Texas Gulf Coast Fishing Report: Late Fall Trout and Reds Biting Strong

Artificial Lure here with your Gulf of Mexico, Texas fishing report for Wednesday, November 19th, 2025. Out on the water this morning, you’ll notice we’re moving straight into those classic late fall conditions. Here’s what you can expect if you’re putting a line out today. The weather is seasonably cool, with a chilly start—temperatures in the upper 50s at dawn, maybe warming into the upper 60s by noon under mostly clear skies. Light northeast winds are making for glassy conditions in the bays, and that’s prime time for some slick calm topwater action. As for sunrise and sunset, plan for first light right about 6:49 AM and sunset wrapping up at 5:23 PM if you’re near Galveston or Houston according to Tide-Forecast.com. Down in Corpus, sunrise is at 6:53 AM and sunset at 5:35 PM, so get an early start. Tide-wise, it’s a low tide day across much of the mid and upper Texas coast. If you’re around Houston-Galveston, look for a low at 1:44 PM at -0.24 feet and a high rolling in late at 10:01 PM at 1.71 feet. Corpus area anglers will see an early low at 7:40 AM, almost dead flat, then a solid afternoon high at 4:59 PM peaking over two feet. These outgoing tides are pulling bait off the flats and into the deeper guts, which means predators aren’t far behind. Fish activity has picked up with this week’s stable weather. According to recent Texas Fishing Tips reports from Captain Larry Bell, the action has been steady for speckled trout and redfish, especially where low water has those fish concentrating in the guts, drop-offs, and deeper channels. Grass and mud transitions near scattered shell have been especially productive. Anglers have been hauling in solid numbers of slot reds and good stringers of trout, with the occasional flounder mixed in, especially near the passes—keep in mind fall flounder runs are in full swing. Mesquite Bay, Aransas Pass, and the back lakes off the San Antonio Bay system are seeing trout stacked up, while redfish are cruising edges of nearby grass flats. Best lures this week: soft plastics in smaller profiles, around 3.5 to 4 inches. The Burner Shad by Down South Lures is catching fish in both white ice and bone diamond. Little John’s in white or “the truth” pattern are getting crushed, as are Pavlure Little Softies and Knockin’ Tail in natural and chartreuse hues. Folks are switching to slightly larger profiles late in the day. If you’re preferring natural bait, live shrimp under popping corks and mullet chunks are fooling both trout and reds. Flounder are hammering live mud minnows and finger mullet tight to structure. Hot spots: Don’t miss Holiday Beach and the scattered shell reefs around Copano Bay for trout, and the drains and creek mouths in Mesquite Bay for reds. Down south, the spoil islands and drop-offs near Port Aransas and the Boat Hole in Corpus are consistent producers on this moon phase. The rule of thumb right now is fish deep early, then slide up shallower into warming mud and grass flats once the s This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.