Texas · Aransas / Copano / Redfish

Redfish should be the day — drain Lydia Ann and the oyster edges, not a Galveston jetty program.

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

⚠ This brief is for 2027-07-06, 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
Glass · modeled
Water temp quiet

Forecast

low confidence

Forecast brief for Tuesday, July 6. Back to this morning

Morning line

Rockport 8.1 on Tuesday, July 6. 9 mph SE. Clear. YOLO day is Wednesday, August 26. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it

outgoing · 0.15 ft · drag or hover for the clockModeled M2 clock — no NOAA gauge on this water. Not a buoy.

Wind

OPEN-METEO

From SE · gust 10

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.

Glass

Open-Meteo modeled

29.95 inHg

1014 mb · no 3-hour change yet

Modeled mean sea level. Not a dock barometer. The glass is not a bite.

Moon

6% lit

Waxing crescent

mid range · 6%

Water

No gauge

Water

—

Today’s range 0.6 ft

outgoing

0.15 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

HighTue 6:00 AM · 0.26
LowTue 12:00 PM · -0.26
HighTue 7:00 PM · 0.28
LowWed 1:00 AM · -0.29
HighWed 7:00 AM · 0.31

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 ~0.5 ft · wind to 10 mph · 2% chance of rain

9.0

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

Next two weeks

Look at the water, not the table

Full calendar

Wed

Δ0.5ft

Thu

Δ0.5ft

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

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

Lydia Ann Channel
channel gut · field manual · mid
8.4
Working water. Edges and bars. Grass-and-oyster, not Laguna clarity.
- — channel gut on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout.
skiffflyspin
TX - Mustang Island SP
pass jetty · saved map · mid
8.4
Reservable beach sites; Fish Pass jetty 1 mi up-beach; bayside kayak trail. · camp-surf · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — pass jetty on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout.
structurespinwade
TX - Port Aransas IB Magee Beach Park
pass jetty · saved map · mid
8.4
County campground at the south jetty. Family venue. · camp-surf · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — pass jetty on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout.
structurespinwade
TX - Lighthouse Lakes Trail (SH 361)
mangrove edge · saved map · skinny
8.4
THE Texas kayak flats: mangrove lakes over Redfish Bay grass. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — mangrove edge on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin
Mustang Island beach - SP to Packery
pass jetty · saved map · mid
8.4
Reservable SP beach sites; Fish Pass jetty remnants ~1 mi up-beach; bayside kayak trail behind. The training beach. · 1 - BEACH CORRIDORS (yellow=2WD, orange=4WD, red=Big Shell) · Texas coast — corridors, jetties, flats
- — pass jetty on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout.
structurespinwade
Packery Channel jetties (N)
pass jetty · saved map · mid
8.4
TIER 2 and the best structure-to-effort ratio on the coast. Reopened 2006, 20 min from Corpus. START HERE for jetty work. · 2 - JETTY STRUCTURES (white) · Texas coast — corridors, jetties, flats
- — pass jetty on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout.
structureskiffspinfly

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.

Outgoing water
9.1
Tue 8:00 AM → Tue 2:00 PM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Last light · incoming
10.0
Tue 2:00 PM → Tue 8:00 PM
Last light on incoming water.
Last light · outgoing
10.0
Tue 8:00 PM → Wed 2:00 AM
Last light on outgoing water.
First light · incoming
10.0
Wed 2:00 AM → Wed 9:00 AM
First light on incoming water.
Outgoing water
9.1
Wed 8:00 AM → Wed 3:00 PM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.

Long record · Aransas Bay · gill nets

136,974 fish in 1,710 overnight sets

Nets are out until September. Showing the fall record. 1982–2019. Random shoreline grids in this bay system — not a mark on your map. Copano and Redfish sit in this system. San Antonio Bay is the next grid west.

In the nets	Per set	Counted	Sets
Black drum	16.2	27,756	94%
Redfish	13.8	23,623	96%
Speckled trout	5.1	8,767	87%
Sheepshead	2.0	3,475	47%
Southern flounder	0.8	1,367	43%

Late file (2015–2019): Black drum 12.6/set · Redfish 11.2/set · Speckled trout 4.5/set. Same gear, last years in the public compilation.

TPWD still sets spring (Apr–Jun) and fall (Sep–Nov). This public file ends in 2019. It does not update with the tide.

BCO-DMO 1982–2019 Ask TPWD for years after 2019

Long record · Aransas Bay · dock counts

109,984 fish on 22,897 interviews

High-use dock (May 15–Nov 20) 1991–2023. Public ramps and wet slips in this bay system — the bay they launched from, not a honey hole. Copano and Redfish sit in this system. San Antonio Bay is the next grid west.

Across the dock	Per trip	Counted	With fish
Speckled trout	7.8	84,736	71%
Redfish	1.9	21,716	47%
Red snappergulf	6.7	3,532	79%

Late file (2019–2023): Speckled trout 3.9/trip · Redfish 1.5/trip · Red snapper 5.5/trip. Same ramps, last years in the public extract.

TPWD still interviews year-round, 10:00–18:00, about 1,000 survey-days and 14,000 interviews a year. This public extract is targeting trips, 1991–2023. It does not update with the tide.

PLOS One 1991–2023 How the creel works Ask TPWD for expanded landings

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 outgoing (modeled — NOAA 8774770 Rockport did not answer).
— Clear. Sky is workable.
— Wind 9 mph SE. Castable. Sight-fishing is on if the sun is out.
— Waxing crescent moon — mid 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.

Redfish

Sciaenops ocellatus

6.6

Thermal window

—

Present, not peak. This tide stage (outgoing) 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 (outgoing) 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.

Black drum

Pogonias cromis

4.8

Thermal window

—

Off-season here. This tide stage (outgoing) matches how they hunt.

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

Jack crevalle

Caranx hippos

5.8

Thermal window

—

Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. In peak season for this water. This tide stage (outgoing) matches how they hunt.

Generally unregulated. Still, do not leave a pile.

Regs citedTPWD Outdoor Annual · Sep 1, 2025–Aug 31, 2026 · rolls in 6 days. Texas bag and season roll every September 1. The stamp is the book we cited, not a license.