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Rio Grande Fishing Report - White Bass, Crappie, and Catfish Biting Steady
Published 11 months, 3 weeks ago
Description
Good morning, anglers. Artificial Lure here with your Rio Grande, Texas fishing report for Monday, May 5, 2025. We are kicking off the week with a stretch of classic South Texas spring weather. Sunrise came at 6:49 AM and sunset will roll in at 8:07 PM, so there’s plenty of daylight to wet a line. Skies are mostly clear today with highs in the upper 70s. A gentle southeast breeze is keeping things comfortable, and the river’s water levels remain steady.
Tidal movement is pretty minimal this far upriver, but we do have a slight low just after sunrise with a rising tide creeping in by late morning and running through early afternoon. Those midday tidal swings should line up well with peak fish activity, so plan on getting to your spot by late morning for the best bite window.
On the catch front, it’s been an active few days. The white bass run is still in full swing upriver. Anglers are reporting some easy limits, as these hard-fighting fish are smashing small jigs and Rooster Tails—white and chartreuse colors have been top picks. Word is out about that new water body record set back in March, with a 1.2 pound, 13.6 inch white bass landed right here in the Rio Grande. The action is still hot, so if you like fast, light-tackle fun, now is your time to cash in.
Crappie are setting up on brush piles and docks, most active in 4 to 6 feet of water. Small jigs in chartreuse are a local favorite, but minnows are also producing solid bites. Largemouth bass are pushing shallow as the water continues to warm—flipping soft plastics around reeds and bank cover is your best bet for a big largemouth this week.
Catfish have picked up, too. Both channel and blue cats have been reported from the deeper river bends and holes, taking cut bait and stink bait. If you’re closer to the Gulf, some anglers have even pulled in black drum along the brackish stretches on shrimp and cut bait.
For today, best baits and lures are white or chartreuse jigs and Rooster Tails for white bass, soft plastics and spinnerbaits for largemouth, and cut bait or stink bait for catfish. Crappie are partial to small jigs or live minnows.
A couple of hot spots worth checking out are the deeper bends near San Ignacio for catfish, or the stretches upriver around Laredo for white bass and crappie.
Main takeaways: the bite is steady, the weather is perfect, and there’s a real mix of species willing to play. Get out there and tight lines!
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.
Tidal movement is pretty minimal this far upriver, but we do have a slight low just after sunrise with a rising tide creeping in by late morning and running through early afternoon. Those midday tidal swings should line up well with peak fish activity, so plan on getting to your spot by late morning for the best bite window.
On the catch front, it’s been an active few days. The white bass run is still in full swing upriver. Anglers are reporting some easy limits, as these hard-fighting fish are smashing small jigs and Rooster Tails—white and chartreuse colors have been top picks. Word is out about that new water body record set back in March, with a 1.2 pound, 13.6 inch white bass landed right here in the Rio Grande. The action is still hot, so if you like fast, light-tackle fun, now is your time to cash in.
Crappie are setting up on brush piles and docks, most active in 4 to 6 feet of water. Small jigs in chartreuse are a local favorite, but minnows are also producing solid bites. Largemouth bass are pushing shallow as the water continues to warm—flipping soft plastics around reeds and bank cover is your best bet for a big largemouth this week.
Catfish have picked up, too. Both channel and blue cats have been reported from the deeper river bends and holes, taking cut bait and stink bait. If you’re closer to the Gulf, some anglers have even pulled in black drum along the brackish stretches on shrimp and cut bait.
For today, best baits and lures are white or chartreuse jigs and Rooster Tails for white bass, soft plastics and spinnerbaits for largemouth, and cut bait or stink bait for catfish. Crappie are partial to small jigs or live minnows.
A couple of hot spots worth checking out are the deeper bends near San Ignacio for catfish, or the stretches upriver around Laredo for white bass and crappie.
Main takeaways: the bite is steady, the weather is perfect, and there’s a real mix of species willing to play. Get out there and tight lines!
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.