Updated: Thursday, September 17, 2026 · Next update: Thursday, September 24, 2026
This Texas Gulf Coast fishing report covers mid-September, when the fall pattern takes hold from Sabine Pass to Port Aransas. Bull reds are the lead target, piling up at every jetty system on the moving tide, while flounder start moving toward the passes and red snapper sit on nearshore structure inside state waters. Plan around the morning falling tide for the jetties, and use the calm mornings that light north and east winds bring to make the nearshore snapper run.
What’s Hitting
Bull reds are the headline. Expect fish from 30 to 45 inches stacked at the Sabine, Galveston, Freeport, Matagorda and Port Aransas jetties on the moving tide, and working the surf along the Bolivar and Padre beaches.
Red snapper sit on the nearshore rocks and structure in 40 to 60 feet inside the nine-mile state-water line, where the state season runs year-round. Flounder begin staging along channel edges and pass shorelines, with keepers at Sabine Lake, the Galveston jetties and the Port O’Connor cuts. Speckled trout are on the bay shell and the deep reefs in Galveston, Matagorda and Aransas bays, and Spanish mackerel and kingfish feed on the bait along the beachfront.
Where to Find Them
Fish bull reds on the channel side of the jetties and along the rocks at the ends, best on the falling tide, and in the surf guts along Bolivar Peninsula and Mustang Island. Target snapper on the nearshore rocks, wrecks and rigs in 40 to 60 feet off Freeport, Matagorda and Port Aransas. Work flounder along channel edges, jetty rocks and bayou mouths on the outgoing tide. Trout sit on the mid-bay shell reefs in Galveston and Matagorda bays early and on the deeper reefs of Aransas Bay.
Tides & Conditions
Moderate tides between the moons give a single daily swing, and the morning falling tide is the best jetty window. Expect surf and bay water in the low to mid-80s and easing at night. Light north and east winds lay the Gulf down for nearshore runs and clean up the surf. Expect scattered afternoon storms.
Tackle & Tactics
- Jetty bull reds: cracked blue crab, cut mullet or live croaker on a 7/0 circle hook with a fish-finder rig and enough weight to hold in the current, on a heavy spinning or conventional outfit with 50-pound braid.
- Snapper: live pinfish, cigar minnow or a chunk of squid on a heavy bottom rig, or a vertical jig over the structure.
- Flounder: live mud minnow or finger mullet on a Carolina rig, or a Gulp on a jig head dragged slowly along the bottom.
- Trout on the shell: live croaker or shrimp under a popping cork, or a soft plastic on a jig head.
Local Intel This Week
Use the Galveston Yacht Basin and Texas City Dike ramps for the Galveston jetties and bay, and the Surfside and Freeport ramps for the Freeport jetties. Use the Matagorda Harbor ramp mid-coast, and the Port Aransas public ramps and Conn Brown Harbor in Aransas Pass serve the coastal bend. Shore anglers can reach bull reds from the Galveston and Port Aransas jetties and the Texas City Dike. Snapper rules differ between state and federal waters. Check current state and federal regulations and seasons before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
At the jetties, fish the eddy behind the rocks on the falling tide rather than the open channel. Bull reds hold on the down-current side of the jetty where the water swirls back and bait gets disoriented, and a crab sitting in that slack water gets picked up fast.
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