Gulf Coast Region Week of April 24, 2024

Redfish Bay

GOOD. 72 degrees. Redfish are tight against the shorelines and islands perch, sea lice and menhaden. Drum are fair in grass, oyster reefs, and shell bottoms on dead shrimp. Trout should move towards outside breaks within the next month. Captain Aerich Oliver, Rockport Paradise Outfitters.

San Antonio Bay

GOOD. 75 degrees. High winds are in the forecast but fishing should be good. Look for slicks, bait action and porpoise to locate trout. Limits of trout on topwaters grass beds along the shorelines adjacent to deeper water. Redfish are good in bayous and mouths of creeks with a few bites on cut bait, but the best bite was on live shrimp. Sharks are in the bay in the same areas as the trout and redfish. Report Captain Lynn Smith, Back Bay Guide Service.

Sabine Lake

GOOD. 68 degrees. Sabine Lake is fresh due to runoff, this is pushing the fish to the banks. Water clarity is murky, so navigate with caution watching for floating debris. North Levee Wall is producing limits of speckled trout on live shrimp under a popping cork or darker colored plastics. Drum and sheepshead catches in Sabine Channel rock piles, and jetties. The Intracoastal Waterway is good for redfish and trout. Report by Captain Randy Foreman, Captain Randy’s Guide Service Sabine Lake.

Bolivar

GOOD. 68 degrees. Full moon this week and the fishing should be excellent. Gafftop are abundant, redfish of every size, small speckled trout 15-17 inches, and black drum are everywhere. Bolivar beachfront surf is producing redfish, black drum, gafftop, various sharks and stingray, especially near sunken boat. People are using live shrimp under a popping cork, dead, shrimp, and squid.

Trinity Bay

FAIR. 73 degrees. East shoreline best bet for speckled trout, wading over shallow shell. Tabbs Bay still producing decent numbers of trout, when conditions are right. bay north of the Fred Hartman bridge good for black drum, the occasional redfish, and fair for trout. Best bite on live shrimp. Winds have been a factor. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. Trout are scattered in the flats with scattered oysters being caught on live shrimp under a popping cork and WACky shad XL in the showtime color. Redfish are really gathering around the both of marsh cuts and back in the marshes being caught on live shrimp under a popping cork. Drum and sheepshead are being caught around rocks and structure free lining shrimp with a split shot. Be aware of the winds. Make a plan. Wear your kill switch and be safe! Report by Captain Zackary Scott, Zack Attack Fishing.

East Galveston Bay

GOOD. 76 degrees. Winds and a push of freshwater have the back of the bay off colored. Those fishing the shorelines from around Elmgrove Point finding a few trout, black drum, and the occasional redfish, using live shrimp or soft plastics. Open bay reef fishing is limited due to high winds. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. Surface water temperature 74 degrees. Water clarity is good for the majority of East Galveston Bay. Surface water temperature 78 degrees. Water clarity is good for the majority of East Galveston Bay, especially on the South shoreline, with stained water East of Marsh Point. This week we fished shell beds in the 2-3 feet depth range and found good numbers of trout, a few redfish, and flounder. As in previous weeks, if you catch a fish, power pole down and fan cast the entire area, as we have been picking up several fish in close proximity. If you get into an area and do not see bait activity, make a few casts, and move on, as our experience has been, if you find good amounts of bait the fish are close by. This week we have thrown various size jig heads, depending upon the wind with Wac Attack straight tails in Rollover Moon, as well as marker 54 Glide Shrimp, and the new 1/8 oz. Shrimplets, under a 1-2 foot leader and a Fish Smack Popping Cork. If you fish late afternoons, the bull redfish are chasing bait going down the South shoreline right before dark and will stretch your line if you are looking to battle one for a while. This week the early morning and late evening bite were both strong for us on our charters, and the Topwater bite was stellar. We did not see as much active bait this week, as in previous weeks, but when we found bait we caught fish. Report by Captain Jeff Brandon, Get the Net Guide Services, LLC.

Galveston Bay

SLOW. 70 degrees. Protected shorelines fair for speckled and black drum. Open bay fishing was put on hold due to high winds. Spoil Islands are good for black drum and a few speckled trout with the best action on live shrimp. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing.

West Galveston Bay

GOOD. 74 degrees. Waders finding some nice speckled trout using live croakers. Open bay fishing is producing scattered catches of trout and black drum. Good number of black drum, a few trout and sheepshead, coming from the causeway bridge. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing.

Houston

GOOD. Water stained; 66 degrees; 0.67 feet below pool. Crappie are spread out in 8-14 feet of water. White bass are showing up in numbers to the main lake being caught on small swimbaits. Largemouth bass are starting to be consistent on docks and rip rap along with structure being caught in spinner baits and plastic worms. Catfish are plentiful with this shad down around bulkheads early in the morning. Gar are still plentiful in the creeks on rattle traps. Report by Captain Zackary Scott, Zack Attack Fishing.

Texas City

FAIR. 72 degrees. Wind has played a factor in the catches. Rocks near Swan Lake producing scattered catches of speckled trout, black drum, and flounder on live shrimp. Jetty action is still good for keeper drum and sheepshead. A few trout and slot size redfish too, all on live shrimp. Some big sharks are being caught on heavy tackle. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing.

Freeport

SLOW. 74 degrees. Fishing is steady for 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 on trout, gafftop, redfish and drum using shrimp under a popping cork. The Freeport Harbor has been steady with sheepshead, drum and redfish free lining shrimp with a split shot. Report by Captain Jake Brown, Flattie Daddy Fishing Adventures.

East Matagorda Bay

GOOD. 75 degrees. Typical April fishing with the bite improving now that winds are blowing out of the south, and there is a good stretch of weather in the forecast. Drift in the morning with shrimp under a popping cork, then wade in the afternoon for catches of trout and redfish. Report by Captain Charlie Paradoski, Captain Charlie Paradoski’s Guide Service.

West Matagorda Bay

GOOD. 75 degrees. Typical April fishing with the bite improving now that winds are blowing out of the south, and there is a good stretch of weather in the forecast. Drift in the morning with shrimp under a popping cork, then wade in the afternoon for catches of trout and redfish. Redfish catches continue in shallow water on cut mullet. Report by Captain Charlie Paradoski, Captain Charlie Paradoski’s Guide Service.

Port O'Connor

GOOD. 68 degrees. Drum are good on the inside of the jetties with dead shrimp. Slot redfish are good at the ends of both jetties on the outside with Spanish sardines and dead shrimp. Oversized trout are biting live shrimp in the washouts. Bull redfish are fair on Spanish sardines between the jetties and Bird Island on incoming tides. Report by Captain Marty Medford, Captain Marty’s Fish of a Lifetime Guide Service.

Rockport

GOOD. 68 degrees. Trout are good on croaker and shrimp on popping corks. Redfish have been great on shrimp and cut menhaden or mullet in flats and along channel edges. Black drum are great on dead shrimp along channel edges and in flats. Report by Captain Kenny Kramer, Kramer Fishing Charters.

Port Aransas

GOOD. 68 degrees. Redfish are great on shrimp, blue crab, and cut bait. Trout are good with shrimp free lined or popping corks along rocks. Report by Captain Kenny Kramer, Kramer Fishing Charters.

Corpus Christi

GOOD. 72 degrees. Limits of redfish on perch, sea lice, and menhaden and limits of black drum on dead shrimp on the East Flats. The tide is up and fish are pushing fish into shallow water in the back lakes. Trout are improving on the flats with live shrimp under a popping cork, or live shrimp around the rigs. Report by Captain Aerich Oliver, Rockport Paradise Outfitters.

Baffin Bay

SLOW. 73 degrees. Water quality is improving, but high winds persist. More birds and shrimp in the bay leading the way to trout. Trout are good on gold and orange topwaters, or plum colored soft plastics. Drum and trout are improving in the land cut with freelined shrimp or shrimp under a popping popping cork. Drum fishing in its peak with dead or live bait. Big flounder in the channels on live bait or gulp. Report by Captain Cliff Webb. A late arriving front created a slow down in the great trout feed-up that was going on for the spawn. Water temperatures dropped nearly 10 degrees and caught everyone off guard, including the fish. Temperatures will be going back to normal and the pre-spawn feed up will do the same this week. Trout are still feeding on mullet in Baffin Bay so throw your 5-6 inch plastics, top waters or soft dine XLs to mimic the size of the food that they are eating. Redfish have been plentiful in shallow water, grass and sand potholes. Toss the 4 inch Norton paddle tail in the color of LSU for best results. See y’all on the water! This week, a few days after the front, should be dynamic! Report by Captain Sally Black.

Port Mansfield

GOOD. 71 degrees. The bite has been consistent despite high winds. Water levels have risen some which is a good thing. There has been a lot of small shrimp in our bay so we have been tossing KWigglers Wigalo juniors and Ball Tail juniors in Barts Sand Ninja. Most fish have been holding in thicker grass since most of the bait has been in the same area. Bigger trout are still coming on Mansfield Knockers in about two feet of water. Reds are also good on the same baits. Flounder are also fair on plastics. Report by Captain Wayne Davis, Hook Down Charters. The bite has been challenging at times due to the minor fronts and the typical howling southeast wind that comes along with springtime. Our weather always plays a huge role in how, when and where we fish. Big trout are up shallow, often mixed in with schools of redfish along areas with good cover using 2-5inch baitfish. Fish in knee to mid thigh deep water where there is scattered grass, sand pockets or drop offs and guts parallel to a shoreline. Best producing lures have been Custom Corky Fatboys/Softdines and MirrOLure Little John’s. Custom Corky “Boogie Man”, “Darth Vader” “The Truth” & the MirrOLure Little John’s in “Purple Demon”, “Golden Bream” and “WaterMelon Gold Glitter” have all been producing fantastic bites. When the water clarity is murky, we are using a chartreuse jig head to the plastics to add a pop of color to the strike zone. As we continue to transition into full on springtime, we are learning to deal with the constant wind and high pressure, in most cases the wind is your friend, it essentially stirs up activity, it dirties the water therefore you are able to really sneak up on these fish and on top of of that, you can throw your lure a mile! Always try to stay positive, even if the conditions are not favorable. Confidence is key, have confidence in your technique, look for bait, birds and slicks, if those positive attributes are present then there lies a great opportunity to get bit and hopefully a personal best! As traffic continues to increase on the water, always prioritize safety and courtesy out there, check the weather before heading out and as always tight lines! Report by Captain Reanna DeLaCruz, Captain Reanna’s Baffin Bay Adventures.

South Padre

GOOD. 71 degrees. Redfish and trout good on Gas Well Flats and east of Three Islands. Drum are in schools moving on the Eastside. Still some sheepshead at jetties and Old Causeway. Flounder good on the drop-off edge of The Intracoastal Waterway. Mangrove snapper are good at the end of the Brownsville Channel. Report by Captain Lou Austin, Austin Fishing South Padre.

Port Isabel

GOOD. 71 degrees. Redfish and trout good on Gas Well Flats and east of Three Islands. Drum are in schools moving on the Eastside. Still some sheepshead at jetties and Old Causeway. Flounder good on the drop-off edge of The Intracoastal Waterway. Mangrove snapper are good at the end of the Brownsville Channel. Report by Captain Lou Austin, Austin Fishing South Padre

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