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27" Redfish
- Port O'Connor |
I
grew up in Texas City, Texas, just a block away from Galveston
Bay. Oyster reefs ideal for wade fishing for redfish and speckled
trout were a short bike ride away, and only about 50 yards from
shore. Those were wonderful days in which to grow up. Fifty cents
worth of shrimp provided a full day of fishing excitement. Hurricane
Carla, and the seawall created afterward, destroyed that prime
fishing habitat at home, but, in turn, created new fishing opportunities.
The commercial netting industry almost wiped out the speckled
trout and redfish brood populations, but organizations like the
Coastal Conservation
Association - CCA , working with the Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department, created a tremendously successful stocking program.
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| As
many of us do, I went away to college, then into the Army, and
finally, work took me away from my favorite hobby. Worst of all,
I now live in Cedar Park, Texas, a suburb of Austin, almost four
hours away from the coast. What a bummer! I occasionally fish
the freshwater lakes around Austin, and do enjoy it. I've grown
to love fishing the cypress thickets of Caddo Lake on the Texas/Louisiana
border and still find fishing a stock tank (pond) can be as exciting
as anything. But the things I miss the most are the smell of saltwater
breaking on the beach, the watermelon scent created by a feeding
school of speckled trout, and the powerful runs of a big redfish
on the sand flats. |
Speckled
Trout from Texas City |
Speckled
Trout from San Luis Pass surf
(Ambassadeur 6000 in background) |
Well,
I may not be able to fish as much as I want to, but that doesn't
stop me from reading, watching, and learning. I hope you'll join
me now on a tour of the fishing opportunities in Texas. I've tried
to provide links to a variety of information about saltwater fishing
this great state. When you've got the time, I hope these links
to other sites will help you enjoy fishing in Texas as much as
I have in the past, and intend to in the future. Boat and fish
with safety in mind, leave the alcohol at the dock, and always
keep your hooks sharp. |
Texas
Parks & Wildlife Department: The official source of information
about fishing in Texas:
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| TP&W Info | Marine Weather
| Newspaper Columns | Saltwater
Fishing Sites | Guides & Charters
Marine
Weather Information - Starting at the Louisiana border, heading south
to Brownsville.
- Marine
Weather: National Weather Service: Lake Charles, LA
- Marine
Information: National Weather Service: Houston/Galveston, TX
- Marine
Weather: National Weather Service: Corpus Christi, TX
- Current
Information: National Weather Service: Brownsville, TX (Click
on map for current conditions, or select "Marine & Tropical"
for detailed information specific to the southern Texas coast. It's
toward the bottom of the Web page.)
Top
| TP&W Info | Marine Weather
| Newspaper Columns | Saltwater
Fishing Sites | Guides & Charters
Information
about Coastal Fishing from Newspapers
Top
| TP&W Info | Marine Weather
| Newspaper Columns | Saltwater
Fishing Sites | Guides & Charters
Links
to Other Texas Saltwater Fishing Sites
- FishTexas.com:
Provides current live bait status of most bait camps, current offshore
bait status, bay cams, surf cams, pier cams, local marine forecasts,
offshore buoy/wave and weather, tide charts, charters, used boats,
and retailers.
- J.B.
Greeeson's Weekly Fishing Report: Coastal fishing report.
- Gulf
Coast Fisherman:
Saltwater fishing magazine
- Texas
Angler: Product of the Gulf Coast Angler's Association (GCAA)
- Texas
Saltwater Fishing Magazine
- Texas
Saltwater Fishing Reports:
AnglerWorld.com (can search by state)
- TX-Outdoors
Saltwater Central: Texas Saltwater Fishing Headquarters
- TXSurf's
Fishing Page
Links
to Guides and Charters
Guides
I've fished with or met and was impressed with their approach:
- Gibbs
Milliken, International Fishing, milliken@mail.utexas.edu
or 512-327-0905. I
met Gibbs at our Austin CCA chapter meetings. He teaches at The University
of Texas at Austin in the Department of Art and Art History, College
of Fine Arts. He is knowledgeable about fishing South America and
is a great person to talk with. He specializes in fly fishing and
light tackle fishing for exotic species such as peacock bass.
- Chad
Peterek, Shoreline Guide Service, CAPeterek@cs.com
or 361-576-3792. Chad
primarily fishes the Port O'Connor area. Every time I've fished with
him, the wind has been terrible, yet he has put me on fish. Additionally,
Chad is a hard-working guide, an enjoyable person to spend the day
with, and supports CCA.
- Chuck
Scates, Chuck Scates Guide Service:
cscates@interconnect.net
or 361-727-1200. I
met Chuck when he gave the program for one of our Austin CCA meetings.
Instead of the usual talk about great (?) fishing, Chuck gave us a
talk about HOW to fish shallow water, supported by some great slides
of speckled trout and redfish in their habitat. I learned a lot from
the presentation and liked Chuck's approach to fishing "skinny"
water. Chuck fishes the Rockport area and specializes in fly fishing.
Links to guides
and charters along the Texas Gulf Coast:
My
Fishing in Texas page does not endorse any of the commercial
interests shown, nor do I accept responsibility for their performance.
This page is intended solely for providing links to information
available on the World-Wide Web about saltwater fishing in Texas.
I hope you've learned a little more about fishing in Texas.
It's a great state with tremendous potential for fishermen (and
women) of all ages and interests. If you find a link that may
be of interest to those of us interested in fishing in Texas,
if one of the links on this page has changed, or if you have
any comments on the page, please let me know by e-mail at: ronp605@gmail.com.
This
is fun!
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21"
Redfish at Port O'Connor |
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