Episode Details

Howdy folks, this is Artificial Lure coming at you with your Rio Grande, Texas fishing report for Sunday, September 21, 2025.

The day started off muggy and warm, with temps near 80 at sunrise and creeping into the low 90s by late afternoon. We had a light southeast breeze rolling in from the Gulf, which picked up a bit by lunch but nothing too rough—pretty near perfect for folks drifting the deeper outside bends or working the edges in the backwaters. According to timeanddate.com, our sunrise today was at 7:22 AM, and sunset’s coming at 7:32 PM, giving us fat daylight hours for working every stretch of the river and the nearby resacas.

On the tidal side, the Rio Grande’s not classic tidal water, but the lower stretch near the Boca Chica and Brownsville ports gets brackish at times, and water levels can be influenced by the Gulf’s pushes and wind-blown currents. Today, there’s a slight uptrend in water level mid-morning, then a gentle drop toward late afternoon—prime windows for both bait and predator fish activity.

Let’s talk fish. This morning, action was steady—anglers at public spots like the launch by Chimney Park in Mission reported hauling in a mix of largemouth bass and freshwater drum (local folks call ’em gaspergou) using finesse rigs on BFS tackle. Bass were hitting better right after first light, mostly on weightless soft plastics and small crankbaits. Drum came later in the morning with cut shad and craw chunks on the bottom. Folks drifting slow along the edge also picked up a couple of nice channel cats—nothing epic, but solid eaters in the 2–4 pound range.

More toward Brownsville, guides running the lower Rio Grande said red drum, spotted seatrout, and flounder remained the hot ticket near the river’s mouth and the connecting tidal flats this week. Several groups hauled in reds into the upper 20-inch range and a few lucky anglers fought flounder over 16 inches close to the jetties. Good numbers were caught, mostly mid-morning and then again toward dusk. Live shrimp under popping corks was the top producer, but chartreuse paddle-tail plastics and gold spoons both performed well when there was a bit more wind or a ripple on the surface. According to Captain Experiences, their reviews from this weekend rave about "stud fish all day" and "action packed" trips both inshore and nearshore, with guides putting novice and experienced anglers on the fish right away.

If you’re heading out, my advice:

- **Best lures for bass and drum:** Watermelon red flake soft plastics, small natural-colored crankbaits, and for drum, cut bait or soft craw imitations on the bottom. If the water is a little stained, go brighter or add a rattle.
- **For the lower river and mingled brackish stretches:** Gold spoons, Gulp! shrimp imitations, and paddle-tail swimbaits in chartreuse or white are bringing in slot reds and flounder.
- **Best bait right now:** Live shrimp if you can get it, followed by finger mullet, cut shad, or chicken liver for cats and drum.

Hot spots today are the Chimney Park boat launch area for steady bass and drum, and the tidal flats west of Boca Chica near the river mouth—especially drifting the drop-offs on a moving tide. The Madelyn-Harlingen Dam area upstream is also reliable early and late for cats and drum, while the old bridge pilings between Brownsville and Los Indios have held scattered bass.

One last thing—don’t forget about the Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley Hawk Watch events happening this week, which means more foot traffic near the parks, but also some beautiful chances to catch raptor migration as you cast a line.

That wraps it for today’s report from Rio Grande, Texas. Thanks for tuning in! Remember to subscribe for all the latest local fishing news and on-the-water strategies. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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