Fishing is busting wide open after the high tides and strong winds associated with Hurricane Ida.
To no one’s surprise, flounder action has returned to its prime, and the peak of the fall run might not be far away.
Reds and trout are biting in good numbers all around the Galveston Bay Complex, and the good news is fishing might even get better toward this weekend.
Several months ago, I donated a fishing trip to the silent auction fund-raiser for D’ Feet Breast Cancer, and Wednesday, the high bidder took his trip.
Dr. Walter Meyer, of Galveston, his favorite fishing companion and wife, Olivia, along with their son-in-law, Dr. John de Groot, of Houston, were my guests.
Tuesday evening, the good doctor told me they were interested in fishing for flounder and that is what we sought.
Close to sunrise, we pulled away from the dock and headed to the area adjoining the yacht basin where I have had a lot of success catching flounder around the pilings and piers just north of the wall.
We fished that area for almost an hour, with nothing but big blue crabs attacking our mullet.
We then moved to the cedars of Pelican Island, just across the channel. It didn’t take long after we anchored before the action started.
An incoming tide started moving about 9 a.m., and that is when the flounder started hitting.
We ended the morning by running out of live fingerling mullet and shrimp and returned to the dock with seven flounder up to 22 inches.
The fish, overall, were larger than those taken during my last trip to that spot.
Limits were easy to come by for others fishing close by.
A reader named Sam, from Missouri City, was fishing nearby at Seawolf Park and called in to report most everyone fishing from the park was limiting out on flounder.
He had his two fish within 45 minutes after arriving.
Bryan Treadway sent a note to say Chocolate Bay is on fire. Trout and reds have been hitting consistently in that area.
According to his report, Howard Okabayashi has been slaughtering them in a place that most anglers pass by.
The marshes above Chocolate Bay and all around Galveston Bay are draining after the extraordinary high tides, and lots of baitfish are being flushed into the bays. That is added good news.
Speaking of Chocolate Bay and Bayou, Lute’s Marine in Liverpool is having its last tournament of 2009 Saturday.
This is one of the tournaments that collects live flounder for transport to Sea Center Texas and its restocking efforts.
My good friends Joe and Phil Ortiz, manufacturers of the popular Flounder Pounder Lure, will be on hand at the weigh-in with an assortment of their baits.
Phil will be giving a demonstration on how to flounder fish and use the Flounder Pounder.
For information about the tournament, call Lute’s Marine at 281-393-1021.
In other fishing news, Vicki Pike, The Fish Spot, reported a Moses Lake catch of two reds and a sheepshead by Bruce Sammint.
