Need Advice on Basic Equipment

My best buddy bought a beautiful property on the water in La Porte, just north of Sylvan Beach. I know nothing at all about inshore fishing. He has a 300 foot dock that sticks out into the bay. I'm a bass fisherman and I know next to nothing about salt water fishing and own zero salt water gear of any kind. What kind of equipment should I buy? What can I expect to catch from his dock? What type of lure/bait should I use? Are there peak times of year? I literally know nothing! Any and all help you could provide would be greatly appreciated!

Most of your bass gear will work fine. You’ll need to learn the habit of rinse and lube after every trip.

Your spook top water bass assassin and swim baits all work.

Hard to know what type of under water structure you have nearby. Everything bites on live bait or fresh dead cut bait. Get a cast net and you can catch all the bait you will need right from the dock. Times of day for catching bait will vary. Popping corks for live shrimp and Carolina rig for mullet and piggy perch and cut bait. You could also freeline shrimp. Best thing is you will catch so many things that you will not have a clue what they are. Current and tidal movement will be key. They bite when it moves and they don't when it don't.
Great Luck

If you can get your buddy to put some lights on his pier (or the underwater green ones, they're better), sit out there with a case of beer and a pint of live shrimp after dark. Free line the shrimp on a light spinning rod (tie hook directly to fc leader, tie leader directly to line) and you should find a few takers

He's got two giant lights on the end the dock that point down toward the water. Not underwater, but these things are huge!

When is peak season for redfish and trout when fishing from a dock like that on the bay? Or is it something where you can catch them year round?

I fish bass and inshore and would suggest leaving your bass gear home, it will work foe sure but really, leave it home. Go buy a Penn spinfisher VI 2500 match it with a falcon inshore medium fast 7ft rod. 20lb test power pro.

Basic lures good for novices:
top water: super spook jr,
plastic: Norton eel, mirrorlure Lil john, down south lure paddle tail
cork: foam oval popping cork no weight for lures, Alameda rattling popping cork for bait
Hooks: saltwater jig head 1/16, 1/8, 1/4 ounce, #4 treble, croaker hooks

Watch videos on using popping corks with bait and lures.
Most plastic baits work with a slow reel, twitch twitch, slow reel. Mimics a shrimp evading action
Topwater is walk the dog.

Coming from a bass background you will do very well. Patterns are way more subtle then fresh water especially with structure. Look up a lure color chart for inshore that will help with color selection. My favorite all around color is chicken on the chain, plum chartreuse, watermelon red flake. Find the bait find the fish, jumping bait is always a good sign. Wading is so much fun but I have just as much luck in a boat.

Fishing lights, glow chartreuse saltwater assassin or paddle tail is a favorite among most.

Watch videos, read about speckle trout and reds, read about tide changes, get a top spot map and study it. Then get out there and work the water. Just like bass fishing you will start to unlock the patterns.

Peak time for me is October thru May. I don't like summer fishing. To many boats, to hot, fishing windows to short, lots of available live bait so fish have more options what to eat so they are more picky.

Gold spoons, shrimp tailed jigs (alone or under a float), topwater lures, and suspending lures will all work. When I really want to catch fish, I use bait. Shrimp under a cork will get trout, ladyfish, and other species. Shrimp on the bottom will almost always get hit by something. Mullet will catch redfish and big trout. Live or fresh dead is best. If you catch a ladyfish, cut it in cross sections and throw that out on the bottom. Be careful with hardhead catfish and stingrays. Good luck and let us know how you do.

Josh, you're overthinking it. A decent spinning rod, a popping cork, one ounce slip weights, split shot, small circle hooks, three inch swim baits, and live or dead shrimp is all you need. With those lights you can have a lot of fun just about any time of year, go when you can. Like others said, wash your stuff real good after each time and lube it after. Real magic after a quick rinse will do unless you dunk the reel.

I love fishing at night under the lights, you never know what will show up. Get some beers, sit out with your buddy, and have a blast. A set up like that is great for getting kids into fishing too.

Daytime, especially during the winter, you've got a really good chance for great eating size black drum, use a carolina rig with a shrimp chunk. I spend a lot of time in the San Leon area not far from there just down the coast.

Thanks for all the advice and input all. Which species are best to eat out of the bay? Can someone make a list in order of preference? I've never eaten any of the inshore species from this area.

Fresh speckled trout may be my favorite fish to eat, anywhere, not just out of the bay. It doesn't freeze well though - turns mushy.

My top 3:
Trout
Flounder
Redfish

Check the consumption advisories for that area before planning a big fish fry..........