Around Matagorda Bay

Weekly Newsletter
and
Fishing Report

Our much-needed rain is chasing the fishermen out of the bays! And it looks like we will have more chance of rain off and on during the weekend. But you know how Texas weather goes -- if it's storming when you get to Matagorda, just drink a cup of coffee over at Skipper's Bait and Tackle. Chances are that by the time you're through with your first cup, the sun will be shining and it'll turn into a perfect fishing day! Anyway, the winds should stay light through the weekend, consistently out of the southeast, and for the most part, the bays should be smooth -- maybe a little chop.

With the wind coming from the southeast, all the good spots along the south shoreline of East Matagorda Bay should be productive as well as spots on the east end of the bay. Watch for the birds out in the center of the bay and fish under them when you can find them. Drifting over scattered shell reefs should also prove productive in East Bay. Over in West Matagorda Bay, there's always Green's Bayou which usually proves to be a winner, Oyster Lake, Shell Island Reefs, and Coon Island Reef out in the big part of the bay.

What baits do we like this week? For trout, give Bass Assassins and Sand Eels a try - pumpkinseed/chartreuse, pepper/chartreuse, or red/white. Hogies should work for you, too. If you're looking to bring home some reds, try black Top Dogs or bone-colored Super Spooks thrown close to the shorelines. Or give a She-Dog a chance - the clown color is good right now.

Matagorda Harbor will be hosting the Prairie Chapter Kid's Tournament this weekend, but it shouldn't clog up the bays much.

On the home front, I'm working on a new segment for our fishing page - a Park 'n' Fish Site of the Week. Each week I'll showcase a different fishing spot around Matagorda Bay that can be reached by car so that you folks without boats will have some new places to try. So, watch for the link on the Fishing p age!

And in the meantime - come on down and wet a hook! Enjoy our bays!

Good Luck!

Webmaster

Thursday - 06/27/02

Old Gulf Cut was the flounder spot for today - one guy sat and caught 7 flounder there - but he sat all day fishing. The south shoreline of East Matagorda Bay produced some trout and reds on soft plastic baits. Drifting under the birds in the middle of East Bay produced some nice trout. People at the fishing pier caught some redfish, drum and whiting on live and dead shrimp.

Wednesday - 06/26/02

The thunderstorms ran everyone out of the bays early today. There were, however, some catches of trout and reds along the south shoreline of East Matagorda Bay, and there were trout and reds being caught in the surf on live bait this morning before the storms came in.

Tuesday - 06/25/02

An average day of fishing here in Matagorda today. There were some trout and reds caught on topwaters and Bass Assassins along the south shoreline by wadefishermen. There were a few birds working, but most of the trout caughter near the birds were small. We had a report of a few reds being caught by some driftfishermen in Oyster Lake.

Monday - 06/24/02

Fishing was fair today in East Matagorda Bay - south shoreline again. Trout and reds were caught using artificials, topwaters such as She-Dogs or Excalibur Super Spooks, or live shrimp under a popping cork. There were reports of some trout and reds being caught at the pier down at the beach, too. No report from offshore or West Matagorda Bay today.

Sunday - 06/23/02

Nice stringers of trout and redfish were brought in from East Matagorda Bay by wadefishermen along the south shoreline and drift fishermen who fished under the feeding birds. In West Matagorda Bay there were redfish and a few trout caught along the south shoreline - on artificials and live shrimp. Trout and redfish were being caught off the fishing pier at the beach. Offshore was real good - snapper, ling and some kingfish were caught.

Saturday - 06/22/02

A pretty good day of fishing! East Matagorda Bay produced more fish today - trout, quite a few reds, and some flounder when wadefishing and drifting over scattered shell using live shrimp under a popping cork and artificials such as Bass Assassins and Norton Sand Eels. In West Matagorda Bay there were some trout caught along the south shoreline. We also had reports of redfish being caught in Oyster Lake by drift fishermen. There were also reports of snapper being brought in from offshore.

Friday - 06/21/02

Very few fishermen went out today because it was a little windy. There were a few trout caught on artificials along the south shoreline of East Bay and a few trout caught on artificials along the south shoreline of West Bay. It was rough at the beach and jetties, so we had no fishing report.