Around Matagorda Bay

Weekly Newsletter
and
Fishing Report

I think summer is upon us. The weather is really warming up and the afternoon thunderstorms are "on the prowl". The wind this weekend should be doing a little flopping around - tomorrow starts out with a northeasterly wind and then will switch back and forth from east to southeast for several days. An easterly wind can mess up the bay waters, but it doesn't look like it will blow hard enough to do that.

Shell Island Reef, Tripod Reef and spots along the south shoreline of West Matagorda Bay could be good this weekend. Any spot with scattered shell and grass could be what you're looking for.

East Matagorda Bay reefs down on the east end of that bay may produce for you. Look for the spots on shell or next to grassy areas and try live shrimp or croaker in those spots -- you may be able to throw a "redfish" on the barbeque! The flats should be a good spot to wade using the old stand-by - pumpkinseed soft plastics.

This week's colors in the artificial lures are - pumpkinseed w/ chartreuse tail, fire tiger, or maybe a limetreuse. If you're not having luck on those colors, try anything with a chartreuse tail - they love it! Some fishermen prefer live bait, and if you're one of those, there should be plenty of live shrimp and croaker available at the bait camps.

A special hello this week goes out to our favorite doctor, Jay Hoffman! Hope you have a good weekend of fishing!

You know, I've heard that fishermen are some of the biggest braggers around -- I don't believe it! I never hear from any of you guys about the fish you're catching! How about dropping me some emails - hopefully with pictures - telling me what you're catching?

Come on down and give it a try!

Good Luck!

Webmaster

Thursday - 05/30/02

Offshore produced a goldmine today - lots of red snapper, ling, kingfish, dorado, dolphin, amberjack, and shark. It was pretty slow in both bays. There were some trout and reds caught along the south shorelines of both bays using artificials. There were nice trout and some reds caught in the surf today on menhaden, croaker and live shrimp. Skipper's Bait and Tackle at Matagorda Harbor has plenty of live shrimp and croaker available.

Wednesday - 05/29/02

East Matagorda Bay produced several 6 lb. trout today along the south shoreline using Bass Assassins and topwaters while wadefishing. Other catches included flounder, trout and redfish. West Matagorda Bay produced a lot of small trout (big enough to be legal) along the south shoreline near Green's Bayou. There were also some nice trout and redfish caught at the mouth of the Colorado River on live shrimp - not at the jetties, though. There were a few bull reds caught off the fishing pier at the beach. I was unable to get photos of the Colorado River today because of the weather. However, a new report is being posted today.

Tuesday - 05/28/02

I guess this past weekend was SO good for fishing that everyone stayed home today and rested. I really had a hard time tracking down any reports. There were a few reports of trout being caught over in West Matagorda Bay along the south shoreline by some wade fishermen using artificials. There was another report of a few reds caught tight against the shoreline using a gold Mirrolure. The pier at the beach produced a few bull reds on cut bait. All in all, a slow day of fishing, but more or less productive for those who ventured out.

Monday - 05/27/02

Another good day of fishing here at Matagorda! Offshore was really good - lots of catches of red snapper, dorado, and ling. Both East and West Matagorda Bays were productive along the south shorelines for trout and some redfish for both wade and drift fishermen. There was no report available for the fishing pier at the beach.

Sunday - 05/26/02

Wow! Really a good day fishing everywhere! Offshore there were limits of red snapper being caught, as well as catches of grouper, dorado, kingfish and ling. There was an 8+ lb. speckled trout brought out of East Matagorda Bay today along with other catches of trout - these were caught on live bait. Some redfish were caught in Crab Lake. Lots of trout and undersized reds were caught along the south shoreline of West Matagorda bay using live shrimp under a popping cork. Not much to report from the fishing pier at the beach - the water was muddy and non-productive.

Saturday - 05/25/02

At the fishing pier at the beach, fishing wasn't good today. West Matagorda Bay had a good day of fishing, though. Lots of trout and a few reds were caught around Shell Island and Mad Island Slough by drift fishermen using live and artificials. The south shoreline of West Bay also produced limits of trout. Offshore there were limits of red snapper and dorado being caught at the rigs.

Friday - 05/24/02

The wind caused problems again today - not much to report. There were some catches of trout along the south shoreline of West Matagorda Bay, and that's about it. One guide fishing that area, however, did come in with 8 trout, 2 reds, and 5 flounder. Tomorrow the wind should not blow as hard...

The phase of the moon has a lot to do with when the fish are feeding. If the moon is shining at night, the fish will feed during the night and not be hungry as early in the day.