This is probably a dumb question, but which way along the beach around Port A does the current usually flow, north or south? Or does it change with weather, season, etc?
Surf Fishing
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Last: 1 mo ago by chjoak
Predominant is North but it depends on seasons and whether there's any storms or loop currents impacting the western gulf.
Unfortunately there's not a nowcast with actuals for Corpus Christi Bay and nearby inlets like this one for West Matagorda.
https://www.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/ofs/ofs_animation.shtml?ofsregion=ng&subdomain=ma&model_type=currents_nowcast
Unfortunately there's not a nowcast with actuals for Corpus Christi Bay and nearby inlets like this one for West Matagorda.
https://www.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/ofs/ofs_animation.shtml?ofsregion=ng&subdomain=ma&model_type=currents_nowcast
K_P said:elnaco said:
-Bring some twine to catch blue crabs with either cast netted mullet or chicken necks bc blue crab is delicious and it's something to do to pass the time while you're waiting for a seamonster to take your chunk of cownose ray. Either hand line them or setup a clothesline on the first sandbar with a bunch of baited lines hanging down. Every 2 beers or so go out and pull up the lines and dip net any crabs hanging on. This will also keep kids entertained for hours.
Never knew you could catch them in the surf. Caught 5 blue crab in addition to 4 keeper trout today. Lots of fun!
So how did you catch them... what method? Bait? How would you set up a clothes line as mentioned?
_________________________________________
Spane Bohem
Spane Bohem
catching
1. drive two PVC pipes ~50yds apart in the first gut (aka wade gut). I positioned them so that one was in deeper water and one was in shallower water by the beach thinking maybe they were in one depth, but we caught crabs in all water depths.
2. Run kite string, twine, etc between the pipes.
3. Tie chicken pieces to short pieces of kite string. (I used expired chicken thighs that were forgotten in our garage freezer. He mentioned necks.)
4. Tie these short strings onto the main line at intervals (3-4 yds, idk.). Just like rigging a trotline, its easier to have the bait on short drops that are attachable to the main line so that the bait isn't causing the main line to tangle while you're setting it out. I didnt use any tackle or anything, just tied it on with granny knots and thew away the whole thing after i was done.
5. let baited lines soak 15-30 mins, longer or shorter
6. run the line by slowly lifting the main line. if you see a crab holding the chicken, put the net under him so that when he lets go he will fall into the net.
7. keepers = 5 inches
cooking
8. store keepers on ice, but let them breathe so they stay alive till you put them in the pot.
9. cook ~10 minutes in boiling water with heavy spices. i am not a believer in soaking crab but others might disagree.
10. serve with butter. use a butter knife to crack the claws and dont forget all the body meat. there are probably youtube videos on how to eat them.
1. drive two PVC pipes ~50yds apart in the first gut (aka wade gut). I positioned them so that one was in deeper water and one was in shallower water by the beach thinking maybe they were in one depth, but we caught crabs in all water depths.
2. Run kite string, twine, etc between the pipes.
3. Tie chicken pieces to short pieces of kite string. (I used expired chicken thighs that were forgotten in our garage freezer. He mentioned necks.)
4. Tie these short strings onto the main line at intervals (3-4 yds, idk.). Just like rigging a trotline, its easier to have the bait on short drops that are attachable to the main line so that the bait isn't causing the main line to tangle while you're setting it out. I didnt use any tackle or anything, just tied it on with granny knots and thew away the whole thing after i was done.
5. let baited lines soak 15-30 mins, longer or shorter
6. run the line by slowly lifting the main line. if you see a crab holding the chicken, put the net under him so that when he lets go he will fall into the net.
7. keepers = 5 inches
cooking
8. store keepers on ice, but let them breathe so they stay alive till you put them in the pot.
9. cook ~10 minutes in boiling water with heavy spices. i am not a believer in soaking crab but others might disagree.
10. serve with butter. use a butter knife to crack the claws and dont forget all the body meat. there are probably youtube videos on how to eat them.
The surf is perfect right now so go if you can.
It is so easy to be wrong—and to persist in being wrong—when the costs of being wrong are paid by others.
Thomas Sowell
Thomas Sowell
We're headed to Matagorda Friday evening through Sunday morning. I'm a freshwater fisherman who doesn't know a whole lot about saltwater even though I've been numerous times.
Looks like the wind is supposed to kick up. Any tips?
Looks like the wind is supposed to kick up. Any tips?
Wind looks about 15 mid day. Lighter in the mornings and evenings.
You can wade for trout or chunk bait. If you're going to soak bait, I'd start at the shell banks.
You can wade for trout or chunk bait. If you're going to soak bait, I'd start at the shell banks.
I don't know what any of that means. I know how to fish soft plastics and I'm assuming I'll be pretty limited to the surf without a boat.
Thisguy1 said:
I don't know what any of that means. I know how to fish soft plastics and I'm assuming I'll be pretty limited to the surf without a boat.
Did you read page 1 on this thread?
The shell banks are 3 ft tall banks of shell (not sand) that start at about 10 miles down Gorda.
I had not. Did a quick search for Matagorda and it sent me to the middle of the thread.
I appreciate it. Lots of good info.
I appreciate it. Lots of good info.
This may be a dumb question, but can you just walk east of the main road into the marshes and fish? Google maps shows some pools and eventually the bay, but I'd imagine that would depend on the tide.
Can you? Yes.
Do you want to? NO! It's knee to ball deep mud in most places. The places that aren't are full of oysters. Popular kayaking spot though.
Do you want to? NO! It's knee to ball deep mud in most places. The places that aren't are full of oysters. Popular kayaking spot though.
It is pretty tough to fish there bc of the mud. I'd you have a kayak it is a perfect launch spot though. If you don't get enough info from this thread pm me and I'll help you out. I'll be in Matty tish weekend as well but we are going offshore. Looks like it is going to be rough but it's the only chance I can go...and I freakin missed snapper season!
I've got an inflatable kayak we use when we float the Frio but I don't know that I trust it enough to get too far out in unfamiliar water.
I'll be with a guy fishes the surf a lot so I'll probably just bring my bass poles and tie on some artificials and hope for the best.
I'll be with a guy fishes the surf a lot so I'll probably just bring my bass poles and tie on some artificials and hope for the best.
That will def work! We fished surfside Sunday and caught several Trout from 14-16 but didn't keep any. We used topwaters, plastics, and croaker. It was a good time bit nothing to show for it on my dinner plate! Good luck to yall!
So ended up fishing the surf in Port A on and off throughout Saturday and Sunday when I wasn't lounging on the beach drinking beer. Caught a nice Pompano, which I had never caught before. Put up a great fight. Other than that it was just croaker and small trout. Had a great time though and the conditions on Saturday were nearly perfect.
Went to the jetty one morning with live shrimp and top waters...didn't catch anything. Must have just been a slow day; lots of people were there and I didn't see anyone reel anything in for the hour or so I was there.
Went to the jetty one morning with live shrimp and top waters...didn't catch anything. Must have just been a slow day; lots of people were there and I didn't see anyone reel anything in for the hour or so I was there.
SquirrellyDan said:
So ended up fishing the surf in Port A on and off throughout Saturday and Sunday when I wasn't lounging on the beach drinking beer. Caught a nice Pompano, which I had never caught before. Put up a great fight. Other than that it was just croaker and small trout. Had a great time though and the conditions on Saturday were nearly perfect.
What'd the pompano hit? Did you eat it (they're delicious)?
Thisguy1 said:
We're headed to Matagorda Friday evening through Sunday morning.
Any luck?
Nope. Wayyy too windy/rough to even try to work an artificial and we didn't have anything touch our cut bait. Nobody we talked to was catching any fish.
That's a bummer. Cut mullet? Still a bit warm for the big reds but there should be a some slots roaming the surf now.
Fished Matagorda Sat-Mon. Soaked cut mullet in the surf and nothing. Hung out with some old salts at the shell banks one evening and they only had a few undersized reds. Caught about 20 undersized reds in the marsh but no keepers.
Wondering what I should plan for tomorrow morning? Surf fishing surfside or trying to wade. If I wade, would it be best to try to be on the N or S shore? (I dont know much about wading.)
Try to find one of those Galveston wade fishing maps. They have good info on where to "put in" and water depth, structure, shell beds, etc. Here was a thread a few years back.
Wade Fishing
Back when I had time to fish, I would wade 8 1/2 Mile Road and San Luis Pass on the West, and Smith Point on the East.
Wade Fishing
Back when I had time to fish, I would wade 8 1/2 Mile Road and San Luis Pass on the West, and Smith Point on the East.
Went just south of the 20 on the National Seashore today soaking croaker in a very friendly surf. Nada.
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Renting a house next week on pointe west. Any recommendations on places to fish besides the beach? Don't have a boat or kayak
Thanks. Guess I should've waded. Surf conditions were really nice this morning but got skunked. There was absolutely no bait in the water any place along the beach. Not sure why, but the long shore current was stronger so maybe that had something to do with it.
Salt of the water said:SquirrellyDan said:
So ended up fishing the surf in Port A on and off throughout Saturday and Sunday when I wasn't lounging on the beach drinking beer. Caught a nice Pompano, which I had never caught before. Put up a great fight. Other than that it was just croaker and small trout. Had a great time though and the conditions on Saturday were nearly perfect.
What'd the pompano hit? Did you eat it (they're delicious)?Thisguy1 said:
We're headed to Matagorda Friday evening through Sunday morning.
Any luck?
To be honest, I didn't even know what it was until after I got back and looked it up. That's when I found out they're supposedly delicious. Oh well I'll know next time. He hit a love shrimp on a popping cork in the second gut. (Thanks to this thread I may be able to fool someone into thinking I know what I'm talking a about!)
I love hunting season! Just about had the beach to ourselves this weekend.
Good mix of oversized fish and upper slots in the surf right now. Cut whiting casted from the beach to the second gut was the ticket. Best bite was on the low tide.
Good mix of oversized fish and upper slots in the surf right now. Cut whiting casted from the beach to the second gut was the ticket. Best bite was on the low tide.
Mind sharing where you guys went?
Matagorda. The whole Texas coast should be loaded up with reds right now though because it's the peak of their spawning season. If your main goal is catching some bulls, I'd be targeting whatever pass is easiest for you to get to. There's a couple reasons:
1. Redfish spawn near the passes so the eggs/larvae can get washed into the bays to grow.
2. The North wind during the cold front pushes water (and therefore bait) out to the Gulf. Lots of mullet, shrimp, and crabs being flushed from the bays right now.
3. Passes are one of the most obvious forms of structure along the coast.
We camped out for the weekend so our goal was to get away from crowds. I set up on a wash (break in the sand bars where the longshore current drains out to sea) and that's where 75% of our bites came from. Finding some kind of structure is key because redfish love to have current bring the bait to them.
1. Redfish spawn near the passes so the eggs/larvae can get washed into the bays to grow.
2. The North wind during the cold front pushes water (and therefore bait) out to the Gulf. Lots of mullet, shrimp, and crabs being flushed from the bays right now.
3. Passes are one of the most obvious forms of structure along the coast.
We camped out for the weekend so our goal was to get away from crowds. I set up on a wash (break in the sand bars where the longshore current drains out to sea) and that's where 75% of our bites came from. Finding some kind of structure is key because redfish love to have current bring the bait to them.
Was gonna go night fishing at 91st pier with my dad last Saturday. We got there at 10pm and they were closing at 11. Didn't want to waste the drive so we went to Seawolf Park. Didn't get a single bite after a couple of hours so made an audible to head towards Pointe West. Caught a bunch of trash fish and this:
quad post!
quad post!
quad post!
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