Reports & Forecasts: May 2022

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com – 409.935.7242
James mentions the area behind San Luis Pass consistently produces year after year, in the Month of May. “Lots of people catch quality trout on the flats behind the pass this time of year. As long as there's plenty of east in the wind, the flats on the south shoreline will hold good clarity, even under pretty strong winds. Calmer winds open up the whole area, including all the sand bars behind the pass, and the flat associated with the ICW on the other side. The best conditions for fishing down that way generally coincide with calmish winds and a tide flowing in during the morning hours. Close to the pass, the tide can't be too strong, though, or it will muck up the water around the bars and guts. And, wading can get dangerous in such a situation too. The sand bars sprinkled with shell on the bay sides of the reefs fronting some of the bigger coves in lower parts of West Bay are also productive for trout this time of year. Topwaters often work well, as do hard baits like 51M MirrOlures and Catch 5s. Normally, areas which produce good catching hold rafts of mullet and other bait.”

Jimmy West - Bolivar Guide Service – 409.996.3054
Fishing in the eastern and upper parts of Galveston Bay has been good for Jim lately. “I had some real good days in Trinity Bay. Lots of trout, nothing real big, but an easy bite. We're catching an occasional three or four pounder, but mostly we've got great numbers of two-pound keepers. We did get a little push of freshwater, and I've moved back over to East Bay, and it's been good over here too. Typical spring patterns in play. When it's calm, the fishing is good out in the middle. We're keying on slicks, rafts of bait and mud stirs, catching pretty much however we want to. Mostly throwing topwaters when the bite is easy and switching to tails when it's a little tougher. Usually, May weather patterns include quite a bit of east in the wind. When it starts blowing over about 15 knots or so, wading is pretty much the only way to catch 'em. The water on the south shoreline of East Bay and the east side of Trinity will hold good water quality in those conditions, but only tight to the bank. It just gets too hard to catch much out of the boat.”

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves - Groves Guide Service 979.849.7019 – 979.864.9323
Randall looks forward to fishing in the month of May because of the abundance of life forms swimming around in the bays by then. “We see all kinds of things moving through the pass and onto the flats in Lower West Galveston Bay this time of year. We have lots of shrimp, glass minnows, shad, ballyhoo, ribbonfish, just all kinds of critters for the trout and redfish to eat. I have the best luck this time of year fishing around signs of activity like slicks and working birds, whether terns diving, gulls hovering, wading birds stalking the shallows or cormorants and pelicans hunting in an area. We do well with white SkitterWalks at times, working them erratically, with lots of starts and stops. This works best when we're seeing plenty of ribbonfish. Otherwise, Norton Sand Eels in colors like tequila gold and cayenne gold rigged on three-eighths ounce jigheads produce more bites, especially when we're fishing out of the boat in deeper water and casting around gulls hovering over schools of shrimp. The deeper parts of West Bay behind the pass hold plenty of schools of keeper trout and reds this time of year. And, the surf sometimes gets just right too.”

Matagorda | Bay Guide Service
Charlie Paradoski – 713.725.2401
Charlie mentions several productive areas and options for fishing in the Matagorda area in May. “May is a great month in both of the Matagorda bays, and the surf sometimes produces outstanding catches this time of year too. In East Bay, we will catch some of the bigger trout wading the coves with topwaters and twitch baits, also out of the boat throwing soft plastics over a bottom of mixed mud and shell. We normally have some birds working over both reds and trout this time of year. In West Bay, the fishing for reds and keeper-sized trout is good in the coves along the south shoreline too, and around some of the artificial reefs. Areas like Green's and Cotton's bayous are famous for a reason. When we're heading that way, we like to check the surf when winds calm for a couple days. Normally, when the green water first makes it to the beach, the bite on trout in the surf is great for a while. If it stays calm too long and the water gets stupid clear, things will slow down some. A great topwater bite on big surf trout is hard to beat.”

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam
www.palaciosguideservice.com – 979.240.8204
Low tides and howling winds had made the fishing generally tough prior to the day on which Aaron submitted this report. “We have had a few good days when we've been able to get out and fish. The rivers have provided the most consistent action. The fish have been stacked up in them pretty good because of the presence of so much bait, including shad, mullet and grass shrimp. DSL in chicken of the sea and watermelon colors rigged on three-eighths ounce heads have worked best, tossed next to the ledges and bends in the rivers. Redfish have been holding way back in the marshes, eating grass shrimp. Pumpkinseed and pearl Norton Bull Minnows rigged on eighth-ounce heads have worked best to target them in the shallows. On big tides, the trout have been holding close to the jetties on the flats, taking small topwaters like Spook Juniors and Baby SkitterWalks. In May, Halfmoon Reef, the Barge and Yellow Well are all good spots to target trout. The reds should move out of the marshes to chase schools of shad and shrimp on bay shorelines. Egrets often provide the best clues about where this action happens.”

Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith
Back Bay Guide Service – 361.983.4434
Lynn expects to be pointing the bow of his boat south quite a bit, during May. He will be heading that way under the power of a brand new Suzuki motor. “I'm glad to be back up and running, with a brand new motor. Will be wanting to fish down around Cedar Bayou quite a bit, in the coming months. Usually, soon after the spring equinox, we have some high tides for a while. High tides make the fishing on the flats in lower San Antonio and Mesquite bays good, especially when they're coming in during the morning hours. If the tide is lower and when it's going out, the fishing can be better in some of the guts associated with the reefs in the bays down that way. May is a great month to catch both trout and reds on tops, so we'll be throwing topwaters most every day, starting with them in most cases, since they often work best early in the mornings. Soft plastics are the best backups to the topwaters for me, this time of year. We rig them on light jigheads and work them fairly fast when we're fishing the shallow shorelines and flats.”

Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service – 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894
Blake says the trout fishing in the Rockport area is some of the best of the year. “We have great options to pursue this time of year, when we're after trout. The fishing in area bays along sandy, grassy shorelines is usually excellent. We catch plenty on topwaters like the Baby SkitterWalk in chrome/black, better in the mornings, when the sky isn't too bright. Some of the reefs in Aransas, Mesquite and St. Charles Bay also produce well in May, especially when winds are light and water clarity is good. We catch better around the reefs on soft plastics. I like dark ones like plum, also pumpkinseed/chartreuse and purple/chartreuse. Fishing can be outstanding in the surf this month too. I've already had some good days out there, and as the weather calms more consistently, the potential just gets better and better. When we're fishing the beachfront, we usually start out shallow, throwing topwaters in the first or second gut, then move deeper and switch to soft plastics later in the morning. Of course, we catch plenty of reds this time of year too. I've still been running around in the airboat in the back bays, so I'm aware where some schools are hanging out.”

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut
Robert Zapata – [email protected] – 361.563.1160
The month of May is usually a productive one for fishing the ULM and Baffin Bay. The peak of the spawn happens during this time, and the female trout will be feeding aggressively. This is a great month to start the day off throwing MirrOlure SheDogs. Best bet is to experiment some with retrieve styles, varying speed and how much starting and stopping is done, in order to figure out how the fish like it best each day. All this works best when the amount of grass floating on the surface is low. Too much floating grass makes fishing the floating plugs a hassle, so it's better to switch over to Bass Assassin Sea Shads in colors like salt&pepper/chartreuse, opening morning and purple chicken. Rigging them on sixteenth-ounce jigheads works best in shallow water. Since our water is so clear, it's always a good idea to attach the lure to a fluorocarbon leader at least twenty inches long, to prevent the fish from becoming leader-shy. The fish should be holding in depths of less than three feet, along grass lines, and around sandy potholes. On sunny days, catching red and black drum by sight-casting with shrimp-flavored Fish-bites is another fun plan.

Corpus Christi / Joe Mendez – www.sightcast1.com – 361.877.1230
May can be a great month for fishing areas on the east side of Corpus Christi Bay. “Shamrock Cove and East Flats produce fast and easy fishing at times in May. In both places, water clarity holds up great under strong southeast winds. In fact, the fishing is usually better on the flats up that way when the wind is cranking. If it gets too calm, the water runs stupid clear, and the fishing can be tougher. On East Flats, the reds are usually thick in the shallower parts, where the grass and potholes are easiest to see. The trout usually bite better on the outer bars, especially when the tide is flowing across them and creating current rips. On Little Flats, which is between East Flats and Shamrock, both trout and reds hang out in numbers in the potholes behind the main bar fronting the flat. All the outside grass beds on the main shoreline of Corpus Christi Bay south of there have potential for producing lots of eating sized trout. In Shamrock, the sweet spots depend on the tide level, with the back nooks and crannies better on high tides, the deeper holes better on low tides.”

P. I.N.S. Fishing Forecast | Eric Ozolins
361-877-3583 | Oceanepics.com
May is a fabulous month in the Texas surf, with a great variety of fish present. Redfish, black drum, trout and sheepshead are all actively chasing bait and feeding in the shallows. The trout show up first in areas around the passes and channels leading into the bays. Personal favorites of mine for targeting them include MirrOlure topwaters like HeDogs and SheDogs. If they're feeding on top, a standard dog-walking presentation often works great. Spoons will catch plenty of trout too. Depending on the clarity of the water, Spanish mackerel and other species might also be present, and they attack spoons as well. Usually, plenty of mullet are available for netting and cutting up fresh, to attract reds and jacks. With regard to sharks, the numbers start to fade a little, but the average size goes up. Monster bulls invade this month, many of them females, carrying pups. Late at night, action on tigers and great hammerheads begins to pick up too. Stingrays make for good baits to attract the big sharks. They're plentiful in the surf this month, so waders beware. Both king mackerel and tarpon can appear in the surf during this month of plenty too.

Port Mansfield | Ruben Garza
Snookdudecharters.com – 832.385.1431
Getaway Adventures Lodge – 956.944.4000
The action on topwaters has been pretty good lately, Ruben says, and the consistency of that action should pick up when May arrives. “May is a great month for throwing topwaters. Everyone fishing down this way should keep some Mansfield Knockers in their boxes, especially the zombie colored one. Fishing early in the morning behind the Saucer is a smart idea, working potholes if the bottom is mostly grass, focusing on grass beds if the bottom's mostly sandy. If too much traffic makes fishing that area tough, the dumps just north of Bennie's Island usually work better. North of the East Cut, fishing around oyster beds can be productive in the spring, as can the area just north of the Weather Station. Early in the mornings, when the mullet are rafted up, catching reds and decent sized trout up there is sometimes easy. On lighter wind days, don't dismiss the west shoreline. From Century Point to the Oak Mottes can be righteous before the spring winds begin to crank in the middle of the day. The best stretches have firm, sandy bottoms and guts running parallel to the shore. Topwaters often produce best up that way when it's calm.”

Lower Laguna Madre—South Padre—Port Isabel
Aaron Cisneros | tightlinescharters.com – 956-639-1941
Fishing in the Lower Laguna Madre has improved steadily as water temperatures and tide levels have risen throughout the spring. The speckled trout have started to move into the shallows with more regularity, following the small bait fish, which have mostly abandoned the deeper holes and channels by now. We've found plenty of aggressive trout lately in shallow bays with mostly grassy bottoms, along shorelines with plenty of sandy potholes breaking up the grass. Bone Spook Juniors with single hooks have been working great, as long as we're seeing lots of bait jumping. KWigglers in lagunaflauge and wig-a-lo have worked better when winds pick up and the bait disappears. Redfish have ridden the higher tides into the back lakes. They're feeding on small shrimp and crabs in those places. Natural colored lures have worked best to catch them, especially on protected shorelines on windy days. KWigglers in dirty jalapeno worked fast over potholes has produced best, but topwaters also work great when the fish are most aggressive. While the warming trend continues, the trout and reds will remain mobile, following the herds of prey species, so anglers who want to keep catching consistently have to keep moving too.