12/14 Bob Hall Pier Closed for repair during the week - Drunkswimmer says he went there Tuesday 12/3 night and found out that the pier is closed! It will be open for fishing on the weekends Fri, Sat and Sundays but the county is doing some work/maintenance on it during the week. I spoke with some of the employees there and they said it might be a few months before the pier is back to normal operations.
The Restaurant is open and will continue normal operations. (they have insanely good pancakes by the way and 5.50 pitches on tap)"
12/1 Bob Hall Pier - Bull reds, spanish mackerel, pompano, pup sharks and whiting caught. Here is a good stringer of trout caught on live shrimp under a popping cork on 11/29 from 10:30 to Midnight from Hrod2222
11/3 Bob Hall Pier via D.Askew - 50 bull reds caught there Wednesday. Here is his report from 10/30 Fished Bob Hall Pier from 6:30 am to 8pm Sunday night. Most of the day was very slow with spanish mackerel in the early morning hitting everything. Around 2:30 i found Blue fish feeding in the 3rd gut. After catching a couple and running them both out on my slides, I go to catch another....when i get called from the folks by my slide line in the 3rd gut.....i went running. They said there was a monster King circling the Blue. I saw nothing so decided to check on the Bluefish that was on the North Corner. He was swimming fine. While walking back to the gut i saw a monster king chase the Blue on the slide in the gut....then he rocketed out of the water sending the Bluefish in the air to the extent of the leader. The King had to of been close to 6ft long.....He went after him 2twice more after that finally ripping the bluefish off the hooks. Dissapointed i walk back to the Bluefish on the corner...and wham!!! Another monster ate him just ripping him off the hooks.....then i give a skippy to my buddie....within seconds of dropping him in....kings are all over him. with no hookup once again. After that it took about 30 minutes then it was king city again!! with double and triple hook ups for the pier. There must have been over 20 kings landed in just a few hours with them hitting all the way till sundown. Here are just some of the kings that were cuaght that day.
Once again...sorry for the late report! Work alot!
10/24 Bob Hall Pier via DAskew 10/20 - Fished from 4:30am to Dark thursday. Water was clear as it could get all day long. Spanish were taken all day with lures and cutbait. The Pompano came in on thursday also eating shrimp and sabiki rigs(I caught a cooler full!) Slide lined all day long with not even a hit till 5pm. At 5pm the Kings came running in full force. You could see them in the water like a pack of reds! I had 5 kings on one slide bait trying to eat him! It was absolutly crazy! The main problem was there was hardly any bait in the water. If you had a live bait you had a king on your line. I hooked up with a total of 14 kings on thursday evening!!! Never before have I seen them all there at one time before! The bad news is I was only able to land ONE! Had a bad gaff man and alot of the kings would not run they would just eat and sit till you brought them to the top. Then they would run under the pier and break you off. It was like king hell lol. I had a monster hit my slide right at dark peeling off 250yrds with in a few seconds after a long run i finally brought him close to the pier, but with darkness upon us we could not see him too well. My friend who has never gaffed a fish in his life somehow had the gaff in his hand and my leader got wrapped around the gaff....before i could say stop lets unwrap the leader someone in the background yelled "gaff him gaff him" and there it went gaff flying in the airt missing the king but catching the leader and away the king went laughing at me into the darkness.
With all that said, and only one king on the deck for myself, I had a wonderful time.
Btw total hookups for the pier on kings is probably in the 30's range within those couple of hours before dark. I cant wait for another run like that!!!
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D. Askew10/18 Bob Hall 10/17 - Pompano, king mackerel, and spanish mackerel reported. This front will have things torn up until Thursday. Let's hope the front dissipates the red tide bloom that has been coming in and out.
10/14 Red Tide Present but fish still caught - Here is a report from Sharkbait on 10/12 We made a 30 minute trip to Bob Hall to see the red tide effects while the kiddo was at school. Saw dead mullet on the beach but no respiratory symptoms. Saw a few spanish mackerel in the gut. and talked to some others on the pier who caught a few reds, a pampano, and a small black tip shark. the kings are no where to be found, but the ocean looks amazing and calm
hooked this little guy on a 2oz. mann-o-lure and let my wife fight him (we released him)10/6 SharkBait's Bob Hall Report 10/5 - Three big jacks around 20 pounds were landed early in the morning. the spanish mackerel were in good numbers and there were some big ones eating slide lines.Didn't see any reds caught but the bluefish and ladyfish were around. the kings ate slides in the gut and off the north side of the T... i fought a really nice king on 40# mono up and down the pier then lost him when we tried to gaff him..broke another one off that ran strait under the pier when hooked, and finally had a screamer that broke me off on the pier leg after a good long fight. a 28# king and a few more were landed.. all my kings were hooked in the gut on 44 pound single strand wire that stuff is deadly
my daughter following me down the pier chasing a king
best day at the pier i have seen in a while.....gonna fish 50 # mono next time9/30 Sharkbait's Bob Hall Pier Report from9/29 - Fished Bob hall today.. the water was really blue but still not clear. There was enough bait to keep me happy.. Mostly watermelon shad a few blue runner and pinfish.. Fish caught were keeper sized reds off the T and some spanish mackerel. The kingfish were around the pier with a few hooked but none landed that i saw. The kings ate bait off sabinkis and crushed 3 baits on my slide line. They didn't want to go to the surface too much. My friend had a nice one hooked on a float but his wire gave way. The wind picked up out of nowhere a few times and it rained. I hooked a king freelining back in the gut on 30# mono with no leader(i knew they would eat it) but it took my hook. then they wouldn't bite when i put on wire . Past the T 200 yards and north of the pier BIG kings were shredding watermelon shad (same as last time I was there) but didn't get close enough to hook.... hint hint to you kayak fisherman
I caught a trout in my net but put him back(the warden was hanging out in his truck
9/23 Bob Hall Pier - D.Askew says Evening 9/21 -Set up shop on the end of the T head around 3:15.....water was crystal clear again.....a little too clear. So i set up one slide line inside the 3rd gut. at the first light pole from the T head. Around 5:30 my Buddie gets a hard run. King fish in the gut......so i set up my other slide line in the gut with the other....20 min. later KING on! 45inches 20lb....dwarfing his 11lb king lol. Then another and another ....kings destroying baits!!! There were kings clearing the water just chasing bait....looked like a ton of Menhaden in the water. Most broke off with them flying throught the T Head. lost 5 slide clips and 3 king rigs.....and thats running 65lb braid. Still a fun afternoon. Evening bite seems like the prodominant one. Heading out there Saturday for a full day....will advise on that report as soon as i get more kings in lol.
TIGHT LINES! David
9/15 Bob Hall Pier - Plenty of bait still around with action on Kings still coming though most of the kingfish have been hitting in the evening before sundown. Redfish, Spanish Mackerel and Bluefish reported. Expect Jacks, whiting, hardheads and trout and pompano in the mix during blue bird days with clear water.
9/2 Sharkbait reported 9/1 - Very slow no kings all day few spanish mackerel and small sharks the water was murky and the bait came and went. I did have a king pass under my slide line at 30 mph smacking at my watermelon shad. over all very slow day today and i believe tomorrow will be another slow day, all the same go try and catch em..."
NOTICE WATER COULD GO ClOSE TO THE DUNES TONIGHT 9/2 before receding due to Tropical Storm Lee. Conditions should improve rapidly on Saturday with North wings
8/25 Surfdragon's Report and Pics from 8/24 - Took a trip to bob hall this morning arond 830 am. Reaching the surf and taking a look at the water it was a picture perfect day.
I was in the need for some fresh fish to eat,Took some light tackle to hook up to some Macs and maybe a king fish. Getting there the water looked great and bait was present.
Met a fellow employee there and managed to catch some spanish mackerels for supper.Hers a few shots of the day finishing off north of bob hall to take a dip in the water it was a hot day.Water was excellent.
Baits used were shad ,watermelon shad ,Mannolures ,Gotcha plugs.
By the way kings were landed by others today just not by me.
Fish caught were Smanish mackerals ,kings, blue fish barra cuda,
sand trout, speckled trout and small sharks that i saw.
It turned out to be a great day at the beach. :)
blaa didnt want that shad any ways.
8/17 Bob Hall Pier - A 12"6" Tiger was caught and released Saturday more on that below. Meanwhile Sharkbait reported 8/15 "Water looked great descent amount of bait under the pier. Quit a few red drum were caught some even on slide lines they were biting pin fish and most were over sized. a 80 pound ray was caught as well as one hefty 30 pound king fish. only saw a few Spanish macheral. a guy fishing the back of the T hook a 130pound tarpon on float and watermelon shad for about 3 seconds.... It was Awesome! wouldn't believe it if i hadn't seen it. I left the pier a little early there were still some serious looking fishermen when i left something else definitely could have been caught. i spent the 5 hours i was there chumming cut watermelon shad next to the T like crazy i went through almost a hundred of them. some small sharks were caught and a few lady fish and jacks.
12ft 6in Tiger landed by Albert from EZ fishing tackle using a Breakaway Z1 rod @ Bob Hall pier. Caught and released 8/13
8/11 Bob Hall Pier - King Mackerel, Spanish Mackerel and a Ling reported over the weekend. Expect trout under the lights when the water is green.
8/5 Bob Hall Pier - Silver King fish the evening of 8/4 and reported "SLOW! Fished from about 6:30pm to 9pm near the T. Had live croaker out top n bottom fishing. Tried live shad top n botton...nada. Only saw small trash fish being caught. Saw a baby Tarpon roll a few times when the sun went down. Water color wasnt the best, fairly murky. "
Daskew says "King fishing was good the previous week with slow weekend action. I went to Bob Hall yesterday 8/3 for 10 hrs. A ton of small sharks around 3ft. Some speckled trout in the surf and only a couple of Macks. I had one king shoot at my bait in the morning but missed and never came back. No reds that i saw were landed yesterda
7/2727 Bob Hall Pier - D. Askew says "Showed up to the pier around 3:30PM kings kings and more kings......You could see them in the water chasing blue runners and watermelon shad. I think 5 were landed and upwards to 8 hookups. A couple of Nice Cobia were caught also. One measuring in at 38inches. The others were just undersized. Lots of spanish and bait in the water also."
Also 51baldeagle posted this picture of the pier in 1960 He's the nine year old on the left.
7/15 Bob Hall Pier - Gib says the best bite this week have been from 3am to 6am for trout and reds on live bait. Daytime fishing has been a bit slow. Look for things to improve with the calmer conditions over the weekend.
7/9 Bob Hall Pier - KingHardhead reports - Just left the pier and had a pretty good morning. Slot reds are thick right now at the fourth light to the right. Fished live perch with a 5oz weight dropped straight down. Got my limit and left em still biting. Great day to be on the water!
7/8 Gib says "Trout bite was on Tuesday-Thursday with Trout fishermen picking up 5 to 10 Trout each.
Trout bite last night was a little slow, perhaps due to the fast-paced current ripping through.
Redfish are there, but not in the numbers they were a short time ago.
Shrimp and whatever you can catch in your castnet on the pier seem to be best right now.
This is for night time."
7/7 Drunkswimmer (Coast Guard Guy) said "Strolled my kid out there today. Heard they got a 44" ling yesterday and they caught a couple slot reds and some nice pomps while I was there this AM between 8-10.
I swam it yesterday and the summer school of snook is right under the T with alot of sheepshead.
Flew down the beach on thursday and there is crystal clear blue water that has moved in between the yellow rig and the 3 farther off. Saw a guy land a huge king as we did circles at 200'"
6/23 Bob Hall Pier - Relentless strong winds muddied up the water this week. With the recent rains, the winds have decreased and weekend prospects look better. Nothing reported in muddy water other than hardheads and a few whiting. Gotmullet fished south of Bob Hall with croaker and mullet 6/21 and got nothing. There also appears to be a coldwater upwelling as surf temps have remained steady on the cool side around 78 degrees when they should be about 86.
6/9 Bob Hall Pier via Carolina Kinger 6/7 - On the pier at 5:30 this morning to set up the slide rigs in hopes the kings would come through, no such luck today. With pin fish and mullet as the avalible bait, the reds showed up and were ready to eat until the wind picked up. A few were caught on lures and plugs, but most were caught on the slide rigs with live bait spashing on top. The reds have been there in schools since last thursday that I know of. From what I've seen they have been cruising the front to south corner of the pier. I caught 10 today with the biggest being 27 inches and probably seen 40 caught. By the way, watch out for all the treble hooks flying over your head and buzzing by your ears.
There was also a 7'7" Greater Hammer caught earlier this week in addition Pompano, Trout, Whiting and Spanish Mackerel have been reported. Expect Kings and Ling as well.
6/1 Late Bob Hall Pier Report from 5/26 via D. Askew - Fished for 12 hours on Thursday(5/26/11) Bait was everywhere with high waves first thing in the morning which dropped to calm water after a few hours. Slide lined from 6:30am to 6:30pm. total catch for the day was 2 large Jacks one 22" red(caught with mann o lure) and a 46in 21lb King(Caught at 6:30pm) other angler catches included lots of jacks and small cobia around the 27inch range. Saw alot of Reds being caught just shy of the T-head. Plenty of Blue Runners in the water so the kings have been hanging out around the surf lately. Friend of mine said a 50in king was caught close to the surf just south of Bob Hall pier.(hearsay)Also the sharks were heavy that day. They were circling the baits on top. all around the 5-6ft range. Black tips mainly. Saw some Tarpon off the T head. And one hammerhead in the area.
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Pic from 5/17/11
5/17 Bob Hall Pier Report via D.Askew - Got to Bob Hall pier at 6:30am water was flat and green! no wind! fishing was slow with no movement. By 8am water was perfect. Some guys catching reds and Mackerel off the T. I slide lined on the left Corner for a few hours with shad....due to lack of bait. Finally got a small Blue fish and it was on!!! 44inch King Fish. 2 more were caught after mine on the right side of the T. The kings were there if you had blue's in the water. water was beautiful all day.
5/6 Bob Hall Pier Report - I apologize for the lack of reports but with these se winds to 40mph the past month there has been little traffic out there. I did get a report from Ladyfish who fished on 5/2 - Lots of weed coming in and got skunked. Please post reports on the message forum if you happen to go! Thanks!
3/25 Bob Hall Pier Report from Johntx14 3/23 - Ok here it is went out bobhall yesterday 3-23-11. Sharks are out there 5'6" blacktip caught, there are alot of pregnant females being caught. Lots of bonnet heads, sharpnose. I had abought a 2" pup on didnt know it, had a long run brought it in just the head was on, seaweed is starting to get bad at the end but still fishable pretty bad at the front to middle. Saw some sheephead being caught lot of catfish. I caught three shark kept 1 saw 12 sharks caught in 4hrs counting even the little ones.
3/17 Bob Hall Report from Eksda 3/16 - After spending a cold winter at home, the weather finally co-operated for us to get out for the day. we made it to corpus about 10 am and went to bob hall. the water was beautiful and clear hardly any wind. we fished til about 5. we caught some whiting hubby caught about a 50 pound sting ray and saw many others doing the same. Saw whiting, pompano, one spanish mackeral, several sharks usually the bonnet head ones. Cannot wait to come back again. It was more about getting out and enjoying the nice weather than fishing. Will be back in your beautiful city soon. Would like to come twice a week but with the gas prices may have to cut it down. Just rebuilt our home from hurricane Ike so moving is out for a bit. Trying to figure a way to rent for 6 months a yr and still be close to kids lol.
3/6 Finally! A report from Boy - Me, my gf, and 2 cousins went out to Bob Hall Pier looking to catch some Reds.
We arrived around 7:30 with live shrimp and a couple mullet.
Upon being there for about 2 hours we realized that we were un-prepared.
The waves were too strong and easily carried our 5oz weights.
We also had no idea it was going to be that windy and cold.
On the plus side i took down some pointers for my next trip down there:
-spider weights
-bigger hooks
-cut bait
-a jacket
The people fishing on the right side of the T pull out a huge Red, probably close to 4' long. I've never seen such a big fish caught in person. They said they were using cut whities. They also gave it away.Once we left BHP we went to the usual place where my gf and i go to hang out and fish; Indian Point.
It was packed and we were only geting baits from those little perch untill we moved to the end of the pier.
Then i we pulling out big whities, and even caught a pelican.11/5 Bob Hall Pier report from 10/31 - Ken wrote and said "Within the first 10 minutes of getting the hook wet, my wife, Kayla, gets a slam.
Big Red. Didn't get to measure, left the tape measure at home.:( Very
Successful Catch and Release! 10 minutes after releasing, she gets another
slam, but drag set to tight, guess what.... Snap!!! No more big hits after
that. By the way we were using Finger Mullet. We Caught a few Gafftop to
take home. We had a great time!! And enjoyed the food from Barnicle
Bills!!"
10/25 - 10/23 from Skilzzz9 - Well what a day of fission. My father in law and I met at Bob Hall Pier before sunrise and Immediately started getting into some fish. The Gafftops were thick, though, and it was hard to get to the Reds that were plenty. Caught the first red just as the sun started to make light enough to see what we were doing. The next thing that happened was my 6/0 wide began screaming. My partners and I looked at each other and said “That’s not a redfish.” After about a 8-15 min battle (who keeps track?) Up pops a 6-7ft blacktip shark. Being that I didn’t want to harm the shark any more I opted not to put a gaff into it and just roped the leader. Hence the straightened hook and no pics. She dropped to the water before we could get her on the deck. Its just as well I don’t think putting sharks that big on the deck is a good idea anyway, if you want to release them.
After that my father in law and I caught more gafftops than you can shake a stick at. I ended up with seven bull redfish and he caught three. What a hoot. The wind was terrible though and wore us out for the end of the day. I haven’t slept that soundly in a long time. All fish were caught on cut mullet, and released, except one was tagged for a kid that really begged hard for it. He got a male that spoooged all over one of my custom rods.
Great day on the water. Good luck ya’ll.
Will
Father in Law was smiles all day.
Yes, more smiles
Me with a fishy
My head is up here pops!
Straightened 14/0 hook.
Good day.10/19 A REPORT - PRSB69 says "Lots of redfish on live finger mullet, live or dead. Spansh macks all day long, small sharks, pomps on fish bites, still catching a few kings on slides."
9/8 Gotmullet? says his son fished 9/4 and here is his report - My son and his buddies went to BHP yesterday and he caught 5 Pompano and 1 Spanish Mack
Needless to say he had a blast.Kryspykrmeburritto Reported
CORPUS CHRISTI - The Nueces County Commissioners Court is approving efforts to expand Bob Hall Pier to create a more tourist-friendly environment.
The project will expand the pier to include an outdoor dining facility and other infrastructure.
The cost for the project is just under $900,000. Commissioners said in Wednesday's meeting that the project will increase revenue for the county by making the area more appealing to tourism.
County officials say that money is already set aside and available from 2004 and 2007 certificates of obligation.
The work on the pier is expected to begin next month and be complete in time for spring break of next year.
The project does not include any funding to expand or renovate the parking lot at the pier
8/20 FB Phil Says on 8/18 - I fished BHP Mon-Wed this week and there were quite a few reds 1-2"s short with some keepers caught. There was alot of baitfish of all kinds, but got more scarce yesterday, I guess because it was rougher. There has also been some keeper trout caught in the daytime ALL UP AND DOWN THE PIER on live shad or small perch or croakers. There is also a ton of small to med macs tearing up Sabiki rigs and other mono. Someone on the "T" caught a 5' tarpon yesterday while I was there.
8/12 Reds according to MinnowMaster 8/11 !- Ok so went to the beach with wife and kids for fun in the sun and of course i had to do some fishing while i was there.So while in the surf with my 10' and my little Diawa Millionaire Classic i hear a "CLICK" not the one you want here and it locks up. head on to the pier to check out the action and everybody was getting slot reds before i get there, after i show up nothing but catfish. A few casts into the night i cast out leader line cut mullet and half my fishing pole so it was time to call it a night.
8/8 Kryspykrmeburritto Reported - Hit the pier around 8ish w/o any live shrimp due to everybody being sold out. 2lbs of dead and a dozen+ piggies and set-up shop. Bait was EVERYWHERE! I have never before in my life experienced what occured today. Mullet, some type of cigar shad by the thousands. (I could be wrong calling them cigar shad) Saw a couple of upper slot reds landed and a couple of trout landed along with some pup sharks. Around 10ish with the overcast skies the bait balls would venture out from under the pier into open waters and it was amazing to watch the skiddish chain reaction of bait running. From birds up above to who knows what below, it was definetly a site. Saw a couple of Kings go airborne attacking the schools and for the first time ever I saw a Tarpon roll from underneath the pier hitting one of the schools of mullet. Unreal! Only thing I managed was a 28" Blacktip. Place was busy early and more folks were showing up by the time we left around 11am.
Bait scattered everywhere!
8/5 Trout Under the Lights reported - Night time reports have gotten better as the water cleared. Trout reported on live bait up front. Some Skipjacks a few pompano, whiting, pup sharks and hardheads reported during the day.
7/23 Slow fishing lately and water to the dunes this morning - Ladyfish reports extremely dead fishing lately on the pier due to the fresh dirty water. Some redfish and small sharks reported recently and plenty of hardheads. Water could remain high all weekend due to T.S. Bonnie
6/18 - Winds and weed have slowed the reports though I have heard of a few Kings, Spanish Macks, Sharks, Whiting and Pomps, A few trout at night when it is calmer on live shrimp.
Jason Gutierrez with a 45" King taken 6/7
Here is a great report from krspykrmeburritto
from 6/6These guys were plentiful. Blue Runners. Cut in half n nothing, not a click.
Butter perch I believe.
34" Bonnethead. Great fight for my mom on light 12# tackle. Double drop w/ live shrimp.
Sharpnose that hooked perfectly on a 12/0 circle w/ a 6" section of skippie. Didn't even know he was on but there were several other little chunks taken out of the skippie.
Plenty of bait only I wasn't having any luck with em.
GUITARFISH
First time I've ever seen one. Cool looking fish.
Had to get mutiple snaps. Very cool.
Weed was rolling in all day. Not too bad but enough to annoy you. Oh well.
Conditions when we left at 1230.
All fish were CPR'd successfully! If I'm not slaying them it ain't worth it!
Good just to be out in it!5/27 Via Eksda - Got to the pier at 5 am and water was perfect winds calm. redfish glaore all over the shallows. problem they didnt want anything you threw at them only a few caught. went further out and set up for the day. about sunup a tarpon hits hubbys line and dance on the water 3 times before coming to pier and as htey were trying to land him took off under the pier, then the spanish mackeral hit and it was almost non stop for what seemed hours there was 4 of us and we all had so much. caught pompano and mackeral. about 11 am a school of redrfish hit out by teh t-head and there were some catching them. we used live shrimp and had dead. hubby lost serveral lures too. have some pics will get daughters bf to post for me we left by noon as we were all played out. had so much fun.pier was busy but everyone was nice no rowdy crowds at all.
5/20 Here is a report from Surfdragon 5/18 - Went to bob hall this mourning not knowing of cool front that was aproaching. Stoped at packery bridge to cast net some bait,Managed some finger mullet a couple of croakers one shrimp and some shad not bad. Water looked great with a greenish color with a light north wind. Not much sea weed in the water but reports that it was a mess before getting there. Fished with a croaker and bam a small black tip. Set out bigger rigs with live finger mullet on all lines. Just about then wind changes around to south east and starts blowing with some light rain. Saw some mullet jumping out of the water so some thing was going after them. Decided on getting some thing to drink at the cafe and was standing outside with a gentle man talking about fishing when he tells me one of my rods just flew over the rail,Well i start running over to my spot which wasn't to far off.I was fishing the third gut, And just hoping it was a smaller rig.Not that lucky, Well it must have been a school of some big fish because my biggest rod was hooked and bent over with a fish on.The other rod next to me starts bouncing an it wants to go off too.The first fish that was hooked as soon as i was setting the hook it came off but i managed to see it break the water far away,looked like a jack but not sure.Four reels set up with live mullet all got hit at the same time,Out come bustted line on one,loss of $200.00 rod and reel and two that got away. Oh well thats the breaks,Like i said water still looked great dispite the wind. Report of small sharks and jacks at the T . Heres some shots of the pier and water with one shot of my first shot of lightning.
5/7 Another great report from Cinco De mayo from the Bum - Viewer Discretion advised due to graphic hook injury! Got out there at 5am and the water sure looked fishy. 535am, phone rings. Had to go out to work. Got done a 8am and headed back out ot the pier.
Talk to a guy who was getting there as I was leaving for work. I asked if he got anything. He said he got 5 reds one after the other as soon as I left. Dammit!
Well, decided to move out towards the end as the clarity look better there. Got a slide line out and started throwing manolures. Hit after hit. A bunch of undersize Spanish and huge ladyfish. There were a few tiny bluefish mixed in. I did manage two 14" Spanish. I released them because didnt want to risk the shrinkage factor. I boxed a 14.5" and 15" Spanish.
About the time the larger macks showed up, I hooked a large ladyfish. Good fight until it jumped out of the water and shot the lure right back at me. Needless to say two of the three hooks sunk all the way into my calf.
Go figure it was a LADYFISH that stuck it to me. I spent the next 30 minutes trying to fish the hooks out. If it was just one, I would have done it, but having two in there showed me I could do it. So, off to the minor emergency care center and after a few shots, good yank by the doc, and $125.00 later, I was on my way home to get cleaned up and hit the rack.4/28 Fishing Report from 4/26 from Da Bum - Well, after a long week at work and the weather actually cooperating on my day off, I decided to cut out early since things slowed down and head out the the pier to fish. I was looking for fish for the freezer. I decided to grab some live shrimp to see if there was any trout in the lights. I come to find out out that none of the bait stands were open. However I waited around Clems and shortly before 5am they openned up. Grab some live shrimp and headed to the pier.
Started fishing the shallow lights. Not a bite. Ran into John and moved out to where he was at sunrise. I heard of the SMACK action from last week. It really sucked cuz I had to work through it.
Sunrise brought limited action. I did manage a lot hits and some quality hook ups. It was great to hear the line ripping through the water by a big ol' SMACK! But at last someone changed my hooks to rubber hooks. I lost 6 straight nice SMACKS at the pier while waiting to be netted.
I kept on chuggin' and manage to put my first fish onto the pier. A nice pompano measuring out to 19.5". It was still frustrating missing more SMACKS while others landed them. The action was not hot and heavy like the week before, but they came in waves. We usually got 3 or 4 hook ups as schools went by. Finally I started to land some of them including this 28.5" Spanish Mackerel.
Far from epic trip, but I did manage to put a few fish in the ice box. And yes Tyler, I kept the pompano for food and not for shark bait...even though it was tempting.
Smallest fish was the pompano at 19.5". All the SMACKS were over 20".
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FISH ON!!,
BUM4/21 Spanish Macks are ON! -Krispykrmeburrito filed this report: Heard some reports of folks slaying smacks at the pier yesterday and having perfect conditions so decided to sneak out of work early and see for myself. Glad I did! Stopped n loaded up on some live shrimp and hit the pier around 1245 this afternoon. Guess everybody else heard about the smacks as well cause it was packed. Out of the 5 normal spots that I occupy, all 5 were taken so I sucked it up and set up close to the T.
Water was beautiful! Been a loooooooonnnnnngggg time since I've seen it that clear. Truly amazing of all the life below the shallows when its visible. Bait everywhere. People still slaying the smacks with some pomps mixed in. Saw one King caught off the right side of the T. Noticed they were slide-lining. With polarized shades I could see the smacks slowly circle my bobber and in an instance they darted off either nipping it right below the little treble or spitting the hook. It was a blast! Caught and released 8 smacks between 20-24". Lost well over a dozen! They were all solid size. Started off with 60#mono test leader and that didn't last long at all so had to adapt. Saw rays, turtles, jellies, numerous types of bait fish that I am unfamiliar with. Awesome day. The icing on the cake came from being out there with my Wife and our 2mth old daughter. She's my everything. Bought a little pop up tent for her and tried it out for the first time and I highly recommend it. Momma can even crawl in there if need be and have the privacy to feed on demand!
Its only gonna get better!
Bottom left you can see the schools of bait hiding under the pier from the predators
More bait hanging around
This lady is always out on the pier fishing and she always manages to leave with a full cooler! Don't know her name but she was nice enough to allow me to snap a shot of her catch.
little baby tent that worked perfect with something protecting it from the wind. Gonna make an angler out of her before shes 2!
One of the smacks. Not the biggest, but picture quality, its the best of the rest.
4/1 Before the Strong Winds Hit 3/29 Allsharkhunter reported - Headed out at 2:00 and had baits in the water. Chunks of cownose and a small perch. Perch gets munched but no hook up. Then 4 wide that was about about 150 yards gets slammed. FISH ON! Fight it for about 20 mins through tangled lines then it starts to shoot the pier. NOOOO. So i stick the rod tip below the bottom and hold on and get him turned. Get it up to the pier and measures 5'8 fat blacktip. I get the tag kit and stick it in smoothly. Then we heaved it over the side and it swam off to terriorize some more fish. After that i reeled em up and headed home. Water was nice an green and alot of cownose and smacks were being caught. May be the first tagged shark off bob hall. Pics soon to come soon as i figure out how to get them off my phone.
3/20 Bob Hall Pier is open! - Sargassum is increasing but still fishable. The water temps are close to 65. Look for Bonnethead Sharks and Whiting. The latest reports say "whiting , sand trout, bonnethead sharks and gafftop" Be on the lookout for Spanish Mackerel and Jack Crevalle if the water is green.
3/12 The concession is opening this weekend - That is the latest word we have. The folks running Horace Caldwell are now handling Bob Hall Pier. Please send us some reports or post them on the message board. The water temperature is at 63 degrees. Look for Jacks to show up soon with warmer weather and green water.
2/10 As mentioned David and Ladyfish say the new owners take over in a few weeks - Reports have been few with bad weather and rough, cold water recently. Expect catches to include Whiting and a few Pompano and plenty of Hardheads.
1/21 Finally a report! This comes from David and Ladyfish - Took a drive over to the pier, stopped by the Park office for a update, the new ower will take over in appox. 6 weeks he is remodeling now. Everything will stay the same, the only thing will be rule enforcement. They say the rules will enforced. The new ower is the same person that runs Horace Caldwell Pier. Ok the water, dirty real dirty no weed or trash in the surf no dead fish and no live fish. I talked to all 5 people on the pier, 3 old men from Iowa not even a hard head lol, 1 young man 1/2 way down fished all night not even a bite, and Harley out on the end nothing. No bait fish No big fish, dirty water, and water temp at 55. Maybe Feb will be better. Hope this helped.
11/24 Bull Reds and Jacks 11/23 from Ladyfish who says - The day of the bull red and jack today was one of those days you dream about . We got to the pier around 7:30 am the water was pitcher perfect there were mullet in the first gut ,got a few set up just past the 1st gut, first rod out Bamb slot red, the water was boiling couldn't count the reds, didn't get a change to put out the second rod, ok Got 3 rods out, 3 rods down all three at once Jacks all big, To top it off the Bull reds came in , i was wore out, just sat there. but ladyfish stayed with it, every one on the pier was hooked up either bull reds or Jacks all bulls were released and the shark boys loved those jacks also, we got 2 30'' black tip sharks, Baitfish every where i saw the biggest Manhayden over 12 to 15 ins thousands and thousands, horse mullet pony and finger and thousands of 2'' gaff tops . We left them bitting at noon.
11/5 Finally A Report Here is one from Surfdragon from BHP - Packery - Finally my day off arrived,With clear skys and cool weather.
Stopped at bobhall first with gates open for free fishing, Not bad.
Water was clear and green,with shad around some of the columns.
Fishing was some what slow with spanish mackerels being caught on plugs and man o lures. Stayed for a while with no luck,And decided on north packery jetty.
Fish caught were black drum, slot reds ,pompono,mangrove snapper
and spanish macs. Heres a few pics of the day and some fish.
10/19 Restaurant Closed - Here is a report from BHP - Packery to Port A from Skipper "Went to BHP and the SPJ, then to Port A. The water is looking a lot better. It is dirty green but no red tide symptoms. Lots of people surfing and fishing. Here are a few pics from Port A. The first pic is from Friday, kind of a before and after deal. The second is about the same area.
Here are a few pics from SPJ
Adios"10/1 - 10/3 Report from LilDave360 - The journey begins Thursday morning at 5 am in Austin, TX. The alarm goes off. I pop out of bed like a child eagerly awaiting Christmas morning. I quickly gather my belongings and load up in the truck. A quick kiss good by to the misses and I'm on the road headed down I-35 toward paradise. A quick 3 hours later and I'm rolling into Corpus. My mind racing a hundred hours per hour pondering what might be. A quick stop at Cosway for some live bait (shrimp and perch) and I'm off again, in hot pursuit of Bob Hall Pier. I finally arrive around 10ish to setup shop. I unload the cart,my rods, and the rest of the gear, and proceed down the pier. The first place I stop and setup is btw the 2nd gut. I setup shop and not a few moments later my good buddy Jaime from Alice shows up. He is here for the long haul just like I am. We both set up and after a few hours of fishing with live piggy perch nothing to show for it. We switch to live shrimp and we start catching whiting and more perch. At this time I figure it's time for me to bust out the cast net and see if I can find some finger mullet. I spot a few in the surf and bam I get about a half dozen and 2 horse mullets. So we thrown them in the bucket and hook a few up and still nothing. After trying all day in the second gut we decide to relocate towards the end of the pier. We setup shop at the end of the pier and try there for another 3 or 4 hrs and nothing. At this point I had walked back toward the front of the pier and noticed more mullet in the surf. I told my buddy lets move back since we weren't catching at the end and we decided to do so. So we set up shop in the second gut again with nothing to show. Around 4 AM I noticed large schools of horse mullet running in the guts so I netted up about a dozen for cut bait the next day. I finally get about an hr or two of sleep and when the sun starts to rise so do I. I re rig all my rods with fresh cut mullet and around 8 AM my friend Jaime gets hit and hit hard. But with his luck the fish runs under the pier and around the pylon and snap, the line breaks. He is upset of course but that's life. Then about 20 minutes later my rod goes off. I set the hook and I tell Jaime this one isn't getting away. We get him landed and it turns out to be a nice 26 1/2" red. Looks like this fish had a run in with a shark cause he had a nice little bite mark on him. Soon after that the rain begins and we have to seek shelter. After about 10 minutes of heavy rain it stops just as quickly as it had begin. We head back to our spot and re rig and bam another run on my same rod. Jaime grabs the rod this time since i wasn't close by and brings in a nice 22 inch" red. We re rig and bam another one, this time it was under sized. A quick pic and release back to the gulf. This would continue through out the day, picking up reds here and there. One guy even asked us what we were using and we gave him some mullet and on the first cast bam, he hooks up with a 23" red. He then proceeds to ask if we would sell him some of our bait and I told him I had plenty and didn't mind sharing with him. So he cast again and bam he gets another, but it was undersized. And then the bite just turned off. They were gone just as quick as they had appeared. The afternoon was slow with nothing to show, but once the sun went down the bite would turn on again. We caught more reds and heard reports that people were catching drum down at the end. So my buddy Jaime moves on down to the end and proceeds to catch one as well as his 3rd red, but really his second red since one of those was technically on my rod. lol Anyhow, we both end up catching our limit of reds for the day and release many more. We saw many people catching reds around us. I guess if you were in the right spot you were getting hooked up. Saturday morning we started out early again after a few hrs of sleep. I netted up some shad that was in the surf and free lined him on my light rod. Not even 5 minutes later, bam another red. this one would measure at 24". After that we would catch more undersized and call it a day around noon.
Overall, this trip was very successful. We had a blast and the fishing was off the hook!
Total fish for the trip was 7 keeper reds, and 1 black drum. Almost all were caught on cut mullet, figure mullet, and live shad.
Here are a few pic i hope you enjoy!!!
This my set up at the pier.
This is me with my first two red of the day. If you look closely you can see the bite marks on the big one. The small one was released.
A few more pics of the pier. As you can see we had the pier to ourselves.
This is a pic of the keepers of the trip.
Here is a pic of my buddy Jaime Z and myself sporting our catches.
Me posing with the fish!! lol
Jaime posing with the fish! Don't let him fool you he only caught 2 of those fish!
9/18 Bob Hall Pier Via Wally Montez 9/17 - A lot of oversized reds and slot reds this week. Slow for most except on the end of the pier. Look at the reds coming through
These two guys are new to fishing. I bet they go again soon!
8/31 Bob Hall via Fishinglady - No sunrise this morning...all overcast, and the wind out of the northeast. The water is clear and green, no weed, and pomps, reds, and Spanish macks were biting, and there were trout being caught in the surf...at least until 10:30am or so. After that, the bites were very few and far between....wind shifted to easterly, whitecaps picked up,,,and most people left by 1:30pm
I managed an 18inch red on a little sabiki rig--returned to grow up, and one medium sized spanish mack that hit a watermelon shad under a bobber.
There were some shad in the water, but little to no obvious bait activity and the pelicans and herons were camped out on the light poles, not working the water.8/14 Bob Hall reports! - Trout have been fairly good at night with the calmer winds under the lights on shrimp. Lots of Kings and Spanish Mackerel with a few Tarpon hooked on the t-heads. The water is finally warming up with temps near 83.
7/21 South of Bob Hall from JayandCoyote 7/20 - Made it out a little south of Bob Hall yesterday. My wife wanted to take my niece who is visiting from Houston out to the beach. Tide was still going out when we got there about 4pm. Caught whiting on shrimp and fishbites combo. I threw out some cut whiting but nothing touched it all afternoon or evening. I just noticed the wrong date was on the camera. These really are from yesterday. I did not see any bait in the water.
7/1 Bob Hall Pier Reports Finally Coming In! - It was on the past several days for King Mackerel, Spanish Mackerel, Pompano, Pup Sharks and a few Tarpon
Fishinglady reports from 6/30 "Incredibly clear water, no weed at all, and more bait than I've ever seen in the water.
I got to the pier about 7, intending to leave by noon, but ended up staying until almost 6pm. The bite came in spurts. Mid-morning the smacks were hitting watermelon shad under floats....and the smacks were huge. Then just after noon and again about 4pm the kings showed up in force...and they were huge too....and also hitting shad under floats and slide lined. I only ended up with one very large smack, which I gave away to a man from Dallas because, at the end of the day, I was so tired that I didn't want to have to clean it. I had several large kings on....all got away cutting through leaders, even wire wrapped leaders,breaking 20lb line, or actually straightening out/snapping metal clips and crimps. Once I was about to be spooled, so I had to tighten down the drag...metal clip broke. At least I got to see and fight them all before they broke free.
Lots of very nice, helpful people on the pier, and it was very clean too. The new management is doing a good job."
Ladyfish reports from June 29th "Today was outstanding, the water beautiful , Bait watermellon shad by the zillons and then Black clouds in the water the man-hay-don (sp) came in first time this year and with them the KINGs I know in one hour we saw 7 or more way to go John and miko and the boys on the end , also big smaks, and reds, We got 2-reds upper end slots and smaks and 1pomp Was home by noon." Watermelon Shad and Mannolures were the baits of choice.
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