I've never fished in or seen the gulf or any salt water but have always wanted to,I have a tunnel bay boat and I'm making plans to go in may and would like any any tips and areas to fish when I get there, I would like to find a guide to go with me in my boat the first day but don't have a lot of cash, seems
like they all want 600 and up and I just can't swing that.

i would fish the ICW and at the lil jetties till u get a feel for things,...a gps will help u get to the big jetties when u feel adventurous...a depthfinder is mandatory in my opinion.sev bait shops along the icw.clarks is my fav pl to stay.

Well let me warn you about fishing at the jetties. It can be a ton of fun but you gotta know what you're doing out there. Any pass to open water can get treacherous during a moving tide. You need to know when the tides are changing. With currents moving in different directions and colliding the jetties can turn into a washing machine in no time.

You need to be able to recognize when it's time pull up and run inside. You need to learn how to safely "surf" back in on the back of a swell and know when it's safe to overtake swells.
You need to know when it's safe to anchor from the stern and when you shouldn't. Personally, I wouldn't but I've seen guys do it. I've also seen guys sink their boats doing that too.

In short, I've spent days offshore where we traveled 100+ miles and the roughest water we see all day is at the mouth of the jetties. Just be careful and take your time getting to learn to navigate them.

In my opinion, you have selected the best place to try and fish. POC is a true fishing town, although it can get crowded on a summer weekend, it is still not as crowded as PA/Rockport. There is also a variety of fishing there also.

Right off the ICW there are several inlets to the bays for some great shallow water fishing. The problem is, if you don't know where you are going, it can get shallow very fast. I would definately get someone to come with you that knows the back bays, or you might get stuck on a sand bar.

I have a 21' bay stealth, and I fish the jetties or some of the near by rigs. I would second what landpirate said about the conditions at the jetties. It can get very nasty at the end of the jetty, so take caution when going through it. Typically about a 1/4 mile past the end of the jetty, what you see is what you will get for the rest of your ride.

I like to anchor around the end of the south jetty and fish with shrimp, croakers, mullet or sardines. I always keep one of my big poles rigged with a ballon as a float with a sardine or mullet. You can catch some big jacks, red drum and sharks at the end of the jetties.

The other option, if the seas are good, is to head to the Rig that you can see in the distance. It is a 4 platform rig and holds a lot of fish. You can generally limit on kings, sometimes catch cobia, big drum, big sharks and bottom fish for smaller snapper. Generally the snapper at this rig are right at the size limit, and I believe that is because of the fishing pressure. If you get adventurous and have a buddy boat, there are some great rigs farther out that hold much bigger snapper and cobia, since they don't get fished much.

All in all a great place to fish, as always stay safe and have fun.

Hey dpssmith -

Go to www.texasflats.net. Put an ad that you want to take out a local guy with knowledge of the area on your boat. There are some really great guys that will trade their knowledge for your boat and gas.

If no one jumps onboard, email me and I will try to hook you up with a friend there.

I don't think I'll get to far out , not sure if my 19 ft super tunnel will handle it. I will put your suggestion to use when I get there, Thanks for your help.

Good idea thanks.