Reports & Forecasts: April 2024

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com - 409.935.7242
James likes the fishing in and around Galveston during the month of April. “This is normally when the patterns become more reliable, taking some of the guesswork out of the fishing. We had a wet winter, but we’ve been able to locate some schools of fish since the big rains. At the end of winter, the fishing can be better out of the boat than it is wading on lots of days, but the consistency of the wading picks up considerably once April arrives. I like to fish sandy flats with some scattered shell this time of year, in places where I see lots of bait jumping and slicks popping, ideally. The bite can be great early in the mornings if the tide is coming in nicely. We do well on an increasing variety of lures this time of year. Small topwaters like my reliable She Pup in pink work well, as do other hard baits like Catch 5s and both 51 and 52M MirrOlures. Of course, some people do really well on Lele and Paul Brown Lures, too. If the bite is slower, Bass Assassin Sea Shads work better than the other kinds of lures, at least for most people.”

Jimmy West | Bolivar Guide Service - 409.996.3054
Now that things have settled somewhat after the big rains at the end of winter, Jim expects the fishing to become more reliable in his corner of the coast. “We should have some decent fishing available in the areas close to the channel. The fishing can be great in places where shallow flats lie close to deep water, especially when incoming tides bring salty water in from the gulf. Historically, the catching on the south shoreline of East Bay closer to Bolivar is great in a scenario like this. We also have made some good catches this time of year working the mouths of drains when strong outgoing tides dump water out of the shallow corners of the bay into the main bay. Throughout the fall and winter, the bite is often best late in the days, into the early hours of night. But this time of year, things change, and the fishing is often great in the mornings. If we get calm weather, the fishing might perk up fast in places out in the middle, around Hannah’s Reef and other similar locations. We might also see a hot early run in the surf if conditions get right.”

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves | Groves Guide Service
979.849.7019 - 979.864.9323
Randall mentions a familiar trend in his fishing over the days and weeks leading to giving this report. “With the warming air and water temps and the rising tides, we’re finding more and more fish on shallow flats in the back-lakes and coves and along stretches of main-bay shorelines, tight to the bank. We’ve been wading on most days, catching good numbers of trout and reds on slow-sinking twitchbaits like Paul Brown Fat Boys in colors like Pearl Harbor and pink/silver. The best bite has been over a muddy bottom with some scattered shell around. One of the keys to catching with lures like these is having a rod of the right length with the right kind of flex. I prefer Lew’s and Laguna rods ranging from about 6’6” to 6’9” long, with what most would describe as light or medium-light action. It’s easier to execute subtle presentations without jerking the lures in and out of the water with rods like these. My personal favorite is a 6’9” Extreme model Laguna rod. We should see an improving topwater bite as the calendar moves into April, and we get more warm weather. Also, the glass minnow migration should crank up nicely this month.”

Matagorda Bays | Capt. Glenn Ging
Glenn’s Guide Service - 979.479.1460
www.glennsguideservice.com
The warmer water, bigger tides and hatches of shad, glass minnows and shrimp have the fish focused on feeding on smallish prey. So, downsizing lures and looking for schools of smaller baitfish congregated along windblown shorelines and points makes good sense. Our redfish action is picking up as the higher spring tides allow us to access shallow back-lakes and areas in the shallow parts of shorelines where large numbers of shad are hatching out. Small spoons and soft plastics work well, as do live shrimp under corks, when reds are the target. Speckled trout are showing up in good numbers over oyster reefs in East Matagorda Bay. Drift fishing with Vudu Shrimp under Coastal Corks is paying off, as is wading shallower reefs with soft plastics like Bass Assassin Sea Shads. In West Matagorda Bay, anglers wading grass beds along the sand bars on the south shoreline have been catching good numbers of both trout and redfish. Small soft plastics and topwaters resembling a glass minnow have produced best over there. Drum action has been steady around shell reefs in both bays on both live and fresh dead shrimp, and a few bigger sheepshead are hanging around in the same areas.

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam
www.palaciosguideservice.com - 979.240.8204
Fishing has been fair in our local waters over recent weeks. Cooler temperatures still have some quality fish lingering in local harbors and rivers. We have been targeting trout with live shrimp free-lined along ledges and around structures in these deeper areas. We have also seen increasing numbers of bigger fish showing up on the mudflats around the river and harbor, and we’re catching some on Paul Brown Fat Boys. The redfish bite has been solid in the bayous and creeks on Berkeley 3” shrimp rigged under 4-Horseman corks. Lately, lots of grass shrimp and small shad are starting to show up in the marshes. Over the next month or so, the hatches that occur every spring should start up in earnest, with our glass minnow run becoming the highlight of the show. Brown pelicans are a key to locating the places where the glass minnow clouds are forming. The pelicans scoop up as many as they can when they find them. Another highlight of spring will be the redfish schooling along shorelines from the mouth of Tres Palacios Bay all the way to Oyster Lake. Egrets and herons lurking in the shallows in flocks help alert anglers locate the prowling herds of reds.

Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith
Back Bay Guide Service - 361.935.6833
Lynn expects the fishing along area shorelines and in some of the back-lakes to be good in the Port O’Connor area during April. “We usually get something of a bull tide this time of year. This often creates good fishing on the flats close to the jetties and the pass early in the mornings, also in the back-lakes and coves in both Espiritu Santo and San Antonio bays. We like to key on places with a mix of sand and grass on the bottom where we find good concentrations of nervous bait. Winter is over, so we’re normally not too fired up to fish for long stretches in spots where we see small numbers of baitfish. This time of year, the search is more about finding dense concentrations of bait, mostly mullet, but with an increasing variety in the species as the weather warms. When trying to catch some of the biggest trout of the year, we’re normally pretty stubborn in sticking with lures that imitate fish, like Paul Brown Lures and other MirrOlures, also topwaters like Spook Juniors and others. Most every year, we have quite a few outstanding days on the floating plugs in April.”

Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894
The fishing for both trout and redfish is usually world class during the month of April, Blake says. “Historically, the catching is good on the leeward shorelines, meaning the south shorelines, in most of the area bays in the Coastal Bend this time of year. The water stays really clear in lots of places, even when the wind is cranking off the gulf. We do best on natural-looking lures because of this. Often, the best bite for the bigger trout and the reds is really close to the emergent grass right on the shorelines. People who have no confidence fishing such shallow water sometimes struggle this time of year in places like these. Of course, it is often possible to catch smaller trout in the potholes lying in deeper water farther from the bank at times, and around some of the reefs. In fact, the fishing around mid-bay reefs can be fantastic during calm windows in spring. We do well on small, shiny chrome topwaters on some days this time of year, but we always stand ready to pull out our dark Sand Eels with bright tails if the fish aren’t blowing up our floating plugs at a fast pace.”

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut
Robert Zapata | [email protected] - 361.563.1160
Anglers always look forward to the arrival of spring, when so many things are changing. For example, there are fewer of those depressing cold, cloudy, windy days. Instead, we have more sunshine, higher air temperatures and less wind, which translates into fish moving into shallower water and staying for longer periods of time, making them easier to target by wading. As another added bonus, the speckled trout will be spawning actively, so some of them will be loaded with eggs when we catch them. TP&W says April is when the average weight of the female trout is the heaviest, so our odds increase for catching that trophy trout of a lifetime this month. The best bet is to target trout along shallow grassy shorelines, around rock formations, and in sandy potholes near shallow grass lines. Look for signs that trout are in the area by watching for jumping or flipping mullet, shad, working seagulls or popping slicks. This is a great time to fish with natural colored MirrOlure She Dogs. Also, try Bass Assassin Die Dappers in colors like chicken on a chain, trickster, salt & pepper silver phantom/chartreuse tail or plum/chartreuse, rigged on sixteenth-ounce Assassin Spring-Lock jigheads.

Corpus Christi | Joe Mendez - www.sightcast1.com - 361.877.1230
April is a great month to target big speckled trout and redfish in the Corpus Christi area, Joe says. “We have really good fishing in a variety of places this month. The best locations vary on a daily basis, as the weather changes. If it’s really windy off the gulf, the areas around Shamrock Cove and East Flats in Corpus Bay produce good catches of both trout and reds. Those nooks and crannies over there benefit from the effects of strong winds blowing the water out in other places. Of course, the catching is often great in the Land Cut when it’s windy too. The flats adjacent to the entrance of the north end, places like Summer House, the Gutters and Rocky Slough produce excellent catches during the middle of spring every year. Topwaters and twitchbaits work well most days, and sight-casting with paddletails can be really good too, especially when winds aren’t too calm, but they aren’t howling at more than twenty knots either. If the weather’s calmer, the fishing for monster trout and reds is better on the King Ranch Shoreline and in the back of Baffin, especially in Alazan Bay.”

P.I.N.S. Fishing Forecast | Eric Ozolins
361.877.3583 - Oceanepics.com
Jackfish should be storming the surf in great numbers this month, chasing mullet and other small fish. On calm mornings, sight-casting them is possible, as they ambush bait in the shallows. Topwaters and large spoons work well for this drill. Jacks are also caught on mullet cast out for drum. The pompano are on the tail end of their migration and large numbers will move out as the water warms. Live shrimp or Fish-bites will attract late-season pomps, large whiting, black drum, and even a few sheepshead, as they begin their migration. If the water clarity is good, any of these mentioned species will be possible. If the water is dirty, things will be more of a crap shoot, and live and fresh dead baits will be required. Sharks also invade the shallows in spring. The scalloped hammerheads should be close to the beach, along with numerous blacktip sharks. As we get closer to May, the large bull sharks will start showing up on a regular basis. The hammers will be taking smaller baits such as whiting and any residual sandbar sharks or arriving bull sharks will take larger baits. After such a harsh winter, April can be really good, depending on the amount of sargassum seaweed that washes in from the east.

Port Mansfield | Ruben Garza
Snookdudecharters.com - 832.385.1431
Getaway Adventures Lodge - 956.944.4000
Things are slowly starting to warm up, which sends the fish into shallow water, where they mostly stay. In spring, the east side of the Lower Laguna is generally productive, places like the Saucer area and the spoil dumps from slightly north of Green Island to the southern end of the East Cut. Best fishing in those places usually happens in water ranging from calf to about knee-deep, depending on the tide level. It’s best to start the morning off throwing a Mansfield Knocker in Ruby Tuesday or the Zombie color. Another productive lure this time of year in the shallows is a floating custom Fat Boy or Original Paul Brown Lure in colors like boogie man, plum nasty, gringo or double bubble. KWigglers in colors like plum/chartreuse, Lagunaflauge, flomingo, truth, or Bart’s sand ninja also work well. North of town, the stretches between the second and fourth oilfield cuts are productive in spring. Up that way, we like to start the day in the shallowest areas, then work our way out to the potholes in belly-deep water to finish the day. North of Jones Cut to the area where the game warden shack used to be can also be very good.

Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel
Aaron Cisneros | tightlinescharters.com - 956.639.1941
Temperature and wind speeds are on the rise lately. In the Lower Laguna Madre, fishing has been mostly productive for us on recent trips. We are finding a majority of our trout in water ranging from three to four feet deep. We’re mostly working flats where the bottom is covered by grass beds with scattered sandy potholes, in places lying adjacent to deep channels or drop-offs. Four-inch Z-Man StreakZ in redbone rigged on Eye-Strike eighth-ounce Trout-Eye jigheads have been earning more strikes than other lures. With water temperatures still on the cool side, our technique has involved working the lures pretty slow to keep them down in the water column, which will also help weed out some of the smaller fish. Redfish numbers are healthy, and we’re finding big redfish and trout to be sharing the same flats covered by water less than three feet deep. Many of these flats have bare sand bottoms, and the bite can be steady in those places at any time of the day. Early in the mornings, the trout bite has been fast on bone Spook Juniors. Later in the day, when winds pick up, the redfish bite becomes better than the trout bite in the shallows.