Well my lovely inlaws are moving to Houston and I'm heartbroken. First thing I thought of was, FISHING!!!! My wife, kids and I will only be able to make it a couple times a year to visit, mostly spring through summer. Anyone willing so share any advice or tips for down there? I'd be looking to fish within 30min to an hr of the Houston area. I don't have any experience down there other than a guided trip a few years back.

I live up by lake fork and tawakoni, so all my equipment is suited to those lakes and area ponds. Got a couple decent bass set ups, would the salt water destroy them? Also got a decent 9wt fly rod I use on tawakoni for the hybrids/striper/sandies. Going to be fishing from shore, not dragging the aluminum boat down there. In no way looking for anyones honey holes, just a finger in the right direction and some advice on gear. Thanks

i cant help u on fly fishing but i can tell you a couple things, i assume that since you dont have a boat, offshore and bay fishing is out of the picture, now what you can do is fish off a pier, galveston has ALOT of big piers that strech out far enough to fish some quality fish, if you dont wan tto buy any new gear then try spanish mackeral fishing, just walk down the pier till you see schooling and jumping bait fish, pull out a 1/2 oz or 1oz silver spoon and go nuts, its easy, you can also catch them off a popping cork with shrimp or bait fish. i do advice you to buy some 30lb wire because they have sharp teeth. buy a cast net if you can.
saltwater does corrode gear but only if your neglegent, if you on a pier your gear isnt going to be getting dunked into saltwater. u should be fine with a warm water hose down, just take em in the shower with you. worm water dissolves any cristalized easier, spinning combos are my go to but thats presonal preferance, your gonna want high gear ratio reels, no small profile bait casters, you wont be able to move the lure fast enough,
also if you want bigger fish, buy a leader from academy for sharks or redfish( like 2 dollars) and cut up some bait fish , last thing.....the ocean has a lot stronger drift, 1 oz 2 oz weights sometimes wont cut it, egg sinkers are usually not prefered, try pyramid s and if it gets worse get a spider weight

What side of Houston will they be moving to? There are lots of places to fish.

Any place in an hour of Houston will be shared by 10,000 of your new best friends. Be prepared.

Thanks pcde! I figure I will end up getting some new gear. Got 2 Abu Garcia set ups I use for bass fishing. All spin cast for catfish/hybrid/striper/sandies, prefer spin cast anyways. Wife says she thinks it's Clear Lake they are moving to. Would a canoe or kayak open up any other options to get away from some of the crowds?

well if you can afford a BTB kayak, YEs, piers do get crowded, especially the good ones,

Clear Lake is a great spot. Nassau bay heats up for redfish in a few weeks if the temps quit bouncing around so much. I use a Abu Garcia Blue max combo with 15# test line with 20# shock leader. Works great for reds, drum, flounder and trout.

We wont get to make it down as a family this year, wife is due with our second boy August 20. I may get down early August for a wedding in Houston. Can't wait! Going to start slowly getting some gear together.

Lots of places for trout and redfish in the area, and there's a couple of power plants with water discharges in San Leon and Texas City that have been reliable in the winter. I would just make sure everything is catch and release.

There are also a bunch of ponds and bayous in the Houston area that are full of carp and bass (and a lot of other weird stuff) that can be pretty fun to catch.

+1 the city has around 5 million residents, there's a lot of fishing pressure within an hour drive of downtown.

Well change of plans. The wife didn't get put on bed rest just yet, so she wants to try to come down. She's thinking maybe the last sunday of the month through wednesday or so. Granted she doesnt get put on bed rest before then. I figure itl be pretty crowded anywhere the first of summer and school being out. Should I try to focus on a pier somewhere or jetties? What would be the best bet to get away from most of the crowds......without using a boat?

If you're in Clear Lake I see a lot of people fishing around the Kemah Channel under the 146 bridge or the channel between Taylor Lake and Clear Lake under NASA Rd 1. There's also a park in Nassau Bay off of NASA Rd 1 & Point Lookout that fronts Clear Creek and also has a 33 acre lake that's stocked with channel cats.

Just be sure to read the fish consumption advisories. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/regulations/...-and-advisories

Edit: and if you're fishing with bait, go early. Live bait has been hard to come by around the lake.