Well If you are headed down to Port A for the weekend don't forget about the pier that is on the Island side in the ship channel to your RIGHT HAND SIDE if you are on the Ferry coming from Aransas to Port A.

There's a pier there? This I've gotta check out!

Your equipment may be marginal but unless your getting broke off, spooled, snagged or otherwise losing fish, it hasn't hurt you so far. If I didn't have a particular town in mind for my fishing trip, I would probably book a room at Hunts in Rockport and fish the pier.

croaker fishing is great in port bay...no boat no worries you can access great kayak inlet off 1096 and port bay road and even wade fish a good 100 yds into the bay. key to fishing with croaker is to keep them out of the grass by popping the rod every 45 seconds or so. you will feel the croaker kicking and trying to hide in the grass and you want to keep the out in the open so specs can see to eat!

That's the "Charlie's Pasture" pier and it was knocked out by a ship's wake last year. Last I heard it wasn't fixed yet so you can't access it.

Followed ya'lls advice. (See? I do occasionally listen!) 9' ugly stick, spinning reel, 30 lb mono line, a handful of double drop and single drop in 50 lb mono and steel leaders. Good handful of assorted weights, hooks, a couple popping corks in a few sizes, forgot the cast net but will be picking up one soon.

Gonna hit a few places... packery channel right under 361, gonna hit up the bulkhead next to where the ferries dock on the Port A side, a few jetties, and while we're there... some surf fishing.

Not gonna be an idiot again.... or at least try not to, and wonder why I'm not catching anything when I'm going mid-bleepin-day.

"No honey! Its not a bunch of expense, its an investment into a lot of fun on not a lot of money! I promise!"

That pier in port A was fixed I was out there in March. Its up. Just no pier lights. They might be up now.
Kattelyn. ITs a bunch of luck out there. Take it from me I have been fishing forever. I started with dead shrimp and cut bait. I would be happy to catch whatever. And I did! LOL But never anything good. Maybe every 2 years I would catch something really big, but never ever landed it. I saw someone using live shrimp 2 years ago and they were catching huge sheephead off that big pier in Port A by the jetties. They taught me to double up my line and I rarely break it now. And Ive upgraded my gear to saltwater standards.
Then another time, 3 guys were catching Spanish mackerel like it wasnt funny and they taught me how to catch those.
Now, Ive been experimenting with baits and learning how to look for hot spots when Im down there. Sometimes you might have to leave a pier and try another place. That time in march, I finally caught my biggest fish and first black drum ever. it was about forty pounds and came up to my stomach. And Im 5'6''. And I caught it off the smallest pole I had casting about 10ft off of the red dot pier. And I mean this pole should have broken. lOL It was off a live shrimp i was dragging of the bottom hoping a flounder would hit it. I fought that thing for about 30-45 min. As it ran, the line got tangled with another one of my poles and it took that pole in. That was my large pole with 30# test! SO If I lost that drum I would have lost my old faithful. I just tired the fish out and got it in. (Thank GOD)
So moral of the story. you can be prepared all you want. but nothing happens the way you want. Its just good to be prepared. LOL

But on a note. if no one is catching anything, try another pier. I ended up doing that and I have a good fish story to tell now.
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During the day if your fishing try the jetties or the big piers off the beach. Just invest in a pier net. And as for bait. buy 5 or 6 live shrimp a small aerator with a bucket. Its been working for me latley.

that pier to the left of the ferries is utter garbage (in port a) it use to be a great place to fish, but it's been pressured so much, i'm lucky to catch hardheads there.

the jetty is an absolute AMAZING place to fish. The only time i haven't caught anything out there is when the waves were to big for me to walk out. =[

i normally go towards the end. right before the tip of the jetty it flatens out and is a relatively easy place to fish.

i use a lemon rig on the surfside with live shirmp working about 7-9ft deep and catch specs, reds, sheepshead, spanish macks, vermillion snapper, you name it i've caught it.

on the channel side i'll fish a quartered (or half) blue crab on the bottom. and catch reds and black drum.

On the topic of cast netting your bait. If you're not accustomed to throwing a cast net, you may want to spend some time at a local lake first until you get the hang of it ... you'll want to maintain control of your net as soon as it hits the water & NOT let it sink all the way to the bottom unless you're sure its just sand down there.

Those barnacle encrusted rocks can tear a $50-$150 net up in a hurry!

Katelyn;

The first thing I would probably do is upgrade your rod/reel a little, that 10# line is nearly useless from the piers. Even if you do catch something big enough to take home for dinner it's going to snap the line before you get it gaffed and on the pier.

Get a cheap catfish rod/reel from Wal-Mart ($20), spool it with a decent 20+ line or spend a little more and go with braided (more strength for the diameter, but more expensive too).

Second, know your tide tables, don't waste your time fishing when the tide's not moving. I prefer to fish the outbound tide but will also fish an inbound tide too.

Rigging: From the piers I use a three way rig, weight at bottom, and two hooks (3-0 to 5-0 hooks), and cut shad for bait. Sometimes squid too.

I like to get near the ends of the pier, but if you know where a drop off in the bottom is you can do well in them too.

try fishing near the JFK causeway, red dot pier or the other across humble channel. Port A jetties are great, i usually free line live baitfish with small weight.

Im heading to galveston for memorial weekend. Ill prob be at Seawolf and beachfront jetties.

Good luck!

Go to Indianola Fishing Marina and you'll get your confidence back. This is where I take my kids and they catch a ton of fish.

[url=http://www.indianolafishingmarina.com/][/url]

OOooh. Indianola?

As in the ghost town?

I didn't know anything was out there.

Very Very Cool. Good excuse for a road trip.

well, there really isn't much of anything there in way of a ghost town. A lot of Texas history there just the same.

Anywhere you fish the surf with fresh dead shrimp at this time of year should boot out some eating-sized whiting and sand trout (especially the whiting, a small-mouthed panfish with small whiskers at the jaw that is really cooperative). Be sure to use long-shanked single hooks so you can get them out on deep hooked-fish.

Circle hooks and live baitfish (pinfish, croakers, piggy perch, small sand trout, mullet, and the ones I am ... full disclosure here ... paid to test, the Black Salty live baitfish, will all selectively catch bigger fish, especially redfish.

A long, stout spinning rig will make it a lot easier for you to handle larger baits. There is info on this on my website, www.coastalanglers.com, and more that should help you.

Good luck, and be safe (if you are going to wade the surf, wear a PFD).

Boz