Whenever I've gone offshore fishing its allways been at least 20 miles out. Is there any good fishing 3-5 miles out or so? I'd be going out from port aransas or port oconner. Or in the spring I'll move to the galveston area.

eight ; I will say where ever there is structure there will be fish . I can't speak about PA or PO area because I don't fish there . My fishing is done out of Sabine Pass . Near shore for me is 20 mi. and less . You have to travel a long way out to get in deep clear water on the upper Texas , western Louisianna coast . The abundent marshlands , gas well heads , and oil platforms make for good nearshore fishing . Some of the biggest bull reds that you will see in your life can be caught this time of year at the Louisianna short rigs .

I could go on and on about fishing in my area but there is no use for me spilling the beans . Sabine Pass has low pressure fishing and I hope it stays that way .
I will say this ; Near shore fishing for me means bigger and more abundent fish than what you would catch in the bays and coastal lakes with a few bonus species thrown in like triple tails , pompano , bull sharks , blue fish , huge gulf trout , spanish mackrel , and my favorite tackle buster , huge Jack Crevally .

yes, there is if you find the spots. All I can say is pick up a couple of current maps and use your sonar.
Nobody is going to give you a honey hole.

Hint: Pipelines hold fish.

eight ; Snagged gave you a very good hint . It helps to learn your fishing area , that's why professional guides have it over on the weekend fisherman . Most anything thats been in the water long enough counts as structure .
Hint : Crab traps ; just don't get snagged on the trap .

This sounds good. I don't expect anyone to give away their spots. I was just wondering what's out there. I don't know what some of those things JBELOW mentioned are, but they sound fun to catch. So what should I use for bait?

Squid, sardines, boston mackrel, piggy pearch, most anything that is NOT a game fish will work at some time.

Most any live or dead bait will work . I've had excellent results fishing for sheephead useing live crawfish . When the schools of bluefish and spanish mackrel move in , any bright and shinny lure will work .

eight ; I don't have any special fishing places or honey holes in the area I fish because it is all good . If the fishing is slow at one oil rig or gas well head I just move to another one . On clear days and flat seas you can follow the bait fish and troll around the edges of the bait fish schools and hook up with king mackrel and bonita .

What I meant about low fishing pressure , is that few people fish Sabine Pass in comparison to the Bolivar/Galveston area .