Reports & Forecasts: October 2024

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com - 409.935.7242
In some years, the tarpon fishing can be great during the first half of October, so James always has an eye on that, but it’s also a month when he starts fishing for trout in the bays more often than at the end of summer. “We sometimes have a late run on the silver kings this time of year. If the weather’s calm, and we don’t have too many storms stirring up the Gulf, we keep trying to stay on ‘em. Once we decide the tarpon season is basically over, we’ll start working the inshore waters again, looking for trout. This time of year, the wading is often good, especially in places near entrances to shallow backwater areas. The bite is usually best in the shallow areas when the tide is high and we have onshore winds and warmer weather. If we get some significant north winds and cooler temperatures, the action can really pick up in the main bays, as the shrimp and other species begin moving out of the marshes, toward the Gulf. Casting around gulls working over school trout out in the middle can be fun, but the action for bigger fish is often better on the shorelines this month.”

Jimmy West | Bolivar Guide Service - 409.996.3054
Jim had been in the fields, doing maintenance on them and running plenty of dove hunts, during the days before we talked. “We have so much grass and weeds growing this year, it’s making a lot of work for people like me. We’ve got a good number of doves, but they’re pretty spread out, since they have so much food and water around. The teal numbers already look outstanding, and I expect we’ll have some great shooting once that season rolls around. All the standing water makes for excellent teal habitat. I do have some days left to book hunts, and will likely have a few more once big duck season gets here. On the fishing side, I expect the action to pick up once October arrives. It’s normally a pretty dry month, with cooling weather. We should have plenty of birds working in both Trinity and East bays, for people wanting to target trout. But, the fishing for reds will likely be more productive. We’ve never really seen a summer with as many flood events as this one, so there’s no real track record to look back at, but I expect the fishing in Trinity, especially for reds, to be good this fall.”

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves | Groves Guide Service
979.849.7019 - 979.864.9323
Like most people who work on the coastal waters while making a living, Randall looks forward to the shorter, cooler days of fall. “I love the fishing this time of year. As autumn progresses, the bait and the game fish all begin to migrate out of the backwater areas, headed toward the pass, and eventually into the Gulf. When they do, the fishing is often easy, sometimes around working birds. We do well with topwaters this time of year on a daily basis. One of my favorites is a black/gold/orange Skitter Walk. I’ll also throw the white one at times, especially if I see a bunch of ribbonfish around. Of course, slow-sinking twitchbaits work great this time of year too, especially when they’re worked over a muddy bottom with some shell scattered around on the calmer days after fronts blow through. During the toughest bite days, we do best throwing soft plastics like Norton Sand Eels and working them fast overall, with spastic action, trying to trigger reaction strikes. In this scenario, when we’re often fishing out of the boat in water too deep to wade, I prefer a natural colored lure like tequila gold rigged on a three-eighths ounce jighead.”

Matagorda Bays | Capt. Glenn Ging
Glenn’s Guide Service - 979.479.1460
www.glennsguideservice.com
October is one of my absolute favorite months of the year for fishing the bays around Matagorda. The weather is finally cooling down a little, and the fall migration of shrimp from the marsh to the Gulf usually gets going in full force. I’ll be fishing the working birds as much as possible this month, mainly throwing Vudu Shrimp under Coastal Corks, Bass Assassin four-inch Sea Shads, junior-size Spooks and Skitter Walks, depending on the type of conditions and the feeding mood of the trout. Redfish should be schooling in the back-lakes. They’ll be fairly easy to catch on live shrimp under popping corks, paddletails and on small topwaters, especially early in the mornings. The wading should be productive on the reefs in the Chinquapin chain, and on some of the mid-bay reefs. The north shoreline of West Matagorda Bay produces good catches this time of year for anglers using live shrimp under popping corks too, especially in stretches with some reefs or at least good concentrations of scattered shell in the shallows close to the bank. When we have light north winds for a while, the surf will turn on again, as will the action out at the jetties.

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam
www.palaciosguideservice.com - 979.240.8204
“We recently had some of the best fishing we’ve experienced in many moons. Fishing for all three of the main species has been outstanding, as has the flounder gigging. The tripletail action has also been way better than average. The surf along Matagorda Peninsula has been phenomenal at times. When winds are light and the surf calm, the trout have been hammering She Dogs and Skitter Walks all morning long, in the first gut at daybreak, then around the outer bars after the sun climbs higher. Platforms in West Matagorda have been on fire as well, with live shrimp rigged about four feet under popping corks working best out there. Redfish have been all over the bays, schooling and chasing grass shrimp, shad and mullet. Pumpkinseed/chartreuse Bull Minnows rigged on eighth-ounce jigheads have worked best to trick the reds. Giggers have been bringing in lots of flounder at night, finding most of their fish over clay and pea-gravel bottoms. They’ve averaged about seventeen inches. I look for October to be a great month, as water temperatures start to drop and we get good bird action in South Bay, East Bay, Turtle Bay and Carancahua Bay.”

Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith
Back Bay Guide Service - 361.935.6833
Lynn eagerly anticipates the cooler weather and excellent fishing in the Port O’Connor area during the first full month of fall. “I like to fish the back-lakes quite a bit this month, especially if we get a bull tide, which we usually do. The fishing for both reds and trout can be excellent in those locations, particularly early in the month, while the weather’s still pretty warm and the coves and lakes are bulging with water. On the high tides, it’s often important to fish the shallowest parts of the lakes, either throwing around thick grass beds or at grassy points on the shorelines. The fishing can be great around some of the main reefs this time of year too, especially when currents are running strong and creating some ripples on top of the shell. Of course, we often have birds working in various places this time of year, and that creates another type of opportunity. We do well throwing all kinds of lures during October. When conditions are warm, we do great on topwaters. When things cool off some, slow-sinking twitchbaits and soft plastics produce better. After stronger fronts later in the month, fishing around the drains on outgoing tides picks up.”

Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894
Blake says the tide has been high in the Coastal Bend lately, and he expects the condition to prevail through October. “When we get a big tide like this, I usually spend some time fishing right on top of the reefs, targeting both trout and redfish. All our local bays have some, and the fishing can be good on all of them when they’re covered fully. We also catch well throwing our topwaters and tails right next to the emergent grass on the shorelines when the bull tides come in. This pattern is normally good in October too. The fishing has been steady lately, with lots of trout around. We’ve been able to get out into the surf quite a few times, and it’s been excellent. The storms we had this summer have really flushed Cedar Bayou open. Vinson Slough is back to productive too. If we get calm winds in October, I’ll probably be heading out that way. This month is a kind of in-between month for the ducks, but it’s still dove season. I’ll be heading to the fields to hunt the doves some, mostly in the afternoons, and I’ll be booking hunts for the big duck season.”

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut
Robert Zapata | [email protected] - 361.563.1160
“In October, a good many people who fish at other times become interested in hunting and/or preparing for hunts later in the year. So, this is one of the quietest months of the year, with low traffic on the Upper Laguna Madre and in Baffin Bay. With the cooler, longer nights, the trout and redfish will stay in the shallows more of the time. Early in the mornings, we find them in good numbers on area shorelines, close to the bank, and around the spines of some of the famous sand bars. When we’re targeting them in these places, She Dogs and Catch 5s draw lots of strikes, if the floating and suspended grass don’t make working them too much of a hassle. If and when the grass does become a problem, like when really high tides float lots of dead vegetation off the grass mats and then north winds blow the strands out into the bays, we do better on Bass Assassin Die Dappers rigged on either eighth or sixteenth-ounce jigheads. Since we have light winds more often than not this month, the water gets really clear most of the time, so we prefer using soft plastics in natural-looking colors.”

Corpus Christi | Joe Mendez - www.sightcast1.com - 361.877.1230
“Catching lots of fish in October can be challenging at times, though the cooling weather certainly makes spending time on the Upper Laguna Madre, Baffin Bay and Corpus Christi Bay pleasant. When strong tides gush in during the weeks immediately following the fall equinox, bull tides rise in the bays, spreading the fish out. In some places, coping with this issue simply means fishing tight to the shorelines. This is true in places like the King Ranch Shoreline north of Baffin, and in parts of Baffin itself. In other places, where large coves and giant shallow flats lie adjacent to the places fished more often on tides of regular levels, figuring out where to fish can be more complicated. In places like those, mostly in the ULM, the fish often ride the bull tides far out into super shallow areas this time of year. When they do, cruising around in a shallow-running boat and looking for signs like wakes and slicks, or the fish themselves, is the only way to find them. Once located, fish are usually pretty easy to catch this time of year in the cooling water. Soft plastics work best, with topwaters working great on some days, too.”

P.I.N.S. Fishing Forecast | Eric Ozolins
361.877.3583 - Oceanepics.com
In October, the dusky anchovies should be peaking in surf activity along much of the Lower Coast, with mullet beginning to run on the Upper Coast. There should be many different species to target. Those in search of red drum should stick with live mullet. The only drawback to that is skipjacks, jack crevalle, and Spanish mackerel also love the mullet. The jackfish will really start to run the beaches in late-October. When they’re seen frenzying at the surface, large topwaters work great to catch ‘em. Spanish mackerel will usually be present around schools of skipjacks found under working birds. Skipjacks are present in greater numbers than all other species this month. With so many of them around, the sharks will also be plentiful. The blacktip and bull sharks will move inshore in great numbers to feast on all the prey species. Casting or kayaking out a skipjack bait will almost guarantee a bite from one or the other. Anglers walking out on the sandbars to cast baits or fish should keep an eye out for the sharks, which will move into the shallows to attack the bait balls. This month, hooking a tarpon is also possible, especially for folks using lighter gear.

Port Mansfield | Ruben Garza
Snookdudecharters.com - 832.385.1431
Getaway Adventures Lodge - 956.944.4000
Fronts are slowly making their way down to the Rio Grande Valley and the Lower Laguna Madre, providing welcome relief after the summer heat wave. The redfish are still making their way toward the Gulf on their annual migration, though the schools are somewhat smaller than the ones we see in September. They’re normally lurking somewhere around the East Cut, on both the north and south sides. They’re easiest to catch in the mornings on topwaters, when they’re prowling and chasing bait on the bare sand bottoms. As the day continues and the sun rises higher, the better action shifts out into deeper water, where the trout bite is steady. North of the Cut, areas like the flats near the Weather Station, Butcher’s Island and Wagner’s Bar have plenty of potholes, all of which should be holding trout. KWigglers on eighth or quarter-ounce jigheads in Bone Diamond, Plum/Chartreuse and Mansfield Margarita attract their attention. South of the Cut, the deeper potholes north of the Pipeline should be productive this month. The fishing around the cabins at the Saucer is another great option. In West Bay, the action is usually steady when slicks are popping regularly in the deeper parts.

Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel
Aaron Cisneros | tightlinescharters.com - 956.639.1941
As the weather has started cooling off, the fishing in the Lower Laguna Madre has started to heat up. Early in the mornings, we’ve found most of our trout while fishing near spoil islands lying along the Intra-Coastal Waterway. We’ve had the best luck when we’re throwing topwaters like Spook Jrs rigged with single hooks, because we’re still experiencing lots of floating grass. Once winds pick up later in the mornings, we’re doing better on four-inch Z-Man Streaks in the Redbone color, rigged on Eye-Strike Trout-Eye jigheads. We’re using eighth-ounce heads and working them fairly fast, with lots of twitching. The redfish bite has good and should only get better as tides fill the back-bays. Lately, the bite has been best on shorelines in the shallow backwater areas. In the cool waters early in the mornings, the bite on Spook Jrs has been very good, walking the dog at a fast clip. Sometimes, presenting them with frequent stops and starts helps urge the most strikes. Z-Man Kicker Crabs rigged on eighth-ounce Eye-Strike Texas-Eye heads work better later in the mornings, when the wind picks up. Working them fast, but keeping them in the middle of the water column, has been the most effective retrieve style.