September Fishing Forecast: Trout, Reds, and Bull Reds on the Bite Along the Texas Gulf Coast

Good morning from the Texas Gulf Coast—Artificial Lure bringing you the latest on fishing conditions and hot bites around the Gulf of Mexico for Friday, September 12th, 2025. Sunrise today hit at 7:12 AM, and sundown’s lining up at 7:35 PM, giving anglers a solid 12 hours and change to get after it. For you tide-watchers, Port Aransas reported a low tide peaking at 12:54 PM and a big evening high tide rolling in at 11:02 PM. The tidal coefficient is considered high today, which means stronger currents and bigger water movement—ideal for fired-up game fish. Expect similar big swings along the entire upper coast, including Sabine Pass, where the tidal coefficient pushes up to 90 and higher as the day unfolds, making for lively underwater conditions, especially through the afternoon. Weather-wise, we’re sitting in classic late-summer pattern: muggy mornings in the mid-70s and warming into the mid-80s by midday, with a light southeast breeze around 10 mph and mostly clear skies. There’s just enough breeze to ripple the surface, but not enough to scatter bait or mud the waters. Fish are on the chew all over the bays and surf. Matagorda Bay anglers, as Bay Finatic Fishing Guide Service tells us, have enjoyed non-stop action on speckled trout and redfish—limits have been coming easy for those starting before the heat kicks in. Best times for bites right now are dawn and dusk, following that moving water on incoming and outgoing tides. Speckled trout are hitting live shrimp under popping corks, soft plastics in natural colors, and the flash of silver spoons. Early risers have been rewarded with trout averaging 16-20 inches, but some over 25 inches have been landed this week. Redfish are thick on the shallow flats and around marsh drains—especially where the outgoing tide pulls bait through. Best bets have been cut mullet or live shrimp rigged close to bottom, but Gulp! swimming mullets and paddle-tail plastics in new penny or chartreuse are also drawing big strikes. A couple of bruisers in the slot and a few over-slot fish have bent plenty of rods these last few days. South shoreline spots in East Matagorda Bay and near the Colorado River Mouth are doing the best—expect steady redfish action with bonus flounder and drum. Flounder are starting to show in better numbers near sandy drop-offs and creek mouths. Gulp! Swimming Mullet and mud minnows on a jig head put several fish in the cooler yesterday, with most flounder running a solid 16-20 inches. Black drum are hanging on channel edges and around deeper structure, and dead shrimp is the ticket. Most fish are in the 14-24 inch range—perfect for a fish fry. Up toward Freeport, the tides and water movement have made for stellar bites as well. September always marks a shift toward bigger numbers of bull reds at the jetties, and the last few days have seen some folks battling big reds on crabs or cut bait fished deep. Hot spots today—East Matagorda Bay, especially edges with oyster reefs and grassy ban This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.