Galveston Spring Break - Perfect for family fishing

The gorgeous weather to start 2017 has been great to get the fishing started early in Galveston. We've had great fishing for redfish and sheepshead already this year at the jetties and that should continue right through the spring. Our red snapper catch share trips have been stellar as well catching a lot of 15+ pound fish nearly every spot we've fished.

With spring break right around the corner, it's time to star planning your next trip with the kiddos and get them out for a great day on the water. We still have a few dates left, so make sure you get your trip booked before someone else does. Our spring fishing is the perfect trip to get started and catch lots of fish too. Sheepshead are biting really well and they're a lot of fun to catch! We'll also be fishing for huge black drum that can get over 40 pounds!!!

Come join us this spring or through the summer to learn all about fishing in Galveston while catching fish with Galveston Sea Ventures.

Capt. Shane Cantrell
512-639-9188
thefishinaddiction.com

Fishing within the Government

Given the opportunity, it's safe to say that most people would opt out of a week of government meetings filled with indecision and postponement of meaningful action.  However... In an attempt to shape and brighten the future of the charterboat industry, I have chosen to involve myself with the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council process.  

A brief recap of the week includes reallocation, rescinding a rule preventing charterboats from fishing in state waters when the federal season is closed, and the council also chose to develop an electronic reporting system for the charterboats.  Although the council has decided to move forward on a few issues, none of them are expected to translate into many additional fishing days for Red Snapper season over the next few years.  

Looking ahead to the next meeting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It would be refreshing to see the council take steps towards developing solutions rather than just one attempt after another to extend the continually shrinking seasons by extending it in one way or another by a few days here and there. 

Spring Break Special

Big Uglies on a Spring Break Sprecial

Although the cool and windy winter weather has set in across the Gulf Coast, there are still a lot of opportunities tower a line and catch some nice fish. Flounder in the early winter and the way to the annual Wahoo run to kick off the year.  We offer year round fishing charters in Galveston, Texas for a reason... Because we have fish to catch all year round.  

Galveston Redfish Charters

Here's a brief overview of a winter of fishing in Galveston, Texas. Starting around the end of October, Flounder start gathering for an annual migration offshore.  These delicious fish are in full swing through November and early December. While they're moving through we can also catch big bull Redfish as well.  To start off the new year there are still big Redfish hanging around, mixed in with them are also big Black Drum often ranging between 20 and 50 pounds. These are the perfect trips for kids to catch a big one! 

Deep Sea Fishing in Galveston, Texas.  65+ pound Wahoo!

Galveston offshore fishing and deep see fishing does have a short lull around November and December, while it's usually pretty rough with the passing cold fronts.  But, around January, one of the best tasting fish in the ocean starts together around 100 miles offshore. WAHOO!!!  These fast swimming, hard fighting, beautiful fish are a blast to catch and a delicacy to eat.

Feel free to give Galveston Sea Ventures a call at 512-639-9188 for more information or to make a reservation.  You can find us on the web at www.thefishinaddiction.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/GalvestonSeaVentures.

Bluewater Galveston Fishing Charter with Galveston Sea Ventures.  Great haul with a bonus 75 pound Wahoo!!!!!

Why Winter?

Although the cool and windy, winter weather has set in across the Gulf Coast, there are still a lot of opportunities tower a line and catch some nice fish. From Flounder in the early winter all the way to the annual Wahoo run to kick off the year.  We offer year round fishing charters in Galveston, Texas for a reason... Because we have fish to catch all year round.  

Just a brief overview of a winter of fishing in Galveston, Texas. Starting around the end of October, Flounder start gathering for an annual migration offshore.  These delicious fish are in full swing through November and early December. While they're moving through we can also catch big bull Redfish as well.  To start off the new year there are still big Redfish hanging around, mixed in with them are also big Black Drum often ranging between 20 and 50 pounds. These are the perfect trips for kids to catch a big one! 

Galveston offshore fishing and deep see fishing does have a short lull around November and December, while it's usually pretty rough with the passing cold fronts.  But, around January, one of the best tasting fish in the ocean starts together around 100 miles offshore. WAHOO!!!  These fast swimming, hard fighting, beautiful fish are a blast to catch and a delicacy to eat.

Feel free to give Galveston Sea ventures a call at 512-639-9188 for more information or to make a reservation.

 You can find us on the web at www.thefishinaddiction.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/GalvestonSeaVentures.

Back to Blogging..... It's been a while.

After another long fishing year, Galveston Sea Ventures has been hard at work away from the blog world.  Just wanted to give everyone an update and share some of the great catches from our Galveston fishing charters this past summer.  

Looking forward we will have a few articles coming about winter fishing, the upcoming spring break fishing specials, and a briefing from the upcoming GulfCouncil meeting in Houston this February. 

Speak up for Our Sharks

Most recreational anglers rely on charter fishing businesses for their fishing expeditions and realize without charter-for-hire boats, many people in the country would be unable to enjoy recreational fishing, and many captains and crews would be out of jobs.  The Charter Fisherman’s Association believes everyone should have an equal right to access our nations’ fisheries resources.

We are asking all American anglers to join us in our ongoing mission. Currently an amendment is being proposed which would limit the fishing of Gulf of Mexico blacktip sharks because some feel they may be mistaken for a similar species, the dusky shark. The blacktip shark and dusky shark are easily identified by obvious visual differences.  Amendment 5 to the 2006 Consolidated Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) utilizes faulty reasoning as Black tip sharks are a population that is NOT identified as overfished or subject to overfishing. This in turn threatens your recreational fishing without benefiting the resource we also seek to manage. In addition, the proposal seeks to increase the minimum size limit for blacktip sharks to eight feet long. Since the average blacktip adult is only five feet long, this proposed regulation is truly a complete prohibition on the fishing of a species which is completely capable of supporting recreational harvest. 

How can you help?

1. Go to: http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=NOAA-NMFS-2012-0161-0001
2. Submit your own comment or utilize the following to voice your opinion:

Draft Amendment 5 directly inhibits my opportunity to recreationally harvest blacktip sharks by increasing the minimum size limit.  The best available science shows that this species is not being overfished, and is not undergoing overfishing.  I support a status quo size limit for blacktip sharks and an outreach program for shark identification.

COMMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED UNTIL 02/12/2013!

Fishing For Tomorrow

According to the latest NOAA fishery bulletin, the expected recreational Red Snapper season will be 40 days this year, down from 48 days in 2011. This will no doubt cause a raucous among the user groups as the stock is known to be rebounding and fish are getting bigger. This spurs educated fishermen, Environmental Non Governmental Organizations, regulators, and fisheries to continually work together trying to find systems and solutions to our growing problems. There is outcry for some extremist groups to repeal and rewrite the Magnuson Act, responsible for getting us to the point of rebuilding potential we are currently at.  And constant complaining about the system, or the data, or the charter fishermen, or the commercial fishermen for causing the problem. As we see our season get shorter year by year it becomes obvious that the complaining and blaming hasn't been very effective so far, in case you weren't aware of that already.

Meanwhile, this week in St. Petersburg, Florida, I was invited by a group called FishSmart to participate in a fish survivability workshop relating to barotrauma. For simple purposes, barotrauma is the effect on a fish such as Red Snapper or Grouper when it is brought up from depth and has a stomach out its mouth, eye popping out of the head, and/or overinflated or ruptured swim bladder. Although these effects appear life threatening and detrimental, research shows that fish are actually capable of recovering from these effects if handled properly and in a timely manner.

There are two main schools of thought about helping fish to recover from barotraumatic effects. Venting and recompression. Venting is when you poke the fish behind the pectoral fin releasing gasses from the swim bladder so the fish has the opportunity to swim back to the bottom. Recompression is a fairly new tactic which involves rapidly sending the fish back down to or near the bottom where it came from. This process show a lot of promise for the survivability in the future and should be a hot topic moving forward. I was also able to acquire a new product called The Seaqualizer for recompression and I am really looking forward to getting it out on the water and trying it out as the seas calm down and we begin to start the Galveston deep sea fishing season early this summer.



For more information about The Seaqualizer or the FishSmart program , go to: http://theseaqualizer.com/SeaQualizer/Movie.html and
FishSmart.org

And to book your next Galveston fishing charter check out thefishinaddiction.com