Bolivar: GOOD. 79 degrees. Beautiful fishing for the next week. The tides are changing back to two tide days this weekend coming in during the morning, and water levels drop in the afternoon with the outgoing tides. Water temperatures are hanging in the upper 70s. Water levels are slow-moving back and forth with a moderate amount of sargassum washing in on the surf. People are catching plenty of redfish, gafftop, and black drum everywhere. There is plenty of keeper speckled trout being caught along with sand trout, sheepshead, and crabs caught along the jetty. The bigger stingrays and sharks are definitely in full swing, and a few close to state records have been landed. Report by Captain Shane Rilat, North Jetty Bait Camp. Anticipate increased boater traffic this weekend as we celebrate our Nation’s Independence Day.
Trinity Bay: FAIR. 80 degrees. Beautiful fishing for the next week. The tides are changing back to two tide days this weekend coming in during the morning, and water levels drop in the afternoon with the outgoing tides. Catching catfish, gar, and white bass in upper East Galveston Bay and Trinity Bay from the fresh water runoff. Report by Captain Shane Rilat, North Jetty Bait Camp. Water is being released at 30,100 CFS from Liberty, but should be slowing. Water is coming down the San Jacinto at Highway 90 at 1540 CFS working with the tide. Smith Point is cleaning up nicely with some great catches being made on the guts and sand bars. Salinity is improving near the ship channel and La Porte area. Blue Water Atoll should be looking great by the weekend. Kemah to Eagle Point are producing great catches in deeper water and on rocks. Redfish are being caught on redfish magic spinnerbaits married with a WACky Shad XL in the peppered pumpkin color, and with game changer deep diving crankbaits in the gold and black color close to rocks with current and drop offs. Trout, sheepshead and drum are being caught on rock shorelines on a 3 foot leader under a redemption outdoor gear popping cork. Lately, bull redfish have been showing up blowing up bait on the shorelines. Always wear your kill switch and be safe! Report by Captain Zackary Scott, Zack Attack Fishing.
East Galveston Bay: GOOD. 87 degrees. Offshore waters laid enough for those looking for red snapper. Larger fish are coming from depths over 100 feet. A few kingfish have been caught, along with the occasional ling and dolphin. Inshore speckled trout catches remain steady in Lower Galveston Bay and West Bay. The middle and upper portions of Galveston Bay are steady for black drum, sheepshead, a few more slot sized redfish and speckled trout. Water remains somewhat off colored, depending upon the tide. Dam release has been lowered, so the water should clear soon. The best bite has been on shrimp, live croaker, and soft plastics. Be cautious this holiday weekend. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. Beautiful fishing for the next week. The tides are changing back to two tide days this weekend coming in during the morning, and water levels drop in the afternoon with the outgoing tides. Catching catfish, gar, and white bass in upper East Galveston Bay and Trinity Bay from the fresh water runoff. Report by Captain Shane Rilat, North Jetty Bait Camp. Surface water temperature 86.2 degrees in East Galveston Bay. We are still weeding through a number of undersize trout to find the better fish, but some solid upper slot females are possible. Colors varied, depending upon water clarity and light conditions, with Rollover Moon getting the most bites. Success using Fish Smack Popping corks with a 1-2 foot leader above a shrimp imitation lure, or tails with a 1/8 ounce jig head, with a hard pop and a 5-10 second pause gathering the most strikes. The Topwater bite continues to be 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 are also catching a few on hardbaits and soft body swim baits if you like to throw those. When conditions allow the jetties will produce catches suspending jerkbaits early. More and more solid fish are showing up on reefs in the middle portion of the bay. We also found a few birds working in the middle portion of the bay, over the past couple days and found some solid trout and oversize redfish under them chasing shrimp. Report by Captain Jeff Brandon, Get the Net Guide Service, LLC. Anticipate increased boater traffic this weekend as we celebrate our Nation’s Independence Day.
Galveston Bay: FAIR. 87 degrees. Offshore waters laid enough for those looking for red snapper. Larger fish are coming from depths over 100 feet. A few kingfish have been caught, along with the occasional ling and dolphin. Inshore speckled trout catches remain steady in Lower Galveston Bay and West Bay. The middle and upper portions of Galveston Bay are steady for black drum, sheepshead, a few more slot sized redfish and speckled trout. Water remains somewhat off colored, depending upon the tide. Dam release has been lowered, so the water should clear soon. The best bite has been on shrimp, live croaker, and soft plastics. Be cautious this holiday weekend. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. Anticipate increased boater traffic this weekend as we celebrate our Nation’s Independence Day.
West Galveston Bay: GOOD. 87 degrees. Offshore waters laid enough for those looking for red snapper. Larger fish are coming from depths over 100 feet. A few kingfish have been caught, along with the occasional ling and dolphin. Inshore speckled trout catches remain steady in Lower Galveston Bay and West Bay. The middle and upper portions of Galveston Bay are steady for black drum, sheepshead, a few more slot sized redfish and speckled trout. Water remains somewhat off colored, depending upon the tide. Dam release has been lowered, so the water should clear soon. The best bite has been on shrimp, live croaker, and soft plastics. Be cautious this holiday weekend. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. Anticipate increased boater traffic this weekend as we celebrate our Nation’s Independence Day.
Houston: GOOD. Water stained; 85 degrees; 0.25 feet above pool. The West Fork is flowing at 396 CFS at the Humble 59 bridge, with water clarity improving in both the West Fork and the very south end of the lake. Largemouth bass are still holding near drains and are beginning to stack up on docks and deeper structure, with solid bites coming on weedless grubs rigged with 3/16-1/4 ounce weights and spinnerbaits. Crappie are hugging tight to structure in 8-12 feet of water and require a bit of finesse to trigger bites. Live minnows are working best unless you can keep jigs right in front of them. White bass are slowly making a comeback and can be found schooling on southern humps, caught by trolling or vertical jigging. Catfish anglers targeting larger fish are doing well with live perch and fresh-caught shad on jug lines set in 15-20 feet of water, baits suspended around 8-10 feet deep. Gar are thick in the creeks. Remember to always wear your kill switch and be prepared. Report by Captain Zackary Scott, Zack Attack Fishing. Anticipate increased boater traffic this weekend as we celebrate our Nation’s Independence Day.
Texas City: GOOD. 80 degrees. Beautiful fishing for the next week. The tides are changing back to two tide days this weekend coming in during the morning, and water levels drop in the afternoon with the outgoing tides. Anglers are catching plenty of speckled trout, redfish, and black drum daily. The sheepshead are around structures and piers. Wade fishing along the levee or anywhere from the dike has been productive from the beginning to the end still. Live shrimp and finger mullet have been the best baits. Report by Captain Shane Rilat, North Jetty Bait Camp. Anticipate increased boater traffic this weekend as we celebrate our Nation’s Independence Day.
