On This Water

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 2026-10-22, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
7.5OF 10

Forecast

low confidence

Forecast brief for Thursday, October 22. Back to this morning

Morning line

Baffin 7.5 on Thursday, October 22. 12 mph SE. Mostly clear. YOLO day is Monday, August 31. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-0.3-0.2-0.00.20.3LHLHLHLHThu 7 AMFri 7 AMSat 7 AMSun 7 AM
incoming · -0.10 ft · drag or hover for the clockModeled M2 clock — no NOAA gauge on this water. Not a buoy.

Wind

OPEN-METEO

NESW12MPH

From SE · gust 13

Sky

OPEN-METEO

Clouds

Mostly clear

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

Moon

86% lit

Waxing gibbous

mid range · 86%

Water

No gauge

Water

48°92°

Today’s range 0.3 ft

incoming

-0.10 ft modeled

Wind vs table

No live gauge

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

Clock

NOAA 8776604

  • LowThu 6:00 AM · -0.19
  • HighThu 12:00 PM · 0.18
  • LowThu 6:00 PM · -0.17
  • HighFri 1:00 AM · 0.16
  • LowFri 7:00 AM · -0.16

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

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

  • TX - Mustang Island SP

    pass jetty · saved map · mid

    7.8

    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
  • TX - PINS South Beach miles 0-5

    pass jetty · saved map · mid

    7.8

    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
  • TX - Yarborough Pass (PINS mile 15.5)

    pass jetty · saved map · mid

    7.8

    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
  • Mustang Island beach - SP to Packery

    pass jetty · saved map · mid

    7.8

    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 incoming 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

    7.8

    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 incoming tide is a classic match.
    • In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
    structurespinwade
  • Packery Channel jetties (N)

    pass jetty · saved map · mid

    7.8

    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 incoming tide is a classic match.
    • In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
    structureskiffspinfly

When

When is moving water in a good hour — not the day. 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

    9.7

    Thu 8:00 AMThu 1:00 PM

    Moving water in the right part of the day.

  • Outgoing water

    9.4

    Thu 2:00 PMThu 8:00 PM

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

  • Incoming water

    8.3

    Thu 8:00 PMFri 2:00 AM

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

  • Outgoing water

    9.7

    Fri 2:00 AMFri 8:00 AM

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

  • Incoming water

    9.7

    Fri 8:00 AMFri 2:00 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 incoming (modeled — NOAA 8776604 Baffin Bay did not answer).
  • Mostly clear. Clouds steal the window on bones and permit.
  • Wind 12 mph SE. Castable. Sight-fishing is on if the sun is out.
  • Waxing gibbous moon — mid tide range. Sight water often prefers a moderate range and clean water over a huge spring.

Redfish

Sciaenops ocellatus

8.4

Thermal window

48°92°

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.

Speckled trout

Cynoscion nebulosus

8.4

Thermal window

44°90°

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.

Jack crevalle

Caranx hippos

5.8

Thermal window

64°94°

Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Present, not peak. 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 7 days. Texas bag and season roll every September 1. The stamp is the book we cited, not a license.