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Texas · Galveston Bay

Redfish should be the day — slide to guts and the ship-channel edges until it moves.

Largest Texas estuary. Trinity, East, West, and Christmas bays. Wind often moves more water than the tide table. Home water for drum, sheep, trout, and reds.

  • ⚠ This brief is for 2025-05-28, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
  • Tide · NOAA 8771450
  • NDBC 42035 quiet
  • Salinity probe quiet or stale
  • River · USGS 08066500
  • Red-tide check failed — not all-clear
  • Sargassum check failed — not all-clear
  • Glass · modeled
  • Water temp quiet
7.9OF 10

Forecast

medium confidence

Forecast brief for Wednesday, May 28. Back to this morning

Morning line

Galveston 7.9 on Wednesday, May 28. 17 mph S. Clear. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-1.1-0.20.61.52.3HLHLHLHLTue 7 PMWed 7 PMThu 7 PMFri 7 PMSat 7 PM
low slack · 1.88 ft · drag or hover for the clockNOAA tide gauge 8771450 · Galveston Pier 21 · ft MLLW · not a weather buoy

Wind

OPEN-METEO

NESW17MPH

From S · gust 18

Buoy

NDBC 42035

Quiet

Galveston 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

29.93 inHg

1014 mb · no 3-hour change yet

Modeled mean sea level. Not a dock barometer. The glass is not a bite.

Moon

2% lit

Waxing crescent

spring range · 2%

Water

No gauge

Water

—

48°92°

Today’s range 2.5 ft

low slack

1.88 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
Trinity River at Wallisville is quiet or stale. Not a color reading.

River

USGS 08066500

1,390 cfs

Trinity Rv at Romayor, 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 8771450

  • HighWed 7:38 AM · 1.89
  • LowWed 11:51 PM · -0.56
  • HighThu 8:36 AM · 1.77
  • LowFri 12:49 AM · -0.41
  • HighFri 9:40 AM · 1.64
Stay or drive · Galveston vs MatagordaOpen the calendarMorning dispatch

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

This pip is that mark on this tide — not the day on the ring.

  • East Bay reefs / Hanna's

    oyster reef · field manual · mid

    7.1

    Home-water trout and winter mixed schools. Shell next to mud. Do not invent a Tuesday — this is the bay.

    • — oyster reef on a low slack tide is a workable match.
    • — In-play: Speckled trout, Redfish.
    skiffwadeflyspin

  • San Luis Pass

    pass jetty · public structure · mid

    6.8

    NOAA 8771972. Real current. Wade the bars on a moving tide; respect the rip. GNIS hydro layer does not carry this name — the gauge is the official clock.

    • — pass jetty on a low slack tide is a secondary match.
    • — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout.
    wadeskiffspinflystructure

  • Galveston North Jetty

    pass jetty · public structure · deep

    6.8

    Winter sheep on granite. Fall bulls. Midday tide on the rocks.

    • — pass jetty on a low slack tide is a secondary match.
    • — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout.
    structurespinfly

  • Bolivar Roads Channel

    pass jetty · public structure · deep

    6.8

    USGS GNIS 1384775. The ship-channel throat between Galveston and Bolivar. Current over granite. Not a wade.

    USGS GNIS 1384775

    • — pass jetty on a low slack tide is a secondary match.
    • — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout.
    structureskiffspinfly

  • TX - Bolivar Peninsula west end / North Jetty

    pass jetty · saved map · mid

    6.8

    $10 annual sticker, camp anywhere. Wide sand near Rettilon Rd; walk to North Jetty. · camp-surf · GULF ATLAS! - FISH

    • — pass jetty on a low slack tide is a secondary match.
    • — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout.
    structureskiffspinfly

  • TX - Follets Island CR 257 (free camping)

    pass jetty · saved map · mid

    6.8

    Free, no permit, 14-day max. Fish San Luis Pass gulf-side at dawn. · camp-surf · GULF ATLAS! - FISH

    • — pass jetty on a low slack tide is a secondary match.
    • — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout.
    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.

  • Last light · outgoing

    9.5

    Wed 9:00 AM → Thu 2:00 AM

    Last light on outgoing water.

  • First light · incoming

    9.5

    Thu 1:00 AM → Thu 10:00 AM

    First light on incoming water.

  • Last light · outgoing

    9.5

    Thu 10:00 AM → Fri 3:00 AM

    Last light on outgoing water.

  • First light · incoming

    9.5

    Fri 2:00 AM → Fri 11:00 AM

    First light on incoming water.

  • Last light · outgoing

    9.2

    Fri 12:00 PM → Sat 4:00 AM

    Last light on outgoing water.

Long record · Galveston Bay · gill nets

182,686 fish in 1,710 overnight sets

Spring nets are in (April–June) 1982–2019. Random shoreline grids in this bay system — not a mark on your map. Trinity, East, West, and Christmas in the same TPWD bay system.

In the netsPer setSets
Redfish13.888%
Speckled trout10.084%
Black drum6.980%
Southern flounder0.635%
Sheepshead0.527%

Late file (2015–2019): Redfish 14.3/set · Speckled trout 13.5/set · Black drum 7.3/set. Same gear, last years in the public compilation.

TPWD still sets spring (Apr–Jun) and fall (Sep–Nov). This public file ends in 2019. It does not update with the tide.

BCO-DMO 1982–2019Ask TPWD for years after 2019

Long record · Galveston Bay · dock counts

58,015 fish on 17,241 interviews

High-use starts May 15. Showing the high-use record. 1991–2023. Public ramps and wet slips in this bay system — the bay they launched from, not a honey hole. Trinity, East, West, and Christmas in the same TPWD bay system.

Across the dockPer tripWith fish
Speckled trout3.859%
Red snappergulf6.773%
Redfish0.726%

Late file (2019–2023): Red snapper 7.7/trip · Speckled trout 3.4/trip · Redfish 0.7/trip. Same ramps, last years in the public extract.

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

Launch and beach access

Cited to TPWD, Texas GLO beach-access plans, and NPS. 2WD/4WD is the county plan, not a guess.

  • Seawolf Park

    TPWD / Galveston Parks — public ramp & pier

    Pelican Island. Ramp, pier, jetty-adjacent. County park fees.

    Official source

  • San Luis Pass County Park

    Brazoria County / GLO beach-access system

    Follets Island. Ramp and beach. Current at the pass — wade with respect.

    Official source

  • Galveston East Beach

    City of Galveston / Texas GLO beach access

    Drive-on beach. 2WD when packed; 4WD after rain. GLO + city plan, not a TPWD ramp.

    Official source

  • Galveston 61st Street / Offatts Bayou

    City of Galveston / TPWD-listed launch

    West Bay and Offatts. Trailer traffic. The bay side of the island.

    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 8771450 Galveston Pier 21.
  • — Clear. Sky is workable.
  • — Wind 17 mph S. Work the leeward shore. Fly gets harder.
  • — Waxing crescent moon — spring tide range. Marsh and passes usually want the extra current of a spring.
  • — USGS salinity well Trinity River at Wallisville is quiet or stale — not all-clear, not a color reading.

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.

Speckled trout

Cynoscion nebulosus

7.3

Thermal window

—

44°90°

In peak season for this water.

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.

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.

Sheepshead

Archosargus probatocephalus

3.7

Thermal window

—

48°84°

Off-season here.

Texas: 5/day, 15 in minimum.

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