Texas · Aransas / Copano / Redfish

Redfish should be the day — 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 2026-10-09, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.

Forecast

low confidence

Forecast brief for Friday, October 9. Back to this morning

Morning line

Rockport 8.1 on Friday, October 9. 8 mph SSW. Clear. YOLO day is Wednesday, August 26. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it

low slack · -0.27 ftModeled M2 · not a gauge

Wind

OPEN-METEO

From SSW · gust 18

Sky

OPEN-METEO

Clear

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

Moon

4% lit

Waning crescent

spring range · 4%

Water

No gauge

Water

—

Today’s range 0.5 ft

low slack

-0.27 ft modeled

Wind vs table

No live gauge

—

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

Clock

NOAA 8774770

LowFri 7:00 AM · -0.28
HighFri 2:00 PM · 0.26
LowFri 8:00 PM · -0.26
HighSat 2:00 AM · 0.24
LowSat 8:00 AM · -0.23

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

Monthly YOLO day

Wednesday, August 26 · 8.5

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 13 mph · 1% chance of rain

Stay or drive · Rockport vs Corpus Open the calendar Morning dispatch

Next two weeks

Look at the water, not the table

Full calendar

Tue

Δ0.8ft

Wed

Δ0.3ft

YOLO

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

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 bayside launch
serpulid reef · saved map · skinny
7.2
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.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin
Copano Bay reefs
oyster reef · public structure · mid
7.1
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.
skiffwadeflyspin
Mustang Island bayside / Shamrock Cove
sand dropoff · saved map · mid
6.9
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.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin
TX - Mustang Island SP
pass jetty · saved map · mid
6.8
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.
structurespinwade
TX - Port Aransas IB Magee Beach Park
pass jetty · saved map · mid
6.8
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.
structurespinwade

When

Incoming water
10.0
Fri 9:00 AM → Fri 3:00 PM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Outgoing water
9.7
Fri 3:00 PM → Fri 9:00 PM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Incoming water
8.7
Fri 9:00 PM → Sat 4:00 AM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Outgoing water
10.0
Sat 4:00 AM → Sat 10:00 AM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Incoming water
10.0
Sat 10:00 AM → Sat 4:00 PM
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 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 (modeled — the NOAA gauge did not answer).
— Clear. Sky is workable.
— Wind 8 mph SSW. Castable. Sight-fishing is on if the sun is out.
— Waning crescent moon — spring tide range. Marsh and passes usually want the extra current of a spring.

Redfish

Sciaenops ocellatus

7.3

Thermal window

—

In peak season for this water.

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

7.3

Thermal window

—

In peak season for this water.

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

3.7

Thermal window

—

Off-season here.

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

Jack crevalle

Caranx hippos

5.5

Thermal window

—

Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Present, not peak.

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.