Howdy Ags, I've been wanting to take some good brothers in law fishing for a long time, and this seems like the place to ask for recommendations and info. So, here's what I'm looking for. Any info, past experiences, expectations, etc., would be most welcome.

• This is for a group of 4 or 5 of us. We're all pretty novice fishermen. None of us own boats or regularly fish, although we all enjoy it. Definitely want to do this in the Gulf, in the salt, and have all the gear provided. Basically, I just want to show up and have some awesome guide lead us to catch a ton of fish.
• I'm thinking a full, single, day would suffice.
• If we catch something awesome, are there guides that will cook the fish for you or something along those lines as well? Seems like I've heard something about that in the past.
• Cost isn't really that much of an issue, unless we're talking something insane, but I'd like to get an idea of what to reasonably expect all the same.

Apologies if I'm scattershooting a little...I'm not really sure what more to even ask, which is why I'm starting here. Any thoughts or tips or heads up I can get, again, much appreciated!

Bay fishing, wade fishing, or deep water?

When you say Gulf Coast , do you have any locations in mind specifically ? Also do you mean off shore fishing or inshore ?

I can tell you in Corpus if you want a private guide who can go inshore or offshore I've really enjoyed fishing with capt. chris Shindledecker it's Laguna Moon outdoors. Just went Friday and limited on snapper , two mahi, and one ling. If weather is nice. Less than 15knts wind and 2 ft seas it will be a pleasant trip. If more than that he can do inshore and put ya on trout and red fish. You can then take your fillets to docs restaurant next door to the marina and they cook your catch !

If you're dead set on offshore regardless of conditions, try dolphin docks out of Port A ; they have state and federal snapper trips and much bigger boats. However you will be fishing with a bunch of other people on the boat.

You could also stay somewhere like red fish lodge in rock port or Baffin Bay gun n rod. All inclusive stay in nice facilities plus guided fishing. Believe they will cook your catch for you on site.

Keith Gregory in Port OConnor is my favorite.

https://m.facebook.com/keithgregoryfishingguide/

He can take out first timers or experienced folks. Amazing guy.

Not wade fishing, for sure. Bay fishing is probably the ticket. Most of what I've done in the past was around that old sunken concrete ship in Galveston. That certainly wasn't too deep.

I was thinking more Galveston actually, but I work a lot in Corpus so that would probably be fine as well. Generally speaking, is the bay fishing better at one place or another?

fightingfarmer09 said:

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Keith Gregory in Port OConnor is my favorite.

https://m.facebook.com/keithgregoryfishingguide/

He can take out first timers or experienced folks. Amazing guy.

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Awesome, thank you!

Did someone really just recommend a party boat?

Larger Limits of trout are probably easier to be had up north around Galveston (I recommend John havens- he took a boat of newbs and myself out of San Leon south east of Houston and we caught some good #s of trout out of the boat. )
Baffin if you want to fish for trophy trout. If you do Baffin Bay Rod N Gun and fish with capt Audrey black he wil put y'all on fish and you'll have first class accommodations!

Port O Connor is unique. Look up Mark Robinson if you wanna fish there. Can do trout/red fishing during day out of boat and flounder gigging at night too !

What's the cost on these type of trips?

Brandon Kendrick out of Port O'Connor does a great job. Always come home loaded up with fish. He also does some great duck hunts Or blast & cast trips in the fall.
(936) 671-3407
http://rfguideservice.com/

Bay flats lodge in sea drift is the place you are looking for. A+ accommodations, 5 star dining, and a great experience on the water. You will want to come down the day before to eat dinner and then be up for breakfast and set out. You literally walk across the street and step into a boat and are ready to go. The specialize on specks and reds but I'm sure they can do off shore too if you are interested. The trout have been awesome lately and the reds are picking up again. It is a great experience and makes for a nice get away

http://www.bayflatslodge.com/

Captain Paul Marcaccio

Paul fishes upper Galveston bay. He launches from San Leon or Texas City. He will put you on fish.

Capt Greg Verm with Fishing Galveston Texas. He is great with people of all skill levels. Im taking another group with him next week. Been on at least 20 trips with him over the past few years, never had a bad one.
Whoever you choose, sounds like you need to make sure your group all takes bonine/dramamine starting the day before the trip and the morning of.

Crusaders41 said:

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What's the cost on these type of trips?

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It's been a while, but I would ball park it at $400-500 for half a day (daybreak to lunch) full service. We usually take 4-5 people out at a time.

Keith cleans the fish, lines up good photos and always has extra rods ready to go so you never have down time.

Me & 2 friends just went on a 1/2 day bay trip in Port Aransas last Friday. We ended up booking with a guy that was recommended by some other friends that live down there. Before that, I had been emailing and calling other guides down there. It seems the rate is $475-$525 for 3 - 4 people. Some of them charged an extra $50 - $75 for an extra person.

My suggestion is start working the phone for whatever place you decide on, and tell them what you told us here.

The marina we launched out of had a place that cleaned & bagged the fish for us for 50 cents Lb. there are plenty of restaurants in Port A that will cook your catch for you. It has to be cleaned first. They don't take whole fish.