Sometimes it is difficult to find much optimism for the fishing report and Friday was one of those days. Cloudy with wind gusting to well over 30 knots and wind chill factors in the low 40s does not lend much optimism for getting out on the water.

Friday Reel Reports usually carry information about the fishing prospects for the upcoming weekend and, while we will address this today, the outlook is not good. Strong winds associated with another cold front are forecast to cause havoc along the upper Texas Coast along with rain.

Wednesday was not necessarily a bad day on the water, just not pleasant; however, conditions were tolerable for fishing, according to John Patch of Conroe. Patch and a friend fished Upper West Bay and caught enough fish to make the effort worthwhile.

While not a saltwater fish caught around Galveston, an avid angler from Santa Fe caught a pending State of Texas record tilapia. Colton Corner of Santa Fe caught the 4.41-pound fish while fishing on Lake Mozambique and had it weighed in by well-known weigh master Ed Matthews of Hitchcock.

Winter weather is upon us and for Galveston it does not normally get much colder than this. Yes, we do have freezes here; however, when the temperatures range from the low 40s to mid-50s that is typical cold winter weather. Add a brisk wind to that and it feels like the North Sea during winter.

With the poor fishing conditions and lack of fishing reports, it is difficult to pass on information about Galveston area fishing that most readers are interested in.

For many readers, the fishing season is winding down. While winter is officially less than two weeks away, the early onset of cold weather has a number of anglers setting their fishing equipment aside until well into 2019.

Another surge of winter weather is upon us, and it appears that this weekend will be a good one for Christmas shopping or anything else besides fishing. While the temperatures are not forecast to approach freezing levels on the Texas Coast, it still is quite uncomfortable to be on the water.

We are entering that time of year when boaters need to use extra caution when venturing out. Two perils top the list of potential problems, with both having potentially disastrous results.

Today looks like it will be the best day for a while for fishing. Temperatures in the 60s along with light to moderate winds should offer tolerable conditions for hitting the water.

Winter weather is definitely upon us and fishing Wednesday and Thursday looks to offer the best opportunities to hit the water. Friday and Saturday, another frontal system is forecast to cross the upper Texas Coast and may bring strong thunderstorms and high probabilities of rain.

Another cold front made its way across the Galveston area Monday and with it strong winds that were just too much for most anglers fishing from boats to safely endure. By Thursday, conditions should be settling and with a little luck fishing will pick up again.

Whether flounder are feeding at night or during the day, there remains a lot of flatfish in the back bays.

We are now into December and this first weekend looks like it will be a good one for hitting the water. Light winds are in the forecast and at least part of the time from the west. Light winds from that direction flatten the surf and make fishing from the beachfront inviting.

Discussion about this year’s disappointing flounder run is getting old; however, this is some insight into what has been taking place.

There are days when game and fish are just dormant and apparently Wednesday was one of those days.

While not as bad as January, we are beginning to experience our winter patterns with fishing being in the doldrums. Monday’s cold front pushed a lot of water out of the bays and disrupted fishing through Tuesday.

Another strong cold front hit Monday and it appears that it will be at least Wednesday before conditions settle enough for boaters to get back on the water.

We are in the last week of November and this should be when we see a major move by flounder, if the flatfish are still around in large numbers.