GULF COAST FISHERMAN

09/02/2025

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Check it out 👉 Our staff recently encountered this belted sandfish while out conducting routine monitoring around the

The belted sandfish (Serranus subligarius), also known as the dwarf sea bass or stubby sea bass, is found in silty waters with substrates consisting of mixed rubble and sand, often near jetties, rocky outcrops and artificial coral reefs. These marine fish are a predatory species and have a diet of small crustaceans, such as amphipods, gammarids and shrimp as well as crabs and small fish. Belted sandfish capture food by drawing critters into their large mouths, creating a powerful suction as their mouth opens and swallows prey whole.

08/18/2025

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08/15/2025

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Take a look at this hardhead cat-dad (catfish) that our Upper Laguna Madre crew encountered while conducting surveying along the

Last week, during bag seine and bay trawl monitoring in Baffin Bay, the team caught this particular cat-dad that was carrying his young in his mouth. Upon closer inspection, the crew noticed that he was carrying a total of 10 juveniles -- talk about a mouthful!

Hardhead catfish (Ariopsis felis) have six rounded barbels that stick out from their chins like whiskers. These barbels help the catfish find crabs, fish and shrimp in the muddy bays where they live. Their dorsal and pectoral fins are supported by a sharp, slime-covered barbed spine that stand erect when the fish is excited or acting in defense against predators.

And surprisingly, the males will carry eggs in their mouths until they hatch and the young catfish are able to care for themselves.

08/05/2025

ONCE UPON A TIME IN TARPON ALLEY -There was a time in the eighties when i never ever saw another boat in a location ,that many today say doesn't ever exist .I named this location Tarpon Alley ..Over the years there have many stories ,articles and interviews on this location "'Tarpon Alley "' in the Gulf of Mexico that does not exist ..IN this corridor or migration route i also gave certain waypoints names .One of the best locations i ever found for tarpon on the Upper Texas Coast was a location i named "'BUM F EGUPT "'or simply the name that went down in my log books as . B F E ... --- When B F E was right in the summer time it was not rare to see hundreds and hundreds of tarpon on the surface .On a good day of tarpon fishing ,a tarpon charter might catch 5 to 7 tarpon a day and somedays even more .When i say catch , i mean reel the fish to the boat ,take a photo ,then let the tarpon go ...Then i used a lot of natural bait for tarpon ,both live and the freshest of fresh dead ..My records show over many many years at sea i never ,-not once -caught a tarpon on any type of bait that had been frozen .-------------------------------.IN todays world 2019 i think there are times and places where certain people would do a lot better if they used live or natural baits on tarpon instead of artificial baits ..------------------------------.Example 2 boats leave a marina ,both boats are going to the Galveston Jetties trout fishing ..In one boat we have 4 men and they all can fish real good with artificial baits ..These four men are using shrimp tail jigs of different sizes and weight .Two of these men are using chartreuse colored tails with orange jig heads and the other two men are using white shrimp tail jigs with red heads ...The other boat with four good fishermen are all using fresh frisky large live croakers .....So ,here's my real world common sense question ..At the end of the day which boat has the most trout and more important "'WHY "''.Now most seasoned tarpon fishermen know you can catch tarpon on jigs ,both casting and trolling when conditions are near perfect ...But like i said ,i think a lot of people would do a lot better in Tarpon Alley ,if the used live or fresh natural baits both for trolling ,drifting or dredging and under tarpon floats .....Some say you catch a lot of sharks on natural bait which is correct but my observation ,you also catch a lot of tarpon when conditions aren't so perfect ........----TRUE STORY --One time long time ago ,i had this guy call me and said he wanted to be a fishing guide and wanted to know if i could give him any pointers ...I told this man to buy a boat and go to Eagle Point Marina on Galveston Bay and specialize in live croaker fishing for trout .................At that place in time NOBODY used croakers for trout bait ..One or two men maybe but not many ..Anyway this man bought a boat and went to Eagle Point and started a guide service where he specialized in croaker fishing for trout ..Ten years later this man was known far and wide as ""Captain Croaker ""'' ---- MY POINT .plastic jigs and artificial lures are great tools for catching fish ,but sometimes its hard to beat the real thing in the reel world of fishing .......photo ""TALL TAILS FROM TARPON ALLEY """Tarpon Express photo , B F E ,Tarpon Alley ,Upper Texas Coast 1988 ----------

08/02/2025

TARPON CAPITAL OF TEXAS -IN 1979 ,i called Galveston ,Texas the tarpon capital of Texas..When i said that in 1979 everyone thought i was crazy .......At that time most people thought including ALL the people at Texas Parks and Wildlife there were no tarpon anywhere on the Upper Texas Coast -------------------------.i have always thought that some of the largest tarpon pass just off the Galveston,Texas coast every year .In fact ,i even gave these giant tarpon a name ""Moby Dick "' tarpon .-----------------..A tall tale from Tarpon Alley ,one time a charter boat named the the NINA RUTH ,captained by Fred Greff was running a charter just off Galveston,Texas ..On the way in from a King fish trip that day , Capt. Greff ran into a school of big tarpon .One of the men on the boat that day caught a tarpon that weighed 201 pounds on a certified scale on a dock in Galveston .I personally talk to Capt .Greff about that school of tarpon ..The captain told me .after they boated the 201 and had it tried off to the back of the boat ,another man caught a even bigger tarpon .After a long fight they had this second giant tarpon up to the back of the boat ...8 people saw this second tarpon before it broke off at the boat ,and they all said this second tarpon looked to be well over 250 pounds compared to the 201 ----..At that time , every one thought this was a tall tale from Tarpon Alley and most people thought a tarpon of this caliber of Moby Dick tarpon did not exist on the Upper Texas Coast .-----------------At the time of this catch the Texas State record was 210 pounds caught on November 13, 1973 at the Port Isabell Jetties ....Over the years ,tarpon over 210 pounds have been caught in TARPON ALLEY off Galveston ,Texas .......... Some of these 210 plus tarpon could not be submitted as records for many different reasons .mostly because of tarpon moratorium laws in our waters and tarpon were off limits for any tarpon caught in Texas waters . The laws were finally changed to where now a tarpon of 85 inches or longer may be retained -------------------------------...Time goes by and on October 15 ,2016 .David Prevost fishing right off the coast of Louisiana catches a true Moby Dick tarpon .The David Prevost tarpon weighed 246 pounds and was 95 inches long and had a 46 inch girth .The Prevost tarpon was the largest tarpon ever caught on a rod and reel in the water of the United States ------------------------------------------------------------..A year later on August 22 ,2017 Shane La rue fishing off
Galveston ,Texas catches a new Texas State record tarpon ,of 229 pounds ..This giant tarpon was 91 inches long and had 47 inch girth ........-------------------The La Rue tarpon had nothing to do with luck and was a true adventure of a Moby Dick tarpon if you do not understand this statement ,read the book ""MOBY DICK "" or better still see the legendary movie "'Moby Dick "'with Gregory Peck--make that the movie with GREGORY PECK only . ------------------------------------------------------------------.......IN 1979 i called Galveston ,Texas the tarpon capital of Texas .--------.A FACT ,that is in the record books ...Since 1961, when T P & W started keeping records on state record tarpon ,the Texas state tarpon record has been broken 4 times ... 3 of the 4 times these giant
Texas state record tarpon have come from Galveston ,Texas.....OK .IF "you like reports like this ,let me know with a like or better still with a comment on your adventure with tarpon ---photo "'THE TARPON CAPITAL OF TEXAS "'Tarpon Express photo ...

07/16/2025

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06/19/2025

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When telling a "I caught a fish this big," story, it helps to have evidence. What do you think, was this real? Thanks to the Austin History Center, Austin Public Library for this fish tale.
https://tinyurl.com/5ftj7pf2

05/30/2025

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05/25/2025

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04/23/2025

Bet that was expensive -
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On April 12, in Brazoria County were on patrol near Surfside when they boarded an offshore vessel for inspection. The vessel was found to have 27 snapper over their limit. The vessel was fishing in federal waters where the federal snapper season is currently closed. The over limit fish were seized and donated to members of the community and the anglers on the vessel were issued citations.

04/19/2025

These giants can also be caught on fly rod! One of my favorite ways to catch them.

04/06/2025

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You can’t rewind life, but you can always bait the hook and try again.