Redfish
Sciaenops ocellatus
Thermal window
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In peak season for this water. 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.
Texas · Galveston Bay
Redfish should be the day — push West and East Bay grass as the wind lets water back in.
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 2026-04-26, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
- Tide · modeled — NOAA 8771450 quiet
- NDBC 42035 quiet
- Salinity probe quiet or stale
- River · USGS 08066500
- Red-tide check failed — not all-clear
- Sargassum check failed — not all-clear
- Water temp quiet
Forecast
low confidence
Forecast brief for Sunday, April 26. Back to this morning
Morning line
Galveston 9.0 on Sunday, April 26. 15 mph SSE. Clear. YOLO day is Wednesday, August 26. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.
incoming · 0.04 ft · drag or hover for the clockModeled M2 clock — no NOAA gauge on this water. Not a buoy.
Wind
OPEN-METEO
From SSE · gust 16
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.
Moon
70% lit
Waxing gibbous
neap range · 70%
Water
No gauge
Water
—
Today’s range 1.5 ft
incoming
0.04 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
Trinity River at Wallisville is quiet or stale. Not a color reading.
River
USGS 08066500
1,400 cfs
Trinity Rv at Romayor, 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 8771450
- LowSun 5:00 AM · -0.76
- HighSun 11:00 AM · 0.75
- LowSun 5:00 PM · -0.74
- HighSun 11:00 PM · 0.72
- LowMon 5:00 AM · -0.69
Bahamas tides are modeled from lunar M2. Use them for windows, not a bar crossing.
Monthly YOLO day
Wednesday, August 26
Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast. waxing gibbous · spring · tide range ~1.4 ft · wind to 20 mph · Clouds · 5%
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 - Galveston Island SP bayside trails
grass flat · saved map · mid
Camp + 3 paddling trails into Carancahua Cove. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — grass flat on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum, Sheepshead.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin - 9.0
Christmas Bay
grass flat · saved map · mid
Upper coast's only true seagrass flat, coastal preserve. Fall tailing reds. Kayak launches off CR 257. Camp Follets = gulf camp + bay fish, one island. · 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, Sheepshead.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin - 9.0
Galveston Island SP - Carancahua Cove trails
grass flat · saved map · mid
Camp + 3 marked paddling trails (Dana Cove, Oak Bayou, Jenkins Bayou). Reds and drum in skinny water 400 yd from the tent. · 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, Sheepshead.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin - 8.7
Galveston North Jetty
pass jetty · public structure · deep
Winter sheep on granite. Fall bulls. Midday tide on the rocks.
- — pass jetty on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Sheepshead, Redfish, Speckled trout.
structurespinfly - 8.7
Bolivar Roads Channel
pass jetty · public structure · deep
USGS GNIS 1384775. The ship-channel throat between Galveston and Bolivar. Current over granite. Not a wade.
USGS GNIS 1384775
- — pass jetty on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Sheepshead.
structureskiffspinfly - 8.7
TX - Bolivar Peninsula west end / North Jetty
pass jetty · saved map · mid
$10 annual sticker, camp anywhere. Wide sand near Rettilon Rd; walk to North Jetty. · camp-surf · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — pass jetty on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum, Sheepshead.
structureskiffspinfly
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
9.5Sun 8:00 AM → Sun 1:00 PM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Last light · outgoing
9.2Sun 12:00 PM → Sun 7:00 PM
Last light on outgoing water.
Last light · incoming
9.2Sun 6:00 PM → Mon 1:00 AM
Last light on incoming water.
First light · outgoing
8.1Mon 12:00 AM → Mon 7:00 AM
First light on outgoing water.
First light · incoming
9.5Mon 7:00 AM → Mon 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.
Seawolf Park
TPWD / Galveston Parks — public ramp & pier
Pelican Island. Ramp, pier, jetty-adjacent. County park fees.
Official sourceSan Luis Pass County Park
Brazoria County / GLO beach-access system
Follets Island. Ramp and beach. Current at the pass — wade with respect.
Official sourceGalveston 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 sourceGalveston 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 incoming (modeled — NOAA 8771450 Galveston Pier 21 did not answer).
- — Clear. Sky is workable.
- — Wind 15 mph SSE. Work the leeward shore. Fly gets harder.
- — Waxing gibbous moon — neap 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.
8.4
Speckled trout
Cynoscion nebulosus
Thermal window
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In peak season for this water. 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.
Black drum
Pogonias cromis
Thermal window
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Present, not peak. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Texas: 5/day, 14–30 in. One over 52 in allowed as part of the bag.
Sheepshead
Archosargus probatocephalus
Thermal window
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Present, not peak. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.
Texas: 5/day, 15 in minimum.
Jack crevalle
Caranx hippos
Thermal window
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Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Present, not peak. 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.