2024 Recap – New Era…New Approach

My three clients and I idled away from the marina just before dawn. It was a crisp late November morning, two days after a cold front. Prior to the front the trout we’d been catching were somewhat scattered over a large area of this particular oyster reef because of the unseasonably warm weather. Despite them being spread out there were enough of them to enable us to work small slicks and pods of surfacing mullet to eventually pick off 30 or 40 solid ones each day. As we made our way across the bay the wheels in my brain were turning more RPM’s than my Suzuki outboard. I knew that the recent front would likely concentrate these previously “scattered” fish, but I also wasn’t sure what kind of mood they would be in after gorging ahead of the front. Were they just going to be hugging the bottom in these bluebird high-barometric pressure conditions? In most cases this would be the expected outcome but, as always, we had several other variables to consider.

Prior to this particular cold front we had not experienced a significant front. Tides had been extremely high due to prevailing stiff east winds and low barometric pressure. Additionally, our salinities were high, even up in the far reaches of rivers and bayous. White shrimp and other forage species were stacked up just waiting to get flushed out by the first true norther. The stiff northwest wind did just that. Furthermore, our fish felt the water temperature drop triggering their instinctive need to feed.

Back to that morning…As we idled near the deep edge of this particular reef I could smell trout. I couldn’t see the slicks because there wasn’t a breath of wind. I immediately killed the big motor and lowered the trolling motor. We picked off six or seven trout up to 5 pounds while casting into a giant sheet of glass over this vast reef. Then a very light northeast breeze caused a ripple on the surface. About a hundred yards off my starboard bow I noticed a small slick but it was near a crab trap, so I didn’t think much of it. Within minutes another slick popped up 10 yards from the first one and the smell of watermelon filled the air. “Guys, reel in!” I said as I quietly trolled into position to set up on the slicks. The closer we got the more slicks emerged. We had slicks popping for at least a hundred yards ahead. We all tried to keep count but the action was insane. We all agreed that the final tally was likely around 150 trout to just over 6 pounds. I remember our baits of choice that morning were 5” Limetreuse Bass Assassins. The action took place while drifting a large well known reef in East Galveston Bay. The year was 2011 and at that time we thought we had millions of trout.

Now let’s fast forward to present day. As much as I would love to go find and work slicks on that particular oyster reef I know it would be a waste of time. I know because I’ve tried it many times. Then one day I came to the realization that I was forcing the issue and it simply wasn’t going to happen. That ship had sailed. Moving forward I eventually realized that using my God given senses to help me find fish would give way to fishing structure, and in most cases that structure would be man-made. My bottom machine would become as useful a tool as my eyes used to be. Are we still catching fish in our bay? Absolutely! We’re just having to do it a different way. Do we still have those 150 fish days? Not too many, but we do have quite a few 20 to 40 fish days, and 50 nowadays is career stuff especially to the younger fellas. There is most definitely hope.

Overall 2024 provided us with solid results in both Galveston and Matagorda Bays. While the Galveston Bay System showed some improvements in trout numbers, the fish certainly weren’t on every street corner but we did experience a slight uptick in the number of three- to four-year old trout, which is very encouraging. I run quite a few trips in East Matagorda every year and I feel like they have a healthier trout stock, especially in terms of older fish as we’ve definitely released more trout in the 22- to 25-inch range. It’s also been my experience that despite the absence of seagrass beds in recent years, we’re still able find fish over natural oyster beds and along spartina-lined shorelines. We can still find fish using our eyes. In other words, if an area in East Matty looks fishy then most of the time it is.

Here’s a list of some of my key observations from the Galveston Bay Complex for 2024:

• I always prefer drifting open water oyster reefs and working slicks, especially during the summer months. However, focusing more on structure such as crushed concrete erosion control walls, wells, and other types of structure provides more opportunities nowadays.
• Rollover Pass being closed seems to have had a negative impact on East Galveston Bay, especially the far east end. Closing a “fish pass” leading in from the Gulf never made sense to me. Efforts are continuously being made up and down the Texas Coast to open passes while this important pass got closed.
• We continue to see fewer large schools of slot reds and more schools of oversized redfish, especially in the open bay. This holds true even during the winter months.
• Record amounts of fresh water flowing from the Trinity River into Trinity Bay resulted in extremely low salinity levels for months on end, especially during our main trout spawning months. This system is once again loaded with small trout with most ranging from 10 to 14 inches. The issue of annual fresh water inundation continually makes it difficult to re-establish a resident trout population in this particular part of our system.
• Seagrass beds are coming back in some parts of West Galveston Bay, which is very encouraging. I’ve also found several areas along shorelines with new oyster growth. Our wade fishing has been better and I think the addition of shoreline habitat plays a significant role in that.
• Our winter trout fishing in recent years seems to be better in smaller nook and cranny areas, especially near bayous, back lakes and canals. Finding success while drifting open-water color streaks along the middle of West Galveston Bay hasn’t occurred in quite some time.

Overall, I’ve definitely seen an increase in the numbers of trout in the Galveston Bay System but we still have a long way to go. We have no problem catching trout here, we just can’t always catch them the way we used to or in the areas we did in years past. When all is said and done live oyster reefs are the driving force of a healthy fishery, especially for the bay systems from the Coastal Bend to Sabine. Our estuaries hang in the balance as they are constantly being impacted by human activities and environmental factors but, overall, I observed many positive signs in 2024. Happy New Year and let’s make it a great one!