Red Fish Flounder
Red Fish Flounder
Christmas Bay Coastal Preserve Questions?
I recently started hearing about this place, and thought I would take a trip down to try and fish some reds or flounder. I am having a bad time finding out if there is a county parks office nearby, and if there is anywhere nearby to camp. Anyone with any info on that would be helping me out a bunch.
Also, I thought I might take the chance and try flounder gigging for the first time if I make it down there. What supplies are needed for gigging flounder? So far I've got tough wading shoes in order to keep my feet safe, a decent lantern and flashlight, and a barbless two-prong gig. That sound about right? Some tips on the technique would be appreciated. Thanks.
I have fished Christmas Bay,Tx a total of about 25 yrs. I pretty much know that area and some of it's secret fishing spots. First of all you can camp on the beach. The East side of Christmas Bay is right next to the beach road which connects Freeport to Galveston. Right across the beach road on to the beach is where you can set up camp. This part of the beach has allot of small clam shells mixed into the sand. Look for what is standing of an old pier going out into the surf as well. Last year there was still a couple of pilings still standing. Wade fishing this area of the beach in the morning and you will catch specks. Use live shrimp on a popping cork. Fish in-between the second and third sandbars. Flounder gigging in the bay. I have gigged 100s of flounder out of that bay. Some have been some nice saddle blankets(7.5lb best, average 1-5lbs). I would wear lace up sneakers with blue jeans, long sleeve shirt and lots of bug spray. Tie a heavy duty stringer to your beltloop(dragging a stringer of flounders through the oyster bank areas can be hard on a stringer) I used a colman lantern with the back part of the light covered in alumiminim foil so the light didn't shine in my eyes. This bay has a real soft bottom in allot of places, so sometimes you can sink up to your knees while your walking it. Having the lace up shoes will keep you from losing them in the mud. A moonless night will help on seeing them as well . The water in this bay is really murkey so its hard to see em sometimes when the mud is being stirred up by just the walking through it. There is allot of snake grass(thats what I called it) that the flounder like to balance on top of there. Wading through this snake grass in about 2-3ft of water there is no way you can see the bottom even with the lantern. The flounder just lay on this stuff waiting for bait to swim through. You can gig along the shallow shore line and get a few but working the grass is where they are. I would avarage 20-30 flounder a night out of there years ago. Also be aware of sting rays in the area. Just slide your feet(never step) when your wading out in the water and you will be fine. I have been stuck by rays twice in that area. Once stepping on one and the other I gigged thinking it was a flounder. Using a barbless gig I always try to get my free hand under the flounder before raising up my gig. Like I said the water can be pretty murkey so watch what you gig. Besides the great gigging in the area the bay has produced some nice reds and specks. That whole area is a little hot spot fishing area. I have spent a many of night out there, set up the horseshoes and bbq pit on the beach and fish all day then gig all night. Feel free to email me for more info into that area. 40yr exp
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(The books I publish are always proof read and corrected before publishing on Kindle! David Snode) "First catch your hare," the old cookery books used to say, and hence it is proper, in a treatise devoted entirely to the cooking of Unshelled Fish, to pay passing attention to the Catching... |
Inshore saltwater fishing for redfish, flounder & speckled trout