Galveston Bay Fishing Locations – A Guide
The Galveston Bay complex covers many square miles including marshland and coastal shoreline. Dudes, it’s a huge area. Today, we are going to do a breakdown of the areas to help you gain some understanding.
Galveston Island is 30 miles long and only 2.5 miles wide at its widest point.
The gulf side of the island offers various fishing opportunities from pier fishing from one of the beach fishing piers, wading the 3 sandbars that stretch from the beach, and of course boat access through the two gulf passes.
The two gulf passes are: San Luis Pass on the far west end of the island and the Houston shipping channel pass on the far east end of the island.
The inland side of Galveston Bay stretches approximately 40 miles from Surfside, Texas to Baytown, Texas. Our business, Frenzy Guide Service operates almost exclusively in Galveston West Bay and Galveston Bay proper. If we are getting technical, Galveston Bay proper includes the areas of the bay around Bolivar Roads, the Galveston Jetties, the Galveston harbor, Pelican Island, and the Texas City dike. (The world’s longest man made fishing pier.)
I know that’s a lot of geography that you might not have been expecting, but I wanted to be sure to illustrate just how much fishable water there is around Galveston Bay. For now, I’ll focus on Galveston West Bay for this blog entry.
Galveston West Bay from east to west starts at the Galveston Causeway and stretches west to San Luis Pass on the Brazoria county border.
Fishing this bay system can be excellent year round if you focus on the right tactics and species during the various months of the year. West Bay also provides access to a few other bays and lakes surrounding the area. These include Bastrop Bay, Christmas Bay, Drum Bay, Chocolate Bay, Greens Lake and Carancahua Lake.
There are various well established oyster reefs and grass flats in West bay as well as many cuts and coves to keep you busy exploring different fishing opportunities in the bay.
Word of warning when attempting to fish any of West Bay and the surrounding lakes and bays – there are many reefs, sandbars and shallow flats throughout, so pay close attention to your maps and electronics when venturing into this bay system. This is when it can be extremely beneficial to take a trip with a fishing guide in Galveston Bay. They can show you how to navigate the local areas, and you’ll learn as much in a trip as you would in a whole season.
Primary species of fish in West Bay, Galveston
One of the most exciting developments is the resurgence of redfish. These iconic Galveston Bay species have started to show themselves in greater numbers, and we’re anticipating the return of the big bulls. Redfish enthusiasts, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for!
There are numerous species of fish here, but I’m just listing the fish we enjoy catching the most. Spotted sea trout (aka speckled trout), red drum (aka redfish), flounder (aka flattie), black drum, sheepshead, gafftopsail, lady fish, sand trout (aka sandy), spanish mackerel, pompano, alligator gar, southern kingfish (aka whiting), and atlantic croaker.
If you have questions on fishing this area, please reach out! The next few blogs will outline some of the tactics and tricks used to be successful when fishing in Galveston Bay, Texas.