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 2026-11-17, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
⚠ Texas flounder season is closed Nov 1–Dec 14. Catch-and-release only if you hook one.

Forecast

low confidence

Forecast brief for Tuesday, November 17. Back to this morning

Morning line

Baffin 8.9 on Tuesday, November 17. 9 mph SSE. Clear. YOLO day is Monday, August 31. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it

incoming · 0.20 ftModeled M2 · not a gauge

Wind

OPEN-METEO

From SSE · gust 16

Sky

OPEN-METEO

Clear

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

Moon

53% lit

First quarter

neap range · 53%

Water

No gauge

Water

—

Today’s range 0.4 ft

incoming

0.20 ft modeled

Wind vs table

No live gauge

—

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

Clock

NOAA 8776604

LowTue 3:00 AM · -0.22
HighTue 9:00 AM · 0.22
LowTue 3:00 PM · -0.22
HighTue 9:00 PM · 0.22
LowWed 3:00 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

Stay or drive · Baffin vs LLM Open the calendar Morning dispatch

Next two weeks

Look at the water, not the table

Full calendar

Tue

Δ0.3ft

Wed

Δ0.3ft

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

Nine Mile Hole
grass flat · field manual · skinny
8.4
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
TX - Bird Island Basin (PINS)
grass flat · saved map · mid
8.4
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
Nine Mile Hole / upper Laguna back country
grass flat · saved map · skinny
8.4
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
TX - Mustang Island SP
pass jetty · saved map · mid
8.1
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
8.1
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
8.1
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
10.0
Tue 8:00 AM → Tue 10:00 AM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Outgoing water
10.0
Tue 10:00 AM → Tue 5:00 PM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Incoming water
9.7
Tue 5:00 PM → Tue 11:00 PM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Outgoing water
8.7
Tue 11:00 PM → Wed 5:00 AM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Incoming water
10.0
Wed 5:00 AM → Wed 11:00 AM
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 incoming (modeled — the NOAA gauge did not answer).
— Clear. Sky is workable.
— Wind 9 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.

Redfish

Sciaenops ocellatus

8.4

Thermal window

—

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

—

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

4.8

Thermal window

—

Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Off-season here. 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.