Galveston Texas Tarpon Fishing
Guided Tarpon Trips and Charters
Specializing in Giant Tarpon
| Giant Texas Tarpon are the main pursuit of Texas Tarpon Guides, who charter from Galveston, Texas. Tarpon are big in Texas and some of the largest Tarpon found in the continental United States roam the waters of the Galveston beachfront and just offshore in "Tarpon Alley". We offer Tarpon guide boats and charters which fish areas that have a proven catch record for giant Tarpon. Boats depart daily from the Galveston Yacht Basin. Full time, fully licensed captains are available for full day, half-day and late evening trips. |
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Reservations:
713-256-9260
-or- 832-526-9569
Please scroll down for trips and pricing information
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Tarpon Alley is a tarpon migration corridor, a freeway in the open Gulf if you will, that runs just offshore the entire perimeter of the Gulf of Mexico. Two separate migrations, one clockwise, the other counterclockwise, begin in February off the Yucatan Peninsula. The clockwise tarpon migrations pass off both the Mexican and Texas coast each spring and summer and venture as far north as the mouth of the Mississippi River by late summer. The counterclockwise migration heads across the deep waters of the open Gulf to the Florida Keys in spring where these schools mingle with resident fish. These then divide, 70 percent head up the Southwestern coast of Florida in May, June and July, venturing as far north as the Alabama, Mississippi or Louisiana coast by August and September. The remaining 30 percent head up the eastern seaboard of the United States and are found as far north as the Carolina's by late summer. Around the third week of August the migrations reverse direction and the schools of tarpon began their fall journey south passing off the coast of Texas in the migration corridor Tarpon Alley in the months August, September, October and November heading to their wintering grounds off the Yucatan. By early December most all the tarpon up to 242 pounds have left U.S. waters on the clockwise migration with the exception of a few resident fish which are in most cases, less than 30 pounds in size. A number of large fish are found in Florida waters in winter, but is my opinion that these are resident fish, tarpon that live there and never migrate. - Capt. Mike Williams /Tarpon Alley. |
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The cover article "The Tarpon Express" featuring Capt. Mike Williams and Tarpon
Alley appeared in the largest outdoor magazine in the state of Texas, the Texas
Fisherman, in July 1980. The article told exactly how, when and where to catch
tarpon in Tarpon Alley, just off the Texas coast.
In July 1984, the Gulf Coast Fisherman magazine ran a cover article on tarpon guide
Capt. Mike Williams and tarpon alley called "Sabalo Alley, the Tarpon Zone" and in July 1988,
Texas Fish and Game magazine ran the cover article "Jump on the Tarpon Express."
The article that put Texas Gulf Coast tarpon fishing on the map appeared as a cover article in
the largest outdoor magazine in Texas, the Texas Fishermen. "The Ironman of Tarpon Alley"
was about tarpon guide Capt. Mike Williams and his almost magical tarpon migration corridor that
sits just offshore and runs the entire perimeter of the Gulf of Mexico. When that article hit
the streets of Texas in the late eighties, Capt. Mike Williams was the only full time tarpon guide
north of the Port Isabel jetties. Over the years Capt. Mike Williams has been interviewed in nearly
every major fishing magazine in the Southern United States about the migration corridor he
pioneered and named "Tarpon Alley".
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"Capt. Mike Williams, Tarpon Express Guide Service, hosted U.S. Marine Cpl. Joshua Reid of Seabrook, who was home from duty in Afghanistan, to a great day of fishing. Reid hooked up with a huge tarpon Saturday morning. The fight lasted almost three hours before the fish was landed, measured, photographed and released." - Joe Kent, Galveston Daily News. |
(The tarpon was estimated at 200 pounds!)
Watch Captain Mike Williams of Tarpon Express
guide service on National Geographic Television
Watch as Captain Mike Williams and Robert Lord Jr. fight a giant titanic
state record caliber Tarpon off the beaches of Galveston Texas.
Big unsinkable twin engine boats now
available for the 2018 fishing season!
DISCOUNTED FALL PRICING
THE IRON MAN SPECIAL
Click here for more details
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Captain Mike Williams, according to many nationally published magazines,
Texas magazines and the largest newspaper in Texas, is considered to be
one of the top guides in the state when it comes to catching big Tarpon.
With 35 years experience, he has been interviewed on the subject of trophy Tarpons by every major magazine in the state numerous times - not to mention the nationally published Saltwater Sportsman, Texas Sportsman, Southern Outdoors, Gulf Coast Fisherman, and the prestigious Coastal Conservation Association magazine Gulf Tide. There are also full of chapters on his guide service in the books The Fishermans Encyclopedia and Texas Hunting and Fishing. Captain Mike Williams considers himself to be the innovative leader in the exploration of Texas Tarpon off Galveston where he single-handedly pioneered Tarpon fishing in the area. As far as trophy trout, Redfish, and Bull Reds has spent as much time pursuing the great fish as anyone and a lot more than most. |
| Visit Galveston Fishing Guides, specializing in Speckled Trout, Redfish, Bull Reds, Shark and Flounder. |
Quotes from the Press
| "Mike Williams is regarded as one, if not the leading authorities on Trophy Trout and Tarpon in the waters around Galveston." - Gary Ralston, Editor, Gulf Coast Fisherman. |
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"Top Tarpon guide along the Texas Coast!" - Texas Fish & Game Magazine. |
| "Mike Williams, long recognized as one of Texas' foremost trophy trout hunters has in recent years gained notoriety as the guru of Texas Tarpon." - Saltwater Magazine. |
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"Fishing guide Mike Williams probably has upper coast Tarpon fishing figured better than anyone between Sabine Pass and Port O'Connor." - Shannon Tompkins, Houston Chronicle. |
| "Guide Mike Williams has saltwater fishing down to a science." - Luke Clayton, The Dallas Morning News. |
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"Tarpon are a prized catch of Galveston, and nobody knows these giants better than Mike Williams." - Doug Pike, Houston Chronicle. |
| "Mike Williams is perhaps the most successful Tarpon guide on the Texas Coast." - Robert Sloan, Texas Fish & Game. |
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"Texas' Silver King. For neatly three decades, Capt. Mike Williams has been specializing in guiding anglers to offshore Tarpon". - Paul A. Canada, Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine. |
| "Capt. Mike Williams of Houston has guided off Galveston for almost 35 seasons. He began tracking Silver Kings in these waters in 1976 at a time when most people thought they had deserted the Texas coast. Since then, a number of other guides and anglers have joined in the hunt for this great game fish and, thanks to Williams, the stretch of coast is now known as 'Tarpon Alley'." - Phil H. Shook, Texas Sporting Journal. |
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The "Tarpon Express", a 25 foot center console
Boston Whaler Outrage, is equipped with a ship to shore radio,
long distance mobile phone, Furuno Depth Recorder and a Global
Positioning unit. The boat carries 140 gallons of fuel with a range of
280 miles, has a top speed of 45 mph and is powered by twin Yamaha
outboards.
The spacious, unique boat is one of very few made in the world that is totally unsinkable! The air cavities and compartments are filled with a high tech, high density foam and the boat simply will not sink, not even a little bit. In fact, this is one of the very few used by the U.S. Navy Seal Team as an assault boat and gunboat. This boat is also used as a rescue boat by the U.S. Coast Guard. The boat is Coast Guard approved for 12 persons, can run in 2 feet of water to get those back bay flats, yet at the same time has the capacity, durability and seaworthiness to fish 100 miles offshore. |
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$50.00 EACH ADDITIONAL PERSON (6 Maximum) |
Giant Tarpon Trips 8 Hour Trip - 6:30 AM till 1:00 PM - $1200 |
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Stagger Follow Boats
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Photography available on request.
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Fishing is based on a lot of factors, such as tidal movement, water clarity, current, and wind direction. As a fishing guide, I have no control over any of these factors, all of which affect fishing. For almost four decades I have studied the movements and migration patterns of all the fish listed in this Web site. Thousands of hours spent exploring the waters around Galveston and keeping very detailed records have enabled me to accumulate an unsurpassed inventory of great fishing spots. I guarantee to have you in the right spot at the right time to try your luck with these great fish. The rest is up to you as a fisherman and the person who controls the weather, which, incidentally, is not your fishing guide. |
- Captain Mike Williams |
"With perhaps with the exception of the big marlins, there are few fish that compete with or compare to the pure excitement, sheer beauty and raw power of the tarpon." |
| - Captain Mike Williams |
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713-256-9260 -or- 832-526-9569
Full Time Guide Houston, TX |
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The track record of the Texas Tarpon state record goes unknown to a lot of fishermen. The fact is the Texas Tarpon state record has been broken 4 times over the years and 3 of those 4 times the largest Tarpon came from the waters off Galveston Island. Over the years there have been other huge Tarpon reported off Galveston up to 250 pounds but were caught at a time of moratorium, a time where it was not legal to retain Tarpon in Texas waters. However, the Texas Tarpon laws were changed so now when a person is going after a record, they may retain one Tarpon over the length of 85 inches. Last year the Texas Tarpon record fell again with a 229 pound monster fish taken just off Galveston Island. Records show these giant Tarpon are in our waters from late May through late October with Tarpon over 200 pounds being caught in the months of June, July, August, September and October. |
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All Photographs by Tarpon Express