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Texas · Lower Laguna Madre

Redfish should be the day — the drops off Brazos Santiago and the spoil edges.

The clear-water classroom. South Bay, spoil banks, Brazos Santiago. Sight-casting reds in inches. Often the warmest Texas winter water.

  • ⚠ This brief is for 2025-07-22, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
  • Tide · NOAA 8779770
  • NDBC PTIT2 quiet
  • No salinity probe on this desk
  • No river gauge on this desk
  • Red-tide check failed — not all-clear
  • Sargassum check failed — not all-clear
  • Glass · modeled
  • Water temp quiet
8.3OF 10

Forecast

medium confidence

Forecast brief for Tuesday, July 22. Back to this morning

Morning line

LLM 8.3 on Tuesday, July 22. 14 mph ESE. Clear. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-1.2-0.40.41.32.1HLHLHLHLMon 7 PMTue 7 PMWed 7 PMThu 7 PMFri 7 PM
outgoing · 1.57 ft · drag or hover for the clockNOAA tide gauge 8779770 · Port Isabel · ft MLLW · not a weather buoy

Wind

OPEN-METEO

NESW14MPH

From ESE · gust 17

Buoy

NDBC PTIT2

Quiet

Port Isabel 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

29.94 inHg

1014 mb · no 3-hour change yet

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

Moon

9% lit

Waning crescent

mid range · 9%

Water

No gauge

Water

—

48°92°

Today’s range 2.4 ft

outgoing

1.57 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

No gauge

No gauge

No USGS discharge gauge on this desk. Wind and the table still tell the color story.

Wind vs table

Observed − predicted

—

No live gauge this hour — the printed tide is the forecast.

Clock

NOAA 8779770

  • HighTue 6:09 AM · 1.65
  • LowTue 8:16 PM · -0.76
  • HighWed 7:05 AM · 1.62
  • LowWed 9:12 PM · -0.72
  • HighThu 7:51 AM · 1.54
Stay or drive · LLM vs BaffinOpen 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.

  • TX - South Padre north of Access 6

    sand dropoff · saved map · mid

    8.7

    Cameron Co. permit, primitive sand camping. Clearest TX surf. · camp-surf · GULF ATLAS! - FISH

    • — sand dropoff on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
    • — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Snook, Mangrove / gray snapper.
    structurespinwade

  • South Padre - north of Beach Access 6

    sand dropoff · saved map · mid

    8.7

    Cameron Co. permit, primitive sand camping. Clearest surf water in TX; LLM flats behind the dunes. · 1 - BEACH CORRIDORS (yellow=2WD, orange=4WD, red=Big Shell) · Texas coast — corridors, jetties, flats

    • — sand dropoff on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
    • — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Snook, Mangrove / gray snapper.
    structurespinwade

  • Brazos Santiago Pass

    pass jetty · public structure · deep

    8.4

    USGS GNIS 1372708. The south-end pass. Bulls and tarpon in season. Current over rock.

    USGS GNIS 1372708

    • — pass jetty on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
    • — In-play: Redfish, Snook.
    structureskiffspinfly

  • Mansfield Cut

    pass jetty · public structure · deep

    8.4

    NOAA 8778490 in the basin. Cut current, jetty granite, Laguna skinny a mile inside.

    • — pass jetty on a outgoing tide is a classic match.
    • — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout.
    skiffstructurespinfly

  • South Bay

    grass flat · field manual · skinny

    7.7

    USGS GNIS 1376184 (Cameron). Clear-water classroom. Inches of grass. Sight-casting reds. Deep-south snook on warm years.

    USGS GNIS 1376184

    • — grass flat on a outgoing tide is a workable match.
    • — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Snook.
    skiffwadekayakflyspin

  • SPI spoil banks

    spoil bank · public structure · skinny

    7.7

    Classic Laguna edges. Pole the leeward spoil when the wind is up.

    • — spoil bank on a outgoing tide is a workable match.
    • — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout.
    skiffwadeflyspin

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

    Tue 8:00 AM → Tue 10:00 PM

    Last light on outgoing water.

  • Last light · incoming

    9.5

    Tue 9:00 PM → Wed 9:00 AM

    Last light on incoming water.

  • Last light · outgoing

    9.5

    Wed 9:00 AM → Wed 11:00 PM

    Last light on outgoing water.

  • Last light · incoming

    9.5

    Wed 10:00 PM → Thu 9:00 AM

    Last light on incoming water.

  • Last light · outgoing

    9.5

    Thu 9:00 AM → Fri 12:00 AM

    Last light on outgoing water.

Long record · Lower Laguna Madre · gill nets

135,621 fish in 1,707 overnight sets

Nets are out until September. Showing the fall record. 1982–2019. Random shoreline grids in this bay system — not a mark on your map. South Bay and Brazos Santiago. Not Baffin.

In the netsPer setSets
Black drum16.688%
Redfish16.397%
Speckled trout8.691%
Sheepshead2.261%
Southern flounder1.046%

Late file (2015–2019): Black drum 17.7/set · Redfish 16.9/set · Speckled trout 7.8/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 · Lower Laguna Madre · dock counts

57,063 fish on 12,578 interviews

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. South Bay and Brazos Santiago. Not Baffin.

Across the dockPer tripWith fish
Speckled trout6.174%
Red snappergulf13.495%
Redfish1.648%

Late file (2019–2023): Red snapper 9.8/trip · Speckled trout 5.0/trip · Redfish 1.7/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.

  • Isla Blanca Park

    Cameron County / GLO beach access

    South end of SPI. Ramps, jetties, Brazos Santiago. County beach plan governs 2WD/4WD.

    Official source

  • Andy Bowie Park

    Cameron County / GLO beach access

    North SPI. County beach plan. 2WD/4WD posted at the entrance.

    Official source

  • Adolph Thomae Jr. County Park

    Cameron County / TPWD-listed launch

    Arroyo Colorado into the Lower Laguna. Ramp and park. The LLM classroom starts here.

    Official source

  • Port Mansfield public ramps

    Willacy County / TPWD-listed launch

    Basin and cut. NOAA 8778490. Laguna skinny a mile inside.

    Official source

  • Boca Chica / Beach Access 6

    Cameron County beach-access plan / Texas GLO

    South of SPI. County plan is the 2WD/4WD law here. Closures shift with SpaceX and storms — confirm before you drop a tire.

    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 8779770 Port Isabel.
  • — Clear. Sky is workable.
  • — Wind 14 mph ESE. Work the leeward shore. Fly gets harder.
  • — Waning crescent moon — mid tide range. Sight water often prefers a moderate range and clean water over a huge spring.
  • — No USGS 00480 well on this desk. Do not read another bay’s river as this water.
  • — No USGS discharge gauge on this desk. Wind and the tide table still tell the color story.

Mangrove / gray snapper

Lutjanus griseus

8.4

Thermal window

—

64°92°

In peak season for this water. This tide stage (outgoing) matches how they hunt.

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

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.

Snook

Centropomus undecimalis

6.6

Thermal window

—

56°92°

Present, not peak. This tide stage (outgoing) matches how they hunt.

Texas: 1/day, 24–28 in. Rare this far west — verify before you keep one.

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