Galveston Bay Fishing Tips

The Saltwater Magazine for Gulf Coast Fishing!

Fishing Galveston Bay

Reports by Dana Matiza

GALVESTON BAY FISHING TIPS

(Dana has fished the Galveston Bay Complex for over 20 years and provides trip reports along with insight on how to succesfully fish this area.)

10/26/99
I had another really nice day of fishing out on the lower part of West Galveston Bay (Cold Pass area) on Sunday 10/24/99. It was a little windy but once the tide pushed on into the grass around noon the flounder and the rat reds started feeding in on mullet and grass shrimp.

I managed two solid keeper reds at 22 and 24 inches and one really nice shell flounder about 23 inches long. The flounder weighed close to 3.50 pounds (a broad/thick fish) on my not so reliable hand scale. All of the fish were caught on live shrimp either free lined (i.e. no weight next to the grass) or under a popping cork. For the two keeper reds I keyed in on small live oyster pads next to the bank/grassy edges. These pads were no bigger than 15 to 30 feet in length; however, the larger fish were holding in and along these small
shell pads.

I tried soft plastics in the same area about an hour but had no results.

There were a number of undersized redfish (12 to 18 inches long) that I caught and released. The Galveston Bay complex is still very salty due to lack of rainfall so the fishing will get tough this winter if it doesn't start raining real soon.

Hope to fish again on this Sunday afternoon.
Take care,
Dana

9/29/99
I did manage a little fishing trip on Friday (Sept. 24, 1999) to the Galveston Beachfront. I fished the rock groin at 51st. street and landed two solid flounder (one fish at three pounds the other at four pounds ) and one very respectable speckled trout - 25" in length. I caught several other small fish and I released each of them as I had one of the more impressive boxes of fish I have been able to actually brag about in a while.
I fished early in the morning til roughly 9:30 am. My bait was live finger mullet rigged to 2/0 wide gap hook using a 1/2 oz. slip weight carolina rigged. The flounder and the trout all hit the bait aggressively and I am hoping that with the passage of the cool front today to do the same thing this Friday or Saturday.
Dana Matiza
9/7/99
Been a while since I have been able to get away for a fishing trip and I finally managed to get in a trip yesterday - Labor Day. I guess that is a fitting name as I labored nearly the entire day and did not manage to box a single keepers (reds and specks were all undersized). I hooked no flounder either although I did fish about 2 to 3 hours for some near the mouth of a cove.
West Galveston Bay is in excellent condition. I fished several slicks hard just west of the causeway and the mullet and shad concentrations were thick. I also worked the shoreline(s) in and around Andersen Way (commonly referred to as eight mile road) early in the morning and found solid concentrations of baitfish.
The keeper fish may still be in deeper waters and I did not fish around any deeper structures, although I probably should have.
I am going to try again in two weeks in the same general area. Perhaps in a few weeks the water will have cooled off a little and the fish will start moving around some.
Some good rains are also needed in the Galveston Bay Complex as the salinity levels are quite high.
Dana

7/19/99
I fished on late Saturday afternoon with my two sons along the flats just to the north of the base of the Texas City Dike. We managed to box 5 nice specks with the biggest going a respectable 24 inches. Numerous undersized trout (13"-14") hit our live shrimp as soon as they hit the water. Otherwise, I think we would have boxed some more keepers. We really only had time to fish a pint of shrimp before we lost daylight.
Water was in good shape although the tide movement was slow. We tried other finfish (a few piggies and a few croakers) but the larger trout were not interested for some reason. The schools of menhaden/shad were solid all along the dike rocks and along the edges of the shell reefs. Perhaps the trout already had plenty to eat by the time we got out on the water.
I plan on trying the railroad bridge near the Galveston Causeway this weekend. It is my understanding that some big flounder are already being caught in this area.
Have a good one.
Dana
July 7, 1999
I fished the spoil banks along the Galveston Channel (marker 28 specifically) on Monday afternoon and we boxed 11 keeper specks, three flounder and two redfish. The conditions were good as the wind settled out mid-afternoon and the tide started moving. We caught all of our fish on live shrimp suspended about 3.5 to 4 feet under popping corks.
Not many fisherman out on the bay but when we returned back in to Bacliffe almost all that had gone out were cleaning some fish - mostly school specks. Our biggest speck was approximately four pounds and both redfish were 23 inches long.
Dana
June14, 1999
I fished near the Brazos River and the Intracoastal waterway yesterday morning and managed to catch 8 nice speckled trout in the 2-4 pound class. I caught all my fish on live piggy perch fished near the bottom with a 1/2 oz. egg/slip sinker.
The water was absolutely beautiful and the spanish mackeral were pounding concentrations of mullet and shad near the main river channel up to an along the edge of the surfside jetty. The rain that fell early in the morning was heavy and lasted until about 8:15 am. After that, everything settled out real nice with a light east wind and a slight overcast.
The beachfront b/w San Luis Pass and Surfside Beach was gin clear. While I was cleaning my fish, another gentleman bought in a nice mess of flatfish (six total) he caught on mud minnows and live shrimp in the mouth of Titlum-Tatlum Bayou (near where the bayou itself intersects Cold Pass). He said he has been catching his fish on the outgoing tide(s) b/w 9am - 1pm.
Have a good one...
Dana
June 1, 1999
I fished upper Galveston Bay on Saturday morning (05/29) with Capt. Wayne Vinton and caught a really nice mess of flounder. We fished near the Bayport channel with live shad. Our three man party caught a total of 36 flatfish - 17 of which were keepers. A large thunderstorm entered the bay around 11:30 am and we had to knock off.
I also fished lower West Galveston Bay on Monday morning early and didn't see a lot of activity. The area north of San Luis Pass was holding good water but lacked concentrations of baitfish. We only managed to catch two keeper specks under popping corks with live shrimp.
Kinda slow for this time of year in lower West Bay. Hopefully next weekend in West Bay will prove a little more productive.
Have a good one.
Dana
May 20, 1999
Re: Report West Galveston Bay
I fished lower West Galveston Bay on Sunday morning - 05/16/1999 (windy) and only caught two keeper reds and one trout. I pulled out of the water around 10:30 am and went on over to Surfisde to fish some of the flooded canals and ditches off of the intercoastal and wound up catching one good size flounder. I also caught and released four to five smaller flatfish in the 12 to 16 inch range. The tide was up real nice on Sunday. However, the wind was once again a monster.
I caught my two redfish on live shrimp. The flounders hit a red swimming shad with a whitetail.
Hope to try Greens Lake this weekend if the wind will let off.
Have a good one...
Dana
May 3, 1999
I have just returned from vacation in Mexico (Cabo) and man was it enjoyable. The sailfishing was excellent. It cost me a lot a dough through Frontiers but as they say "don't measure your pleasure in pounds and ounces". We even caught and landed some roosterfish (these are beautiful fish) from the nearshore beachfront one evening.
As for Galveston Bay, I spoke with several friends late yesterday and they informed me that the wind has been a monster since Thursday. Several folks fishing Carancahua and Greens Cut took some nice limits of rat reds and some nice keeper specks on Tuesday and Wednesday last week when their was a lull in the wind. The tides had been out til Wednesday and than roared back in last Friday with the east/northeast winds and the fish have once again scattered out.
Once the tides and the winds settle their should be good action along the south shoreline and reef edges of lower West Galveston Bay. My sources tell me that although the wind has been extremely high, the protected portions of the bays (leeward shorelines of East and West Galveston Bay) are still quite clear and fishable for waders willing to work.
I hope to have a real report of my own on Sunday when I fish again in WestGalveston Bay.
Dana

April 20 , 1999
The bite is still on in the Confederate Reef area. I fished the incoming tide early Sunday morning (4/18/99) and landed three nice Specks - 20, 22, and 25 inches. I caught and released several other fish including two rat reds and one very large sheepshead. I probably could have caught more; however, I used up my pint of shrimp by 9:00 am.
Around 10:00 am I moved over to the Snake Island Cove and fished artificials for a while with no success. There were a lot of baitfish and grass shrimp in the area so once the water warms up a little the reds and flounders should start roaming around in here. The water temperature dropped down to 68 degrees after the front and the fish may go really crazy once the water temp climbs a little later in the week - say Thursday.
Also, Greens Lake was holding a lot of nice redfish according to several locals I spoke with on Sunday afternoon. The fish were concentrated in this area with the higher than expected tides early last week. They should be back in the area once the tide comes back in full.
NOTE: The bait shrimp in the local Galveston camps are very large right now and it might be wise for your live bait fisherman to pick up a quart rather than a pint.

Have a good one......
Dana Mattiza

(713) 831-4177For the past month the speckled trout have really been concentrated in West Galveston Bay between Confederate Reef and the old Intracoastal Waterway. We caught 20 and released more last Sunday (03/28/99) and this Sunday (04/04/99). 4 came onboard from 3 -5 pounds. I'd have provided a pic except I dropped my Polaroid overboard Sunday morning.
The weather has been messy, but, if you can catch a break and follow the Wells Forecast it is worth your while to try a few drifts for a couple of hours during the right times This is the best fishing I have had in this area of the Galveston Bay complex since 1979.
The specks will move out of this area by the end of April and fisherman in the Galveston Bay area should try and take advantage before the spawn is over and the larger specks move to deeper water.
I caught all my fish about three foot down using live shrimp and a popping cork (unweighted) with a 1/2 oz. weight suspended halfway between the hook and the cork. A #8 Eagle Claw treble or a 1/0 Owner single hook with a cutting point is my preference when fishing with live shrimp.

Good luck......
Dana Mattiza

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The Saltwater Magazine for Gulf Coast Fishing!
	Fishing Galveston Bay Reports by Dana Matiza
	GALVESTON BAY FISHING TIPS (Dana has fished the Galveston Bay Complex for over 20 years and provides trip reports along with insight on how to succesfully fish this area.) 10/26/99 I had another really nice day of fishing out on the lower part of West Galveston Bay (Cold Pass area) on Sunday 10/24/99. It was a little windy but once the tide pushed on into the grass around noon the flounder and the rat reds started feeding in on mullet and grass shrimp. I managed two solid keeper reds at 22 and 24 inches and one really nice shell flounder about 23 inches long. The flounder weighed close to 3.50 pounds (a broad/thick fish) on my not so reliable hand scale. All of the fish were caught on live shrimp either free lined (i.e. no weight next to the grass) or under a popping cork. For the two keeper reds I keyed in on small live oyster pads next to the bank/grassy edges. These pads were no bigger than 15 to 30 feet in length; however, the larger fish were holding in and along these small shell pads. I tried soft plastics in the same area about an hour but had no results. There were a number of undersized redfish (12 to 18 inches long) that I caught and released. The Galveston Bay complex is still very salty due to lack of rainfall so the fishing will get tough this winter if it doesn't start raining real soon. Hope to fish again on this Sunday afternoon. Take care, Dana
9/29/99 I did manage a little fishing trip on Friday (Sept. 24, 1999) to the Galveston Beachfront. I fished the rock groin at 51st. street and landed two solid flounder (one fish at three pounds the other at four pounds ) and one very respectable speckled trout - 25" in length. I caught several other small fish and I released each of them as I had one of the more impressive boxes of fish I have been able to actually brag about in a while. I fished early in the morning til roughly 9:30 am. My bait was live finger mullet rigged to 2/0 wide gap hook using a 1/2 oz. slip weight carolina rigged. The flounder and the trout all hit the bait aggressively and I am hoping that with the passage of the cool front today to do the same thing this Friday or Saturday. Dana Matiza 9/7/99 Been a while since I have been able to get away for a fishing trip and I finally managed to get in a trip yesterday - Labor Day. I guess that is a fitting name as I labored nearly the entire day and did not manage to box a single keepers (reds and specks were all undersized). I hooked no flounder either although I did fish about 2 to 3 hours for some near the mouth of a cove. West Galveston Bay is in excellent condition. I fished several slicks hard just west of the causeway and the mullet and shad concentrations were thick. I also worked the shoreline(s) in and around Andersen Way (commonly referred to as eight mile road) early in the morning and found solid concentrations of baitfish. The keeper fish may still be in deeper waters and I did not fish around any deeper structures, although I probably should have. I am going to try again in two weeks in the same general area. Perhaps in a few weeks the water will have cooled off a little and the fish will start moving around some. Some good rains are also needed in the Galveston Bay Complex as the salinity levels are quite high. Dana 7/19/99 I fished on late Saturday afternoon with my two sons along the flats just to the north of the base of the Texas City Dike. We managed to box 5 nice specks with the biggest going a respectable 24 inches. Numerous undersized trout (13"-14") hit our live shrimp as soon as they hit the water. Otherwise, I think we would have boxed some more keepers. We really only had time to fish a pint of shrimp before we lost daylight. Water was in good shape although the tide movement was slow. We tried other finfish (a few piggies and a few croakers) but the larger trout were not interested for some reason. The schools of menhaden/shad were solid all along the dike rocks and along the edges of the shell reefs. Perhaps the trout already had plenty to eat by the time we got out on the water. I plan on trying the railroad bridge near the Galveston Causeway this weekend. It is my understanding that some big flounder are already being caught in this area. Have a good one. Dana July 7, 1999 I fished the spoil banks along the Galveston Channel (marker 28 specifically) on Monday afternoon and we boxed 11 keeper specks, three flounder and two redfish. The conditions were good as the wind settled out mid-afternoon and the tide started moving. We caught all of our fish on live shrimp suspended about 3.5 to 4 feet under popping corks. Not many fisherman out on the bay but when we returned back in to Bacliffe almost all that had gone out were cleaning some fish - mostly school specks. Our biggest speck was approximately four pounds and both redfish were 23 inches long. Dana June14, 1999 I fished near the Brazos River and the Intracoastal waterway yesterday morning and managed to catch 8 nice speckled trout in the 2-4 pound class. I caught all my fish on live piggy perch fished near the bottom with a 1/2 oz. egg/slip sinker. The water was absolutely beautiful and the spanish mackeral were pounding concentrations of mullet and shad near the main river channel up to an along the edge of the surfside jetty. The rain that fell early in the morning was heavy and lasted until about 8:15 am. After that, everything settled out real nice with a light east wind and a slight overcast. The beachfront b/w San Luis Pass and Surfside Beach was gin clear. While I was cleaning my fish, another gentleman bought in a nice mess of flatfish (six total) he caught on mud minnows and live shrimp in the mouth of Titlum-Tatlum Bayou (near where the bayou itself intersects Cold Pass). He said he has been catching his fish on the outgoing tide(s) b/w 9am - 1pm. Have a good one... Dana June 1, 1999 I fished upper Galveston Bay on Saturday morning (05/29) with Capt. Wayne Vinton and caught a really nice mess of flounder. We fished near the Bayport channel with live shad. Our three man party caught a total of 36 flatfish - 17 of which were keepers. A large thunderstorm entered the bay around 11:30 am and we had to knock off. I also fished lower West Galveston Bay on Monday morning early and didn't see a lot of activity. The area north of San Luis Pass was holding good water but lacked concentrations of baitfish. We only managed to catch two keeper specks under popping corks with live shrimp. Kinda slow for this time of year in lower West Bay. Hopefully next weekend in West Bay will prove a little more productive. Have a good one. Dana May 20, 1999 Re: Report West Galveston Bay I fished lower West Galveston Bay on Sunday morning - 05/16/1999 (windy) and only caught two keeper reds and one trout. I pulled out of the water around 10:30 am and went on over to Surfisde to fish some of the flooded canals and ditches off of the intercoastal and wound up catching one good size flounder. I also caught and released four to five smaller flatfish in the 12 to 16 inch range. The tide was up real nice on Sunday. However, the wind was once again a monster. I caught my two redfish on live shrimp. The flounders hit a red swimming shad with a whitetail. Hope to try Greens Lake this weekend if the wind will let off. Have a good one... Dana May 3, 1999 I have just returned from vacation in Mexico (Cabo) and man was it enjoyable. The sailfishing was excellent. It cost me a lot a dough through Frontiers but as they say "don't measure your pleasure in pounds and ounces". We even caught and landed some roosterfish (these are beautiful fish) from the nearshore beachfront one evening. As for Galveston Bay, I spoke with several friends late yesterday and they informed me that the wind has been a monster since Thursday. Several folks fishing Carancahua and Greens Cut took some nice limits of rat reds and some nice keeper specks on Tuesday and Wednesday last week when their was a lull in the wind. The tides had been out til Wednesday and than roared back in last Friday with the east/northeast winds and the fish have once again scattered out. Once the tides and the winds settle their should be good action along the south shoreline and reef edges of lower West Galveston Bay. My sources tell me that although the wind has been extremely high, the protected portions of the bays (leeward shorelines of East and West Galveston Bay) are still quite clear and fishable for waders willing to work. I hope to have a real report of my own on Sunday when I fish again in WestGalveston Bay. Dana April 20 , 1999 The bite is still on in the Confederate Reef area. I fished the incoming tide early Sunday morning (4/18/99) and landed three nice Specks - 20, 22, and 25 inches. I caught and released several other fish including two rat reds and one very large sheepshead. I probably could have caught more; however, I used up my pint of shrimp by 9:00 am. Around 10:00 am I moved over to the Snake Island Cove and fished artificials for a while with no success. There were a lot of baitfish and grass shrimp in the area so once the water warms up a little the reds and flounders should start roaming around in here. The water temperature dropped down to 68 degrees after the front and the fish may go really crazy once the water temp climbs a little later in the week - say Thursday. Also, Greens Lake was holding a lot of nice redfish according to several locals I spoke with on Sunday afternoon. The fish were concentrated in this area with the higher than expected tides early last week. They should be back in the area once the tide comes back in full. NOTE: The bait shrimp in the local Galveston camps are very large right now and it might be wise for your live bait fisherman to pick up a quart rather than a pint. Have a good one...... Dana Mattiza (713) 831-4177For the past month the speckled trout have really been concentrated in West Galveston Bay between Confederate Reef and the old Intracoastal Waterway. We caught 20 and released more last Sunday (03/28/99) and this Sunday (04/04/99). 4 came onboard from 3 -5 pounds. I'd have provided a pic except I dropped my Polaroid overboard Sunday morning. The weather has been messy, but, if you can catch a break and follow the Wells Forecast it is worth your while to try a few drifts for a couple of hours during the right times This is the best fishing I have had in this area of the Galveston Bay complex since 1979. The specks will move out of this area by the end of April and fisherman in the Galveston Bay area should try and take advantage before the spawn is over and the larger specks move to deeper water. I caught all my fish about three foot down using live shrimp and a popping cork (unweighted) with a 1/2 oz. weight suspended halfway between the hook and the cork. A #8 Eagle Claw treble or a 1/0 Owner single hook with a cutting point is my preference when fishing with live shrimp. Good luck...... Dana Mattiza Home