Pferox and I fished 91st Pier in Galveston on 12/29/12. We started at 7am and finished at 615pm. It was 38 degrees with NW wind 15 gusting to 30 when we started. It was overcast and windy most of the day. Low tide was 2-3 feet below normal. High tide was 1-2 feet below normal. It showed a lot of beach structure that will help us in future trips. We found a few snags in places where no one expected there to be snags. Swells were less than 1' and breakers were only on the 1st sandbar. Water was muddy with clarity 1-2".



The fishing was slow. We kept a 10" croaker and a 10.5" whiting. We caught another 5-6 fish that were too small so released them. We gave one perch to a kid for cut bait. We caught what I thought were fiddler crabs in shells. Pferox claims they were barnacles. Thats the first time I ever caught anything like that.



This was more of a survival trip and cold weather fishing experiment. Dressing in layers worked well but when it is windy you need something like rain gear to completely block the wind. I wore tennis shoes and 2 pairs of socks. That was a big mistake. Next time I will wear leather shoes. On the pier cold air comes from underneath, over the top and all sides. Pferox picked me up a 99 cent cap hat on the way down. That was great and 2 hoodies tied over my head kept me warm. At any one time I had about 6 toes that I could feel and 4 that were numb. The same for fingers stuck into pockets.

The only thing that kept us warm was walking around complaining to each other how cold we were. No one had a cold jaw from all the grumbling exercise. And as miserable cold as it was I would be down there tomorrow in the same weather. Fishing is an adventure.

Pferox got a lot of compliments on the new pier cart Jan bought him for Christmas. Even the pier walkers, who dont fish, were stopping to give him compliments. He has holders for 8 rods, plenty of room to haul a big cooler and several tackle bags. It has wide tires that would work great in sand. Jan found it at Academy.



Pferox took a pic of the sun going down. It was just starting to warm up a bit as the wind dropped off.

Awesome report as always. I know the feeling as on the 27th it was cold AND poured down all day. Definitely will be looking into more neoprene wear for the winter. Nice to see you still pulled in a couple keepers.

-Nick

I wanted to kayak West Bay on 12/29 and was talked out of it.
Good thing I didn't go.

Yeah it was cold yesterday too. There will be another day when the weather cooperates and the fish bite. But you gotta go to know! Great report.

Thanks for the full report... Nice cart as well! I would like to ask when y'all are going again?

As I was going down Seawall Blvd. a little pickup passed me with three guys and kayaks in it heading for someplace unknown, they looked pretty determined to fish.

Thanks for the compliments on the cart. My wife shops stuff until they are very dead, I can guarantee that this was the cheapest price for that model. Academy shipped it from the manufacturer so it was here before the 24th, man I am spoiled now, it is a real nice way to haul stuff around the pier.

I have to be honest, I SKUNKED out on this trip, still haven't figured out how. Guess it was my day, I really can't complain though, that was the only skunk out that I can remember having in 2012, so I was due.

very nice cart and very good report. yall r troopers

It all depends on the weather. Most likely Fri, Sat or Sun. We won't fish if it is cold and rainy. Warm and rainy we will fish unless lightning.

Send me a PM and I will let you know when we set the date. Would like to see more of you down there. If the fish are hitting hard we want you all sharing in it. If we are freezing our buns off, we want you to share in that too. lol

We are Planning on going on January 21st, which is MLK's holiday. Looks to be another slow, chilly day. C'mon down and bear the elements with us.