Fishing Report – Lighthouse Beach Pier, Port Lavaca – July 2nd Evening into July 3rd Morning

mmontelongo

mmontelongo

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I headed out last night (July 2nd) around 10:30 PM to Lighthouse Beach pier in Port Lavaca. The main goal was to scout the pier status for my longer evening session tonight, July 3rd. The forecasted PSU was sitting around 8, and my worry was the pier would be dead with no trout under the lights.

I packed ultra light – just my Shimano Curado paired with a light action Waterloo Phantom and a 3.5” Vudu Mullet. No tackle box, no stringer, no cast net. I worked today and knew if I had my full arsenal on me, I’d do everything in my power to limit out and end up sleep deprived.

When I arrived, my fears were confirmed at first glance. The pier was practically empty, every light but one was available, and none showed signs of life. I walked down checking each light: just waves and disappointment… until I got about ¾ of the way down the pier. Then I heard it – POP. Then again, POP. Speckled trout were there, under this one light, deep down the pier.

I rigged up my Vudu Mullet for its first outing. Here’s a quick semi-review:
  • Action: The 3.5” Vudu Mullet swims beautifully.
  • Weight: I bought the 1/8 oz version, but wish it would sink a little lower in the water column. Next time, I’ll upgrade to a 1/4 oz for deeper presentation.
  • Hookup Ratio: Smash after smash after smash – yellow mouths grabbing it by the tail with no hookup. Either these were small trout unable to fully inhale the lure, or I’m experiencing the infamous Vudu Mullet hook bend issue people talk about online. I lost around six hookups to failed sets, so I will be upgrading the hooks before my next trip.
About 30 minutes into the frustration, another angler walked up. I let him know this was the light with fish, and he asked if he could join. Of course, the more the merrier. He dropped in a live mullet and it was game on. Finally, I hooked into a solid 14” speckled trout and landed it. Meanwhile, Thomas (my new friend) landed a 19” monster right behind me.

Feeling confident in my scouting mission, I packed up and headed home to bed. Best part – Thomas showed me his secret spot where he catches live mullet with a cast net. So not only did I confirm trout under the lights, I left with valuable intel for tonight’s session.

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Hook has been swapped out tonight for hopefully a better hook up. Lacking that I’ll end up throwing live mullet.

Notice how the new hook goes about a half inch past the old treble.

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I fished Port Lavaca this same night, directly across the street from you at the Holiday Inn. I was traveling the gulf coast with my 16 year old, and this wasn't a fishing trip so I only had a basic setup. I was fishing with my 4' TuringMonkey Trout Ranger from Japan, an all glass rod with crazy action. I was catching a lot of black drum, and was getting comments about my rod by other anglers while my rod was practically folded in half. There was an 8' gator who kept us company while we fished, he was entertaining when he would chase folks popper corks, or when begging for a fish. The firework show was unexpected, my daughter and I were able to watch it from the hotel room.
 
An 8’ gator!! Crazy that there are so many gators around now. We always joke that we have to watch out for them
 
@Mud Oh yea we have fished back there before (Just heads up, the front desk told us they don't ask if you are staying there to fish) so game on lol.

That gator is well known in port lavaca, he goes between there and a local spot called Evelyns.

The July 3rd fireworks were random, but they were nice to watch!
 
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