About Freeport
Freeport is an offshore port on the upper Texas coast, between Galveston and Port O’Connor. The harbor opens to the Gulf of America (Gulf of Mexico) through a jettied ship channel, with the Coast Guard station on the north side of the entrance channel. The fishery runs year-round and peaks in summer. Anglers run out for red snapper, kingfish, ling (cobia), wahoo, yellowfin tuna and bull redfish. TPWD sets the rules in state waters and runs the federal-waters red snapper season for Texas anglers, so check the TPWD red snapper rules and the Texas offshore fishing rules before you fish. Species detail is in the species guides.
Access and navigation
Two public launch points sit near the jetties:
- Surfside public boat ramppublic ramp beside Surfside Jetty County Park.
- Surfside Marinamarina near the jetties, fuel listed.
Inside the harbor, the Intracoastal Waterway crosses the old Brazos River channel about 1 mile above the entrance.
Current off the entrance generally sets west and is largely wind-driven, with a countercurrent near the beach. Water over the bar tends to stand up with an east breeze, and strong crosswinds and currents at the jetty entrance can make handling difficult. Deep-draft ships use the channel, which has a 48 ft federal project depth. Pilots board about 1 mile off lighted buoy FP and monitor VHF-FM 14 and 16; you should monitor both channels as well. These figures come from NOAA Coast Pilot 5, Chapter 11.
Oil drilling structures may be present near the approach, and the Safety Fairways are unmarked. The Brazos shoal starts about 6 miles southwest of the entrance. Its bottom is soft mud, and depths there have been reported as considerably less than charted.
Use the Freeport Harbor entrance. The Brazos River mouth is not used as an entrance because of logs, shoaling and foul ground, and shoaling to about 10 ft has been reported out to roughly 3/4 mile off the Brazos and San Bernard mouths.
The county park page linked above carries a live jetty cam. On arrival, look at the water and check the NWS Houston/Galveston marine forecast. If the bar looks bigger than you want, wait it out or keep the day close. That decision is yours.
Fishing conditions
Three kinds of ground sit on the way out:
- Surfside Jetty, the Freeport Harbor east jetty: the first structure on the way out.
- George Vancouver (Liberty Ship) Reef: 9 nautical miles from the Freeport entrance in 60 feet of water, according to TPWD. Texas state waters end and federal waters begin at 9 nautical miles, so bag and size rules change at the reef.
- Nearshore oil and gas platforms: platforms get removed, so verify any rig number against current data before you run to it.
Deeper water past the nearshore structure holds the pelagics. For deep-drop and night bluewater work in the Gulf, see swordfish fishing in the Gulf.
Winter
Wahoo and yellowfin tuna fish best on bluewater windows between northers. Most winds over 20 kt on this coast come from the north and northeast. From November through April, visibility can drop below 0.25 mile on about 3 to 6 days a month. For general deep-water technique, see the swordfish fishing guide.
Spring
Tarpon show up. Winds of 28 kt or more blow about 3 to 4 percent of the time from January through April, so windows can be short.
Summer
Red snapper, kingfish, ling and tarpon work the reef and platforms. Rules differ on either side of 9 nm, so check TPWD before you fish. OBS SST, Chlorophyll and Chart Contours help find temperature edges and weed lines, but the chart layers are not for navigation. Tropical systems can build in the Gulf, so watch the NWS forecast.
Autumn
Bull redfish gather at the Surfside Jetty. Winds of 28 kt or more blow about 3 to 4 percent of the time in November.
