Gulf Coast Fishing

[BLK306]

I was wanting to take my dad on a fishing trip down at the coast. However, I am by no means a fisherman so I really have no idea what to look for when picking a guide, what kind of fish to go after, and what is a reasonable rate for the trip. Are there any of you out there that have any experience with this? Maybe even a recomendation for a good charter service? Any help really would be appreciated.

[Rick Modena]

I've heard of some nice charters going out of the Port Lavaca area.

[Silverback]

I have a few buddies around Corpus Christi, I can get you a few names and numbers from Facebook if you want.

[BLK306]

I have a few buddies around Corpus Christi, I can get you a few names and numbers from Facebook if you want.

Do they run charters or just know people that do? Either way if you want to message me the info I can look in to it.

[Silverback]

Do they run charters or just know people that do? Either way if you want to message me the info I can look in to it.

both

[RWhite]

I would recommend Freeport and further south alone the coast for deep sea fishing charters.

Years ago, my father went on a deep sea charter out of Freeport. He got hooked (pun intended) on fishing and boating on this trip. On that trip, he was pulling up red fish 3 or 4 at a time (they had lines with multiple hooks). I remember they left at 4 AM and arrived at the fishing location many miles offshore, near the oil rigs. They fished all day and came back to port in the early evening. He had so much fun after that trip, he bought a 25 ft. Chris Craft and that was the start of a 35 year love affair with boating and fishing. After he retired, he ended up with a 49 ft. Hatteras. We lived for the weekends in those days, fishing the Galveston Bay flats and sometime out to the center of Trinity Bay for the speckled trout! Those were the days I will never forget!

[Silverback]

Here's a few numbers to call:

My dad recommended these first two, he's a big fisherman and outdoorsy guy, I'm sure he's used them for business trips. You can say Alex Harris recommended them to you.
David Green (361) 854-8768
Randy Charba (361) 960-5011

And this is a guy I knew in highschool who now do guide services. Tell 'em Matt Harris from King High School sent ya:

Captain Kevin G. Sahadi
Baffin Bay, Laguna Madre,
The Land Cut, Offshore / Onshore
Redfish, Trout, etc...
3138 Catcay
Corpus Christi, TX 78418
Phone: (361) 937-4552
ReelLifeSahadi@aol.com

I'm gettin the numbers for a few others. Just call/email and find out what the prices/services/areas are.

[CJ-95GT]

Not that it matters, but I think I read something this morning about the lingering effects of the BP oil spill in the gulf. You should get a smoking rate.

[BP]

Do you have a 4x4? You can fish the jettys by Padre and catch some monsters from the shore, if you can get to them. Drums are what's common there. They have some big hammerhead sharks and stingrays to go with them. You'll catch the same sized stuff from the shore here as you would in a boat.

Flounder is also big in the spring time but not exactly the same kind of fishing.

Or if you want to charter you can catch anything you would in the Carribean if you go out far enough, sometimes 60+ miles though depending on currents.

[Thehead]

If you are looking for something on the cheaper side you can do one of the big party style boats also. There are a couple in Galveston(Buccaneer and New Buccaneer) and in Port A. (Scat cat and Warf Cat) or captian Kelly's boats. Either of these should run you about $100 per person for a 12hour trip. The unfortunate part of these is the boat ride is about 3hrs out and 3hrs in some times 4. All of these usually catch fish and can be fun with less out of pocket. I prefer private charters but if money is a consideration these are a good fall back idea.

[0 GT 2]

I don't have any recent first hand experience but I know in the back of Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine there is a vendor index that has a lot of names up and down the coast.