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Lower Rio Grande Valley Fishing Report: Slot Reds, Trout, and Cats Biting Strong
Published 4 months, 2 weeks ago
Description
Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Lower Rio Grande fishing report from down here on the border.
We’ve got a classic humid Valley pattern this morning: light southeast breeze, muggy, temps pushing through the 70s and headed for the low 80s this afternoon under mostly cloudy skies, according to the National Weather Service Brownsville office. Winds will freshen out of the SE later, which will kick up a little chop on the bays but help the bite on windblown shorelines.
Sunrise hit right around 7:05 a.m., with sunset near 5:40 p.m., so the sweet spots today are that first two-hour window after sun-up and the last two before dark. With the new-moon phase just behind us, tides in the Lower Laguna Madre are running relatively moderate: a low mid‑morning, then a rising tide through early afternoon and a soft high toward evening per NOAA tide predictions for the South Texas coast. That incoming water should spark some good movement in the guts and around spoil islands.
Fish activity’s been solid all week. Local reports out of the Rio Grande Valley say redfish have been schooling tight on shallow flats from Port Isabel up toward Arroyo City, with a lot of slot reds and a few oversize brutes mixed in. Trout catches have been a little spottier but steady at first light over knee‑to‑thigh‑deep sand pockets with scattered grass. Folks drifting the channels have found some keeper specks, plus whiting and the odd drum.
Recent catches include:
- Good numbers of **slot reds** on the east side of the Laguna, especially along windward shorelines and drains.
- **Speckled trout** to the low 20‑inch range on soft plastics early and live bait once the sun’s up.
- Scattered **black drum** on bait in the deeper holes and along the ICW edges.
- In the river itself near Rio Grande City and below Falcon, bank anglers have picked up **blue and channel cats** on cut shad and stinkbait, with the best bite at night and right before dawn.
For lures, keep it simple and local:
- For reds and trout on the flats, throw **paddle‑tail plastics** in natural or “Texas chicken” colors on 1/8‑oz jigheads, or a gold spoon slow‑rolled over grass.
- Topwaters like a **Spook Jr.** or **She Dog** will shine at first light over slick water and sand/grass mix.
- Under birds or in off‑colored water, a **Gulp! shrimp** under a popping cork is still hard to beat.
Best bait right now:
- **Live shrimp** under a popping cork around channel edges, guts, and cuts.
- **Finger mullet** or cut mullet for reds along shorelines and drains.
- On the freshwater side, **cut shad, chicken liver, and punch bait** for catfish in the Rio Grande holes and eddies.
A couple of local hot spots to check:
- **South Bay and the Peyton’s Bay area** near Port Isabel: look for reds pushing wakes on the incoming tide, especially along mangrove shorelines and narrow drains.
- **The ICW and spoil islands out from Arroyo City**: drift the edges in 4–6 feet with plastics for trout, then slide shallow on the flats when the tide starts flooding for reds.
Water’s still plenty warm, so move until you find bait—mullet flipping, slicks popping, or birds working—and don’t be afraid to fish that windblown side; that’s where today’s groceries will stack up.
Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure’s Rio Grande fishing report, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss the next bite window.
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 a classic humid Valley pattern this morning: light southeast breeze, muggy, temps pushing through the 70s and headed for the low 80s this afternoon under mostly cloudy skies, according to the National Weather Service Brownsville office. Winds will freshen out of the SE later, which will kick up a little chop on the bays but help the bite on windblown shorelines.
Sunrise hit right around 7:05 a.m., with sunset near 5:40 p.m., so the sweet spots today are that first two-hour window after sun-up and the last two before dark. With the new-moon phase just behind us, tides in the Lower Laguna Madre are running relatively moderate: a low mid‑morning, then a rising tide through early afternoon and a soft high toward evening per NOAA tide predictions for the South Texas coast. That incoming water should spark some good movement in the guts and around spoil islands.
Fish activity’s been solid all week. Local reports out of the Rio Grande Valley say redfish have been schooling tight on shallow flats from Port Isabel up toward Arroyo City, with a lot of slot reds and a few oversize brutes mixed in. Trout catches have been a little spottier but steady at first light over knee‑to‑thigh‑deep sand pockets with scattered grass. Folks drifting the channels have found some keeper specks, plus whiting and the odd drum.
Recent catches include:
- Good numbers of **slot reds** on the east side of the Laguna, especially along windward shorelines and drains.
- **Speckled trout** to the low 20‑inch range on soft plastics early and live bait once the sun’s up.
- Scattered **black drum** on bait in the deeper holes and along the ICW edges.
- In the river itself near Rio Grande City and below Falcon, bank anglers have picked up **blue and channel cats** on cut shad and stinkbait, with the best bite at night and right before dawn.
For lures, keep it simple and local:
- For reds and trout on the flats, throw **paddle‑tail plastics** in natural or “Texas chicken” colors on 1/8‑oz jigheads, or a gold spoon slow‑rolled over grass.
- Topwaters like a **Spook Jr.** or **She Dog** will shine at first light over slick water and sand/grass mix.
- Under birds or in off‑colored water, a **Gulp! shrimp** under a popping cork is still hard to beat.
Best bait right now:
- **Live shrimp** under a popping cork around channel edges, guts, and cuts.
- **Finger mullet** or cut mullet for reds along shorelines and drains.
- On the freshwater side, **cut shad, chicken liver, and punch bait** for catfish in the Rio Grande holes and eddies.
A couple of local hot spots to check:
- **South Bay and the Peyton’s Bay area** near Port Isabel: look for reds pushing wakes on the incoming tide, especially along mangrove shorelines and narrow drains.
- **The ICW and spoil islands out from Arroyo City**: drift the edges in 4–6 feet with plastics for trout, then slide shallow on the flats when the tide starts flooding for reds.
Water’s still plenty warm, so move until you find bait—mullet flipping, slicks popping, or birds working—and don’t be afraid to fish that windblown side; that’s where today’s groceries will stack up.
Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure’s Rio Grande fishing report, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss the next bite window.
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