Large trout come out of hiding

The northerly winds during the past couple of days might be sending signals to flounder and reds to get ready for fall. Normally around the Labor Day holiday, we begin seeing more and more red fish start moving. Flounder action begins to pick up as well. Trout action has slowed a bit; however, it appears some of the larger trout are coming out of hiding.

Just in time for fall bull red action, the 61st Street Fishing Pier announced it now is open 24 hours, seven days a week.

Jason Reuter, Aunt Margie’s Bait Camp, reported an 8-pound, 29-inch trout caught by Wayne Neill. The trophy trout was caught at the point on Offatts Bayou using live fingerling mullet for bait.

Bait purveyor Joshua Gibson and his friend Pat wade-fished the Bolivar Flats on Thursday and limited out on trout in less than three hours. Free-lined croaker and pumpkin seed artificials accounted for all of the fish. Gibson said seven of the fish weighed more than 5 pounds.

Jeff Sen, of Dripping Springs, fished Cold Pass and found the channel full of fish. Lots of 18-inch reds and ironically 18-inch flounder were caught.

Sarah Melcer and her fishing dog, Abby, hit the Texas City Dike on Thursday. Fishing the channel side, they caught and released 20 blacktip sharks up to 3 feet long and one gafftop. The fish were caught using bobbers and bottom fishing.

Capt. Mike Williams, Tarpon Express Guide Service, fished Tarpon Alley off Rollover Pass on Friday morning and found a heard of bull reds roaming the area.

The fish were working under slicks, and William’s charter landed 24 up to 35 pounds. Lots of blacktip sharks up to 140 pounds were caught as well. Williams said the water was rough but in good condition, and the reds looked as if they were heading toward Galveston.

Maurice Ledbetter and Jonathan White fished Moses Lake near the floodgates Thursday and landed five reds, two of which were keepers, a flounder and 17 sand trout. Live shrimp fished under popping corks was the bait.

Anglers fishing around lighted piers and docks along Dickinson Bayou have been landing some nice trout at night, according to unconfirmed reports from that area.

Several readers have inquired about the term “tagged trout,” mentioned in the caption of Friday’s Reel Report. The term was a misprint, as there are no tagged trout as part of the CCA-Texas Star Fishing Tournament, only tagged reds. The trout mentioned was weighed in. Tagged reds are tendered for verification.

To get your catch in the Reel Report, phone Capt. Joe Kent at 409-683-5273, or send an e-mail to reel.report(at)galvnews.com. There’s no charge for this service.