Wade/Surf Fishing Galveston Guides/Tips

Check out San Luis Pass and Seawolf Park.

Bank fishing will be tough to find access but you may be able to find a road to walk/wade into south shoreline of West Bay. Usually June-August we'll have a few windows of light north winds that lay down the surf and trout fishing can get pretty good on the beach.

Bolovar pocket. Cross Ferry from Galveston side. Drive 2 miles and turn toward beach. Drive down beach back toward north jetty(back toward ferry), park at wood poles blocking you from driving further. Hit surf heading toward boat cut out toward gulf, You can eade out 3/4 mile and more toward boat cut in waist deep water. Been a great area for trout for decades. Live bait, lures, top waters.

Yep the Boliver Pocket is awesome to wade. Just be advised, you use an ordinary donut to keep fish in and sharks will frick with it. Also, wear legit stingray protection. The rays in there are obscene come late Summer. I saw a guy get hit and if it wasn’t for a boat that heard him scream and motored up to him to help him and let him get relief from the motor pisser he might not have made it. And add in the vibrio and my wading days there are over.

Plus I would rather go to Big Lake and learn life lessons from Kemo lol.

2coolfishing Forum used to be a pretty good resource a few years back, haven’t checked it in awhile.

Lots of good wading spots on the bay side of Galveston Island.

I’d steer clear of wading around the passes unless you’re with someone VERY familiar of the areas.

If you are trout fishing the surf, wait for the green tide days and roll up and down the seawall till your see bait/birds.

Be on the look-out for sharks (keep your stringer loosely tied)

F Bolivar Pocket. I had half of a 23” trout robbed from me during a tourney by the man in the gray suit in Bolivar Pocket. And I know they can be all over, but I try to avoid Stingrays at al costs. The pocket is a very nice area to wade from a firm and flat bottom standpoint though.

You can walk in and wade west bay from the state park and I think maybe even snake cove. You can also wade in Christmas and Drum bays also but those are very muddy bottom bodies of water.

I forgot to mention above that wading Skyline drive at the base of the TX City dike is a great wade also that can produce good fish. I think it is a little further out from the shore, but I do know there is a hole called Mosquito Hole where multiple people have drowned though, but it is not really an issue unless you get a little sporty and head way out there from the shore. I havent done it in a few years, but I do enjoy wading Skyline. I love wading the surf when it gets right also. You basically have to watch the weather and wave forecast and just go when it gets right. Have caught plenty of fish out there on artificials when it's good. Like someone mentioned above, I use the surfside access points from #3 on down.

As others have mentioned fishing the surf can be great from surfside beach to galveston beach and around san luis pass. West bay behind the pass can also be good. If you are going to wade in or close to the pass wear a pfd or at least bring one and tether it to you. you can be standing in knee deep water and have the sand erode instantly and get swept out. people drown there every year unfortunately.

I'd suggest buying a wade/kayak fishing map like this one. LINK it will give you some ideas of where to go.

there are several surf cams you can use as well to get an idea of surf conditions/wave height. I use Saltwater Recon LINK I think it is $4 or $5 bucks a month and you can start/stop it at any time. I usually subscribe from May to September.

there are also some free apps that will tell you wave height and give a forecast of wave height. I use one that used to be called Magic Seaweed, but think it is now called Surfline. for me, if it shows the wave height of 1-2ft or less, then it should be fishable if the water color is good (green/sandy green, etc.)

if you wade the bays, make sure you shuffle your feet before you start to walk and never step backwards if you can help it. the bays are always thick with stingrays. they're less of an issue in the surf, but they are still there as well.

good luck.