Outfitters.

San Antonio Bay

GOOD. 86 degrees. Fishing action has been good with lots of mullet in the bay and tidal movement. Redfish are good in the back lakes on topwater. Trout are good over shell and in the guts with soft bottom mud and grass during outgoing tides with live shrimp or croaker, and soft plastics. Report Captain Lynn Smith, Back Bay Guide Service.

Sabine Lake

GOOD. 85 degrees. Salinity in Sabine Lake has improved up to midlake. The South and North Levy are producing nice catches of speckled trout with live shrimp under a popping cork. Sheepshead, drum and redfish are mixed in. Work the points and drops near Pleasure Island Point with live shrimp under a popping cork for redfish. The redfish are stacked on rocks near the bank in 4-8 feet of water. The entire ICW is holding a mix bag of flounder, sheepshead, drum and mangrove snapper. North winds are in the forecast heading into the weekend, so running the beaches should produce good catches of triple tail this next week. Report by Captain Randy Foreman, Captain Randy’s Guide Service Sabine Lake.

Bolivar

EXCELLENT. 83 degrees. Get ready for another week of Excellent fishing! Water temperatures are cooling after the storm clouds and tides. The jetty has been producing limits of trout and big bull redfish. Small flounder have been visible on the low tides and are starting to move in for the fall. Post-storm fishing will be some of the best. The surf is producing limits of speckled trout, bull redfish and black drum. The stingrays and bigger sharks are still running along the whole peninsula. Anglers are using all kinds of different bait with awesome results. Report by Captain Shane Rilat, North Jetty Bait Camp.

Trinity Bay

SLOW. 85 degrees. Best catches coming from the northwest corner of the bay, spoil islands, Dow's Reef, and along the piers. Best bite of live natural baits and soft plastic. Few birds working over scattered schools of small trout. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. Redfish are holding tight to rock banks being caught on live shrimp under a popping cork and on WACky shrimp rigged weedless by WAC Attack Lures. Drum and sheepshead are mixed in with the redfish. Trout are making a great comeback on deep shell reefs especially by Dow Reef being caught on swimbaits or in bottleneck places with current and relatively deep water. Always wear your kill switch! Report by Captain Zackary Scott, Zack Attack Fishing.

East Galveston Bay

GOOD. 85 degrees. A few groups of birds are starting to work over schools of speckled trout, along with the occasional redfish. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. Rising waters from the tides and out of the winds produced plenty of speckled trout, redfish, and black drum using live shrimp and/or finger mullet. Report by Captain Shane Rilat, North Jetty Bait Camp. Surface water temperature 84 degrees. The water clarity has improved this week in East Galveston Bay after the storm pushed through, with much clearer water as you venture closer towards Galveston. We have spent some of our fishing time on shorelines in the intracoastal finding trout, redfish, black drum and flounder around structures with good tide movement. We have also found good numbers of trout, but weeding through quite a few small ones to find the better fish, on mid-bay reefs and over shoreline shell. If you like fishing under birds, that has begun to pick up substantially over the past couple weeks. Redfish and flounder are still being caught up around shorelines where current is pushing bait, especially on outgoing tides. Great success can be had with Imitation shrimp lures under popping corks, with a 1-2 foot leader, as well as 1/8 ounce jig heads with tails by WacAttack and Deadly Dudley, with lighter colors working better for us this week. Fish Bites have also performed very well when fished under a popping cork or added on a jig head with a tail for a little extra scent when fishing the marsh where the water is a little more stained. Free-line shrimp has also worked well if utilizing live bait is your preferred method. The crowds are thinning, and hunting season has ventured upon us but fishing should continue to be strong. There will be less fishing pressure and cooler temperatures on the way, so grab your friends and family and get out on the water and make some memories together. Report by Captain Jeff Brandon, Get the Net Guide Service, LLC.

Galveston Bay

SLOW. 86 degrees. When the wind allows, good catches of speckled trout coming off structure in the middle bay on live shrimp and soft plastics. Shorelines producing smaller speckled trout. Spoil Islands are good for black drum, sheepshead, and the occasional redfish on live shrimp. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing.

West Galveston Bay

GOOD. 87 degrees. Far west side of San Luis Pass producing catches of speckled trout, redfish, and flounder. Those anglers throwing live natural baits on deep shell are catching speckled trout and a few redfish. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing.

Texas City

GOOD. 84 degrees. Bull redfish a few big black drum are good in the jetties. Offshore catches of amberjack and vermilion snapper are good. Beachfront pier action is good for bull redfish. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. Great fishing conditions before the storms arrive mid-week and should be even better when it clears up. Anglers are catching plenty of speckled trout, redfish, and a few nice flounder every day with some occasional black drum, sheepshead, sand trout, and gafftop. Live shrimp and finger mullet have been the best baits. Report by Captain Shane Rilat, North Jetty Bait Camp.

Freeport

GOOD. 85 degrees. Christmas Bay, Chocolate Bay, Bastrop Bay, and the upper West Galveston Bay have been good drifting shrimp under a popping cork for trout, redfish and drum. San Luis Pass and The Brazos River are good early in the morning for trout and redfish throwing topwaters, plastics, or free lining mullet or live shrimp. The Freeport Harbor is good for catches of redfish, sheephead mangrove snapper and some trout using live shrimp or mullet free lining along the rocks. Report by Captain Jake Brown, Flattie Daddy Fishing Adventures

East Matagorda Bay

GOOD. 85 degrees. There has been a good early morning and midday bite for redfish and trout. Redfish are in the back lakes on mid bay reefs. Redfish and drum can be targeted on shell reefs with artificials, live shrimp or croaker. These reefs will fill with trout when the weather cools. Many catches of oversized trout. As the water temperature cools in the 70s the artificial bite will be king. Report by Captain Charlie Paradoski, Captain Charlie Paradoski’s Guide Service.

West Matagorda Bay

GOOD. 85 degrees. There has been a good early morning and midday bite for redfish and trout. Redfish are in the back lakes on mid bay reefs. Redfish and drum can be targeted on shell reefs with artificials, live shrimp or croaker. These reefs will fill with trout when the weather cools. Many catches of oversized trout. As the water temperature cools in the 70s the artificial bite will be king. Report by Captain Charlie Paradoski, Captain Charlie Paradoski’s Guide Service.

Port O'Connor

GOOD. 85 degrees. Slot and oversized redfish outside of the jetty on blue crab and Spanish sardines. Sharks are biting in the surf on live croaker. Black drum are biting in both flares, where the jetty widens, with dead shrimp. Trout are fair on the outside of the jetties with live shrimp or croaker. Report by Captain Marty Medford, Captain Marty’s Fish of a Lifetime Guide Service.

Rockport

GOOD. 84 degrees. Trout are fair on croaker along grass and shell in 3-4 feet of water, or drifting with a popping cork and shrimp on the flats. Redfish are great on shrimp, piggy perch and cut skipjack or mullet on the flats and sand pockets and along the islands. Black drum are fair on live or dead shrimp and fish bites in drains, sand pockets and along oyster beds. Report by Captain Kenny Kramer, Kramer Fishing Charters.

Port Aransas

GOOD. 84 degrees. Redfish are great on shrimp and cut mullet or ladyfish. Trout are good with croaker or shrimp free lined along rocks. Silver spoons have also been producing good redfish at both the north and south jetties. Report by Captain Kenny Kramer, Kramer Fishing Charters.

Corpus Christi

FAIR. 85 degrees. Morning has been good for redfish with a productive bite on live mullet and chunks of crab in the morning. Target windblown shorelines to find redfish. Very few catches of drums. Report by Captain Aerich Oliver, Rockport Paradise Outfitters.

Baffin Bay

GOOD. 86 degrees. High water levels remaining due to the recent hurricane in the gulf. In many cases, the fish are still pretty close to where they were before the water came in. The trout have been in the same area for months and they have been happy there, so the flooded water has not enticed them to relocate. The water is very slowly falling back out but it is still very high. This can be a challenge for wade anglers. Follow summer patterns, look for good concentrations of bait and try to fish in the productive places that you have been in the last month or so. Best lures for trout this week have been larger paddle tails in purple and chartreuse as well as straight tail lures like Coastal Brew’s 6 inch darts in purple and orange crush. Redfish have been scattered about, but as we get closer to fall and the water temperatures drop, they will gather up on the shorelines and eat finger mullet and anything else like there is no tomorrow! Report by Captain Sally Black. The bait as well as the speckled trout and redfish have moved around due to the extremely high water level we are experiencing right now. The tropical disturbance that passed us by in the gulf, brought along some big storms in our area and changed up our fishing pattern. Areas we were able to wade fish a week ago are currently too deep that we cannot wade them comfortably, with that said finding baitfish up shallow, in front of estuaries, sand bars or shallow grass beds that show potential will be key areas to focus on. Another key factor to identify out there are pelicans. When they are diving and feeding, more than likely there is probably big fish in that area too doing the same thing. Lures of choice for clients and I in this chalky water have been MirrOLure Little John’s in Purple Demon, June Bug and Water Melon Gold Glitter, MirrOLure Provoker in Dark Colors. Custom Corky SoftDines in dark colors with chartreuse. Find a shallow area with these positive qualities and fish it deliberately. Always remember to stay safe and courteous of other boaters and anglers in the area, and as always tight lines! Report by Captain Reanna DeLaCruz, Captain Reanna’s Baffin Bay Adventures.

Port Mansfield

GOOD. 86 degrees. There has been higher waters than expected this week which has put the fish high on the sand. Mostly catches of good sized trout, but the redfish have been on the smaller size. Both have actively been slamming topwaters most of the day. If it is slow on topwaters, switch to Ball Tail Shad, this has also been producing good flounder. This pattern will fade once the water starts to fall out. Report by Captain Wayne Davis, Hook Down Charters.

South Padre

FAIR. 82 degrees. The water has been calm and many boats are going to the community reef the gulf to catch limits of red snapper. Trout are still excellent in the intracoastal near three islands using live shrimp with split shot on three foot leader throwing into the middle of the channel letting drift near the bottom. Once in a while a redfish will hit. Sheepshead are still plentiful at the end of Brownsville Channel and jetties. Stay safe out there. Report by Captain Lou Austin, Austin Fishing South Padre.

Port Isabel

FAIR. 82 degrees. The water has been calm and many boats are going to the community reef the gulf to catch limits of red snapper. Trout are still excellent in the intracoastal near three islands using live shrimp with split shot on three foot leader throwing into the middle of the channel letting drift near the bottom. Once in a while a redfish will hit. Sheepshead are still plentiful at the end of Brownsville Channel and jetties. Stay safe out there. Report by Captain Lou Austin, Austin Fishing South Padre.

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