Fishing Season: January 1 - December 31 (Prime: March 1 - November 30)

Gulf Coast - TX

Fishing Outlook & Conditions

Inshore Temp:

67

Offshore Temp:

76

Swan Point Landing's Tip of the Week

On calm, early to mid- day walks as water warm and sun gets higher, go to longer leaders (up to 12') to keep flyline's belly away from laid up, skinny water fish. Consider a 6 or seven weight for thin water strolls .. Try Slow, quiet top waters (deer hair, foam) on afternoon cruising fish on clean shorelines then grizzly seaducers with mono or small bead chain eyes w/ little to NO flash (size 2 and smaller) if they get picky.... move to larger tan, griz, ginger or gray seaducers fishing from skiff , proactively hitting potholes at end of your casting range The shallower the water, go less noisy on topwater retrieves, but keep them moving,try to mimic local mullet activity and movements.... Time to try larger topwaters / big seaducers/ clousers early over 2-3' grass flats near ICWW before sun gets high enough to sight cast, and floating grass kicks in, the same with East cut at Port Mansfield.. Try to stay with redfish that may have refused your first cast until they are out of range , they could forget your last ten casts and 20 seconds later, eat your fly, going away

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Map of Gulf Coast

Tide data

Tidal Conditions

Orvis-Endorsed guides nearby

Swan Point Landing Outfitters

5-Day Outlook as of 12/3/25

Mandatory Kill switch regs. in effect for TX boats, at faster than headway speeds since Sept. 2019. the 2024-2025 limits for speckled trout regulations remain in effect statewide in 2026, with 3 Trout allowed in a slot of 15" to 20" / day, with one of those fish allowed over 28" (starting 9 1 2024,) but PLEASE release ALL of these L to XXL's females, they are PRIME breeding stock help us rebound from 2021 freeze. please release big trout safely and quickly.... GO BARBLESS in '25! remember ALL large trout > 21" typically are breeding females, please release these fish , they are the ones with GREAT DNA!! . Operation Game Thief (800) 792 4263 Oyster Proposal to permanently close Middle Coast's Ayres, Mesquite and Carlos bays from oyster harvest passed unanimously with TPW 11/3/ 22.... Check Out new FlatsWorthy Video : " The Tipping Point" on TExas Oyster futures on the brink.... Please join FlatsWorthy!! 2025-2026 Texas South ZONE Duck Season second split resumes Dec. 13th thru Jan 25 2026 be aware of blinds, dogs, and decoy spreads cloudy and warming before Thursday PM front with rain and N winds to 15,more lNclouds light winds NW to NE before another front late weekend with rain clouds and N wind, coming to E early next week with more sun mid next week Tides look to stabilize with SE winds with Tides to normal and Full moon Fishing got really good when water dropped, but redfish lately being very picky , possibly overfed as they gorge on small shrimp hatches reds eating small tan/ white shrimp and wtd dark green crab flies and small brown shrimp hatch with small patterns / tan , try small top waters (Hair, cork or foam) on early AM nervous water, wakes, searching mode and crawling fish before sun gets up to sight-casting mode, Jackfish should be in big water, BC jetty, ship channels ,edges of flats and front beach with tarpon are likely in too (.....definitely) reports of good trout in thin water too, longer leaders with smaller flies, some good fish taken swimming over rays and trout hanging around redfish pod's edges.. , good trout on drifts and edges in P. Mansfield south with picky fish on spoils try tan kwans. small brown shrimp hatch getting single and podding reds to tail Snook /tarpon opps In Brownsville ship channel / South Bay a w/ 10' Sink tips , short leaders and large white/ chartreuse or black flies in the ship channel edges for snook and big trout on edges of spoils and ICWW use gentle CPR on the big girls please, as most trout over 20" are female

Techniques & Tips as of 12/3/25

Fish that were on baitfish in Winter / early Spring will be turning to small white and tan shrimp and small impressionistic olive and black crabs in Spring> May> September,, Go to longer leaders and 0X to 1X fluoro for fussy, white sand fish....consider small hair bugs (#1 to #6) and small poppers on crawling fish early and late * most trout over 21" are females, with big work do do since the Feb 2021 Freeze... please let 'em go!

Current Conditions as of 12/3/25

LLM Is hypersaline 125 mile long lagoon with skinny water grass flats and an eastern white sand shoreline up to a mile wide , sliced in two by the East Cut at Port Mansfield with access to Mansfield jetty and near inshore fish, Port Isabel and Port Mansfield offer jetty fisheries for snook and tarpon with summer/ fall front of gulf front beach fish available too after temps reach 75* thru late November..

Local Species Available January 1 - December 31 (Prime: March 1 - November 30)

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    Redfish

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    sea trout

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    snook

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    black drum sheepshead tarpon mackeral

Swan Point Landing's Recommended Fly Patterns

"Must-have" fly fishing patterns in descending order of importance:

Name: Colors: Size(s):
Kinky Muddler Chartruse Pur/bla 1/0
LG seaducers 5 ginger white chart 2/o-
small deer hair bugs white tan 2, 4
tan,black, and green crab flies black 2, 4
chart white snake fly N/A 2-4

Kinky Muddler

This attractive minnow fly pattern will attract lots of attention.

4.99

Item #3R82

Buy Now

Swan Point Landing's Recommended Gear

Description: About Gulf Coast

The upper Middle Texas coast includes, San Antonio and Espirito Santo bays/ Port O' Connor, south to rockport and N. Corpus Christi bay, The Lower Laguna Madre is a 125 mile long hyperdaline lagoon from the Land Cut, moving south through Port Mansfield and, ending at South Padre Island, known as the Texas Riviera on the Mexico border The LLM fishing in this area is know for its flats sand and grass flats averaging less than 3' deep The hypersalinity allows large speckled Trout and large numbers of redfish to flourish. Along the jettys (Port Mansfield and Boca Chica / SPI) one can catch Jack Crevalle( 10-35#) king & Spanish mackeral, and Tarpon (April to Thanksgiving) The Fat and Common Snook have made a strong comeback in these waters near Boca Chica jetty and the Brownsville ship channel ALL TEXAS GRASS FLATS NOW PROTECTED FROM PROPELLER SCARRING. IF YOUR BOAT CAN'T RUN IT/ STOP, LOOK TO GET BACK UP ON PLANE on a sand/ pot hole, W/0 GRASS DAMAGE PLEASE, DRIFT/ POLE IN AND DRIFT/ POLE OUT!

Nearest Airport:

Harlingen TX or Brownsville, TX

Bait Recommendations:

The dominant bait will be the small tan shrimp in Spring / summer months with mullet and crab and turns to mullet/ baitfish / sand eels patterns in the winter months. Olive kwan.-type seaducer crabs #4, along with mullet and pinfish patterns near drop-offs of the ICWW. Mud crabs in dark olive , size 4 are now common. FInger mullet 2" -4", (imitated w/ white and white / gray bead head seaducers, woolhead mullet #2 ) are prime targets on potholes, prop scars and drop-offs (blind casting situations)....try white and/ or chartreuse flies (easier to see at 30 to 60' intercept points) until fish refuse, then go to tan, tan/ white, GINGER, grizzly, BLACK and grays in all patterns and sink rates....