On This Water

Texas · Corpus Christi Bay

Redfish should be the day — the pass at Port Aransas — this is current water, not a marsh drain.

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

  • This brief is for 2026-12-10, 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 · NOAA 8775792
  • 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
8.4OF 10

Forecast

medium confidence

Forecast brief for Thursday, December 10. Back to this morning

Morning line

Corpus 8.4 on Thursday, December 10. 15 mph ESE. Clear. YOLO day is Wednesday, August 26. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-0.3-0.10.20.40.6LHLHLHLHWed 6 PMThu 6 PMFri 6 PMSat 6 PMSun 6 PM
outgoing · 0.27 ft · drag or hover for the clockNOAA tide gauge 8775792 · Packery Channel · ft MLLW · not a weather buoy

Wind

OPEN-METEO

NESW15MPH

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

1% lit

Waxing crescent

spring range · 1%

Water

No gauge

Water

48°92°

Today’s range 0.5 ft

outgoing

0.27 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

64 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

  • LowThu 2:45 PM · -0.10
  • HighFri 4:02 AM · 0.43
  • LowFri 3:36 PM · -0.12
  • HighSat 4:37 AM · 0.42
  • LowSat 4:24 PM · -0.13

Monthly YOLO day

Wednesday, August 26 · 7.8

Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast. waxing gibbous · spring · tide range ~0.3 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.

  • Nueces Bay

    marsh drain · public structure · mid

    9.0

    River influence, mud, winter schools.

    • marsh drain on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
    • In-play: Redfish, Black drum, Speckled trout.
    skiffspinfly
  • TX - Mustang Island SP

    pass jetty · saved map · mid

    9.0

    Reservable beach sites; Fish Pass jetty 1 mi up-beach; bayside kayak trail. · camp-surf · GULF ATLAS! - FISH

    • pass jetty on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
    • In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum.
    structurespinwade
  • TX - PINS South Beach miles 0-5

    pass jetty · saved map · mid

    9.0

    Free primitive w/ park pass. 2WD-friendly first 5 miles. · camp-surf · GULF ATLAS! - FISH

    • pass jetty on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
    • In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum.
    structurespinwade
  • TX - Port Aransas IB Magee Beach Park

    pass jetty · saved map · mid

    9.0

    County campground at the south jetty. Family venue. · camp-surf · GULF ATLAS! - FISH

    • pass jetty on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
    • In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum.
    structurespinwade
  • TX - Lighthouse Lakes Trail (SH 361)

    mangrove edge · saved map · skinny

    9.0

    THE Texas kayak flats: mangrove lakes over Redfish Bay grass. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH

    • mangrove edge on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
    • In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum.
    skiffkayakwadeflyspin
  • TX - Yarborough Pass (PINS mile 15.5)

    pass jetty · saved map · mid

    9.0

    4WD primitive camp + cross-island Laguna access. Graduate trip. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH

    • pass jetty on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
    • In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum.
    skiffkayakwadeflyspin

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.

  • Outgoing water

    9.5

    Thu 8:00 AMThu 3:00 PM

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

  • Last light · incoming

    8.6

    Thu 5:00 PMFri 4:00 AM

    Last light on incoming water.

  • First light · outgoing

    9.5

    Fri 7:00 AMFri 4:00 PM

    First light on outgoing water.

  • Last light · incoming

    7.5

    Fri 6:00 PMSat 4:00 AM

    Last light on incoming water.

  • Outgoing water

    9.5

    Sat 8:00 AMSat 5:00 PM

    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 outgoing from NOAA 8775792 Packery Channel.
  • Clear. Sky is workable.
  • Wind 15 mph ESE. Work the leeward shore. Fly gets harder.
  • Waxing crescent moon — spring 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.

Black drum

Pogonias cromis

8.4

Thermal window

46°88°

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.

Redfish

Sciaenops ocellatus

6.6

Thermal window

48°92°

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.

Speckled trout

Cynoscion nebulosus

6.6

Thermal window

44°90°

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.

Tarpon

Megalops atlanticus

4.8

Thermal window

68°94°

Off-season here. This tide stage (outgoing) matches how they hunt.

Texas: treat as catch-and-release.

Mangrove / gray snapper

Lutjanus griseus

4.8

Thermal window

64°92°

Off-season here. This tide stage (outgoing) matches how they hunt.

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

Jack crevalle

Caranx hippos

4.8

Thermal window

64°94°

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 7 days. Texas bag and season roll every September 1. The stamp is the book we cited, not a license.