The Galveston Bay complex is an excellent choice for a waist-deep assault mission. The many coves and saltgrass shoreline provide buffers from the wind while holding adequate clarity for plugging. Some choice areas are accessible by drive-in traffic. Stay with it, and it will happen. Regardless of lure choice, think big rather than small.
Big trout prefer big baits.
They cast for distance, especially with a gusting tail wind, and covering water is a big key to drawing a huge hit. The big trout usually are scattered at random. And, yes, a hungry sow in three or four feet of warming spring tide will detonate on a floater. The serious big-trout rustler should anticipate great things and rig accordingly. Big trout often take plugs deep into the mouth, and the spiked teeth on the snout are capable of clipping a casting line.