UPPER COAST FOCUS Galveston November/December 2023
UPPER COAST FOCUS Matagorda November/December 2023
October 24, 2023UPPER COAST FOCUS Sabine November/December 2023
October 24, 2023
GALVESTON
Reported by CAPT. DEREK YORK
Email Derek York at spotstalkerfishing@yahoo.com
Season of Holiday Cheer
LISTEN: (3 Min, 15 Sec)
HARD TO BELIEVE it’s already the Holiday season and looking back on this year it’s been full of some great times on the water and in the woods with family, friends and clients. Another long hot summer with record heat and no rain caused some scattered fish at times this year but fall and winter always seem to get everything going again with the fish feeding heavy on these tide dumps this time of year.
Depending on weather conditions, there are a lot of great areas to fish in different situations. From the jetties to the open bays and deep channels to marsh drains, you can target redfish, trout, flounder, sheepshead and black drum in most all these locations. I’m typically throwing live shrimp under a popping cork or soft plastics on my boat to target most species. Working schools of birds can provide some great and fast action on trout and reds across the bay system. And sometimes the best time to fish is later in the day when the sun gets up and the bait gets going on the surface. I see a lot of surface activity in East Bay in Fall/early Winter.
The jetties can also provide some big pulls from those bull reds when fishing with cut bait on the bottom. I’ll switch from menhaden to mullet and even crab to see what they want. Sometimes they want all three! This is almost a guarantee if you can get out on the water or when fishing from the shoreline where you have close access to deeper drop-offs, like the end of the Texas City Dike.
Flounder are another fall/winter staple and are readily caught fishing soft plastics on the bottom or live finger mullet and mud minnows. Most people are targeting these fish along channel edges or around deep structures in areas like the Galveston harbor and the Bolivar ferry landings. Just remember that flounder must be 15 inches to keep with a bag limit of five except during the closure from November 1 to December 14 every year.
Sheepshead are always one of my favorites and we boat most of our largest fish this time of year. Last year was one for the record books on my boat with multiple fish over eight pounds and two going over 10 pounds. These fish are terrific fighters on lighter tackle, taste great and look cool. What more could you ask for! I’m typically fishing tight to shoreline bulkheads and pilings with a popping cork and live shrimp. Several spots last year we fished produced multiple large fish out of the exact same location. So, make sure you fish an area repeatedly if you catch one before moving on.
Hopefully you can get out and enjoy some time on Galveston Bay to close out 2023. Just remember to be weather aware and keep some extra towels and clothes on board in case anything goes wrong, and someone gets wet. And remember, take a kid fishing!
