Coastal Bend fishing conditions
Pick a bay system for live wind, tides, bite windows, the marine forecast, Gulf waves and radar.
Corpus Christi Bay
Big open water close to town. Corpus Christi Bay and Nueces Bay fish best on light to moderate wind, with trout over shell and grass and reds pushing the shorelines and the causeway rocks.
Open conditions →Padre Island, Laguna Madre & Baffin Bay
Clear, skinny water and grass flats from the JFK Causeway south through the Upper Laguna Madre to Baffin Bay, home of Texas's trophy trout. The Laguna barely has a tide, so wind and water level matter more than the tide clock.
Open conditions →Port Aransas, Aransas Pass & Redfish Bay
The Coastal Bend's busiest fishing town. The pass, the jetties and the ship channel bring Gulf species inside, while Redfish Bay and the Lighthouse Lakes give you protected sight-casting water.
Open conditions →Rockport, Fulton & Copano Bay
Aransas, Copano and St. Charles bays give you lots of protected water close to the ramps. Oyster reefs, marsh drains and grass shorelines hold reds, trout and black drum year-round.
Open conditions →Port O'Connor & Seadrift
The north end of the Coastal Bend. Espiritu Santo and San Antonio bays, the back lakes along Matagorda Island and the Matagorda jetties offer some of the best wade fishing on the coast.
Open conditions →How to read these pages
Each area opens with a quick verdict based on the live wind and any NWS advisory: under 10 knots is a great day, 10 to 15 knots is normal, 15 to 20 knots means fishing protected water, and over 20 knots keeps small boats in. It's a planning aid, not a safety call.
New to reading the water? Start with how to read wind and tides.