Derek’s Fishing Adventures: Bull Red at East Beach
Sydney and I decided to go trout fishing around 7 p.m. on East Beach in Galveston. It was super windy and the water was very rough. We were getting pounded by the waves from the front, then the back.
We made our way out to the second sandbar and threw our lines in. This evening we were fishing with live croaker. One hour went by and we did not catch anything. Time went on and we finally caught 2 little trout. The fish didn’t even want to be in the rough water. The waves were violent as they splashed Sydney in the face and then the next moment waves were pounding against her back. I asked her if she wanted to get on my shoulders. She decided to stay in the water. It was 30 minutes before the sun was going down. The waves were so intense that Sydney decided that she was going back to the car.
I kept on fishing. I was determined that I would catch something so I hung out in the waves just waiting for that bite. All at once something hit my line. When I hooked it, it did not move. I could not pull back. It was BIG, REALLY BIG! The fish was going crazy pulling drag. It would have broke the line if I didn’t have 50 pound braid on the reel. I was cranking down as fast as I could and pulling up to reel in the line. When I was fighting the fish, I stepped on something slimy in the surf. It was either a flounder or a stingray, most likely a stingray. I am so lucky that it didn’t stab me with its barb.
I started backpaddling from the sandbar towards the shore. I kept my thumb on the spool so no line would come out while I was walking back. Sydney was back at the car and she grabbed the pliers and her phone and came running towards me. She asked me to describe the bite. I told her it was either a 6 foot shark or a bull red the way it was fighting. Two minutes later I finally pulled it in, I caught a 41 inch BULL RED. I couldn’t believe I caught it on my bass rod. When I got to the beach there was a group of 10-15 people surrounding us, coming from everywhere to talk to us and take pictures of my big fish. They were shocked at how big my fish was and that I was able to reel it in. A couple asked what we caught it on and one guy even asked if he could buy the fish from me. That was a huge BULL RED! What a great catch.
25 Inch Speckled Trout
Last Wednesday, August 10th Sydney and I planned to go trout fishing in the surf with one of her great friends, Payton, before a large storm rolled in. We were in the water at East Beach by 6:15 pm and the storm was projected to hit within the next hour. The wind had started shifting and the water was getting increasingly choppy, not making for the best conditions for us or the fish.
We tried 3 different spots within the first 20 minutes just chasing the birds and trying to get lucky. After catching 10 or so ladyfish and nearly exhausting every plastic swimbait we brought out with us, I hooked something big. After just a few seconds I said, “ITS A MEGA TROUT WITH TWO BLACKTIP SHARKS CHASING IT!”. They were swarming and circling us within three feet as I tried to get the fish out of the water as soon as I could. I was kicking the water, splashing in the direction of the sharks to scare them away from the fish. I had a nice big speckled trout and those 2 sharks were hungry and they wanted dinner. Little did they know I also wanted trout for dinner. After 3 attempts, they finally backed off and I was able to get the trout out of the water, then we could no longer locate the two 3’ blacktip sharks. At this point, Sydney was terrified and she told me that she was going to go in and wait for Payton and regroup. I asked Sydney if she could walk the fish in for me so that way if the sharks were still near, they don’t eat it off the stringer. So, she grabbed the fish from under the gill plate and made the walk from the second sandbar to shore while holding the fish above her head to ensure it was out of the water and safe. THROW IT OUT, POP IT IN, FISH ON!
