HotSPOTLight: UPPER TEXAS COAST

•  •  •

LOCATION: Galveston East Bay
HOTSPOT: Deep Reef
GPS: N 29 30.802, W 94 40.581
(29.5134, -94.6764)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Soft plastic shrimp tails
SOURCE: Capt. Paul Marcaccio
281-788-4041
TIPS: Attack the wells with a systematic drift over one side as well as the other side. If you don’t get a fish or a hookup, then move on to the next well.

LOCATION: Galveston East Bay
HOTSPOT: Fat Rat Pass
GPS: N 29 28.462, W 94 38.673
(29.4744, -94.6446)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Chrome/blue topwaters
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Fish pods of nervous mullet, wade; dawn-afternoon

LOCATION: Galveston East Bay
HOTSPOT: Hanna’s Reef
GPS: N 29 28.471, W 94 43.251
(29.4745, -94.7209)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Shrimp, topwaters
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Drift humps & gut, look for slicks; fish topwaters early/late

LOCATION: Galveston Bay/Texas City
HOTSPOT: Texas City Dike
GPS: N 29 23.0034, W 94 52.0064
(29.3834, -94.8668)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Soft Plastics, Corkies or Topwaters
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Fish soft plastics with shades of chartreuse and pearl with tones of gold. Pink is a good second choice, with tones of gold.

LOCATION: Galveston Trinity Bay
HOTSPOT: Channel Marker 72
GPS: N 29 46.171, W 94 45.232
(29.7695, -94.7539)

SPECIES: Redfish
BEST BAITS: Croakers, Kelly Wiggler soft plastics
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Watch out for ship wakes; fish early

LOCATION: Galveston Trinity Bay
HOTSPOT: Dollar Reef
GPS: N 29 26.339, W 94 52.356
(29.4390, -94.8726)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Live shrimp, live croaker or live Piggy Perch
SOURCE: Capt. Mike Williams
713-256-9260
TIPS: Capt. Williams says the best fishing along the jetties is from boat cut out, along the Gulf side.

LOCATION: Galveston West Bay
HOTSPOT: San Luis Pass Flats
GPS: N 29 05.711, W 95 7.106
(29.095183, -95.118433)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Live shrimp, live croaker or live Piggy Perch
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Fish a Bass Assassin soft plastics in pink/pearl, chartreuse/pearl, or chartreuse/gold along with a 1/8 oz. jig head.

LOCATION: Matagorda East Bay
HOTSPOT: New Half Moon Reef
GPS: N 28 43.374, W 95 46.2299
(28.7229, -95.7705)

SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Soft plastics or live shrimp under a popping cork
SOURCE: Capt. Tommy Countz
281-450-4087
www.matagordafishing.com
TIPS: Half Moon Reef usually produces fish. Drift with topwaters early or shrimp under a popping cork

LOCATION: Matagorda West Bay
HOTSPOT: Cottons Bayou
GPS: N 28 30.45, W 96 12.384
(28.5075, -96.2064)

SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Topwaters
SOURCE: Capt. Tommy Countz
281-450-4087
www.matagordafishing.com
TIPS: Usually in May you can drift and throw some topwaters in three or four feet of water over the top of the reefs.

LOCATION: West Matagorda Bay
HOTSPOT: Golds Bayou
GPS: N 28 35.328, W 96 2.286
(28.5888, -96.0381)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Small soft plastics in a translucent color
SOURCE: Capt. Kendall Kersh
979-248-1871
TIPS: During the month of May Capt. Kersh is wading two to three feet of water looking for trout.

LOCATION: Sabine Lake
HOTSPOT: Jetty Tower
GPS: N 29 39.314, W 93 49.872
(29.6552, -93.8312)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Live shrimp, live croaker or live Piggy Perch
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Silver or gold Johnson Sprites and either the 51m704, 51m54 or 51mshp MirrOlures will take their share of trout in May.

•  •  •

HotSPOTLight: MIDDLE TEXAS COAST

•  •  •

LOCATION: Aransas Bay
HOTSPOT: South Bay
GPS: N 27 54.282, W 97 3.254
(27.9047, -97.0542)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout and Redfish
BEST BAITS: Live Croaker or Cut Mullet
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: If it’s not windy, fish deeper water areas going for trout, and redfish second.

LOCATION: Carlos Bay
HOTSPOT: Cedar Reef
GPS: N 28 8.251, W 96 53.049
(28.1375, -96.8842)

SPECIES: Speckled trout and redfish
BEST BAITS: Touts or live bait
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Fish topwaters if conditions allow—otherwise, croaker. Live shrimp under a popping cork is iffy; the perch will steal the shrimp off the hook.

LOCATION: Copano Bay
HOTSPOT: 40 Acre Reef
GPS: N 28 4.543, W 97 11.209
(28.0757, -97.1868)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout and Redfish
BEST BAITS: Live Croaker or Cut Mullet
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: In early May, fish live shrimp in the potholes.

LOCATION: Corpus Christi Bay
HOTSPOT: Corpus Christi Bay Wells
GPS: N 27 44.764, W 97 11.141
(27.7461, -97.1857)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout and Redfish
BEST BAITS: Live Croaker or Cut Mullet
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Rig croaker or shrimp, consisting of a small sliding egg weight and a Kahle hook

LOCATION: Corpus Christi Bay
HOTSPOT: Shamrock Island
GPS: N 27 45.9679, W 97 9.7829
(27.7661, -97.1631)

SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Live croaker
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Twitch the croaker to make it grunt and to keep it from burrowing down in the grass.

LOCATION: Port Aransas
HOTSPOT: East Flats
GPS: N 27 48.991, W 97 07.139
(27.816517, -97.118983)

SPECIES: Redfish
BEST BAITS: Freeline live pin perch or cut mullet
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Hook the pin perch under the anal fin, the same way as if you were using croaker for trout.

LOCATION: Port Aransas
HOTSPOT: Mud Island
GPS: N 27 56.380, W 97 00.763
(27.939667, -97.012717)

SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Freeline live croaker
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Hook the croaker right above the anal fin so he can swim around naturally, won’t be upside down or sideways in the water.

LOCATION: Port Aransas
HOTSPOT: Outside Dagger
GPS: N 27 50.217, W 97 09.967
(27.83695, -97.166117)

SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Freeline live croaker
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: A croaker should last 10-15 minutes before he becomes fatigued and needs to be replaced.

LOCATION: Port Aransas
HOTSPOT: Quarantine Shoreline
GPS: N 27 54.733, W 97 03.502
(27.912217, -97.058367)

SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Freeline live croaker
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: In June, Engel switches exclusively to live croaker as bait of choice for speckled trout. “Baitfish become so numerous as the water warms up, they will strip a live shrimp off a hook in 10 seconds.” – Capt. Marvin Engel

LOCATION: Port Aransas
HOTSPOT: Super Flats
GPS: N 27 54.669, W 97 02.196
(27.91115, -97.0366)

SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Freeline live croaker
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Pop your line about every 15-20 seconds, reel 2-3 cranks to get slack out of the line.

LOCATION: Redfish Bay
HOTSPOT: Dagger Islands
GPS: N 27 50.1019, W 97 10.2659
(27.8350, -97.1711)

SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Live croaker
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Pop the croaker a little bit with rod tip every 30-40 seconds… by moving your wrist, not your arm.

LOCATION: Redfish Bay
HOTSPOT: Harbor Island Flats
GPS: N 27 52.035, W 97 04.749
(27.86725, -97.07915)

SPECIES: Redfish
BEST BAITS: Freeline live pin perch or cut mullet
SOURCE:
Capt. Marvin Engel
361-658-6674
TIPS: Give a spot about 20-25 minutes to produce fish, giving enough time for the redfish to find the bai

LOCATION: San Antonio Bay
HOTSPOT: Cedar Point
GPS: N 28 14.184, W 96 39.659
(28.2364, -96.6610)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Soft Plastics
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Good soft plastic colors are strawberry wine and pumpkin seed, fished with a 1/8 oz. jig head. Vary the retrieve until you find what the fish want.

LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre
HOTSPOT: Intracoastal Spoil Banks
GPS: N 27 33.6839, W 97 16.759
(27.5614, -97.2793)

SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Topwaters
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Wade here for spawning trout.

LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre
HOTSPOT: King Ranch Shoreline
GPS: N 27 29.141, W 97 20.939
(27.485684, -97.348991)

SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Topwaters
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: A bone/silver She Dog, with a Walk-the-Dog retrieve should produce results.

LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre
HOTSPOT: Pita Flats
GPS: N 27 35.066, W 97 17.658
(27.5844, -97.2943)

SPECIES: Black Drum
BEST BAITS: Cracked crab or frozen shrimp
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Drum can be found just about everywhere in the bays…from Carlos to Ingleside, around reefs, flats or deep drop offs.

•  •  •

HotSPOTLight: LOWER TEXAS COAST

•  •  •

LOCATION: Arroyo City
HOTSPOT: Peyton Bay
GPS: N 26 26.122, W 97 22.3519
(26.4354, -97.3725)

SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Corkys and Croaker
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: For big, sow trout, fish drop-offs and sand bars, old bellies and guts where mainly the big trout usually come through May to spawn.

LOCATION: Baffin Bay
HOTSPOT: Kieberg Point Rocks
GPS: N 27 17.337, W 97 35.202
(27.2890, -97.5867)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Live Croaker or Live Shrimp
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Freeline the croaker using a chatter weight. Use a foot-long leader under the cork, if the depth of the water will accommodate that length—You want just enough leader length to keep the bait off the bottom.

LOCATION: Baffin Bay
HOTSPOT: South Shore Rocks
GPS: N 27 14.436, W 97 33.568
(27.2406, 97.5595)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Live Croaker
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Berkley Gulp, white, under the popping cork will work if live shrimp are not available.

LOCATION: Baffin Bay
HOTSPOT: Center Reef
GPS: N 27 16.138, W 97 34.704
(27.2690, -97.5784)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Live Croaker
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Sometimes the trout will be hitting right as the sun is coming up. Other times it takes a little while till about 8:15, 8:30 a.m. Capt. Little

LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre
HOTSPOT: Green Island
GPS: N 26 23.5379, W 97 19.465
(26.3923, -97.3244)

SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Big topwater lures
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Super Spooks, Skitter Walks, She Dogs…it just depends on the wind. On a high wind, use a She Dog because it’s real loud.

LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre
HOTSPOT: Rattlesnake Bay
GPS: N 26 18.613, W 97 19.453
(26.3102, -97.3242)

SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Big topwater lures
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Good spot to wade. Color doesn’t really matters, but you can’t go wrong with pink, white, or any natural bait fish color.

LOCATION: Middle Ground
HOTSPOT: Dubb’s Island
GPS: N 26 43.48, W 97 25.642
(26.7247, -97.4274)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Topwaters, red/white soft plastics on 101/8 oz. leadhead; all day
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Topwaters, red/white soft plastics on 1/8 oz. leadhead; produces all day.

LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre
HOTSPOT: Dunkin House
GPS: N 26 18.034, W 97 17.808
(26.3006, -97.2968)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Gulp under a Popping Cork
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: A lot of fish are caught here using a popping cork with Gulp whenever the wind comes up.

LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre
HOTSPOT: North Cullen Bay
GPS: N 26 16.9939, W 97 19.5979
(26.2832, -97.3266)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Kelley Wigglers or Gulp under a Popping Cork
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Freshwater runoff creates algae masses grow in different little back bays we have down here. All the fish will be around the algae feeding on it.

LOCATION: South Padre Island
HOTSPOT: Long Bar
GPS: N 26 8.592, W 97 14.2249
(26.1432, -97.2371)

SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Croaker
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Free line, or use a chatter weight with the croaker. Kind of thump it every 5-8 seconds.

•  •  •

 

< PREV Return to CONTENTS Page NEXT >