Fishing show set to conclude; variety of catches reported

This past Friday, my phone rang and it was my friend Capt. Sammy Flores on the line. I've haven't spoken to Flores in a while, so we had a lot of catching up to do. Flores is one of the best lower Galveston Bay trout anglers that I know. To add to this, this is the time of the year that he cherishes.

The annual drum run is in full swing, and Flores knows that the speckled trout begin to show when those drum begin to bite. So, of course, I asked, "how is the fishing?" Flores replied, "You know that when the speckled trout show up, I'm there."

Now, some may think that's a conceited answer to my question. Coming from Sammy, that reply is an affirmative "yes" that he's catching fish. He's just a man of few words when it comes to fishing.

You know there's a saying, "loose lips sink ships." Flores said, "I'm catching a few really good trout, which is all I really try to do. I just want that one big bite in a day." In layman's words, Flores is looking for trophy-sized fish, not numbers.

I visited with Capt. Bink Grimes of Sunset Lodge in Matagorda on Friday. Grimes is an old Baytown guy who made the move to Matagorda years ago. He was a longtime columnist for The Houston Chronicle and an author of two books. So, it's always a pleasure to chat with him.

I asked about the catching in Matagorda, and Grimes said, "The tides have been running 2 feet below normal. Our redfish bite has been steady, with the fish holding in the deep guts along the south shoreline in west Matagorda Bay." Grimes rates the trout bite as only fair right at the moment.

Wading is definitely the way to go, according to Grimes. "We've been trying to drift the open bay reefs, but it's just been a tough bite. If we jump out of the boat throwing Custom Corkie's, the bite is much better. The weather has been so up-and-down, the trout are just confused."

Anglers fishing from the 61st Street Fishing Pier have been catching a variety of fish. Whiting, redfish, black drum, gafftop and stingray have all been caught the past few days. This tells me the beach water is on the rise. This little cool snap should not affect the temperature much.

One more day of the show, then I'm heading back to the island to kiss my wife, greet my dogs, and sleep in my own bed!