About
Fishing, hunting, and bird tour guide on the central Texas coast specializing in fishing trips for redfish, speckled trout, black drum, dove and ducks in the coastal bend of Texas.
Brian Holden has been a fishing, hunting, and birding guide in the coastal bend of Texas for over 25 years. He was born and raised in Connecticut as both a hunter and a fisherman and attended Castleton University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Sports Medicine in 1993. He moved to Texas that year to work at Redfish Lodge on Copano Bay in Rockport. By 1995, he was the head guide for the world class resort, catering to over 4000 sportsmen each year from all over the country and the world. In 1999, Brian became General Manager of Redfish Lodge, Inc. overseeing 20 staff, 7 guides, and 4600 guests per year. During his entire time at Redfish Lodge, his main focus was educating and entertaining guests on the water and in the woods. He now owns and operates his own outfitter service based out of Rockport, specializing in bay and near shore fishing throughout the middle Texas coast as well as duck hunting and birding tours. He has won numerous fishing tournaments throughout his career, including the largest inshore tournament in the world 3 times. He is a fully licensed and insured outfitter, as well as a Certified Wildlife Guide.
Brian runs a Majek Extreme 25 that can comfortably handle up to 4 guests. His safety record is unblemished in over 4500 trips in the last quarter century.
He can customize each trip for first timers to the most experienced anglers. His equipment is top notch, with experience and professionalism second to none. For his entire career, he has specialized in setting up corporate and multi-boat outings. Rookie or pro, one guest or 30, family or business you can be sure a trip will be designed especially for you.
Whether it’s bait or lure, wade or drift, fish, duck, dove, or blast and cast, Captain Brian Holden can take you on a journey you won’t soon forget.
Location
Fishing and duck hunting trips will most likely originate from the Rockport area, utilizing ramps from Lamar to Aransas pass, all within 15 minutes of downtown Rockport. Commercial flights into Corpus Christi will get you within a 35-minute drive of Rockport, and private flights to Aransas County Airport are within 5 minutes of downtown Rockport. This is the heart of the middle Texas coast, where the vast grassy flats of the Laguna Madre give way to the numerous oyster reefs of the upper coast. Most of our fishing trips and many birding trips take place in or around the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge where wildlife and solitude are often in abundance. The diverse ecosystem here keeps vast numbers of fish in the area throughout the year and brings numerous ducks and water/shore birds throughout the winter. The reefs and shorelines of Rockport are exceptional for wading, with firm sand bottoms and hard oyster reefs. The bays here are fed and refreshed by emerald green gulf water flowing through the pass at Port Aransas just a few miles to the south, so baitfish and gamefish alike are plentiful. Hotels, restaurants, and art galleries dot the Live Oak Peninsula on which Rockport is found, so fishing and hunting are not the only attraction to the area.
FAQs
What do we need to bring?
A Texas fishing license with a saltwater stamp for all anglers 17 and older, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen (the lotion type, NOT the spray), snacks and drinks (no glass bottles), and a cooler for transporting your cleaned fish if you plan to keep any.
How long is a fishing day?
We usually begin at safe running light and end around 12:00 to 2:00 depending on time of year, weather, and fish activity
What do we fish for?
Redfish, speckled trout, black drum and flounder are our primary targets. Weather and seasons affect these fish in a variety of ways but these fish are always here and the season is always open. There are many other species that come and go throughout the year, but these are our most sought after gamefish.
How far offshore do we have to go?
Under normal circumstances, we do not go offshore at all. We fish the bays and estuaries separated from the gulf by the barrier islands. Boat runs may be up to 30 minutes in extreme cases, but fishing is usually done in three feet or less of water and always within sight of land.
What type of ducks will we see?
The Coastal Bend is famous for its redheads and pintails, but on any day you may also have an opportunity at widgeon, gadwalls, bluebills, blue and green-winged teal, fulvous and black-bellied whistling ducks, bluebills, bufflehead, goldeneye, ruddy ducks, mottled ducks.
What is the best season to fish?
Our fish do not migrate, they are here year-round. We can catch them every day. We use different bait and techniques in different seasons, and obviously face different weather conditions, but every day can great day.
What type of fishing will we do?
Every outing is customized to the angler’s skillset and level of experience. We accommodate beginners who just want to bend rods as well as hardcore wadefishermen who want to stalk trophy trout and reds with plastics. This will be determined during the booking process.
How many people can go?
For both hunting and fishing, we limit it to four anglers or hunters per boat. If you have more in your group, we can add boats as needed. This way everyone gets the attention they need and deserve.
Where do we stay?
Rockport/Fulton has a number of hotels including La Quinta, Hampton Inn, Lighthouse Inn, Inn at Fulton Harbor, Marriott, Motel 6. There are also several VRBO outfits and B&B places to choose from. Anything in the Rockport/Fulton area will be a 10-minute drive from the boat ramp. There are plenty of restaurants in the area as well, so plan to make an evening of it.
