November 15th Gulf of Mexico Fishing Report: Reds, Trout, and Offshore Action Heating Up

Good morning, Texas anglers—this is Artificial Lure with your November 15th Gulf of Mexico fishing report, coming to you local and straight. We’re canning this early with a sunrise at 6:44 AM and sunset rolling around 5:26 PM, so there’s a nice, long window to get lines wet today. The tides are rolling steady: low tide at 6:31 AM, rising to a 1.6-foot high at 1:04 PM, and dropping off again at 7:17 PM according to Tides4Fishing for Freeport. Midday current movement looks solid—tide reports always say pay attention to that push if you’re chasing action. Weather’s in your corner too. National Weather Service says we’re sitting with light south winds, 5 to 10 knots, and mild seas at 2 to 3 feet out of Freeport to Matagorda. That means almost anyone can run out, and bay water temps are seasonable—clearer and cooler, which can fire up the bite. Later today, a breeze might pick up in the afternoon but nothing too wild yet, so get your casts in early. Let’s talk about the fish. This is the prime window for redfish and speckled trout in the bays and close to jetties. Recent reports from Lone Star Outdoor News and local guides say slot reds have been thick at the Bolivar Flats and around the south shoreline of West Bay. The jetties at Galveston and the surf on Matagorda Peninsula are both producing, too. Most boats coming in off the water this week are putting three to four keeper reds and just as many legal specks on ice per angler. Flounder catches are still decent in the guts along the marsh, especially coming out on the falling tide. Don’t overlook offshore action. The federal snapper season’s still open until November 21st, so now’s the last call to boat a few nice reds before it shuts down in deep waters. Recent offshore trips out of Port O’Connor and Freeport have put up good numbers of snapper, along with some scattered kingfish near oil rigs—best on long drifts with live or dead pogies. For baits, it’s a classic November shuffle. If you’re wading or running shallow, soft plastic paddletails (white or chartreuse) on a 1/8-ounce jig do the trick for trout, and Gulp shrimp bounced slowly over shell is deadly for reds. Live shrimp under popping corks keep producing, especially around marsh drains, while finger mullet or crab chunks are top for soaking hooks on deeper channels for bull reds. Offshore, drop down squid or cigar minnows for snapper, or troll spoons for kings. Hot spots today? If you’re fishing close, do not skip the Galveston Causeway bridge lights at first light, or run out to San Luis Pass and work the drop-offs. For wade anglers, the flats from Jamaica Beach east toward Snake Island Cove have been holding fish at first light. Want to get offshore? The Freeport Liberty Ships reef is holding snapper, and the Matagorda nearshore rigs have been crowded with kings and an occasional mahi in the bluewater edge. Fish are feeding up ahead of these cold fronts so the next several days look prime. Don’t forget, as water temps steadily d This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.