Hi me and my good lady are heading over to Texas in early September from New Zealand.
We are both very keen fishos, regularly heading out to fish for snapper, kingfish (think you guys callem amberjacks), trevally, Blue cod, hapuka (bass) ect.
I have heard stories that you guys have got an awesome fishery out there with some great sport fishing to be had.

If anyone could advise us on a good charter boat heading out from Galveston that would suit the keen sport fisherman/women it would be much appreciated.
Both of us are looking forward to having our arms stretched on some Texas monsters of the deep.

Thanks in advance and tight lines

Chris and Amanda

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but some of the prime species in the Gulf of Mexico (red snapper and amberjack) will have closed seasons in September.

Your best fishing opportunity in September will likely be coastal/inshore fishing for big redfish (google "red drum") and other nearshore species, like speckled trout. You might have a decent shot at tarpon in September as well.

The good news is that there's lots of good charter boats who can take you out for this kind of fishing. Don't have any specific recommendations off the top of my head, but you'll get good advice from the guys on here.

*edit* If you don't mind being on a partyboat, one option to consider is an overnight tuna trip. Both Capt Williams and Galveston party boats offer these trips in their schedule, and September can be a good time to run into yellowfin tuna along with other pelagic species like wahoo and dorado.

https://charterfishinggalveston.com/activities/36-hour-deep-sea-tuna-trip/

http://www.galvestonpartyboatsinc.com/pricing.html

There are a lot more fish out there than red snapper and amberjack. September can be some prime fishing. I'd rather catch vermillion snapper than a red snapper anyway. The bottom fishing on the tuna trips can be out of sight. BTW, Uncle Zeek, Capt. Elliot's has been gone for years.

Just re-read what I posted. I meant Capt Williams in Galveston. My apologies, its been a few years since I did a tuna trip.

Awesome thanks guys. We don't have seasons for fish here in NZ so good to know.
Will check those links out uncle zeek much appreciated.

Cheers

That's OK, I miss Capt Elliot's, especially the Big E.

I highly recommend Roy Crabtree to straighten that situation out for you.

Ha just looked this Roy Crabtree guy up......hes a wanka.

ONE: how can a even 500 recreational fishos even equal the catch of two trawlers.
TWO: Its not like we sight fish for snapper in 30mtrs of water. whats to stop you getting them as bycatch.
THREE: if your snapper are anything like NZ snapper if you pull them up from any more than 20mtrs they suffer barametric shock and have a one in 3 chance at servival.

We have a strictly enforced size limit (30cms) and catch limit (7 fish per angler).
If you guys are interested you should check out Legasea
https://www.legasea.co.nz/
they are a non profit supporting sustaining fish stock against heavy commercial fishing.

Cheers
really looking forward to being over there

Yeah, grouper and snapper are both susceptible to barotrauma, as are many popular rockfish species on the West coast. Some bright boys are figuring out deep-water release methods that improve survival rates dramatically, like 90%+ survival rates. Here's a link to one good study:

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishingsportfishinginfo.rockfishconservation

Various governments are -- slowly!! -- figuring out that mortality rates of released fish are important if they want to conserve fisheries. Better deep-water release methods help improve survival rates. Of course, it also helps to drastically reduce commercial fisheries too, but that's an uphill battle.