What to expect from TS Hermine

The side effects of Tropical Storm Hermine will disrupt fishing in the Galveston area for the next day or two. That is not what most of us wanted to hear; however, this is much better to deal with than a storm headed directly for our area. By Thursday or Friday, conditions should begin to return to normal for this time of year.

Sammy Medcalf sent a note asking what effects Hermine will have on fishing after all of the wind, rain and rough seas pass. Will it change our fishing patterns, and what about tarpon?

At this point, the only effects for this area are forecast to be higher-than-normal tide levels along with turbulent weather.

Offshore, we might see the surface fish scatter; however, for tarpon, once the water settles, expect to see them roaming the surf. During the period of choppy to rough surf, bull reds should start to make a run. The 61st Street Fishing Pier reported catches of bull reds along with other fish; however, nothing indicated a running of the bulls was taking place.

Higher-than-normal tides should activate the back bays and marshes. Reds typically will follow the higher water levels in pursuit of new feeding grounds. Among the places to watch for reds this week are Jones Lake, Greens Lake and Carancahua Lake, all just off the Intracoastal Waterway between Tiki Island and Carancahua Reef.

The big holiday weekend saw a lot of visitors to the island, and many of them made it fishing. Unfortunately, results overall were disappointing.

There have been some rumors floating around that the opening of the Texas City Dike would be delayed; however, at press time Monday, plans to open the dike at 6 a.m. Saturday had not changed.

Two reports were received from the weekend. One from Lorenzo Garcia, who took his two sons, Matthew and Jonathan, fishing out of Bayport, where Matthew caught a croaker, and Jonathan a flounder. The other was from Troy Smith, who, along with his friend Daniel Roach, fished the North Jetty Boat Cut on Saturday morning. The highlight of their trip was Daniel landing a 44-inch bull red, his first.

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.