Autumn Advantage: Gulf Coast Fishing Report for Texas, November 2, 2025

Good morning from the Gulf Coast—this is Artificial Lure, bringing you your local fishing report for the Texas Gulf on Sunday, November 2, 2025. We’re coming off a crisp front and the water temps are on the fall slide, which is jumpstarting that classic autumn bite from Galveston down past Packery Channel. Sunrise hit at 6:38 AM today, with sunset expected at 5:30 PM, giving us over 11 solid hours to work the bays and jetties. Tides are middling today, with a high early in the morning, dropping into a low mid-afternoon—right when those marsh drains and channels will be pulling bait and bringing hungry fish with ‘em, per the NOAA and Tides4Fishing charts. Anglers have been loading up on **bull reds** at the beachfront and jetties, especially during previous mornings’ high tides with fresh cut mullet on the bottom. These oversize brutes are still cruising, but it’s the slot reds and speckled trout that are heating up inside the bays. According to FishingReminder, the trout are concentrated over shell and near marsh drains in both East and West Bays, especially at first light or right as that tide starts moving again. Slicks and diving gulls mean schoolies are busting up balls of shad—topwaters like a Super Spook Jr. in bone or chrome have been getting hit at dawn on glassy water, while soft plastics in glow/chartreuse nail plenty after the sun’s up. Down around Packery Channel and Corpus Christi Bay, things are looking similar. The falling tide pulls flounder up shallow near mouths of bayous and marsh drains, making now prime time for slow-rolled paddle tails and live mud minnows. Surf action gets wild whenever the water’s “green to the beach”—Spanish mackerel, slot reds, and the odd jack have been taken on big silver spoons or swimbaits. For land-based anglers, points, harbor mouths, and channels like the Texas City Dike and Port Aransas ship channel are producing mixed bags—soak live shrimp under a popping cork for a shot at reds, drum, and big sheepshead. The best bait lately has been **live shrimp** under a popping cork, with soft plastics and spoons a close second. If you’re targeting black drum in the deeper holes or ship channels, bring fresh dead shrimp or blue crab. Topwater lures are catching early, but if you miss the first light, switch to paddle tail plastics or live bait. Recent catches have included bull reds to 41”, speckled trout running 16–21”, and flounder up to 20”. Black drum and the stray sheepshead round out the box, with reports from Saltwater Angler and Lone Star Outdoor News both spotlighting solid action as long as you follow the moving tides. Red snapper season is closed in federal waters, but Texas state waters remain open year-round as long as you’re inside the 9-mile line and following the four-fish bag, per RodnReelGirls. For hot spots this weekend, check the Galveston Yacht Basin area at daybreak—birds working the water mean trout and slot reds. Down south, Marker 37 Marina near Corpus has been a steady go-to, This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.