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Texas · Sabine Lake

Redfish should be the day — flood the Neches and Sabine marsh, then the drains at Texas Point.

Brackish border estuary. Sabine and Neches river water, pass current at Texas Point, marsh drains after a blow.

  • ⚠ This brief is for 2027-12-11, not this morning. Wind is a forecast. Observed water versus the table is a today-only instrument.
  • ⚠ Texas flounder season is closed Nov 1–Dec 14. Catch-and-release only if you hook one.
  • Tide · modeled — NOAA 8770822 quiet
  • NDBC 42035 quiet
  • No salinity probe on this desk
  • River · USGS 08030500
  • Red-tide check failed — not all-clear
  • Sargassum check failed — not all-clear
  • Glass · modeled
  • Water temp quiet
8.3OF 10

Forecast

low confidence

Forecast brief for Saturday, December 11. Back to this morning

Morning line

Sabine 8.3 on Saturday, December 11. 13 mph SSW. Clear. YOLO day is Wednesday, August 26. Scores are 1–10, not a bite.

Mail it
-0.8-0.4-0.00.40.7LHLHLHLHSat 6 AMSun 6 AMMon 6 AMTue 6 AM
incoming · -0.36 ft · drag or hover for the clockModeled M2 clock — no NOAA gauge on this water. Not a buoy.

Wind

OPEN-METEO

NESW13MPH

From SSW · gust 17

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

29.94 inHg

1014 mb · no 3-hour change yet

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

Moon

96% lit

Waxing gibbous

spring range · 96%

Water

No gauge

Water

—

48°92°

Today’s range 1.1 ft

incoming

-0.36 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
No USGS 00480 well on this desk. Do not borrow another bay’s river.

River

USGS 08030500

705 cfs

Sabine Rv nr Ruliff, 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 8770822

  • LowSat 6:00 AM · -0.58
  • HighSat 12:00 PM · 0.55
  • LowSat 7:00 PM · -0.52
  • HighSun 1:00 AM · 0.51
  • LowSun 7:00 AM · -0.48

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 — and it is a copper day. waxing gibbous · spring · tide range ~1.1 ft · wind to 10 mph · 10% chance of rain

Stay or drive · Sabine vs GalvestonOpen 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.

  • Sabine Bank

    pass jetty · saved map · skinny

    8.7

    Shallow natural bank off Sabine Pass. APPROX - chart it. · 5 - NEARSHORE STRUCTURE (orange) - GET EXACT COORDS FROM TPWD · Texas coast — corridors, jetties, flats

    • — pass jetty on a incoming tide is a classic match.
    • — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout, Black drum.
    skiffkayakwadeflyspin

  • Texas Point / Sabine Pass

    pass jetty · public structure · deep

    8.1

    NOAA 8770822 sits here. Current, granite, shrimp. Fall flounder water before the closure.

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

  • Keith Lake Cut

    marsh drain · public structure · mid

    7.7

    Drain after a north wind. Redfish and trout stage where the marsh empties.

    • — marsh drain on a incoming tide is a workable match.
    • — In-play: Redfish, Speckled trout.
    skiffkayakspinfly

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

    9.5

    Sat 8:00 AM → Sat 2:00 PM

    Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.

  • Last light · outgoing

    9.5

    Sat 2:00 PM → Sat 8:00 PM

    Last light on outgoing water.

  • Last light · incoming

    7.5

    Sat 8:00 PM → Sun 3:00 AM

    Last light on incoming water.

  • First light · outgoing

    7.5

    Sun 2:00 AM → Sun 9:00 AM

    First light on outgoing water.

  • Incoming water

    9.5

    Sun 8:00 AM → Sun 3:00 PM

    Water is moving, but the clock is against you — heat or dark.

Long record · Sabine Lake · gill nets

89,946 fish in 1,528 overnight sets

Nets are out until April. Showing the spring record. 1986–2019. Random shoreline grids in this bay system — not a mark on your map. Border estuary. Sampling here started later than the mid-coast.

In the netsPer setSets
Redfish12.193%
Black drum6.777%
Speckled trout5.072%
Southern flounder0.323%
Sheepshead0.215%

Late file (2015–2019): Redfish 9.9/set · Black drum 7.1/set · Speckled trout 6.0/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 · Sabine Lake · dock counts

4,275 fish on 2,047 interviews

Low-use dock (Nov 21–May 14) 1991–2023. Public ramps and wet slips in this bay system — the bay they launched from, not a honey hole. Border estuary. Sampling here started later than the mid-coast.

Across the dockPer tripWith fish
Speckled trout3.244%
Redfish0.624%
Red snappergulf7.564%

Late file (2019–2023): Speckled trout 1.6/trip · Redfish 0.4/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.

  • Sabine Pass Battleground State Historic Site

    TPWD / THC historic site — public ramp

    Texas Point / Sabine Pass. Ramp and jetty water. NOAA 8770822 is the clock.

    Official source

  • Walter Umphrey State Park / Pleasure Island

    TPWD-listed launch · Port Arthur

    Sabine Lake side. Marsh drains and lake edges from here.

    Official source

  • Cameron / Calcasieu Point

    Cameron Parish / LDWF

    SW Louisiana beach. Parish rules shift. Calcasieu Pass is the next throat east.

    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 8770822 Texas Point, Sabine Pass did not answer).
  • — Clear. Sky is workable.
  • — Wind 13 mph SSW. Work the leeward shore. Fly gets harder.
  • — Waxing gibbous moon — spring tide range. Marsh and passes usually want the extra current of a spring.
  • — No USGS 00480 well on this desk. Do not read another bay’s river as this water.

Black drum

Pogonias cromis

8.4

Thermal window

—

46°88°

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

Texas: 5/day, 14–30 in. One over 52 in allowed as part of the bag.

Redfish

Sciaenops ocellatus

6.6

Thermal window

—

48°92°

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

—

44°90°

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.

Southern flounder

Paralichthys lethostigma

2.3

Thermal window

—

46°88°

Closed to harvest — still swims, do not keep. Present, not peak. This tide stage (incoming) matches how they hunt.

Texas: 5/day, 15 in minimum (verify Outdoor Annual). Closed Nov 1–Dec 14.

Jack crevalle

Caranx hippos

4.8

Thermal window

—

64°94°

Bycatch and beach noise — not the reason you came. Off-season here. 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 6 days. Texas bag and season roll every September 1. The stamp is the book we cited, not a license.