My buddy and I are planning to break free and go fishing this Friday late, Saturday , and possibly Sunday morning. We got a place on holiday beach and planned on fishing copano bay and rockport . What do we need to use and, when, where do we go . Have a 19' shoalwater, rookie driver ...I appreciate the help .

cant say for the boating, I dont take my skeeter to salt water, but as far as hooking into some good fish for a fight? Copano bay pier 8pm-6am.at lease 40lb test. 2 hook leader on the bottom in between the lights at night. use whole blue crab dont break it in half like some would suggest. the piggies will hollow them out and you will be fishing with a cab shell. By using whole crab you wont catch hard heads/perch/galftop etc. only the big ones. break the spikes off the sides of the crab (i think it lets some smell out in the water without letting the perch tear it up, then rip the legs off (taking the legs off makes it easier to cast further because the legs act like sails in the wind).chunk them babys out there and put a bell on your pole(s) and crack a cold one. then.....wait. last november I cought 18 black drum over 30 lbs. 5 were over 40lbs, lost 10+ big drum on top of that all in 8 hours. When the pole slams...dont set the hook. thats the drum crushing the crab. wait for your line to slowly start tighting up. they usually swim slow. once you feel it get tight. set it. I have gone out there with my buddies and had 20 poles out and didnt catch a thing. then I have gone out when there was no point is having more than 2 poles per person because the drum were running so hard. Hope yall catch the big one!

You have decent marsh just south, and a little ways north (near and in Copano Creek), of you. There are quite a few reefs in the bay that can be productive too.

You'll be close to Newcomb's Bend and Turtle Pen and wouldn't have to worry about any navigational issues coming from Holiday Beach. Turtle Pen a good place to fish in the winter time and I've had luck with Strawberry/white softplastics. If you're wanting to run to other parts of the bay from Holiday Beach you'll have to avoid parts of Lap Reef and especially Copano and Shellbank Reefs on Northwest Shoreline (though they would be good places to fish).

shoreline of San Jose island is protected from a offshore wind, and there are several reefs at the north end of the island.

As you can see reefs can be good (if you find them and fish them) or they can be really bad (if you're cruising on a plane and run into one)...get a map and take your time.

Thanks for the good tips . We did Good Friday evening on gulps and red plastics under popping cork.

Glad you has some success.

Fishing has been good in the Rockport area, finding trout on shell and both trout and reds over grass, with some flounder tossed in the mix.

Just get some live shrimp. Anything will eat live shrimp. If your going for something bigger just use cut mullet. This time of year might be good for some trout under the lights. Just watch for the tides coming in and out.