Bolivar: GOOD. 82 degrees. Water levels are perfect with tides and low wind this week changing back to four tide days over the weekend. Still some fresh water on the bay side but it hasn’t affected the bite. People are still catching plenty of redfish of varying sizes everywhere! Small croakers along with sand trout, sheepshead, black drum, speckled trout, and crabs caught along the jetty with plenty of stingrays and sharks. Pompano and Jack Crevalle are still running. The surf is producing redfish and black drum, gafftop, lots of stingrays, and bigger sharks along the whole peninsula. The sargassum, seaweed, is thick in spots and it is less if you move 100-200 yards. People are using a variety of bait this past week with awesome results. Report by Captain Shane Rilat, North Jetty Bait Camp.
Trinity Bay: SLOW. 85 degrees. Trinity Bay is still recovering from the influx of freshwater and is dirty and off-colored. The ship channel and spoil islands are holding some black drum, sheepshead, a few redfish and trout. The best bite is on live shrimp. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. Water is muddy and still really fresh due to the influx of freshwater. Few people are catching fish but really having to work hard for them. We should see a change coming in the next couple weeks as the discharge rates for San Jacinto and Trinity River have declined tremendously. Reports of good trout and redfish being caught by Redfish Island and by the ship channel free-lining shrimp. Black drums are being caught by Fred Hartman and in the Double Bayou area. Report of a few reds being caught in Anahuac mid to lower East shoreline. Trinity Bay is at 1.8-2.2 PSU on salinity levels. Report by Captain Zackary Scott, Zack Attack Fishing.
East Galveston Bay: GOOD. 86 degrees. The bay is off-colored water, but anglers throwing dark-colored soft plastics are catching speckled trout over the reefs and on the shorelines. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. East Bay and Intracoastal waterway are holding plenty of small speckled trout, black drum, sheepshead, and redfish caught on live shrimp, croakers, and topwater lures. Report by Captain Shane Rilat, North Jetty Bait Camp. Surface water temperature 83 degrees in East Galveston Bay. As in previous weeks, the water clarity is still stirred up more than usual with all the freshwater entering the bay system from the heavy rains up above us. We are still finding good numbers of trout on the protected shorelines over shell pockets, and are having to weed thru a large number of small fish to find the solid females, as well as redfish along the grass lines and over shell with the higher tides, and a few nice flounder busting bait up around grass lines with good current flow. If you see nervous 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 �¼ ounce, determined by the wind and current, and tails with paddles, are still performing the best, as we were utilizing Anahuac based, Wac Attack tails and top performing colors varied, depending upon water clarity and light conditions, with Rollover Moon, being a favorite for our fishing friends. Our clients are still finding good success using Fish Smack Popping corks with a 1-2 foot leader above a shrimp imitation lure, or Tails with a 1/16 ounce jig head, with a hard pop and a 5-10 second pause gathering the most strikes. 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. When the wind cooperates we are starting to see some fish show up on reefs in the middle portion of the bay, which should get better as the temperatures continue to rise. We also found a few birds working in the middle of the bay, and found some solid trout under them, as well as Gafftop, which is typical for this time of the year. Report by Captain Jeff Brandon, Get the Net Guide Services, LLC.
Galveston Bay: SLOW. 85 degrees. Salinity levels are on the rise and anglers are finding a few speckled trout along the west shoreline. Better numbers of black drum and sheepshead being caught on live shrimp. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing.
West Galveston Bay: GOOD. 87 degrees. Speckled trout bite has slowed, but anglers are still reporting steady catches. A few black drum and reds are being caught, along with some jackfish. Live bait supplies have been limited, with live croaker being the hardest to find. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing.
Houston: GOOD. Water stained; 78 degrees; 0.48 feet above pool. Water clarity is muddy but clearing on the southeast shoreline rapidly. White bass are being caught in the main lake on WACky kickin’ shad in the work truck white color paper with a 3/16 ounce jig head. Largemouth bass are around ducks and riprap biting worms rigged up Texas rig style. Crappie are holding tight to structure in the East fork and Luces Bayou. Crappie can be enticed to bite with small jigs and hand tied jigs over brush. Catfish are in abundance around bulkheads and jug lines with fresh caught shad. Navigate with caution watching for stumps. There are at least 20 new submerged hazards in this area. Take the time to mark them and or safely identify your navigational route prior to running in the plane and always wear your kill switch. Report by Captain Zackary Scott, Zack Attack Fishing.
Texas City: FAIR. 84 degrees. Good numbers of speckled trout being caught in lower Galveston Bay. North jetty producing limits of trout, a few redfish, sheepshead, and black drum on live shrimp. Red snapper catches have been good 50 plus miles offshore. Report by Captain David Dillman, Galveston Bay Charter Fishing. Anglers continue to catch plenty of speckled trout, redfish, and flounder everyday with some occasional black drum, sheepshead, sand trout, and gafftop. Limits can be caught near Mosquito Island and the Moses Lake Tidal Gate. Along the dike has been successful near shrimp boats, docks and piers. Live shrimp and finger mullet have been the best baits. Report by Captain Shane Rilat, North Jetty Bait Camp.
Freeport: GOOD. 85 degrees. Trout, redfish and flounder are good around the San Luis Pass. Bastrop Bay, Christmas Bay, Chocolate Bay and the west end of Galveston Bay has been producing trout, gafftop and redfish fishing under the birds using shrimps under a popping cork or gulp shrimp. Wade fishing has been good in the guts at the pass with croaker and shrimp for catches of trout, redfish and a few flounder mixed in. The Freeport Harbor has been steady for sheepshead, 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. 84 degrees. Fishing has vastly improved with the weather. Drifting is producing trout over 20 inches with live shrimp under a popping cork. A few catches of drum mixed in. Back lakes have good numbers of redfish in the afternoon during high tide. Report by Captain Charlie Paradoski, Captain Charlie Paradoski’s Guide Service.
West Matagorda Bay: SLOW. 84 degrees. Fishing has vastly improved with the weather. Reefs are producing trout, with drum mixed in with live shrimp under a popping cork. Most of the redfish are in the back lakes. Water is off-colored along the shorelines. Red snapper season is open with good catches reported offshore. Report by Captain Charlie Paradoski, Captain Charlie Paradoski’s Guide Service.
