|
|
|
|
And, as you would expect, the gulf is full of speckled trout from Hackberry, La., to South Padre Island.
After months of ardent winds that could have been given a name, the past 10 days have been solid “5 to 10s” and have finally afforded a pattern of consistent fishing.
“It is just like anything, when it blows 20 knots, we struggle,” said guide James Plaag of Silver King Adventures in Galveston. “But when we get light winds, we are able to get to where we need to be and the fish are there.”
Along with an ocean full of trout, Plaag said tarpon have been showing just off the coast of Galveston.
“There are a lot of fish following the rain minnows,” he said. “We boated 18 fish in a four-day period and had many more hookups. The gulf has been gorgeous.”
Lots of impressive sharks have been taken within a cast of the beach this week. Guide Mike Williams reported taking a 160-pound blacktip – a huge specimen by any standard. He also caught bull sharks and spinner sharks while drifting live baits in search of tarpon.
“There have been lots of sharks, jack crevalle and tarpon caught on a variety of natural baits. You can see the bottom 20 feet down and conditions continue to improve,” Williams said.
Trout action hot
The Matagorda and Port O’Connor surf has been as hot as a Texas summer day. Mullet, shad and large shrimp are stacked in the guts, and trout are gregariously herding the bait.
“We have been catching easy limits out of the boat,” guide Charlie Paradoski said. “Bass Assassins in any color have worked.”
Guide Bill Pustejovsky has been wading the Matagorda surf and scoring easy catches as well.
“One day my charter caught and released over 60 trout,” he said. “Fish have been hitting topwaters and MirrOlures in the first gut on the incoming tide. Bass Assassins have worked just as well.”
Guide Lynn Smith of Port O’Connor echoed the same sentiments.
“Everyday, we have been in the surf we have caught limits,” Smith said. “It really does not matter what you throw – live bait, topwaters or plastics. There are lots of fish out there.”
Not coincidental, when the surf calms and goes green, fishing in the bays normally picks up steam as well, especially around passes and jetties.
“Our fishing has been great,” Lower Laguna Madre guide Danno Wise said. “There are tarpon and snook at the jetty, and lots of trout and redfish roaming the flats.”
The same holds true along the middle coast, as sand, grass and deep shell are holding scores of trout.
“There are a lot of fish around the wells,” Dwayne Newburn said. “We have had some good days on DOA Shrimp fished along the shell pads.”
The upper coast around Sabine Lake has enjoyed similar results.
“The calm conditions have allowed us to see surface action,” guide Chuck Uzzle said. “Trout are chasing shad and shrimp in the middle of the lake and coming up on top. Topwaters at the Sabine Pass jetty have been just as consistent.”
Here’s hoping the rest of summer follows suit.
Bink Grimes is a freelance writer, photographer, author and licensed captain. Contact him at binkgrimes@sbcglobal.net or www.binkgrimesoutdoors.com.