Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has heard concerns from many recreational anglers about this potential loss of fishing opportunities and will be hosting a public scoping meeting in Galveston on April 28 to discuss options for future recreational access in the Rollover Pass-Bolivar Peninsula area.

This meeting is not to discuss the Rollover Pass closure issue, rather TPWD wants to gather public comments on what preferred amenities (piers, boat ramps, parking lots, facilities, etc.) would be priority, and what locations would benefit the most people.

TPWD will provide these comments to GLO to assist in developing a plan to create the most suitable recreational fishing opportunities should Rollover Pass be closed.

The TPWD public scoping meeting will be held April 28 from 6-8 pm at the Galveston County Courthouse, 600 59th Street, Galveston. If you are unable to attend the meeting, please provide comments on preferred options for recreational fishing access by April 27 to Tonya Wiley, TPWD Dickinson Marine Lab, 1502 FM 517E, Dickinson, Texas 77539, phone 281-534-0131 or email tonya.wiley@tpwd.state.tx.us.

Tech Tip

Many flounder anglers fish from the bank and complain about being able to properly work the bottom of their favorite fishing holes. It is hard to make super long casts and drag a live bait or soft plastic, so I suggest fishing with a float. Using a live bait (or Gulp!) under a float is a killer way to put our bait in front of a flounder's mouth and just in the strike zone. It might take you a few casts to figure out exactly what depth you need to work but you can effectively cover water and present a live bait with floats. And for those ultra long casts, I recommend the Outcast from Midcoast Products. It is specially designed to give you more distance and I can personally attest to its effectiveness. I have been using it extensively in some landbound pond fishing I have been doing and get at the minimum 20 percent extra reach. You can find out more about them here. And if you want to get an idea about the effectiveness of using live bait under a float for any fish check out last week's article about catching walleye. I know walleye may seem alien to those of us on the Gulf Coast but the article has a lot of wisdom. Simply replace "walleye" with "flounder" in your imagination.