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Early December Fishing on the Lower Rio Grande Border
Published 4 months, 3 weeks ago
Description
Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Rio Grande fishing report for down here on the border.
We’ve got classic early‑December conditions in Deep South Texas. National Weather Service Brownsville is calling it cool and cloudy this morning with temps in the low to mid 50s pushing into the upper 60s to low 70s by afternoon, light north to northeast breeze, and a leftover chill from that recent front. That north wind and cooler water have the fish a little sluggish at daybreak, but they’re waking up with the sun.
According to the Brownsville office, first light is right around 7:00 a.m. with sunrise just after, and sunset close to 5:40–5:45 p.m. That gives you a short but productive window: best bite has been the first two hours after sunrise and that last hour before dark, especially on moving water.
NOAA’s coastal forecasts for the Lower Texas Coast show moderate tides today, not huge swings but enough current to matter. The stronger push is mid‑morning and again mid‑afternoon; line those up with the solunar majors from solunarforecast‑type tables and you’re looking at late‑morning and late‑day as your prime feed times.
On the catch side, reports from local guides out of Brownsville and Port Isabel shops say the Lower Laguna and Rio Grande backwaters have been giving up solid **speckled trout**, school‑size **redfish**, scattered **flounder**, and plenty of **largemouth and white bass** plus **blue and channel cats** upriver. Trout have mostly been keeper‑class 16–20 inches with a few bigger girls in the deeper guts. Reds are running slot, 20–25 inches, working the mud‑shell transitions. Catfish anglers just above the brackish zone have been boxing good numbers of 2–5 pound blues and channels with the odd bigger fish at night on cut shad.
Best lures right now:
- For trout and reds:
• 1/8–1/4 oz jigheads with **paddle‑tail plastics** in morning glory, bone, and pumpkinseed.
• Slow‑suspending **twitchbaits** in chrome/black or bone when the wind lays.
• Small **gold spoons** slow‑rolled over mud and grass.
- For bass and cats upriver:
• **Chartreuse crankbaits** and white spinnerbaits for bass on rocky bends.
• **Cut shad, shrimp, and nightcrawlers** for catfish on bottom.
Live bait is still king for the pickier fish: live **shrimp** under a popping cork in the lower river, **finger mullet** or mud minnows for reds and flounder, and fresh **cut bait** for cats. After the front, downsize hooks and leaders and slow your retrieve; they’re not chasing far.
Couple of hotspots to circle:
- **Boca Chica and the Rio Grande mouth**: Work the channel edges and sandbars on a moving tide for trout and reds, especially where green water pushes in.
- **Shipley Ranch and the deeper bends near Brownsville**: Good mix of bass and cats holding on the outside turns where there’s a little depth and wood.
Fish slow, keep your drifts short, and let that water warm a degree or two before you expect fireworks. Midday can surprise you when that sun gets on the mud.
Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report.
This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
We’ve got classic early‑December conditions in Deep South Texas. National Weather Service Brownsville is calling it cool and cloudy this morning with temps in the low to mid 50s pushing into the upper 60s to low 70s by afternoon, light north to northeast breeze, and a leftover chill from that recent front. That north wind and cooler water have the fish a little sluggish at daybreak, but they’re waking up with the sun.
According to the Brownsville office, first light is right around 7:00 a.m. with sunrise just after, and sunset close to 5:40–5:45 p.m. That gives you a short but productive window: best bite has been the first two hours after sunrise and that last hour before dark, especially on moving water.
NOAA’s coastal forecasts for the Lower Texas Coast show moderate tides today, not huge swings but enough current to matter. The stronger push is mid‑morning and again mid‑afternoon; line those up with the solunar majors from solunarforecast‑type tables and you’re looking at late‑morning and late‑day as your prime feed times.
On the catch side, reports from local guides out of Brownsville and Port Isabel shops say the Lower Laguna and Rio Grande backwaters have been giving up solid **speckled trout**, school‑size **redfish**, scattered **flounder**, and plenty of **largemouth and white bass** plus **blue and channel cats** upriver. Trout have mostly been keeper‑class 16–20 inches with a few bigger girls in the deeper guts. Reds are running slot, 20–25 inches, working the mud‑shell transitions. Catfish anglers just above the brackish zone have been boxing good numbers of 2–5 pound blues and channels with the odd bigger fish at night on cut shad.
Best lures right now:
- For trout and reds:
• 1/8–1/4 oz jigheads with **paddle‑tail plastics** in morning glory, bone, and pumpkinseed.
• Slow‑suspending **twitchbaits** in chrome/black or bone when the wind lays.
• Small **gold spoons** slow‑rolled over mud and grass.
- For bass and cats upriver:
• **Chartreuse crankbaits** and white spinnerbaits for bass on rocky bends.
• **Cut shad, shrimp, and nightcrawlers** for catfish on bottom.
Live bait is still king for the pickier fish: live **shrimp** under a popping cork in the lower river, **finger mullet** or mud minnows for reds and flounder, and fresh **cut bait** for cats. After the front, downsize hooks and leaders and slow your retrieve; they’re not chasing far.
Couple of hotspots to circle:
- **Boca Chica and the Rio Grande mouth**: Work the channel edges and sandbars on a moving tide for trout and reds, especially where green water pushes in.
- **Shipley Ranch and the deeper bends near Brownsville**: Good mix of bass and cats holding on the outside turns where there’s a little depth and wood.
Fish slow, keep your drifts short, and let that water warm a degree or two before you expect fireworks. Midday can surprise you when that sun gets on the mud.
Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a report.
This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI