Going to Port A next week and was hoping I could get some pointers on where and how to catch fish in the gulf. I have a boat and have gone a couple of times and normally get past the jetties and don't know where to go or how to fish. I just installed a couple of downriggers. I'd like to catch kings, smacks, snapper, and whatever is within a few miles. Any advice on where to fish and how to fish with or without the downriggers(lead length, bait, lures, etc) is greatly appreciated!

Slow troll ribbon fish out of the mouth of the jettys and hang on.

You can slow troll ribbons on kingfish rigs. You can slow troll Rapala Magnum deep diving lures, Mann's Stretch 30's, Russell Lures. You can drift ribbons on or near the surface or you can drift cut bait down deep for sharks.

Live piggy perch free lined near the rocks will probably yield something fishy.

My suggestion would be to use the search feature of this forum and do some research. www.2coolfishing.com has a lot more saltwater participation than here.

What kind/size boat are you running? What kind of tackle are you using?

x2 on 2coolfishing, look at the Bluewater Board.

I did a lot of bay fishing over the last several years, went out on my first offshore/nearshore trip from Port A last weekend....so I'm no expert but we did pretty well on kings and barracuda...

here is my posting from last weekend on 2cool
http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=279804

we had planned to troll with the downriggers, but I ended up putting them away as we were catching all fish tied to a rig or drifting around the rig. Also, I had the impression that the fish would be closer to the rig, but we picked several up 100 to 150 yards away from it. They will circle and come in waves.

There's one big rig off to the left from the Port A jetties about 8 miles, and another 90 degrees magnetic from the jetties at 18 miles. you can also drift around the ships that are anchored out there. We'll be down there next weekend if the weather cooperates!

As far as tackle, we had king rigs with one oshanassey hook up front up throught the lower jaw of the ribbonfish, and a stinger treble hook about 6 inches back stuck in the belly of the bait, with wire leader. We had the 3 hook rigs too but they didn't seem to like that rig as much. We did lose several bites that were short and behind the trebble though, so maybe the 3 hook rig would be better. Also picked one up on a gotcha plug cast toward the rig. Just make sure you use steel leaders.

Thanks for the reply guys. I'm running a 22ft seapro. I have kind of light tackle 6-7' stuff with anywhere from 12lb to 18lb line (mostly fish bays). I've kind of been trying to teach myself to fish (lots of tough days) and have done lots of reading, but this was my first post so I appreciate the responses.

Welcome to TFF, Gsol.

Since the only offshore fishing I ever do is usually for Tuna, snapper or sharks...I'm not much help. Just be careful at the mouth of the Port A jetty. A Kenner was sunk there last year, as I recall. ( but I think the were anchored from the stern )

If you have a GPS you need to try the Liberty Ship that they sank a few years back. I have caught some nice Lane Snapper there and always catch a few Kings just drifting. Once we caught and released a very nice Bull Dolphing about 20 lbs. It's not that far off shore, but it is farther to the south.

You can never go wrong wtih just drifting and free spooling ribbon fish for Kings. Anyone can catch em that way. Stay near some of the shrimpers that are tied up or the wells that are 8 - 10 miles out.

Another trick is the day before go to one of the shrimp boats like the Poly Anna they are real cheap, clean and de-head them for the freezer back home. Save all of the heads and shells. Use those carsuses and heads the next day to chum em in while your drifting around, it works. We have even caught some small blackfin tuna doing that one year.

If you have a GPS you need to try the Liberty Ship that they sank a few years back. I have caught some nice Lane Snapper there and always catch a few Kings just drifting. Once we caught and released a very nice Bull Dolphing about 20 lbs. It's not that far off shore, but it is farther to the south.

You can never go wrong wtih just drifting and free spooling ribbon fish for Kings. Anyone can catch em that way. Stay near some of the shrimpers that are tied up or the wells that are 8 - 10 miles out.

Another trick is the day before go to one of the shrimp boats like the Poly Anna buy some table shrimp they are real cheap, clean and de-head them for the freezer back home. Save all of the heads and shells. Use those carsuses and heads the next day to chum em in while your drifting around, it works. We have even caught some small blackfin tuna doing that one year.

You don't have the tackle to do much offshore fishing. You really need to get a couple of Penn 4/0 reels and stand-up rods with 40-50lb line.

A good king will smoke your reels and leave you holding a bunch of broken rods.

Look around for used Penn 113HLW's and at least 30 weight rods, preferrably 50 weight.

You might get by with some Ambasadeur 6500/7000 but for the price you can get the larger and more versatile Penn.

or if you want something a bit more user friendly and lighter than a penn 4/0, take a look at the penn 330 with the fighting lever drag setup. I have one of those mounted on a ugly stick tiger and it works really nice on kings, bull reds and mid sized sharks. I actually have two of them, one with the fighting drag and one with the conventional star drag. I like the lever drag more because it is easier to adjust when fighting a big fish.

We took a boat out at port A last summer and had decent luck around the shrimp boats. Caught kings and mid sized sharks drifting ribbon fish and mullet around the boats.

Rule #10. Guides, fishing related businesses, and other web sites, feel free to promote your services here - the only exception to this rule is promotion of a site that is a direct competitor of the TFF or Texas Hunting Forum (THF). We consider the guides an asset to the site. If you don't agree with the use of guides, keep that information to yourself. If a guide is just posting his service, inviting you to check out his web site, let him do so. Hopefully down the road he will offer a few pointers. Guides offer a wealth of information and we want them visiting the site on a regular basis.
http://texasfishingforum.com/rules.htm

Cool thanks for all the advice. Also, I figured I would need more stout tackle, I'll look into some of the recommendations. These shrimper boats that are mentioned, can you spot them when leaving the jetty? Do they get annoyed when you're finish close by?

Slickrick,
Why don't you leave the moderating to the moderators.

landpirate,
Learn how to read the rules.

Rick,
Mind your own business.

Alright Rick, now that I've cooled down a little I'll explain this to you since you can't seem to see the obvious.

The TFF is a great forum. It's chock full of great info on many topics with many knowledgeable people willing to share their knowledge. However, the TFF primarily fills a niche for freshwater and bass fishermen. I think everybody agrees that while there are some knowledgeable salts on here, most are not.

Conversely 2coolfishing is primarily saltwater forum. I don't see that these two sites compete but rather compliment each other very well. Each fills a specific niche and do not really overlap.

I feel confident that if the MODERATORS of this forum had an issue with the mention of 2cool they would have addressed by now. So, for you to start playing Jr. Moderator and start rubbing the rules in people's faces is, in my opinion, out of line. If you think a rule was violated and it bothers you that much then bring it to the attention of a moderator and let him address it.

I am a member of both forums and frequent both daily. My intent here is to help fellow anglers overcome the learning curve and have a memorable saltwater experience. My goal is not to encourage people to leave this forum for another.

I hope this clears the air and we can now get back to talking about fishing instead of this adolescent bickering over nonsense.