Texas Gulf Coast Fishing Report: Halloween Spooks and Tricks for Trout, Reds, and Drum

Artificial Lure here, bringing you today’s fishing report for the Texas Gulf Coast this Friday, October 31, 2025. If you’re heading out this Halloween, you can expect sunrise at 7:39 AM and sunset at 6:45 PM along the South Texas coast—giving you just over eleven hours of daylight to get after them, and that magical first-light bite window is looking prime. Tidewise, we’re working with an **average to slightly increasing tidal coefficient** today, which means not too much swing in water levels, but still enough movement to keep things interesting. For example, Packery Channel near Corpus Christi shows a morning high at 9:02 AM around 0.6 feet, and a low at 10:00 PM at about 0.3 feet, making those midmorning and late afternoon periods the best tidal windows for action according to Tides4Fishing. Over in Houston/Galveston, expect high tide at 6:51 AM, a pair of moderate low and high wraps by midafternoon, and another low just before midnight, based on Tide-Forecast.com. Weather is sitting typical for late October—air temps in the mid- to upper-70s at first light warming into the 80s through the day, and water temps still holding in the low- to mid-70s in most bays. Wind has been laying a little low in the mornings, with a gentle southeast to east push building up by noon. These lighter morning winds are giving you a glassier surf and easier bay drifts, though things can get a touch breezy by midday. The fish are active as we glide through this classic fall pattern. According to KOGT’s latest report, Bolivar Peninsula and Sabine Lake are both producing “redfish, trout, and black drum everywhere,” and plenty of sand trout and croaker can be picked up, especially along jetties. Flounder are mixed in—note the season closes today, so check regulations before you commit to the flatfish. Sabine Lake reports speckled trout and ling at the rigs in 24-40 feet, while jetty rockpiles and inside channels are stacked with redfish, black drum, and trout on the move after this cool front. Live shrimp under a popping cork remains the top bait overall—nothing beats that shrimp sound with the current fall water clarity. Soft plastics in red shad, dark greens, and pumpkinseed, fished on 1/4 oz jigheads, are nailing specks and reds over shell. Five-inch paddle tails and jerkbaits like Z-Man Scented Jerk ShadZ or Strike King Shadalicious are hot for covering water and getting those explosive inshore hits. For deeper ICW or bay channel action, use quarter-ounce jigs with big plastics, or drop anchovy-tipped Carolina rigs for drum and whiting. If you’re itching for numbers, the inshore bite has been consistent: anglers are landing limits of slot reds and speckled trout along shell points, and solid catches of black drum and croaker on live or fresh dead shrimp, based on North Jetty Bait Camp’s latest word. Triple tail are still showing up in weedlines, best targeted with live finger mullet or shrimp free-lined near structure. Hot spots? Put these on your spooky-seas This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.