The title says it. I would like some recommendations for a bay guide that works well with kids. I have three 15, 13, and 10. I do not care what we fish for. Mangrove Snapper, puppy drum and so on are fine, the boys like to eat what they catch. Of course, the usual reds and trout are fine also.

We are staying in tourist mecca hades known as Port Aransas....lol I jest it is not that bad and plenty of stuff for wife to do so we can fish more. I am not opposed to driving a little bit to fish.

Thanks for any pointers.

IF you want a short and inexpensive bay trip, look at the head boats at Deep Sea Headquarters. I think Dolphin Docks also has bay trips. They may be less expensive than a regular guide and you would catch sand trout, gaftop and such. If you are really adventurous, Slow Ride Guide Service in Aransas Pass does Kayak Fishing trips. I don't know if he will do four, if not, you can do a nature trip with him and the whole family. Most of the guides I know and have used are Kayak guides. Hopefully someone else will chime in with other names. PM me if you want more information.

Thank you jn. If we do a party boat we will go off shore. I have fished with slow ride a few times. I am looking for a boat trip, my youngest isnt stong enough for the yak yet or I wouldnt be looking for a guide. Cant wait for that! Cost isnt a big factor.

Dean does do boat trips. I don't know what kind of boat he has.

An alternate option might be beach fishing with Jeff Wolda on Padre Island National Seashore. I don't know how many he can take, but the kids could have a blast driving, exploring, fishing, and running around on the beach. They should be able to catch a bunch of whiting that would be good to eat, and could get into trout, reds, ladyfish, maybe even sharks or who knows. Ive never fished with him personally, but have on PINS and those trips are great. Eric Ozlins also guides trips on the beach but mostly focuses on sharks. You can google their websites if interested.

In any case, great idea to take the kids fishing and good luck!

I was there last week with my 12 year old son. We fished three boats. The first was a private charter http://www.texascoastfishing.com/ for 4-5 hours. We paid $550 and fished the flats past JFK? causeway. We kept 5 specs and 1 flounder, and threw back a dozen specs and lost another 10 unknown. It was really good, a bit windy that day, but no big waves. They guy put us on the fish and we moved 6 times. We used live fish for bait. We will fish a private boat again.

The next was a dolphin docks party boat the fished a hole in corpus christi bay past the ferry area. We caught scrap fish and never moved. It is maybe $70 per person? I can't recall. If you just want to catch something, it is okay, but you can catch the same sand trout, catfish and gaftops? from the piers. The bait was a twice frozen dead shrimp. We will not fish this again unless the recent pictures show reds/specs or something more sizable and edible.

The third trip was that 2nd day afternoon on dolphin docks offshore to catch snapper. The boat scored big time. We landed three giant red snapper, and lost two near the boat. it was fun, but it was very wavy. The waves were 4 feet and the swells were 8 feet. It takes two hours to get to the spot, drift fish for 1-2 hours, then head back. It left at 3:30 pm. My son and I got sea sick along with probably 1/3 of the 40 people on the boat. We were still moving 3 days later However, we got a ton of red snapper fillets. Snapper season is ending soon... I guess that go after other fish. We will do this trip again, but definitely only when waves and wind are a bit less. The cost was about $80 but can be less if the child shares a pole

We usually fish 3 of the 4 piers in Port Aransas too. We have lost some huge fish, caught a snapper once, and a shark and lots of sand trout and gaftop, but never caught a red or spec. Some people catch reds/specs from the piers or so I have read, but never seen.

We have studied jetty fishing and the next time this summer will scope out the North/South jetty in PortA and the Packery jetty. The jetties can be slipper and precarious. We don't have permission from the bride to wade fish.

Give me a call would be glad to take you. I am family friendly and affordable. I normally launch out of Aransas Pass or Rockport but will go out of Port A if need be.