Freeport Fishing

[Seanpwilliams98]

I'm could still be considered a newbie when it comes to saltwater fishing. I've made a few trips to Christmas bay with a little success catching small trout here and there and a lucky flounder, but I'd like to learn more. I mainly want to catch redfish, I love the way they fight and the challenge that comes with it.

My main problem in my eyes is that I'm just simply not in a good area to catch fish. I don't know where the good spots are and have basically stuck to following the south shoreline of Christmas bay in the morning, then going out about half a mile and anchoring and fishing there. I know that probably sounds dumb but I don't know what else to do.

Is there kayak fisherman out there that fish Christmas bay/drum Bay Area that would possibly let me tag along and learn a thing or two? I love saltwater fishing, it just doesn't love me.

Tight lines!!

[wingbone]

Put in at amigo lane, paddle out to Churchill Bayou, you'll find marsh and redfish on both side of you. You can look at the area on google maps or google earth to give you a better idea. One of my favorite places to chase redfish.

[Yaklash]

The middle of Christmas Bay can be a barren wasteland for fishing sometimes. You're definitely better off in the maze of marsh near Churchill Bayou, but power boats do occasionally go through there so be careful and stay on the edges of the channels and bayous. Also, that end of Christmas near the mouth of Churchill is muddy with some patches of shell scattered here and there. That can be good for trout. The opposite (southwest) end of Christmas Bay, where it chokes down to go into the next little bay, can be very good fishing. Try there.

And although I think newbies should try to learn a particular area well before branching out, IMO Christmas Bay is probably not the best option for that single bay or area. West Bay would be my suggestion.

[Cityfisher]

I really like what Yaklash said about learning an area. I have only fished Christmas Bay twice, once was with a guide and once by myself several months later. With the guide we caught some fish. By myself I got skunked and I fished the same shoreline as he did. Just goes to show you how knowledge and experience rules! I have fished Drum Bay almost exclusively for the last 3 years after I bought a kayak and have learned that area well. While now I can almost always catch a fish or 2 when I go there. But never any big numbers. I like it there because it's easy in and out and I like to camp out on the beach side when I go down there. My first year fishing there was a skunk 3 out of 5 trips at least! Then I started learning the areas and conditions and started doing better finding the fish there. I guess my point is that Drum and Christmas Bay can be difficult to find the fish. I think this year I am going to venture out and try to be more consistent and learn West Bay better. Thanks for the advise Yaklash. And Sean, thanks for posting, Freeport is my home away from home on the weekends, even though I might not catch any fish!

[karstopo]

From what I've heard and seen, Christmas Bay has been worked over, for the first time any of us locals can remember, by the Commercial Oyster fleet. It's been a tough year for that bay because of that. I haven't been out there since early in January.

Normally, It's an easy bay to fish but not an easy bay to catch fish. Based on whatever seen and heard, I won't be out there anytime soon. My neighbor talked to one of the commercial oyster guys yesterday, but I wasn't able to ge the low down yet. There have been oyster boats everywhere at the nearby ramps. And I've seen photos of the trash like burlap sacks left behind. None of the reefs are deep enough to dredge oysters, so they have had crews of guys "cooning" the oysters. I was over by the Freeport harbor recently and oyster boats loaded with sacks of oysters were coming through over there. They had to be from Christmas bay as that's the only legal spot nearby.

Lots of loud boat traffic is never good for small shallow bays and lakes. One day I was out at Salt Lake in the BNWR and some iggit in a boat was doing donuts around the periphery of that lake. Over and over, he circled the lake right along the shoreline. I literally saw redfish heading for the exit to the cut to Nicks lake. You can't have the kind of traffic Christmas bay has been seeing this year with the oyster fleet without it impacting the bay.

I once advocated with the State authorities to reopen Christmas bay to oystering after a couple year's closure. I enjoyed cooning a few over the past winters and couldn't understand the closure based on the data I saw. When they reopened the bay to oystering, I think it was the fall of 2015 , I was so excited. Be careful for what you wish for. Never did I dream that the Commercial fleet would descend on the bay in the way they have. I really hope the state closes the bay to oystering based on what has happened this year.

[karstopo]

I talked to my neighbor who talked to the oyster boat. Sounds like they will be in there another week or so. The oyster guy said they have just about cleaned out Christmas bay of marketable oysters. He said Christmas bay was about the only place open that has oysters. He was from down the coast.

My neighbor said there were 8 oyster boats at Marlins and several more at Capt. Marks at Bastrop bayou, plus all the ones at Ernies, Swan, San Luis Pass, and ramps all the way to Freeport. It's a fleet.

[pwooly]

Seanwilliams98 hit me up. I fish that church hill bayou. I am also a newbie. Maybe we can fish that area together and land some reds. Send me a pm sometime. I plan on going either this afternoon if the wind is on my side or soon.

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[TroutSupport.com]

Christmas can be very good in the spring and fall. The following is meant to support you growing as an angler. I'm not just being a jackwagon. Im sure you're not a newby and you fish just fine, what you need to begin doing is using your eyes more to locate fish and fish sign on the water. There is a statement that 90% of the fish are in 10% of the water. So realistically, even if an angler tried 30% of Christmas bay during a day, if it's the wrong 30% then an angler still won't catch any fish. Learn a skill called 'reading the water'. It's a skill of learning how to interpret what you are seeing between predator and prey and their interactions. It's also termed 'looking for sign' where we look for signs of fish or the signs that would also lead fish to be there... for instance, baitfish numbers and also the size of those bait. If you're fishing for a 16 inch trout, then seeing 16 inch mullet is not going to help in most cases... that fish is going to be seeking smaller bait fish. There are other signs as well.. like trout slicks from when trout have eatin oily baitfish and also certain birds. The caveat is that some birds don't help you, some do. So you have to learn which ones do and which ones dont. You also need to learn the seasonal patter of where fish should be. Put seasonal patterns together with reading the water and that's when you start getting more consistent. I like to learn the structures of a bay but I stick to learning the area where the fish should be seasonally. If you're trying to learn one bay like Christmas, Christmas is somewhat seasonal and as soon as it starts getting hot those fish will move out of there, so at some point your'll be learning structure and spots with not fish present.. that's ok, you can use that when the fish come back in the cooler months.

Should he get the TroutSupport.com DVDs? Do ya'll think it would help him?

[bigbuzzard]

Thanks for everyone's advice..also.... I tried Christmas Bay a week ago Saturday. Not much luck, oyster men were out in force. Saw a few guys catching a few. Nothing for me but a couple of hits. It is an interesting place. Never fished there until now. I now have a kayak and learning all new areas again. Been fishing gulf coast for over 35 years, but now I can finally get out at least once a week.

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[karstopo]

Christmas Bay is an easy place to go. Easy launch. Pretty place. The commercial oyster guys will be gone soon. We won't see them in there again for the next few years. Nothing left to get and that Bay is way down on the list of easy places to oyster. According to the locals, it's been decades since the last commercial oyster boats worked that Bay over. They were reported to have been selling sacks at the various boat ramps for 40 or 50 bucks and an additional 10 bucks to shuck them. That's a deal!

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[adanvjr]

I was in Christmas Bay on March 16th from 7 AM all the way to 4 PM.
It was the first time I've seen Arcadia Reef be harvested for oysters. Must've been about 30 boats.
Yes, it was pretty noisy with all the splashing, shucking, banging, and hooting when they got their buckets filled for the day.

Total Skunk.

I think I was the only kayaker there. I paddled and searched from Dolphin Rd launch, to Arcadia, to Rattlesnake Point.
Other than the occasional leaping mullet, I could not find any sign.

Saw 2-3 people wading, but didn't see them catch anything.


I may be heading out again this Saturday, not sure.

[Keith Bo]

Don't know how to start a post. I'm a newbie to the kayak world. Need places to launch a pro angler 17. Just getting my sea legs. I have mostly bank or surf fished West beach area for past 20 years. Specks, reds, and occasional flounder. I have to be able to back up to the water to launch. Boat rigged is easily 250 lbs +. I think I could launch like just off the road on a bank. Thanks

[screwston420]

Christmas can be very good in the spring and fall. The following is meant to support you growing as an angler. I'm not just being a jackwagon. Im sure you're not a newby and you fish just fine, what you need to begin doing is using your eyes more to locate fish and fish sign on the water. There is a statement that 90% of the fish are in 10% of the water. So realistically, even if an angler tried 30% of Christmas bay during a day, if it's the wrong 30% then an angler still won't catch any fish. Learn a skill called 'reading the water'. It's a skill of learning how to interpret what you are seeing between predator and prey and their interactions. It's also termed 'looking for sign' where we look for signs of fish or the signs that would also lead fish to be there... for instance, baitfish numbers and also the size of those bait. If you're fishing for a 16 inch trout, then seeing 16 inch mullet is not going to help in most cases... that fish is going to be seeking smaller bait fish. There are other signs as well.. like trout slicks from when trout have eatin oily baitfish and also certain birds. The caveat is that some birds don't help you, some do. So you have to learn which ones do and which ones dont. You also need to learn the seasonal patter of where fish should be. Put seasonal patterns together with reading the water and that's when you start getting more consistent. I like to learn the structures of a bay but I stick to learning the area where the fish should be seasonally. If you're trying to learn one bay like Christmas, Christmas is somewhat seasonal and as soon as it starts getting hot those fish will move out of there, so at some point your'll be learning structure and spots with not fish present.. that's ok, you can use that when the fish come back in the cooler months.

Should he get the TroutSupport.com DVDs? Do ya'll think it would help him?

he should def get theshallow redfish dvd.. i put the vids onto a micro sd card and im able to watch it in my truck on my touchscreen i just got haha

[screwston420]

Don't know how to start a post. I'm a newbie to the kayak world. Need places to launch a pro angler 17. Just getting my sea legs. I have mostly bank or surf fished West beach area for past 20 years. Specks, reds, and occasional flounder. I have to be able to back up to the water to launch. Boat rigged is easily 250 lbs +. I think I could launch like just off the road on a bank. Thanks

try the end of sportsman rd in galveston just google sportsman rd galveston, tx

[Keith Bo]

Don't know how to start a post. I'm a newbie to the kayak world. Need places to launch a pro angler 17. Just getting my sea legs. I have mostly bank or surf fished West beach area for past 20 years. Specks, reds, and occasional flounder. I have to be able to back up to the water to launch. Boat rigged is easily 250 lbs +. I think I could launch like just off the road on a bank. Thanks

try the end of sportsman rd in galveston just google sportsman rd galveston, tx

Thanks for the info. I'll give it a try.

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