Bob Hall Pier

I tried the in-shore places on the highway out to Padre Island, but nothing was moving. Drove out the "Bob" in time to get a great cheeseburger - absolutely worth the trip. As the night set in the pier was full of people and kids. Lines tangled ever so often, no one get angry because it's part of the adventure. Around midnight most of the kids had gone home and it was easier to move about. The "T" head had several shark fishermen whole the rest of the pier were catching a wide assortment of things. A hardhead is a small catfish with sharp barbs that is always hungry - these bait steelers are easy to catch - fun for the kids, but you have to be careful of the barbs that stick out from behind their gill area. I use a pair of forceps to get the hook out.
I saw others catch shark, sheephead and red fish. I caught little stuff, but next time I'll come prepared:
*I'll plan to stay the night and bring water and snacks to see me through.
*I'll use cut mullet, squid and Berkley Gulp Alive artificial shrimp and shad - these are scented baits and have worked well for me before. I've caught my limit of (sea) trout on Berkley Gulp and will use them on my next trip.
*There is a sign that says you can't bring beer onto the pier. But I saw people go into the restaurant and come out with beer cans - others simply ignored the sign. Can you drink - no. Do people drink on the pier - absolutely.
*If you go in the day - use sunscreen.

We always make time to go fishing when we come to the coast. Usually we are out playing at the beach or area attractions during the day and we come out here at night to Bob Hall Pier. I've never eaten at the restaurant but I heard it was good. It is very windy out on the pier and can be cold in the winter, and pretty comfortable or hot other times of the year depending on the wind. Every time I've been (probably 8-9 times) it has been so windy that I've needed a wind breaker jacket. Be sure to bring a chair along with your fishing stuff. Alot of people have all their fishing gear on a rolling cart, we ended up buying one while we were at the coast for this purpose. We have caught small sharks, drum, redfish and other stuff that I can't remember. I'm usually hanging out reading my book while my husband and son are doing the fishing. There is a nice beach around the pier if you have some non-fishing type people with you, they can go play on the beach. My son caught a hermit crab there and it made his day! Also there are restrooms nearby which is pretty important in my opinion.

I think it cost $1 per person last time we were there (Dec 2009) to get on the pier. Parking is free.

What to bring:
a cooler with some ice cold drinks, a radio, chairs, fishing gear, bait, fishing license, wind breaker (depending on what time of year), something to take your fish home in. Toys for playing on the beach (if desired). Hand sanitizer for all the moms out there.

The closest hotel is the Island House Condos, you can drive on the beach from the condos and not have to get on a road. I like to roll down the windows and open up the sunroof and drive on the beach.

There were fishing poles to rent for $20 and you pay $4 to fish and $3 to walk on the pier (I believe that is right or close).This is a supper long pier and has a lot of people fishing on it. We fished but didn't catch anything. Some people were catching hardhead catfish, but I was told that they are not good for eating because they have too many bones. I think that if you fish around day-break or evening you can catch other fishwe were there in the middle of the day. We saw a pelican hanging around. I think it is worth the $3 to walk out on the pier. I got some good photos there. There is also a restaurant called Mikel May's on that pier. I heard it was good, but we didn't get a chance to eat there.

Made a stop in the area. It's $2pp to go on the pier. Beach area looked nice. Tons of people. I like how you can drive your vehicle on the beach and park then set up right by your car. Saw picnic tables, pay to rinse off area-.25.

If fishing from a pier all day or watching surfers tackle the baby waves does it for you- this is your place to go. I would go to the Oso Railroad as it is the 'best kept secret' local fishing spot that bridges the Oso Bay at Holly Road, but don't go at night- it's too dangerous! You want a great day with tons of fish and almost nobody bothering you on a crowded pier- Oso Railroad is the place.

Keep an eye on the weather before you venture out. It can turn on you quickly as winds can shift from South to North very quickly.

What to bring:a cooler - chairs, radio etc etc

It was great to be able to walk that far out into/over the water! Just know that there is a fee to do this! It isn't free!

The pier costs $2 to enter and is fun to see fish being caught and surfers doing their thing. Grab a bruger and a beer at Mikel May's at the beginning of the pier. Delicious.

I've been here hundreds of times. I've seen anglers pull up everything from 15in horse mullet to 9ft sharks they hauled to the shore to land. I've seen redfish schools come through and bend or break every rod on the pier and dolphins play under the pylons, stealing bait fish. Cownose rays, sand trout, and ladyfish are pretty dependable and some of the more rare catches like baby tarpon, hammerhead, and flounder are still caught at the right time of year. I've had the best luck with live shrimp or live mullet on a weightless line and cut bait on the bottom. For cut bait, better stick with a fish head or whole gutted fish otherwise you will be plagued by crabs and hardheads.

We were desperately searching for a good place to eat, besides the Holiday Inn Sunspree & the excellent Italian place at Padre. We found it! Courteous service and excellent seafood with a great view of the coast. We paid a dollar each to check out the fishing and people were catching a good amount of fish! Will be back again to eat & will bring fishing gear too!!

The weather was warm and sunny, so we headed out to Bob Hall Pier. Plenty of room on the beach and lots of picnic areas to sit down and relax. The sand was nice and the water was just warm enough of this late-December day. The people that were there were enjoying themselves, along with their kids and dogs. You can't beat the sound of the surf in this busy world we live in.