Texas · Lower Laguna Madre

Redfish should be the day — sight-cast reds in inches on South Bay and the spoils.

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 2026-08-03, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.

Forecast

low confidence

Forecast brief for Monday, August 3. Back to this morning

Morning line

LLM 8.3 on Monday, August 3. 11 mph SSE. Clear. YOLO day is Tuesday, August 25. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it

incoming · 0.57 ftModeled M2 · not a gauge

Wind

OPEN-METEO

From SSE · gust 19

Sky

OPEN-METEO

Clear

A 20% shower chance is not a cancel. A soaker is.

Moon

74% lit

Waning gibbous

mid range · 74%

Water

No gauge

Water

—

Today’s range 1.2 ft

incoming

0.57 ft modeled

Wind vs table

No live gauge

—

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

Clock

NOAA 8779770

HighMon 8:00 AM · 0.57
LowMon 2:00 PM · -0.58
HighMon 9:00 PM · 0.59
LowTue 3:00 AM · -0.61
HighTue 9:00 AM · 0.63

Bahamas tides are modeled from lunar M2. Use them for windows, not a bar crossing.

Monthly YOLO day

Tuesday, August 25 · 9.5

Best remaining dry day this month with a real wind forecast. waxing gibbous · mid · tide range ~1.0 ft · wind to 16 mph · 1% chance of rain

Stay or drive · LLM vs Baffin Open the calendar Morning dispatch

Next two weeks

Look at the water, not the table

Full calendar

Tue

Δ1.0ft

YOLO

Wed

Next two weeks

Pulling the 14-day strip…

Where

South Bay
grass flat · field manual · skinny
9.0
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 incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Snook.
skiffwadekayakflyspin
TX - Fred Stone County Park (Port Mansfield)
grass flat · saved map · mid
9.0
Camping + kayak launch at the LLM mecca. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — grass flat on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Snook, Mangrove / gray snapper.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin
TX - Adolph Thomae Jr. Park (Arroyo City)
grass flat · saved map · mid
9.0
Camp + ramp to LLM west side. Snook begin. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — grass flat on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Snook, Mangrove / gray snapper.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin
TX - Isla Blanca Park (South Padre)
grass flat · saved map · mid
9.0
Camp at island tip; launch to South Bay + Mexiquita. · flats · GULF ATLAS! - FISH
- — grass flat on a incoming tide is a classic match.
- — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Snook, Mangrove / gray snapper.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin
LLM mecca. Fred Stone County Park = camping + kayak launch o
grass flat · saved map · mid
9.0
LLM mecca. Fred Stone County Park = camping + kayak launch on the edge of the most famous flats water in Texas. · 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, Snook, Mangrove / gray snapper.
structurespinwade
LLM west side - Green Island / Rattlesnake
grass flat · saved map · mid
9.0
Arroyo Colorado feeds this. Adolph Thomae Jr. Park = camp + ramp. Snook start appearing this far south. · 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, Snook, Mangrove / gray snapper.
skiffkayakwadeflyspin

When

Incoming water
9.1
Mon 8:00 AM → Mon 10:00 AM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Outgoing water
9.1
Mon 9:00 AM → Mon 4:00 PM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Incoming water
10.0
Mon 4:00 PM → Mon 10:00 PM
Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.
Outgoing water
10.0
Mon 10:00 PM → Tue 5:00 AM
Moving water in the right part of the day.
Incoming water
10.0
Tue 4:00 AM → Tue 11:00 AM
Moving water in the right part of the day.

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 incoming (modeled — the NOAA gauge did not answer).
— Clear. Sky is workable.
— Wind 11 mph SSE. Castable. Sight-fishing is on if the sun is out.
— Waning gibbous moon — mid tide range. Sight water often prefers a moderate range and clean water over a huge spring.

Mangrove / gray snapper

Lutjanus griseus

8.4

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.

Redfish

Sciaenops ocellatus

6.6

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.

Speckled trout

Cynoscion nebulosus

6.6

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.

Snook

Centropomus undecimalis

6.6

Thermal window

—

Present, not peak. This tide stage (incoming) 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

—

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