Port O'Connor, TX

Port O'Connor has as many varieties of fishing opportunities as you will find anywhere. Its close proximity to the Gulf provides excellent fishing for red snapper, king, ling and jack fish, plus deep water fishing for sailfish, marlin, tuna, dolphin and wahoo. With the largest and deepest bay system on the Texas Gulf Coast, Port O'Connor has much more to offer to the avid sports fisherman. Favorite fishing spots include Matagorda Bay, Espiritu Santu Bay and San Antonio Bay. These pristine waterways are full of redfish, shark, flounder, pompano, gafftop, whiting, croaker, sheephead, drum, jack crevalle and Spanish mackerel. Most impressive is the "silver king" of inshore game fish, the tarpon. This bay system has the best natural passes or entries to the Gulf of Mexico on the Texas coast. These include the famous Pass Cavallo, and the Matagorda Ship Channel Jetties (Big Jetties). Pass Cavallo is the only natural deep water pass on the Texas Gulf Coast. Pass Cavallo is renowned for being one of the best tarpon and shark fishing spots in the county during the summer and fall months. The tidal flows in the pass are swift. The variable bottom tends to channel the water into the "guts" where the fish will congregate to catch the bait fish being swept in or out of the bay. Unlike Corpus Christi Bay or other Texas bays that are huge expanses of water with little tidal movement, the local bays have a greater degree of tidal movement where fishermen can catch fish as they come in from or go back to the Gulf. However, the shoals in the pass change continuously with the tidal flows. For safety reasons, anglers should make sure there is someone on the boat familiar with the area. Offshore rigs just five miles away from Port O'Connor docks are excellent places to fish for kings, ling, snapper and dolphin. In addition to the bay and gulf areas, the local area includes undeveloped estuaries: Powderhorn Lake, Coloma Creek, Pringle Lake and Conti Lake. Pringle and Conti offer shallow water wade fishing with an average of a foot-and-a-half to three feet of water. These estuaries have good grass bottoms where shrimp and fish live. Along the beautiful, unspoiled beaches around Port O'Connor, fishermen find excellent places to wade and surf fish. When weather becomes too rough, fishermen can still go to Espiritu Santo Bay, the little jetties or the fishing pier in Port O'Connor where the protected areas offer a safe haven. Port O'Connor offers several bait docks, many places to acquire a license and fishing guides to help you find the most productive fishing spots.