Question on Gulf Coast Party Boat Fishing

[gdr_11]

Being originally from the West Coast, I miss ocean fishing....used to go a lot for Salmon, Halibut and bottom fish. I have been looking online and the best bet here seems to be a party boat company out of Galveston (Galveston Party Boats) that offers 12 hour and 30 hour trips to deep water for reasonable prices. I know that the Louisiana coast may offer better chances for quality tuna and other large species but not sure of what is available there for party boats, plus that may be an extra long drive from my neck of the woods.

Reason I am thinking party boats is that I have no friends or family here to go with so a charter is out of the question since even the small boats are very expensive. I am looking at spending $100 - $150 for a day out on the water and the chance to catch some decent fish for my freezer. Would not mind surf fishing at Los Padres or similar area for drum or sea trout but without someone to show me where or why thats a long drive from the Tyler area to just poke around.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Charlie]

Good luck! Tagged for interest.

 

[baboon]

Get friends & do a chartered trip. The party boats are hard money! The inside where the restroom is & A/C is pretty much a bunch of people puking. For what it cost & what I caught on party boats I'd rather blow the money going out to eat.

 

[txinvestigator]

Reason I am thinking party boats is that I have no friends or family here to go with so a charter is out of the question

Get friends & do a chartered trip.

roflmao

 

[Mikewood]

Get friends & do a chartered trip. The party boats are hard money! The inside where the restroom is & A/C is pretty much a bunch of people puking. For what it cost & what I caught on party boats I'd rather blow the money going out to eat.

That was my experience as well.
Look at your limits you on snapper and throw in a m
King or a dorado and see how much that is a pound. You can often buy fish for less.

 

[Dawico]

I agree with avoiding the party boats. I have been a few times and never caught crap.

Talk to a charter company and see if they have an opening with another group. There has to be other singles wanting to do the same thing.

 

[Moonpie]

Surf fishing is the least expensive way to fish the salt in Texas.
You can target shark, redfish, speckled trout, and other species.
Little gear is needed for the smaller species. Appropriate size rod/reel/tackle and a few other items.
Beach access is usually free. Some areas allow you to drive along the beach.
Larger species require more substantial equipment but not any more than the smaller species.

Offshore gets into some serious money quickly.
The head boats that run out of Galveston can get you something. Sometimes.
Lots of lubbers on those boats so be prepared.

Inshore fishing is nice but guided trips are $$$.

Kayaking has really taken off the last decade. They're everywhere nowadays.

 

[gdr_11]

Sounds like it will be the beaches for me!

 

[baboon]

Sounds like it will be the beaches for me!

Good luck on that. I stopped wade fishing many years ago because of all the people everywhere I went.

 

[t-astragal]

The best trips on party boats are the 30-56 hr tuna trips. Less people and better fishermen are on these trips. I've had several trips with 100's of pounds of fish caught. Plus tuna are the toughest fighting fish out there.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ROGER4314]

I went on a party boat out of Galveston and found it to be a waste of time and money. Big tippers get in the stern and as the boat approaches the offshore rigs, it does so stern first. Suckers like me are positioned on the port and starboard sides. Those poor people get the leftovers.

It's true about the sea sickness. Instead of locating at the center of the boat, newbies sit at the bow and stern. There's plenty of puking going on. If it's rough, stay on your feet and ride it out. Being tired of standing beats Hell out of barfing your guts out!

The most fun was fending off the crew as they tapped us for tips when we pulled into port.

Went once. Never again!

Flash

 

[Moonpie]

Wading the surf for speckled trout is a classic Texas summer pastime.
Gear needed is minimal.
Rod/reel/tackle. Wading belt with landing net, pliers, stringer. Bait bucket if using live bait. Wading shoes. Hat. Ice chest. Personal flotation device.
Some folks like to use lures. Others prefer live bait. Either can be productive.
Live bait will require some additional equipment to haul the bait and keep it alive. Aerators and such.
You don't need a huge box of lures either. A simple gold spoon works fantastic. Some jig heads and tails, maybe a topwater or two and you're good to go. Purple tails w/flourescent green tail end are a killer.
Its a popular sport and on weekends it WILL get crowded. Just like the shooting range. Deal or stay home.
Its getting time of year for the surf to start producing. Surf warms enough to hold trout.
You'll want to watch the winds.
Low Southeast wind = good clean green water = usually good fishing.
Southwest wind = bad dirty water = no trout
Rough surf = stay home
Its easy to watch the surf cams and wind stations. Mornings/evenings are usually best times to fish.
FWIW, when you catch a keeper fish get it on ice ASAP.
Two reasons for this.
One, it preserves the fish. A dead trout hanging off a stringer in Texas summer time heat for a couple of hours = nasty.
Two, fish hanging off a stringer in the surf = shark magnet. Sucks to have a nice stringer of fish one minute and Mr.Toothy eating them the next. Also sucks to have to wash out your pants when an eight foot shark rises up right next to your leg gobbling up your hard caught fish. Please do not ask me how I know this.

Good luck on your new hobby. Post pics.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

I sure hope you shot that shark with the NAA .22 Mag you had hanging from your neck.

 

[dustoffjoe]

Longer drive but going out of Port Fourchon or Venice La is always a good time.

 

[satx78247]

ZX9RCAM,

After just ONE "dance with" an about 8-9 foot bull shark, that was between me & the dry land when I was fishing for specks, I've never again gone wade fishing without my S&W Model 65 S&W. = Scared the !@#$ out of me.

yours, satx

 

[EZ-E]

Ditto Pretty much what others have said about the Galveston Party boats. Going out of Freeport for a Charter might be a better route if you can get a few guys together to chip in.

If you want to go out sometime let me know. I try to fish down south twice a month... more if i can. I will forewarn you ... all i throw is artificial lures... no bait, unless the wife & kids are with me.
I used to do a lot of kayaking, but my shoulders & back have been giving issues the last couple of years so i bought a boat 2 yrs ago. I will admit seems i caught a bunch more fish when i had my kayak, but i can't get as shallow or quiet in the boat as i can with a kayak. Stalking shallow water redfish is my specialty, but still enjoy fishing for sow trout & flounder.

Just a few fish pics for y'all.
Hell if anyone wants to go i'm always up to take new folks out.

Recent redfish out of the boat, just shy of 28", perfect tournament fish

Say Hello to my friend in the gray suit.

Just a decent flounder day after they changed the limits

My first trout over 28"

2010 Kayak Team of the Year

Fishing for Redfish in a deep gut & foul hooked this guy

 

[deemus]

The boats out of Port Arkansas catch lots of tuna at various times of the year. Reasonable prices too.

Google Port A fishing.