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Texas · Corpus Christi Bay

Redfish should be the day — Nueces and Shamrock guts until the pass turns.

Packery, Shamrock, Nueces, Mustang backside. Pass water at Port Aransas. Bull reds on the jetties in fall.

  • ⚠ This brief is for 2026-09-04, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
7.8OF 10

Forecast

medium confidence

Forecast brief for Friday, September 4. Back to this morning

Morning line

Corpus 7.8 on Friday, September 4. 12 mph SSE. Mostly clear. YOLO day is Wednesday, August 26. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
0.00.20.50.70.9HLHLHLHLThu 7 PMFri 7 PMSat 7 PMSun 7 PMMon 7 PM
low slack · 0.71 ftNOAA hourly · ft MLLW

Wind

OPEN-METEO

NESW12MPH

From SSE · gust 16

Sky

14% rain

Clouds

Mostly clear

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

Moon

49% lit

Last quarter

neap range · 49%

Water

No gauge

Water

—

48°92°

Today’s range 0.6 ft

low slack

0.71 ft MLLW

River

USGS 08211000

69 cfs

Nueces Rv nr Mathis, TX

Discharge into this bay. High water stains the flat.

Wind vs table

Observed − predicted

—

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

Clock

NOAA 8775792

  • HighFri 8:22 AM · 0.71
  • LowFri 8:27 PM · 0.16
  • HighSat 9:20 AM · 0.75
  • LowSat 9:51 PM · 0.17
  • HighSun 10:23 AM · 0.77

Monthly YOLO day

Wednesday, August 26 · 8.5

Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast. waxing gibbous · spring · tide range ~0.4 ft · wind to 19 mph · 4% chance of rain

Stay or drive · Corpus vs BaffinOpen the calendarMorning dispatch

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

  • TX - Kaufer-Hubert Park (Baffin doorway)

    serpulid reef · saved map · mid

    7.5

    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: Redfish, Tarpon, Speckled trout, Mangrove / gray snapper.
    skiffkayakwadeflyspin

  • Baffin Bay - TROPHY TROUT, MIND THE ROCKS

    serpulid reef · saved map · mid

    7.5

    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: Redfish, Tarpon, Speckled trout, Mangrove / gray snapper.
    skiffkayakwadeflyspin

  • TX - PINS Bird Island Basin

    sand dropoff · saved map · mid

    7.2

    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: Redfish, Tarpon, Speckled trout, Mangrove / gray snapper.
    structurespinwade

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

    sand dropoff · saved map · mid

    7.2

    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: Redfish, Tarpon, Speckled trout, Mangrove / gray snapper.
    structurespinwade

  • *** BIG SHELL *** miles ~20-35 - THE CROWN

    sand dropoff · saved map · mid

    7.2

    Longshore current CONVERGENCE at the coast's bend + coarse shell bottom = deep guts close to the sand (2nd gut can sit inside 60-70 yd). Debris capital of the Gulf for the same reason bait and predators stack here. Fall bull run is the best surfcasting in Texas. Expedition-grade: 20+ mi from pavement, full kit, proven truck skills. SEGMENT IS APPROXIMATE. · 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: Redfish, Tarpon, Speckled trout, Mangrove / gray snapper.
    structurespinwade

  • Mustang Island bayside / Shamrock Cove

    sand dropoff · saved map · mid

    7.2

    Reds year-round. Camp beach side, fish bay side - the same-park combo. · 4 - FLATS ZONES - NO WADE REQUIRED (green) · Texas coast — corridors, jetties, flats

    • — sand dropoff on a low slack tide is a secondary match.
    • — In-play: Redfish, Tarpon, Speckled trout, Mangrove / gray snapper.
    skiffkayakwadeflyspin

When

  • Outgoing water

    9.6

    Fri 11:00 AM → Fri 9:00 PM

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

  • Incoming water

    9.9

    Fri 11:00 PM → Sat 9:00 AM

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

  • Outgoing water

    9.6

    Sat 12:00 PM → Sat 10:00 PM

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

  • Incoming water

    9.9

    Sun 12:00 AM → Sun 11:00 AM

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

  • Outgoing water

    9.6

    Sun 1:00 PM → Mon 12:00 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.

  • Goose Island State Park

    TPWD state park

    Ramp, pier, wade shore. Copano / St. Charles.

    Official source

  • 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

  • Fulton Harbor

    Aransas County / TPWD-listed launch

    Copano and Aransas. Goose Island is the other public door.

    Official source

  • Rockport Beach

    City of Rockport / GLO beach access

    Bay beach, pier, and park. Not a Gulf drive-on corridor.

    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 from NOAA.
  • — Mostly clear. Sky is workable.
  • — Wind 12 mph SSE. Castable. Sight-fishing is on if the sun is out.
  • — Last quarter moon — neap tide range. Marsh and passes usually want the extra current of a 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.

Mangrove / gray snapper

Lutjanus griseus

7.3

Thermal window

—

64°92°

In peak season for this water.

Texas: typically 12 in, 4/day under snapper rules — verify TPWD.

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.

Tarpon

Megalops atlanticus

5.5

Thermal window

—

68°94°

Present, not peak.

Texas: treat as catch-and-release.

Black drum

Pogonias cromis

3.7

Thermal window

—

46°88°

Off-season here.

Texas: 5/day, 14–30 in. One over 52 in allowed as part of the bag.

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.