On This Water

Texas · Upper Laguna / Baffin

Speckled trout are in the mix — look, do not grind — this water is clear and they see you. Heat is the clock — first light or last light.

Hypersaline, clear, seagrass and serpulid rock. Trophy trout water. Land Cut, Nine Mile Hole, Badlands. Not Rockport — do not fish it like Rockport.

  • Extreme water temperature. Fish stress quickly — keep them wet, or don't boat them.
6.6OF 10

Today

medium confidence

Morning line

Baffin 6.6 this morning. 12 mph SE. YOLO day is Monday, August 24. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-0.3-0.2-0.00.20.3HLHLHLHLNOWMon 7 PMTue 7 PMWed 7 PMThu 7 PM
high slack · 0.16 ftModeled M2 · not a gauge

Wind

NOAA

NESW12MPH

From SE · gust 16

Sky

NOAA

Sky not in

Sky not in

A 20% shower chance is not a cancel. A soaker is.

Moon

91% lit

Waxing gibbous

mid range · 91%

Water

NOAA 8776604

Water

91.0°

48°92°

Today’s range 0.3 ft

high slack

0.16 ft modeled

Wind vs table

No live gauge

No live gauge this hour — the printed tide is the forecast.

Clock

NOAA 8776604

  • HighTue 12:18 AM · 0.17
  • LowTue 6:18 AM · -0.15
  • HighTue 1:18 PM · 0.15
  • LowTue 7:18 PM · -0.15
  • HighWed 1:18 AM · 0.14

Bahamas tides are modeled from lunar M2. Use them for windows, not a bar crossing.

Monthly YOLO day

Monday, August 24 · 8.1

Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast. waxing gibbous · mid · tide range ~0.4 ft · wind to 16 mph · 0% chance of rain

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

  • Land Cut

    channel gut · public structure · deep

    6.4

    Deep cut through the Laguna. Winter and heat refuge. Current seams.

    • channel gut on a high slack tide is a secondary match.
    • Water is hot — deeper guts, passes, and shade hold oxygen and fish.
    skiffspinfly
  • Baffin Bay rocks

    serpulid reef · field manual · mid

    6.1

    Serpulid rock — unique on this coast. Trophy trout water. King's Inn is the fried-shrimp shrine at Loyola Beach, not a waypoint.

    • serpulid reef on a high slack tide is a workable match.
    skiffflyspin
  • Nine Mile Hole

    grass flat · field manual · skinny

    6.1

    Named water. Sight if the wind lays down. Do not treat it like a Rockport drain.

    • grass flat on a high slack tide is a workable match.
    skiffflyspin
  • TX - Mustang Island SP bayside launch

    serpulid reef · saved map · skinny

    6.1

    Shamrock Cove reds year-round. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH

    • serpulid reef on a high slack tide is a workable match.
    skiffkayakwadeflyspin
  • TX - Bird Island Basin (PINS)

    grass flat · saved map · mid

    6.1

    Camp ON the Upper Laguna flats. Kayak launch on site. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH

    • grass flat on a high slack tide is a workable match.
    skiffkayakwadeflyspin
  • TX - Kaufer-Hubert Park (Baffin doorway)

    serpulid reef · saved map · mid

    6.1

    County camping + ramp on Cayo del Grullo. Trophy trout; mind the rocks. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH

    • serpulid reef on a high slack tide is a workable match.
    skiffkayakwadeflyspin

When

  • Outgoing water

    9.5

    Tue 2:18 AMTue 8:18 AM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Incoming water

    8.6

    Tue 8:18 AMTue 2:18 PM

    Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.

  • Outgoing water

    9.5

    Tue 2:18 PMTue 8:18 PM

    Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.

  • Incoming water

    9.5

    Tue 9:18 PMWed 2:18 AM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Outgoing water

    9.5

    Wed 3:18 AMWed 8:18 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.

  • Packery Channel County Park

    Nueces County / TPWD-listed launch

    Ramp both sides of the cut. Wade the bars on a moving tide.

    Official source
  • Malaquite Visitor Center — PINS

    NPS Padre Island National Seashore

    South Beach driving is 4WD, NPS permit, tires aired down. Closed sections shift after storms. Confirm nps.gov/pais before you drop a tire.

    Official source
  • PINS North Beach

    NPS Padre Island National Seashore

    North Beach is the easier drive. Still NPS rules, not a county 2WD corridor.

    Official source
  • Padre Balli Park / Bob Hall Pier

    Nueces County / GLO beach access

    Packery neighborhood. Pier, beach, county park. Confirm pier status after storms.

    Official source
  • Kaufer-Hubert Memorial Park / Loyola Beach

    Kleberg County / TPWD-listed launch

    The Baffin door from land. Ramp on the Laguna. King's Inn is the fried-shrimp shrine, not a waypoint.

    Official source
  • Bird Island Basin — PINS

    NPS Padre Island National Seashore

    Laguna-side campground and ramp. NPS fee. Windsurf and kayak water. Not the Gulf beach drive.

    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 high slack (modeled — the NOAA gauge did not answer).
  • Water 91.0°F. Heat is the locator: early, late, deeper.
  • Wind 12 mph SE. Work the leeward shore. Fly gets harder.
  • Waxing gibbous moon — mid tide range. Sight water often prefers a moderate range and clean water over a huge spring.

Redfish

Sciaenops ocellatus

4.1

Thermal window

91.0°

48°92°

Present, not peak. Water 91°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.

Speckled trout

Cynoscion nebulosus

4.1

Thermal window

91.0°

44°90°

Present, not peak. Water 91°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.

Jack crevalle

Caranx hippos

5.8

Thermal window

91.0°

64°94°

Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. In peak season for this water. Water 91°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.