Flounder close on November 1 and do not reopen until December 15, two weeks after the rest of the coast, so a Texas flounder trip in the first half of the quarter is catch and release. Red drum, speckled trout and sheepshead stay open all winter, and red snapper may be kept in state waters all year. Inland it is crappie and white bass on the reservoirs, and in a normal winter TPWD stocks rainbow trout from Thanksgiving week into community fishing lakes and the Guadalupe below Canyon Dam.
What to fish for in early November
The coast and the lakes run on different clocks. On the bays a winter is a run of fronts and the warming days between them, the season for one heavy speckled trout rather than a limit of small ones. Inland the East Texas reservoirs give crappie, the prairie and Hill Country lakes white bass and hybrids, Texoma its striped bass, and the Guadalupe below Canyon Dam becomes trout water for as long as the stocked fish last.
Spotted Seatrout
Feeds less often and on bigger meals, which is why the winter wade is made for a single large fish, on the warming afternoon after a front.
Where. Mud and shell bottoms that hold the afternoon's warmth along the shorelines of Baffin Bay and the Laguna Madre and in the back lakes, and the deeper guts beside the flats after a front.
The spotted seatrout waters we forecast Water Forecast Galveston Bay Best Sun, Nov 15, A+Today's forecast Matagorda Bay Best Thu, Nov 5, A+Today's forecast Port Mansfield Best Sat, Nov 7, A+Today's forecast Redfish (Red Drum)
Follows the water out of the shallowest marsh and back again, and is easy to find on a low winter tide because there are only so many places left to go.
Where. Channels, bayou mouths and the deeper edges of the flats on a blown-out tide from Sabine Lake to the Lower Laguna, then back up into the marsh as the water returns.
The redfish (red drum) waters we forecast Water Forecast Sabine Lake Best Tue, Nov 10, AToday's forecast Texas City Dike Best Fri, Nov 13, B+Today's forecast Rockport Best Thu, Nov 5, B+Today's forecast Sheepshead
Gathers on rock and pilings through the cold and spawns there late in the quarter, when the jetties fill with fish.
Where. The jetties at the passes, the Texas City Dike and the rock along the ship channels, tight to the stone.
The sheepshead waters we forecast Water Forecast Port Aransas Best Tue, Nov 10, A+Today's forecast Crappie
Bunches up on deep cover and is the dependable winter fish on the East Texas lakes, often hanging well off the bottom over the brush and timber.
Where. Brush piles and standing timber on the creek channels of Sam Rayburn, Toledo Bend, Lake Fork and Livingston, and the city lakes around Dallas and Fort Worth.
Rainbow Trout
A stocked winter fishery that lasts only while the water stays cold and the fish are not all caught, starting in late November and best in the weeks after each stocking.
Where. The Guadalupe below Canyon Dam, reached through parks and leased stretches since much of its bank is private, and the community fishing lakes.
What changes soon
The next six weeks of this report's calendar for Texas.
- Tue December 15Flounder reopen in Texas, five a day of at least 15 inches.
In the last two weeks
- Wed November 4Last day to comment on Texas's fishing rules clean-up, which states that personal bag limits apply on a guided trip; the Parks and Wildlife Commission meets on the 4th and 5th to adopt it.
- Sun November 1Flounder close in Texas until December 14, and in Alabama for the whole of November.
Every date for Texas from November to February (6)
- Sun November 1Flounder close in Texas until December 14, and in Alabama for the whole of November.
- Wed November 4Last day to comment on Texas's fishing rules clean-up, which states that personal bag limits apply on a guided trip; the Parks and Wildlife Commission meets on the 4th and 5th to adopt it.
- Tue December 15Flounder reopen in Texas, five a day of at least 15 inches.
- Thu December 31Lake Texoma licenses bought in 2026 expire at midnight.
- Fri January 1In Gulf federal water, scamp, black, yellowfin and yellowmouth grouper close until July 1, and gray triggerfish until March 1.
- Sun February 28Last day of the gray triggerfish closure in Gulf federal water.
This week's fishing reports
This report covers the season. For what was caught this week, read the people who report on this water.
Texas lost the report that carried it. TPWD's weekly report gave every bay and most big lakes a dated entry with a water temperature all last winter, and it has been on hold since February; the team that produced it relaunched it independently in September as the Texas Angler Report, by email and text, with no public archive. What remains with proven dates is the Galveston County Daily News Reel Report every day, Lone Star Outdoor News every other Friday, Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine's monthly guide columns along the coast, and Bob Maindelle's Sunday column for Belton and Stillhouse Hollow. Sabine Lake, Corpus Christi, Sam Rayburn, Toledo Bend, Lake Fork, the Dallas-Fort Worth lakes, the Highland Lakes, Falcon and the Guadalupe trout water have nobody.
- The Galveston County Daily News Reel ReportCapt. David Dillman
- Lone Star Outdoor News fishing reports
- Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine, Reports and Forecasts
- The View from Matagorda, Texas Saltwater Fishing MagazineBink Grimes
- Mid-Coast Bays with the Grays, Texas Saltwater Fishing MagazineGary Gray, Shellie Gray
- Wayne's Port Mansfield Report, Texas Saltwater Fishing MagazineWayne Davis
- South Padre Fishing Scene, Texas Saltwater Fishing MagazineErnest Cisneros
- Hooked Up with Rowsey, Texas Saltwater Fishing MagazineDavid Rowsey
- Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine featuresChuck Uzzle
- Killeen Daily Herald fishing columnBob Maindelle
Where to fish in Texas, area by area
Each water links to its live forecast. The engine outlook in these areas was generated November 3, 2026, for the 14 days from that date; good hours are the hours at or above a B+.
The upper coast, Sabine Lake to Freeport
Sabine Lake · Galveston Bay · Trinity Bay · East Galveston Bay · West Galveston Bay
Big, shallow, brackish bays behind Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston Island, fed by the Sabine, the Neches and the Trinity, with oyster reefs, marsh drains and ship channels cut through them. The water is stained more often than clear and its salinity rises and falls with the rivers. The Texas City Dike runs miles out into the bay, and the dike, the jetties and the channels are where fish go when a front empties the shallows.
Who reports here. The Galveston County Daily News ran Capt. David Dillman's Reel Report on every day of last winter, from Galveston Bay and, through its correspondents, as far as Freeport and Lake Conroe; it is the one daily voice on the Texas coast. Sabine Lake has none of its own: TPWD's weekly entry and KOGT's reprint of it stopped in February, which leaves Chuck Uzzle's monthly magazine column.
Engine outlook
- Best: Sun, Nov 15, A+13 good hours79F measured Nov 3 at Eagle Point, Galveston Bay tide stationbest run 7h
- Best: Tue, Nov 10, A11 good hours76F measured Nov 3 at Port Arthur tide stationbest run 6h
- Best: Fri, Nov 13, B+13 good hours78F measured Nov 3 at Galveston Pier 21 tide stationbest run 13h
The middle coast, Matagorda to Corpus Christi
East Matagorda Bay · West Matagorda Bay · Port O'Connor · Espiritu Santo Bay · San Antonio Bay
A chain of bays behind Matagorda, San José and Mustang islands, saltier and clearer than the upper coast, with seagrass flats, shell reefs and quiet back lakes. The passes to the Gulf at Port O'Connor and Port Aransas tie it together, and much of it is fished on foot, wading the flats and the shorelines rather than drifting them.
Who reports here. Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine's monthly guide columns cover Matagorda and the bays around Port O'Connor and Seadrift, and Bay Flats Lodge posted about once a month last winter. Nobody local publishes a dated report for Rockport, Port Aransas or Corpus Christi: the Port Aransas paper's dates cannot be read, and the Caller-Times only reprinted TPWD.
Engine outlook
- Best: Thu, Nov 5, A+12 good hours82F measured Nov 3 at Port O'Connor tide stationbest run 6h
- Best: Tue, Nov 10, A+12 good hours78F measured Nov 3 at Port Aransas tide stationbest run 12h
- Best: Thu, Nov 5, B+10 good hours80F measured Nov 3 at Rockport tide stationbest run 5h
The lower coast, Baffin Bay to South Padre
Upper Laguna Madre · Baffin Bay · Lower Laguna Madre · Port Mansfield · South Padre Island
The Laguna Madre is a long, shallow, very salty lagoon behind Padre Island with almost no river flowing into it, so the water is clear over grass and sand. Baffin Bay opens off it to the west, remote and lined with rocky reefs, and is fished for big speckled trout. Towns are few and far apart: Port Mansfield reaches the Gulf through a cut channel, and South Padre and Port Isabel sit at the southern end.
Who reports here. Three monthly magazine columns cover the Upper Laguna Madre and Baffin Bay, Port Mansfield and South Padre, each written by a guide who also filed TPWD's entry for that water, and the Reel Report reaches Baffin and the Lower Laguna through correspondents. Baffin Bay is left out of the outlook below: no tide station lies within range, so the engine would score it as fresh water.
Engine outlook
- Best: Sat, Nov 7, A+13 good hours75F modeled from weather, no gaugebest run 6h
- Best: Sat, Nov 7, B+11 good hours83F measured Nov 3 at Port Isabel tide stationbest run 6h
The East Texas lakes
Sam Rayburn · Toledo Bend · Lake Fork · Lake Livingston · Lake Conroe
Big reservoirs in the pine woods, flooded over standing timber and grown up with grass: Sam Rayburn on the Angelina and Toledo Bend on the Sabine, shared with Louisiana, and Lake Fork, managed for big largemouth. Livingston on the Trinity and Conroe north of Houston are open water by comparison, and Caddo Lake on the state line is a cypress bayou.
Who reports here. Sam Rayburn, Toledo Bend and Lake Fork lost both their weekly reporters within three months: TPWD's report went on hold in February, and Matt Williams, whose East Texas Fishing Report gave the level and water temperature lake by lake every week, retired in May. Toledo Bend generates as needed in winter, with no published schedule.
Engine outlook
- Its best day in this outlook has passed.
- Best: Sat, Nov 7, A+12 good hours74F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 6h146 cfsat Neches Rv nr Rockland, TX17 mi away
- Best: Sat, Nov 7, A+12 good hours71F modeled from weather, no gaugebest run 6h2 cfsat Palo Gaucho Bayou at FM 2784 nr Milam, TX9 mi away
The North Texas lakes
Lake Texoma · Ray Hubbard · Lewisville · Richland Chambers · Cedar Creek
Wide prairie reservoirs around Dallas and Fort Worth and on the Red River, with little timber and long open fetches that a north wind turns rough. Lake Texoma, shared with Oklahoma, holds striped bass that spawn in its rivers and sustain themselves; the city lakes fish for white bass, hybrid stripers, crappie and catfish as much as for largemouth.
Who reports here. Texoma, Ray Hubbard, Lewisville and the other Dallas-Fort Worth lakes had TPWD alone last winter, apart from Williams's entries for Cedar Creek and Richland Chambers. Oklahoma's wildlife department reports Texoma weekly, but its page holds only the current week.
Engine outlook
- Best: Sat, Nov 14, A+14 good hours70F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 14h
Central Texas and the Hill Country
Lake Travis · Lake Buchanan · LBJ · Belton · Stillhouse Hollow
Clear, deep, rock-walled reservoirs in limestone country. The Highland Lakes step down the Colorado above Austin, Belton and Stillhouse Hollow lie to the north, Possum Kingdom on the Brazos and Canyon Lake on the Guadalupe. Their levels follow drought and flood rather than a calendar, and the open water fishes for white, hybrid and striped bass.
Who reports here. Bob Maindelle's Sunday column in the Killeen Daily Herald reports Belton and Stillhouse Hollow every week, with measured water temperatures, and is the one dated report for any lake here. TPWD was the only other voice last winter, and LCRA posts the lake levels on the Colorado every day.
The Guadalupe River below Canyon Dam
Guadalupe River below Canyon Dam
A cold release from the bottom of Canyon Lake keeps the river below the dam cool enough to hold stocked rainbow and brown trout through the Texas winter. Cypress-lined, with riffles and long pools, its flow is whatever the dam is releasing, and much of the bank is private, so access runs through parks, crossings and leased stretches.
Who reports here. Nobody publishes a dated fishing report for the trout water, and TPWD never did: its weekly report has no entry for the river in any year since 2021. The live numbers are Guadalupe River Trout Unlimited's temperature sensors, the Corps of Engineers' release from Canyon Dam and the gauge at Sattler. It is held out of the outlook below because the nearest thermometer is a spring on another creek.
The South Texas reservoirs
Falcon · Choke Canyon · Amistad
Brush-country and border reservoirs: Falcon and Amistad on the Rio Grande, Choke Canyon on the Frio. Drought can drop them for years and a flood refills them over dry land, and the largemouth fishing follows that cycle, best when rising water floods the brush. Amistad, in canyon country, is clearer and deeper than the other two.
Who reports here. TPWD was the only voice for all three last winter, so nobody reports them now that its weekly report has stopped.
Engine outlook
- Best: Thu, Nov 5, A+13 good hours78F modeled from weather, no gaugebest run 13h
West Texas and the Panhandle
Lake Meredith · Lake Alan Henry · Greenbelt Lake · O.H. Ivie Lake · E.V. Spence Reservoir
The reservoirs of the Panhandle and the Concho Valley, Meredith on the Canadian north of Amarillo, Alan Henry below Lubbock and Greenbelt at Clarendon, and around San Angelo, O.H. Ivie, Spence, Twin Buttes and Nasworthy, with Brownwood to the east, bass, crappie, catfish and white bass water whose level rises and falls with the drought.
Who reports here. TPWD's weekly report carried these lakes last winter, each with a rating, the water and the lake level, until it went on hold after its edition of February 25; that week two of them sat more than 44 feet below pool.
Engine outlook
- Best: Mon, Nov 9, A+12 good hours69F modeled from this lake's own seasonal curvebest run 12h
The rules from November to February
What changed this time
- New since August 3, 2026: a license buyer 17 or older must show identification, and a foreign resident can no longer buy a license online. A visitor from abroad buys in person, at a retailer.
- TPWD's weekly fishing report, by lake and by bay, has been on hold since the week of February 25, 2026. Its past reports stay online, and nothing replaces it on the department's site.
- Federal water: private-angler red snapper were still open on October 5, two a day of at least 16 inches, with no closing date set; TPWD announces the closure before the allotment is reached. Federally permitted charter boats stopped keeping red snapper on October 26, and greater amberjack and gag are closed for the winter.
- Pending: a clean-up of the fishing rules goes to the Parks and Wildlife Commission on November 4 and 5, stating that personal bag limits apply on a guided trip. Comments close at 5 p.m. on November 4.
- The 2026-27 trout stocking schedule was not posted by October 11. Last winter stocking began on November 26, and the Guadalupe below Canyon Dam was stocked ten times from December 5 to February 26.
Read on October 11, 2026, from Texas Parks and Wildlife's Outdoor Annual (licenses, purchase requirements, the reciprocal agreements, statewide and saltwater bag and length limits, flounder, red snapper, the freeze closure rule, bait and invasive species), its weekly fishing report pages, its trout stocking schedule, its public comment pages and its news releases, and from NOAA Fisheries' bulletins for federal water.
Licenses, and which state's rules apply
- Anyone fishing the public waters of Texas needs a Texas license with the right endorsement, freshwater inland and saltwater on the coast; under 17 is exempt. A visitor can buy a non-resident package or a one-day all-water license, which needs no endorsement and can be bought for consecutive days. Most licenses run to August 31, not to the end of the calendar year.
- A buyer 17 or older must show identification; online, each buyer's ID is validated independently, and a foreign resident cannot buy online at all. A digital license must be on hand while fishing, and a fish that needs a tag needs the paper license unless the digital one allows electronic tagging.
- On the lakes and rivers Texas shares with Louisiana, inland of a line across Sabine Pass, a license from either state is good, and a Louisiana resident 65 or older with a Louisiana license needs no Texas one. Lake Texoma has its own license, good on both the Texas and Oklahoma sides until the December 31 after it is bought. Any fish landed in Texas must meet Texas limits, whatever license caught it.
Bait, gear and fish you cannot keep
- There is no limit on rods in most Texas water, but no more than two on a community fishing lake (a public lake of 75 acres or less inside a city or a park) or from a state park pier, and no more than 100 hooks on all devices together in fresh water. A snagged fish may not be kept.
- No game fish may be used as bait, whole or in pieces, and bait shrimp must be native to the Gulf, so the imported frozen shrimp sold in grocery stores is illegal. Live bait may not be moved off a water in that water's own water, and bait bought from a dealer travels in other water only with a dated receipt naming where it came from.
- Every boat leaving or arriving at public fresh water anywhere in Texas must be drained of all water, on-board receptacles included, against zebra mussels, and any plant clinging to a boat or trailer must be removed. Live nongame fish may not be taken away from the Red River below Lake Texoma or the Sulphur River below Wright Patman, against invasive carp.
- A fish may not have its head or tail removed or be filleted until it has been landed on the mainland, a peninsula or a barrier island, jetties and piers not counting, and is no longer traveling by boat.
Lakes, ponds and rivers
- Statewide, black bass are five a day, largemouth and smallmouth at least 14 inches and spotted, Guadalupe and Alabama bass at any length; crappie and white bass are 25 a day of at least 10 inches; striped and hybrid striped bass five of at least 18; channel and blue catfish 25, no more than 10 of them 20 inches or longer. Many lakes run their own limits, so check the water.
- Rainbow and brown trout are five a day at any length. On the Guadalupe River below Canyon Dam, from 800 yards below the release down to the second bridge on River Road, a trout may be kept only if it was caught on an artificial lure.
Salt water
- Salt water takes the saltwater endorsement, and so does landing in Texas any fish caught in state or federal water. Texas limits apply out to nine nautical miles.
- Red drum are three a day between 20 and 28 inches and spotted seatrout three between 15 and 20. Every saltwater endorsement comes with one tag for a red drum over 28 inches and one for a seatrout over 28 in the license year, and a bonus tag adds one more of each. Black drum are five between 14 and 30 inches, and sheepshead five of at least 15.
- Flounder may not be kept from November 1 to December 14. From December 15 they are five a day of at least 15 inches, and the possession limit is the same five, not double.
- When coastal water is forecast to fall below forty degrees, the department may close listed harbors, canals and channels to saltwater fishing until the freeze has passed, and posts the closure online. The listed sites run from Moses Lake and Offats Bayou near Galveston to Port Isabel and South Padre.
- Red snapper may be kept in Texas state waters all year, four a day of at least 15 inches, on a circle hook whenever the bait is natural; beyond state waters federal rules also apply. Snook are one a day between 24 and 28 inches.
Read on these agency pages: TPWD: General Fishing Regulations, TPWD: Fishing Licenses and Packages, TPWD: Purchase Requirements for Licenses, TPWD: Digital Licenses and Tagging, TPWD: Requirements for Federal, State & Border Waters, TPWD: Legal Devices, Methods & Restrictions, TPWD: Fishing Definitions, TPWD: Fishing With a Boat, TPWD: Freshwater Bag and Length Limits, TPWD: Drum Bag & Length Limits, TPWD: Seatrout Bag & Length Limits, TPWD: Fishing Endorsements, Tags & Permits, TPWD: Sheepshead Bag & Length Limits, TPWD: Flounder Bag & Length Limits, TPWD: Saltwater Freeze Events, TPWD: Red Snapper, TPWD: Snapper Bag & Length Limits, TPWD: Snook Bag & Length Limits.
The season at a glance
What these months usually do
Each lake's own seasonal curve, the one the engine scores the lake on: what these dates usually do, modeled rather than measured, and not a forecast for this year.
| Water | Nov 1 | Dec 1 | Jan 1 | Feb 1 | Feb 28 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Fork | 68F | 57F | 50F | 50F | 55F |
| Lake Texoma | 66F | 56F | 48F | 47F | 52F |
| O.H. Ivie Lake | 67F | 57F | 52F | 52F | 57F |
The moon from November to February
| Month | New moon | Full moon |
|---|---|---|
| November 2026 | Mon, Nov 9 | Tue, Nov 24 |
| December 2026 | Tue, Dec 8 | Wed, Dec 23 |
| January 2027 | Thu, Jan 7 | Fri, Jan 22 |
| February 2027 | Sat, Feb 6 | Sat, Feb 20 |
The U.S. Naval Observatory's dates, on local time.
Daylight in each area from November to February
Worked out for one place in each area, on its own clock.
| Area | Shortest day | Earliest sunset | Latest sunrise |
|---|---|---|---|
| The upper coast, Sabine Lake to Freeportat Galveston Bay | 10h 15m, Dec 21 | 5:22pm, around Dec 2 | 7:17am, around Jan 10 |
| The middle coast, Matagorda to Corpus Christiat Matagorda Bay | 10h 20m, Dec 21 | 5:30pm, around Dec 2 | 7:21am, around Jan 10 |
| The lower coast, Baffin Bay to South Padreat Baffin Bay | 10h 25m, Dec 21 | 5:37pm, around Dec 1 | 7:23am, around Jan 11 |
| The East Texas lakesat Sam Rayburn | 10h 7m, Dec 21 | 5:15pm, around Dec 3 | 7:17am, around Jan 9 |
| The North Texas lakesat Lake Texoma | 9h 54m, Dec 21 | 5:19pm, around Dec 4 | 7:34am, around Jan 7 |
| Central Texas and the Hill Countryat Marble Falls | 10h 10m, Dec 21 | 5:33pm, around Dec 3 | 7:33am, around Jan 9 |
| The Guadalupe River below Canyon Damat Guadalupe River below Canyon Dam | 10h 13m, Dec 21 | 5:34pm, around Dec 3 | 7:31am, around Jan 10 |
| The South Texas reservoirsat Falcon Lake | 10h 27m, Dec 21 | 5:45pm, around Dec 1 | 7:29am, around Jan 12 |
| West Texas and the Panhandleat O.H. Ivie Lake | 10h 5m, Dec 21 | 5:37pm, around Dec 3 | 7:40am, around Jan 9 |
The lowest tides from November to February
| Station | Lowest, Nov | Lowest, Dec | Lowest, Jan | Lowest, Feb | Biggest range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eagle Point | -0.5 ftThu, Nov 26, 1:47pm | -0.9 ftThu, Dec 24, 12:51pm | -1.0 ftThu, Jan 21, 11:57am | -0.8 ftThu, Feb 18, 11:00am | 2.0 ftDec 24 |
| Texas City, Turning Basin | -0.6 ftThu, Nov 26, 11:22am | -1.1 ftThu, Dec 24, 10:25am | -1.2 ftThu, Jan 21, 9:31am | -0.9 ftThu, Feb 18, 8:32am | 2.5 ftDec 23 |
| East Sabine Lake | -0.5 ftThu, Nov 26, 1:26pm | -0.8 ftThu, Dec 24, 12:28pm | -0.9 ftThu, Jan 21, 11:30am | -0.6 ftThu, Feb 18, 10:31am | 1.6 ftDec 24 |
| Port O'Connor, Matagorda Bay | -0.3 ftThu, Nov 26, 12:38pm | -0.8 ftThu, Dec 24, 11:48am | -0.9 ftThu, Jan 21, 10:54am | -0.7 ftWed, Feb 3, 10:17am | 1.4 ftDec 25 |
| Rockport | 0.0 ftThu, Nov 26, 2:08pm | -0.4 ftThu, Dec 24, 1:06pm | -0.6 ftThu, Jan 21, 12:08pm | -0.6 ftMon, Feb 1, 9:32am | 0.6 ftDec 24 |
| Port Aransas | -0.4 ftThu, Nov 26, 9:43am | -0.9 ftThu, Dec 24, 8:42am | -1.0 ftThu, Jan 21, 7:46am | -0.7 ftWed, Feb 17, 5:46am | 1.8 ftDec 23 |
| Padre Island, Port Mansfield Channel Ent. | -0.6 ftThu, Nov 26, 9:15am | -1.0 ftThu, Dec 24, 8:21am | -1.1 ftThu, Jan 21, 7:27am | -0.9 ftWed, Feb 17, 5:14am | 2.7 ftDec 23 |
| Queen Isabella Causeway (west end) | -0.5 ftThu, Nov 26, 9:53am | -0.8 ftThu, Dec 24, 8:58am | -0.8 ftWed, Jan 20, 7:03am | -0.6 ftWed, Feb 17, 5:54am | 2.4 ftNov 26 |
NOAA's predictions, in feet above the average of each day's lower low tide, so a minus tide falls below it. Wind and air pressure move the water off the prediction.