About 10 years ago my wife & I spent a week in Corpus up to Galveston just sightseeing on the coast. We came across a bridge that the middle was broken out of & people walked in and fished from it. Another road had been built close to it to replace the broken bridge. It was just off the gulf. I'd like to come down in April and try fishing from it for some fun (from Kansas) & I can't remember where it is for sure, can any of you help me? I've always wanted to fish Saltwater from shore just to see what I could catch, if anyone has suggestions on where to fish or where this bridge is PLEASE let me know. Thanks

Could this be Copano Bay bridge you're talking about, just north of the Rockport/Fulton beach area? Here are a couple of pics.

That looks like it, could you give me directions to it please? Thank You so much for the info.
Any tips for someone that has never shore fished like this?

Found it on Google Maps! By Port Aransas, this is the place.
Any other suggestions on where would be good fishing for a flat lander like me?

I'm a real novice at this, what pound of line should I use, Bait, lures, etc.
Any and all help would be appreciated, I'm going down in April.

The bridge you've located "near Port Aransas" is probably not the one you're looking for. Go back to your map and look north of there, just past Rockport/Fulton. That'll be the Copano Bay bridge.

Right next to the Lyndon B Johnson Causeway, says Copano Bay Fishing Pier & it's the old Bridge.

Any other suggestions on where would be good fishing for a flat lander like me?

I'm a real novice at this, what pound of line should I use, Bait, lures, etc.
Any and all help would be appreciated, I'm going down in April.

Thank You again for your help.

Steve, it's on state highway 35 about 5 miles north of Rockport and about 50 miles south of Port Lavaca. It's near Aransas county airport. It's on this map between points a and b.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&su...mp;ved=0CAUQtgM

That's the one I found! I'm going to see what I can catch off of there in April......

Fishing off the lights there at night is pretty productive. Lots of trout for sure. I have even seen huge drums being pulled up.

Do you take a net on a rope to pull up the fish you hook. The guys I talked with while I was there had made a round hoop with a net on it & 3 ropes they would let it down to the water & then pull the fish into it & then pull up the net. If you have any suggestions I'm open to listen!

Yup, you are talking about the old Copano Bay Bridge just above Rockport crossing Copano Bay. You should have a grand time catching trout under the lights at night and you could even catch a huge black drum if you use the right bait and correct # test line. The object you are describing is called a pier net and you can purchase them at any tackle shop in the area. I've seen them made out of bicycle wheel frames with nets connected, but they usually don't last long in the salty water. All depends on how often you will use one that determines if the cost is right or not. If you go fishin' and don't have a pier net, do a lot of shouting if you catch a big drum and someone who does have one will come to your rescue.

Well, I thought I had a real good pier net, however a 4 foot blacktip took great offense to being put in the net. The netting will never be the same, but the teethmarks on the frame look pretty cool.

So how about a few tips on correct # test line, mono or braid, bait, etc.......
Any help and or tips would be GREATLY appreciated. I've never fished in Saltwater except in Mexico trolling from a large boat, so this type of fishing is new to me.

Steve - I have never fished on that specific bridge, but I have spend a lot of time fishing for speckled trout at night off of private and public piers. I use a 6.5 ft. spinning rod with medium/light action and 8 lb. test mono. Best lures mimic the bait fish, so look for TTKs, Salt Water Assassins, etc. in lighter colors (clear, white, yellow). A freshwater bass lure that works really well is the Charlie Brewer Slider worm in clear with flecks. Put these on a one-eigth ounce jig head and fish them slowly on the edges of the lights with twitches. Of course live shrimp works well too, if you are so inclined.

Is better to fish with braid +fluorocarbon leader.Sometime you can catch more trout with jig and BASS ASSASSIN CURLY TAIL 2 INCH,CHARTREUSE and CRYSTAL if the bait in the light is small(glass minnow etc.)

Thanks JCG & Jean for the tips, I'm writing all these down so that I have an idea of what to do when I get there. Coming down the last week of April, my B-Day present to myself!

I fish on the copano bridge all the time with my 12yr old son we always did good on gulf shrimp glow, natural or penny with a 1/8 to 1/4 oz jig head on light tacle about 12 to 15 lbs braid and about 2ft of 15lbs flouro. lots of nice sand trout and smaller specks but its always fun for my kids and me to catch and release them, sometimes we fish until daybreak and sept. or oct. we also catch some pompano.

I usually fish with Mirrolures (classics). Chartreuse, white with a red head, or some sort of pink/chartreuse color, 15lb test fluro. The trout chase them from the edge of the light all the way in.
Just be super careful as you know. I swear my worst fear is falling off there. This past summer, we had a trout or a red on the line and a dolphin came through and latched on to the fish and took off about 60 mph. It was wild and almost cut my husband's finger off, with gloves on. It happened so fast, he could have easily been yanked off. When those dolphins come through we don't cast anymore lol.

IF you're looking to catch a huge black drum, you'll need a medium heavy rod with a reel that can handle at least 30# test line. You will need this tackle to keep the fish from going under or around the pier structure. Keep the fish out and away from the pier structure until the fish is pretty tired, then bring it closer.
Good luck!! Oh, it works best if you use 1/2 of a crab as bait with a large hook.

Thanks FL

go to Tackle Town, about 1 mile s. of the bridge in Rockport.
right on the highway, big sign.
Those folks are really helpful getting you started
down there.

Thanks for the info lite=liner!