Im planning on a trip on the Scatt Catt Saturday night with some friends and was just wondering how the fishing was on it..and if it is worth the money?

We are going to be in Port A for 3 days and we dont know the area very well any suggestions on where to fish and maybe what to use? I will post some pics of the fish "hopefully" that we catch on Tuesday to show you how we did Any help would be great.

Thanks

I have gone on the Scat Cat and it's not great but it's not bad. Just be sure to take it all in.

The best place I think to fish is the jetty. You can ride the Jetty Boat from the same people that run the Scat Cat (Fisherman's Wharf) and then fish off of the Jetty this time of year for Sheeps head and Black Drum. I hope you have a great time.

You could also try Horace Caldwell Pier or the pier on the other side of the beach, Bob Hall Pier as well. Bob Hall has a bait shop. Then again there is the Mustang Island Surf.

This is just a small part of the fishing to be enjoyed at Port A.

Gator,

Thanks for the quick reply nice to know people really read these threads and try and help each other out. Well I never been out far into the gulf so hopefully I dont spend my time leaning overboard. I will def try out some of the spots you mentioned I also heard of "Pakerty Channel". Sorry if I butcherd that. So what is the thing to use im guessing Live shrimp on a popping cork or dead shrimp on the bottom?

Thanks Again

Live shrimp will usually do the trick, mustang. You can use a popping cork like you mentioned or fish the Shrimp in the bottom. I like to use a Carolina rig for fishing on the bottom.

I like to throw various artificials as well. Some common baits that are used inshore are Saltwater Assassins, Texas Tackle Factory baits, Berkley Gulp baits, spoons, Spec rigs. That is just naming a few that you might want to look for if you stray away from using Shrimp.

One of my favorite baits is a Pumpkin/Chart Saltwater Assassin with a paddle tail. Good luck on your trip and be sure to let us know how you do!

Stang,

The scat cat is ok...the good thing about it is that it's big and pretty stable. It's more of a touristy boat though. If you really want a good fishing machine I'd try dolphin docks. They run a 12hr trip on the Dolphin Express on Saturdays. It's the only day boat I will go on. They limit it to 30 people and are VERY good fisherman. Most of the 1/2 day trips are short statewater trips that really don't give you much view of the big blue.

As a first time guy offshore make sure you take some seasickness medicine. I prefer Bonine, it's a chewable tablet you can get at any pharmacy, wal-mart, HEB etc... You will want to take one the day before to start getting used to it and then one or 2 about an hour before you get on. Only time I ever got close to being sick was in solid 10's on a partyboat. I actually had the Bonine with me and let one melt under my tounge then I soaked my shirt in water and put it back on. The combination of cooling my body down and getting more medicine directly into my blood stream killed the motion sickness. There were 37 on board that day and only me and 3 others didn't get sick.

When you're fishing, listen to the deck hand and don't be afraid to ask questions. If you just show up and hold your rod don't have very high expectations. If you see someone catching fish, ask them how. Pay attention to what they used for bait, how deep they were. They may just be a tourist like you but usually you'll have a couple seasoned guys that it seems like it's just "their day." Most of the time it's because they know what they're doing. There's not a lot of options on a head boat but if you're observant you can make the most of it. One of the biggest things you can do is to make your own bait. You can either catch the little perch at the jetties and keep them in a bucket for your trip (you need to make sure they're ok with that) or try and catch it when you're out there. There is a small fish called a Bonita that makes very good bait. They're usually 2-3 pounds and look like a small tuna. They fight VERY hard but are pretty much worthless other than bait. They work good in small chunks for Snapper and in bigger hunks for Shark. If they're around they'll be swarming under the boat (you'll see them). Catch a couple of them and keep them for yourselves. You can just take or borrow a knife to cut them up...doesn't have to be fancy just a rough fillet in some chunks. They might not be there right as you stop to fish but may show themselves at anytime. If they're there, they will stay for a while. If you've never been offshore they're a very fun fish to catch and will give you a better chance to get some dinner fish.

No matter what if you go offshore, be prepared to be bitten by the offshore bug. This bug is known to drive grown men crazy while emptying their bank accounts at the same time. Don't say I didn't warn you

Cameron

Does the scat cat even go into the gulf? i thougth it was a bay boat? I have been out with dolphin docks and had a blast. I would defeinatly recommend DD. The deck hands are very experienced and they will help a novice fisherman (if you are one.) For about 100 dollars you can have a great day with DD.

I'm not sure if they go out or not, it might be the warf cat that goes out. Either way, I wouldn't go on one of those boats...we've passed them a few times with 100+ people on board...no thanks. If you want to get out...DD is the best and just like FISH just said, you can have a fantastic day for under $100.

Cameron

cgstrange,

I noticed that your from San Angelo? That is where I'm stationed right now and that is where we are leaving from on Friday.. I cant tell you guys how much I really appreciate the help.

I have been on numerous forums and always was disappointed in them. It is amazing how just little advice that you guys give can give us novice fisherman much confidence in going out for the first time.

Thanks about the DD im going to look them up now and probably cancle with them and give DD a shot and see what happens. Either way I will give a fishing report either on how good or bad we do if nothing else I'm sure we can catch a buzz

Cgstrange how often do you make a trip to the coast were trying to go more and more at least once a quarter. Last quarter we went to P.I.N.S and went to the 40 mile marker. We had great equipment including a yak and all the other stuff with Pen 6.0 and Pen 9.0 but all we got were some huge stingrays and some little bathtub sharks with allot of whiting.. But I heard it can take awhile to get stuff off P.I.N.S and have to be pretty dedicated? Thanks again for all the help guys if anyone is going to be in the area lets us know

What a small world. First of all, when you're looking offshore you really need to watch the weather forecast. There's a nasty front going down there and the seas will be very heavy this weekend (see http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/fmtbltn.pl?file=forecasts/marine/coastal/gm/gmz270.txt)

SATURDAY
SOUTHEAST WIND 20 TO 25 KNOTS BECOMING SOUTH 15 TO
20 KNOTS AFTER MIDNIGHT. SEAS 6 TO 8 FEET. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF
SHOWERS.

SUNDAY
SOUTH WIND 15 TO 20 KNOTS SHIFTING SOUTHWEST IN THE
AFTERNOON...THEN BECOMING NORTH 25 TO 30 KNOTS IN THE EVENING.
SEAS 5 TO 7 FEET BUILDING TO 8 TO 10 FEET IN THE EVENING. A
CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS.


Personally, I'd pass on the offshore trip this weekend. The fishing down there really depends on the time of year and how you want to fish. I normally make 3-5 runs down there every year. I have fished PINS a couple times but, like you said, haven't dedicated a lot of time to it so I haven't been all that successfull. It is, however, the best stretch of beach in the gulf when you get down 40+ miles.

Regarding Jetty fishing, I'd also tell you that the North Jetty is better than the south jetty (that's the one you drive up to). Just hitch a ride on the jetty boat and take it over. The only problem is that jetty boat only runs a couple times during the day so you certainly don't want to miss it. You're Penns will work for bigger fish. Right now is a great time for black drum in the channel on blue crab. They fight HARD but are pretty worthless for eating because they're so big. You can do a lot with decent bass fishing type of equipment for bit whiting, trout and reds. You can also head down to Mustang Island. There's a state park there and the "fish pass" jetties are much smaller and the south one has a pretty good flounder hole. If you want to fish off a pier, keep going past the state park and go to the Bob Hall Pier. It's a lot better than Horace Caldwell in Port A. Mustang Island is about 20 miles south from Port A and will eventually land you in PINS as well.

Most of the fishing I do is offshore so I can't help you too much with bay/jetty fishing. Really, once you hook into something that could pull you in there's no turning back to catching "bait"

The drive is about 6 hours to the Port A ferry depending on how you drive. Good luck!

Cameron

i went on both of them a week ago and i can tell you from experience that they are both catchin fish but dolphin docks has a better crew and tackle you only get a few hours to fish this time of year cause they run 3hrs out but there bitin out threr on both of the boats

Well we are going on a 12 hour trip from 10am to 10pm so that is still only a few hours of fishing? Im not sure new to this how long does it take to get out to where we fish? Thanks

Actually you know what? Two months ago ago it was the Scat cat that I went out on I was mistaken the time before it was Dolphin docks. We went out in 7-8 foot seas because noone else would make a run. the ride was great! The fishing was ok we all limited on snapper a few sharks. The twin hulled boat handled the rough seas awesome. If you are dying to get out this weekend call ahead of time and make sure they are going to make a run and I would change my reccomendation and go with Fishermans wharf. They had a great crew. Heated cabin, nice cushioned seats to sleep on the ride back in. Over all it was a nice trip. Everything I said earlier was about the Scatcat. Got my boats mixed up. Its all up if you wanna tough it out and go. SOMEONE will be making a run.

I've been on the Scatt Cat. It was an okay day, but I don't think it was all of that. We took about an hour and a half to get out to our first oil derek. We had fished there for a good 40 minutes. We moved on to another oil derek, and that was the routine of the day. Between spots, it was about 30-40 minutes. What happended was everyone on the boat made their limits in Red snappper, and that was pretty much all that was biting (not including some trash fish and a 42lb. grouper that my best friend just so happened to bring in!). My only hard spot with the trip was that we had finished our bounty early. For some reason or another, I guess the captain felt like it was essential to stretch out our trip to the full 12 hour time slot......MISTAKE!!!!! Everyone was dying to get back to port, and this guy dragged it out for FOUR HOURS!!!! I was in the Navy and this guy wasn't pulling one over on me. He was driving like 4-5 knots and the current was stronger than that. That four hour ride in brought the quality of the trip down. What a waste. Even though we all caught our limit, I still think the captain should have asked everyone their oppinion.
By the way, those deckhands bust their hides from before the sun comes up until after the sun goes down. I have major respect for them, and all the deckhands onboard STILL had the greatest attitudes.
My two cents. Steven

It will take aobut 3-4 hours of drive time 4-6 hours of fishing and then the 3-4 hours back.

Thanks for the info because just two hours from hitting port we are going to hit up Texas Treasure to hopefully pay for our little fishing adventure Any of you guys ever get on that thing? And if so what do you guys think about it? Were thinking it may be to crowded and what not.

Im glad to know at least we will catch something most of us just want to catch fish either large or small we dont really care just as long as we catch something. We called Scatt Catt and they said they are catching Blackfin Tuna didnt know if that was true or not, Still sounds great. Any other people from TFF going to be hitting up scatt cat?