Ok I'm confused. I wade out in the water get about knee deep then shallower then up to my waist and I can see another sandbar so am I in the first gut or in the second. Second question how do you decide where along the beach do you fish, other than the free parking areas (cheap skate), and please don't say look for feeding birds the only birds I see on the beach are either standing on shore or swarming somebody throwing crackers at them

wade gut ,1st. sand bar then 1st. gut. so your in the first gut. At least that the way I learned it. We try to find a deep wade gut and set up there. A lot of people call the wade gut and first gut the same so you may be in the second gut to some people

i like to stand on top of the sand bar and fish, 1. less liekly to eat salt water, im fine with getting wet but im not a big fan of the taste of salt water, and 2 u dont interfeir with the surrent in the gut, fish travel parralel to the beach through the guts, u standing in there will interfere

depends on what your fishing for and what your fishing with, ur gonna want to find deeper guts if the wind is strong or u have fragile bait like shrimp, if u have something more sturdy like cut bait and crab u can fish in the 2nd or 3rd gut by casting far from the 1st bar

I have surfed for 23 years. Wade out, first sand bar, approximately waist deep. If there are no waves hitting you, you probably won't go out too much further. The waves break on the sand bars (shallow water). Stand on the sand bar and cast out. Some days the first gut is the best. If you aren't getting any bites, wade out to next sand bar. If the next gut gets too deep, back off. If not, then the next sand bar will probably be around waist to chest. You have to make the call. The sand bars change all the time. Be careful. Don't get yourself in a bad place. If you are wearing waders, definitely do not get so deep that water gets in your waders or you are screwed.

As far as wear to park. Go to Surfside. As long as you take a right after you come over the bridge, there is no charge for parking all the way to the Jetties.

Galveston, drive down to the west end. There are several pockets you can drive out on and park - no charge.

Now, if you want some really good wading spots, go to Google Earth. I have found several great places to wade out. If you want even a better idea, go down to Academy and get you an Ocean Kayak. They aren't as pricey as the fancy ones. But, I bought a two-man yak for my 13 year old and I. We have fished in so many places and caught some really good fish.

Good luck!

Well said Surferguyrob. Check out google earth and you can find some really good spots to fish. Look for areas where the waves are essentially coming from two directions, these areas are great for bait fish, which in turn bring in the game fish. I found one of these locations and fish it all the time. a little pre-planning before your trip will pay out an cut down the time setting up.