Late-Fall Gulf Fishing Heats Up for Thanksgiving

Artificial Lure here with your Gulf Coast Texas fishing report for November 25, 2025. It’s a fine late-fall morning on the Gulf, and if you’ve been waiting for a window, today is shaping up with comfortable temps, light breezes, and some active tides ahead. The Houston Ship Channel and Galveston Bay areas will see a sunrise at 6:54 AM and sunset at 5:21 PM. Today’s tides in Galveston swing from a low at 1:33 PM to a hefty high of 1.53 feet at 11:06 PM, according to Tide-Forecast.com. Tide4Fishing lists today’s tidal coefficient around 50—average, with gentle water movement—so you’ll want to target structure and deeper drop-offs as fish hunker down with the cooling water. Weather’s been steady with highs in the upper 60s to low 70s, and moderate north winds. That’s kept most inshore waters fishable, and Rockport-Copano Bay, down near Corpus, has been especially hot. According to Texas Fishing Tips, speckled trout are schooling on shell in 3-5 feet of water, while redfish patrol mudflats and mouths of sloughs. The cooler overnight air has them biting best from first light through mid-morning, so don’t hit the snooze. The Lower Rio Grande report from mid-month matches the trend: solid redfish and trout action, plus sheepshead on the rocks and jetties. A handful of bull reds were brought in over the weekend, most released, with slot drum filling boxes near grass lines and river mouths. The fall migratory push is on, so expect a steady showing of bait and predator species from now until the next cold front. Best baits right now: - **Live shrimp** under a popping cork is a consistent producer, especially for trout and sheepshead. - If you’re throwing lures, go with **soft plastic paddle tails** in morning glory or chartreuse, rigged on light jig heads. - After the sun breaks out, try switching to smaller **topwater plugs**—Bone Super Spooks and Skitter Walks have been drawing aggressive strikes in low-light and slick calm. - For flounder, which have been a bit slow with regulatory closures limiting retention, a **Gulp! Swimming Mullet** on a jig head dragged along channel edges and weedy pockets has done the trick for catch-and-release. Hot spots to try today: - **East Matagorda Bay**: Trout are thick around the Oyster Lake shoreline and in the coves near Bird Island. - **San Luis Pass**: Current coupled with tide swing attracts feeding reds and scattered black drum, especially around the bridge pylons. - For waders, the **north shoreline of West Galveston Bay** offers protected water and solid trout action around the reefs. If you’re heading south, Rockport’s California Hole and Estes Flats are both excellent this week—just rig a weedless paddle tail and bump through potholes. Offshore, weather windows have been rare, but when you get out, kingfish and snapper are close to the rocks and rigs. Today’s action should peak right around first light and again as the sun dips toward the horizon. Solunar tables have midday activity picking up but expec This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.