By Capt. Mike Williams, Tarpon Express
Well, it’s almost Christmas. I think overall 2014 will go down in the records books as just a fair year as far as fishing. The brightest fishing which improved in 2014 for me was the flounder fishing. It seems to me the two-fish limit at the peak of the migration in November helps or is helping the overall catches for most people fishing for flounder. I told a man the other day that in my opinion it’s better to catch 2 flounder and release 30 than not catch any flounder at all. The red fish bite was about average; shark fishing was good to fair and the tarpon finally came in late August, but overall, the tarpon fishing was off as was the trout fishing for most fishermen. I did not see a lot of big trout in 2014, the 9 pound 4 oz star winner was about the biggest trout I heard of this year. I think I’m going to target more big trout in 2015.
I have spent a lifetime fishing for big trout. For a full time fishing guide it’s hard to target big trout. I know where the big trout live and exactly when they will be there, but the biggest problem for most guides is getting the caliber of fishermen needed to go after big trout, plus putting in the time to catch the bigger trout. Another factor, the people that can or will wade are getting to be few and far between.
When I was a MirrOlure field tester, I spent a lot of time fishing the Rollover area. I designed several MirrOlures for this pass that even today can still be bought. The 51MR704 Texas Chicken I designed and field tested, and in my opinion the very best MirrOlure made for the Rollover Pass area 365 days a year. In winter I like the 51MRCFG, and at dusk another lure I designed was the 51MR808 Widow Maker. The 51MSHP and the 51MR11 Woody in good green water, and when the water was off, the 51MR28 worked well.
My biggest 20 trout limit from Rollover came in December 1983. Each fish was weighed on certified scales in Houston Texas, at Marburgars Sporting Goods. The friend I was fishing with kept a legal limit of 20 trout that weighed 122 pounds. My 20 trout weighed 139 pounds which was almost a 7 pound average. All my fish that day were caught on a MirrOlure 51MSHP. Read the FULL STORY next week.
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The main problem here concerning the closing f Rollover is that we have a minority ruling over the majority- an interested few who moved to close the pass for reasons known only to them are trying to fix something that isn’t really broken– but can be fixed in other ways– Rollover Pass is a Mecca to many thousands of people who use this facility not only to fish, but to rebond with their families and friends- there is a lot of History in Rollover which deals with those who grew up fishing the Pass- If the pass is closed we would lose that important history– Bolivar would take a big financial hit if the pass is closed as would Galveston east bay changing almost overnight from being an incredible fishery to a freshwater swamp being void of anything but skeeters and gators- The closing and filling in of Rollover would be an absolute disaster for the State of Texas- Rollover needs to be recognized for what it really can become- A Texas National Treasure– AMEN!!
WHEN THE SPANIARDS INVADED THE INCA INDIANS ,THE INDIANS HAD GOLD ALL OVER THE BODY AND HANGING ON THEIR NECKS …THE SPANIARDS ASKED THE INCAS WHERE ALL THAT GOLD CAME FROM AND THE INCAS TOLD THEM THAT IT CAME FROM CITY MADE OF SOLID GOLD WAY OUT IN THE JUNGLE ..THE SPANIARDS LOOK AND LOOK FOR THIS LOST CITY OF GOLD BUT NEVER FOUND IT .THE SPANIARDS NAME THIS LOST CITY OF GOLD “”EL DORADO “””AND EVEN TODAY MANY PEOPLE SEARCH FOR THIS LEGENDARY CITY ,MANY THINK THE PLACE WAS ONLY A MYTH ….THE LOCATION I CAUGHT ALL THOSE BIG TROUT JUST BEFORE THE GREAT FREEZE OF 1983 –I NAMED “””EL DORADO FLATS “””THE SPANIARDS CALL THE LOST CITY OF GOLD “”EL DORADA “”” BUT THE INCA INDIANS CALL THE CITY “”PAITITI “”…WHEN I WAS A FIELD TESTER FOR MIRROLURE ,MY TARGET WAS BIG TROUT AND OVER 50 YEARS OF FISHING I FOUND AND FISHED MOST ALL PLACES IN THE GALVESTON BAY COMPLEX ,JETTIES AND SURF THAT PRODUCED TROUT OVER 8 POUNDS —I CALL THESE SPOTS “”””PAITITI SPOTS “”””-NOW ,ROLLOVER PASS ,THAT WHOLE AREA IS A PATITI SPOT —AND ONLY A MORON WOULD TRY AND SHUT IT OR CLOSE IT –I HAVE A QUOTE —”THEY DON’T KNOW ,BECAUSE THEY DON’T KNOW “””””that ROLLOVER PASS IS A TRUE LIVING GOLD MINE FOR MANY FISHERMAN FOR MANY FISHERMEN IT IS THEIR “””EL DORADO “””,
The Rollover Pass is open 24/7. My opinion is that the fishermen had a great year in 2014!! I’m excited to see what 2015 will bring!!
Great info. I’m new to area and was researching places to fish from shore. But I was seeing a lot of reports about closing the Rollover pass. I assume it’s still open. Any info about that closure would be appreciated.
Thanks
I plan to try the fishing there this winter.