Hey Guys - I'm taking my wife and two daughters to Galveston Island for a weeks vacation. Any good kid-friendly spots you recommend we fish? Daughters are 8 and 2 yrs old. I plan to hit the pier, but would love to do some wade fishing on my solo fishing time. Driving in from Dallas and staying at The Escapes condos.
Any particular lures for reds and trout?

Many thanks,

Ken

Mirrolures

I made a list in my sig. Trout love She Dogs in the summertime! Also, get yourself a nice little popping cork setup, found out almost all baitshops and tackle store.

Do yourself a favor as you are driving down from Dallas stop at Fishing Tackle Unlimited in Houston, you will fall in love!

Kid fishing is at Seawolf Park, Jetties and when night comes hit the piers. Wade fishing.. mmm I don't know what's going on down in Galveston so I would def. ask around.

I like to fish SLP on the back of the island for reds but I don't usually fish SLP for reds specifically until fall.

Just remember if you are going to fish West Bay near the pass to stay about waist deep or less, they have FAST currents, drop offs, and big sharks. Ha.. so fish the bay side which is right around 2-3 feet in most cases.

Small jigs,Jerk baits

Great list of lures - much appreciated. I've got some of these already but will make a trip to Academy and get more.
I've never used a popping cork but have heard good things - any advice on how to fish the popping cork would be great.

Many thanks!
Ken

stop by my work at seascape condos on the beach about 2 miles before escapes and i will tell you some places close by to wade. my name is kurt. just go in the office and ask one of the ladys to call me on my cell and we can talk. as for the kids, i say seawolf myself.

sp bum, i target redfish and anything else is a bonus. i have caught my share of flounder,trout,redfish and everything else on a silver spoon, but the old redfish is just all power. my question to you is, it seem you know more then i think i do and i am wondering what you think will work good for the redfish here in galveston? i throw nothing but silver spoons. i love them. i have others like rattle traps and a few mirrowslures and a few rubber swim baits, but the spoons work wonders. i want to try some other things??? thanks for any info. i hope i have not jacked your topic ken. i will put my map in my truck so we can look at it

Silver spoons eh? Most people would have said the Gold Spoon, old school Johnson Sprite.

Anyways, first question.

Buy a premaid poppin cork, Cajun Thunder, Mauler, Texas Rattler, whatever the name. For bait, use Gulp or live shrimp. The depth of the leader depends on how deep you are fishing but I like 2-3 feet for deeper water and 18-24 for shallow water, as a general rule.

Gulp shrimp will stay on the hook much longer and it allows you the option to rig it a few different ways. Mainly Wacky style, thru' the tail, head, lower back, etc. My leader line varies from 25-30 pound test which is perfect for a big boy red.

Back to Iridered, the Bone Superspook and TX chicken mirrolure are huge killers for me. I generally only fish 3-5 color combinations for any type of lure in a given day. In Galveston, I am pretty sure the HOT Pink Skitterwalk is a legend in it's own, most locals own 3 or 4. Pink is a big color.. I am sure you know that.. Like Chartreuse on a lake, something about it makes fish love it.

If silver is working for you then I would suggest a suspended MirrO 52 or 51 for shallows in color code HP, S, or 11.. Those have plenty of silver to still attract the reds but a few other colors, except the S, to help catch the eye. I mean if Silver is working for you why switch?


-Z-

Thanks to all for the info...especially sp bum and Kurt. It has been many years since I hit saltwater and I'll be sure to take your advice. I'll also stop by your office to learn about a few local places to wade fish Kurt. I have heavy waders and thought about bringing them for protection from stringrays, but figured it would be easier to go in my swimtrunks and wear my fishing sandals, they cover most of my feet....do you guys use waders?
We'll be there this Friday.

Thanks again,

Ken

I am thinking Seawolf park is going to be the best bet for taking the kids. Is there room to fish from the bank/throw cast net? Is there much beach access? Never been there.
Thanks,
BG

ken,cool. what time should i lookout for you? i get off about 3:oopm. no waders this time of year. you will melt like a candle in them things. i wear a pair of wading bootys myself all the time, in the boat or wading. they get a little hot, but i just dip my feet in the water when it gets to hot. i don't wade much but know of a few decent spots to try. don,t forget the spoons or whatever you like to throw.kurt

theres plenty of bank fishing on pelican. there is a beach that goes for about a mile. depends on the tides. most of the time you can fish just about anywhere out there. as you go out to pelican island, go over the pelican island bridge and the road will curve to the right just a little bit. keep going about 2 or 3 miles if that far and the road will curve to the left. as the road curves to the left, you will see a dirt road on your left. go down that dirt road till you see the water on your right and pull yourself up a spot and see how your luck is. you can also follow the dirt road all the way around pelican island, but be careful if its muddy or has rained in the last week or so. it should be dry now.this will get you to the back side of PI. the road goes all the way around, so don't worry. i drive a s10 and have drove it all the way around pi a few times. you may see a no tresspassing sign,but thats been there for years. i have rode my dirtbikes out there for years without any problems. hope this helps,kurt

Looks like you got some good advice on fishing....but didn't notice the following warning....you are going to be in areas that have stingrays present, perhaps many of them. Be very careful to always, always shuffle your feet along the bottom to scare them away and never, ever step backwards in the water.

A stingray hit is possibly the most painful thing you can ever experience and a vacation buster for sure.!!!

Kurt - I will plan to come by your office between 1-2 PM on Friday. I'm in town Friday - Friday. Maybe we can do some wade-fishing together. I'm happy to cover gas & beer/lunch etc since your are doing me a huge favor with water I've never fished.
I'll shoot you a PM with my cell phone #.

Meadowlark - thanks for the advice on stingrays! I have good quality fishing sandals that cover most of my foot, but I'm sure they are not much defense against a stingray hit. Any recommendations on other footwear or protection?

Cheers,

Ken

always shuffle your feet. my buddy caught a small one the other day,maybe 2 to 3 lbs, but those are the ones you have to worry about the most. i seen one monday while i was on the pier. he was in about 2 ft of water. i can show you a free launch that really only the locals use, so there won't be but maybe 2 or 3 other boaters to deal with.its a hard packed dirt launch. only place i would launch my boat when i had one. i still use it to launch my canoe. go to academy and pick up one of the galveston bay system maps. best $10 i ever spent. if you like, i could leave my map with you if you return it to my office before you leave. i know you will return it, if not, i will wish BAD LUCK FISHING on you for the rest of your life. i wish i could use google earth, but i'm dailup so thats not happening. i use stone creek wadeing booty myself on the boat or pier most of the time.

by the way, its my understanding that the stingray in the number 1 food for the bullshark, so i would be more worried about shark then rays. i can say that i do not know anyone that has ever been hit by a ray and i've been in gtown for toooo many years. i know its the bay, but many of nice size shark have been pulled out of galveston westbay.