Hillman Guide Service

[CaptSteve]

I spent a ton of time down in South Texas this deer season and I must say it was pure paradise. The hunting part of it is always a blast, but this season it was more of a family affair which made it even better. I’ve been back now for 10 days, but we’ve only managed to get in 4 days of fishing because of strong cold fronts. Three of the 4 days we caught decent numbers of fish, but one day was very slow. The fishing is about what you would expect for January here on Galveston Bay. One day you catch them and the next day you struggle. Picking the right days can be a challenge. MirrOlures, Salt Water Assassins and Corkies have worked well while drifting over mud and shell in 2.5 to 4.5 feet of water. As usual, the overcast days are more productive than the bluebird ones especially when there’s a little bit of wind to streak the water.

January 7, 2013 – Don & Chris had to grind it out, but they managed to scrape up 18 trout and 6 reds along with 15 - 20 throwbacks.


January 8th & 9th – Cancelled because of heavy rains & wind

January 10th – Bill, John & Dave had to be part of one of the slowest trips I’ve had in a long time. We only caught 6 trout and only one would’ve barely been a keeper (15 1/8 inches). The bite wasn’t any good at all. I was thinking I should’ve fished another area, but I talked to several other guys in different parts of the bay and they struggled as well. It was just one of those days.

January 11th – Dave, Scott & Jack fished with me and managed 12 decent trout to 23 inches, 7 reds to 25 inches and 3 flounder to 22 inches along with a few throwbacks. I’ll take that any day in January!


January 12th – Four other guides helped me with a 5 boat trip for the Hensel Phelps group. I fished my third different part of the bay in 4 trips and had o.k. results despite the fog, drizzle and wind. Our five boats brought in 42 fish total by 1:30 PM. Anthony, Kory & Andrew were on my boat and they managed 7 solid trout, 2 reds and one flounder along with some throwback trout. All the guys were very happy so the trip was a success.



Jan. 13th - 16th - Cancelled because of windy, rainy and cold conditions.

Here's a few reasons why I had a hard time coming home from the ranch: