I stopped at Bulldog's for bait. It was the first morning in months that I could wear shorts without being cold or the wind trying to knock me over. Bulldog had some very fresh, dead shrimp.

Jim, Danny and Julia were already on the pier. At 0700 it was already crowded and they had saved me a place We were almost shoulder to shoulder and it grew more crowded as the morning wore on. Wind was light from the SE and would switch more to the East at 10-15. It was cloudy with a low ceiling. Mist began around 0900 and was intermittent for a few hours. Then the clouds broke and several hours of bright sun before clouds came back. By late afternoon we could see dark skies to the NE along the Seawall. Swells were 1' with breakers on the first sandbar. Swells increased to near 2' by late afternoon. The water was sandy green with 3-4� of clarity. It was the best water in weeks.

This report will be different than usual. The morning bite got active and I could not keep track of who caught what and when. I was also busy helping others, not just the TFF Mafia, to net their fish, measure them and help with fishing regulations.

Danny was celebrating his birthday and caught his first drum. He also caught a 21� black tip shark fishing in the wade gut. He caught several angel fish which is a good sign that the water is warming and the season is changing. He also caught some keeper whiting. Danny got treated to a cheeseburger for his birthday. Its a TFF Mafia tradition.







Jim (Pferox) caught 2 drum on the morning bite and another in the late afternoon He caught a nice keeper pompano while his rod was unattended. I reeled it in for him. He got 3 keeper whiting. He also caught a lot of bait fish close to the pier. Live and cut bait fish did not produce any catches. Like all of us he fought crossed lines and black drum that would run and cross other lines.



Julia got to the pier at 2100 on Friday night and fished until 1600 on Saturday. She caught a lot of hard heads Friday night. She caught an 11� whiting while she drove into town for a hamburger. I reeled it in for her. She also had a double catch on crabs. Three of us were using a pier net to try to get the crabs for bait but they were all females with eggs so we had to release them. Next week Julia will show all of us how it is done.

Patrick (galvestonpierfisher) arrived around 0800. He found a place on the pier. He used a sabiki rig to catch bait fish. They were very plentiful. He got 4 on just one cast. Using one of Jim's rigs he caught a nice keeper black drum.



David (DavidFromSpring) arrived around 0800. We offered to make room for him but he chose to fish farther out the pier. He caught his first drum at 1010. We made sure to keep an official time on it. For the day he caught 3 keeper black drum, 3 big whiting and a 27� black tip shark.



I caught most of my fish on the morning bite and a few whiting later in the day. I caught 2 keeper black drum and 5 keeper whiting 10-12�. The big bull whiting were not there on Saturday.



The water was full of bait fish most of the day. We could see small specks in the water that looked like glitter. Jim said they were small shad. Bait fish were also jumping like they were being chased. The birds worked the surf off and on most of the day. Pelicans were dive bombing straight into the water from height. Maybe some of the larger bait fish were deep?

Someone caught a 60 lb sea turtle. They were walking down the pier headed for the office and everyone was saying �Call 800�. They said they did already. A half hour later another walked down the pier with a smaller sea turtle. Both were put into pens and watered by the GFP staff. They were picked up by volunteers from Texas A&M on Pelican Island within an hour. If you do catch a sea turtle be sure to call 1-866-TURTLE6. Also DO NOT REMOVE THE HOOK. Cut your leader and leave the hook. Sea turtles are easily hurt by hook removal. Leave that to the rescue experts.

Bulldog told me that sea turtles are running the surf now. That increases your chances to catch or see one. Please be careful with them.





We caught mostly on dead shrimp and orange, crab flavor Fish Bites. Pink, chartreuse and orange, shrimp flavor Fish Bites also produced some fish.

Others on the pier caught sheepshead, slot reds, bull reds, flounder, bonnet head shark, Several got their limit of black drum. This is the catch that Jim and I took home. Some of the whiting were donated by David.



We will be going back to the pier this week. Our plans are not yet firm. It may be Thursday, Friday or Saturday. If you would like to meet up let me know. Its always a fun trip even if we get skunked.

Mailbox is cleaned out now. Did you have a jack crevalle or a shark? Or a big stingray?

We will be down there Saturday. I will try to swing by if the wife lets me lol

Not sure if I will be there Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

For the record I was there at 5:50 am. You also forgot my two pompano.

Great report though as the catching was too fast to keep up with everything.

Saturday, my brother will be in town for Baton Rouge. We are taking my 4-year-old son with us the Galveston Island State Park. We will surf fish and let my son play in the water.

There's no lisence requirement at the park and Imhave annual pass to get us all in for free. We could buy him a one day, out of state lisence, pay $24 to get on the pier or we can fish for free. We are going the free route.

See y'all another time.

I got to the pier around 0600. It was a great day and hope to be back out soon. The drum was a fun fight on my light rod and I can't believe they are still thick.

Amazing stuff! I think the pictures are my favorite part. I cant wait to come down, and catch my first black drum too! Thanks for all the tips, you guys do great work for the people of the pier, and have fun! Thanks guys

nice reports