MUCH OF THE RAIN expected to hit the area will be gone by Sunday, allowing anglers an opportunity to take advantage of good conditions throughout the area. Water temps continue to fall on the chilly side, but that means redfish and black drum are running strong, especially in west Galveston Bay.
Trinity Bay: VERY GOOD. 59 degrees. Speckled trout are excellent on live shrimp and soft plastics. Redfish are good in the marsh on live mullet, soft plastics, and shrimp and are found along the shoreline. Sheepshead are very good on live shrimp.
East Galveston Bay: GOOD. 56 degrees. The flounder bite is good on live shrimp. Redfish and black drum are good over mud and shell. Speckled trout are good near Oyster Bayou in deeper water- topwaters are good on warm days. Catfish are good on cut bait.
West Galveston Bay: GOOD. 56 degrees. Redfish and Black Drum are good near the south shoreline coves. Flounder are good on live shrimp. Speckled trout are excellent on shrimp under popping cork or fatboys in deeper water. Catfish are good on cut bait.
Texas City: VERY GOOD. 55 degrees. Redfish are very good on soft plastics or live mullet. Flounder is fair on live shrimp or minnow. Speckled trout are excellent on slow sinking mullet imitating plugs. Black drum is good on whole shad.
Freeport: GOOD. 59-61 degrees. Black drum is excellent. Redfish are found in the deeper channels early in the day and caught using live baits like finger mullet- best time in these temperatures are mid-day/afternoon in shallow mudflats. Speckled trout bite is excellent on mullet or pinfish. Sheepshead are good on shrimp near the jetties. Flounder are good along the marsh using live mullet. Bull reds are fair at the mouth of the Brazos river on cut menhaden baits.
East Matagorda Bay: GOOD. 62 degrees. Speckled trout are good on live shrimp under popping cork and soft plastics around the mid-bay reefs- the bigger trout will be found here versus in the west. Redfish are very good in the marsh on live mullet, soft plastics and topwater in the warm afternoons. Flounder are good on shrimp and found under birds. Black drum is good on soft plastics or blue crab.
West Matagorda Bay: GOOD. 62 degrees. Black drum is fair on blue crab or soft plastics. Speckled trout is good on live shrimp under a popping cork and soft plastics along the flats around mullet. Redfish are good in the marsh on live mullet, soft plastics and topwater. The flounder bite is fair on down south plastic in red or white color. The Southern shoreline seems to be the best spot to catch fish.
Port O’Connor: VERY GOOD. 58 -61 degrees. Black drum is excellent on blue crab, shrimp, or soft plastics. Trout are good on a combination of live or fresh baits such as shrimp or crab in the shallow sand bars or at the dropoffs of the ICW or sometimes at Sunday beach. Redfish are excellent on live shrimp. Flounder are excellent around any kind of baitfish at the end of the jetties. Sheepshead are good near the jetty on live shrimp.
