Fishing in Texas middle coast

From Port O’Connor to Baffin Bay, Texas inshore waters take on a different personality. With more sand bottom and less fresh-water inflow, the middle coast features clear, shallow water. It also contains one of the least-crowded and little-known coastal fishing destinations: Port O’Connor. From Port O’Connor, anglers have access to hundreds of square miles of shallow, clear water, much of which is well suited to wade fishing.

Just offshore of Port O’Connor lies Matagorda Island State Park. The island is 38 miles long and virtually undeveloped. Access is by boat only. Primitive camping is permitted along 2 miles of beach and also in the bay-side dock area. No motorized vehicles are allowed on the island, but anglers who bring their own bicycles can have miles of pristine beachfront to themselves. Surf fishing is best during summer months, when schools of trout, redfish, ladyfish, and Spanish mackerel are common.

Just down the coast from Port O’Connor, Rockport is a more popular sportfishing destination. A booming guide business takes clients after trout and redfish. Fishing can be good during any month, but summer and fall yield the most dependable weather and the most consistent fishing. Trout fishing is best on live shrimp, generally fished 2 to 3 feet beneath a popping cork. The popping cork has a concave head and, when jerked through the water, makes a slurping sound that imitates feeding fish. Live croaker are a favorite bait for tempting oversize trout.

Corpus Christi is the biggest city on the middle coast, and it’s the jumping off place for Padre Island, the longest barrier island in North America. Adventurous anglers with 4-wheel-drive vehicles can explore more than 40 miles down the beach through Padre Island National Seashore. When conditions are right, dozens of fish species cruise within casting range of shore. The best conditions occur in the summer and fall; action peaks around September, when a migration of offshore baitfish usually comes in proximity of the island and triggers a feeding frenzy that includes everything from tiger sharks to ladyfish.

The southernmost extremity of the middle coast is Baffin Bay, an isolated area known for big speckled trout. Two Texas trout records have come from Baffin Bay. Spring is the best time for a shot at a Baffin Bay trout weighing 10 pounds or more. Local pros cast shallow-diving jointed plugs and concentrate on ancient rock formations scattered around the shallow bay system. The rocks aren’t rocks at all; these formations were excreted by marine worms and exist nowhere else in Texas.