Black drum
Pogonias cromis
Thermal window
—
In peak season for this water. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Texas: 5/day, 14–30 in. One over 52 in allowed as part of the bag.
Texas · Corpus Christi Bay
Redfish should be the day — Packery and the Mustang backside, then the Port A jetties if the bulls are in.
Packery, Shamrock, Nueces, Mustang backside. Pass water at Port Aransas. Bull reds on the jetties in fall.
- ⚠ This brief is for 2026-12-05, 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.
- Tide · modeled — NOAA 8775792 quiet
- NDBC ANPT2 quiet
- No salinity probe on this desk
- River · USGS 08211000
- Red-tide check failed — not all-clear
- Sargassum check failed — not all-clear
- Water temp quiet
Forecast
low confidence
Forecast brief for Saturday, December 5. Back to this morning
Morning line
Corpus 8.2 on Saturday, December 5. 15 mph ESE. Clear. YOLO day is Wednesday, August 26. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.
incoming · 0.01 ft · drag or hover for the clockModeled M2 clock — no NOAA gauge on this water. Not a buoy.
Wind
OPEN-METEO
From ESE · gust 15
Buoy
NDBC ANPT2
Quiet
Aransas Pass did not report. Witness only — not the tide clock.
Sky
OPEN-METEO
Clear
Clear
A 20% shower chance is not a cancel. A soaker is.
Moon
16% lit
Waning crescent
mid range · 16%
Water
No gauge
Water
—
Today’s range 0.5 ft
incoming
0.01 ft modeled
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
64 cfs
Nueces Rv nr Mathis, TX
Discharge into this bay. High water stains the flat.
Wind vs table
No live gauge
—
No live gauge this hour — the printed tide is the forecast.
Clock
NOAA 8775792
- LowSat 5:00 AM · -0.24
- HighSat 11:00 AM · 0.23
- LowSat 5:00 PM · -0.23
- HighSat 11:00 PM · 0.22
- LowSun 5:00 AM · -0.20
Bahamas tides are modeled from lunar M2. Use them for windows, not a bar crossing.
Monthly YOLO day
Wednesday, August 26 · 8.4
Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast. waxing gibbous · spring · tide range ~0.4 ft · wind to 18 mph · Clouds · 4%
Next two weeks
Pulling the 14-day strip…
Where
This pip is that mark on this tide — not the day on the ring.
- 9.0
TX - Goose Island State Park
grass flat · saved map · mid
Camp base; kayak St. Charles/Copano. Winter reds + whoopers. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — grass flat on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin - 9.0
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 incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin - 9.0
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 incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin - 8.7
TX - Mustang Island SP
pass jetty · saved map · mid
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: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum.
structurespinwade - 8.7
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
- — pass jetty on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum.
structurespinwade - 8.7
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
- — pass jetty on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum.
structurespinwade
When
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.
Incoming water
8.6Sat 8:00 AM → Sat 12:00 PM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Last light · outgoing
9.5Sat 12:00 PM → Sat 7:00 PM
Last light on outgoing water.
Last light · incoming
7.5Sat 7:00 PM → Sun 1:00 AM
Last light on incoming water.
First light · outgoing
7.5Sun 1:00 AM → Sun 7:00 AM
First light on outgoing water.
First light · incoming
9.5Sun 7:00 AM → Sun 1:00 PM
First light on incoming water.
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 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 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 8775792 Packery Channel did not answer).
- — Clear. Sky is workable.
- — Wind 15 mph ESE. Work the leeward shore. Fly gets harder.
- — Waning crescent moon — mid tide range. Marsh and passes usually want the extra current of a spring.
- — No USGS 00480 well on this desk. Do not read another bay’s river as this water.
8.4
Redfish
Sciaenops ocellatus
Thermal window
—
Present, not peak. 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
Thermal window
—
Present, not peak. 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.
Tarpon
Megalops atlanticus
Thermal window
—
Off-season here. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Texas: treat as catch-and-release.
Mangrove / gray snapper
Lutjanus griseus
Thermal window
—
Off-season here. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Texas: typically 12 in, 4/day under snapper rules — verify TPWD.
Jack crevalle
Caranx hippos
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.