Fishing Update

Over the past week here in Galveston, Texas we've seen a huge swing in the weather.  After running from thunderstorms and lighting just a week ago, we are graced with scorching heat.  The fish don't seem to mind too much though as we have been doing very well catching good numbers of trout, redfish, and big sharks at the jetties and snappers, and kingfish offshore.  Check out these picture from our recent Galveston fishing Charters.  Deep sea fishing pictures coming soon, but the fishing season and summer are in full swing so come on down to Galveston, Texas and have a great time with the Captains of Fishin Addiction Charters.

The Other Side of Professional Fishing

As I talk more and more about the fishery issues we represent, I might as well give a brief overview of the issues we have been working on at the national level for those who wish to know. Over the past few months, I have made several trips to Washington, D.C. to meet with House and Senate offices from across the gulf about fishery issues.

It began with a large trip to maintain funding for the exploration of flexible and accountable management tools in the charter for hire and private recreational fishery. Charter captains from across the gulf took the time away from their businesses and busy schedules to talk to their representatives in DC about the issues facing our industry.

About a month later, I returned to speak against the Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill proposed by Congressman Southerland from Florida. This bill was an attempt to block the implementation or development of catch shares from the DC level. While I respect everyone's views on catch shares, I believe there should be no management tool removed from exploration for our fishery managers. Bills such as this are the perfect example of attempts to bypass the local decision making process, where everyone has an equal seat at the table, and regulate fisheries from Washington. Although the bill passed the house, it has not been introduced in the senate as of yet.

The second trip I made was to meet with congressional and senatorial office across the gulf about the Fishery Investment and Regulatory Relief Act (FIRRA). In support of this bill we are trying to gain traction and sponsorship from the southeast to regain funding from NOAA that has been slowly diverted over time from the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act. It is estimated that since 1979, $13.1 Billion has been diverted from the regional management councils. This money was set aside to be used for cooperative research, stock assessment, data collection, and Exploration of new fishery management tools. Our success is still pending as this bill is in the very early stages, but we hope for it to gain traction over the next months and after the election madness that's coming up later this year.

The most recent trip is actually being completed as I write this on the plane returning to Houston was to express our overall support of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation Act. This is the landmark piece of legislation that is responsible for protecting our fisheries, and it's reauthorization in 2006 mandated that we take action to end overfishing. At the time of reauthorization, the fishery was in serious trouble and has since made a fantastic recovery. Magnuson is working, but the problem we have now is an access problem and a 27 year old fishery management plan. That's a topic for another time, but the main focus on Magnuson is IT'S WORKING!


For now, it looks like I'll be able to relax and just go back to fishing and providing access to the american non boat owning public. As more legislation threatening this access comes out of the usual area, I'm sure I'll make the trip back to DC. But for now it's time to just sit back and enjoy the good times to come as the Memorial Day Weekend on Galveston Island!

Those Pesky Snappers

After the long awaited announcement of what we have left of  Red Snapper season in federal waters this year, we finally got our answer a few weeks ago. This year we will have 40 days. From June 1-July 10 this year we will be able to legally harvest those pesky Red Snappers in federal waters. In the few blue water and Galveston shark fishing trips we have had this year, the Red Snapper seem to be really  thick and good sized heading into the season.

Book your Galveston fishing charter today, before it's too late. Our boats are filling up fast for deep sea fishing trips during this limited season, so don't wait too long to get your reservation. Last year we managed to bring limits of 10 pound fish to the dock nearly every day, so we hope to improve upon that with your help.

On a separate note, make sure you also talk to us about your membership to the Charter Fisherman's Association. We want to represent the fishermen on our boats at all levels and work hard to improve the access and sustainability of our fisheries. Your voice will be heard as a member of the Charter Fisherman's Association at all levels. We appreciate the opportunity to make lasting memories with every fisherman on our Galveston fishing boats and look forward to continuing to provide access to Americas non boat owning public in the future.

Book your Galveston Red Snapper Fishing trip with Fishin Addiction Charters

Check out the Charter Fisherman's Association at Charterfisherman.org 

and be sure to like us on Facebook

Fishing at all Levels

After a few very busy weeks, I've finally gotten around to getting another update from the crew of Fishin Addiction Charters. It's been a crazy few weeks here in Galveston, Texas with some fantastic fishing going on. This weekend looks to hold a lot of promise as well.

I've been traveling back and forth to our nations' Capitol talking to congressional and senatorial offices from across the Gulf about some critical issues to the Charter industry. Meanwhile, Captain Dan has been finishing up the school year with finals and getting warmed up for the great Galveston fishing season ahead.

A couple weeks ago I was greeted with a great surprise.  My mom, dad, uncle, and grandpa joined me for a Galveston deep sea fishing trip and a morning at the jetties. I knew nothing about it until they showed up the morning of the trip. We had some great times and managed to catch and release some nice red snappers while bringing home this nice kingfish along with a cobia (ling) and several chicken dolphin. As for the blue water trips, we have getting good numbers of amberjack and king mackerel with a few nice wahoo and groupers mixed in.  This past week I had some friends from Liberty Hill, Texas where I went to high school join me and get rewarded with our new boat record for speckled trout. This great fish was about 8 pounds.

With 2 more days of fishery lobbying behind me for this month I am really looking forward fishing the rest of the week on the Gulf Coast. Looks like I'll be returning for another round of lobbying next week to continue the fight for improving our fisheries at the federal level. I appreciate the opportunity to represent the millions of Americans who rely on the Charter for hire industry as their lifeline to this nations fishery resources.
















To book your next Galveston Fishing Charter visit Fishin Addiction Charters

For more information about our nations fisheries check out Charter Fishermans Association

And make sure you like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

What a Difference a Few Days Can Make

After another great week in Galveston, Texas the fish are still biting.  The week got off to a rough start with some horrendous weather , but the weather settled back down as the week moved along and we were able to get back on the water safely.  Thursday we were greeted with light winds and calm seas, fishing at the Galveston jetties was truly at its best!  On the left is a picture of the radar taken on monday... and on the right is the catch we brought in Thursday from our Galveston Fishing Charter.  

After catching enough for a meal or two, our guests decided to just enjoy the day catching redfish after redfish and safely releasing them.  A great way to ensure successful days of fishing for our future.  Overall we were able to catch over 20 redfish, with sheepshead, gulf trout, and some really nice speckled trout.  Captain Dan even caught an undersized snook, which is a very rare catch for the upper Texas Gulf Coast.  

Over the next 2 weeks the Captains of Fishin Addiction Charters will be taking two very different paths.  Captain Dan will be continuing to run fishing charters and going to school at U of H Clear Lake.  I have been invited to attend the FishSmart Gulf of Mexico/South Atlantic Workshop on Improving the Survival of Released Fish Focussing on Barotrauma in St. Petersburg, Florida as part of a continuing effort to improve our nations' fisheries.  The following weekend, we will have a full slate of trips before I head of to Corpus Christi, Texas for the highly anticipated Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council Meeting as a member of the Charter Fisherman's Association and it's ongoing goal to achieve sustainable and accountable status for our fisheries in a way that will increase all user groups' access to our nation's natural resource.

To reserve your next fishing adventure visit: thefishinaddiction.com

For more information about the Charter Fisherman's Association go to: charterfisherman.org

Kicking off the Season in Style

Another great weekend on the water is coming to an end here in Galveston, Texas and it has been another very productive one along the Galveston jetties as well as for Galveston deep sea fishing.

At the jetties, we found some really good fish along the end of the North Jetty catching nice sheepshead, black drum, and a bull redfish on light tackle. The bite was great for both the morning and the afternoon Galveston fishing charters. We expect the fish to just keep moving in and to begin seeing more speckled trout and slot reds in our catches as the excellent weather hangs around and water temperatures continue to climb.

As for the day of deep sea fishing, Captain Dan and his fishermen for the day were blessed with calm seas and magnificent weather out 80 miles offshore. They were able to box 5 nice Amberjacks a few King Mackerel, a Warsaw Grouper, as well as a Wahoo. Definitely a great way to get the year started deep sea fishing and got some fantastic pictures in the process.

We work hard to put our customers on the fish they deserve, and it gives us great pleasure to be your choice for access to the fantastic resource we call our home.  Please show us thanks by supporting our Charter Fishermans' Association and continuing to fish with the captains of Fishin Addiction Charters in Galveston, Texas.

Give us a call for your next Galveston fishing charter adventure at 512-639-9188, and feel free to visit our websites at:
thefishinaddiction.com and gulfoffshorefishing.com

Tight Lines and Good Times

It's been a long crazy week here in Galveston, Texas but the Captains of Fishin Addiction Charters would like to take the time to say thank you to all of those that we were able to take fishing this past week for Spring Break. This has been one of our busiest and most productive years ever in terms of the numbers of fish caught and memories made for our customers. The weather has been near perfect and we look forward to more great days on the water as the Galveston fishing season moves along.

Here is an interesting picture I managed to take on our fantastic Galveston fishing charter on Friday afternoon. We were on the very end of the North Jetty looking back towards Bolivar Peninsula and nearly all of the fishing boats in the picture are charter guides, including 5 federally permitted charter boats. This was just one afternoon of an entire week of Spring Break fishing charters here in Galveston, Texas. I feel safe saying people enjoy their fishing charters across the entire Gulf of Mexico for Spring Break.

That's all for now as I have to get back to the Yacht Basin for another Galveston fishing charter this afternoon.

For your next Galveston Fishing Charter go to: thefishinaddiction.com
And for fishing charters across the Gulf visit: Charter Fisherman Association - Guide Finder