All-year-round pro anglers come to Southern Texas to test their skill and amateurs to try their luck. Brownsville is a special place where folks can enjoy freshwater fishing and saltwater fishing experiences minutes away from each other. If you have the time, I
recommend doing both.
Boca Chica Beach is a beautiful place to surf fish for red drum. The best thing about it is how pristine the sand and the surf are. You won’t find any boating charters or bait shops -there, so be sure to gear up before you arrive. You wade out to the 2nd or 3rd sandbar, set up your pole, and sip a cold one until you get a nibble. In mid-summer, the Brownsville Police Officers Association hosts one of the state’s largest contests, the BPOA’s Redfish Surf Fishing Tournament. They also host events for special needs children, providing fishing assistance using rods and reels donated by Gordon’s Bait and Tackle. One of the oldest fish supply shops in Texas.
Our many resacas and human-made lakes are teeming with bass, catfish, and – what we locals call Catan – also known as alligator gar, significant prehistoric-looking creatures that, when cooked just right, have delicious white meat. Some of them can get up to 10 feet long
and weigh 300 pounds, so you’ll need a lot of chum, a big hook with pieces of chicken, and a heavy-duty leader.
If you don’t pull any fish into your kayak by day’s end, I’d recommend visiting Vermillion Restaurant & Watering Hole , our most iconic seafood spot. They have a great ceviche made from black drum fish. It’s what we call “mas duro”, thicker and more buttery than its cousin
red fish. Come for the ceviche and stay for their nachos. They’re the best you’ll ever eat.