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Texas · Aransas / Copano / Redfish

Redfish are the hunt — get off the skinny and sit the reefs.

Grass-and-oyster working water. Lydia Ann, Copano reefs, Redfish Bay. The mid-coast skiff and wade theater.

  • ⚠ This brief is for 2026-02-08, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
  • Tide · NOAA 8774770
  • NDBC ANPT2 quiet
  • No salinity probe on this desk
  • No river gauge on this desk
  • Red-tide check failed — not all-clear
  • Sargassum check failed — not all-clear
  • Water temp quiet
7.6OF 10

Forecast

medium confidence

Forecast brief for Sunday, February 8. Back to this morning

Morning line

Rockport 7.6 on Sunday, February 8. 14 mph SE. Clear. YOLO day is Wednesday, August 26. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-0.7-0.5-0.3-0.10.0LHLHLHLHSat 6 PMSun 6 PMMon 6 PMTue 6 PMWed 6 PM
low slack · -0.43 ft · drag or hover for the clockNOAA tide gauge 8774770 · Rockport · ft MLLW · not a weather buoy

Wind

OPEN-METEO

NESW14MPH

From SE · gust 17

Buoy

NDBC ANPT2

Quiet

Aransas Pass did not report. Witness only — not the tide clock.

Sky

OPEN-METEO

Clear

Clear

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

Moon

62% lit

Waning gibbous

neap range · 62%

Water

No gauge

Water

—

48°92°

Today’s range 0.3 ft

low slack

-0.43 ft MLLW

Coast

No live coast layer

Red-tide check failed. That is not all-clear — open the agency page before you wade.

Sargassum check failed. Not a GPS pin. Not all-clear.

Salinity / color
No USGS 00480 well on this desk. Do not borrow another bay’s river.

River

No gauge

No gauge

No USGS discharge gauge on this desk. Wind and the table still tell the color story.

Wind vs table

Observed − predicted

—

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

Clock

NOAA 8774770

  • LowSun 6:04 AM · -0.46
  • HighSun 7:35 PM · -0.17
  • LowMon 7:00 AM · -0.48
  • HighMon 7:58 PM · -0.14
  • LowTue 7:53 AM · -0.49

Monthly YOLO day

Wednesday, August 26

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 · 5% chance of rain

Stay or drive · Rockport vs CorpusOpen the calendarMorning dispatch

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

This pip is that mark on this tide — not the day on the ring.

  • TX - Mustang Island SP bayside launch

    serpulid reef · saved map · skinny

    7.8

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

    • — serpulid reef on a low slack tide is a workable match.
    • — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum.
    skiffkayakwadeflyspin

  • Copano Bay reefs

    oyster reef · public structure · mid

    7.7

    NOAA 8774513 nearby. Winter trout and mixed drum. Shell that still has water on a blowout.

    • — oyster reef on a low slack tide is a workable match.
    • — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish, Black drum.
    skiffwadeflyspin

  • Mustang Island bayside / Shamrock Cove

    sand dropoff · saved map · mid

    7.5

    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.
    • — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum.
    skiffkayakwadeflyspin

  • Lydia Ann Channel

    channel gut · field manual · mid

    7.3

    Working water. Edges and bars. Grass-and-oyster, not Laguna clarity.

    • — channel gut on a low slack tide is a workable match.
    • — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout.
    skiffflyspin

  • TX - Mustang Island SP

    pass jetty · saved map · mid

    7.3

    Reservable beach sites; Fish Pass jetty 1 mi up-beach; bayside kayak trail. · camp-surf · GULF ATLAS! - FISH

    • — pass jetty on a low slack tide is a secondary match.
    • — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum.
    structurespinwade

  • TX - Port Aransas IB Magee Beach Park

    pass jetty · saved map · mid

    7.3

    County campground at the south jetty. Family venue. · camp-surf · GULF ATLAS! - FISH

    • — pass jetty on a low slack tide is a secondary match.
    • — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum.
    structurespinwade

When

When is moving water in a good hour — not the day. First light and last light are named when the clock is the story. Today’s ring mixes the best mark, the lead fish, and the best window, then taxes the sky. A strong incoming can sit under a weak day if the wind or the fish is off. Calendar cells are a third recipe: range, moon, and the day’s forecast.

  • Incoming water

    9.5

    Sun 10:00 AM → Sun 12:00 PM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • First light · outgoing

    8.1

    Mon 12:00 AM → Mon 7:00 AM

    First light on outgoing water.

  • Last light · incoming

    9.5

    Mon 10:00 AM → Mon 7:00 PM

    Last light on incoming water.

  • First light · outgoing

    9.5

    Tue 12:00 AM → Tue 8:00 AM

    First light on outgoing water.

  • Last light · incoming

    9.5

    Tue 10:00 AM → Tue 8:00 PM

    Last light on incoming water.

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 source

  • Packery Channel County Park

    Nueces County / TPWD-listed launch

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

    Official source

  • Fulton Harbor

    Aransas County / TPWD-listed launch

    Copano and Aransas. Goose Island is the other public door.

    Official source

  • Rockport Beach

    City of Rockport / GLO beach access

    Bay beach, pier, and park. Not a Gulf drive-on corridor.

    Official source

  • Indian Point Park

    San Patricio County / TPWD-listed launch

    Corpus / Nueces. Pier and ramp. Winter drum water from the bank.

    Official source

  • Port 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 8774770 Rockport.
  • — Clear. Sky is workable.
  • — Wind 14 mph SE. Work the leeward shore. Fly gets harder.
  • — Waning gibbous moon — neap tide range. Marsh and passes usually want the extra current of a spring.
  • — No USGS 00480 well on this desk. Do not read another bay’s river as this water.
  • — No USGS discharge gauge on this desk. Wind and the tide table still tell the color story.

Black drum

Pogonias cromis

7.3

Thermal window

—

46°88°

In peak season for this water.

Texas: 5/day, 14–30 in. One over 52 in allowed as part of the bag.

Redfish

Sciaenops ocellatus

5.5

Thermal window

—

48°92°

Present, not peak.

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

5.5

Thermal window

—

44°90°

Present, not peak.

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

3.7

Thermal window

—

64°94°

Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Off-season here.

Generally unregulated. Still, do not leave a pile.

Regs citedTPWD Outdoor Annual · Sep 1, 2025–Aug 31, 2026 · rolls in 7 days. Texas bag and season roll every September 1. The stamp is the book we cited, not a license.