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Texas · Upper Laguna / Baffin

Speckled trout should be the day — slide to Land Cut and the holes; trophy trout leave the skinny.

Hypersaline, clear, seagrass and serpulid rock. Trophy trout water. Land Cut, Nine Mile Hole, Badlands. Not Rockport — do not fish it like Rockport.

  • ⚠ This brief is for 2026-07-30, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
8.1OF 10

Forecast

low confidence

Forecast brief for Thursday, July 30. Back to this morning

Morning line

Baffin 8.1 on Thursday, July 30. 10 mph S. Clear. YOLO day is Monday, August 31. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-0.3-0.20.00.20.3HLHLHLHLThu 7 AMFri 7 AMSat 7 AMSun 7 AM
outgoing · -0.02 ftModeled M2 · not a gauge

Wind

OPEN-METEO

NESW10MPH

From S · gust 20

Sky

OPEN-METEO

Clear

Clear

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

Moon

99% lit

Waning gibbous

spring range · 99%

Water

No gauge

Water

—

48°92°

Today’s range 0.2 ft

outgoing

-0.02 ft modeled

Wind vs table

No live gauge

—

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

Clock

NOAA 8776604

  • HighThu 4:00 AM · 0.10
  • LowThu 11:00 AM · -0.11
  • HighThu 5:00 PM · 0.11
  • LowThu 11:00 PM · -0.11
  • HighFri 6:00 AM · 0.12

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

Monthly YOLO day

Monday, August 31 · 8.1

Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast. waning gibbous · mid · tide range ~0.3 ft · wind to 16 mph · 8% chance of rain

Stay or drive · Baffin vs LLMOpen the calendarMorning dispatch

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

  • Land Cut

    channel gut · public structure · deep

    8.4

    Deep cut through the Laguna. Winter and heat refuge. Current seams.

    • — channel gut on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
    • — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
    skiffspinfly

  • 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: Speckled trout, Redfish.
    structurespinwade

  • TX - PINS South Beach miles 0-5

    pass jetty · saved map · mid

    8.4

    Free primitive w/ park pass. 2WD-friendly first 5 miles. · camp-surf · GULF ATLAS! - FISH

    • — pass jetty on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
    • — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
    structurespinwade

  • TX - Yarborough Pass (PINS mile 15.5)

    pass jetty · saved map · mid

    8.4

    4WD primitive camp + cross-island Laguna access. Graduate trip. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH

    • — pass jetty on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
    • — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
    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: Speckled trout, Redfish.
    structurespinwade

  • PINS South Beach - miles 0-5 (2WD hard pack)

    pass jetty · saved map · mid

    8.4

    Free primitive with park pass. First 5 miles are 2WD-friendly. The starter overnight. NO DRONES (NPS ban). · 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: Speckled trout, Redfish.
    structurespinwade

When

  • Outgoing water

    9.1

    Thu 8:00 AM → Thu 12:00 PM

    Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.

  • Incoming water

    9.1

    Thu 1:00 PM → Thu 6:00 PM

    Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.

  • Outgoing water

    10.0

    Thu 7:00 PM → Fri 12:00 AM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Incoming water

    10.0

    Fri 2:00 AM → Fri 7:00 AM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Outgoing water

    9.1

    Fri 8:00 AM → Fri 1:00 PM

    Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.

Launch and beach access

Cited to TPWD, Texas GLO beach-access plans, and NPS. 2WD/4WD is the county plan, not a guess.

  • Packery Channel County Park

    Nueces County / TPWD-listed launch

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

    Official source

  • Malaquite Visitor Center — PINS

    NPS Padre Island National Seashore

    South Beach driving is 4WD, NPS permit, tires aired down. Closed sections shift after storms. Confirm nps.gov/pais before you drop a tire.

    Official source

  • PINS North Beach

    NPS Padre Island National Seashore

    North Beach is the easier drive. Still NPS rules, not a county 2WD corridor.

    Official source

  • Padre Balli Park / Bob Hall Pier

    Nueces County / GLO beach access

    Packery neighborhood. Pier, beach, county park. Confirm pier status after storms.

    Official source

  • Kaufer-Hubert Memorial Park / Loyola Beach

    Kleberg County / TPWD-listed launch

    The Baffin door from land. Ramp on the Laguna. King's Inn is the fried-shrimp shrine, not a waypoint.

    Official source

  • Bird Island Basin — PINS

    NPS Padre Island National Seashore

    Laguna-side campground and ramp. NPS fee. Windsurf and kayak water. Not the Gulf beach drive.

    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 — the NOAA gauge did not answer).
  • — Clear. Sky is workable.
  • — Wind 10 mph S. Castable. Sight-fishing is on if the sun is out.
  • — Waning gibbous moon — spring tide range. Sight water often prefers a moderate range and clean water over a huge spring.

Redfish

Sciaenops ocellatus

6.6

Thermal window

—

48°92°

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

—

44°90°

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.

Jack crevalle

Caranx hippos

5.8

Thermal window

—

64°94°

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 8 days. Texas bag and season roll every September 1. The stamp is the book we cited, not a license.