Warm Water Keeps Redfish, Snook Active on Texas Gulf Coast

What's biting

What's next

Afternoon high tides line up within about an hour of each other across the three monitored stations (roughly 4:53-5:43 PM CDT), compressing the best moving-water window into early evening for the next few days.

The new moon's bigger tidal swing should push more bait through creek mouths and drains on that incoming push, and that's typically when redfish and snook key in hardest. If the warm water readings hold, expect the jerk-bait bite Salt Strong described to keep working on the move toward those afternoon highs rather than at the bottom of a slack tide.

Worth planning a trip around the next few afternoon high-tide windows rather than fishing all day; TPWD's proposed rule changes for flounder and redfish tags, reported by Texas Fish & Game Magazine, are also worth a look before harvesting this fall.

Context

Water in the low 80s is on the warm side for mid-October on the middle and upper Texas coast, where the seasonal cool-down usually starts nudging redfish and snook deeper into bayous and warmer backwaters by now. The late heat likely means both species are still spread across open bay flats rather than pushed into typical late-fall holding areas.

Snook, which are cold-sensitive, should benefit from the extended warm stretch, while redfish activity typically builds through October regardless. Check current TPWD regulations before keeping fish this season.