Texas · Corpus Christi Bay
Packery, Shamrock, Nueces, Mustang backside. Pass water at Port Aransas. Bull reds on the jetties in fall.
Tide + moon
low confidence
Morning line
Corpus 8.1 on Friday, January 10 — tide, moon, and season only. No wind forecast that far out. YOLO day is Thursday, August 27. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.
Wind
NWS
No wind reading
Buoy
NDBC ANPT2
Quiet
Aransas Pass did not report. Witness only — not the tide clock.
Sky
NWS
No sky reading
No sky reading
A 20% shower chance is not a cancel. A soaker is.
Glass
No barometer
—
No live or modeled glass on this desk.
Three-hour change on this station. The glass is not a bite.
Moon
84% lit
Waxing gibbous
mid range · 84%
Water
No gauge
Water
—
Today’s range 0.6 ft
outgoing
-0.39 ft MLLW
Coast
No live coast layer
Red-tide check failed. That is not all-clear — open the agency page before you wade.
Sargassum check failed. Not a GPS pin. Not all-clear.
Salinity / color
No USGS 00480 well on this desk. Do not borrow another bay’s river.
River
USGS 08211000
Quiet
Nueces River did not answer. Not a color reading.
Wind vs table
Observed − predicted
—
No live gauge this hour — the printed tide is the forecast.
Clock
NOAA 8775792
Monthly YOLO day
Thursday, August 27
Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast. full · spring · tide range ~0.3 ft · wind to 20 mph · Clouds · 1%
Next two weeks
Pulling the 14-day strip…
This pip is that mark on this tide — not the day on the ring.
marsh drain · public structure · mid
River influence, mud, winter schools.
pass jetty · saved map · mid
Reservable beach sites; Fish Pass jetty 1 mi up-beach; bayside kayak trail. · camp-surf · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
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
TX - Port Aransas IB Magee Beach Park
pass jetty · saved map · mid
County campground at the south jetty. Family venue. · camp-surf · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
TX - Lighthouse Lakes Trail (SH 361)
mangrove edge · saved map · skinny
THE Texas kayak flats: mangrove lakes over Redfish Bay grass. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
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
When is moving water in a good hour — not the day. First light and last light are named when the clock is the story. 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.
Outgoing water
8.5Fri 8:00 AM → Fri 12:00 PM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Last light · incoming
9.4Fri 1:00 PM → Sat 12:00 AM
Last light on incoming water.
First light · outgoing
9.4Sat 3:00 AM → Sat 1:00 PM
First light on outgoing water.
Last light · incoming
9.4Sat 2:00 PM → Sun 1:00 AM
Last light on incoming water.
First light · outgoing
9.4Sun 4:00 AM → Sun 2:00 PM
First light on outgoing water.
Same fish
Nets
Dock
Same fish · Corpus Christi Bay · Speckled trout
12.3/ set
In the nets. 94% of sets had one.
3.0/ trip
Across the dock · 17.3 in. 48% of speckled trout-seeking parties had one.
Different units. The nets count what is in the water. The dock counts the fish they named, on the clipboard — not expanded landings.
Late file: 16.8/set · 1.9/trip. Flip the years to put that file in the tables.
Long record · Corpus Christi Bay · gill nets
Spring nets (April–June) 1982–2019. Random shoreline grids in this bay system — not a mark on your map. Packery and the pass. Not Upper Laguna.
| In the nets | Per set | Counted | Sets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black drum | 12.5 | 21,369 | 78% |
| Speckled trout | 12.3 | 21,086 | 94% |
| Redfish | 11.4 | 19,501 | 92% |
| Sheepshead | 1.9 | 3,250 | 42% |
| Southern flounder | 0.5 | 775 | 29% |
TPWD still sets spring (Apr–Jun) and fall (Sep–Nov). This public file ends in 2019. It does not update with the tide.
Long record · Corpus Christi Bay · dock counts
Low-use dock (Nov 21–May 14) 1991–2023. Public ramps and wet slips in this bay system — the bay they launched from, not a honey hole. Packery and the pass. Not Upper Laguna.
| Across the dock | Per trip | Counted | With fish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speckled trout | 3.0 | 4,008 | 48% |
| Redfish | 1.1 | 2,343 | 35% |
| Red snappergulf | 10.2 | 1,167 | 72% |
TPWD still interviews year-round, 10:00–18:00, about 1,000 survey-days and 14,000 interviews a year. This public extract is targeting trips, 1991–2023. It does not update with the tide.
PLOS One 1991–2023How the creel worksAsk TPWD for expanded landings
Sabine LakeGalveston BayMatagorda BayAransas BayCorpus Christi BayUpper Laguna MadreLower Laguna Madre
Cited to TPWD, Texas GLO beach-access plans, and NPS. 2WD/4WD is the county plan, not a guess.
Goose Island State Park
TPWD state park
Ramp, pier, wade shore. Copano / St. Charles.
Official sourcePackery 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 sourceFulton Harbor
Aransas County / TPWD-listed launch
Copano and Aransas. Goose Island is the other public door.
Official sourceRockport Beach
City of Rockport / GLO beach access
Bay beach, pier, and park. Not a Gulf drive-on corridor.
Official sourceNo-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.
Pogonias cromis
Thermal window
—
In peak season for this water. This tide stage (outgoing) matches how they hunt.
Texas: 5/day, 14–30 in. One over 52 in allowed as part of the bag.
Sciaenops ocellatus
Thermal window
—
Present, not peak. This tide stage (outgoing) 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.
Cynoscion nebulosus
Thermal window
—
Present, not peak. This tide stage (outgoing) 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.
Megalops atlanticus
Thermal window
—
Off-season here. This tide stage (outgoing) matches how they hunt.
Texas: treat as catch-and-release.
Lutjanus griseus
Thermal window
—
Off-season here. This tide stage (outgoing) matches how they hunt.
Texas: typically 12 in, 4/day under snapper rules — verify TPWD.
Caranx hippos
Thermal window
—
Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Off-season here. This tide stage (outgoing) matches how they hunt.
Generally unregulated. Still, do not leave a pile.
Regs citedTPWD Outdoor Annual · Sep 1, 2025–Aug 31, 2026 · rolls in 5 days. Texas bag and season roll every September 1. The stamp is the book we cited, not a license.
Next two weeks
Sat
29
Δ0.3ft