I’m taking the family down to Port O’Connor in a couple weeks and would like to catch a bunch of saltwater shad or mullet for bait.....It’s been a year since I have been down. I would like some tips on where to find them or how to go about it. I’m pretty proficient catching shad in freshwater and use a 7’ net. I would appreciate any assistance.

One trick I use all the time back home in Galveston -- If you can find a fish cleaning table (generally near boat ramps), you can turn on the water. There are baitfish that live under the cleaning tables, and they're conditioned to show up when they hear the water. If you're lucky enough to be there when people are cleaning fish, you can cast where they throw the carcasses. You'll generally catch pinfish, but you also may find live shrimp, squid, maybe some mullet. All of these will make excellent bait.

Another trick I use is to walk the bulkheads in canal neighborhoods close to marshes. Look for houses for sale and vacant lots. Also these make great places to fish for flounder, walking the bulkheads and jigging a live mullet or a gulp, right along the bulkhead. If I'm not in a hurry, I'll use something like a fluke rig (three way swivel, one lead to a 1/2 oz yellow or white bucktail, one lead to an octopus hook + chartreuse gulp mullet or live bait, see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9bd9TNuavo) and walk up and down the bulkeads for ~15 minutes before trying to catch bait.

Finally, if you can find bay shore that's adjacent to deeper water, you'll be able to find mullet moving early and late, especially when the tides are changing. Have a rod with a topwater or a jerk bait ready to go -- I recall one or two times hitting the marsh at 530 to catch some bait for surf fishing, but calling an audible.

I'll defer to others for specific advice about Port O'Connor, but this is where I generally start. I hope this helps

A trick I use is to throw a cast net from bridges over marshy areas. I'm talking about the little residential road bridges, not major roadways. Find a little pool that gets cut off during low tide and it usually holds some bait fish. During a moving tide, the little canal right under the bridge may have something moving in it.

This is not specific to Port O, but you can usually find these types of spots all around the coast.

Hey Guys, thank you for your input! I appreciate it! We will see what happens after this storm comes ashore.