Top Options for Mid-Summer Success on Galveston Bays

Summer is in full swing and fishing patterns are as predictable as can be. As long as bay-wide salinities and water temperatures remain stable there’s really no reason for our trout to relocate. So let’s talk a little bit about where we should focus our attention for the next few months to get the best results.

Mid-bay Reefs

The Galveston Bay Complex boasts many oyster reefs but not all are created equal. After years of storms, floods, and droughts many are either dead or silted over. Just because a map or the software on our GPS shows that we’re drifting over an oyster reef doesn’t necessarily mean that particular reef still exists. Or, the reef may have been changed so much since that mapping software was created that we have to mark our own waypoints to show the actual modern day landscape of the bottom. It’s nearly impossible for the occasional weekend angler to know which part of a reef is alive and which is dead. Oftentimes, however, rafts of mullet and/or pods of shad will congregate over live portions of the reefs. Slicks are also likely to pop up making it even easier for us to narrow down our target areas.

We don’t have as many of those eccentric humps and ledges that we used to have but there are still some. As with just about every species of fish in both fresh and saltwater, these are prime target areas when we can find them. Other than using whichever bottom reading technology we may have, there are a few ways to locate humps and drop offs. Similar to how we find patches of live reef, mullet and other forage species will tend to hold tight to shallower areas on the reefs. During periods of swift currents, rips and eddies will form around the shallowest parts of the reefs. Here in Galveston Bay large swells created by ships will break over shallow areas.

Various topwaters cast on top of the crests of the humps and then walked along the drop-offs have produced some great catches for us recently, especially when we see lots of active mullet on the surface. MirrOlure She Dogs, Rapala Skitterwalks and Super Spook One Knockers are my top three choices. Of course, you usually can’t go wrong when throwing soft plastics. Saltwater Assassins in both the 5-inch rattail as well as the 4-inch Sea Shad are my go-to baits.

Structure

I’ve touched on this many times in recent years but it bares revisiting. As I’ve mentioned, many of our reefs these days lack the features necessary to consistently hold great numbers of fish. Furthermore, when trout are not congregated in large numbers we don’t tend to see the slicks or the multitude of slicks we’ve experienced throughout the years. Because there are only so many hours in a day and our boats can only hold so much fuel, riding around until we see trout signs such as slicks sometimes isn’t often a viable option. This is when I resort to targeting structure.

There is no lack of structure in the Galveston Bay Complex. As much as I tend to bellyache about man-induced changes, the addition of various types of structure in our bays is actually something for which I am sometimes thankful. It would take at least three pages in this fine magazine to list the man-made structures within our complex that have been created throughout the years but spending some time on Google Earth can be a tremendous asset in this department. So, as a general overview, here are the key structure areas I like to target during this time of year:

• Erosion control rocks along shorelines
• Designated spoil islands surrounded by rocks
• Piers and Bulkheads
• Jetties
• Beachfront Rock Groins
• Oil and Gas Wells
• Wrecks (sunken boats, barges, etc.)

It’s important to keep in mind that for every rock we can see above the water’s surface there are many more beneath the surface. These submerged rocks are covered with algae, barnacles and oysters, all of which support various species of marine life which attract specks, reds and flounder. Over time we learn where the sweet spots down below are and mark them on our GPS. The same also applies to wells, wrecks and other types of structure. It’s what’s below the water line that matters most.   

Beachfront

Excellent numbers of trout can be found in the surf throughout the summer. The key is timing. This is especially true here along the Upper Texas Coast. Wind plays a vital role in when we can have success fishing the beachfront. Galveston is obviously closer to the mouth of the Mississippi River than our friends farther down the Texas Coast. Because of this the longshore current which carries silt and sediments westward down the Gulf Coast eventually reaches the waters along our shallow beaches. This coupled with moderate to high winds can cause our surf to have that ugly brown appearance at times. As a general rule, beachfronts from the Coastal Bend through Port Isabel enjoy many more fishable days than we do because of deeper water and minimal silting effects from the longshore current. There are other factors affecting water clarity such as freshwater inflow, surface currents, upwellings, etc. but those variables tend to be less predictable.

My favorite time to fish our surf is during the first couple of calm days when the water is sandy green. After the third or fourth day of calm winds the water can actually get too clear making it difficult to trick quality specks using lures. When fishing the beachfront it’s imperative to follow bait concentrations. Rafts of mullet tend to be my primary focus but we’ve also had great success working birds, especially when those jumbo white shrimp are tight to the beach, which typically occurs from late June through the end of July, most years. One of our best days in the surf last year was spent casting bone MirrOlure Top Dogs from the boat onto the first sandbar as giant white shrimp were getting blasted out of the water by 2- to 4-pound trout.  

Shallow Flats and Sandbars

Many anglers believe that when the summer heat hits it’s time to fish exclusively in deeper water where temperatures are cooler and provides more oxygen for fish to maintain a healthy comfort level. While this is certainly true, especially during prolonged stretches of calm and scorching hot days, there are exceptions. Most of the bays along the Texas Coast have various types of passes and cuts allowing water exchange to and from the Gulf of Mexico. During incoming tides, these passes breathe life into our bays in the form of slightly cooler oxygen-rich water. This creates a scenario where baitfish and predator fish such as trout and redfish become rejuvenated causing feeding frenzies, sometimes in knee- to waist-deep water even in the middle of the summer. My clients and I take full advantage when patterns set up this way and the beauty of it is that we can have an entire shoreline to ourselves because a lot of folks are stuck on the deep water over shell mindset, simply because of the time of year. In addition to soft plastics rigged on 1/16 ounce lead heads, topwaters and twitchbaits can be a real rush when they get slammed by these energetic tide runner trout. Texas Custom Double Ds and Borboleta Leles are my top two favorite twitchbaits. Working them just below the surface beneath rafts of horse mullet can result in some violent trout strikes!

Open Water Schools of Redfish

When conditions allow, chasing open water schools of redfish can be a ton of fun. Unlike trout, reds in the open bay don’t necessarily stay near live habitat or structure. Instead, they follow bait concentrations such as shad, shrimp and cutlassfish (a.k.a. ribbonfish). Large terns and sea gulls hovering and spinning frantically over these schools are dead giveaways. I’ve often noticed that birds working over these schools tend to be more elevated compared to those working over trout. In addition to using birds to locate these herds of “saltwater armadillos” (I stole that one from Captain Randall Groves) mud boils and slicks can point us in the right direction.

Up until about 10 years ago, finding mid-bay schools of slot reds (20-28 inches) was the norm but in recent years the vast majority of our schools throughout the Galveston Bay Complex are oversized reds. The reds in most of these schools seem to range from 32 to 44 inches. I’m not exactly sure what’s caused this change but I’m not the only one who has noticed it. For the record, I’m referring to open water schools, not some of the smaller pods of reds we sometimes find in back lakes or along shorelines. In addition, these schools of giant redfish seem to roam Upper Galveston Bay, Trinity Bay, East Bay and along the Houston Ship Channel more than areas like Campbell’s, West Bay, Christmas Bay and Bastrop Bay. Using heavier jig heads (1/4 and 3/8 ounce) on our soft plastics helps us reach these sometimes fast-moving schools. Using a MirrOlure Lil John adds even more distance because of its aerodynamic shape.

Regardless of whether we choose to fish reefs, flats or various types of structure this summer, we should always try to find the sweet spots within the spots by using every sense that God has blessed us with and every tool modern technology has made available to us. Keeping our head on a swivel and trying new things in new areas eventually provides us with more options. By creating more options for ourselves we have more opportunities for success. Tight lines to all!