South Padre is fishing the full summer spread this week. In the Lower Laguna Madre, speckled trout are working the grass flats and guts, with topwater at first light and soft plastics producing through the day. The better trout have come early before the heat pushes them to the deeper grass and channels.
Redfish are tailing on the flats and working the shorelines and back lagoons, eating soft plastics, cut bait, and gold spoons. The slot reds have been reliable, and bull reds are showing around the jetties and the Brownsville Ship Channel as summer sets in.
Snook are around the jetties, passes, and channel structure — a southern-Texas specialty — and tarpon are beginning to show along the beachfront and around the jetties, an exciting early sign of the summer run. Both offer outstanding light-tackle and live-bait action for those who target them.
Offshore and around the jetties, the red snapper season has boats busy over the reefs and rigs, with kingfish, ling (cobia), and Spanish mackerel also in the mix. Mangrove snapper and sheepshead are stacking on the jetty rocks and structure.
Beat the South Texas heat with early starts and watch the afternoon sea breeze and storms. The Laguna trout and redfish bite should stay strong through June, and the jetties are worth a shot for snook and the building tarpon run.