UTERJanuary
Trophy-trout wading on the Lower Laguna
Wade the muddy flats on warm afternoons with slow-sink twitchbaits; drum and sheepshead on the jetties and channels.
Port O'Connor to the Rio Grande
South Padre & Corpus Christi fishing
What's biting in South Padre & Corpus Christi in October: pompano, Spanish mackerel and snook at their peak, with tarpon, cobia and king mackerel around too. Fish Scouter's season calendar follows 37 fish here month by month, from Port O'Connor to Port Isabel.
The fall feed: bulls, trout under birds, flounder run
The Laguna Madre — the hypersaline, gin-clear lagoon behind Padre Island — plus Baffin Bay's rock reefs, the Aransas and Corpus Christi bays, the Land Cut, and passes at Port Aransas, Packery, Port Mansfield and Brazos Santiago. Wade-fishing country; the Gulf beaches of Padre run 100 miles.
Port O'ConnorRockportPort AransasCorpus ChristiBaffin BayPort MansfieldSouth Padre IslandPort Isabel
Updated
Now · October
The fall feed: bulls, trout under birds, flounder run
Birds over trout on the Laguna; drag mud minnows at the passes for flounder.
RedfishSpotted seatroutFlounderSnookSpanish mackerelPompano
This month here
From the season calendar, best firstPeakPeakPeakSpawningPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakPeakLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingLeavingAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAroundAround
Pompano
The fall run back through the surf.
Spanish mackerel
Feeding hard on the fall bait before they leave.
Snook
Big fall snook show again around Port Mansfield.
Redfish
Bulls in the passes and the surf; schooling slot fish on the flats as the first front cools the bay.
Spotted seatrout
Fall feed: trout under the birds on the Laguna and the Arroyo mouth.
Flounder
The run builds at Brazos Santiago and the Mansfield cut on the outgoing tide.
Jack crevalle
Bull jacks on the mullet run at the passes.
Whiting
Fall fish in the first gut.
Ladyfish
Sand seatrout
Wahoo
Wahoo on the deep rigs.
Blackfin tuna
Tarpon
The southbound run thins out ahead of the fronts.
Cobia
King mackerel
Tripletail
Sailfish
Blue marlin
Blacktip shark
Bull shark
Bonnethead shark
Atlantic sharpnose shark
Atlantic cutlassfish (ribbonfish)
Gafftopsail catfish
Tiger shark
Sheepshead
Mangrove snapper
Black drum
Red snapper
Greater amberjack
Yellowfin tuna
Swordfish
Little tunny (bonito)
Atlantic croaker
The water
The tide here
Diurnal, 0.5–2 ft
One high and one low most days and a small range — wind and fronts move more water than the moon. A moving tide matters twice as much here. Inside the Laguna Madre the tide all but disappears; wind sets the water level.
Structure that matters
Grass flatPass / inletChannel edgeBeach / surfFishing pierBridgeArtificial reefWreckOyster bar
After a cold front
Fronts blow the Laguna out and drop the water fast. Trout and reds slide into the deep guts, the ICW and the Brownsville ship channel; a hard freeze can stun fish on the flats — the state may close the bays after one. Fish the first warm afternoon after the wind lays down.
Month by month
What's happening, and what to throwFebruary
Big trout on the mud; black drum stack in the channels
Big sows on sun-warmed mud; spawning drum and sheepshead at Port Aransas and Brazos Santiago.
March
Black drum run, big trout, the first pompano
Cracked crab in the ship channels for big drum; sand fleas for pompano in the Padre surf.
April
Reds tail on the clearing flats; Spanish and cobia show
Sight-cast reds on the grass; watch the buoys and surf rips for cobia; first tarpon roll off South Padre.
May
Spawning trout, tarpon at the jetties, kings move in
Topwater trout at first light on the spoil banks; tarpon and snook at the Brazos Santiago jetties.
June
Green water to the beach: kings, tarpon, trout in the surf
Slow-troll ribbonfish for kings; wade the surf on calm days; snook in South Bay and the Brownsville channel.
July
Dawn trout, tarpon off the jetties, blue water offshore
Fish the first two hours; tarpon on calm green days; offshore for sails, mahi and blue marlin.
August
Peak heat: tarpon, bull jacks and early bull reds
Jetties and passes at dawn; deep guts and the ICW edges at midday.
September
Bull reds spawn in the passes; tarpon head south
Cut mullet on the jetties for bull reds; snook on the Mansfield jetties.
October · now
The fall feed: bulls, trout under birds, flounder run
Birds over trout on the Laguna; drag mud minnows at the passes for flounder.
November
Flounder stack at the passes; reds school the flats
Texas closes flounder harvest for the run — catch and release; reds on the flats after each front.
December
Winter sets in: deep guts, big trout on the warm days
Slow plastics in the guts and channels; mud flats on the warm afternoons between fronts.
Fish guides for South Padre & Corpus Christi
When, where and what to use, fish by fishAtlantic croakerAtlantic cutlassfish (ribbonfish)Atlantic sharpnose sharkBlack drumBlackfin tunaBlacktip sharkBlue marlinBonnethead sharkBull sharkCobiaFlounderGafftopsail catfishGreat hammerheadGreater amberjackJack crevalleKing mackerelLadyfishLittle tunny (bonito)Mahi-mahi (dolphin)Mangrove snapperPompanoRed snapperRedfishSailfishSand seatroutSheepsheadSnookSpanish mackerelSpinner sharkSpotted seatroutSwordfishTarponTiger sharkTripletailWahooWhitingYellowfin tuna
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