Redfish
Sciaenops ocellatus
Thermal window
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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.
Texas · Upper Laguna / Baffin
Speckled trout should be the day — sight the grass and serpulid — do not fish Baffin like Rockport.
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 2026-08-21, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
Forecast
low confidence
Forecast brief for Friday, August 21. Back to this morning
Morning line
Baffin 8.1 on Friday, August 21. 12 mph SSE. Clear. YOLO day is Monday, August 31. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.
incoming · 0.09 ftModeled M2 · not a gauge
Wind
OPEN-METEO
From SSE · gust 20
Sky
OPEN-METEO
Clear
Clear
A 20% shower chance is not a cancel. A soaker is.
Moon
59% lit
First quarter
neap range · 59%
Water
No gauge
Water
—
Today’s range 0.4 ft
incoming
0.09 ft modeled
Wind vs table
No live gauge
—
No live gauge this hour — the printed tide is the forecast.
Clock
NOAA 8776604
- LowFri 4:00 AM · -0.22
- HighFri 10:00 AM · 0.22
- LowFri 4:00 PM · -0.22
- HighFri 11:00 PM · 0.21
- LowSat 5:00 AM · -0.22
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
Next two weeks
Pulling the 14-day strip…
Where
- 8.4
Nine Mile Hole
grass flat · field manual · skinny
Named water. Sight if the wind lays down. Do not treat it like a Rockport drain.
- — grass flat on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
skiffflyspin - 8.4
TX - Bird Island Basin (PINS)
grass flat · saved map · mid
Camp ON the Upper Laguna flats. Kayak launch on site. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — grass flat on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin - 8.4
Nine Mile Hole / upper Laguna back country
grass flat · saved map · skinny
Remote ULM sight-casting. Shallow, skinny, low pressure. APPROX. · 4 - FLATS ZONES - NO WADE REQUIRED (green) · Texas coast — corridors, jetties, flats
- — grass flat on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin - 8.1
TX - Mustang Island SP
pass jetty · saved map · mid
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: Speckled trout, Redfish.
structurespinwade - 8.1
TX - PINS South Beach miles 0-5
pass jetty · saved map · mid
Free primitive w/ park pass. 2WD-friendly first 5 miles. · camp-surf · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — pass jetty on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
structurespinwade - 8.1
TX - Yarborough Pass (PINS mile 15.5)
pass jetty · saved map · mid
4WD primitive camp + cross-island Laguna access. Graduate trip. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — pass jetty on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin
When
Incoming water
9.1Fri 8:00 AM → Fri 12:00 PM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Outgoing water
9.1Fri 12:00 PM → Fri 6:00 PM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Incoming water
10.0Fri 6:00 PM → Sat 12:00 AM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Outgoing water
10.0Sat 12:00 AM → Sat 6:00 AM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Incoming water
10.0Sat 6:00 AM → Sat 12:00 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.
Packery Channel County Park
Nueces County / TPWD-listed launch
Ramp both sides of the cut. Wade the bars on a moving tide.
Official sourceMalaquite 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 sourcePINS North Beach
NPS Padre Island National Seashore
North Beach is the easier drive. Still NPS rules, not a county 2WD corridor.
Official sourcePadre Balli Park / Bob Hall Pier
Nueces County / GLO beach access
Packery neighborhood. Pier, beach, county park. Confirm pier status after storms.
Official sourceKaufer-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 sourceBird 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 incoming (modeled — the NOAA gauge did not answer).
- — Clear. Sky is workable.
- — Wind 12 mph SSE. Castable. Sight-fishing is on if the sun is out.
- — First quarter moon — neap tide range. Sight water often prefers a moderate range and clean water over a huge spring.
6.6
Speckled trout
Cynoscion nebulosus
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
Thermal window
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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 8 days. Texas bag and season roll every September 1. The stamp is the book we cited, not a license.