# Crystal Beach - fishing tips??



## wshniwasfshn (Oct 14, 2010)

Hey guys,

Im a freshwater guy but have the opportunity to spend a week free at Crystal Beach with my finace's parents. The trip is the first week in August, and since I will have no school and no work, Im definitely going fishing. I do have a saltwater rig (Penn Battle 7000S on a 6'6" Shakespeare SturdyStik) that I used on an offshore trip in March. My questions are:

Where to fish down there?
When (time of day)
Bait?
Is that setup adequate?
What fish should I expect to catch?

Not looking for a guide, but pier or jetty fishing. Hoping to land some for the grill.

I know these are incredibly general questions and will get alot of answers so thanks for the help, and please no smarta** comments, remember I fish freshwater exclusively, just an opportunity has come up that I cant bypass

Mike


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## DuckMendenhall (Nov 5, 2007)

Hope that helps...



wshniwasfshn said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> Im a freshwater guy but have the opportunity to spend a week free at Crystal Beach with my finace's parents. The trip is the first week in August, and since I will have no school and no work, Im definitely going fishing. I do have a saltwater rig (Penn Battle 7000S on a 6'6" Shakespeare SturdyStik) that I used on an offshore trip in March. My questions are:
> 
> ...


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## troutsupport (May 22, 2006)

Don't leave your bass gear at home. You can put a cut mullet or crab on that saltwater rig you have and then use your bass gear to fish with your bass lures for trout and reds. The surf should be right if you get the right weather. At crystal beach you are pretty landlocked and cant get to East Bay without at least a kayak.... so it's the surf and the jetties. North jetty... Live shrimp or small topwaters. Do you have a silver torpedo or baby spook or small chug bug. You could also throw a bass assassin along the rocks. Look for the scattering bait fish along the rocks and any diving terns or gulls. 

Weather, ...the fish are always there in the surf, but it's a little difficult to fish the surf unless the wind is calm or slightly out of north. If its light out of the SE less than 8-10 then you could be ok on the north jetty. 

have fun,
t


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## BullyARed (Jun 19, 2010)

Use a light setup with 10lbs line, 1oz weigh, and 1/0 hook. Peel a pinch of shrimp or cutup mullet for bait. You will have fun with sand troud and whiting. You may catch hardhead as well.


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## tha bum (Oct 1, 2009)

*surf fishing C/Beach*

I fish the surf several times during the summer at Crystal, We dont ussually target anything in particular, but if you use mullet or cut mullet you can have a good time catching sharks (most 15" to 30") And all I use is my bass gear with a wire leader. Lots of fun. We did get into the spanish Macks once. Also you can make a trip to the pocket at the north Jetty and wade out and we do well there for Specks at times, early morning. If you can catch the water flat, early morning, top waters you can do well.


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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

wshniwasfshn said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> Im a freshwater guy but have the opportunity to spend a week free at Crystal Beach with my finace's parents. The trip is the first week in August, and since I will have no school and no work, Im definitely going fishing. I do have a saltwater rig (Penn Battle 7000S on a 6'6" Shakespeare SturdyStik) that I used on an offshore trip in March. My questions are:
> 
> ...


Use your bass fishing gear in the morning, buy some live shrimp and some popping corks. You can catch most any fish that swims in the surf with a live shrimp, action is fast and you do not have to be in a certin spot. If the weather is good you will see a lot of guys wading the surf along the beach early in the morning.

You can use your offshore gear for sharks and bull reds. Buy some leaders, spider weights castnet or buy some mullet. Bring a piece of 2" pvc about 4-5' long. Cut mullet into chunks, wade out to the first sandbar and cast. Set rod in PVC and then enjoy the beach and family until you get a hit. Use large chunks of cut bait, size of your hand in order to keep the gafftops off. If you do fish with shrimp in the mornings, keep all the skipjack,bluefish,sand trout, etc.. for cut bait.

good luck, that is a good time of the year to be wading the surf on bolivar.


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## Profish00 (May 21, 2004)

I would Hire a guide for the first day of fishing, you have time to save 500 bucks.


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## fishinguy (Aug 5, 2004)

you can also hit up roll over pass while it's still there. I like wading the pocket or fishing the surf too. If you can spare the cash a guide will be alot of fun. Talk to Jim West or Brian Fisher.


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## Surfangler1450 (Jul 14, 2010)

I fish Crystal Beach all the time and there are numerous places to fish. My suggestion is to bring your bass fishing gear since you only need light tackle unless you want to try your luck on some sharks. The following are my wade fishing and land fishing go-to areas during the July to September roughly.

1. French Rd. - Head towards the ferry on Hwy 87. The very last street on your right will be Frenchtown rd. Follow this road till it dead ends at the bridge. This bridge connects Galveston Bay to Horseshoe lake and causes a lot of water movement during the tide changes. You can either wade both sides or I prefer to work soft plastics off the bridge through the baitfish.

2. North Jetties - The north jetties are located on 17th st. Its easy to walk out and fish off the rocks and you can through anything from topwaters and plastics to dead shrimp and still catch fish.

3. Emerald Beach #2 is a subdivision that has beach access. Drive down hwy 87 and you will see the sign. I don't know what kind of vehicle you have so drive on the beach at your own discretion. This a great surf fishing spots because there are deeper guts in the surf closer to shore. Here toss some bone topwaters or soft plastics sand eels depending on the wind and the tide.

4. Boyt Rd/Helen Rd. - Turn towards the beach at either Helen Rd or Boyt road (Both are next to the Galveston ISD School off hwy 87). Fish the surf between the two roads with the same techniques mentioned in #3 above

These are some of easiest spots and most convienent. As for what type of bait or artificial to use. The locals there are usually nice enough to give you a fairly decent idea about what they've been biting on. Good Luck and I hope this helps


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