my son is turning 4 today. I want to take him fishing in the next couple of weeks. As you can imagine he is not very patient and just likes to reel in as soon as I cast.I thought the ideal fish target would be flounder or any other species like whiting or piggy perch. any places that you could recommend for bank fishing what he will get some action

I should have other than that we usually go to Surfside Beachso it would be a plus if it's around the area. I read some posts about the coast guard station and the base of the jetty. is it a good time of the year or not?

ROLLOVER PASS

sylvan beach pier is fun. you don't even have to cast far and he could even just drop it over the side. always something biting at a peeled dead shrimp on a hook. i like the fourth light on the left and my son likes the fifth. there are low rail spots for the young and if you are sitting in a chair. the pier house/bait shop has all kinds of bait. i think he gets on the pier free and you only have to pay $4.00s. becareful on the right side of the pier because there are a lot of snags, some say it is the pilings from the old pier but if you can cast out far towards the white water tower on the left and reel fast and high over the snag area, it seems to be where the bigger fish are. heavy power pro helps too. when my son was your sons age, i would take him to san luis pass pier and texas city dyke pier and we made a little step stool for him to reach the top of the rail. a couple of years later he was casting his glow shad in the lights standing on his step stool pulling in the specks.

BEST KID FISHING COPANO BAY PIER, period whiting croaker within seconds, ive gone there my whole life and although the specs might not always be huge, to a kid a fish is a fish, safe cus its lit, and it was a rail so no worries about kid falling in

Thanks a lot for the tips guys.
pcde123, Copano is way too far out from us. Pafree, I was planning on a day fishing trip, so not sure about the "lights" on Sylvan, but I have heard great things about it and the quality of visitors, which I would rather have some slow fishing and a nice environment, than dealing with jerks, specially with a kid around.
Jean, I have seen your posts slamming flounder, reds and specks at Rollover Pass, not sure if a 4yo will be up for the task

we fish in the early morning or late evening during the week since i work weekends. the lights are not on but are landmarks for us. if you look at a google/yahoo earth type map then you will see there is a cut that runs under the pier between the fourth and fifth light on the left. we have never had people problems but kind get a laugh at their fishing techniques. (offshore broom handle poles catching croakers, upside down spinning reel technigue, CITY boy scouts trying to get a fishing badge, etc.)

I usually set up somewhere between the 4th and 6th light on right as you face the T-Head, but I fish the right side, which uses a lot of tackle with hang ups, but I have caught fish there when others were skunking out, there is something for fish to relate to.

pafree, I thought you meant you fished at dark under the lights.. Thanks for the clarification. Pferox, that relates to the previous info too. I guess fish like to hang around the right side cause there is so much structure. Thinking about it, maybe I'll rig with an Offshore broomstick and 200lb line and retrieve some setups

the boy likes using his white tiger spinning rod that is rigged with 65 lb braided. it will straigthen a hook but we have found it is the weight that is getting hung. we switched to teardrop style weights(usually use the pyramids) when fishing that side of the pier. we also switch to just taking some 40 lb leader line and making our own drop leaders by folding it over in the middle and tying a loop. tie a hook to one end and the stinker to the other. you tie your main line to the loop so there are less things to snag by not using a clip.

I've started to make a similar drop leader for over there, but don't even use a swivel, just tie it onto the main line, that way I loose a lot less gear.

I also either cast on the inside of or opposite side of the old pier and then reel in fast. About the only time I hang up is if I hook up onto some left over line or a fish runs into the junk and wraps around some of the structure down there.

I also went down to 12 and 15lb bullbuster line, that stuff is still hard to pull apart, many times I end up pulling the weight or hook apart.

I like the atmosphere on Sylvan, pretty laid back, usually not as crowded as Galveston piers, and since it is the bay, usually has pretty good fishing as the water cools down.

Skeeters can be a problem if the wind isn't blowing, bring repellent.

Are they still open on Saturday nights? They keep threatening to shut down because of low turn out, I would think if there are a few showing up, they would keep it running, heck when it is colder than heck is when the fishing is best there.

Flounder will be running around the redfsih holes and sand bars - good time of year to string a Texas Slam !!!