saying Hello and asking ????

[itchin2gofishin]

Howdy All,
I will be staying on the Island at Jamacia Beach during the month of March and Part of April. I was wondering if I might get some information as to where to fish and what type of fish are avalible that time of year. Also any information on rigs and baits. I will be bank fishing or surf fishing. I would appreciate any and all information. Hopfully the weather will have warmed up by then.

Thanks and good fishing

[WestEndAngler]

There is nothing like surf fishing when it turns on. If your wanting to get out on the bay one day hook up with one of the guides we recoomend. Capt. Greg Francis is a great West Bay guide there are many others too in the event he is booked when your wanting to go.

Walk-in spots near Jamaica: Galveston Island State Park, San Luis Pass, Sportsman / 8 Mile Road these all access the bay.

[Robalo]

Welcome. Try down by San Luis Pass-just be VERY careful-drop offs and moving sand-please wear a PFD to be safe. Drum and Reds as well as trout and flounder should be moving through then. Try the bayside also-watch out for the guts/drop offs on bayside also-be courteous and ask someone if they don't mind if you wade with them and tell them you are a newbie and would like some info/learning-unless they are a jerk, they'll say "Sure". Go to the maps on the Home Page here and check it out-down by Sportsman road is wade access-also GISP (Gal. Is. State Park) but you need a permit to drive into it. Surf should be good if not rough.

Read some of the Shallowists and Aqua Pimps articles on this site also. You may want to take advantage of a guide-hire Aqua Pim[p-a/k/a Capt. Greg Francis, Saltwaterassault.net. baits/rigs:

I use baitcasters and am a soaker of live shrimp. Most folks use bass assassins (purple/chartruese) on a 1/8 oz. jighead or topwaters such as super spooks.

Good luck and be safe.

[Jhua]

The surf is awesome when it's on. Look for clear water (or clearer than in usually is) and you could be looking at frivolous action for a while. I have a very all-round set up with a 3/8th ounce egg sinker with a red glass bed attached to a swivel. Then from the swivel I have a designated leader which is usually double the strength of my main line attached to a #4 (I think) Eagle Claw Croaker Hook. Fishing should be on by then. Good luck!

[Curmudgeon]

Robalo & Jhua have great advice.
At Jamaica Beach you can walk straight into the beach and fish. Galveston Island State Park is right next to Jamaica Beach and it has some places to bank fish or wade on the bay side. I think it's $5 /day/person, so if you're there for very long, the annual pass may be a bargain.
You can't go wrong fishing with live shrimp, but Gulp shrimp on a jig head is nearly as good. I also love topwaters and Corkys.
Have fun and feel free to ask questions. There's a wealth of information available here.

[corndog]

All of the above is great advise. When you get closer to the arrival date start checking the website for whats going on in the area. You can usually find some post on who is catching what and where. Oh BTW the main game fish we target here are Speckled Trout, Red Drum AKA redfish and Flounder. However there are many other fish in the area that enjoy peeling line off of your reel. Enjoy your visit!!

[reeltime]

Welcome and all good advice as well as whiting and croaker are tastee surf fish and easy to catch!

[Milkjug]

Welcome to the site.

Robalo gave you some good advice.

That is around the Spring to Summer transition. SLP should be beginning to turn on, especially if its been warm. You could probably still get into trout in the Sportsman's Rd. area (more of a Winter thing).

Drum fishing in the channels should be getting good, and I do well for slot drum and sheephead fishing structure in the surf with my expert dead shrimp technique, LOL.

[Milkjug]

Ahh, if you are not getting into the water, I would fish SLP. You could also go to either the rock groins E. of 61st, or fish the flat rocks W. of 61st (especially if the tide is higher). Dead shrimp on the bottom with a small hook will get you some eaters for sure, and the hardheads are not too plentiful that early in the year.

[SUPER SPOOK]

good info robalo!

[Randy]

Where are you from and do you fish? Asking cuz I see lots of people buying huge surf rods while vacationing the Island. You can get by with a smaller set-up and not spend a fortune doing so.

[Curmudgeon]

Where are you from and do you fish? Asking cuz I see lots of people buying huge surf rods while vacationing the Island. You can get by with a smaller set-up and not spend a fortune doing so.

Great point!!
What do you want to fish for?

[Jhua]

Even if you fish the surf, you don't have to get a surf rod. I'm a light tackle kind of guy and use a light action spinning rod with 10 lb test. I find it a lot more fun to tire the fish out than to use brute strength. In the surf I walk out about 10 yds from the beach and get crackin. Another thing is that there are redfish usually roaming the grass near San Luis Pass. After I wade out in the flats, I usually save a mullet or two and toss it into the grass on the way back to my car. One will usually pick it up and make a run for it

[nokatchin]

Welcome Aboard and good catching

[Robalo]

He's from Oregon. Randy brought up a good point-unless shark fishing or bull red fishing, we use generally stuff like Shimano Curados/Chronarchs or spinning reels like Shimano Stradic 4000, 10-12# test, no wire stuff, and 6.5' to 7' medium to light action rods-kinda like bass rigs. If ya wanna go after bull sharks, then use long surf rods and terminal tackle. Most trout are 2-4#s (except for Sneekypete and Mellwader-theirs are 8-10# and they won't tell us where they get them big gurls at!!).