July 25, 2025
Texas’ Largest Hunting and Fishing Newspaper Since 2004
Volume 21, Issue 23
Trout bite steady, reds scattered By Nate Skinner
For Lone Star Outdoor News Summertime patterns are in full force for those targeting speckled trout across Texas’ coastal bay systems. Most anglers and guides have been able to find limits of specks, with some oversized fish mixed in as well. The redfish bite has been a different story. Many have reported redfish have been harder to find. Galveston Bay Complex fishing guide Capt. Max Conner said the speckled trout bite has been steady in the upper portion of West Galveston Bay over shell in 3.5-6.5 feet of water. Specks in the 15- to 20-inch range have been easy to come by while drift-fishing with live shrimp rigged under a popping cork. Conner said live croaker and soft plastics have also been producing plenty of fish. “Edges of oyster shell reefs have been loaded with mullet and shad, and the trout have been feeding aggressively on the baitfish, which has made catching limits pretty easy lately,” Conner said. “Most of the keeper-sized trout in the slot range have been anywhere from 17-19.5 inches. We’ve also been catching some oversized trout weighing up to about 5 pounds or so.” Conner said all of the larger specks have been biting on croaker. “The redfish bite, on the other hand, has been a lot more sporadic,” Conner said. “Reds have been scattered at best. We are catching a couple here and there in the same areas where we are catching trout, but there has been no consistency to their patterns.” Conner said the redfish his anglers have been catching have been in the upper slot range with some oversized fish mixed in, with most weighing 7 pounds or more. In Baffin Bay, Capt. Preston Long said good numbers of keeper-sized speckled trout in the 15- to 19-inch range have been stacked up along the south shoreline out past the edges of seagrass beds over hard sand in waist to chest deep water. Wade fishing with live croaker has been
Texas dove season is on the horizon, and hunters should find plenty of birds this year. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.
Bright dove season ahead By Conor Harrison Lone Star Outdoor News
Following one of the best dove seasons in memory in 2024, Texas dove hunters should be gearing up for another good season of dove hunting in 2025. According to Owen Fitzsimmons, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Dove Program Leader, this year’s dove survey numbers would be hard to top last year’s record numbers, but early indications were showing lots of dove – both mourning and white wings – throughout the state. “We do spring dove surveys that are datadriven by eco-region every year for the past five years,” he said. “I think we are looking very good for the upcoming season. The rains and storms may have taken a toll on some nests, but they came at the right time and as conditions remain good, those birds (that lost a nest) should continue nesting.” This year’s survey will be out at the end of July or early August, but Fitzsimmons said early indications are positive across the state, especially in the Hill Country which has seen a multi-year drought broken by spring and summer rains this year. On average, Texas hunters account for 32 percent of the U.S. mourning dove harvest and 87 percent of the total white wing harvest. The white-winged dove population in Texas continues to expand, offering hunting opportunities, especially in South Texas where a special season is in effect for six days, instead of four like last year.
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID DALLAS, TX PERMIT 3814
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The fishing and temps are heating up along much of the Texas mid-coast. However, keepersized trout are easier to find this month than redfish. Photo by Nate Skinner, for Lone Star Outdoor News.
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Stressing safety By Tony Vindell
A fishing boat sits mostly submerged along the Texas coast. July is one of the main months for boating accidents. Photo by Tony Vindell, for Lone Star Outdoor News.
Freshwater Fishing Report . . Page 10 Outdoor Blotter . . . . . . . . Page 12 Grip & Grin . . . . . . . . . . . Page 14 Saltwater Fishing Report . . . Page 16 Sun, Moon & Tides . . . . . . Page 18 Datebook . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 26 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . Page 26
INSIDE
CONTENTS
Time Sensitive Material • Deliver ASAP
For Lone Star Outdoor News The month of July is generally a time of year to enjoy the great outdoors. Families go on vacation. Camping is usually at a yearly high. The Texas gulf shrimp season gets under way and boaters hit the waters – whether fresh or salty. But here in the Lower Laguna
Madre, it has been a turbulent period. A charter boat was recently abandoned after taking on too much water some 7 miles from the South Padre Island jetties as it headed to Gulf waters. In Port Mansfield, a fishing boat capsized and its two-member crew had to be rescued and taken to safety. And to the south, a shrimp boat Please turn to page 15
HUNTING
FISHING
Pronghorn upswing (P. 4)
Brown bag live shrimp (P. 8)
Numbers improving.
Sawdust, ice keeps them lively and cool.
DSC Summer Expo (P. 7)
Chasing stripers, hybrids (P. 8)
First event, Gala a hit.
Some lakes hot, Hill Country anglers adapting.