Galveston Bay

[reevesr1]

I casted the clouser for awhile longer with no luck. My two buddies were starting to stick a few. I switched to a streamer I bought for the Bow, but liked the color for saltwater because it reminded me of an effective soft plastic color. Didn't take long....

 

 

I must say that I was not AT ALL disappointed in the fight that time! The trout was only a couple of inches bigger, but put on a much better account of himself!

 

Anyway, we ended up with 20 or so. I put the fly rod down not long after the second fish because it was just too tough with the wind. I caught several more using more traditional methods. No less fun, I gotta say. Here is Rick with a little surprise:

 

 

While most fish were released, we did keep a few for my mom:

 

The rod I am using is a 8 wt. Sage a friend in Calgary built. I'm somewhat addicted to it and may not give it back. Wish I could have used my 5 wt, but the wind was just too brutal.

 

Rick and Riley, thanks a ton for the day! Next time I'm home we'll head down to Matagorda and let Rick put us on some bigger fish!

 

Day 3:

Went out with my cousin and brother. Same general area. I started this time with bait, and had a fish in the first couple of minutes, as did Chris (the cousin, and another aspiring young guide).

Switched to a topwater, just because:

 

Just after I caught the trout on the topwater, my brother noticed me releasing it. He said "we're not doing catch and release are we?" I said "you can do whatever you want, I'm releasing mine." I started calling him "10 Fish Ain't Enough." (the limit in Texas is 10). Actually, if he ever tells his wife I'm releasing my fish, she may kick my ass. They are way good to eat, and she cooks them in many different and all delicious ways. But it really annoys my brother and cousin when I release them, so it's really fun for me to let them go!

 

Again, we ended up with 20 or so. I did not contribute much however as my goal was to change methods on every couple of fish. I didn't make it past 3, 2 on bait, 1 on the topwater. I really should have stuck with the topwater more, but that was not the goal. The fly rod let me down, but not for lack of trying. They just weren't hitting anything artificial nearly as well as the day before. Oh well, sure was fun trying!

 

Here is Chris with a nice red:

 

And the results of the day:

 

 

Day 4:

Similar to day three, with a few less fish. Live bait ruled the day again, but I did get one little fish on a clouser. Chris did ok, and he had a couple of friends from Houston and they caught a couple too. I had to go in early to do some work in Houston. When we left, I realized I had no idea where my wallet was. I was hoping against hope it was in the car, but I knew the last place I remember it being was in the right front pocket of my wade pants. And I knew in my heart I had never taken it out and that it must have fallen out when I jumped in the water. Turns out I was right as it wasn't in the car. Fortunately, I have my passport and was able to get an emergency Amex card here in Houston. Crappy end to the day, but doesn't detract from the fun (much).

 

Tomorrow is golf, and more fishing on Sunday. I still need to get one on a topwater fly.........

[maxwell]

dope report dude.. so how many goals do u gotta beat left?......

[reevesr1]

dope report dude.. so how many goals do u gotta beat left?......

 

 

Topwater fly. I did have one chase it today, but no hookup. Sunday, hopefully.

[bigbowtrout]

Thanks Rick. I loved both of your reports.

[Hawgstoppah]

awesome! is that anywhere near Houston? My brother is actually moving down there, in 2 weeks.. he got a transfer.

[reevesr1]

awesome! is that anywhere near Houston? My brother is actually moving down there, in 2 weeks.. he got a transfer.

Hawg,

Sure is. Just south of Houston, very near Galveston.

[troutlover]

very cool Rick

[monger]

Great report young man! Sounds like a great trip and kudos to you for all your experimenting. Glad to hear you are bugging somebody by releasing fish.

[reevesr1]

Great report young man! Sounds like a great trip and kudos to you for all your experimenting. Glad to hear you are bugging somebody by releasing fish.

 

Thanks Rob.

 

The funny thing is I actually have no issue at all with keeping fish to eat here. It is a totally different (obviously) eco-system, which is being pretty well maintained. More threat from industry than fishermen, frankly.

 

I got out with my uncle, cousin, and brother today. Cuz, bro and I were wading, uncle in the boat. I went a different direction than the other two and was rewarded with a couple of fish on topwaters pretty quickly. But the bite died with the end of the tide at 6:30. So back to the boat to get the fly rod to change tactics. My uncle asked me how I did, and I said I'd caught a couple and missed a couple.

 

"Where are they?"

"Let 'em go."

 

He looked at me in disgust. I almost burst out laughing. He said "I think that's just like hunting and not keeping what you kill." I said "I don't care." Not a snappy reply, I know.

 

The reality is I don't keep becasue I don't want too anymore, unless for my mom. I don't keep around my relatives just to piss 'em off. Only because I love 'em!

 

I did keep a couple of trout for my uncle later. He needed some for dinner, and noone else seemed to be stepping up.

 

All in all, a great trip. Not the best fishing, but great fun none the less.

[SteveM]

Great report, Rick( as usual!). Ain't nuttin' wrong with bonkin' a few, bro'!

You can stay a little longer iffen ya like; just make sure yer back when the cricks start

clearin' up, so's we can go hit .

Glad yer havin' fun...

Later,

Steve

[gustuphson]

Sweet report, sounds like a great trip. Any chance those topwater fish were on the flyrod!?

[reevesr1]

Sweet report, sounds like a great trip. Any chance those topwater fish were on the flyrod!?

No. I think that if I had started with topwater flies instead of plugs, I might have caught a couple. But the places I was fishing only tend to be productive at all on top early in the morning and I couldn't bring myself to start the day with such limited casting distance, particularly since I started each day casting into a stiff breeze.

[SanJuanWorm]

When I worked offshore in the Gulf I would see millions of specks from the platform. Keepin a few to eat will not hurt this fishery.

[gustuphson]

Yeah the ocean is definitely a different game then any waterbody around Calgary as far as harvesting fish goes.

I was in S.C. a little while ago and was surprised by all of the fish consumption warnings, guess it goes hand in hand with the industrial development.

Rickr are there any consumption warnings in the Bay?

[monger]

I don't have a problem killing some fish to eat, they are food after all. Sometimes it's just more fun to fiddle with the bonker's minds by letting the fish go.

[ladystrange]

strangely i have n problem bonking ocean or delta fish but i cant wack a rainbow in lake... how odd is that. i guess growing up on the coast, you learn, catch a fish. bonk it for dinner. i remember the days when there was no shortage of salmon or sole to catch, crab and clams were abundant.

 

thanks for the report rick, sounds like a great time

[Hawgstoppah]

i guess growing up on the coast, you learn, catch a fish. bonk it for dinner. i remember the days when there was no shortage of salmon or sole to catch, crab and clams were abundant.

 

haha... that's why you REMEMBER the days...... ahh the good ol' days when there were fish in the ocean

 

Thanx for the location the rick... gonna tell my bro to throw his fly rod away and grab a can of bait and a bass pole and head on down I guess :D

[reevesr1]

haha... that's why you REMEMBER the days...... ahh the good ol' days when there were fish in the ocean

 

Thanx for the location the rick... gonna tell my bro to throw his fly rod away and grab a can of bait and a bass pole and head on down I guess :D

 

Brian,

When your brother is there, have him contact me. There are awesome fly fishing opportunities in South Texas in skinny water for reds and trout. There are also some people on this board from Houston who can tell him about fly fishing opportunities in Houston for carp, catfish, etc (which I had no idea existed).

 

If he is adverse to bait, and lots of people are, no problem. Catching them with a "bass pole" and bait casting gear with artificial lures is a kick as well. The opportunities are pretty endless.

 

 

As to fish eating in G. Bay, here are a couple of links:

Upper Galveston Bay Advisory

West Bay Advisory

 

"Galveston Bay" is actually 4 bay systems: West Bay, East Bay, Trinity Bay, and Galveston Bay. The main bay systems are no issue. But the ship channel areas are.