Hello My name is SSG Hackett, I am moving to Fort Hood, TX at the end of November. I have 2 boys 7 & 8 years old. I am looking for anyone who can tell me where I can go and take my boys salt water fishing. They are big into wanting to catch sharks but I think they really don't care what they catch as long as they are catching fish. Any help would be great.

to the TFF

It's not salt water but, Lakes Belton and Stillhouse are really close to Killeen. You could contact BASSATTACKER(here on the TFF) he is stationed at Ft. Hood. He is a great guy and I sure he could point you in the right direction.

Whats going on brother I was stationed in fort hood before I got out, Good luck. Well if you wanna go saltwater fishing the closest place is prolly going to be galveston. Thats gonna be about a 4 and a half hour drive from killeen. Which isnt bad especially on a 3 or 4 day weekend. as far as specific places Im sure someone on here will help you out. But the south jetty, or north jetty are good. And any where along the seawall.

Yeah Lake belton is pretty good.

SSG Hackett,

I grew up in Killeen.

Fresh water:
Belton Lake
Stillhouse Lake

Saltwater:
big variety in choices, but 4-5 hours from Killeen.
Corpus Christi (bob hall pier, port aransas jetties)
Matagorda (mouth of the colorado river or surf fish the beaches)
Quintana (bryan beach state park...surf fish)
Surfside (surfside jetties or surf fish)
San Luis Pass (surf fish...be very careful at the pass due to strong currents...stay on land always)
Galveston (Sea Wolf Park Pier or bank fish...East beach south jetties...jetties along the seawall...or surf fish)
Bolivar Peninsula (north jetties...rollover pass...crystal beach...high island...surf fish)

Bullreds are still running the beaches and sharks have been thinning out. FYI, if you decide to surf fish, alot of beaches require a beach permit (~$10). You can call the city or county or you can just post up here and we can tell you if you'll need a permit for a specific place.

Good luck

Thanks a lot that is very helpful and I will get a lot of use out of the info. I will look into the plsce you named I am sure I will see a few of them. What types of fish run and when do they run.

Matagorda is the best man, just hit the beach, and throw out some shrimp, simplest way to get started surf fishing.. you can watch my matagorda fishing videos (2 parts) to get an idea of what its like down there.. great place to go for a 4 day weekend, camping, and you can even rent a nice house on the river right where it goes into the gulf. my youtube video link is on my signature. Lots of redfish, black drum, croaker etc down there.. 20something miles of beach you can drive / camp on. PINS is like 60 something miles you can drive on, and im sure there are others as well... we caught a lot of black drum down there in the winter / early srping, and I always catch redfish and croakers. Good luck!

how about anywhere close for Port A. would like to take my sons 7, 10, 12, 16 ... anywhere off a pier or bay bank.

any tips for helping them not snag. how big of hooks.

we don't care about size or type. just wants the boys to catch fish. lots of them.

thanks J

Hey Eddie, how do you get to matagorda? We are going next weekend.

This wouldn't be a SSG Hackett that spent quite some time at Ft. Bragg would it? The SSG Hackett with the kickin' moustache?

I don't think I am the one you are talking about. I was at Bragg from 00-02 but never had a moustache and I was a SPC back then.

First off, SSG Hackett, thanks for serving and help protect all of us Americans. So, if your boys would like to catch shark, try San Luis Pass. For flounder - South Jetty, wade fishing - try the pocket at the north jettie which is across the ferry. You could take them down to Rollover Pass - which, you cross the ferry and drive about 15 or 20 mins down to the pass - you come up to a bridge which is the pass. Try pulling up Google Earth. I use it to find different places to wade fish. You can find roads that will take you to the bays, and you can zoom in to see if they are open access or not. GOOD LUCK!

Town Lake (Lady Bird Lake now) in Austin isn't bad either. They rent kayaks there and at dusk you can see the bats. Also, you can swim at Barton Springs where the water is always 70 degrees.