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Coastal outlook promising PDF Print E-mail
Written by Texas Parks and Wildlife   
Friday, 27 June 2008
FROM BAD TO GOOD: Last year’s heavy rains brought too much fresh water to Texas bays for most anglers. But the nutrients the water brought into the bays along with mild and dry conditions this year set the stage for a banner season. Photo by David J. Sams.
FROM BAD TO GOOD: Last year’s heavy rains brought too much fresh water to Texas bays for most anglers. But the nutrients the water brought into the bays along with mild and dry conditions this year set the stage for a banner season. Photo by David J. Sams.
Biologists expect better success for anglers

“The toughest summer ever” was the cry of coastal guides and anglers last year as heavy rains and high water changed fish locations throughout the season. This summer, though, anglers and guides are hoping for the best.

Biologists with Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Coastal Fisheries division provided the TPW Commission with its forecast of likely fishing success in 2008, and the trends give reason for optimism. After one of the wettest years on record, mild and dry conditions should lead to good prospects for the rest of this year.

TPW predicts that the heavy rains — and even hurricanes and floods of past years — have created an abundance of fish, shellfish and forage that will sustain the Texas coastal fishery for years to come.

Coastwide, spotted seatrout landings decreased 5 percent last year but angler catch rates increased 8 percent. Red drum landings decreased 24 percent and angler catch rates declined 13 percent, with higher than normal tides making it difficult for shallow water angler to find reds. Gill net surveys show red drum and spotted seatrout populations are at near-record numbers. Sabine Lake Red drum anglers should expect successful trips since last fall’s season gill net catch rate was one of the highest on record, and spotted seatrout abundance is at a near- record high.

Galveston Spring gill nets produced the highest spotted seatrout catches in 23 years. Both red drum and spotted seatrout catch rates have remained steady, and mangrove snapper landed by anglers and surveyed in gill nets keep getting larger as mild winters persist. Matagorda Spotted seatrout catches in spring 2007 gill nets were the highest ever recorded, and mid-bay oyster reefs produced excellent catches of black drum, Atlantic croaker, spot croaker, spotted seatrout and a variety of sharks.

East Matagorda Spring 2007 gill net catches of spotted seatrout set an all-time record high, and anglers had some of the highest spotted seatrout catches ever documented. Landings of red drum taken by anglers have been increasing since the 1989-90 freezes. Gill nets continue to produce some of the highest red drum catches of any bay system.

San Antonio Spring gill-net catch rates for seatrout were down in 2007 and dramatically off the 1998 high, and the red drum gill net catch rate fell off the record high of 2006.

Corpus Christi Although down slightly from the previous spring, the catch rate for spotted seatrout in gillnets this past spring remained high and should remain good. The gillnet catch rate for red drum was the third highest ever recorded for the bay.

Aransas Spotted seatrout abundance exhibited a sharp increase in last spring’s gill net surveys from the low seen in 2006, and anglers should see increased catches this spring and summer. Red drum abundance is up and remains well above the coastwide average.

Upper Laguna Madre Spotted seatrout abundance in 2007 was the lowest recorded in the last four years and the sixth lowest recorded since 1990, while red drum catch rates were the second highest since 1984. Black drum are extremely abundant, and the Packery Channel provides good numbers of snook, spotted seatrout, red drum, along with some tarpon.

Lower Laguna Madre Red drum catch rates for anglers were down slightly in 2007, but gill net catch rates were at near-record highs. Private boat landings for spotted seatrout last year were at their lowest since 1990. Snook, tarpon, and mangrove snapper catches were excellent last year, and the mild winter should improve the fishing for these species.

—Texas Parks and Wildlife report.
Last Updated ( Thursday, 26 June 2008 )
 
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