Texas Gulf Fishing Report: Trout, Reds, and Flounder Bites Heating Up

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Texas Gulf fishing report. Up and down the Upper Coast this morning we’ve got a light cool pattern, north to northeast breeze, clear to slightly green water in the bays, and a big December bite setting up. Tide-Forecast shows Texas City running a single strong tide today, with a higher water push in the early morning, easing off toward mid‑afternoon before building again this evening. Surfline’s North Padre and Tide-Forecast’s Corpus Christi charts show similar low‑in‑the‑morning, high‑in‑the‑evening patterns, so plan around moving water, not slack. Sunrise on the Upper Coast is right around 7:00 a.m., sunset near 5:20 p.m. according to Tide-Forecast, giving you a short, power‑packed window. Those first two hours after sunup and the last hour before dark are lining up with good solunar activity per FishingReminder’s Texas City forecast, so expect your best bite at dawn and again late afternoon into twilight. Inshore, speckled trout are stacked on channel edges and shell in 3–6 feet from Galveston Bay down through Christmas Bay and West Bay. FishingReminder’s Texas City report for December highlights trout on green water over shell with moving tide, and that’s exactly what locals are seeing: solid keeper boxes with some 18–22 inch fish mixed in, plus plenty of undersized schoolies keeping rods bent. Best producers: **soft plastics on 1/8–1/4 oz jigheads** in plum, opening night, and chicken‑on‑a‑chain, and **slow‑walked topwaters** right at gray light when the wind lays. Redfish are running the rocks and guts from the Texas City Dike to San Luis Pass. FishingReminder’s seasonal notes still ring true: work **gold spoons**, **paddle‑tail plastics**, or **live mullet** along wind‑blown structure. Slot reds have been coming in twos and threes, plus the occasional upper‑slot bruiser; if you see nervous mullet flipping against the rocks, drop a bait there and hang on. Flounder are finally picking back up in the deeper drains and sandy pockets off West Bay and Christmas Bay. Anglers are picking a handful per trip, mostly solid 16–20 inch fish, dragging **Gulp! swimming mullet**, **small curl‑tail grubs**, or **live mud minnows** tight to bottom on light jigheads. Slow and steady; if you think you’re creeping, slow it down more. Off the beach and nearshore Gulf, weather windows are giving boats a crack at bull reds and drum close to the jetties, plus snapper and sheepshead on nearshore structure when seas cooperate. Fresh **cut mullet**, **menhaden**, and **dead shrimp** on Carolina rigs or knocker rigs are the ticket. When the water’s green, free‑lined **live shrimp** will pull bonus trout and Spanish macks around the rocks. Best overall baits this week: - **Live shrimp under a popping cork** in the bays. - **Soft plastics** (paddle‑tails and straight tails) in natural or dark colors. - **Gold spoons** and **topwaters** early for reds and trout. - **Cut mullet, crab, and dead shrimp** on the bottom for This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.