The View: July 2026
July is really the first month we expect to get in the surf on a regular basis. And truth be told, we need the surf in July. It’s hot, tides are low, and the ebb and flow of currents seem to produce a different attitude within the fish compared to East and West bays.
It's important to try and fish the surf the first day it greens up and flattens out. It's been my observation that by the third day of a green surf the trout become tougher to catch. Predators like sharks, mackerel, huge redfish, and tarpon find the clear shallows and try to find an easy meal.
Yes, all these fish eat speckled trout. We prefer they eat all those shad, pogies, mullet and shrimp roaming the first gut, but specks sometimes get caught in the fury.
July is normally about southwest winds that push dry, blistering air off the Mexican desert and give us arid days while sucking water out of the bays and draining tides from the shorelines.
With tides low and water temperatures feeling like bath water, a change in fishing tactics is in order. Water clarity can certainly become an issue. If we can find streaky water – off-colored water with hints of green streaks – we feel like we can find fish to catch.
Though winds do dip below 10 knots this time of year, weak tides often do not allow bays to clear up, especially when water temperatures are in the upper 80s, and tides are running two feet below normal. When the water gets around 85°, it takes the bay a little longer to clear. That's nothing new for July - we deal with it every year.
Those low tides congregate fish in deeper guts. All those redfish that have been hanging out tight to the shorelines in June, end up schooling in the middle of East Bay. Often, we catch more reds than trout while drifting 4-5 feet of water out in the middle. If you happen to see a slick you better fish it.
While wading, I like to be somewhere around the pass or jetty. Tides are going to be strongest around the pass. I like to work the grass beds within sight of Port O'Connor. Fish there love a Super Spook Jr. or She Pup, and plastics like Bass Assassins, Down South Lures and MirrOlure Soft Dines.
Our bays are in the best shape I can remember in years. The first half of 2026 has seen great catches, even in windy conditions. It is so encouraging to see all the 2–4-pound fish that are being caught in both East and West Bays.
Attitudes are changing and hopefully more folks will get on board with the “Keep only a few if you must and release the rest.” I am grateful for a customer base who cherish our estuaries and want to do everything they can to be good stewards of our waters. Catch and release is cool; still, there is nothing wrong with keeping a few fish to eat.
Please take care of our natural resources. Pick up your trash, be good neighbors, treat others with respect and let’s all be good Americans.
Happy Fourth of July!
