My buddies and I are going on a bachelor party/fishing trip in Port Aransas at the end of September and I've never fished saltwater before. I think we're going to stay in the bay but might head out to deep water, does anybody have any tips that they would care to share with me on how to get on fish and what baits or lures to use, I am completely lost, any and all tips or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you

As for location I can not tell you much as I have not been in that area. I can give you some tips and tricks that have always got me a couple fish but you have to answer a few questions though so people can head you in the right direction.

First, are you bringing your own gear? If so what type of gear? for example, bass gear, spinning rods, surf rods?

Second, are you guys planning on wade fishing? Bank fishing? Boat fishing?

Lastly, how much experience do you, and your buddies have when it comes to fishing in general?

We will be bringing our own gear, my buddy's father has salt water gear, he fishes that area a couple times a year in the early summer. I believe we will have rods and reels that are appropriate for deep water and in the bay. Also, we will be taking a 22' CC blue wave down there with us, that they have taken out to the rigs on fairly calm days. The whole group has been fishing our whole lives either in Stock tanks, lake bridgeport, the trinity river, or amon Carter lake for bass, crappie, catfish etc. I'm just looking for some help so it's not a total bust on this trip, and if saltwater fishing is as fun as I've heard it is I can't wait to get hooked on it

Alright awesome, this will be a breeze then. So if you are not necesarilly targeting any type of specific fish and are just wanting everyone to up their chances of catching things then get some live shrimp and try all over the water column.

When my buddies and I go we put one rig on the bottom(double drop down rig) One popping cork rig(top of column) and One free lining with a small split shot about 14inches away from the shrimp(middle column). You can catch all sorts of things with live shrimp(trout, whiting, slot reds, bull reds, gaftop, hardheads, sharks, eels, croaker, crabs) and just taking like 30 minutes to an hour to see where the bite is happening you can make adjustments as needed.

Since you are going south on the coast towards the end of september, you may be still in luck for catching bull reds in the surf as well as black drum. Use either live crabs, or finger mullet. Use a fish finder rig as these fish always eat off the bottom.

When in the bay you can target trout, some redfish, and flounder. you can either go the live bait route or the artificial route. I always do both just because it keeps you motivated. Usually with bay fishing with live bait I usually go with as little weight as possible(mainly using split shot or working a carolina rig). The carolina rig paired with live bait is great as it makes more sound and it keeps your bait from wanting to hide itself in grass or sand.

As for artifcials, paddle tails are usually good and easy to work, Norton sand eels are great for bumping along the bottom, and zara spooks can be great for top water action. Always bring spoons with you in both silver and gold I usually bring both weedless and non weedless just to be safe. One trick(if you havent used spoons much) is if its really cloudy use gold. if its bright and not cloudy use silver.

If you do go wading, I reccommend wearing wade boots and make sure you are always shuffling your feet as it will keep you from getting hit by a sting ray or falling into a hole.

Thank you for the advice I can't wait to go down there!

No problem. Definitely report back!

Just my .02 but if you want to catch fish, scrape up the $$ and get a guide. It's hard to hop in a boat in the bay and start catching trout and redfish without knowing the channels, cuts, etc. At least get a chart, you might spend most of the day on a bar or reef. That's okay as long as you got enough beer, the tide should be back up sometime.

My first few trips to South Padre, we had our own boat, if you didn't know where the channels were, you couldn't even get out in the bay with out running aground. We should have just stayed on the pier and caught hardheads

Here's the best advise I can give you. If you know you will be going offshore, start cramming down the dramamine the day before. Should the seas be more than 3 feet or so you will thank me.

In the bay the incoming tide is best for fishing.

If you are staying in the bay then apply the following as best as you can. ....

Just like freshwater fishing FISH the Structure with the baitfish on it. they're will be predators nearby.

What is structure in AP? sand pockets, grass edges along drop offs ect. ect. Fish when the tide is moving.

For rigging... you can catch redfish on anything that you catch bass on. Spinner baits, spoons, topwater (heddon torpedo, baby spooks, Zara Spooks). etc. and you can use the same rod as you would for bass fishing...just don't dunk it ok. if you do, you gotta take it apart and clean it. I'd focus on redfish and any trout will just be bonus.

have fun
tobin@troutsupport.com