Completely new to the forum, though I have been lurking for a while. First post.

I have recently purchased a 22 foot Boston Whaler for use in and around Galveston. Older hull in great condition, but a two or three-year-old 250 hp Mercury with limited hours. I’m a complete novice to offshore fishing but curious as to what my possibilities are. Want to be safe, but know what I can get to that’s worthwhile, especially with a single engine?

Sounds like most of the rigs that were closer have been decommissioned/removed. Bluewater seems too far away.

Boat has a Simrad GPS system that I’m still figuring out. I’ve ordered a Standard Horizon handheld radio. Nothing mounted on the boat. Do I need a mounted radio to get more power? I’ve also heard cell phone service may be decent even a couple of miles out into the water.

Completely suggestible, just want to know how much fun I can safely get into off the beach and how far.

On a calm day pretty much till you run out of fuel.

I used to run 25 miles or so out in a 22' bay boat when I lived in the Florida Keys. It's all about the weather and waves.

What Boston whaler?

Outrage 22. Mid-80’s hull.

Welcome to the Forum!

A couple of ride-alongs with some experienced offshore boaters would give you some invaluable experience. Having the right equipment and knowing how to use it are two separate things.

If I were in your position, I'd talk to a couple of guides and see if I could provide free labor as an assistant deck hand for a few trips. Not sure how they would react to that, but it would be an opportunity to learn from some of the most experienced folks on the water.

Boat is definitely offshore capable.

https://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-forum/498848-1988-boston-whaler-22-outrage-questions.html

Appreciate the replies and the generous welcomes to the forum so far. Very helpful and appreciated!

Keeping things close to shore, say 5 to 10 miles, is there anything out there that close to fish? Submerged structure? Wrecks?

For example, where/how far out do you have to go to catch snapper?

While I am definitely not an experienced angler, if I am anything, I am a good cook. I can do some good things to good fish fillets if I can only figure out how to put my hands on them!

I have spent hundreds of hours in the gulf in center console boats that were less than 22 feet. I was so excited the first time I made it to a rig 5 miles out of Port Aransas. I had purchased a 21 foot Kenner tunnel hull to fish skinny water, but fell in love with offshore fishing.



I took this boat over 60 miles offshore on several occasions and logged thousands of miles in the ocean on it.

The main issue is safety. Weather can change quickly. When rigs were all over the gulf close to shore cellphone service was good. Now it is unpredictable a few miles offshore. You need a good marine radio. I would recommend a kicker motor and an EPIRB if you go very far.

As for locations, I do not fish out of Galveston, but here is the Location of the Texas Parks and Wildlife reef Map.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/gis/ris/artificialreefs/

The real fishing in the gulf starts at 25 miles out. Federal regulations apply past 9 miles.

Stay away from the surf. It can get you in trouble quickly. Do not go out in seas bigger than 3 feet. It is safer to go out into the wind so you will have the wind blowing you back if there is a problem. Sometimes there is really good fishing around the jetty.

Be safe and let us know how you do.

Get an EPIRB, sat messenger and a seatow membership or check with your insurance company for on water towing.

That's plenty of boat on the average summer day with no storms around. Crossing the bar will be where you want your boatman-ship to shine but again, on an average day no problem but respect it. I may go with a mounted radio and maybe an 8 ft antenna. VHF is line of sight.. maybe a little 7hp kicker if you plan to make this a regular hobby. On nice days especially in late summer the nice water can come in pretty close.

Some of the most fun fishing can be had tied up to the rigs, stand pipes and platforms.. Plenty of snapper caught that way. Spadefish, sandtrout, ling whatever, We've had great fun tying up and having a picnic and fishing. Kinda like crappie fishing. Even caught a banded shrimp eel that way.

check out navionics chart viewer

I was just checking the Dolphin Dock webcam, looks like the short trip did pretty good.
https://dolphindocks.com/webcam