Galveston fishing

[Jack G]

I have to go to Houston sometime in January. It is less than an hours drive to Galveston, on the gulf, and I thought I might take a day or two and get some fishing in while I am there.

Has anyone got any knowledge about fishing from shore in that area? I would be a complete novice as to location, tackle required and what I was fishing for.

Any suggestions would be appreciated, including info about any websites where I might find helpful information.

Thanks

Jack

[mmillelacs]

I was in the town of Kemah on Galveston Bay visiting in March of last year. It was the first time i had been in Texas. The folks we visited had a long dock but no boat. After watching one of their neighbors fishing , I asked him if i could join him and we both fished from his dock, catching several speckled trout or sea trout as they are also called. Beautiful fish mostly weighing about 2-3 pounds tasting kinda like trout from here, he said they get up to 10 pounds or more. The technique was to cast a white 3/8 inch jig tipped with a white plastic tail as far as you could and drag along the bottom slowly back to the dock. Also, this was strictly night fishing. Before dark
the locals go down to the end of the dock and put out several coleman lanterns, light them and leave til long after dark. This attracts the bait fish and then the fish follow, i guess. I couldnt believe the fish bit at all at night because galveston bay is the darkest dirtiest water i had ever seen, probably about 3 shades darker than lake of the woods. Also we took a boat ride across the bay and the whole bay is about 12 feet deep max except the shipping channel which has been dredged. Anyway,I thought i might one up the locals and managed to get my hand on a spool of 10 pound fireline and went out on my relatives dock the next night and was able to catch several more fish than their neighbor. Also, redfish are frequently caught from shore although i didnt catch or see any, so i dont know if these are cool or not. Also, on the neighbors advice i bought a crab trap, threw some raw chicken in it, threw it off the end of the dock overnight and caught a few crabs, really small though.

[tx_basser]

Kemah is decent, but is has grown up so much lately that finding an open area can be difficult at times, depending on the weather.

If you want to do some bay fishing, take hwy 147 out of Seabrook, thru Kemah and head down to Bacliff. They have a big spillway from a drainage canal take I used to fish in the winter time that you could catch some various species at.

Texas City Dike in Texas City. Probably the best, as it is about 2.5 miles long and stretches into Galveston bay. It is like a big levee with steep sides and you can catch everything from Redfish, Flounder, Specs, and Sharks. Plus it is very entertaining see all of the other people fishing.

Galveston jetties or San Luis pass beachhead. Good open gulf fishing, but it can be rather dangerous at times.

[Mike]

I am going to South Padre tomorrow. Any tips on catching fish in that area???

Thanks

MIke

[tx_basser]

If you have a decent casting/spinning rig, go the local Wal-Mart and pick up a couple of pre-rigged Popping Corks, with leaders for Speckled Trout. Then attached a trebel hook on the snap. Get some shrimp, and hook it under the horn.

Cast it as far as you can. When it hits the water, pop it 3 times like using a chugger, then let it set for about 15-20 seconds. Most fish caught are caught then. If you don't catch one, reel back in and start over.