Texas · Corpus Christi Bay
Packery, Shamrock, Nueces, Mustang backside. Pass water at Port Aransas. Bull reds on the jetties in fall.
Forecast
medium confidence
Wind
OPEN-METEO
From ESE · gust 14
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.
Glass
Open-Meteo modeled
30.01 inHg
1016 mb · no 3-hour change yet
Modeled mean sea level. Not a dock barometer. The glass is not a bite.
Moon
96% lit
Waning gibbous
spring range · 96%
Water
No gauge
Water
—
incoming
-0.07 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
138 cfs
Nueces Rv nr Mathis, TX
Discharge into this bay. High water stains the flat.
USGS 08211000Wind vs table
Observed − predicted
—
No live gauge this hour — the printed tide is the forecast.
Clock
NOAA 8775792
Next two weeks
Pulling the 14-day strip…
This pip is that mark on this tide — not the day on the ring.
grass flat · saved map · mid
Camp base; kayak St. Charles/Copano. Winter reds + whoopers. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
grass flat · saved map · mid
Camp ON the Upper Laguna flats. Kayak launch on site. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
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
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
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
9.5Fri 8:00 AM → Fri 4:00 PM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Last light · outgoing
8.1Fri 8:00 PM → Sat 5:00 AM
Last light on outgoing water.
First light · incoming
9.5Sat 7:00 AM → Sat 4:00 PM
First light on incoming water.
Last light · outgoing
8.1Sat 9:00 PM → Sun 5:00 AM
Last light on outgoing water.
Incoming water
9.5Sun 8:00 AM → Sun 4:00 PM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Same fish
Nets
Dock
Same fish · Corpus Christi Bay · Speckled trout
12.3/ set
In the nets. 94% of sets had one.
6.2/ trip
Across the dock · 17.3 in. 66% 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 · 4.1/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
High-use dock (May 15–Nov 20) 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 | 6.2 | 40,489 | 66% |
| Redfish | 1.2 | 9,733 | 39% |
| Red snappergulf | 8.3 | 9,448 | 81% |
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.
Megalops atlanticus
Thermal window
—
In peak season for this water. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Texas: treat as catch-and-release.
Lutjanus griseus
Thermal window
—
In peak season for this water. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Texas: typically 12 in, 4/day under snapper rules — verify TPWD.
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.
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.
Pogonias cromis
Thermal window
—
Off-season here. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Texas: 5/day, 14–30 in. One over 52 in allowed as part of the bag.
Caranx hippos
Thermal window
—
Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. In peak season for this water. 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 4 days. Texas bag and season roll every September 1. The stamp is the book we cited, not a license.
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