(July 27, 2010) Fishing Report - Captain Bryan Brawner 409-256-1265

Fishing in Galveston East Bay has really turned on the last week. Despite a few showers limiting our fishing areas some days and thunderstorm threats keeping us moving, we have managed some good stringers of speckled trout. The bay conditions are excellent now and specks and reds can be caught on most mid bay oyster reefs. The bite has been best on soft plastic artificials keying on slicks and jumping shrimp. We have caught a variety of fish on most trips including specks, sand trout, reds and flounder. We have also used live croaker when they were necessary or when clients requested live bait. Trout are still hitting live croaker but they have not been aggressively eating them. You have to let them run with the bait some but if you wait too long the fish drop the bait. Drifting the croaker work best because the fish seem to still be somewhat scattered and are still reluctant to really eat the bait. The full moon over the weekend could also have some effects on the bite. Bottom line is stick with the soft plastics now for more fish when you can.

Even though snapper season is over for now, August starts one of the most exciting and productive times for offshore fishing. Big ling are being caught in close all the way to the jetties. Pelagic species like kingfish, dorado, and wahoo are closer in and can be caught drifting weed lines and structure. There are also several species of snapper which are legal too keep including lane snapper, mangrove snapper and vermillion snapper. Seivers Cut Bait Camp is open now at Bolivar Yacht Basin. I run out of there for most of my offshore trips from Bolivar Peninsula. They have a good stock of fishing supplies. Look for their grand opening soon.

I am offering offshore charters now and am going out of Bolivar Yacht Basin in Crystal Beach. There will probably be an extension to red snapper season and I will post the dates as soon as I am notified. There are a lot of other species to fill the box with when snapper season is closed. We catch lots of kingfish, sharks, Spanish mackerel, dorado, triggerfish, ling, and other various species of snapper and grouper. I am fully licensed and permitted for offshore charters by the National Marine Fisheries Service and have some of the lowest prices on the Texas Coast for offshore trips. Check out my website for more information on my offshore adventures... www.GalvestonGuideFishing.com

Call 409-256-1265 for availability of trips and to reserve your fishing adventure. Check my website www.GalvestonGuideFishing.com for prices and more information. You can also e-mail me captbryan@swbell.net for updated fishing conditions and trip availability, but remember; I am out fishing during the day and might not get to e-mail replies until late or the next morning early. My bay trip prices start at $350.00 for 2 anglers.

For exact fishing locations and techniques, I am conducting one-on-one classes of the Galveston East Bay System and Galveston Bay all the way to Texas City. We will spend a half-day trip exploring that bay and the techniques and timing of fishing there. Bring your hand-held GPS and a map and note pad and I will further your knowledge of the bay after the storm and patterns for fishing in all of the seasons of the year. These classes include everything from locations to tackle and lure selection thus have a lot of content. So, I limit them to 2 persons max at a time. Call 409-256-1265 for more information.

Blue Water Bait Camp always has plenty of quality bait including croaker, live shrimp and mullet. They also have a bulk ice machine where you can get plenty of buckets of ice at a good price. Blue Water is also stocking fishing tackle, water, and soft drinks. They are always open early, so they are your one stop source for bait and fishing needs on Bolivar Peninsula. Directions are on their website-bluewaterbaitcamp.com/ 409-684-BAIT. Bolivar Yacht Basin has also reopened their bait camp and ramps.

Stingaree Restaurant is now offering Pizza Down Under. (Mon-Tue 11-8 and Fri-Sun 11-9) These are made to order and are great. The restaurant is open for lunch upstairs Wednesday through Sunday and has a great burger or shrimp quesadillas along with their regular menu items. Call 409-684-2731 for more information.