Hi all,
I'm a South African that's moving to Houston at the end of the year and would really appreciate some help so that I can continue to fulfill my fishing addiction. I currently do quite a bit of rock & surf fishing in South Africa and concentrate mainly on sharks as well as what we term smaller edible fish (Jacks, salmon, ..) which we catch from the beach or rocky areas by casting. I have lurked around the forum for a couple days but can't get all the answers I need.

Appreciate help on the following questions:
- do I need a 4wd vehicle to access fishing areas in the Houston / Bay area ?
- Where are the most productive areas (surf fishing)close to Houston ?

Have a lot of questions but appreciate help with the above as a start.
Thanks,
Paul

2scoops, i really cant help you with that area as i live up in Dallas but welcome to the forum and i know some of the guys that live down there will be able to supply answers for you...

Galveston is going to be the closest beachfront to Houston. But Bolivar is close too. That area is considered the "Upper Texas Coast". The water tends to be dirtier since it receives a lot of sediment from the Mississippi River.

Other popular places near Houston/Galveston will be Rollover Pass and San Louis Pass.

The farther south you go from there the more the water cleans up. Matagorda Island isn't far and offers great surf fishing. You will need 4x4 there.

Farther south will be the Mid Coast area of Port Aransas and Corpus Christi. The best surf fishing is just south of C.C. on Padre Island National Seashore (PINS) in my opinion. 4x4 is definitely required. 65 miles of remote, natural beach, in the middle of absolutely nothing.

All the way down south, some 300-400 miles south of Houston, is South Padre Island. Good fishing there and 4x4 is highly recommended.

2Scoops,

Welcome to TFF.
Although the forum is about 70% Freshwater based, you still get good info here on Saltwater.

The places to go to for surf, jetty (rocky shores), and piers would be the following:

- Galveston (1 Hour SE away from Houston)
- Texas City Dike (1 Hour SE away from Houston)
- Freeport/Surfside (1 hour and 15 mins south of Houston)

You dont need a 4WD vehicle to get to these places, even if youre driving on the beaches (just dont drive too close to the water).

I normally catch the following using live bait, dead bait, and artificial lures:

- Speckled Trout (Recognized Sport Fish)
- Redfish (Recognized Sport Fish)
- Blacktip Sharks
- Black Drum

The list goes on...
From my experience, the production is really based on the tides and seasons. My favorite time is always to fish in the early morning (before sunrise) and evening (just before sunset). My favorite season is the Fall, but you can catch any of the above all year long.

Freeport/Surfside is the almost the same distance from Galveston and has way less people and traffic.

appreciate all the help. Looking forward to your great country