Reports & Forecasts: December 2024

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com - 409.935.7242
James enjoys fishing the main parts of West Galveston Bay and the satellites surrounding it in December. “This time of year, the wading usually produces best, if the goal is to catch some of the big trout in this area. The best conditions are dependent on the type of weather we’re having. If the weather’s warm, with light southeast winds, fishing can be great on incoming tides early in the mornings on main bay shorelines, and around some of the shell humps. If the tide falls way out after a blast of cold air, the fishing during the day will become tough for waders in the clear water. Then, folks fishing soft plastics and old-school MirrOlures will do better, drifting deeper areas over a bottom of mixed mud and shell. The lures have to move slow and stay close to the bottom in this situation. On the day when the winds die down after a front and the water comes gushing back in around sunset, waders will catch some big trout right at dusk and into the early hours of the night on reefs and shorelines with plenty of shell on the bottom, throwing topwaters, Catch 5s, and Catch 2000s.”

Jimmy West | Bolivar Guide Service - 409.996.3054
Jim says he expects the fishing and hunting to be good in the Christmas month. “We start hunting ducks a lot this month. The season starts in November, but the action usually gets better toward the end of the year. We don’t have a bunch of birds yet, but by Thanksgiving we should get a few significant fronts to drive some birds this way. We’ll be spending time in the blinds during December, for sure. And, the second half of dove season opens about halfway through the month. As long as we don’t have any floods or crazy weather, we should continue to have good dove hunts. It’s been great so far this year. On the fishing side, December is a good month for both wading and fishing out of the boat. During the warm spells, the wading is better. Best bite is usually around drains with water pulling out of the marshes and dumping into the bays. It can also be good at times on the shallower reefs. When the tide pulls out and the water temperatures drop, the fishing is better out of the boat, either around some of the big reefs in the middle of East Bay or in the bayous and ditches.”

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves | Groves Guide Service
979.849.7019 - 979.864.9323
Randall likes to target some of the bigger trout in the bays around San Luis Pass in December. “We like to wade in the bays close to the pass during the warm spells this month. The best areas have at least a few significant live oyster reefs and lots of muddy bottom with shell scattered around. When the weather’s relatively warm and the tides pretty high, we do well targeting the bigger trout by staying in places like these and throwing slow-sinking twitchbaits like Paul Brown Lures and others, working them slow, with some rhythm. On the best days, when we see lots of mullet jumping or at least bunched up at the surface, we do well on topwaters, too. When the temperatures drop and the tide falls out, the fishing is much better in deeper parts of the main bays. When we’re fishing out of the boat, we like to target our fish in places with lots of signs of active life, like rafts of mullet and birds, including pelicans, cormorants, terns and gulls. Most of the time, we catch best in the deeper, open water on Norton Sand Eels, in colors like cayenne gold and other dark, natural ones.”

Matagorda Bays | Capt. Glenn Ging
Glenn’s Guide Service - 979.479.1460
www.glennsguideservice.com
I always look forward to December fishing. The crowds get much lighter as everyone focuses on hunting season, the holidays, football and all the other fall and winter activities. The fall fishing should continue strong well into December. The last of the shrimp should be leaving the bays, so our fish will start switching back to a diet of mullet and other finfish. As the last of the bird activity winds down, look for trout on mid-bay shell in five to six feet of water as well as up on the shorelines around drains and reefs in the shallows. I’ll be throwing lots of Bass Assassins in December, both paddletails and jerk baits, typically on quarter-ounce or three-eighths ounce jigheads. Topwaters and slow-sinking twitchbaits like Paul Brown Lures will be mainstays as well. Redfish action should be good under the birds until the water temps drop into the 50s. After the cool down, marsh drains and guts running through shallow flats will stack up with redfish when water levels drop from passing fronts. Gulp! shrimp dangled under corks will produce plenty of reds in winter, as will soft plastic paddletails rigged on light jigheads, either sixteenth or eighth-ounce.

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam
www.palaciosguideservice.com - 979.240.8204
The water is finally cooling off a little bit and the fishing is heating up! Trout fishing has exploded this fall. We’re catching trout everywhere, on all kinds of baits and lures. Close to town, we’re catching trout on shorelines in shallow water over sand and shell, throwing green/chrome She Dogs and pink Skitter Walks. Lately, the best time has been about 30 minutes before sunup to about an hour after. We’re also catching lots of trout drifting over shell pads in three to four feet of water, using live shrimp. Pier fishing at night has been phenomenal with the light winds, with lots and lots of keeper trout and solid sand trout coming to anglers’ hands. They’re biting glow, and glow/pink spec rigs. Fishing for reds has slowed down a little, but we’re still catching a few on falling tides around bayous and drains. The big tides have pushed most of them far back into the marsh. Black drum fishing has picked back up, and we’ve been catching them close to points and rocks with Fish-bites and peeled, fresh-dead shrimp. In December, as we get cooler temps, we’ll be focusing on finding bait close to the places where fish retreat to deeper water.

Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith
Back Bay Guide Service - 361.935.6833
Lynn mentions a specific pattern he likes to fish once the weather gets cold for the first few times each year, normally in December. “This is a great month for targeting some of the biggest trout in the bays. On the sunny days after a front hits, the water in the shallows warms up faster than the deeper water. Of course, the trout retreat into the deeper water of the channels and other holes when the temperatures fall fast, then they come out into the nearby shallows once the sun heats them up. When this happens, the trout aren’t always easy to catch, especially when they first come into the shallow water. It’s like they’re wanting to warm up some before they eat. But, eventually, places like these will produce big trout for patient waders. In these spots, the bottom is usually soft mud, and there’s some oyster shell scattered around. The best places are usually within a stone’s throw of a channel or deep hole. Some of the bays in remote parts of the Coastal Bend have several spots which meet this description. Catching in this situation usually requires a persistent effort with soft plastics on light jigheads or slow-sinking twitchbaits.”

Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894
December ranks high on Blake’s list of favorite months for fishing and hunting in the bays of the Coastal Bend. “We will be doing the cast-n-blast thing most days this month. We like to hunker down in the blinds to take our chances with the ducks early in the mornings. Things look good for big duck season, if we get some strong fronts in November. We’ll keep shooting at the birds as long as they’re coming into our spreads, or we get our limits. Then, we like to start fishing our way out of the marshes, targeting the redfish and a few bigger trout in the backwater areas first, then moving out to shorelines later in the day, mostly to target trout. Our best bite on most days in December comes on soft plastics, usually dark Norton Sand Eels with bright tails. But, on the better days, when tides are higher and the water’s moving some, we do well on slow-sinking twitch baits and small topwaters like Spook Juniors, too. One of the key signs indicating the topwaters and twitch baits will work is jumping or rafted schools of mullet. We see these signs mostly when winds are blowing at moderate speeds.”

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay - Land Cut
Robert Zapata | [email protected] - 361.563.1160
During December, many people head to the legendary ranches of South Texas in search of a monster whitetail buck. When this happens, the crowds on the waters of the Upper Laguna Madre and Baffin Bay fall to their lowest levels of the year. This makes the fishing better and easier for those of us who fish year-round. The last month of the year offers ripe opportunity for catching redfish and big trout in our bays. Fishing for them on the King Ranch Shoreline can be productive, especially after fronts hit and the weather makes a slight turn for the better. The fishing is often best late in the afternoons then. Baffin Bay also produces plenty of big trout this time of year, mostly for waders working the grassy flats, rocky bars and sand bars on the north side of the bay. The best catching usually happens while water temperatures are below 60º, but the action can also be good during warm spells in places like the Badlands, Los Corrallos and Penascal Point. She Dogs work great when the water’s warm, but slow sinkers like Catch 5s work better more of the time. Bass Assassin Die Dappers work best when the bite is tough.

Corpus Christi | Joe Mendez - www.sightcast1.com - 361.877.1230
Fishing typically perks up significantly for the bigger trout in the bays around Corpus Christi and areas south of there in December. If water temperatures fall below 60º and stay there for at least three days, anglers in the know will catch more big trout than if water temperatures stay warmer. Cold weather pushes the trout into the channels in parts of the Upper Laguna Madre close to the JFK Causeway, where they’re relatively easy to locate. In these situations, anglers fishing out of a boat catch plenty of fish by throwing soft plastics around the edges of the channels. Matching jighead size to the conditions plays a big role in this drill. Lighter jigheads work better when winds are light and currents run weak. Stronger winds and currents dictate the use of heavier heads, up to and beyond one-quarter ounce. The key tactic is to keep the soft plastics close to the ledges and walls of the channel as they fall. During warm spells, the trout generally bite better on shallow flats close to the channels and basins, and waders catch them better on twitchbaits and topwaters. One of the best scenarios occurs on the first calm afternoon after a front passes.

P.I.N.S. Fishing Forecast | Eric Ozolins
361.877.3583 - Oceanepics.com
If we have a warm December, we’ll have stellar fishing in the surf until the end of the year. Regardless of the temperatures, the drum (both red and black) will be in the surf. The oversized redfish will continue to roam the surf, feeding on mullet, whiting and crab. Black drum will feed mostly on crustaceans. On calm days with clear water, the pompano action should be fierce. Long-casting shrimp or Fish-bites will work best to target this delicious species. Winter is always questionable with regard to trout. With any luck, we may see some surprising results. Trout will be best to target on calmer days, in clear water. Using slow-sinking twitchbaits increases the odds of catching trout in the surf in cold water. Most sharks have left the shallows. Mainly, we’ll have sandbar sharks pushing 200lbs, along with our common blacktips and a couple smaller species. The mature sandbar sharks are in our waters mating and breeding in the winter. Baits such as whiting, sheepshead and small rays are optimal. It’s important to note that this species is federally protected and must be released. If desiring to harvest a shark, the Atlantic sharpnose species can make good table fare.

Port Mansfield, Texas | Ruben Garza
Snookdudecharters.com - 832.385.1431
Getaway Adventures Lodge - 956.944.4000
Fronts are slowly becoming more frequent in South Texas. Going from south winds to north winds can be confusing for some anglers to figure out. In most cases, I prefer going north after a front rolls through. There are times when heading south is a good idea, though, especially for folks who don’t want to make a long run. Those running south should consider fishing West Bay, focusing on areas around the sunken barge on the shoreline and working toward the duck blind with the American flag. This stretch is most productive if winds are light. The spoil dumps north of Bennie’s Island often produce well, too. If those areas are crowded, the flats around the cabins in the Saucer are a good choice. Up north, the north side of Gladys Hole is often loaded with fish, as is the stretch of the west shoreline just south of there. Sometimes, the flats around the Weather Station produce good catches of both trout and redfish. This time of year, the KWigglers Wig-A-Los and Willow Tails are productive soft plastics. Mansfield Knockers and Floating Paul Brown Lures produce more big trout in the right weather conditions, usually when the water warms a bit after a cold snap.

Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel
Aaron Cisneros | tightlinescharters.com - 956.639.1941
The weather feels great on the Lower Laguna Madre as cold fronts have moved in. The tide has begun its descent, which has made for some great trout fishing. The trout bite has been fast on most trips; we’re finding all sizes to be schooled together. Our go-to lure has been a 5-inch ZMan StreakZ in opening night color rigged on an eighth-ounce jighead. Early in the mornings, ledges along sand bars have held plenty of trout. We’re catching best by working our baits slow and tight to the bottom. Later in the day, spoil islands and grassy flats in two to three feet of water have been productive. Once the winds pick up, faster retrieves work better. Redfish numbers have been steady and they’re becoming easier to catch as winter moves in. Shorelines and sand flats with active bait have held plenty. The reds are attacking topwaters aggressively early in the mornings. We’re walking the dog fast for best results. Later in the day, once the wind picks up , 4-inch StreakZ and DieZel Minnows in redbone rigged on eighth-ounce heads work better. As temperatures cool more, the bait and predators will move to deeper water, changing our patterns some.