Gulf Coast sunrise came at 7:25 this morning and the air’s got that autumn snap—low 70s at daylight, pushing into the low 80s by midday with a soft north breeze, skies mostly clear, just a touch of humidity hanging in. Water temps are running 84 to 87 degrees across spots from Galveston down to South Padre—great conditions for chasing fall fish as the days shorten and the mullet move.

Tides are starting low today, with a negative tide just before noon then pushing high overnight—South Padre hit low tide at 11:41 AM and will rise to nearly 2 feet by 10 tonight, so the late afternoon to evening window should really heat up, especially for surf and jetties. As every local knows, moving water around tide swings is prime time for gamefish.

Redfish are thick just about everywhere—bull reds at Port Aransas are running big, with oversize fish reported on cut crab and mullet from the jetties and surf. Slot reds are hot from Galveston to Corpus on live shrimp, soft plastics, and anything imitating a mullet. Spoons are getting thumped in deeper cuts and along grass edges.

Speckled trout are fair to good, especially in San Antonio, Matagorda, and East Galveston Bays. Folks are scoring steady keepers with live shrimp under popping corks and soft plastics—chartreuse with a little sparkle has been getting bit. Little croakers and piggy perch are tempting the bigger specs for those drifting oyster shell or fishing near creek mouths.

Flounder activity’s picking up as the water cools—live mullet and soft plastics fished slow along channel edges and marsh drains are the ticket, especially around Texas City and Bolivar. Look for those flatfish to stack up on outgoing tides the next few weeks.

Black drum and sheepshead are hitting dead shrimp and fish bites in the deeper channels and along pilings—nothing fancy needed, just fresh bait and patience. Mangrove snapper are still showing in numbers around Freeport and lower Laguna Madre, eager for a shrimp-tipped hook.

For lure tossers, top choices this week have been topwaters at first and last light for trout and reds, especially “bone” colored walk-the-dogs, plus gold spoons and paddle-tail soft plastics in root beer or new penny hues. For bait, nothing beats live shrimp, mullet, or cut bait for pulling the most bites.

If you’re looking for hotspots, try these:
- **Packery Channel** near Corpus Christi for slot reds and flounder on the outgoing tide.
- **Galveston East Bay reefs** for trout at sunrise—drift with popping corks and shrimp or bounce plastics over shell.
- The **Port Aransas South Jetty** for bull reds, flounder, and the occasional shark if you’re feeling feisty.

October on the Texas Gulf means boats and waders stacked up, but there’s plenty of fish to go ‘round. Keep an eye on birds working shallow, watch those tide turns, and if the wind lays down, get out and drift the flats—you’ll find bait and, with it, predators.

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