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Rockport & Aransas Pass

Rockport and Aransas Pass sit on a shallow, grassy system: Aransas Bay open to the east, Copano Bay behind it, St. Charles Bay tucked up by Goose Island, and Redfish Bay and the Lighthouse Lakes threaded with seagrass to the south. Cedar Bayou, the pass at the top end, has spent most of the last fifty years closed. This is drift-and-wade water, kayak water, and legally protected seagrass — lift the motor and pole.

RegionRockport & Aransas PassTide stationNOAA 8774770 RockportPiers listed5Jetties & passes3Reefs & wrecks6Record watersAransas Bay, Copano Bay (Aransas Bay), St. Charles Bay, Mesquite Bay (Aransas)Livebite score · spots · chart · Dock Talk
PiersJettiesReefs & wrecksSeasonsHistoryRecordsHazards

Piers & platforms

Copano Bay Fishing Pier (the old causeway) - closed

Old State Highway 35 causeway, Copano Bay between Rockport and Lamar

Two sections: 2,500 feet on the south side and 6,190 feet on the north side of Copano Bay. It was originally the State Highway 35 causeway; the middle section was removed in 1967 when a new, higher causeway opened to let larger ships through, and the remnants became a state park pier operated by TPWD from 1967. On 1 November 2005 TPWD transferred control to Aransas County Navigation District No. 1 under HB 2108, at which point a Texas fishing license and saltwater endorsement became required because it was no longer a state park. It was open 24 hours a day before closure, and featured on Texas Country Reporter in 2013. It was permanently closed in August 2017 after one section collapsed and inspections showed severe deterioration of the 80-plus-year-old structure. The cited cause is structural failure, not Hurricane Harvey — the closure predates Harvey's landfall on 25 August 2017 in the sourcing.

For fifty years the longest walk-out over Copano Bay. Now the standing warning about old causeway piers.

Goose Island State Park pier

Goose Island State Park, at the junction of St. Charles and Aransas Bays

The rebuilt pier extends 1,620 feet into St. Charles and Aransas Bay. Hurricane Harvey in 2017 tore off lighting fixtures, removed floorboards, cracked support structures and destroyed handrails; the pier reopened in November 2020, more than three years after the storm. No published rebuild cost. Target species from the deck are spotted seatrout, snook, red and black drum, mullet and flounder.

The longest working pier in the region and one of the few Texas piers where snook are on the official target list.

Rockport Beach Park piers

Rockport Beach, Little Bay, Rockport

Two fishing piers, plus a saltwater pool, five event pavilions, volleyball courts, playgrounds and a walking trail along Little Bay. It was the first "Blue Wave Beach" in Texas, recognized by the Clean Beaches Coalition. Parking is $10 daily; an annual pass is $40, or $20 for Aransas County residents. Hours are 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Sunday, and 6 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. Little Bay, the saltwater pool and the beach are tested for bacteria twice weekly, with results posted at TexasBeachWatch.com. Managed by the Aransas County Navigation District, (361) 729–6661.

Family water with two piers on it, and the only Texas beach with twice-weekly posted bacterial testing on this list.

Rockport Fishing Pier (Market Street)

1298 East Market Street, Rockport, TX 78382 - overlooking Aransas Bay and Rockport Harbor

Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with no admission charge. Handrails, lighting, trash cans, ample parking, handicap accessible, restaurants nearby. Managed by the Aransas County Navigation District. Species year-round are redfish, black drum, speckled trout, flounder and sheepshead, with September through February called out as the best window for redfish and trout. No published length, and no published account of its Harvey rebuild history.

Free, lit and never closed — the default night-fishing pier in Rockport.

Aransas County Navigation District facilities

Rockport, Fulton, Cove Harbor and the SH-35 Copano causeway

ACND operates Rockport Harbor at 911 Navigation Circle, Fulton Harbor, Cove Harbor at 121 Cove Harbor Dr N — described as the busiest boat launch in Aransas County - the 25-acre Rockport Beach, Veteran's Memorial Park, the Festival Grounds and a Copano Bay boat ramp on the SH-35 causeway between Rockport and Lamar. In total that is five public boat launches, fishing piers and two fishing jetties, two enclosed pavilions, a bilge-water reclamation center and 1,900 acres of dry and submerged land.

One district runs nearly all the public access in this region — worth knowing whose number to call.

Jetties & passes

Cedar Bayou

Between San Jose Island and Matagorda Island - connects Mesquite and Aransas Bays to the Gulf · Natural pass; restored and reopened 25 September 2014

Sealed since the 1970s by siltation and badly placed spoil, with dredging attempts going back to the 1930s. The restoration permit was signed by Aransas County Judge Burt Mills on 3 August 2011, and Cedar Bayou and Vinson Slough together reopened on 25 September 2014 at a cost of $9.4 million — CCA Texas put in $1.6 million alongside Aransas County, the Texas legislature, TPWD and the Texas General Land Office. Hurricane Harvey re-sealed the bayou with sediment within three years of the opening, with re-dredging estimated at about $3.5 million; dredging was underway again in June 2021 under J. M. Davidson, Inc., expected to finish 1 November 2021. Its current condition is not published here and should be checked locally before a trip: this pass shoals continuously and has closed entirely before.

Aransas Pass (the channel)

Between Mustang Island and San Jose Island, south of Aransas Pass town · Serious construction from 1879; jetties in place and deepwater channel to Harbor Island by 1907

USACE first studied the harbor in 1853. Construction began in earnest in 1879 after Rockport residents raised the funds and Congress authorized deepwater improvements the same year. The efforts of 1880 to 1885 failed outright. By 1907 jetties were in place and a deepwater channel reached Harbor Island — the pass that made everything south of here possible. The rock itself sits in the Port Aransas region; from the Rockport side this is the outflow that drives every tide in Aransas and Redfish Bays.

Lighthouse Lakes / Redfish Bay

Trail Park on the left of Highway 361 about five miles from the HEB in Aransas Pass · First Texas Paddling Trail, mapped 1999

Four loops: Cutters at 5 miles, South Bay at 6.7, Redfish at 6.8 and Electric Lake at 1.25; South Bay also launches from Crabman Marina. All five Texas seagrass species occur here across roughly 14,000 acres of nursery and forage habitat, and the targets are spotted seatrout, red drum and flounder. The trail is named for the 1857 Lydia Ann lighthouse on North Harbor Island. Redfish Bay State Scientific Area was designated in June 2000, covering 32,000 acres including 14,000 acres of submerged seagrass — about 50 square miles — with 34 designated cut points for boat access. Voluntary prop-up zones from 2000 to 2005 failed; a mandatory no-uprooting rule took effect 1 May 2006, and the legislature extended seagrass protection statewide in September 2013.

Reefs, wrecks & structure

Boatmen's Reef (MU-746L) nearshore reef

27°46.369' N, 96°58.287' W - 6 nm from Port Aransas - 60 ft

A sunken barge plus 46 concrete culverts. One of TPWD's seven nearshore reef sites within nine nautical miles of shore coast-wide, and the shortest run of the group from the Aransas Pass boat ramps.

Lonestar Reef (MU-770L) nearshore reef

27°41.519' N, 96°58.514' W - 10 nm from Port Aransas - 72 ft

Three barges on the bottom in 72 feet. Also counted among TPWD's seven nearshore sites inside nine nautical miles. Barge steel holds bait in a way bare sand does not, and this is the first stop worth a full drift.

Mustang Island Liberty Ship Reef (MU-802) liberty ship reef

27°34.074' N, 96°51.602' W - 18 nm from Port Aransas - 110 ft

Four Liberty ships plus sections, in 110 feet. The big-steel site for this stretch of coast and the standard snapper and amberjack run out of the pass.

Mustang Island 828 artificial reef

27°26.988' N, 96°45.705' W - 27 nm from Port Aransas - 165 ft

Four-pile jackets from MU-881, MU-828 and MU-831 reefed on one site in 165 feet. Deeper water, bigger fish, longer day.

Matagorda Island 712 artificial reef

27°49.972' N, 96°30.387' W - 29 nm from Port Aransas - 130 ft

The MI-712 deck structure in 130 feet. It sits between the Port O'Connor and Port Aransas fleets and gets run from both. TAMU-Corpus Christi monitors 10 to 12 reef sites in the Mustang and Matagorda area with divers and ROVs.

Historic wrecks in Aransas and Copano Bays wreck

No published inventory

No citable inventory of historic wrecks exists for Aransas Bay or Copano Bay, and none is invented here. The documented mid-coast wreck archaeology sits north of this region, at Pass Cavallo and in Matagorda Bay — La Belle and the 41CL92 assemblage. What this region does have is a drowned port town at El Copano and a collapsed causeway pier, both above water and both worth the drive.

Sources: TSHA - Copano

The year on this water

Jan-FebAransas Bay fishes year-round for trout and redfish, and the Rockport Fishing Pier calls September through February its best window for both. Winter is also sheepshead time on structure — the bay's fly-rod sheepshead record, 8.25 lb, came on 25 January 2015. Whooping cranes are on the refuge now; about 540 wintered in 2025–26.Mar-AprPeak season for redfish and speckled trout runs April through October. Water warms in the Lighthouse Lakes and the back lakes get fishable on a kayak. Copano's catch-and-release red drum record, a 33.00-inch fish, was an April catch.May-JunJellyfish season opens in May. Red snapper offshore runs June through August. The Aransas Bay record bull shark — 515.00 lb at 108 inches — was taken on 18 May 2007, and the bay's blacktip record on 14 May. Shark fishing on this bay is not theoretical.Jul-AugHottest water and the offshore reefs earn their keep: Boatmen's at 6 nm, Lonestar at 10, the Mustang Island Liberty ships at 18. Inshore, crevalle jack push bait on the flats — the bay record jack was a 30 July fish.Sep-OctSeptember through November is the offshore tuna and big-game window, and September starts the pier's best stretch for redfish and trout. Tripletail show on structure — the Aransas Bay record, 16.25 lb, came 2 September 2023, and Copano's 9.75 lb fish on 10 October 2024.Nov-DecCranes settle in, boats thin out, and the drift over grass gets easier as the water clears. Black drum start to bulk up ahead of the February spawn - the Aransas Bay record of 45.23 lb was a 9 February fish. Watch the seagrass rules year-round; they do not have a season.

Live scores for this region run on the Bite Map; seasons and limits on the season pages — never from memory.

A dash of history

1820s-1880s · El Copano

Copano was an abandoned port town on the northwest shore of Copano Bay in Refugio County. Contrary to legend the Spanish never formally established a port there; ships began anchoring at Copano Creek in the mid-1820s. Irish immigrants arrived in numbers in 1833–34, many dying of cholera contracted on the voyage. In 1834 a Mexican inspector called it "the deepest port in Texas." General Martin Perfecto de Cos landed there in September 1835, and Texans later fortified and supplied through it until March 1836. By 1852 the town had a dozen shell-concrete houses, stores, a school and three wharves, exporting cotton, hides and tallow. It thrived as a blockade-running port in the Civil War, then declined for lack of fresh water and rail and was abandoned by the 1880s.

Sources: TSHA - Copano

1856-1988 · The Lydia Ann light

The Aransas Pass Light Station was constructed in 1856 and first lit in 1857 — 68 feet tall with a 60-foot focal height. It was extinguished and delisted in 1952 when the pass shifted and a new light went in elsewhere. H-E-B chief executive Charles Butt bought it at auction in 1955 and restored it after hurricane damage; it was automated and returned to service in 1988, and it is the only Texas light station with an on-site caretaker. The Lighthouse Lakes take their name from it, and its original Fresnel lens still lies buried somewhere in the surrounding marsh.

1865-1886 · Packeries, then fish

Rockport was established just after the Civil War as a cattle-processing hub — William S. Hall built the first packeries in 1865. It incorporated as a town in 1870 and as a city in 1871, the year Aransas County was created. The Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company controlled 115,000 acres at its peak. When the Morgan Lines pulled out in 1886 the cattle industry collapsed and the town pivoted to fishing, boatbuilding and tourism — which is what it still does.

1874-1877 · Fulton Mansion

George W. Fulton built the house he called Oakhurst over three years, 1874 to 1877, on money made shipping cattle tallow and hides between Rockport and New Orleans. He had married Harriet Smith in 1840; her father Henry Smith was a Republic-era politician, and Fulton co-founded the Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company. The house is French Second Empire, with gas lighting, central heating and indoor plumbing with hot and cold running water — rare for this region at the time. After the Fultons' eighteen years it served as a private home, a restaurant, a trailer-park backdrop and a recreation center. TPWD acquired it in 1976 and the Texas Historical Commission took over management in 2008. It reopened after Hurricane Harvey repairs; no published reopening date is quoted here.

1879-1912 · Building a deepwater pass

USACE first studied the harbor in 1853. Serious construction began in 1879 after Rockport residents raised funds and Congress authorized deepwater improvements the same year. Efforts between 1880 and 1885 failed; by 1907 jetties were in place and a deepwater channel reached Harbor Island. Aransas Pass town celebrated in 1912 with the ocean liner Brinkburn, and records show 47,093 bales of cotton shipped in two weeks. The 1920 decision to develop Corpus Christi instead, and its 1926 opening, ended cargo shipping here.

1925-1945 · Shrimp and boatbuilding

Shrimping emerged in Rockport between 1925 and 1930 and was significant by the 1940s; T. Noah Smith, Sr. founded the Rockport Yacht and Supply Company in 1935. A 1919 hurricane had nearly destroyed the town first. Population went from about 1,400 in 1914 to over 10,000 by 2020. Down the bay, post-World War II improvements at Conn Brown Harbor supported the Gulf's largest shrimping fleet, with canneries and allied industry; Aransas Pass grew from 1,197 residents in 1910 to 8,138 in 2000.

1937-2026 · Aransas NWR and the cranes

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge was established 31 December 1937 on the Blackjack Peninsula, eight miles southeast of Austwell, bought from the St. Charles Ranch with migratory bird stamp funds. The initial purchase was 47,261 acres, expanded by 1993 to 54,829 acres on the mainland plus 56,668 acres on Matagorda Island. It supports the endangered whooping crane plus 320 other bird species and 37 mammal species on the Central Flyway. In the late 1980s it was losing about 25 acres of shoreline a year to erosion. About 540 cranes including at least 57 juveniles wintered in the roughly 190,250-acre primary survey area in 2025–26, against 557 the year before — a difference within the margin of error. Long-term growth has averaged 4.24% per year since 1938; roughly 50 birds remained when endangered species protections began in 1967, and the Aransas-Wood Buffalo population has now exceeded 500 for nine consecutive years. Eight cranes overwintered at Salt Plains NWR in Oklahoma in 2025–26, a first.

2011-2021 · Cedar Bayou, opened and closed

Cedar Bayou is the pass separating San Jose Island from Matagorda Island, connecting Mesquite and Aransas Bays to the Gulf. It had been sealed since the 1970s by siltation and badly placed spoil, though dredging attempts date to the 1930s. Aransas County Judge Burt Mills signed the permit on 3 August 2011, and the restored pass — Cedar Bayou and Vinson Slough together — opened 25 September 2014 at a total cost of $9.4 million, with CCA Texas contributing $1.6 million alongside Aransas County, the Texas legislature, TPWD and the Texas General Land Office. Hurricane Harvey re-sealed it with sediment within three years; re-dredging was estimated at about $3.5 million. Dredging was underway again in June 2021 under contract to J. M. Davidson, Inc., with expected completion 1 November 2021. The pass shoals continuously — never treat "open" as a permanent state.

The record book, locally

Aransas Bay's record book, updated 6 July 2025, is headed by something most anglers do not expect from a shallow grass bay: Randall Rickerson's bull shark of 515.00 lb at 108.00 inches, taken 18 May 2007. Below it: southern stingray by bow, 122.50 lb, Jeffrey Oltjendiers, 2 October 2024; black drum 45.23 lb, Elizabeth Russian, 9 February 2022, with the longest black drum at 56.25 inches to Gary Barclay, 16 June 2009; red drum 35.00 lb, Daniel Markey, 6 June 2006; crevalle jack 20.44 lb, Jimmy Adkinson, 30 July 2008; blacktip shark 17.50 lb at 47.00 inches, Johnathan Reed, 14 May 2007; tripletail 16.25 lb, Layton Chesser, 2 September 2023; and a fly-rod sheepshead of 8.25 lb to Cody Fisher, 25 January 2015. Copano Bay's list is notably thin — tripletail 9.75 lb at 22.25 inches, Lauren James, 10 October 2024; shrimp eel 0.75 lb at 24.33 inches, Tyler Vineyard, 18 January 2023; and a catch-and-release red drum at 33.00 inches to Scott Reeder, 25 April 2023 — with no junior-angler records currently listed. Mesquite Bay, the Cedar Bayou drainage, keeps its own TPWD record list, but its contents have not been pulled and no figures are quoted here. St. Charles Bay has no separate TPWD water body code located, so there is no published record list for it.

Aransas Bay

TPWD Water Body Records · pulled 2026-09-04 · live table at TPWD →

Weight Records · Rod & Reel · All-Ages

SpecieslbinDateAnglerBait / method
Catfish, Gafftopsail4.6323.38May 6, 2018Loy Daviscut shrimp
Drum, Black45.2342.00Feb 9, 2022Elizabeth RussianLive Mullet
Drum, Red35.0044.25Jun 6, 2006Daniel Markeycroaker
Flounder, Southern7.9524.00Nov 18, 2007Reymond Acostacut bait
Gag0.9411.75Sep 15, 2007Clifford Wiedmanjighead with Berkley gulp
Gar, Alligator75.50Jun 7, 2026Christopher Cremeenmul
Jack, Crevalle20.4441.50Jul 30, 2008Jimmy Adkinsonmullet
Kingfish, Southern1.1013.00Apr 16, 2005Mariechen Spiveylive shrimp
Ladyfish5.7028.75Sep 5, 2008Sharon Podrazalive shrimp
Lizardfish, Inshore0.8114.75Nov 1, 2016Ronald Thompsonassassin
Pigfish3.7512.00Nov 8, 1999Jon McIntyre
Pinfish1.3013.50Feb 26, 2022Matt MurphyShrimp
Puffer, Smooth0.5610.25Oct 8, 2011Karen Osborn
Seatrout, Sand1.3015.50Apr 16, 2005Mariechen Spiveylive shrimp
Seatrout, Silver1.2515.00Nov 24, 2006Brandi Hufflive shrimp
Seatrout, Spotted10.4430.00Dec 10, 2006Filip Spencerriptide
Shark, Blacktip17.5047.00May 14, 2007Johnathan Reedmullet
Shark, Bull515.00108.00May 18, 2007Randall Rickersonmullet
Sheepshead8.2521.50Jan 25, 2015Cody FisherFly Rod, fly:crippled crab
Snapper, Gray6.0022.00Jun 17, 2008Anthony Matamorospiggy perch
Snook, common3.1223.00Sep 12, 2006Filip Spencer
Toadfish, Leopard3.1316.31Jul 16, 1991Tanya Page Fain
Tripletail16.2526.50Sep 2, 2023Layton ChesserDead Shrimp

Weight Records · Fly Fishing · All-Ages

SpecieslbinDateAnglerBait / method
Drum, Black3.1319.13Mar 27, 2015Kelly W. Keithtutti fruity
Drum, Red9.6330.00May 22, 2000Paul Brown
Flounder, Southern5.3721.50Nov 5, 2008Rod Spiveyredfish bay nemo
Jack, Crevalle18.9038.75Jul 16, 2009Rob Burlingamebunny fly
Sheepshead8.2521.50Jan 25, 2015Cody Fisherfly:crippled crab
Tripletail8.6323.50Aug 15, 2011Charles (Chuck) Naiserseaducer

Weight Records · Bow Fishing · All-Ages

SpecieslbinDateAnglerBait / method
Flounder, Southern7.0923.75Jan 6, 2024Kyle Ardoin
Mullet, Striped3.3219.50May 18, 2012Joseph P. Trevino
Needlefish, Atlantic0.5021.00Mar 5, 2006Wayne Trammell Jr.
Pinfish0.509.50Aug 8, 2005Wayne Trammell Sr.
Sheepshead6.1022.00May 15, 2005Wayne Trammell Jr.
Spadefish, Atlantic2.6914.50May 7, 2006Wayne Trammell Jr.
Stingray, Southern122.50Oct 2, 2024Jeffrey Oltjendiers

Weight Records · Rod & Reel · Junior Angler

SpecieslbinDateAnglerBait / method
Drum, Black9.1225.25Nov 24, 2006Brandi Hufflive shrimp
Drum, Red18.8035.00Oct 20, 2004Nathan Gathrightlive shrimp
Flounder, Southern7.9524.00Nov 18, 2007Reymond Acostacut bait
Gar, Alligator44.0558.50Jun 8, 2026Mia A Giesbrechtmullet
Kingfish, Southern1.1013.00Apr 16, 2005Mariechen Spiveylive shrimp
Ladyfish4.9928.50Aug 14, 2005Clint Smithpiggy perch
Pinfish0.379.50Oct 1, 2005Tyler Johnsonshrimp
Seatrout, Sand1.3015.50Apr 16, 2005Mariechen Spiveylive shrimp
Seatrout, Silver1.2515.00Nov 24, 2006Brandi Hufflive shrimp
Seatrout, Spotted5.1423.25Jul 17, 2004Wade Greene IVbass assasin
Sheepshead4.4018.75Apr 16, 2005Mariechen Spiveylive shrimp
Snapper, Gray6.0022.00Jun 17, 2008Anthony Matamorospiggy perch

Weight Records · Fly Fishing · Junior Angler

SpecieslbinDateAnglerBait / method
Drum, Red3.5021.50Aug 14, 2004Albert ChapaSpoonfly
Flounder, Southern2.1316.75Aug 13, 2004Anthony ChapaCBF automatic

Weight Records · Bow Fishing · Junior Angler

SpecieslbinDateAnglerBait / method
Flounder, Southern3.2820.00May 18, 2012Cody A. Smith
Mullet, Striped1.8817.50Aug 8, 2005Wayne Trammell Jr.
Needlefish, Atlantic0.5021.00Mar 5, 2006Wayne Trammell Jr.
Sheepshead6.1022.00May 15, 2005Wayne Trammell Jr.
Spadefish, Atlantic2.6914.50May 7, 2006Wayne Trammell Jr.
Stingray, Atlantic1.2512.00Jul 30, 2006Wayne Trammell Jr.

Catch and Release Records (by length) · Rod & Reel · All Ages

SpecieslbinDateAnglerBait / method
Catfish, Gafftopsail21.00Aug 5, 2018Lance Profytbucktail
Drum, Black56.25Jun 16, 2009Gary Barclayshrimp
Drum, Red42.25May 28, 2017Austin Veldekenslive croaker
Seatrout, Spotted28.00Feb 5, 2011Michael Marquissand eel

Catch and Release Records (by length) · Rod & Reel · Junior Angler

SpecieslbinDateAnglerBait / method
Drum, Black42.00Dec 4, 2021Cooper CaseBlue Crab
Drum, Red42.25May 28, 2017Austin Veldekenslive croaker
Seatrout, Spotted28.00Feb 5, 2011Michael Marquissand eel

Copano Bay (Aransas Bay)

TPWD Water Body Records · pulled 2026-09-04 · live table at TPWD →

Weight Records · Rod & Reel · All-Ages

SpecieslbinDateAnglerBait / method
Drum, Red7.7027.00Oct 31, 2025Edmond J. M. Allenfinger mullet
Eel, Shrimp0.7524.33Jan 18, 2023Tyler VineyardDead Shrimp
Tripletail9.7522.25Oct 10, 2024Lauren JamesLive Shrimp

Catch and Release Records (by length) · Rod & Reel · All Ages

SpecieslbinDateAnglerBait / method
Drum, Red33.00Apr 25, 2023Scott ReederWhite Paddletail

St. Charles Bay

TPWD Water Body Records · pulled 2026-09-04 · live table at TPWD →

Weight Records · Rod & Reel · All-Ages

SpecieslbinDateAnglerBait / method
Tripletail4.3818.00Sep 12, 2023Matthew S. ValadezDead Shrimp

Catch and Release Records (by length) · Rod & Reel · All Ages

SpecieslbinDateAnglerBait / method
Drum, Black33.50Jul 22, 2023Brandon CaddellBlue Crab

Mesquite Bay (Aransas)

TPWD Water Body Records · pulled 2026-09-04 · live table at TPWD →

Catch and Release Records (by length) · Rod & Reel · All Ages

SpecieslbinDateAnglerBait / method
Drum, Black40.00Jun 10, 2022Patrick SchultheisLive Shrimp

Catch and Release Records (by length) · Rod & Reel · Junior Angler

SpecieslbinDateAnglerBait / method
Drum, Black40.00Jun 10, 2022Patrick SchultheisLive Shrimp

State records live on the Record Book. TPWD tracks water-body records only for the bays it names — the Gulf table covers surf, jetty and offshore fish alike.

Hazards on this water

Jellyfish season is May through October, peaking in late summer, with cannonball, Portuguese man o' war, blue button, moon jelly, sea nettle and pink meanie the species to know. Purple flags mean marine hazards. Rinse a sting with seawater, not fresh, then vinegar or baking soda and a hot-water soak. The seagrass rule is a legal hazard as much as an ecological one: uprooting seagrass has been prohibited in the Redfish Bay State Scientific Area since 1 May 2006 and coastwide since September 2013 — lift the motor, drift, pole or troll, and use the 34 designated cut points. In the Lighthouse Lakes back lakes, western diamondback rattlesnakes are present, and feral hogs use the spoil islands. Cedar Bayou shoals fast and closed entirely after Harvey, so never trust a static claim that it is open. And the Copano Bay causeway pier's 2017 section collapse is the standing reminder that old causeway structures on this coast degrade faster than they look. License rules for pier fishing are narrow and change - check TPWD directly, and check the season page for limits.

Coast-wide stingers, first aid and the flag system: Jellyfish, Stingers & Things That Hurt.

Elsewhere on the coast

Sabine / Port ArthurTwo granite arms off a Civil War pass, a four-square-mile oyster reef, and a man-made island.Galveston ComplexMiles of granite, the longest man-built fishing pier on earth, and a bay that feeds Houston.Freeport & SurfsideA paved jetty you can walk, a river that was moved on purpose, and Liberty ships on the bottom.Matagorda & SargentA river mouth with granite on both sides, two bays that fish nothing alike, and the only locks in Texas.Port O'ConnorTwo ways to the Gulf - a dredged ship channel and a natural pass - and a drowned town on the bay behind.Rockport & Aransas PassSeagrass, a pass that keeps closing, and 540 whooping cranes wintering behind the bay.Port Aransas & Corpus ChristiThe oldest jetties in Texas, a pier rebuilt six times, and the town that used to be called Tarpon.Baffin Bay & the Upper Laguna MadreA jetty system with the jetties scattered across the bottom and none of them marked.Port MansfieldA village of a hundred-odd people holding one of the most celebrated trout fisheries in America.South Padre & Port IsabelThe snook end of Texas: Brazos Santiago, a lighthouse, a causeway that fell, and the Texas Clipper.

Every figure on this page carries a source above it. Where a length, date or fee has no published figure we say so rather than guess. Corrections: support@ironjetty.com.