UTERWinter fishing in Texas means big speckled trout on the Laguna Madre, redfish stacked in the marsh drains on low tides, and black drum and sheepshead piling onto the jetties to spawn. Inland, blue catfish chase shad on the big reservoirs, the white bass run starts in February and TPWD stocks rainbow trout from late November into March.
The fishing doesn't stop when the fronts start coming through. It changes. Fish move to deeper water, feed in short windows and hit slower baits. This guide goes through what's biting from December to February on the upper coast, the lower coast and in fresh water, using the same month-by-month calendars the Fish Scouter forecast scores from.
How winter changes the Texas coast
Three things decide a Texas winter day: the front, the tide and the sun.
- The front. A blue norther drops water temperature fast and blows water out of the bays. The day before a front is often the best day of the week. The first two days after one are often the worst, until the wind lays down and the sun warms the shallows again.
- The tide. North wind plus winter's low tides empties the marsh. Reds and trout leave the shallow grass and sit in bayou mouths, drains, guts and channel edges, where the water stays a few degrees warmer.
- The sun. Dark mud on a shallow flat warms faster than sand or deep water. On a calm, sunny afternoon after a cold morning, that mud can hold the best fish in the bay. That's why so many trophy trout come at 2 p.m., not at dawn.
Slow everything down. Winter fish will eat, but they won't chase a bait across the flat.
Upper coast: Galveston Bay to Sabine Lake
From Matagorda to Sabine Pass, winter is about marsh drains, deep shell and the jetties. Our upper Texas coast calendar has these as the main winter fish:
Redfish
In January, low winter tides push reds into the bayou mouths and deep marsh drains of East Bay and Sabine. Fish a soft plastic slowly on the bottom where a drain dumps into deeper water. In December, the marsh lakes go clear and low, and on calm days you can sight-cast them. The big north-wind tides of late fall and early winter stack reds at the drains on the outgoing water. More: upper Texas coast redfish by month.
Speckled trout
February is big-trout time on the upper coast. Wade the mud-and-shell of East Bay and West Bay and work a slow-sinking twitchbait on the warm afternoons. By March, as the water climbs back toward 65°F, the big fish move onto the shell reefs and start hitting topwater. See upper coast trout.
Sheepshead and black drum
Sheepshead are on the Galveston jetties and the bay bridges from December. They spawn at the Galveston and Sabine jetties in February and peak in March. Use a small hook, a piece of shrimp or a fiddler crab, and fish tight to the rocks. Big black drum gather at the Galveston jetties and in the Sabine Pass channels in February, and the run peaks in March in the Galveston ship channel and at San Luis Pass. Cracked blue crab on the bottom is the bait. See sheepshead and black drum on the upper coast.
Sand trout
Sand trout (silver seatrout) are the winter fish for the bait-bucket crowd. They hold in the Galveston ship channel and the deep holes from December through April. Drift a shrimp-tipped jig along the bottom. Upper coast sand trout.
Lower coast: Port O'Connor to the Rio Grande
The lower Texas coast is where Texas winter fishing gets its reputation. The Lower Laguna Madre is shallow, clear and lined with mud and grass, and it grows some of the heaviest speckled trout on the Gulf.
Trophy trout on the Lower Laguna
Our calendar marks trout at peak on the lower coast in December, January, February and March. In January, the big trout sit on the muddy, sun-warmed flats from Port Mansfield south. Wade quietly and fish a slow plastic or a Corky. In February, the big females feed on the warmest afternoons over mud and grass. March is still big-fish time, with topwater on the warm, calm mornings. In December, look for them in the deep guts and channels on cold days and back on the mud on warm ones. See lower coast trout by month.
Redfish on the flats
In January, reds sit in sand pockets and potholes on the Lower Laguna flats and feed on the warm afternoons. Slow down a gold spoon or a shrimp tail. After each front in late fall, big schools work the Laguna flats, so follow the mud and the birds. Lower coast redfish.
Black drum and sheepshead
Black drum are all over the Lower Laguna in January. Fish crab or shrimp on the bottom in the channels. In February, big spawning drum stack at the Port Aransas and Brazos Santiago jetties and in the ship channels, and the run peaks in March in the channels and at the Packery and Mansfield passes. Sheepshead hold on every jetty, bridge and dock piling in January, then spawn on the Brazos Santiago and Mansfield jetties and at the Queen Isabella causeway. See lower coast black drum and sheepshead.
Snook in the cold
Texas has a small snook fishery at the southern tip. In winter, snook hide in the deep Brownsville ship channel and Brazos Santiago Pass to get through the cold. It is a niche fish here. Check TPWD's rules before you target them. See lower coast snook.
Texas coast winter calendar at a glance
| Fish | Upper coast (Galveston, Sabine) | Lower coast (Laguna Madre, South Padre) |
|---|---|---|
| Speckled trout | Around in Dec–Jan; big fish on mud and shell in Feb | Peak Dec–Mar; trophy season on the mud flats |
| Redfish | Peak in Dec; marsh drains and bayou mouths Jan–Feb | Around all winter; potholes and sand pockets on warm afternoons |
| Black drum | Peak in Dec; spawning run Feb–Mar at the jetties and ship channel | Peak in Dec–Jan; spawning run Feb–Mar at the jetties and passes |
| Sheepshead | Peak in Dec–Jan; spawning at the jetties Feb–Mar | Peak in Dec–Jan; spawning at the jetties Feb–Mar |
| Sand trout | Peak Dec–Apr in the ship channel and deep holes | Peak Dec–Mar in the deep channels |
| Flounder | Mostly gone to the Gulf after the fall run | Mostly gone to the Gulf after the fall run |
Flounder are the fish people ask about most in late fall. They stack at the passes in November on their way to spawn in the Gulf, and Texas closes flounder harvest for that run. Rules and dates change, so check the TPWD saltwater regulations before you keep one in late fall or winter.
Freeze events: know the refuge closures
Texas is one of the few places where winter weather can close fishing. When a hard freeze is forecast on the coast, TPWD can temporarily close a list of deep-water harbors, canals and channels where fish crowd to escape the cold. The fish in those spots are sluggish and easy to catch. During the February 2021 storm, TPWD used this rule coastwide. It isn't a closure of the whole coast, only the listed sites, and TPWD announces when they reopen. Check the TPWD freeze-events page before you fish a harbor or canal during a cold snap.
If you find cold-stunned fish or turtles, report them to TPWD instead of picking them up.
Freshwater: blue cats, white bass, stripers and stocked trout
Texas fresh water has its own winter calendar. These are the fish our Texas freshwater calendar ranks highest from December to February:
- Blue catfish. At peak from fall right through April. On Lake Tawakoni, Texoma and Richland-Chambers, winter blues follow the shad. In February, drifting cut shad on the flats is how the 50-pounders get caught. Texas blue catfish.
- Striped bass. Texoma stripers are at peak in January, on the river channel under the gulls. Fish live shad. They start running up the Red and Washita rivers to spawn in March. Texas stripers.
- White bass. In South Texas the run can start in January on the Nueces and the Frio when there's enough flow. February is the run proper, on the Colorado above Buchanan, the Brazos, the Trinity and the Neches, in water in the mid-to-upper 50s. Texas white bass run.
- Rainbow trout. TPWD stocks catchable rainbows from late November into early March, at tailwaters like the Guadalupe below Canyon Lake and the Brazos below Possum Kingdom, and at many city ponds. The fish don't survive a Texas summer, so this is a winter-only fishery. Check the stocking schedule. Texas winter trout.
- Largemouth. February brings the pre-spawn. On Sam Rayburn, Toledo Bend and Fork, big females stage on the creek channel bends, and lipless crankbaits over grass catch them. Texas largemouth.
- Crappie. Pre-spawn starts in February on the creek channels, on brush piles in about 15 feet. Texas crappie.
How to pick the day in a Texas winter
- Fish the day before the front when the pressure is falling and the wind is south. Fish feed before the change.
- Give it two days after a hard front. Then fish the warmest part of the afternoon on shallow mud next to deep water.
- Pick the bank out of the wind. A 20-knot norther blows out the west and south shorelines and leaves the north shore flat. Wade the lee.
- Watch water temperature, not air temperature. A 2°F climb on a sunny flat matters more than what the truck thermometer says.
This is the kind of call Fish Scouter is built for. It scores every species for your spot from the season, water temperature, tide and light, and reads the wind for each bank. The seven-day outlook (Captain plan) shows which day, and which shoreline, the next front leaves fishable.
Regulations
Bag, size and season rules for trout, redfish, flounder, black drum and freshwater fish change, and some differ by bay system. We don't print them here because they go out of date. Use the TPWD Outdoor Annual for saltwater and freshwater before every trip.
Fish Texas this winter with a forecast
Texas winter fishing rewards the angler who fishes the right afternoon on the right bank. Fish Scouter ranks what's biting on the Laguna, Galveston Bay or your home lake, hour by hour, and shows the tides, the water temperature and the week's wind. Try Fish Scouter free before the next norther.