Canal fishing

My wife and I rented a house in the Key Allegro neighborhood in Rockport,Tx. We are taking a guide to fish the bay during the day but i was wondering if it was at all possible to catch sharks in the canals? i have some catfish gear that i think could handle a decent shark and wanted to give it a try. any advice?

You might find some little bitty fellas, nothing needing any sort of big equipment.

You won't know until you try. I had friends living on canals off of Biscayne Bay as a teen, and we caught quite a few sharks that were a whole lot bigger than us in those canals.

Is there any bait in particular that works better than others?

Cut mullet would be a good choice.

Ok cool, thank you!

Theres some nice bonnet head in there

I rented a house over there in march and april we tried to fish in the canal with no luck using shrimp just little bait stealers is all we got. But then again that's why I hired a guide cause I'm a salt water newb.

I use to rent every summer there for a week. During my stays I discovered that cooked fajita meat would work well for stingrays....Just some insight.

If there are lighted docks on the canal you might give a go at nite.. Trout and reds are always lookin for an easy meal.. A kayak would be great for this.

Glad to see this thread. I will be down in Rockport this fall. We are renting a condo that has its own pier in one of the canals off of Copano Bay near rattlesnake point. The pier has an underwater green fishing light. Was just wondering if the canals attract trout and red fish. I plan to do a lot of night fishing.

Absolutely. If you get up in the wee hours of the morning you can see shad swimming around the green lights. Cast a sassy shad and pull it right through the lit area.

I used to live in Key Allegro on the main canal and across and facing the piers, flats and McDonalds, hotels in Rockport.

I bought 2 green lights and suspended 1 from each side of my balcony into the SaltH2O. I even made a net with a 12' handle on it !

Spring is the BEST time to fish the Little Bay canals, fall can be fun too with reds headed to their rodeo.

I also had a pin perch trap in the water and a live well that circulated SaltH2O 24/7 and always had live bait handy ... or lures ( it's fun to compare what lure works vs. the live bait)

Little tip here, ... very early in the mornings throw a small silver spoon and let it sink to bottom and work it up - some trout still hang around after their nights work under the piers is done.

Mostly trout and reds - a few flounder and never saw a shark.

I also saw 3 BIG reds look right into that green light, suspended there for 20 minutes or so ... and just looking into it about 3' away - threw everything at'em, live & lures (no Rockport Rattlers cuz I hadn't invented them yet) and they just ignored whatever I threw and kept looking into the light - saw some amazing things over the years, that was one of'em - have FUN and enjoy your time in our little chunk of "Paradise".

In my experience, canal fishing isn't very good.

All I've caught in the canal is a small croaker and a hardhead. Nothing else.

Throw out some lines and crack a cold one...what could it hurt?

Im staying there as well in July. Would it help to take a couple green lights to drop from the slips or just rest up and fish daytime in the bays?