Reports & Forecasts: April 2025

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com - 409.935.7242
The warmer weather and higher tides of spring open up several productive options for anglers in the Galveston area, James says. “March is kind of tricky, with big changes happening, but April is a better month, on average, in our area. We like to wade as much of the time as possible. This is especially true if we get into a weather pattern which produces strong onshore winds on a daily basis. In this scenario, wading the protected main-bay shorelines and inside the coves usually produces best. Of course, this kind of weather tends to push water into the bays, so there’s plenty of water in the shallow parts of the coves. This doesn’t mean we don’t have plenty of fish in the deeper, open water this time of year. We do. And it’s sometimes better to target them during periods of calmer weather, either by wading some of the shallower reefs in the middle of the bays, or by drifting around. We sometimes experience an excellent topwater bite during the calm lulls this time of year, particularly on mornings with incoming tides. The jetties and the surf will produce best if we have lots of freshwater flowing down the rivers.”

Jimmy West | Bolivar Guide Service - 409.996.3054
Jim mentioned some new options opening up for anglers in the Galveston area as we head into the first full month of spring. “March is for wading. With so many windy days, the best action is almost always on the shorelines. I love wading when we have strong east and southeast winds. April is a windy month too, but we tend to have more days with decent water clarity out in the middle. Once water temps climb up into the 70s, the fish will spread out. This can be a good thing for people. Fish spreading out means there are more places and ways to catch ‘em. So, it spreads the crowd of people out too. We often have good fishing around the reefs in East Bay during April, as long as we don’t get too much run off from big rains. Lately, the bite has been great in upper parts of Galveston Bay, around Morgan’s Point and in Tabb’s Bay. This will continue to be a hot area as long as so much water is being released at the Lake Livingston Dam. If we have drier weather, the action will heat up in places like Campbell’s Bayou and on flats around the dike.”

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves | Groves Guide Service
979.849.7019 - 979.864.9323
In April, Randall expects some productive patterns to come to a close, while others will begin to emerge. “We should reach the end of our shad hatch this month, so that pattern will fizzle out. But, we look forward to the arrival of the pelagic species this month. Normally, we get a good influx of glass minnows, shrimp, ribbonfish and squid. When we do, the action often heats up right along with the water and air temperatures. With the types of food available to the trout and reds changing so much and so fast, it can be hard to figure out the right places to be and the right lures to throw. It’s important to watch for any and all signs of life during these migrations, like balls of bait, birds feeding both from the air and in the water and popping slicks. For lures, I like to throw Norton Sand Eel Juniors in cayenne gold when I’m fishing in places with plenty of shrimp present. When the ribbonfish are around, I prefer a larger soft plastic like a full-sized Sand Eel in salt & pepper or similar, natural-looking color. I also catch plenty of trout on pearl Skitter Walks around ribbonfish.”

Matagorda Bays | Capt. Glenn Ging - Glenn’s Guide Service
979.479.1460 - www.glennsguideservice.com
April brings warmer weather, bigger tides, and hatches of smaller baitfish. The trout and reds are often found gorging on big concentrations of glass minnows and small shad. Smaller soft plastics like Bass Assassin 4” Sea Shads and Down South Burner Shads are good options, in colors with lots of silver flash. Small topwaters are a good option too. We should see the redfish action start to pick up in the back lakes and bayous. The jetties will also produce good catches on days with calmer conditions. Out there, live shrimp under a Coastal Cork is always a good bet as are roach-colored soft plastic paddletails and small gold spoons. Wading the grass beds on the shoreline of West Bay should start to pick up, with natural-colored soft jerkbaits like salt and pepper or chicken on a chain working best. Skitter Walks and Super Spook Juniors in bone or chrome with a black back are good bets as well. April is a great month to target sheepshead and black drum around reefs and at the jetties, using live shrimp under corks. Drift fishing for trout is a solid option this month, both with live shrimp under corks and soft plastics.

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam
www.palaciosguideservice.com - 979.240.8204
This winter we had some colder than normal weather and it stacked fish in deep water. Trout fishing has been fantastic in the harbor, with lots of solid fish up to 24 inches and mostly solid 18-inch fish coming to hand for folks throwing lime-colored Paul Brown Fat Boys and Tsunami Swim Shads slow-rolled over deep shell in the basins. The Tres Palacios River has been on fire lately as well. Down South Lures in white ice and chicken of the sea have been two best colors in there. River fishing has not yielded as many of the bigger trout as the harbor, but the percentage of keepers has been good. Targeting the ledges and bends in the river has been the best strategy. Fishing for reds has been decent, but not as good as the trout fishing. The Collegeport flats have been holding a few on the warmer days, with quarter-ounce Johnson spoons working best. In April, as the weather warms up, we will begin finding more fish on the flats, once tide levels rise. Then, we’ll make sure to focus our efforts on places loaded with shad, mullet, glass minnows and other sources of food for the trout and reds.

Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith
Back Bay Guide Service - 361.935.6833
In April, Lynn tends to get back to a regular routine of leaving the dock early and fishing into the middle of the day. “As the weather warms up, the fishing is usually best in the early-morning hours. This is especially true when we get into periods with strong winds on a daily basis. The winds normally subside for a while at the end of the night, before picking up again toward lunch time. The strong winds blowing this time of year are usually from the east and southeast, and this pushes big tides into the bays, filling the coves and back-lakes with plenty of water. So, we spend a lot of time working shorelines in these places where we find a mix of sand, mud, shell and grass. The more variety in the cover, the better. And, of course, we always want to see plenty of bait in the places we’re fishing this time of year. Big rafts of jumping mullet are always a good sign, but we sometimes catch well around clouds of glass minnows too. During the calmer periods, the fishing on flats close to the pass can be great, as trout move in from the surf.”

Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894
April is a great month to fish for some of the bigger trout in the bays of the Coastal Bend, Blake says. “We’ve spent much of the winter and early part of the spring targeting redfish in the coves and back-lakes where we spent the early mornings hunting ducks. This pattern is still somewhat productive when we get into the warmer weather of April, but bull tides and strong winds can spread the reds out and make them harder to locate on a daily basis, so we start targeting trout as a primary option more of the time. When the winds are steady and strong from the southeast and east, the bite is usually best for trout tight to the protected shorelines on the south sides of the local bays, like in Aransas, Corpus and San Antonio Bays. There, we like to fish stretches with a mix of hard sand and submerged grass, also some stands of emergent grass, The bite is usually best really close to the bank. Small topwaters and twitchbaits work well, also the old standby Sand Eels in dark colors with bright tails. Calmer weather opens up the fishing around the reefs out in the middle.”

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay
Captain James Sanchez Guide Service - 210.260.7454
When I think of April, the first thing that comes to mind is the first peak of the speckled trout spawning season. I recommend wading along main-bay shorelines or shallow flats covered with lots of seagrass and potholes adjacent to drop-offs. To sustain the energy needed for spawning, the trout require a suitable food source, such as an abundance of mullet in these areas. The chances of catching a trophy speckled trout will also increase during the new and full moon phases. It’s important to keep in mind the notorious high winds that can occur this month. On the toughest days, redfish can be our saving grace when the trout bite is slow. They’ll be holding in and around potholes in the shallows on windward shorelines or on the spines of spoil islands. Despite murky water from strong winds, there are still ways to find success. I recommend lures that make a lot of noise and create plenty of vibrations. Effective choices include loud topwaters like the Mansfield Knockers or MirrOlure She Dogs. For soft plastics, Ball-tail Shads are effective, but Wig-A-Los and 4” paddletails generally produce more bites this month. I suggest using colors like plum/chartreuse, Texas roach, also bone diamond or flomingo.

Corpus Christi & Baffin Bay
Capt. Chris Elliott’s Guide Service
[email protected] - 361.834.7262
We always joke that in South Texas, we can get all four seasons of the year in the same week, and that’s exactly what we’ve seen this past month. Not long ago, temperatures fell below freezing, and today as I type, it’s almost 80° outside. Luckily, we are fast approaching the time of year where the weather changes will be far less dramatic. By April, spring will be in full bloom in Texas, and here in Baffin Bay, we will start to see the smaller baitfish again. Warming weather enhances the spawning activity of many of the species on which our trout and reds prey. This is a great time to fish with smaller lures, which better mimic the small, young forage fish. Consequently, I prefer Soft Dine XLs over Fat Boys this time of year. I also replace full-sized topwaters like Super Spooks and Skitter Walks, often with the junior and baby versions of those lures. The same rule applies to my soft plastics. I’ll still be throwing my KWiggler Ball-Tails, but I will use the junior version of these more of the time, especially when I begin to see small fish swimming around in pods in the places I’m fishing.

P.I.N.S. Fishing Forecast | Eric Ozolins
361.877.3583 - Oceanepics.com
In April, jackfish should be storming the surf in great numbers, chasing mullet and other small fish in the mornings with good water conditions. On calm mornings, topwater lures and large silver spoons work well when cast at visible, cruising jacks. The pompano are on the tail end of their migration and their large numbers will move out as the water warms, but they can still be caught in small numbers when the water’s cool and clear, using shrimp or Fish-Bites, which will also produce large whiting, black drum, and even sheepshead, as they begin their own migrations. If the water clarity is good, any of these species will be possible. When the water is dirty, casting live or fresh-dead baits works best, and the species landed can be a crap shoot. Sharks of all sizes are also invading the shallows this month. The scalloped hammerheads should be in close, along with the numerous blacktips. As we get closer to May, the large bull sharks will start showing up in better numbers. The hammers will be taking smaller baits such as whiting, while any lingering sandbar sharks or arriving bulls will take larger baits. April will be good, as long as we don’t get too much floating sargassum weed.

Port Mansfield, Texas | Ruben Garza
Snookdudecharters.com - 832.385.1431
Getaway Adventures Lodge - 956.944.4000
The cooler weather is almost gone; hopefully we’ll be able to ditch our waders pretty soon. Steadily warming water temperatures have brought new life to the sandy bottoms that lie east of the Saucer and north of the East Cut – both of which are great places to begin your day. In both areas, look for the shallow grass break, where the sand meets the grass. Work the potholes and look for occasion mullet jumping. As the day progresses, follow the bait to the deeper water. Lures like KWiggler Ball Tail Shad color 801 (orange Creamsicle), Bone Diamond and plum/chart on a 1/8oz jig head. As for topwaters, I like the Mansfield Knocker in Bone Daddy, Sweet Heat, and Ruby Tuesday colors. Heading north, fish the sand east of the Weather Station. If it’s too busy there head on up to Dubb’s Island. Whenever the wind allows, do not pass the area just south of Gladys along the west shoreline. Trout have been holding steadily in waist-deep water in this area; lots of small ones, but you can easily find a few for dinner if that’s your goal. Look for reds closer to the shoreline in this same area.

Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel
Aaron Cisneros | tightlinescharters.com - 956.639.1941
Steady, strong winds have been the norm as we head into the full swing of our spring fishing. In the Lower Laguna, the trout bite has been great. Temperatures warming up have us experiencing a fast trout bite in two to three feet of water most of the time. We’re catching lots of trout on grassy flats adjacent to deep water, and sand bars have held a great bite as well, especially early in the mornings, before the stronger wind kicks up. Z-man Big BallerZ Redbones have been great producers, when rigged on 1/8 ounce Eye-Strike Trout-Eye jigheads. Mostly, we’re fishing our plastics mid-way in the water column, using a fairly fast retrieve. Redfish numbers are healthy, with most biting in one to two feet of water covering a hard, sandy bottom. The action along grass lines and on shallow shorelines is coming alive too, as water temperature and tides rise. Topwaters have worked great early in the mornings, with bone Spook Juniors rigged with single hooks being the best choice. As winds pick up, I like to move over to big grass flats and fish in a foot or two of water, targeting redfish lying in potholes, waiting for an easy meal.