Reports & Forecasts: June 2021

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com – 409.935.7242
James was coming off an excellent run of catching trout when we talked. “We've been fishing the same pattern for nearly two months. The fish are over a hard, sandy bottom with some shell scattered on it. We'll catch 'em good on topwaters like ShePups for a couple days, then the bite shifts over to Lil' Johns and Sea Shads for a few days, then swings back up top. Lots of three to five-pound fish biting. Here last week, the birds started working really steady over schools of brown shrimp. We should see more of that action as we head into the end of spring, beginning of summer. But really, the thing that seems set up just right is the Pass area. I expect it to blow up any time. In fact, we've already caught 'em pretty good over there a couple times. I'm looking at the Gulf right now. The green water is in sight. As the wind settles down, the green water should move right up to the beach. When that happens, it should be on for real. Lately, we've been catching 20 or 30 keeper trout a day, not killing 'em all, of course.”

Jimmy West - Bolivar Guide Service – 409.996.3054
Jim was watching reports about the volume of water coming down the Trinity River when we talked. “We're about to get a pretty big influx of freshwater up in Anahuac. It's been wide open up there, but with all this flood water coming in, the fish will likely get pushed around Smith Point, and the catching in East Bay should get better. Lately, the water in all the bayous has been salty, so we've been able to hide in there and keep catchin' on the windier days. The surf has already shown some promise, but just for little short stretches of time. Normally, we get our first sustained run of good fishing out there in June, so we're looking forward to that. We've been catching some on topwaters lately, and that pattern can work really well around some of the main reefs in East Bay on the calmer days in June. Most people throw tails when they're fishing out of the boat in the middle, but it's possible to catch some pretty big fish on top out there this time of year, especially early in the morning, when it's calm and the tide is rolling in pretty good. Overall, things are looking pretty good.”

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves - Groves Guide Service 979.849.7019 – 979.864.9323
At the time of this report, Randall was witnessing the arrival of the brown shrimp around San Luis Pass and in the waters of lower West Galveston Bay. “The brownies have arrived, and the pelagic fish seem to have followed them in. Catching has been easy lately. You can catch 'em on whatever you want, most of the time. I've been throwing Norton Sand Eel Juniors in tequila gold some of the time. But the bone One Knocker bite has been crazy too. In June, I anticipate the arrival of the ribbonfish in the surf and on the flats inside the Pass. When they show up in numbers, a white or silver SkitterWalk seems to be the best lure to trick the bigger trout. I like to work it wish pretty erratic action, to mimic those long, flashy fish. It's a great time to fish this area, for both trout and redfish, and of course, offshore season soon kicks off. On a sad note, I want to remind everyone of the importance of wearing a kill switch when at the helm of a boat. I just lost my best friend to a boating accident, one I fear might have been avoidable.”

Matagorda | Bay Guide Service
Tommy Countz- 979.863.7553 cell 281.450.4037
Tommy touts June as a great month for fishing the Matagorda area, since both air and water temperatures haven't peaked yet. “If I'm fishing out of the boat, I'm usually in East Bay, working areas in the west end, where the bottom is a mix of mud and shell. If winds are light and the water's clear, we'll throw artificials, but we will use live shrimp if the water's murkier. The east end of the bay, on the big mud flat, can be good this time of year too. When I'm wanting to wade, I prefer heading to West Bay, working places like Cotton's and Green's, starting off early with topwaters, staying tight to the bank. We target trout primarily over there, but we catch a lot of reds too. As the day wears on, we usually move out farther from the bank and switch to dark soft plastics, working them repeatedly over visible grass beds growing on top of the bars between the guts. This month is normally the start of tripletail season for us. We find them in West Bay around pipes and poles and other permanent structures, also under rafts of floating vegetation, or pieces of junk.”

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam
www.palaciosguideservice.com – 979.240.8204
Aaron reports, “Winds have really hampered our fishing efforts lately. We've been limited to fishing areas inside the rivers, creeks and bayous, and in places where ditches create breaks in the shorelines, mostly on the leeward side of the bay, whatever that is, given the wind direction. We're spending most of our time casting in and around washouts created by water flowing out of the marshes into the bays and main waterways. Outgoing tides have been producing the best bite. Rafts of bait flushing out of the shallow backwater areas have drawn the attention of the predators. The redfish have been hanging out near structures in the river, waiting to ambush bait. We've been catching them on live shrimp rigged three feet or so under popping corks when the shrimp are available, using three-inch white Gulp! shrimp when they're not. Once the winds lay more of the time, fishing over shell and along sandy shorelines with scattered grass beds will pick right up. The surf should become a viable option in June. Fishing around the jetties has also been productive, and should continue to be, for both trout and reds, as we inch closer and closer to summer.”

Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith
Back Bay Guide Service – 361.983.4434
Lynn was anticipating an uptick in the catching action within a couple weeks or so of offering this report. “We've got brown shrimp and croakers moving into the Pass area right now. This time of year is a great one to target the trout that take advantage of the new sources of food in that area. Most days, I'll be fishing in places close to the Pass, working sand bars with some grass on them. The ones lying in close proximity to the channels used by the shrimp, croakers and trout to move in and out of the Gulf usually produce best. We like to key on the signs of life to pick our specific spots. Places where we see plenty of riffling mullet and some jumping shrimp normally produce best. As in any year, we'll keep our eye on the beachfront and remain ready to head out there when conditions get right. And, the catching has been really good for bull reds at the jetties lately. As more and more shrimp and other prey species populate those waters, the fishing for trout should improve. It's possible to catch some pretty big trout on topwaters tight to the rocks this time of year.”

Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894
Blake was out fishing, watching a customer fight a good fish when he gave this report. “We've been targeting the reds more than the trout. We are catching a decent number of trout, and some pretty good ones, but generally we're doing so while putting a priority on the reds. That will likely change somewhat as we move into June, when the surf usually becomes more reliable on a daily basis. I've already made some trips out to the beachfront and done well, and I expect it to be even better next month. We've had a decent topwater bite on some days lately, and that usually becomes more consistent in June too. Of course, if the fish aren't blowing up, I don't hesitate to switch over to my dark Norton Sand Eels with chartreuse tails, or the split-tail Gulp! lures in a pinch. In the bays, multiple patterns have great potential as spring winds down and summer settles in. It's possible to catch fish on the outer parts of shorelines with a mix of sand and grass, also around some of the main-bay reefs. It's a great time to be on the water in the Coastal Bend.”

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut
Robert Zapata – [email protected] – 361.563.1160
Robert says, “Two words pop into my mind right away when I think of the fishing in my area during the month of June—consistent and confident. Usually, nice weather conditions lead to consistently better catching than what has occurred during the more tumultuous months of spring. Better catching on a daily basis causes my confidence to soar to new heights. The topwater action is almost always great early in the mornings this time of year. I like to throw MirrOlure SheDogs. Later in the day, as the sun climbs in the sky, I normally switch over to a Catch 5, since the fish more readily take something a foot or so under the surface when the sky is bright. If floating grass makes fishing the hard baits with trebles too much of a hassle, I switch to Bass Assassin Die Dappers in colors like salt & pepper/chartreuse or chicken on a chain, rigging them on sixteenth-ounce Spring Lock jigheads. This time of year, the live bait of choice is a live croaker free-lined on a #5 Mustad hook. For those who enjoy sight-casting fish in ultra-shallow water, chartreuse Fish-bites in shrimp flavor on sixteenth ounce heads produce plenty of red and black drum.”

Corpus Christi / Joe Mendez—www.sightcast1.com—361.877.1230
In June, when the hot weather settles in for the long haul, Joe likes to spend some time fishing around the edges of structure and cover elements lying fairly close to deep water. “We still have some trout and reds shallow early in the mornings. Finding them on calm days often means seeing the wakes they push as the boat passes them. This is especially true of the reds, which can be caught in water less than two feet deep most mornings. After the sun heats the day up, the wind usually starts blowing harder, and the catching is often best around the outer edges of the deepest grass beds on the flats, close to the basin where no grass will grow, in places like Beacroft's and Emmord's holes. Throwing soft plastics around visible rocks in water too far from the shore to reach by wading along the Kenedy Shoreline, at Rocky Slough and in the vicinity of Penascal Point, Cathead and East Kleberg Point also produces bites at a fairly steady rate in the middle portions of these hot days. Our trout bite is rebounding after the freeze; most of the fish we're catching are pretty good sized.”

P. I.N.S. Fishing Forecast | Eric Ozolins
361-877-3583 | Oceanepics.com
June is a highly anticipated month along the Texas surf. With warmer water temps, bait is usually abundant. Calmer weather tends to create clear water. All this means June is a great time to pursue trout along the beachfront. Throwing topwaters early and late, walking the dog steadily, often draws plenty of strikes from aggressive specks in the surf zone. Generally, surf trout tend to weigh more per inch than their relatives who spend more time in the bay. A true 28” surf trout looks like Godzilla compared with a fish of the same length found in the bay. Aside from the trout, expect to see the first run of skipjacks, or ladyfish, this month. They'll normally hit just about any lure we throw. Redfish and jacks will also be encountered by anglers targeting specks this month. Sharks of all sizes are also around. As we get later into summer, the shark action becomes much better at night, especially when the bigger sharks are the targets. This month, some of the biggest bull sharks inhabit the shallows of the surf. Encounters with tigers and great hammerheads are also possible. Beware of the stingrays, which are numerous in the guts this time of year.”

Port Mansfield | Ruben Garza
Snookdudecharters.com – 832.385.1431
Getaway Adventures Lodge – 956.944.4000
“In the Port Mansfield area, redfish action remains outstanding. Trout fishing is slowly improving. The recently dredged channel between the jetties has increased tidal flow, which is a good thing. We might see the fastest improvement in the trout fishing in areas close to the pass, where tides bring some trout in from the surf. Targeting trout lately means fishing around deep grass beds and potholes lying close to the break into water too deep for grass to grow. Eighth-ounce jigheads carrying KWiggler Ball Tail Shads in colors like Mansfield Margarita and Lagunaflauge have been working best. Topwaters are also drawing strikes, and some folks are better at making more casts for fewer bites with those. The redfish have been holding tight to area shorelines, especially those in the middle of the slot. The over-sized fish seem to be in deeper water. The topwater action has been fantastic. Gold, weedless spoons also work well. Soft plastics should be rigged on super light heads for best results in such shallow water. When winds calm, fishing around the jetties should be good in June. If lots of bait balls show up, tarpon should be biting regularly.”

Lower Laguna Madre—South Padre—Port Isabel
Aaron Cisneros | tightlinescharters.com – 956-639-1941
“With the waders put away for good, we're waiting for true summer patterns to emerge and stay. We're catching fish in all sorts of places lately at different times of the day. Overall, our trout bite has been best in water about three to five feet deep, over sand bars with some grass beds dotted on the bottom. Best bite has been on KWiggler Ball Tail Shads rigged on quarter-ounce Spring Lock jigheads. Plum has been the best color most days. Slowly jigging the lures off the bottom has been earning the most strikes. Fishing for reds has been easier and more consistent. The topwater bite has been excellent early in the mornings, with bone Spook Juniors earning the most strikes the past couple weeks. The fastest action has been quite close to the shorelines in most places. When the bait becomes less active, switching over to KWigglers on eighth-ounce heads has been working much better. Making erratic presentations with some quick, jerky movements has been working best to get bites in the shallows with the soft plastics. Best bet is to make the lure race into a pothole with lots of action, or work it right along the edges.”