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Texas · Upper Laguna / Baffin

Speckled trout are the hunt — Nine Mile and the Badlands guts, not a wade across the flat.

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 2026-09-09, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
6.2OF 10

Forecast

low confidence

Forecast brief for Wednesday, September 9. Back to this morning

Morning line

Baffin 6.2 on Wednesday, September 9. 4 mph SSW. Rain · 22%. YOLO day is Monday, August 31. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-0.3-0.2-0.00.10.3LHLHLHLHWed 7 AMThu 7 AMFri 7 AMSat 7 AM
low slack · -0.13 ftModeled M2 · not a gauge

Wind

OPEN-METEO

NESW4MPH

From SSW · gust 3

Sky

22% rain

Rain

Rain · 22%

Sight water goes blind. A marsh still fishes a shower.

Moon

6% lit

Waning crescent

mid range · 6%

Water

No gauge

Water

—

48°92°

Today’s range 0.3 ft

low slack

-0.13 ft modeled

Wind vs table

No live gauge

—

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

Clock

NOAA 8776604

  • LowWed 7:00 AM · -0.15
  • HighWed 1:00 PM · 0.15
  • LowWed 7:00 PM · -0.14
  • HighThu 2:00 AM · 0.13
  • LowThu 8:00 AM · -0.13

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

    6.9

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

    • — channel gut on a low slack tide is a workable match.
    • — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
    skiffspinfly

  • Baffin Bay rocks

    serpulid reef · field manual · mid

    6.7

    Serpulid rock — unique on this coast. Trophy trout water. King's Inn is the fried-shrimp shrine at Loyola Beach, not a waypoint.

    • — serpulid reef on a low slack tide is a workable match.
    • — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
    skiffflyspin

  • TX - Kaufer-Hubert Park (Baffin doorway)

    serpulid reef · saved map · mid

    6.7

    County camping + ramp on Cayo del Grullo. Trophy trout; mind the rocks. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH

    • — serpulid reef on a low slack tide is a workable match.
    • — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
    skiffkayakwadeflyspin

  • Baffin Bay - TROPHY TROUT, MIND THE ROCKS

    serpulid reef · saved map · mid

    6.7

    Trophy trout capital of Texas. Hypersaline, serpulid ROCK FORMATIONS WILL EAT A LOWER UNIT - drift it or run with someone who knows them. Kaufer-Hubert Park = county camping + ramp on Cayo del Grullo. · 4 - FLATS ZONES - NO WADE REQUIRED (green) · Texas coast — corridors, jetties, flats

    • — serpulid reef on a low slack tide is a workable match.
    • — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
    skiffkayakwadeflyspin

  • TX - PINS Bird Island Basin

    sand dropoff · saved map · mid

    6.4

    Laguna-side campground: camp ON the flats, kayak at tent flap. · camp-surf · GULF ATLAS! - FISH

    • — sand dropoff on a low slack tide is a secondary match.
    • — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
    structurespinwade

  • PINS 4WD zone - miles 5-60 to Mansfield Cut

    sand dropoff · saved map · mid

    6.4

    Soft sand, no services, no cell. Air down 18-20 psi, full recovery kit, never below 30% battery. NO DRONES. · 1 - BEACH CORRIDORS (yellow=2WD, orange=4WD, red=Big Shell) · Texas coast — corridors, jetties, flats

    • — sand dropoff on a low slack tide is a secondary match.
    • — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
    structurespinwade

When

  • Incoming water

    9.1

    Wed 9:00 AM → Wed 2:00 PM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Outgoing water

    8.8

    Wed 3:00 PM → Wed 9:00 PM

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

  • Incoming water

    7.8

    Wed 9:00 PM → Thu 3:00 AM

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

  • Outgoing water

    9.1

    Thu 4:00 AM → Thu 9:00 AM

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

  • Incoming water

    9.1

    Thu 10:00 AM → Thu 3:00 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 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 low slack (modeled — the NOAA gauge did not answer).
  • — Rain · 22%. Sight water goes blind. Wait it out or switch to stained marsh.
  • — Wind 4 mph SSW. Castable. Sight-fishing is on if the sun is out.
  • — Waning crescent moon — mid tide range. Sight water often prefers a moderate range and clean water over a huge spring.

Redfish

Sciaenops ocellatus

7.3

Thermal window

—

48°92°

In peak season for this water.

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

5.5

Thermal window

—

44°90°

Present, not peak.

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.

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.