Galveston Bay Fishing Report 6-20-11

Well it has been awhile since I have posted anything on this blog. Sorry about that, for awhile I couldn't sign in to my account. My computer needed some work done and blogger made some changes that caused me to not be able to log in. Alls well now. As for fishing ... well it's been more about the winds than fishing. June is almost over and we are still experiencing 20 mph plus winds!  I am use to some winds in March & April, but all of May and now into June. I have been fishing the Galveston Bay Complex for over 25 yrs. and I personally don't remember such a windy year. The wind has had such a bad affect on our bay system and it makes fishing really though. Earlier this week we were able to get out and catch some quality trout early in the morning. I am very impressed with the size of the speckled trout we are catching. The numbers are there when we have had quality weather, but the wind has caused us to stay near the shorelines and fish protected areas. There are some good fish out there in our bays especially around the mid bay reefs, but we can't fish them on a consistent basis. Good news is it can only get better! We are suppose to get some rain this week and the winds are going to lay down. (HOPEFULLY) I look forward to the change in weather and being able to fish instead of cancelling and rescheduling so many trips. I have some customers that have rescheduled 2-4 times. I want to thank all of you that have been patient. Well hopefully my next report will be full of good news and great reports. Here are some pictures of some of our recent trips. Until next time see, you on the water.

Capt. Alan
Galveston Fishing Trips
Galveston Bay Fishing Guides

Spring Winds In Full Force

In one of my earlier blogs I stated that we had a great week of weather and that the usual spring winds weren't that bad. Well mother nature sure has made up for that! It has been an extremely windy month of April and the past 2 weeks have been the worse. This past week we have had 20 mph plus winds almost every day. I have only ventured out 4 days during this period and we did catch some fish, but it was really bumpy out there. I'm a fishing guide that would rather be safe and try to reschedule a trip, than going out on every trip regardless of the weather conditions. I don't like to miss out on my scheduled trips, but is it really worth all the hassle? Safety and catching fish are my main concerns for my customers. I'm not trying to tell other guides how to run their business, but I do question how some guides will put your safety in jeopardy or just take your money for a fishing trip that they know you are not going to enjoy. Sure there are some days when we can get out there on windy days and catch some nice fish. I'm sure we all have had those days, but they are not that common. Most of the time when we have 20 mph plus windy days, the fishing all over suffers. What about protected shore lines? Yes they can be your best chance to catch fish and that is where I would go, but the fish have to be there for that to be successful. Not only are we getting these very windy days, we are in a serious drought. The schools of fish are really spread out right now. The bays are very salty and fish are everywhere. The concentrated schools of fish that we are usually on this time of the year just aren't there this year yet. Now all this being said as soon as these winds lay and we get some rain, things will change. I'm looking forward to that day! Well be safe out there and good luck fishing.

Capt. Alan
Galveston Fishing Trips
Galveston Bay Fishing Guides

Spring Break Trips

Well we were very blessed this week with good weather. Every year during Spring Break we seem to get blown off the water with 25-35 mph winds, but all past week the winds were good. We did have a couple of days of stiff wind, but we were able to fish every day. My brother and I really had very productive days on the water. Every trip produced over 25-75 fish caught and our customers were very pleased. These trips are great for the kids and families just wanting to catch some fish. We caught red fish, sheep head, puppy drum, bull drum, whiting, sand trout and gulf trout. Some clients went home with 5 gallon baggies full of fillets, while others didn't keep a fish. The beauty of these trips are people catch a lot fish and have a great time. I will still be offering these trips all of April and the way it is looking we will start targeting speckled trout in about 2 weeks. There have been some specks being caught around the bay system lately and it looks like this year is going to be a great one for speckled trout. Even though we caught a lot of quality trout last year, we caught more juvenile trout (14-16 in.) trout last year than we have in many years. Good news is those trout will be good quality 17-20 inch trout this year. Well this blog is now ranked on the Search Engines so hopefully I will start getting some responses from some of my readers. I have checked the views on this site and it is over 300 so if you feel like leaving a comment please do. Look for a post in about a week.

Capt. Alan

Galveston Bay Fishing Reports
Galveston Bay Fishing Guides

Fishing Show - Spring Break Special

Well we had our annual Fishing Show at the George B. Conv. Center this past week and again we had a very successful show. This time of the year is very exciting for us because we traditionally start fishing on a regular basis. The phone starts ringing and our regular customers along with new ones start booking fishing trips. The weather is still kinda tricky during March and April so we offer a special for $375.00. We go to the jetties or some near shore reefs and catch a variety of species. We don't target speckled trout, we catch red fish, sheep head, puppy drum, over sized drum, whiting, sand trout and bull croaker. These are great trips for kids, families and anglers who want an exciting day on the water. The schools of speckled trout usually move in around the beginning or middle of April and are much more consistent, so we will target them then.

While I was at the Fishing Show there was a lot of talk about a gas ser-charge and the possible 5 trout limit all along the entire Texas Gulf Coast. Well I talked to a friend of mine that works for the TP&W Dept. and he said that at the last scope meeting in Austin in January, the decision was made against the proposed 5 trout limit for the upper coast. He told me that all the data on our speckled trout supports that they are in excellent shape and there is no need for a change in our daily limits. Of course that is great news for me and my business, but what is really important is knowing that our fishery is in such great condition! Regardless of your opinion or mine for or against a 5 tout limit, our speckled trout are not in decline and there is data supporting that they are actually in as good of shape as the 1990s. This is good for all of us and especially our youth.

Now as far as the gas ser-charge goes, there are some mixed opinions about this subject. I wanted to get the opinions of other guides on this matter. What most of the guides are saying is that they are planning on charging a ser-charge and others are planning on just going up on there trip prices altogether. Now I would love to hear from some of you and get your opinion on this subject. My opinion is I think my brother and I will have to charge a gas ser-charge if the gas reaches $4.00 a gallon. I don't want to include a gas charge in my trip rates and just charge more across the board. If we charge a ser-charge then when the gas prices fall, we can stop the ser-charge and just charge our regular trip fees. Well I hope to hear from some of you, it is real easy to sign up for this blog. You don't have to worry about your privacy or any spam. Google only wants your e-mail add. and a password so they can verify that you are not a spammer, that you are of age (13) and a real human. (not a computer) I am going to start posting some fishing reports on here soon. Look foward to your comments.

Capt. Alan

Galveston Bay Fishing Guides
Galveston Fishing Guides

Galveston Bay Fishing Trip Pictures

Here are some pictures from some of our fishing trips from last year.  I will be posting new photos throughout the year along with some fishing reports, hope you enjoy all of them.

Capt. Alan

Galveston Fishing Trips

Galveston Bay Fishing Trips

Choosing The Right Fishing Guide For Your Trip

When you are getting ready to book a fishing guide for your first or next guided fishing trip, there are so many important things you need to consider. Depending on what type of trip you are planning to take, your captain’s experience and knowledge of the waters that you will be fishing should be at the top of your list. An experienced fishing guide will give you a better chance of having a safe, memorable and successful trip. An experienced and knowledgeable fishing guide will know where to fish according to the water and weather conditions and is usually on good schools of fish. Nothing can replace the countless hours and many days spent on the water that the best guides will have. Adjusting to the feeding patterns, knowing what the fish are feeding on, knowledge of the entire area, knowing the bays and lakes that you will be fishing are all very important factors to consistently catching fish. An experienced fishing guide has spent many days on the water in different weather conditions and will have all these very important qualities.

Once you have narrowed your choices down to a few experienced fishing guides, you then must consider a few other things. A fishing guide’s reputation is also very important. Just like in every profession you have some great, good and also bad guides. Most good fishing guides will work extremely hard to put you and your guest on fish, but there are some fishing guides out there that are just looking forward to the next booking. Do a little research on them, check their reviews on the Internet, look at their supporters and sponsors, and check out their website. Find out if he give back to the community, does he belong to organizations that help with fishing issues, does he give seminars, offer classes on fishing and does he work with the youth. Having a good long conversation with your fishing guide before you decide to book with him is something I highly suggest. You can tell a lot about someone from their personality. Ask a lot of questions. A fishing guide that is considered as one of the best in his region has surely earned his good reputation through a lot of hard work and doing things right over the years.

Of course we all want the best deal out there. The old saying "you get what you pay for" couldn't be truer with this industry. Most all the captains in their region usually charge around the same price for a fishing trip. You should be aware of the guides and fishing services that are charging a lot less for their service. There is probably a reason why they are charging less and undercutting other fishing guide’s prices. Don't make the mistake that many other anglers do by sacrificing your fishing experience to save a little extra money. Also pay attention to how many hours you are receiving for your fishing trip. Sometimes the cheaper trip is also less hours on the water. All in all most fishing guides out there are professional and courteous and will treat you right. Just take a little time to research your guide before you book your fishing trip and choose the right guide for your fishing needs. Try to hire a fishing guide that really cares about fishing and one that gives that little extra something to his clients, usually your gut feeling is right !

Capt. Alan

Galveston Fishing Charters
Galveston Bay Fishing Charters

New Speckled Trout Daily Bag Limit Proposal

As I said, I write articles from time to time and here's one that I thought would be perfect for my first blog on here. I'm a fishing guide so this subject really is important to me. In 2007 the daily speckled trout limit was reduced from 10 specks to 5 specks south of the Land Cut along the Texas Gulf Coast. The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department determined after eight years of research that there was a steady decline in the population of mid-size speckled trout from south of Port Mansfield. State biologist believe the decline was from an increase in fishing pressure and some slight over-harvesting by anglers. The decline was exclusive to speckled trout, no other fish species from south of Port Mansfield seemed to have any issues with a decline in population.  Four years later there are some serious discussions of changing the daily bag limit for speckled trout all along the Texas Gulf Coast to 5 speckled trout per day.

My obvious question here is, is a lower bag limit really needed? If the answer is yes, then what should the daily limit be? According to most research done by the TP&W Dept. the mid to upper Texas coast is in good shape as far as speckled trout and overall species is concerned. The TP&W Dept. has scheduled a series of scoping meetings in Austin Texas on January 26th & 27th 2011 to outline any problems and discuss a range of management solutions. The TP&W Dept. will meet and will most likely reveal projected outcomes of any and all rule changes in these meetings. The good news for us is if a change is proposed, the rule would be posted on the Texas Register. This means that the public will be able to voice their opinions and make comments. If there is a major support in favor of change, this could lead to a vote in Austin during the March 31st commissions meeting. There could be no vote and no rule change if the public response is to just leave the rule as is.

It might be important to you to know how our fish population is researched and how outcomes are acquired. Statewide speckled trout abundance is gauged by spring gill nets and creel nets conducted by state coastal fisheries staff. According to their latest results speckled trout has held fairly steady over the past decade. In some recent years, rates of specks have been higher in some bay systems since the standardized surveys began in the 1970s. There has been a slight decline over the past couple of years. The surprising data is that the gill net catch rate of trout is still higher than it was for much of the 1980s and 1990s. According to the coastal fisheries staff, the numbers of speckled trout have not declined much over the past decade. Overall the fish population including speckled trout along the Texas Gulf Coast is steady, with some years better than others.

Regardless if you are in favor of a change or not, this is a very important matter if you are a Texas saltwater fishermen. This proposed rule change affects all gulf coast fishermen. I'm a fishing guide and I make my living catching speckled trout. What kind of an affect will this have on my business if this rule becomes law? On the other hand I understand that we have to think about our future fishery. My problem with all this is there are some biologists that believe a change is needed to assure that the trout population will prosper for years to come and others that say no change is need. After four years of a 5 trout limit regulation on the lower gulf coast, there are still mixed reviews. Again some say it hasn't changed the trout population at all while others say it as helped. I guess it all comes down to how we want to manage our fishery. There is a good chance that no rule will be proposed, but if it does go to a vote and passes it will go into effect September 1st 2001. I welcome your comments and opinions.

Capt. Alan Pereyra
Galveston Fishing Guides
Galveston Bay Fishing

WELCOME TO GALVESTON BAY FISHING BLOG !!!

My name is Alan Pereyra and I am a full time fishing guide on Galveston Bay in Texas. I have decided to create this blog for many reasons. There will be a variety of subjects discussed on this blog, but the main one will be about fishing the Galveston Bays. I also write articles about fishing for sporting magazines and article directories. I specialize in building fishing websites and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). So you can imagine the fun we will have on this blog. All I ask is for you to be respectful. Please no profanity or nudity! I'm looking forward to hearing from you and hope you enjoy this blog.

Capt. Alan
Galveston Fishing
Galveston Bay Fishing Guides