Have a buddy coming down from Idaho, want to take him fishing. Have a good reliable 20'cc fair amount of of offshore saltwater experience up and down the Pacific and Atlantic, but very little bay fishing. Galveston area is closest, but I don't have to go there. I can go farther up or down the coast.

Want to put him on some fish. Reds, Trout, Flounder are great, but anything (big) that pulls the line will also be fine, since he has not caught too many saltwater fish. Have the gear, just need the pointers.

Recommendations? Not asking for your secret hidey-holes just some areas, and techniques baits/lures that produce fish this time of year (end of August, beginning of September).

Thanks for your help.

What type of boat is your 20ft CC? A deep-V offshore boat, or a shallow draft bay boat? If it is a deep-V you probably want to stick with the bays on the upper coast (Galveston, Matagorda, or Sabine Lake.) Aransas and Baffin Bays have some very shallow areas, and can ruin your day if you run aground. I would also suggest buying a fishing map for whichever area you are going to fish. Good luck!!

Tracker, flat bottom, great for bay fishing. I do have maps of the Galveston Bay area. Had luck there in the past, but I suspect it was just that ... luck. Been a couple of years since I have been down there ad even then I didn't know what I was doing.

I am no expert, but I have fished out of a similar boat out of surfside, Sabine Pass and
Biloxi , MS . I would run just outside jetties ,anchor up and chum like crazy. Should have all the reds, jacks and sharks you can handle.

MO

Also, any recommendations on hotels with slips for the boats at night? Concerned about leaving a boat in a parking lot overnight.

Awesome. That's what I am talking about. When you say just outside the jetties, how far do you mean? Weather and common sense permitting, obviously.

Do you buy chum blocks or make your own?

Ok, I booked a hotel within maybe a half mile of there. Found a boat ramp close by, now just need some fishing advice!

I have green lights on my boat, can I run them at night there for some night fishing? Is that legal?
Best fishing on the jetties on incoming or outgoing tide? (I'm showing my inexperience here, I am sure).

Bait. Shrimp? Catch my own?

Thanks for the suggestions.

I haven't fished from a boat, but shrimp should catch you anything and everything. If planning on using shrimp you can buy it on the way down to surfside, there are a few bait shops. Other stuff, I would try to castnet, so to use whatever is in there "match the hatch", same with lures: If using artificials,pick whatever looks like what's in the water.

Gamecatcher, I have the exact same boat and have fished in Galveston a pretty good bit. get your bait at Boyd's. They're right before the Texas City Dike. Run to the end of the dike and put it there, look at your map for French's Reef, head out there and free line some croaker. We've caught tons of awesome trout out there. How are you liking that boat?

COFISH,

That is a solid boat! Rough as all get out since it's a flat bottom, but I am a fan of the Grizzly.

I have actually fished French's reef before. Thanks for the tip. That is an option I considered. I'll definitely go back there in the future.

We were supposed to go down yesterday but the storms down there concerned me so we pushed it off a bit. Going to Freeport, try to fish the jetties and maybe spend a day in the bay. I guess it's a bit of a haul from Freeport to Tx city Dike? It's hard to gauge how long it would take looking at Google Earth.

Yeah, it's about an hour and a half to get down there. Will try to fish West Bay or chocolate Bay maybe? Christmas Bay is a bit too shallow I think for me since I have no experience there.