mmontelongo
New member
Port Lavaca Pier Fishing Report – April 9th, 2025 (5:30–8:00 PM)
Conditions:
Fished the evening minor as the tide was pushing in, casting north from the pier toward a one-foot sand drop-off visible on Navionics. The water had good movement, and the weather couldn’t have been better. A beautiful breeze rolled in—chill but almost warm, like the wind was giving you a soft hug. Honestly, even if we hadn’t caught a thing, it still would’ve been a great evening just to be out there.
Bait & Setup:
We ran our usual garlic-salted shrimp setup on a 12ft Shimano Speedmaster paired with an Abu Garcia 6500 reel, spooled with 20lb braid. Rigged up with a double drop, 3oz sputnik sinker, and 4/0 circle hooks. Bait placement was dialed in—but it was gaftop city.
The Bite:
All across the pier, it was the same story: non-stop gaftop. Hard hits, quick runs, and tons of activity. We started using invisible elastic thread to keep the salted shrimp snug on the hook and hold up against the relentless catfish assault. Tons of bites, tons of fish—just not the species we were hoping for.
Local Intel:
Talked to a few of the locals, and it sounds like the better fish—the reds, drum, specks—don’t really move in until late at night, outside the typical solunar major/minor windows. Based on that, we’re planning to head back Friday night between 10 PM and 1 AM and see what rolls through on the late tide.
Gear Lost:
None. Clean session.
Next Steps & Thoughts:
Thinking about downsizing to a size 2 hook next time. Might be missing specks on the 4/0s, and I’ve been watching MDLR crush it with size 2 mosquito hooks. Sure, we’ll probably land even more gaftop—but catching is catching.
Might be time to learn how to fry these gaftop up right. They’re out here in force, might as well make them worth the ice chest space.
Conditions:
Fished the evening minor as the tide was pushing in, casting north from the pier toward a one-foot sand drop-off visible on Navionics. The water had good movement, and the weather couldn’t have been better. A beautiful breeze rolled in—chill but almost warm, like the wind was giving you a soft hug. Honestly, even if we hadn’t caught a thing, it still would’ve been a great evening just to be out there.
Bait & Setup:
We ran our usual garlic-salted shrimp setup on a 12ft Shimano Speedmaster paired with an Abu Garcia 6500 reel, spooled with 20lb braid. Rigged up with a double drop, 3oz sputnik sinker, and 4/0 circle hooks. Bait placement was dialed in—but it was gaftop city.
The Bite:
All across the pier, it was the same story: non-stop gaftop. Hard hits, quick runs, and tons of activity. We started using invisible elastic thread to keep the salted shrimp snug on the hook and hold up against the relentless catfish assault. Tons of bites, tons of fish—just not the species we were hoping for.
Local Intel:
Talked to a few of the locals, and it sounds like the better fish—the reds, drum, specks—don’t really move in until late at night, outside the typical solunar major/minor windows. Based on that, we’re planning to head back Friday night between 10 PM and 1 AM and see what rolls through on the late tide.
Gear Lost:
None. Clean session.
Next Steps & Thoughts:
Thinking about downsizing to a size 2 hook next time. Might be missing specks on the 4/0s, and I’ve been watching MDLR crush it with size 2 mosquito hooks. Sure, we’ll probably land even more gaftop—but catching is catching.
Might be time to learn how to fry these gaftop up right. They’re out here in force, might as well make them worth the ice chest space.
