UTERThe best time to fish Galveston Bay is October, when birds work over schools of trout in East and Trinity bays and the bull red run peaks at the jetties and San Luis Pass. For big trout, the best time is February and March, wading the mud and shell of East and West bays on warm afternoons. Summer is surf trout, tarpon off the beaches and kings on the rigs. Winter is redfish in the marsh drains and the clear marsh lakes.
This guide covers Galveston Bay and Sabine Lake, the upper Texas coast from Matagorda to Sabine Pass: Galveston's East, West, Trinity and Christmas bays, Matagorda's East and West bays and Sabine Lake, with shell reefs, mud flats, marsh drains and bayous behind the barrier islands. There are jetties at Galveston, Freeport and Sabine Pass, and a ring of oil and gas platforms just offshore. The months come from the upper Texas coast page of Fish Scouter's season calendar.
Galveston Bay fishing calendar at a glance
| Month | Headline | Top targets |
|---|---|---|
| January | Low winter tides: reds in the drains, big trout on the mud | Redfish, trout, sheepshead, sand trout |
| February | Wade East Bay for big trout; drum and sheepshead spawn | Trout, black drum, sheepshead |
| March | Big drum in the ship channel; trout on the reefs | Black drum, trout, sheepshead, flounder |
| April | Everything wakes up on the shell | Trout, redfish, flounder, Spanish, whiting |
| May | Spawning trout at the jetties and wells | Trout, redfish, flounder, cobia, croaker |
| June | Green to the beach; first tarpon | Surf trout, kingfish, tarpon, red snapper |
| July | Tarpon off the jetties; snapper and kings offshore | Tarpon, trout, kingfish, snapper |
| August | Peak tarpon; trout early | Tarpon, trout, redfish, gafftop |
| September | Bull reds at the jetties | Redfish, tarpon, flounder, jacks |
| October | Birds over trout; bull red run peaks | Trout, redfish, flounder, black drum |
| November | The flounder run; marsh drains | Flounder, redfish, trout, black drum |
| December | Winter marsh: clear water, schooled reds | Redfish, trout, sheepshead, sand trout |
Winter: December to February
December
The marsh lakes go clear and low, and redfish school up where you can sight-cast to them on calm days. Trout move to the deep bayous. Sand trout fill the Galveston ship channel and the deep holes, so drift a shrimp-tipped jig. Sheepshead start showing on the jetties and bridges.
January
Low winter tides. Reds pile into the bayou mouths and deep marsh drains of East Bay and Sabine Lake, so fish a soft plastic slow on the bottom on the falling tide. Big trout come out onto the mud in East Bay on the warm, calm afternoons after a front. Sheepshead sit on the Galveston jetties and the bay bridges, so use shrimp on a small hook. Offshore, blackfin tuna are on the rigs.
After a cold front: north winds drain the marsh. Reds and trout pile into the bayou mouths, the deep channels and the ship channel. Two calm days later, the big trout move up onto the warming mud.
February
Big-trout month. Wade East Bay and West Bay over mud and shell, and work slow-sinking twitchbaits on the warm afternoons. Big black drum gather at the Galveston jetties and the Sabine Pass channels to spawn, so fish cracked crab on the bottom. Sheepshead spawn at the Galveston and Sabine jetties.
Spring: March to May
March
The big-drum run peaks in the Galveston ship channel and San Luis Pass. Sheepshead spawning peaks on the jetty rocks, so fish fiddlers or shrimp tight to the rocks. Big trout move onto the shell reefs, and start eating topwater as the water climbs past 65°F. Flounder come back into the bays through San Luis Pass and Sabine Pass, and whiting bite shrimp in the Galveston surf.
April
Everything wakes up on the shell. Fish shrimp under a popping cork over the shell reefs and drains of Galveston and Trinity bays. Reds come back to the shorelines of East and West bays. Spanish mackerel arrive at the Galveston jetties, and pompano and whiting are in the surf.
May
Trout spawn at the jetties, the bay wells and the reefs. Fish croaker on a Carolina rig, the classic summer trout bait on this coast. Reds feed at the marsh drains on the outgoing, so run gold spoons along the grass of Christmas Bay and Chocolate Bay. Cobia show on the buoys, weed lines and nearshore platforms off Galveston, and jacks run the jetties and the surf.
Summer: June to August
June
"Green to the beach" days: when the wind lies down and clean green water reaches the sand, trout move into the Galveston surf at dawn. Wade the guts early. Kings are on the nearshore rigs off Freeport and Galveston, so slow-troll hardtails. The first tarpon show off Galveston and Sabine on calm days. Offshore, red snapper are on the rigs (check TPWD and NOAA for open days), and tripletail hang on the channel markers and crab traps.
July
Tarpon roll off the Galveston jetties and around the nearshore bait schools, so drift a live mullet or a big swimbait. Surf and jetty trout feed early, and croaker and shrimp work at the bay wells. Ribbonfish show at the jetties and piers, ladyfish run the surf and passes, and mangrove snapper sit on the jetties and nearshore platforms.
August
The heart of tarpon season off the upper coast beaches. In the bays, fish first light or not at all, and go deep for trout at midday. Gafftopsail catfish feed in the surf and bays, and big kings hang on the rigs in the 80-degree water.
Fall: September to November
September
Bull reds gather at the Galveston and Sabine jetties and in the surf as the fall spawn starts at the passes. Fish cut mullet on the bottom. Bull jacks crash the mullet at the passes. Tarpon turn south, working the jetties and passes on the outgoing. The first fronts flush bait out of the marsh, and flounder start to move.
October
The best month to find fish. Gulls work over trout feeding on shrimp in East Bay and Trinity Bay, so watch for the birds and drift in quietly. The bull red run peaks in San Luis Pass and at the jetties, and birds also mark slot reds in the bays. The flounder run starts at the drains and passes on the outgoing after each front. Fall pompano return to the surf and San Luis Pass, and the last tarpon leave with the first real front.
November
The flounder run. Fish stack at the Galveston jetties and Sabine Pass on their way to the Gulf to spawn, and Texas limits harvest during the run, so check TPWD. Reds stack at the bayou mouths and marsh drains when the big north winds drop the tide. The birds and the slicks over the reefs keep giving up trout. Black drum hold around the bay reefs and bridges.
Tides in Galveston Bay
The upper Texas coast has a mostly diurnal tide: one high and one low most days, with a range of only about 1 to 2 feet. That makes wind and fronts more important than the moon. Strong north winds after a front blow the bays out and drain the marsh, while south winds stack water back into the grass.
- Marsh drains and bayou mouths: the falling tide, especially on a north wind.
- Jetties and passes: the outgoing for flounder, bull reds and tarpon heading south.
- Shell reefs: any moving tide; dead water slows the trout.
- Surf: calm, green-water days, whatever the tide, at first light.
Baits that work in Galveston Bay
- Live shrimp under a popping cork: trout and reds over shell, spring and fall.
- Croaker on a Carolina rig: summer trout at the jetties, wells and reefs.
- Slow-sinking twitchbaits and soft plastics: big winter trout on the mud.
- Mud minnows: flounder at the drains and passes.
- Cracked crab: big black drum at the jetties and in the ship channel.
- Cut and live mullet: bull reds at the jetties and tarpon off the beach.
- Gold spoons: reds along the grass edges.
One local note: older guides send you to Rollover Pass on Bolivar for spring flounder and fall bull reds. The Texas General Land Office closed and filled the pass in 2019 and 2020, so use San Luis Pass, the Galveston jetties and Sabine Pass instead.
Rules
Texas sets its own limits for trout, redfish, flounder and black drum, and it has changed trout and flounder rules several times in recent years. Federal rules govern red snapper and other reef fish on the rigs. Read the current rules in the TPWD Outdoor Annual before you keep a fish.
Know the day, not just the month
On a coast where the wind moves more water than the moon, a calendar only gets you halfway. You need to know when the north wind will drain the marsh and when the beach will go green. We built Fish Scouter for that, and we think it's the best fishing app for Galveston Bay. It combines this season calendar with the wind, the NOAA tide for the nearest station, the live water temperature from the nearest reporting sensor and the seven-day outlook, and ranks every species for the spot you're on, each hour, with the reasons in plain words. For the rest of the state, see Texas Gulf Coast fishing by season and the Texas winter fishing guide, or try Fish Scouter free.