Party boat fishing is not what you think about going out on a PARTY boat to drink the night away but rather a way to more economically head out fishing. The party part of the party boat fishing is that you reserve a spot, or multiple spots, on a large boat and head out. I went with Galveston Party Boats in May.
Galveston Party Boats goes out 5-7 miles into the Galveston Bay from the dock. The cost of the 4-hour bay and jetty trip is $35 for fishing adults. That includes your fishing rod, squid, and a stringer for your fish. The deckhands also will take your fish off the hook, bring you more bait, fix tangled lines, and take care of your catch while you fish. The targeted fish for this trip are Red and Black Drum, Croaker, Sand Trout, Whiting, Shark, Sea Catfish, and Stingray. On our trip, we caught mostly hardhead, which is a type of Sea Catfish. They do have a stinger and are fun to catch. We caught about eight between the two of us for a fun afternoon of bay fishing.
On the party boat, you can also bring your own rod, but there were some people who appeared to be regular customers who brought their own live bait. They also caught some Croaker, Drum, and Stingrays. This is a great way to get out on the water if you do not have a boat but have your own equipment if you want an upgrade from the provided gear.
One great thing about the location of this boat is that on the pier there is a company that will clean your multiple fish quickly for packaging home. These guys gave me a recipe for fried hardhead and gave advice on how to prep the fish, so they did not have the muddy flavor that sometimes catfish have. These fish have made a great round of fish tacos that everyone enjoyed.
