Texas fishing reports
581 reports for Texas — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
First fall signs reach Eagle Mountain Lake as bass shift with the season
North Texas Catfish Guide, working Eagle Mountain Lake near Fort Worth, describes the past few weeks as a classic late-summer grind: hot water, little wind, heavy boat traffic, and a stubborn 'ghost bite' that has anglers relearning how to read the softest of taps before setting the hook. The guide also reports sorting through a lot of small fish to find better keepers. That grind is starting to break, with the same report noting the first signs of fall settling in. Separately, Tactical Bassin's fall coverage has Largemouth Bass shifting with the season, moving up to chase baitfish around cover and in open water as the transition takes hold — a pattern that tracks with what North Texas Catfish Guide is seeing on the ground in North Texas. Together the reports point to the same story: summer's grip is loosening across Texas lakes and rivers this week.
Gulf snook feed up as Texas coast enters fall transition
Water on the upper and middle Texas coast is still running summer-warm. NOAA CO-OPS stations 8771450 and 8771341 both read 89.6°F this afternoon, with 8772471 close behind at 88°F. Per Sport Fishing Mag, that's the setup for the fall transition Gulf snook anglers wait for: as days shorten, snook begin feeding up before migrating toward winter holding water, and aggressive fish are eating swimbaits like a Mulletron or Diezel MinnowZ. Texas Fish & Game Magazine adds that snook aren't confined to the Lower Laguna Madre stronghold, noting the species shows up well north along the upper coast too, putting Galveston-Corpus water in play.
Snook Feed Up Ahead of Fall Migration in the Lower Laguna Madre
Water temperatures are holding near 88°F at NOAA CO-OPS stations 8775237 and 8779770 this afternoon, still squarely in late-summer range for the Lower Laguna Madre and South Padre. Per Sport Fishing Mag, Gulf snook are starting to feed up as the days shorten and fish begin staging toward their winter holding water, with swimbaits like the Z-Man Mulletron and Diezel MinnowZ drawing strikes from aggressive fish. Texas Fish & Game Magazine notes the Lower Laguna Madre remains the center of Texas snook fishing, though the species ranges farther up the coast than many anglers realize.
Largemouth bass shift into fall feeding mode across East Texas reservoirs
Largemouth bass across East Texas reservoirs are entering their fall transition, with nearby Lake Fork Trophy Bass reporting this week that a summer-long heat wave is finally breaking and fish are showing signs of shifting into autumn feeding patterns. That shift typically means fish moving off deep summer haunts and starting to key on baitfish as water cools, the same pattern Tactical Bassin describes for reservoirs entering the fall transition right now — bass schooling and feeding aggressively on shad as their preferred deep-water patterns start to fail.
Snook feed up for the fall transition on the upper Texas coast
Water is still running summer-warm across the Galveston-Corpus corridor, with this morning's readings at 88.7°F, 86.9°F, and 87.6°F across our three monitored stations. Sport Fishing Mag reports Gulf snook are feeding up as days shorten and fish stage for the move toward winter holding water, with swimbaits like Z-Man's Mulletron and Diezel MinnowZ working on aggressive fish. Texas Fish & Game Magazine notes upper-coast snook aren't confined to the Lower Laguna Madre, so anglers working structure north of the traditional range shouldn't rule out a hookup this month.
Fall transition puts Hill Country bass on the move
Texas' Highland Lakes chain (Travis, LBJ and Buchanan) is entering the fall bass transition that shapes fishing here through the next two months. Tactical Bassin's current fall coverage describes largemouth schooling tight to baitfish and sliding onto grass flats and secondary points as surface temperatures ease, and Fishing the Midwest's fall-pattern report frames the same shift: dying weed growth pushes baitfish, and the bass that follow them, toward the healthiest remaining green cover. Expect fish to keep moving from summer depth toward shallower staging water through the week.
Snook activity builds in Lower Laguna Madre as fall shift begins
NOAA CO-OPS readings near Port Isabel and Port Mansfield show water still holding at 87.4°F and 88.5°F, solidly summer-warm for the Lower Laguna Madre and South Padre corridor. Texas Fish & Game Magazine calls this stretch of coast "unquestionably the center of Texas snook fishing," and Sport Fishing Mag reports Gulf snook are starting to feel the shorter days and begin moving toward their winter holding areas as fall approaches, a transition worth watching closely over the next few weeks.
Snook bite builds as fall transition reaches Lower Laguna Madre
Water temperatures are holding in the upper 80s across Lower Laguna Madre and South Padre, with NOAA CO-OPS stations reading 87.6°F at Port Isabel and 88°F just offshore as of Tuesday evening. That warmth still favors the fall snook pattern building along this stretch of coast. Sport Fishing Mag notes Gulf snook are feeling the shorter days and starting to push toward winter holding areas, calling it one of the season's best windows, with swimbaits like Z-Man's Mulletron and Diezel MinnowZ drawing strikes from aggressive fish. Texas Fish & Game Magazine identifies the Lower Laguna Madre as the established center of Texas snook fishing, though the species ranges further up the coast than many anglers realize.
South Padre snook lean into the fall transition
Water at both CO-OPS stations near South Padre Island is reading warm, 86.9°F at station 8775237 and 87.1°F at station 8779770 as of this morning, still firmly summer-range for the Lower Laguna Madre. Sport Fishing Mag reports Gulf snook are starting to feel the shorter days and push toward their winter holding areas, calling the fall shift "one of the year's best fishing opportunities" for the species, with swimbaits like the Z-Man Mulletron and Diezel MinnowZ working well on aggressive fish. Texas Fish & Game Magazine notes the Lower Laguna Madre remains the established center of Texas snook fishing, which lines up with what's showing on the water this week.
Snook dial in as fall transition arrives in Lower Laguna Madre
NOAA CO-OPS readings show water still running warm at Port Isabel (86.7°F) and Port Mansfield (88°F) this week, typical late-summer holdover before the fall cooldown gets going. Per Sport Fishing Mag, Gulf snook are beginning their seasonal push toward winter holding water as days shorten — one of the better windows of the year for anglers working the Lower Laguna Madre and South Padre stretch. The piece points to swimbaits like the Z-Man Mulletron and Diezel MinnowZ working well on aggressive fish during the transition.
Bull Reds Turn On Along Galveston Beachfront and Jetties
Bull redfish have moved onto the Galveston beachfront and jetties in good numbers this week, per Capt. Shannon LaBauve's reports in the Galveston Daily News Reel Report — typical timing for this stretch of the calendar as big reds stage up along the surf line. Bay anglers found solid action too: despite winds that hampered efforts on the mid-bay wells, groups working the west shoreline of Galveston Bay reported big pulls on redfish, also per the Reel Report. Tournament traffic reflects the pattern — Surfside Marina hosts the Bastrop Bayou Ladies' Classic Saturday, with Capt. Mark's Bastrop Bayou Marina running the next leg of the Sunday Bayou Bash redfish series. One note for anglers heading out: Texas Fish & Game Magazine reports TPWD began fielding red tide reports off Galveston in early September, so check current advisories before planning a trip. No live buoy or gauge readings are available for this update — plan around forecast and local reports.
Fall stirs Texas catfish action as summer crowds thin out
Blue catfish anglers on Eagle Mountain Lake are grinding through what a North Texas Catfish Guide report calls "catfish daycare" — a glut of small fish crowding baits while clients sort for legal keepers. The same report describes a classic late-summer pattern: hot, nearly windless water and a subtle "ghost bite" that has forced anglers to sharpen their hookset timing on barely-there takes, with holiday and weekend boat traffic adding pressure on top of it. The charter also flags the first real signs of fall creeping into the pattern, which typically nudges blue catfish toward steadier, more predictable feeding as nights cool off. No fresh buoy or river-gauge readings came through for Texas lakes and rivers today, so treat water temperature and flow as unconfirmed until local reports catch up. Largemouth bass and white bass are due for their own seasonal fall shift soon, though no Texas-specific report has called that transition yet — worth watching over the next week or two. Check state regs before harvesting out of a busy, small-fish-heavy hole.