Reports & Forecasts: July 2025

Trinity Bay - East Bay - Galveston Bay | James Plaag
Silver King Adventures - silverkingadventures.com - 409.935.7242
James looks forward to the hottest time of the year, because he enjoys fishing around some of the deep structures in the bay for trout, also starting the yearly quest to locate and catch some of the silver kings. “Wading has been good lately in the bays. We’ve had a good topwater bite when the weather has been cooperative. Not catching any big trout, but numbers are really good, and it’s been fun catching them on top. As we get into July and the heat wave settles in, we start to do better out around the ship channel on lots of days. Out there, it’s necessary to have the underwater structures and humps well marked on the GPS, because catching depends on setting the boat up properly to allow for casting and retrieving lures properly, given the wind and current directions. When we get it right, the catching can be fantastic and sometimes the average size of the trout is much better than we find when we’re working other patterns. Of course, when winds fall silent and the waves offshore fall to low levels, we’ll be heading out into the Gulf, searching for pods of tarpon.”

Jimmy West | Bolivar Guide Service - 409.996.3054
With lots of freshwater flowing down the Trinity River, Jim says the fishing has really perked up in other places. “The fish are stacked up pretty good in upper parts of our bay system. Lots of guys are catching plenty around some of the spoil islands up that way, also along some of the rocky shorelines. Fishing has been good in East Bay too, since some of the fish that would normally be in Trinity have moved around the corner. Mostly, we’re catching best out in the middle, working slicks and rafts of bait around the mid-bay reefs. This is also a classic pattern for July. Wading can be great this time of year, especially in the surf. We’ve had a couple good runs along the beachfront already, and we usually have about as many or more fishable surf days in July as in any other month. People fishing the surf should remember a rule about the Bolivar Pocket; it will be good, as long as there’s NO EAST in the wind. Another rule to remember when there’s lots of freshwater flowing in is this: If the freshwater runs ‘em out of one place, it’ll stack ‘em up in another.”

West Galveston - Bastrop - Christmas - Chocolate Bays
Randall Groves | Groves Guide Service
979.849.7019 - 979.864.9323
Randall says things are shaping up nicely for a good run of summer fishing in the San Luis Pass area. “We have tons of bait in the bays right now, all kinds of food for the predators to key on. Lately, we’ve had a good topwater bite on a number of trips. I like to throw white ones and shiny ones, depending on what kinds of forage fish I see around me. A bunch of ribbonfish jumping around makes me want to get out a pearl Skitter Walk. The wading will probably be really good well into July, especially early in the mornings, with an incoming tide. We do well in the surf and on some of the main-bay shorelines in situations like that. Once we get into the real dog days of summer, the fishing is often better out of the boat, especially after mid-morning and/or when the tide is low or moving out. When we’re fishing deeper areas, we use slicks, rafts of bait and birds to figure out the best areas to fish. On some occasions, it’s possible to catch trout on topwaters from the deck of the boat, but Sand Eels work much better on average when we’re working that kind of pattern.”

Matagorda Bays | Capt. Glenn Ging - Glenn’s Guide Service
979.479.1460 - www.glennsguideservice.com
The fishing in Matagorda has been pretty good lately with the winds calming somewhat and the summer sun beginning to warm things up. This time of year I spend a bunch of time fishing deeper water out of the boat. Drifting deep shell and fishing other deeper structures are my main strategies in July. I’ll be drifting the deeper areas in East Matagorda Bay with soft plastics like Bass Assassin 5” Sea Shads and Down South Lures Southern Shads in natural colors, like Chicken On A Chain, Bone Diamond, Salt and Pepper, and Roach. I typically rig them on eighth-ounce heads this time of year. Live shrimp under Coastal Corks are a good option as well, since they attract the attention of all kinds of fish. Wading in West Matagorda Bay is always a good summertime plan for trout and redfish. We do best in the shallows around small shell reefs early in the mornings, better on the outer bars as the day heats up. Natural-colored soft plastics and smaller topwaters in chrome or bone are good bets during the summer heat wave. We’re hoping the winds will be light so we can get in the surf some more this month.

Palacios | Capt. Aaron Wollam
www.palaciosguideservice.com - 979.240.8204
Fishing has been great lately in our local bays and rivers. Trout fishing has been really good as the fish have moved into their summer patterns. Wading early and throwing topwaters over grass and sand in waist-deep water has been consistent, and as the sun moves higher, throwing Down South Lures soft plastics has been more productive. MirrOlure She Pups in green/chrome have been producing lots of blowups. Live shrimp fished three to four feet under popping corks are still producing well when winds allow us to work open water areas. The action for red and black drum has been good as well. On big tides, we’ve caught good numbers in the back-lakes over shell on live and/or fresh dead shrimp. The Tres Palacios River has been holding some good fish as well; we’ve been trolling the upper reaches of the river throwing three-inch white Gulp! shrimp under popping corks, focusing on any structures, like logs, rip rap and bulkheads. The surf should be productive soon, but we just haven’t had the right weather for it yet. After the first front, we should do well out there, starting off in the first gut, then moving out to deeper water as day wears on.

Port O’Connor | Lynn Smith
Back Bay Guide Service - 361.935.6833
Lynn says the fishing has been good lately in the Port O’Connor area, and he expects things to improve even more as summer settles in. “We’ve done well in the surf a few times already and should be able to get out there more consistently after about the 4th of July, when winds historically settle down quite a bit. Few things are more fun than running out into the surf and walking in with a topwater tied on the end of the line. We normally get plenty of blowups in the first gut and around the first bar early in the morning out there, then do better a bit farther from the sand as the sun climbs and temperatures rise. This month is also a good time to start targeting trout on some of the spoil islands near Indianola. The fishing can be great up there on some of the same days as it is in the surf, since light winds allow the water out in the middle of West Matagorda Bay to run clear. You don’t really need the same level of calm up that way as you do in the surf, though. Fishing around those humps can be really good when it’s moderately windy.”

Rockport | Blake Muirhead
Gator Trout Guide Service - 361.790.5203 or 361.441.3894
Blake said the fishing had been excellent in the Rockport area on trips he ran prior to giving this report. “We have been targeting redfish for the most part and, in the process of doing that, catching trout most everywhere we stop. I have been catching trout in places with good historical track histories, but which haven’t really been much good for the last few years. For me, this is encouraging. Seems our trout numbers have rebounded nicely after the low numbers following the freeze of ‘21. We’ve had a really good topwater bite on lots of trips recently. I’ve been throwing black and silver Skitter Walks mostly, but other guys are doing well on pink and silver ones, also on Spook Juniors. The reds have been liking soft plastics better. We’re catching them better on dark soft plastics than on bait, in fact. I look forward to a productive summer, using live croakers when we have to, catching plenty of fish on lures the rest of the time. It’s a good thing the trout are biting all over the bays. The area close to Cedar Bayou is closed to boats again, making it more of a hassle to fish over there.”

Upper Laguna Madre - Baffin Bay
Captain James Sanchez Guide Service - 210.260.7454
In July, hot temperatures and light winds will dominate the forecast, but fishing will remain productive for folks who account for the weather and adjust strategies and lure choices appropriately. With water temperatures reaching 90° by afternoon, the best bite will usually take place at sunrise on the edges of flats, shorelines and around spoil islands lying adjacent to deep drop-offs. In the morning, I like to target trout feeding over shallow potholes using a Mansfield Knocker or Texas Custom Double D. Redfish can be found staging along shorelines on the edges of grass flats, around some potholes or depressions. As water temperatures rise, fish will gradually move to areas closer to the drop-offs. Higher winds work in favor of anglers during the hot afternoons. Wind-driven currents help moderate water temperatures and increase oxygen levels. Such conditions create excellent feeding opportunities, as baitfish are pushed into deeper potholes found in waist- to belly-deep water. Soft plastics rigged on eighth-ounce jigheads work best in these places at times. KWigglers Ball-Tail Shads and Ball-Tail Shad Juniors both work well, as do Wig-A-Los, in colors like Bone Diamond, Mansfield Margarita and Plum/Chartreuse.

Corpus Christi & Baffin Bay
Capt. Chris Elliott’s Guide Service
captchriselliott@yahoo.com - 361.834.7262
When summer is in full swing on the Texas coast, it’s a great time to get out on the water. We’re starting out our days lately throwing a topwater up shallow on the flats, focusing our efforts in areas that have abundant signs on nervous bait. When the fish stop committing fully to the floating plugs, we often switch to slow-sinking twitchbaits like Custom Corkys, Double Ds and/or KWigglers Darters. We continue to work them like topwaters, walking the dog just under the surface. This is a great time of year to target redfish in super shallow water by sight-casting. Look for the redfish tailing or pushing wakes as they wander around on the flats searching for a meal. The best lures to throw at them are ones which can be cast a great distance without much effort, but which don’t make big splashes when they hit the water. I prefer to use a small paddletail rigged on a quarter-ounce jighead for this drill. Best bet is to key in on which way the fish is facing and make a cast just beyond its head, then drag the lure right in front of its face, as close as possible.

P.I.N.S. Fishing Forecast | Eric Ozolins
361.877.3583 - Oceanepics.com
Surf fishing with good water clarity has been on fire lately. The speckled trout bite is in full force, with many biting topwaters and others caught on soft plastics or slow-sinking twitchbaits. This is the time of the year when the bait-balls really start to materialize offshore, and on some afternoons they make it all the way to the beaches. The frenzies associated with the bait can involve jack crevalle, Spanish mackerel, skipjacks and tarpon. Throwing spoons or topwaters into the frays usually works well. Redfish are around in small numbers, but generally being replaced by skipjacks. Shrimp and Fish-bites thrown out mostly attract whiting or hardhead catfish, but pompano and drum can be caught on them as well. With shrimp season ongoing, many of the smaller blacktip sharks make their way offshore to chase the boats. Meanwhile, the hot stagnant nights will produce bites from some monster tiger, bull, and hammerhead sharks. This time of year our mantra is typically “go big or go home.” Smaller shark baits such as whiting will normally attract a scalloped hammerhead or a large ray. The mature southern and roughtail rays are in abundance in the shallows, feeding on crustaceans and small fish, also creating danger for wading anglers.

Port Mansfield, Texas | Ruben Garza | Snookdudecharters.com - 832.385.1431 | GetAway Lodge - 956.944.4000
Hot days and light winds are upon us. This means the jetty fishing is producing great results. Redfish, tarpon, king mackerel and jack crevalle are all cruising the shallows lying along the beachfront. When targeting any of these fish around the rocks, it’s important to rig with wire leaders, a must for dealing with the sharp teeth of these critters. Out beyond the jetties, smart anglers look for pelicans and gulls diving over bait, usually being hassled by jacks, sharks and kings. When fishing the LLM, most of us like to work the west shoreline this time of year. We find good numbers of small pods of tailing reds tight to the bank. They readily take weedless spoons and KWiggler paddletails on light heads. Mansfield Knockers in Sweet Heat and Ruby Tuesday work great to attract the attention of trout in water between knee and waist-deep. When they’re not blowing up, the trout like Ball-Tail Shads in colors like Mansfield Margarita, 801, and Plum/Chartreuse rigged on eighth-ounce jigheads. On the other side of the lagoon, plenty of redfish schools will be found in the Saucer area east of the cabins. Pods of mullet usually lead us to them.

Lower Laguna Madre - South Padre - Port Isabel
Aaron Cisneros | tightlinescharters.com - 956.639.1941
Fishing has been good so far this summer in the Lower Laguna Madre. Grass flats and sand bars lying along the Intracoastal Waterway in about three to four feet of water have held plenty of trout, and they’ve been pretty easy to catch. Z-man four-inch Big BallerZ in Troutcicle rigged with an Eye-Strike eighth-ounce Trout-Eye jighead jigged slowly along the bottom has been the most productive lure on most of our recent trips. Topwaters have been drawing lots of blowups early in the mornings when the bait is active and jumping. Single hooks are necessary to combat the grass floating on the surface. The redfish bite has been hot on shorelines, atop spoil islands, and on shallow flats with less than two-foot depths. Early in the mornings, the redfish bite small topwaters best, while small plastics rigged weedless have typically worked better during mid-morning. Z-Man MinnowZ in Bloodworm rigged on Texas-Eye Finesse eighth-ounce weedless jigheads retrieved with ample speed work best once temperatures rise with the sun. Gold spoons always work well to attract the attention of the reds. We look for tide levels to fall as temperatures rise, creating a need for anglers to be careful when navigating the bays.