Updated: Thursday, June 11, 2026 · Next update: Thursday, June 18, 2026
This Texas Gulf Coast fishing report covers mid-June, when the bays settle into full summer swing. Speckled trout are the lead target on the grass flats, guts and spoil banks of the Laguna Madre, Baffin and the mid-coast bays, with redfish tailing the flats and tarpon starting to show at the passes. Heat is the condition to plan around: the better trout feed early, so the productive window shrinks toward the first two hours of daylight.
What’s Hitting
Speckled trout lead the bay fishery, with topwater at first light and soft plastics under the sun both working.
Redfish tail on the flats and work the shorelines and back lakes, eating cut bait, soft plastics and gold spoons. Slot reds are reliable, and bull reds show around the jetties and passes.
In the surf, green water on calm days brings trout, redfish and Spanish mackerel to the beaches, with pompano and whiting on the bottom. Tarpon begin to show along the beachfront and around the passes. Offshore, red snapper season keeps the fleet busy over the reefs and rigs, with kingfish, ling (cobia) and mahi in the mix and mangrove snapper stacking on nearshore structure.
Where to Find Them
Concentrate on structure, not open bay bottom: the jetty rocks, the guts in the surf and the grass and rock structure in the bays.
Count the surf guts before you commit: the second gut generally holds trout in the early morning, and the third holds the better fish once the sun is up. In Baffin Bay, the fish sit tight to the rock structure and are not chasing.
Tides & Conditions
Plan around light southeast wind in the mornings that builds through the afternoon. Storms are more of a factor on the upper coast than the lower. Climbing bay water temperatures push the trout feed earlier, shrinking the best window to the first two hours of daylight.
Jetties stay viable later in the day on a moving tide, so shift there when the flats shut down.
Tackle & Tactics
Wade fishing is the most effective way to work the flats in summer, and the surf guts are the underrated part of the fishery. Work each gut thoroughly from the beach outward instead of pushing straight to the deepest water you can stand in.
- Bays, first hour: topwater, worth the early start.
- Bays, after sunup: a soft plastic on a light jighead or a live croaker under a cork.
- Baffin: slow down dramatically and work the rocks methodically.
- Jetties: heavier gear for tarpon and bull reds, with a bait in the current seam on the outgoing tide.
Local Intel This Week
The 61st Street ramp in Galveston and the Texas City Dike put you on the upper coast bay systems and within reach of the jetties. Farther south, the ramps around Fisherman’s Wharf in Port Aransas serve the Aransas Pass jetty system, and Bird Island Basin on the Laguna Madre is the launch of choice for the Upper Laguna flats.
Shore anglers get excellent walk-on access at the Galveston north and south jetties and along the Texas City Dike, both productive for trout, reds and Spanish all summer. Check current state and federal regulations and seasons before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
Watch for a green tide in the surf. When the water goes from brown to clear green all the way to the beach, go: trout and reds move into the first and second gut and feed within easy casting range of anyone standing waist deep. That window may last only a morning, so plan around surf color.
Planning a trip to Texas Gulf Coast?
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