Salt Levels Bring Unusual Catches

High salt levels in the bays and nearshore Gulf along with calm days when anglers can actually access the surf, jetties and short rigs has produced some at least slightly unusual catches.

Although pompano are caught annual on the Upper Coast, there have been a whole lot of them in the surf between Galveston and High Island.

Jon Houchin caught this big one while fishing at the Sabine Jetties.

“I’ve never caught one here at the jetties but I was glad to,” he said.

That was only part of Houchin’s cool fishing experience. While throwing a topwater along the edge of the Texas rocks, he hooked up with a 4.5-foot tarpon.

“I hooked him for about 20 seconds and it spooled me. I was shocked to hook up with a tarpon out there. I’ve heard of it happening but at Sabine that’s a rare thing.”

Indeed, it’s very rare.

In our story on permit back in April, we showed the photo of Christy Real with this permit she caught at the Texas City Dike. That’s about as unusual as possible for not only the Texas Coast but that area in particular.

There have been reports of more snook than normal in the Matagorda Bay system and blacktip sharks as far north as the Interstate 10 Bridge on the Sabine River.

Bull sharks are occassionaly caught in that area but even that’s rare. Numerous blacktips have been caught along with stingrays.

Dolphins are a common sighting this summer in that area and there has been a reliable report of a white dolphin seen in the Sabine area.

If you’ve had an unusual catch email us your story, pic or video to cmoore@fishgame.com. We would love to share it.