Adapted from Fly Fishing the Texas Coast by Chuck Scates & Phil H. Shook

Offats Bayou, located inside Teichman Point on the upper end of the south shoreline, is an excellent winter fishing destination because of its many deep holes and reefs. It attracts heavy fishing and boating pressure during the summer months.

Walk-in wadefishing over firm sand bottoms can be accessed at Sportsman Road Flats, where there are shrimpboat wrecks and other submerged structures. Reds and trout move across these flats with the tides. The productive shorelines and flats of South Deer Island and Confederate Reef are a short run by skiff or kayak from these flats. To get to Sportsman Road Flats, after crossing the Galveston causeway bridge on I-45 and entering Galveston, take the 61st Street exit south toward West Beach. At Seawall Boulevard, turn right and proceed along the beachfront to Eight Mile Road (Anderson Ways Road). At Eight Mile Road, turn right and proceed to West Galveston Bay. The road ends in a narrow peninsula with a launch ramp and baithouse.

The Confederate Reef Flats are another popular walk-in wadefishing area on West Bay's south shoreline. The shoreline and broad, open flats have a firm bottom ideal for wadefishing and are intersected by a number of small cuts and channels where trout congregate."You can catch school trout 50 feet from where your car is parked," says veteran upper coast flyfisher Joe DeForke. Try small, hard-bodied poppers early, then switch to Deceivers and Clousers around the edges of cuts. The Confederate Reef Flats are located on Sportsman Road off Eight Mile Road (Anderson Ways Road).

Nearby Confederate Reef also holds trout in the winter months. It is shallow, making it ideal for fishing during warming periods in the winter. Flyfishers can anchor up and cast the edges of the reef or drift the area. Boaters should use caution when approaching, especially during low tide.

The West Bay shorelines of Galveston Island State Park are accessible by kayak or johnboat and offer drive-up, walk-in wadefishing near Dana Cove and Carancahua Cove. The park provides access to a variety of flats, bayous, and shorelines that are protected under varied wind conditions. Redfish, seatrout, and flounder move to the back ends of the coves on incoming tides. Fish the points on outgoing tides.