Reports & Forecasts: July 2022

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com – 409.935.7242
James looks forward to fishing by wading some in July, but also predicts a change over to fishing out of the boat quite a bit too. “We're still catching fish pretty good by wading sandy areas around some of the reefs and spoil banks. Bite has been best some days on the little topwaters. I like to throw a pink/silver ShePup this time of year. On other days, we're catching better on hard sinking twitch baits. Some days, the fish like 'em wobbling some, but on others, the bite is better just reeling 'em straight in, varying the speeds. And, of course, soft plastics like Assassin Sea Shads draw more strikes than all the others lures on some days. In the coming weeks, as the heat wave settles in, we'll start working some of the well pads and other structures in deeper water, or with deeper water close by, fishing out of the boat. We'll key on slicks when doing that, and set the boat up in precise locations, so we can throw our lures in specific directions and work lures with the current in places close to the structures. Light winds and good tidal flow make this drill work best.”

Jimmy West - Bolivar Guide Service – 409.996.3054
Jim recommends a variety of productive options for fishing eastern parts of Galveston Bay in July. “We're able to fish quite a few patterns and catch fish this time of year. I don't do it much, but some people like the surf, of course. The area just north of the North Jetty holds up well in fairly windy conditions, as long as the winds have no east in them. Out in the middle of both East and Trinity bays, all the reefs hold schools of trout and reds in the hot weather. Catching them often involves finding slicks and mud stirs. Sometimes, lots of mullet in an area and/or working gulls help too. The bite can be good on topwaters out there, especially on calmer days. We also catch plenty of fish in the bayous at times in summer, especially when it's windy, and the water's moving good through the holes. Tails work best in there, most of the time. Wading can be best, around drains or in stretches with relatively deep water close to the bank. If it's windy enough, wading is almost always the only way to have much of a chance to catch fish.”

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves - Groves Guide Service 979.849.7019 – 979.864.9323
Multiple species of bait on which predatory trout and redfish feed had arrived in Lower West Galveston Bay by the time Randall gave this report. “We should have consistent fishing by the middle of summer. We've already got lots of shrimp, shad, glass minnows, ballyhoo, needlefish and ribbonfish in the area around San Luis Pass. And, of course, lots of mullet. When winds are calm in July, I spend plenty of time fishing the surf. In the mornings, topwaters like SkitterWalks, SheDogs, Super Spooks, One Knockers and others tend to work great. Later in the mornings, we do better throwing old school 51 and 52M MirrOlures and other sinking lures. When the bite is toughest, small soft plastics like Norton Sand Eels rigged on three-eighths ounce jigheads produce best. In that situation, we do best when we're working the lures fast, and with frequent starts and stops. The erratic actions seems to stir reaction strikes better than more conventional retrieve styles. One of the keys this time of year is to stay in areas holding copious amounts of bait. Diving terns and pelicans, hovering gulls and swimming and diving cormorants often lead us to those places.”

Matagorda | Bay Guide Service
Charlie Paradoski – 713.725.2401
Catching fish in the Matagorda area is not always dependent on having good weather, but in summer, lighter winds help, when most of the fish move out into the middle of the bays. “Wading has not been up to par on the south shoreline of West Bay lately. Normally, in summer, we do great over there catching plenty of keeper trout and lots of slot reds in the coves and around the bars. Lately, more fish have been hanging out around the reefs in deep water, and we're doing well out there, when winds allow us to get at the fish. Over in East Bay, the fishing has been good for waders on some days, in shallow areas in the east end of the bay. But, like in West Bay, the fishing has been consistently better in areas around the main reefs, where scattered shell covers a muddy bottom. Birds are working in some places, and there's lots of mullet too. We have our eyes on the surf right now. Normally, after a windy spring like we've had, the surf will bust wide open once winds subside. In lots of years, this happens right around the 4^th of July, or shortly after.”

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam
www.palaciosguideservice.com – 979.240.8204
We're already fishing as though it's summer, leaving the dock early and coming in before it gets too hot. Fishing for redfish has dominated the scene lately, because it's been so good! We've been catching them around reefs and drains, using live shrimp rigged about a foot under popping corks. In some of the areas, we're also finding good numbers of black drum averaging about 16 inches while we're targeting the reds. These provide some of the best table fare in the bays. Trout fishing has been slower because the steady winds have not allowed us to get out to the deep structures and target them on a consistent basis. This is both bad and good. In the near future, when the winds finally die down, we should have a great trout run for a while, since the fish have been left alone for so long. The tripletail have started to show up; we've already caught a few in the 10 to 12-pound class on markers over close to Port O'Connor, using live shrimp rigged about four feet under popping corks. In July, the fishing should get better in a variety of places, including the surf, the wells and reefs in deep water.

Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith
Back Bay Guide Service – 361.983.4434
Lynn likes to fish shallow, sandy, grassy flats close to deep water, where tides move with good intensity during the heat of summer. “We've got good areas close to the pass and the jetties which hold lots of trout this time of year. Usually, fishing is best early in the mornings, when the tide's coming in. We throw topwaters a lot this time of year, especially early, and when we're seeing lots of mullet flipping around on the surface, and jumping. We also catch well on topwaters on outgoing tides at any time of the day, around the mouths of the lakes and drains dumping water into the bays. Lately, the birds have been working in the areas around the pass, mostly over school trout. We've also got lots of gafftops under some of the flocks. We're catching good numbers of trout running about 17 to 23 inches while the birds are working, throwing at rafts of mullets in the same general areas. We will be hitting the surf as much as we can in the coming weeks. Catching the medium-sized trout out there on topwaters in the shallow guts close to the beach is usually steady when winds are light.”

Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894
Blake plans to fish in a variety of ways and in quite a few different kinds of places in July. “This is a great month to fish the surf, when winds cooperate. Out along the beachfront, we usually do well throwing topwaters like black/silver Baby SkitterWalks in the shallow parts close to the sand early. Later, live bait and sinking lures work better in the deeper guts. That's true for fishing along sandy, grassy shorelines too. We do pretty good on some days early in the mornings throwing topwaters, then switch over to the dark Norton Sand Eels with chartreuse tails later. And, we use live bait on the tougher days, always wading, if we can. All of the mid-bay reefs have excellent potential this time of year too, on some of the same days when the surf is good, meaning when it's not windy. Whether on a reef, or along a shoreline, we normally stay closer to the shallow parts early and then work the drop offs later. If the wind is blowing at a shoreline, catching fish in the shallows with some steady wave action is often better in the heat of the day than on leeward shorelines.”

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut
Robert Zapata – [email protected] – 361.563.1160
When the wind isn't blowing too hard, the water in the ULM and Baffin Bay is in great shape lately. Even when it's windy, we have quite a few areas available with decent water clarity. For the last three months, we've had excellent fishing, and I expect it to continue through July. With the warm water temperatures, the trout and redfish will favor water less than two feet deep early in the mornings, then move into deeper water as the sun rises higher in the sky. This is a good time of year to throw MirrOlure SheDogs early in the days, along grass lines, around sandy potholes in the grass and around rocks in shallow water. If the trout are blowing up but not sticking, switching over to Bass Assassin Die Dappers in colors like sand trout, opening night and chicken on a chain often works better. Rig them on sixteenth-ounce jigheads when fishing in the shallows. Inevitably, the best catching occurs in places with lots of flipping mullet and popping slicks. Once the trout bite dies down, we're having great luck catching both red and black drum on shrimp-flavored Fish-bites cast into water less than a foot deep around sandy potholes on grassy flats.

Corpus Christi / Joe Mendez—www.sightcast1.com—361.877.1230
In July, when the heat wave starts up in earnest, one pattern consistently provides the best results for anglers fishing the Baffin/ULM complex, according to Joe. “We have lots of redfish schooling on the grassy flats early in the mornings this time of year. This happens in places close to the JFK, also on the east side of the lagoon, in Nighthawk Bay, The Meadows and around Baldy, in Yarbrough, also in the Gutters and Middle Grounds and Nine-Mile Hole. When in the shallows early, these schools are often easy to find, because they push wakes and send nervous baitfish and shrimp scattering away from them. Later in the mornings, many of these fish will move off the shallow, grassy areas and roam around in the deeper basins adjacent to them. When this happens, anglers still wanting to connect with them do best by riding around slowly and looking for the dark red patches in the water. This works best when the water's relatively clear, skies are bright, and the wind is blowing at a moderate level, to break up the glare on the water's surface. Whether targeting the schools in shallow or deeper water, the best bet is to stay out of the school and cast around its edges.”

P. I.N.S. Fishing Forecast | Eric Ozolins
361-877-3583 | Oceanepics.com
July in the Texas surf usually means calm winds, warm water and excellent trout fishing. Targeting trout usually works best early in the mornings and late in the afternoons. Catching muscular surf trout on topwaters provides plenty of excitement for most folks. Best action is usually around holes and cuts in the sandbars. Spoons and swim-baits work well at times too, as do live mullet, which also attract a variety of other fish. King mackerel and tarpon also roam the waters close to shore in summer. Both can be caught on fairly light gear, and both put up fun fights. This month also gives us a glimpse of what's to follow, in terms of the migrations. Schools of dusky anchovies usually show up, followed by skipjacks and Spanish macks. Shark fishing is normally somewhat slow during the days, unless lots of baitballs are present, but big tigers and hammerheads come into the surf during the dark hours, and readily take both routhtail and southern stingrays presented whole. Both species of rays are abundant in the summer surf, giving birth to pups. Bigger baits generally get the attention of bigger sharks; adult tigers can consume rays weighing 100 pounds.

Port Mansfield | Ruben Garza
Snookdudecharters.com – 832.385.1431
Getaway Adventures Lodge – 956.944.4000
Now that the water has warmed up and winds have stopped blowing so hard on a regular basis, the fishing in the LLM for both trout and redfish should become more consistent. On the west shoreline, from Century Point down to Gladys Hole, the bite is usually good in the mornings, before the daily wind cranks up. Topwaters cast close to shore usually draw the attention of solid trout and reds up that way. We've had great luck lately throwing Mansfield Knockers, rigged with single hooks. They work great to help us cope with the floating grass. Most of our bite along that side comes in water ranging from about thigh-deep to waist-deep. Most of the fish hang around areas with some sandy potholes breaking up the grassy bottom. Occasionally, we also catch some bonus fish throwing off the break, into water too deep to wade. On the east side, fishing over the bright sandy bottom works well this time of year. Once the sun rises somewhat, it's often possible to see cruising schools and pods of redfish, and catch them by sight-casting. Topwaters sometimes work well in this situation, but KWiggler paddle tails earn bites a bigger percentage of the time.

Lower Laguna Madre—South Padre—Port Isabel
Aaron Cisneros | tightlinescharters.com – 956-639-1941
Catching has been best lately in water ranging from about three to five feet deep in the LLM, Aaron says. “We've mostly been fishing around sandbars and in channels near spoil islands. Our lure of choice has been a plum/chartreuse KWiggler Ball-tail rigged on a screw-lock quarter-ounce jighead. Best retrieve has been slow, maintaining contact with the bottom, and using sharp twitches now and then to hop the lures up a little. The redfish have been prowling around on the shallow grassy flats in a foot or two of water early in the mornings, chasing finger mullet. We've had some blow ups on topwaters when we're throwing them, but we're hooking more fish on KWiggler Willow-tails in Mansfield Margarita rigged on sixteenth-ounce heads. We're working it fast to keep it just under the surface and under the floating grass, also to keep the line tight when we get a strike. On windy afternoons, the bite has been good under birds in shallow, dirty water. We're catching both trout and reds in this situation. In the coming weeks, we expect the fish to move a bit deeper, and to bite best when tides are moving the water pretty good.”