Redfish
Sciaenops ocellatus
Thermal window
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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.
Texas · Upper Laguna / Baffin
Speckled trout should be the day — look, do not grind — this water is clear and they see you.
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 2026-10-29, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
Forecast
low confidence
Forecast brief for Thursday, October 29. Back to this morning
Morning line
Baffin 8.2 on Thursday, October 29. 10 mph S. Clear. YOLO day is Monday, August 31. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.
high slack · 0.14 ftModeled M2 · not a gauge
Wind
OPEN-METEO
From S · gust 20
Sky
OPEN-METEO
Clear
Clear
A 20% shower chance is not a cancel. A soaker is.
Moon
88% lit
Waning gibbous
mid range · 88%
Water
No gauge
Water
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Today’s range 0.3 ft
high slack
0.14 ft modeled
Wind vs table
No live gauge
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No live gauge this hour — the printed tide is the forecast.
Clock
NOAA 8776604
- HighThu 7:00 AM · 0.15
- LowThu 1:00 PM · -0.16
- HighThu 7:00 PM · 0.16
- LowFri 2:00 AM · -0.17
- HighFri 8:00 AM · 0.18
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
- 7.5
Baffin Bay rocks
serpulid reef · field manual · mid
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 high slack tide is a workable match.
- — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
skiffflyspin - 7.5
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 high slack tide is a workable match.
- — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
skiffflyspin - 7.5
TX - Mustang Island SP bayside launch
serpulid reef · saved map · skinny
Shamrock Cove reds year-round. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — serpulid reef on a high slack tide is a workable match.
- — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin - 7.5
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 high slack tide is a workable match.
- — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin - 7.5
TX - Kaufer-Hubert Park (Baffin doorway)
serpulid reef · saved map · mid
County camping + ramp on Cayo del Grullo. Trophy trout; mind the rocks. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — serpulid reef on a high slack tide is a workable match.
- — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin - 7.5
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 high slack tide is a workable match.
- — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin
When
Outgoing water
10.0Thu 9:00 AM → Thu 3:00 PM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Incoming water
9.7Thu 3:00 PM → Thu 9:00 PM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Outgoing water
8.7Thu 9:00 PM → Fri 3:00 AM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Incoming water
10.0Fri 3:00 AM → Fri 9:00 AM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Outgoing water
10.0Fri 9:00 AM → Fri 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 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 high slack (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 — mid tide range. Sight water often prefers a moderate range and clean water over a huge spring.
7.3
Speckled trout
Cynoscion nebulosus
Thermal window
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In peak season for this water.
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. Present, not peak.
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.