Brazos River Fishing and Kayaking

The lower Brazos River, from the area around Freeport to the Gulf coast, offers good fishing and paddling on a wide, slow, tidal river that moves through salt marsh and coastal prairie before reaching the sea. Redfish, speckled trout, flounder, and sheepshead are the main catches in the tidal reaches. The river is calm enough for kayaking and canoe trips, and several outfitters near Freeport offer rentals and guided trips.

The river mouth area — flanked by the two long jetties extending into the Gulf — is one of the better fishing spots on this stretch of coast. The jetties concentrate fish along their rocky faces, and the mixing of river and ocean water attracts bait fish that in turn draw larger species. Charter fishing boats use the Freeport Harbor to reach these waters; many offer half-day inshore trips targeting redfish and trout in the bays and river channels rather than the offshore deep-water trips.

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A story
The Brazos River is the longest river in Texas — 1,280 miles from its headwaters in New Mexico to this point where it empties into the Gulf. The mouth at Freeport was relocated in the 1920s when engineers diverted the channel southward to prevent sediment from blocking the Houston Ship Channel. The old mouth, where the Battle of Velasco was fought, is now the Surfside jetty area, and the new mouth is a few miles further west.