Redfish
Sciaenops ocellatus
Thermal window
88.7°
Present, not peak. Water 89°F is the hot edge for this fish.
Texas (Sep 1 2025–Aug 31 2026): 3/day, 20–28 in slot. One over 28 in per license year with a Red Drum Tag.
Texas · Aransas / Copano / Redfish
Redfish are in the mix — get off the skinny and sit the reefs. Heat is the clock — first light or last light.
Grass-and-oyster working water. Lydia Ann, Copano reefs, Redfish Bay. The mid-coast skiff and wade theater.
- ⚠ Extreme water temperature. Fish stress quickly — keep them wet, or don't boat them.
Today
high confidence
Morning line
Rockport 6.4 this morning. 14 mph SSE. Mostly Clear · 0%. Wind versus the table: -0.3 ft. YOLO day is Wednesday, August 26. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.
low slack · 0.11 ftNOAA hourly · ft MLLW
Wind
NOAA
From SSE · gust 17
Sky
0% rain
Clear
Mostly Clear · 0%
A 20% shower chance is not a cancel. A soaker is.
Moon
91% lit
Waxing gibbous
mid range · 91%
Water
NOAA 8774770
Water
88.7°
Today’s range 0.4 ft
low slack
0.11 ft MLLW
Wind vs table
Observed − predicted
-0.25 ft
Observed minus predicted. On this coast the wind often is the tide.
Clock
NOAA 8774770
- LowMon 11:42 PM · 0.10
- HighTue 1:10 PM · 0.49
- LowWed 12:21 AM · 0.13
- HighWed 2:16 PM · 0.48
- LowThu 12:53 AM · 0.16
Monthly YOLO day
Wednesday, August 26 · 8.9
Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast — and it is a copper day. waxing gibbous · spring · tide range ~0.4 ft · wind to 12 mph · 0% chance of rain
Next two weeks
Pulling the 14-day strip…
Where
- 5.8
TX - Mustang Island SP bayside launch
serpulid reef · saved map · skinny
Shamrock Cove reds year-round. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — serpulid reef on a low slack tide is a workable match.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin - 5.5
Mustang Island bayside / Shamrock Cove
sand dropoff · saved map · mid
Reds year-round. Camp beach side, fish bay side - the same-park combo. · 4 - FLATS ZONES - NO WADE REQUIRED (green) · Texas coast — corridors, jetties, flats
- — sand dropoff on a low slack tide is a secondary match.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin - 5.0
TX - Lighthouse Lakes Trail (SH 361)
mangrove edge · saved map · skinny
THE Texas kayak flats: mangrove lakes over Redfish Bay grass. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — mangrove edge on a low slack tide is a secondary match.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin - 5.0
Lighthouse Lakes / Redfish Bay - ATLAS #1
mangrove edge · saved map · mid
THE Texas kayak flats: mangrove-maze lakes over seagrass, 4 marked trails, launches off the SH 361 causeway. Sight-casting reds in water too skinny for anything else. Camp IB Magee or Mustang Island SP, 15 min away. · 4 - FLATS ZONES - NO WADE REQUIRED (green) · Texas coast — corridors, jetties, flats
- — mangrove edge on a low slack tide is a secondary match.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin - 4.8
Redfish Bay grass
grass flat · field manual · skinny
The mid-coast skinny game. Incoming floods the grass. Do not fish it like the Laguna.
- — grass flat on a low slack tide is a secondary match.
skiffwadekayakflyspin - 4.8
TX - Army Hole, Matagorda Island WMA
grass flat · saved map · mid
Boat-in designated campsite; TPWD LPU permit. Expedition base. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — grass flat on a low slack tide is a secondary match.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin
When
Incoming water
9.5Tue 2:00 AM → Tue 12:00 PM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Outgoing water
9.5Tue 5:00 PM → Wed 1:00 AM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Incoming water
9.5Wed 3:00 AM → Wed 12:00 PM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Outgoing water
9.5Wed 6:00 PM → Thu 2:00 AM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Incoming water
9.5Thu 3:00 AM → Thu 7:00 AM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Launch and beach access
Cited to TPWD, Texas GLO beach-access plans, and NPS. 2WD/4WD is the county plan, not a guess.
Goose Island State Park
TPWD state park
Ramp, pier, wade shore. Copano / St. Charles.
Official sourcePackery Channel County Park
Nueces County / TPWD-listed launch
Ramp both sides of the cut. Wade the bars on a moving tide.
Official sourceFulton Harbor
Aransas County / TPWD-listed launch
Copano and Aransas. Goose Island is the other public door.
Official sourceRockport Beach
City of Rockport / GLO beach access
Bay beach, pier, and park. Not a Gulf drive-on corridor.
Official sourceIndian Point Park
San Patricio County / TPWD-listed launch
Corpus / Nueces. Pier and ramp. Winter drum water from the bank.
Official sourcePort Aransas Beach Access 1A
City of Port Aransas / Texas GLO beach access
Typical 2WD when packed. City + GLO plan. Jetties are a short walk north.
Official source
Legal water
No-take and closed water cited to the agency that owns it. Only the Keys box is FKNMS.
No FKNMS polygon in this box. Mainland Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Mexico, and the Bahamas are not Keys sanctuary closures.
Why — and who
- — Tide is low slack from NOAA.
- — Observed water is close to the astronomical prediction — the table is telling the truth today.
- — Water 88.7°F. Heat is the locator: early, late, deeper.
- — Mostly Clear · 0%. Sky is workable.
- — Wind 14 mph SSE. Work the leeward shore. Fly gets harder.
- — Waxing gibbous moon — mid tide range. Marsh and passes usually want the extra current of a spring.
4.1
Speckled trout
Cynoscion nebulosus
Thermal window
88.7°
Present, not peak. Water 89°F is the hot edge for this fish.
Texas: 3/day, 15–20 in slot. One over 28 in per license year with a Spotted Seatrout Tag (plus bonus). Soft mouth + slot = measure every fish.
Black drum
Pogonias cromis
Thermal window
88.7°
Off-season here. Water 89°F is the hot edge for this fish.
Texas: 5/day, 14–30 in. One over 52 in allowed as part of the bag.
Jack crevalle
Caranx hippos
Thermal window
88.7°
Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. In peak season for this water. Water 89°F is the hot edge for this fish.
Generally unregulated. Still, do not leave a pile.
Regs citedTPWD Outdoor Annual · Sep 1, 2025–Aug 31, 2026 · rolls in 8 days. Texas bag and season roll every September 1. The stamp is the book we cited, not a license.