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Which Fish Can I Catch In The Winter, Texas?

Texas is the second largest state in The United States.

January is generally the coldest month of the year in Texas as the average low temperatures in a few places drop below freezing. Nights are cold in the arid west where they plummet even below 23F when the day temperatures are above 55F.

When looking for warm Texas beaches in winter, the best bet is to head South. Starting in the North, temperatures on the beaches of Galveston. 

The other downside of winter fishing is you need the weather tolerance. To get good fishing, you should wear several layers of clothing topping it off with weatherproof outerwear. Don’t worry about  anything. Here there are warm hoodies or long sleeves shirts you can choose to warm your bodies up in winter fishing. 

By our love for fishing, we are going to tell you which fish you can catch with the highest productivity and also some locations where you can have fish. 

In January, you can catch Alligator Gar, Catfish, Crappie, Shark ( tiger), Snook, Speckled trout, Spotted trout and Wahoo. 

 

Alligator Gar

One of the good number you can catch in January, Texas even The weather is cold. 

Alligator Gar are commonly caught between 4 and 6ft and 100 and 160lbs. The largest specimen was bowfished and weighed in at 365lbs.

Alligator Gar fish  are native to slow rivers, reservoirs, landlocked lakes.

Pre – spawning during April and May and winter time December through February are normal times when these fish congregate. 

They can be spotted in the shallows when they come up to feed.

Along the Texas coast, Alligator gar fish can be found in nearly every river draining into the Gulf of Mexico, like: Lake Corpus Christi, Choke Canyon Reservoir, San Antonio and Guadalupe rivers.

They are also tolerant of salt water, so can be found in every coastal system in Texas, like: Galveston, Corpus Christi, Matagorda, Sanantonio and Laguna Madre.

 

Catfish

Catfish are well known freshwater omnivores, so widely distributed that the only continent not hosting them is Antarctica. There is no surprise if we catch many Catfish in the winter fishing. Besides,  The Flathead Catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) is substantial as well, with the largest catch on record 123lbs and with frequent catches between 5 and 15lbs. You can find them in  some lakes in Texas like: Tawakoni, Texoma, Falcon, Livingston and Possum Kingdom…The biggest Catfish Texas we have heard is Blue, it was caught in Texoma lake and it weighs 121.5pounds.

You should check bag and size limits for individual species on the state websites.

 

Sheepshead

Sheepshead are clever when it comes to bait stealing - they will first nibble on the bait in an attempt to loosen it from the hook, so always have it firmly set up and give them time to swim away with it. They also have a very tough mouth, so once you feel the weight of the fish taking the bait away, set the hook aggressively.

There is an interesting fact is that these fish have eerily human-like incisor teeth.

Most catches will be between 14 and 18’’ and 1 to 8lbs. They live relatively long, about 20 years.

The highest concentrations can be found in Gulf coast, Texas. 

In Texas, you only can catch it with a bag limit is 5 fish per angler per day.

The fish are found in all of the Texas systems. But the largest recreational catches of sheepshead come from two systems: Corpus Christi Bay and Galveston Bay. Matagorda Bay comes in thirds.