I will be in Port Aransas for a few days week after next. We are staying on the beach and I will be limited to surf fishing mainly in front of the resort so the kids can play. I will have couple of surf rods and some smaller tackle. What can I expect this time of year? Will I be able to catch good bait?

I will also have a chance to sneak away and either wade fish the bay or hit the pier. Just looking to catch some fish, which would be better this time of year?

Thanks in advance for any advicce!

Are you taking a boat, or fishing the shore? If your taking a boat, Fin & Feather bait store has a ramp just out of Aransas Pass. They don't charge you to use it. You can fish all the bay area on the south side of the road, or go under the bridge to the north side. Hog Island is supposed to be a good area for trout and redfish. They have a map on the wall that will show you where it is. They also have a pir there you can use. I don't know what condition it is in.

There are 4 piers in Port Aransas. When you cross the ferry turn right at the Velero quick stop, turn another right behind the store and follow that road for maybe a mile, you'll see it. Another is at the park to the left after you come off the ferry. Another is if you stay on the road when you came off the ferry go straight(you'll pass fishermans headquater and dolphon docks) go straight until you come to another Velero store, turn left ther. It is station st. follow that road a couple of hundred yards and you will see it next to a tall condo. Another is if you go back to the Velero ant station st. turn left, follow that road and it will lead you to the beach and jetty. If you look to the right you will see Horace Caldwell fishing pier. They charge $2.00 per person and $2 per rod.

I'd use live shrimp, mullet, squid, mud minnows, and maybe piggy perch. There at Fisherman's Headquarters they have are called "fish bites". I've seen a lot of people using them.

Good Luck, I may see you down there. I've been wanting to go back. JIM

PS: If you go to the beach, watch that sand. I was down there the first week of April and saw several people get stuck right there by the jetty. Some guy in a black 4x4 dodge was pulling them out, I thank he was charging them $10 each. He pulled out three in less than 30 minutes. I also saw a guy in a 4x4 chevy get stuck down at fish pass. Four other 4x4's tried to pull him out and couldn't do it. Even a jeep rubicon with a winch. He had to get a wrecker to pull out with a large winch. He started spinning his wheels when he got stuck and just buried that truck. He was crossing a small inlet and had water coming into his truck. I think it cost him $150.

This is info I posted for another fellow a while back. Maybe this will help you.

JIM

Cast a small gold spoon in the surf...if you can stand the beating of the waves! You can get some bites that way.

I didn't catch anything anywhere else this last weekend...everyone I talked too wasn't either.

I'll be heading down to Corpus staying at a hotel close to Oso bay this Tue-Thurs. It's been years since I've been to the coast and I don't really know what I'm doing. No boat, so I'll be looking for the same opportunities just on the other end of CC bay.

I found a series of bay fishing articles here(just change the "1" to 2,3,4,5): http://fishntexas.com/article_20090406_1.htm

A super informative forum post on reading the surf is here:
http://www.stripersonline.com/forum/thread/417339/reading-the-water

Good luck!