Texas · Aransas / Copano / Redfish

Redfish should be the day — flood Copano and Redfish Bay grass — this is the mid-coast skiff day.

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

⚠ This brief is for 2027-02-28, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.

Tide · modeled — NOAA 8774770 quiet
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

Forecast

low confidence

Forecast brief for Sunday, February 28. Back to this morning

Morning line

Rockport 8.4 on Sunday, February 28. 14 mph SE. Clear. YOLO day is Wednesday, August 26. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it

incoming · 0.42 ft · drag or hover for the clockModeled M2 clock — no NOAA gauge on this water. Not a buoy.

Wind

OPEN-METEO

From SE · gust 17

Buoy

NDBC ANPT2

Quiet

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

Sky

OPEN-METEO

Clear

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

Moon

51% lit

Last quarter

neap range · 51%

Water

No gauge

Water

—

Today’s range 0.9 ft

incoming

0.42 ft modeled

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 USGS discharge gauge on this desk. Wind and the table still tell the color story.

Wind vs table

No live gauge

—

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

Clock

NOAA 8774770

LowSun 3:00 AM · -0.43
HighSun 9:00 AM · 0.44
LowSun 3:00 PM · -0.45
HighSun 9:00 PM · 0.45
LowMon 3:00 AM · -0.45

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

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

8.9

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

Thu

Δ0.3ft

Fri

Δ0.2ft

Sat

Δ0.1ft

Sun

Δ0.1ft

Mon

Δ0.2ft

Tue

Δ0.3ft

Wed

Δ0.4ft

Thu

Δ0.4ft

Fri

Δ0.5ft

Sat

Δ0.5ft

Sun

Δ0.5ft

Mon

Δ0.4ft

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

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

TX - Army Hole, Matagorda Island WMA
grass flat · saved map · mid
9.0
Boat-in designated campsite; TPWD LPU permit. Expedition base. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — grass flat on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin
TX - Pringle Lake (boat-in via POC)
grass flat · saved map · skinny
9.0
Storied clear sight-casting backlake. The one guide-trip splurge. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — grass flat on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin
TX - Goose Island State Park
grass flat · saved map · mid
9.0
Camp base; kayak St. Charles/Copano. Winter reds + whoopers. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — grass flat on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin
Pringle Lake / Matagorda Island backlakes
grass flat · saved map · skinny
9.0
Storied clear-water sight-casting backlake. Gin-clear, grass bottom, reds pushing wakes. Boat/towed-kayak via Port O'Connor. THE one guide-trip splurge. · 4 - FLATS ZONES - NO WADE REQUIRED (green) · Texas coast — corridors, jetties, flats
- — grass flat on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin
TX - Mustang Island SP
pass jetty · saved map · mid
8.7
Reservable beach sites; Fish Pass jetty 1 mi up-beach; bayside kayak trail. · camp-surf · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — pass jetty on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum.
structurespinwade
TX - Port Aransas IB Magee Beach Park
pass jetty · saved map · mid
8.7
County campground at the south jetty. Family venue. · camp-surf · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — pass jetty on a incoming tide is a classic 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 8:00 AM → Sun 10:00 AM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Outgoing water
9.5
Sun 10:00 AM → Sun 5:00 PM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Last light · incoming
9.2
Sun 4:00 PM → Sun 11:00 PM
Last light on incoming water.
Last light · outgoing
8.1
Sun 10:00 PM → Mon 5:00 AM
Last light on outgoing water.
First light · incoming
9.5
Mon 4:00 AM → Mon 11:00 AM
First 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 incoming (modeled — NOAA 8774770 Rockport did not answer).
— Clear. Sky is workable.
— Wind 14 mph SE. Work the leeward shore. Fly gets harder.
— Last quarter 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

8.4

Thermal window

—

In peak season for this water. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.

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

Redfish

Sciaenops ocellatus

6.6

Thermal window

—

Present, not peak. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.

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

6.6

Thermal window

—

Present, not peak. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.

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

4.8

Thermal window

—

Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Off-season here. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.

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.