We received an email the other day from one of our readers asking, “How is fishing at Rollover during January cold weather?”

We posed this question to two of the local fishing pros, and their responses may be of interest to other fishermen.

from Ed Snyder/Outdoors
At the pass itself it’s hit or miss, with big black drum, small flounder, or redfish hitting fresh dead shrimp or cut mullet when the tide is right. Jan/Feb is also the time when the big speckled trout move in and out, but the big trout (5 to 8 lbs) requires specialized fishing with soft plastics worked along the bottom. Again, it’s hit or miss depending on the tides. The best HIT times are about 2 days AFTER a cold front moves through. Good luck.

from Capt. Mike Williams
A newspaper man once asked me this question, “When is the best time to come to Galveston to go fishing?” This was my reply, “the best time to come to Galveston to go fishing is when you mow your grass the most, the worst time to come is when you mow you you grass the least, which on a normal year is from Jan 15 to Feb-15.” With this in mind, fish can be caught in this time period. The top draw will be black drum, bull red, whiting and slot reds. Some trout will also be taken by waders throwing sure lures, like corkies, 51M MirrOlures and bass assassins. The best colors-pearl, chartreuse both with shades of gold or gold sides.

Trout fishing suffers anytime the beach water is less than 55 degrees, but under the right conditions the biggest trout of the year are taken in the next 2 months. Bst bait for the black drum is fresh crab or shrimp fished on the bottom with a weight. If you are fishing in a current, like the Pass, you will need more weight. Light tackle is used for legal black drum, the ones you can keep and eat. Black drum over 30 inches have to be returned to the water. These bigger drum can exceed 50 maybe 60 pounds in this time period. Heavier tackle is required for the bigger drum, like a surf rod, 30 pound test line and a good leader with a 8/0 j hook or 12/0 circle hook. Fishing is always hit a miss in winter, but everything excels in March as the beach waters temps start to rise. The annual black drum peaks in the latter days of March. If you are looking for a state record trout, the pinnacle is the last week of February when the pear trees bloom.

(This article published 1/19/2015)