< Previous80 COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2023 There’s nothing like watching the sun rise over calm bay waters on a cool, fall morning. COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2023 81 HOOKED LEGENDS OF THE FALL Autumn is the best of times to fish the upper coast story and photos by CAPT. NATE SKINNER U pper coast anglers typically feel rejuvenated in Novem- ber. We’re finally past the hottest days and fall fishing has kicked into high gear. It’s a special time of year with plenty of options for catching fish. What I love most is redfish and trout usually are pretty aggressive. It’s a great time to learn how to fool fish with artificial lures, and many types of bait will work. Soft plastics are one of the easiest types to learn. Rig one on a jig head and you’re ready to experiment with a bunch of differ- ent retrieval styles. Work it fast, work it slow or work it steady. Once you get bit, do the same again and hold on. When cold fronts pass through and tem- peratures drop, chase the birds. Flocks of seagulls will hover over swarms of shrimp chased to the surface by game fish. Soft plas- tics are the go-to bait in that scenario. Birds will cover much of Trinity Bay, and parts of East and West Galveston bays, work- ing over schools of feeding trout and redfish. Sometimes, there’s nothing but small fish under the birds. You have to bounce from flock to flock until you find decent fish. Heavy oyster shell reefs scattered through- out the Galveston Bay complex also will hold plenty of fish during the fall. I like to focus where mullet are swarming over shell in 4 feet to 7 feet of water. Soft plastics work well around shell, but I 82 COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2023 HOOKED prefer hard plastic suspending twitch baits. The finger mullet imitation plugs often draw strikes from larger fish. Surface walking lures or topwater baits also are great choices this time of year. Keep in mind that you don’t have to be in super shallow water for fish to strike along the surface. Topwater baits can work in deeper, open stretches of water, too, especially when cool weather puts fish into a feeding frenzy. Give a surface plug a steady action that emits vibration and sound as you retrieve it, and get ready for the blow-up. (Above) Autumn is a great time of year to learn how to catch fish on artificial lures because game fish like red drum often are feeding aggressively and willing to strike a variety of baits chunked in their direction. (Right) Topwater lures work great during the fall, es- pecially when cooler temperatures promote feeding frenzies and aggressive behavior. COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2023 83 COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2023 83 West Galveston Bay holds some out- standing fall fishing hotspots. Satellite bays surrounding West Bay, such as Chocolate Bay and Green’s Lake, are excellent places to find schools of redfish, with solid specks mixed in. Open stretches of water in lower West Galveston Bay also should have schools of fish roaming and feeding. West Bay’s north shore is another good area, especially if you like to leave the boat and wade. Bank fishing options also become plentiful during the fall. Areas along the Texas City levee and the Texas City Dike come to life as temperatures fall. Stretches of shoreline and coves along Galveston Island State Park are worth checking out as well, if you’re willing to fish from a kayak or just wade in. One of the best things about fall is less boat traffic. Typically, fewer people are fishing because many are hunting or occu- pied with some other activity. Fewer anglers means a larger playing field and fish aren’t being scattered by swarms of boats. Fall also provides some of the most brilliant sunrises of the year. Nothing beats seeing the sun rise on a cool, crisp morning over calm bay waters. It will jump-start your day better than a cup of coffee. The weather is mild. The fish are hungry. The options are plenty. Take advantage of autumn and enjoy the best time of year to fish along our upper coast estuaries and marshes. Soft plastics are going to be a go-to bait presentation for anglers fishing with artificial lures during November.84 COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2023 PHOTOS: COU r T e SY ANG e LO IM br AGUGLIO As a bassist in the pop/punk- rock band LVVRS, Galveston native Lillian Giacona is living out her dreams, touring the southeastern United States playing at concert halls and music festivals. COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2023 85 CURRENTS | MUSIC SEEING STARS Island-born bassist riffs on live music, life on the road and famous actors story by B. SCOTT MCLENDON G alveston-born Lillian Giacona in six years went from a teenager with a penchant for performance to a full-blown touring bass- ist, living out her glitter and leather-laden pop-punk dreams at age 19. Giacona was 13 years old when she began pestering her father for a bass guitar. She now tours the southeastern United States, playing at concert halls and music festivals as the bassist for Lafayette, Louisiana-based pop/punk-rock band LVVRS. “My favorite band was Panic! At the Disco, and I was a die-hard fan of them,” Giacona said. “Their bassist, he’s out now, but Nicole Rhoads took his spot, and I thought, ‘Oh my God, she’s such a badass; I want to be like her.’ “So, I was begging my dad for a bass for probably like four or five months.” He was hesitant because he figured his teenager only had a fleeting interest in the instrument and would give it up after a few months. But Giacona promised her passion for music was lasting and profound. Performing with a Houston-based band when she was COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2023 87 CURRENTS | MUSIC 15 helped her gain the attention of LVVRS, which she joined about three years later in 2022 after their bassist left the band, Giacona said. “Tour life, especially if you’re not with the right people, can be very difficult,” Giacona said. “But for us, we actually look forward to spending 10 hours in a van together because we just don’t have that issue. We talk to each other every single day, even outside of just being on the road.” LVVRS lead singer River Gibson’s infectious falsetto is paired with funky, boot-stomping rhythm from Giaco- na on bass on songs like “Hypnotic Love.” The song has been played in shows like “Temptation Island,” a reali- ty show on USA Network; “Hollywood Houselift,” a house-flipping show on Amazon Prime; and “The Ultimatum,” a reality love show on Netflix. Band members take their uplifting pop-punk sound to cities around the southeastern United states, touring from Atlanta to Austin. An accidental meeting between the lead singer and a movie producer in Louisiana landed the band in an up- coming movie, “The Iron Claw,” with actors Zac Efron from Disney’s “High School Musical” and Jeremy Allen White from “The Bear” on Hulu. Producers hired LVVRS members to act as bandmates of Efron’s charac- ter’s brother, Giacona said. The band filmed scenes last year for the movie set to release in December. Giacona recalled an awkward moment between the world-famous movie star, who she described as “an absolute sweetheart,” and herself in the makeup trailer. Two makeup artists were working on Giacona’s hair and face, while Efron was sitting, or maybe floating according to a starstruck Giacona, on a chair about 3 feet away, she said. Efron said hello to her as he walked by, and Giacona replied with an awk- ward “hey” back while being tended to by a pair of makeup artists, she said. “It was so embarrassing for me,” Giacona said. “I was like, ‘Holy s***, I’m in a trailer with Zac Efron.’ Then, 30 seconds later, I saw him put on the mullet wig and it completely toned down the whole thing.” She didn’t know it at the time, but Giacona actually met another acting star while on set. Also starring in “The Iron Claw” is Jeremy Allen White. “Jeremy comes up to me and in- troduces himself in this deep British accent, which I wasn’t expecting,” Giacona said. “I introduced myself and we were making small talk, and I didn’t know what to say after that when it got really quiet and complete- ly awkward. And I said, ‘So, are you having fun?’ I didn’t know who it was! “He just said, ‘Yeah,’ and walked off.” She didn’t realize who she was talking to until a month later while driving to a show in Atlanta, Giacona said. She was scrolling through Insta- gram when she saw a fan page ded- icated to the actor — that’s when the embarrassment set in, Giacona said. “I just asked this man if he was having fun at his career,” Giacona said with a laugh. Giacona thinks she inherited her father’s taste in music; his palate includes bands like The B-52’s, a new- wave 1980s pop band, and R.E.M., a 1980s rock band, both of which originated near Georgia Institute of Technology about the time her father went to school there. “I didn’t really listen to the radio that much as a kid, other than Panic! At the Disco,” Giacona said. “And Lady Gaga is my ride or die. But I grew up on old music, so I kind of stuck to that and developed.” The young rocker’s success stands on the shoulders of understanding and un- equivocally supportive parents, Giacona said. Many teenagers’ parents might not allow them to travel long distances to pursue a career in music, she said. Giacona wants to get to the point where the band is respected across the country for helping bring back live performance music, she said. “I want to be the person who keeps live music alive,” Giacona said. (Opposite) Members of the band LVVRS, from left, lead guitarist Edward Principato, drummer Brenon Wilson, bassist Lillian Giacona and singer River Gibson. (Above) Lillian Giacona with Johnny Van Zant, lead vocalist of Lynyrd Skynyrd. PHOTOS: COU r T e SY/ANG e LO IM br AGUGLIO88 COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2023 Dressed in “british rags,” animal lovers celebrated the sounds of The beatles at the 21st annual Paws Gala, “PAWberry Fields FUrever,” on Sept. 23 at the Galveston Island Convention Center. benefiting the Galveston Island Humane Society, this year’s event honored longtime supporter Mary Ann Salch Mur- phy. Guests enjoyed an open bar, seated dinner, live entertainment and silent and live auctions. Tails wagged during the elite Pet Owner Contest during which buddy (owner Mary Cooper) took home Pet of the Year honors. This top dog and his elite Pet Owner won a ride in the Krewe of barkus & Meoux Mardi Gras Parade in February. Photos by Carla Peoples PAWS GALA PARTY PICS PICTURED: 1. Jim Grant, Susan Salch, Grady Salch, Trent Salch, Mary Ann Salch Murphy, Dr. Don Powell, Megan Salch, the Rev. Clint Ressler and Tyrone Sanders. 2. Mary Cooper and Buddy. 3. Karen Forde, Terri O’Connell and Marcy Hanson. 4. Shane McDermott, Lindsay Touchy, Gina Spagnola and Caroline Spagnola. 5. Troy and Krista Gillaspia with Kim and Fred Raschke. 6. Angela Milburn, Sheila Dennis and Sharon Lewis. 7. Stefan Heinrich, Jason O’Donoghue, Helen Carmody Stroud, Humphrey Dogart, Catherine Stroud and Joseph Carmody. 8. The Daily News Editor Michael A. Smith and Coast Monthly Editor Laura Elder with Mary Ellen and Jim LeDuc. 12 5 8 7 4 6 3 COASTMONTHLY.COM | NOveMber 2023 89 Susan Cahill, ABR, RSPS, CTA 13450 FM 3005, Galveston, TX SusanCahillRealtor@gmail.com Contact Susan for a supportive journey ahead. 16 Years Experience as a Texas Realtor and experience as a Social Worker, I’m here to guide you. • Divorce: Transition smoothly to a new chapter. I can help you sell or find a new home that suits your needs during this time of change. • Loss of a Loved One: Compassionately handle property matters while you focus on what truly matters. I’m here to ease the process for you. • Financial Difficulties: I can help you make informed real estate decisions to decrease your financial burdens. SOLUTIONS FOR LIFE’S TRANSITIONS! 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