Poco Bueno Sunrise, July 2013 -Mack Davis
Port O’Connor in recent years has become one of the premier offshore and inshore tournament destinations on the entire Texas coast. Hosting more than twenty of the top Texas fishing competitions, Port O’Connor or “POC” for short, boasts outstanding offshore fishing for blue marlin, kingfish, mahi, wahoo, and tuna, as well as some of the best snapper fishing anywhere in the Gulf. Inshore tournament anglers also enjoy world class fishing in the POC area for the Texas “Big Three” species of speckled trout, redfish, and flounder.
Some of the major summer tournaments in Port O’Connor include the Pescado Grande, Cula Roja, Poco Bueno, and many other public and private invitational tourneys. Each tournament is different in its own right, but typically there are inshore and offshore divisions and often there are separate categories for artificial and live bait anglers. Entry fees can range from less than one hundred per team to thousands for select offshore tourneys with large cash prizes at stake. If you enjoy the aspect of a little competitive fishing now and then, Port O’Connor tournaments can be a lot of fun!
Aside from having extremely healthy inshore and offshore fisheries, Port O’Connor’s geographical location makes it an ideal base for these tournaments. Offshore anglers can reach deep water billfish grounds much quicker than boats fishing further north from Surfside or Galveston. Inshore tournament anglers can choose from a number of different bay systems within minutes of Port O’Connor. In the recent two day Poco Bueno Invitational Tournament, a number of teams fished West Matagorda Bay, Keller Bay, and Espiritu Santo Bay in the first day of fishing and San Antonio and Mesquite Bay on the second day. During the three day period just before and during the tournament, anglers experienced varying wind speeds from nearly every point on the compass which, in many Texas bay systems, would wreak havoc on a tourney angler’s strategy. Fortunately, the many islands and back lakes that dot this pristine coastline virtually guarantee that there will be fishable clear water within reach under even the most adverse conditions.
In Poco Bueno tournaments past, inshore and offshore anglers have been occasionally blessed with calm sea conditions and green, calm water to the beach. When these conditions get right, nearly everyone in the inshore division will be somewhere in the surf, wading or drifting the miles of deserted shoreline for large yellow mouth speckled trout and redfish. Some of the most exciting topwater action on the coast can be found along the shallow sand bars and guts that parallel the beaches of Matagorda Island.
Whether you are a seasoned tournament angler or have never fished in competition before, you owe it to yourself to take a look at the many fishing opportunities this area has to offer.
Tournament Teamwork L to R: Allan Atkinson, Sue Atkinson, Leslie Shatto, Peter Houghton
Whitecap Invitational Spring 2013 Winner Mack Davis, 7# 2 oz trout.
Topwater action, Mack Davis
