A Small Inshore Charter Out of Port Aransas
C&T Bay Charters is a bay fishing operation working the Texas Coastal Bend. Captain Charlie runs the boat, takes the bookings, and is the person you’ll meet at the dock. There’s no office in between.
We fish inshore. Flats, marsh drains, grass beds, shell, and channel edges, across four ports between Port Aransas and Corpus Christi. That’s the whole business, and doing one thing is deliberate.
Book Fishing Trip
What a booking actually involves
You get in touch with your dates, the size of your group, and what you’d like to catch. We’ll tell you honestly whether the dates suit what you’re after, and if they don’t, we’ll say so rather than take the booking anyway.
The evening before the trip we text you the meeting point and the time. Both depend on wind and tide, so we hold that decision until we can see the forecast properly rather than committing a week out and hoping.
Rods, reels, tackle, ice, fuel, and live bait when it’s available are included. You bring a Texas fishing licence with a saltwater endorsement, sunglasses, a hat, sunscreen, and whatever you want to eat and drink. There’s a fuller list of what to bring with you if you’d rather check.
At the end we clean and bag your legal fish at the dock, so you leave with fillets rather than a cooler full of work.
Trips come in two lengths. A half day is about five hours on the water, which is enough to fish three or four spots properly and suits groups with children or anyone who’d rather not commit the whole day. A full day runs about eight, and the extra hours matter more than they sound like they should: they let us follow a tide through its whole cycle and change plans twice if the first one isn’t working.
How we fish
It depends on the day and on you. Some groups want to drift and cast and keep it simple. Others want to wade a shoreline and work it properly. Some want to sight-cast in clear water, which is the most demanding and the most satisfying way to do it.
We’ll ask what you want before we leave the dock and build the day around it. If conditions won’t support the plan, we’ll tell you that at the dock rather than three hours into a slow morning.
Artificials or bait, both are on the boat. Beginners usually start with bait under a popping cork because it’s forgiving. Experienced anglers can fish however they like and bring their own gear if they prefer it.
What we fish for
Four species carry the year, and what we fish for compares them properly if you’re deciding.
Chasing redfish is what most people book. Working for trout rewards an early start and a bit of patience. Waiting on flounder is slow, precise, and the best eating out here. Bottom fishing for drum keeps rods bent when the shallow water has gone quiet.
Two things sit outside the usual fishing day. A sunset cruise is time on the water without a rod, which suits groups where not everyone wants to fish, and it works well as an easy end to a day rather than the whole of it. Flounder gigging runs at night with lights on the shallow water, and it needs calm conditions and an open season, so it’s worth asking about early rather than assuming.
Where we work
Four ports, and we pick based on the morning rather than habit. Out of Port Aransas is home water, minutes from Redfish Bay and Estes Flats. Over at Aransas Pass the runs are shorter still and the water is protected.
Up at Rockport brings Aransas Bay and Copano into play, with shell and reef changing the pattern. South to Corpus Christi the Upper Laguna Madre gives the clearest sight-fishing water we have.
Having four means a bad forecast on one side of the system rarely cancels a trip. It just moves it. A north wind that makes Aransas Bay unfishable often leaves Redfish Bay perfectly workable, and the drive between them is shorter than most people expect.
Who these trips suit
Families and first-timers do well here, because the water is protected and the runs are short. Nobody spends their morning being thrown around, and we’ll rig simple and stay on species that bite reliably until people find their feet.
Experienced anglers get a different day out of the same water. Say what you want to work on and we’ll take you somewhere that suits it rather than somewhere easy.
We also run groups. Birthdays, bachelor parties, and business trips all work on the water, and they change how we plan the day, so tell us the occasion when you book.
If anyone in your group deals with motion sensitivity or has mobility considerations, mention it. We’ll pick protected water and shorter runs and plan around it properly.
What we don’t do
We don’t run offshore. No snapper trips, no tuna, no long runs into the Gulf. If that’s what you want we’ll point you toward the boats that do it well, and we’d rather do that than sell you the wrong trip.
We don’t guarantee catches either, and it’s worth being wary of anyone who does. Weather, tide, water temperature, and bait movement all decide how a day goes, and none of them takes instruction. What we can promise is a captain
Booking and cancellations
Get in touch with your dates and we’ll come back with what’s available. What trips cost depends on length and group size, and the rates page sets that out.
If the weather makes a trip unsafe we’ll say so and move it rather than take you out into something miserable. That call gets made on the morning or the evening before, and it’s ours to make.
Common questions about us
Who will be running the boat?
Captain Charlie. He takes the booking, sends the meeting details, and runs the trip. You won’t be handed to someone you’ve never spoken to on the morning.
How do we know where to meet?
We text you the exact spot and time the evening before. Meeting points shift with wind and tide, so we hold that decision until the forecast is clear rather than guessing early.
Which areas do you cover?
Port Aransas, Aransas Pass, Rockport, and Corpus Christi. Most trips run out of Port Aransas, but we’ll move north or south if the conditions favour it.
Why do you only fish inshore?
Because it’s what we know and it’s the better trip for most people. Protected water, short runs, steady fishing, and no two-hour ride each way. Offshore is a different boat and a different skill set.
Do you take groups and celebrations?
Yes. Birthdays, bachelor parties, and business trips all work well. Tell us the occasion and the headcount when you enquire and we’ll plan the day around it.
What happens to the fish we keep?
We clean and bag your legal fish at the dock. Limits vary by species and change from time to time, so we’ll go over the current rules on the water before anything goes in the box.
Get in touch
Send your dates, your group size, and what you’d like to catch. Check a date or call Captain Charlie on (361) 946-5290. You can also email Charlie@ctbaycharters.com.