Texas · Aransas / Copano / Redfish
Grass-and-oyster working water. Lydia Ann, Copano reefs, Redfish Bay. The mid-coast skiff and wade theater.
Tide + moon
low confidence
Morning line
Rockport 8.7 on Wednesday, May 24 — tide, moon, and season only. No wind forecast that far out. YOLO day is Friday, August 28. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.
Wind
NWS
No wind reading
Buoy
NDBC ANPT2
Quiet
Aransas Pass did not report. Witness only — not the tide clock.
Sky
NWS
No sky reading
No sky reading
A 20% shower chance is not a cancel. A soaker is.
Glass
No barometer
—
No live or modeled glass on this desk.
Three-hour change on this station. The glass is not a bite.
Moon
0% lit
New
spring range · 0%
Water
No gauge
Water
—
Today’s range 0.5 ft
incoming
0.36 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
Monthly YOLO day
Friday, August 28
Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast — and it is a copper day. full · spring · tide range ~0.2 ft · wind to 10 mph · 14% chance of rain
Next two weeks
Pulling the 14-day strip…
This pip is that mark on this tide — not the day on the ring.
grass flat · field manual · skinny
The mid-coast skinny game. Incoming floods the grass. Do not fish it like the Laguna.
TX - Army Hole, Matagorda Island WMA
grass flat · saved map · mid
Boat-in designated campsite; TPWD LPU permit. Expedition base. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
TX - Pringle Lake (boat-in via POC)
grass flat · saved map · skinny
Storied clear sight-casting backlake. The one guide-trip splurge. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
grass flat · saved map · mid
Camp base; kayak St. Charles/Copano. Winter reds + whoopers. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
Pringle Lake / Matagorda Island backlakes
grass flat · saved map · skinny
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
pass jetty · saved map · mid
Reservable beach sites; Fish Pass jetty 1 mi up-beach; bayside kayak trail. · camp-surf · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
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
9.4Wed 8:00 AM → Wed 1:00 PM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Last light · outgoing
9.1Wed 6:00 PM → Thu 3:00 AM
Last light on outgoing water.
First light · incoming
9.4Thu 4:00 AM → Thu 2:00 PM
First light on incoming water.
Last light · outgoing
9.1Thu 7:00 PM → Fri 4:00 AM
Last light on outgoing water.
First light · incoming
9.4Fri 5:00 AM → Fri 3:00 PM
First light on incoming water.
Same fish
Nets
Dock
Same fish · Aransas Bay · Speckled trout
9.5/ set
In the nets. 92% of sets had one.
7.8/ trip
Across the dock · 17.0 in. 71% of speckled trout-seeking parties had one.
Different units. The nets count what is in the water. The dock counts the fish they named, on the clipboard — not expanded landings.
Late file: 9.5/set · 3.9/trip. Flip the years to put that file in the tables.
Long record · Aransas Bay · gill nets
Spring nets (April–June) 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 | 14.4 | 24,572 | 90% |
| Redfish | 11.8 | 20,102 | 93% |
| Speckled trout | 9.5 | 16,279 | 92% |
| Sheepshead | 1.2 | 2,020 | 37% |
| Southern flounder | 0.4 | 692 | 27% |
TPWD still sets spring (Apr–Jun) and fall (Sep–Nov). This public file ends in 2019. It does not update with the tide.
Long record · Aransas Bay · dock counts
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% |
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 1991–2023How the creel worksAsk TPWD for expanded landings
Sabine LakeGalveston BayMatagorda BayAransas BayCorpus Christi BayUpper Laguna MadreLower Laguna Madre
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 sourcePackery Channel County Park
Nueces County / TPWD-listed launch
Ramp both sides of the cut. Wade the bars on a moving tide.
Official sourceFulton Harbor
Aransas County / TPWD-listed launch
Copano and Aransas. Goose Island is the other public door.
Official sourceRockport Beach
City of Rockport / GLO beach access
Bay beach, pier, and park. Not a Gulf drive-on corridor.
Official sourceIndian Point Park
San Patricio County / TPWD-listed launch
Corpus / Nueces. Pier and ramp. Winter drum water from the bank.
Official sourcePort 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 sourceNo-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.
Sciaenops ocellatus
Thermal window
—
In peak season for this water. 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.
Cynoscion nebulosus
Thermal window
—
In peak season for this water. 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.
Pogonias cromis
Thermal window
—
Off-season here. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Texas: 5/day, 14–30 in. One over 52 in allowed as part of the bag.
Caranx hippos
Thermal window
—
Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. In peak season for this water. 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 5 days. Texas bag and season roll every September 1. The stamp is the book we cited, not a license.
Next two weeks
YOLO