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Fishing Report South Texas: Tarpon, Trout, and Topwater Bites on the Rio Grande
Published 6 months, 4 weeks ago
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Howdy from Artificial Lure, your Rio Grande fishing correspondent! It’s October 1, 2025, and things are looking mighty fine for anyone looking to wet a line around here. The sun’s pulling up its first cup of coffee over South Texas just about the right time—rise at 7:12 AM, and we’ll be riding home in orange light with sunset at 7:37 PM. Gonna be a solid 12 hours of daylight, though the early risers always have the quietest river to themselves.
Now, let’s talk tides—if you’re headed down to South Padre Island today, you’ll want to know the water’s been on its own schedule. According to the tide forecast, there was a bump at 4:00 AM this morning with a 1.23-foot high, then a real low tide at 11:03 AM, and we’ll see another high closer to dusk, 7:08 PM, clocking in at 1.74 feet. That means the fish along the tidal edges—especially those inshore, in the bayous and river mouths around Port Isabel and SPI—are gonna be feeding as water pours in and out. For best luck, target those first couple hours after the tide starts moving in; that’s when trout and reds get active in the flats and channels.
Talking fish activity, the Rio Grande and her little brothers—like the Comal River upriver—are seeing a nice variety right now. The Texas Parks and Wildlife all-tackle records for these waters show that folks have been catching some real slabs lately: largemouth bass still packing on the fall feeding frenzy, with recent bigguns topping 9 pounds. Smallmouth and hybrid bass are also on the chew, with 2- to 3-footers gracing the scale—plenty of fight for the angler with the patience to slow roll a worm or drop a crawdad pattern. Catfish, both channel and suckermouth, have been biting, and a fella named Joe R. Olivarez just took a nice 20-inch suckermouth in late 2022. Down in the tidal zone, I’m hearing of both snook and tarpon making their Gulf-side appearance, along with plenty of flounder moving through the passes.
Fishing buddies snagging limits are reporting 10-20 fish mornings in the backwaters and up around Falcon Lake, not to mention those lucky cats pulling double digits with the right bait. The word in the bait shop is live shrimp, mullet, and cut bait are all working—especially for the reds and trout that are schooling up near the drop-offs and grass. For bass, a Texas-rigged Berkley PowerBait or a little Texas-rigged pumpkin worm is absolutely murder, just hop it slow near the rocks and ledges and be ready for a thump. For topwater action at dawn or dusk, you can’t beat a Heddon Spook or a Rapala X-Rap, especially in the shallows after that morning low tide.
Now, for the hot spots:
If you’re after river action, hit the deep holes and riprap around Roma and Rio Grande City—the water’s still warm, and those bass are stacked up waiting for something to fall in. For tidal and inshore, Los Fresnos Bayou and the mouthlands near Port Isabel are red-hot right now as the tide comes in, with lots of surface action and plenty of tailing redfish. Don’t sleep on the Laguna Madre flats, either—just be ready for wading, watching out for tailing trout and stacked flounder.
Weather’s been pretty mild—low humidity, light east winds, and a few clouds keeping the sun from frying your back. Perfect for drifting or wading, but bring plenty of water and sunscreen—Texas ain’t playin’ this time of year.
So get out there, bring your favorite lure and a bucket of live bait, and find a stretch of water that looks fishy. Just remember, local regulations are there for a reason—give the fish a break when the water’s warm, and always keep your license handy. Oh, and if you connect with something special, let your local TPWD biologist know—turns out, even the little guys want to hear about your luck.
Thanks for tuning in, and if you’re enjoying these reports, make sure to subscribe so you never miss a strike. This has been a Quiet Please production—for more, check out quietplease.ai
Now, let’s talk tides—if you’re headed down to South Padre Island today, you’ll want to know the water’s been on its own schedule. According to the tide forecast, there was a bump at 4:00 AM this morning with a 1.23-foot high, then a real low tide at 11:03 AM, and we’ll see another high closer to dusk, 7:08 PM, clocking in at 1.74 feet. That means the fish along the tidal edges—especially those inshore, in the bayous and river mouths around Port Isabel and SPI—are gonna be feeding as water pours in and out. For best luck, target those first couple hours after the tide starts moving in; that’s when trout and reds get active in the flats and channels.
Talking fish activity, the Rio Grande and her little brothers—like the Comal River upriver—are seeing a nice variety right now. The Texas Parks and Wildlife all-tackle records for these waters show that folks have been catching some real slabs lately: largemouth bass still packing on the fall feeding frenzy, with recent bigguns topping 9 pounds. Smallmouth and hybrid bass are also on the chew, with 2- to 3-footers gracing the scale—plenty of fight for the angler with the patience to slow roll a worm or drop a crawdad pattern. Catfish, both channel and suckermouth, have been biting, and a fella named Joe R. Olivarez just took a nice 20-inch suckermouth in late 2022. Down in the tidal zone, I’m hearing of both snook and tarpon making their Gulf-side appearance, along with plenty of flounder moving through the passes.
Fishing buddies snagging limits are reporting 10-20 fish mornings in the backwaters and up around Falcon Lake, not to mention those lucky cats pulling double digits with the right bait. The word in the bait shop is live shrimp, mullet, and cut bait are all working—especially for the reds and trout that are schooling up near the drop-offs and grass. For bass, a Texas-rigged Berkley PowerBait or a little Texas-rigged pumpkin worm is absolutely murder, just hop it slow near the rocks and ledges and be ready for a thump. For topwater action at dawn or dusk, you can’t beat a Heddon Spook or a Rapala X-Rap, especially in the shallows after that morning low tide.
Now, for the hot spots:
If you’re after river action, hit the deep holes and riprap around Roma and Rio Grande City—the water’s still warm, and those bass are stacked up waiting for something to fall in. For tidal and inshore, Los Fresnos Bayou and the mouthlands near Port Isabel are red-hot right now as the tide comes in, with lots of surface action and plenty of tailing redfish. Don’t sleep on the Laguna Madre flats, either—just be ready for wading, watching out for tailing trout and stacked flounder.
Weather’s been pretty mild—low humidity, light east winds, and a few clouds keeping the sun from frying your back. Perfect for drifting or wading, but bring plenty of water and sunscreen—Texas ain’t playin’ this time of year.
So get out there, bring your favorite lure and a bucket of live bait, and find a stretch of water that looks fishy. Just remember, local regulations are there for a reason—give the fish a break when the water’s warm, and always keep your license handy. Oh, and if you connect with something special, let your local TPWD biologist know—turns out, even the little guys want to hear about your luck.
Thanks for tuning in, and if you’re enjoying these reports, make sure to subscribe so you never miss a strike. This has been a Quiet Please production—for more, check out quietplease.ai