Upper Texas Coast

HotSPOTLight: Upper Sabine Lake

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LOCATION: Christmas/Bastrop Bay
HOTSPOT: Cox Lake
GPS: N 29 4.488, W 95 13.952
(29.0748, -95.2325)

SPECIES: Redfish
BEST BAITS: Spoons, topwaters, live bait
TIPS: Fish topwaters, gold spoons, crabs, or mullet.

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LOCATION: Galveston Bay
HOTSPOT: Pasadena Reef 1
GPS: N 29 28.114, W 94 49.192
(29.4686 -94.8199)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Soft plastic, 3/8 jig head, be careful of ship wakes
TIPS: Fish soft plastic with a 3/8 jig head—be careful of ship wakes; fish early, late.

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LOCATION: Galveston Bay
HOTSPOT: Redfish Island North
GPS: N 29 30.49, W 94 53.144
(29.5082 -94.8857)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Shrimp, croaker
TIPS: Drift and work the reef top and edges with live shrimp or croakers; fish here early.

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LOCATION: Galveston East Bay
HOTSPOT: Bull Shoals
GPS: N 29 28.716, W 94 44.424
(29.4786 -94.7404)

SPECIES: Redfish
BEST BAITS: Live and artificial redfish bait
TIPS: Drift shallow reef on the southeast corner of the island, hit reef edges; dawn through dusk

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LOCATION: Galveston East Bay
HOTSPOT: Little Pasture Bayou
GPS: N 29 31.254, W 94 32.3179
(29.5209 -94.5386)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Topwaters
TIPS: Fish topwaters early such as the She Pup or the Baby Spooks. Good colors are black, chrome and chartreuse. Slow presentation, just barely walk it.

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LOCATION: Galveston Trinity Bay
HOTSPOT: Exxon C Lease
GPS: N 29 40.446, W 94 45.5789
(29.6741 -94.7597)

SPECIES: Redfish
BEST BAITS: Weedless Gold Spoon
TIPS: A weedless gold spoon, quarter ounce will pull redfish from grass flats.

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LOCATION: Galveston Trinity Bay
HOTSPOT: Gas Wells
GPS: N 29 42.9829, W 94 43.138
(29.7164 -94.7190)

SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Slammin Chicken Paddle Tail
TIPS: The deep-water bite is always a good thing for catching numbers of trout in East Bay or Trinity Bay.

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LOCATION: Galveston West Bay
HOTSPOT: Chocolate Bayou Cove
GPS: N 29 12.4476, W 95 11.5458
(29.2075 -95.1924)

SPECIES: Redfish
BEST BAITS: Soft Plastics
TIPS: Anglers will start to see a whole lot more schooling activity with redfish feeding, chasing around groups of shrimp.

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LOCATION: Galveston West Bay
HOTSPOT: Dana Cove
GPS: N 29 12.7669, W 94 58.305
(29.2128 -94.9718)

SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Sea Shad soft plastic on a weighted worm hook
TIPS: For the angler who is hunting the isolated single trophy, he will pull them off shallow water, but not typically numbers of big trout.

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LOCATION: Matagorda East Bay
HOTSPOT: Boggy Flat
GPS: N 28 44.029, W 95 49.116
(28.7338, -95.8186)

SPECIES: Flounder
BEST BAITS: Flounder pounder, mullet
TIPS: Good gigging here if you are wading; midday-afternoon.

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LOCATION: Matagorda East Bay
HOTSPOT: Catchall Basin Flats
GPS: N 28 43.7719, W 95 45.562
(28.7295, -95.7594)

SPECIES: Redfish
BEST BAITS: Weedless Gold Spoon
TIPS: On the deeper edges of the grass flats there will be still pretty decent numbers of redfish feeding, not visible, but grouped up, slicking along a drop-off.

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LOCATION: Matagorda West Bay
HOTSPOT: Cottons
GPS: N 28 30.45, W 96 12.3816
(28.5075, -96.2064)

SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Topwaters and soft plastics
TIPS: Start the day wading until you find fish. Early morning they are going to be shallow. Getting into mid-morning, and it gets hotter.

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LOCATION: Matagorda West Bay
HOTSPOT: Mad Island Lake
GPS: N 28 38.144, W 96 6.882
(28.6357 -96.1147)

SPECIES: Redfish
BEST BAITS: Spoons, soft plastics
TIPS: Wade or anchor with gold spoons or Junebug soft plastics; dawn-morning, afternoon-dusk.

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LOCATION: Sabine Lake
HOTSPOT: Flats
GPS: N 29 56.404, W 93 50.919
(29.9401 -93.8487)

SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Soft Plastics
TIPS: By August anglers should be able to find trout in just about anywhere. Just look for the bird action.

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LOCATION: Sabine Lake
HOTSPOT: Hickory Cove
GPS: N 29 58.643, W 93 49.49
(29.9774 -93.8248)

SPECIES: Redfish
BEST BAITS: Live bait
TIPS: Fish live shrimp or finger mullet.

. . .

Location: Sabine Lake
Hotspot: Jetties
GPS: N 29 38.6029, W 93 49.584
(29.6434, -93.8264)

Species: Speckled Trout
Best Baits: 3 inch Swimming Shad soft plastic
Tips: Fish the channel side of the jetties when there is slow moving water. Fish the Gulf side on fast moving water.

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Middle Texas Coast

HotSPOTlight: LBJ CAUSEWAY

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LOCATION: Ayers Bay
HOTSPOT: Ayers Reef
GPS: N 28 10.434, W 96 50.3659
(28.1739 -96.8394)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout, Redfish and Flounder
BEST BAITS: Live Croaker
TIPS: Look for shell piles and work the edges from a boat. Trout, redfish, and an occasional flounder can be caught. The trout are the easiest to catch using a croaker freelined.

. . .

LOCATION: Carlos Bay
HOTSPOT: Cedar Reef
GPS: N 28 8.251, W 96 53.049
(28.1375 -96.8842)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout, Redfish and Flounder
BEST BAITS: Paul Brown Devil Eyes and Chicken-on-a-Chain soft plastics
TIPS: A favorite soft plastic is Devil Eye in a chrome with a chartreuse tail and a 1/4-ounce jig head. It’s a great redfish lure.

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LOCATION: Copano Bay
HOTSPOT: Mission Bay
GPS: N 28 8.965, W 97 9.605
(28.1494 -97.1601)

SPECIES: Redfish
BEST BAITS: Pumpkinseed/chartreuse soft plastics
TIPS: Fish falling tide, drift/anchor, hit sand pockets; dawn through dusk.

. . .

LOCATION: Corpus Christi Bay
HOTSPOT: Pita Island
GPS: N 27 36.169, W 97 17.1989
(27.6028 -97.2867)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Live Croaker or Live Shrimp
TIPS: The month of July is a great time to fish around the island using live croaker.

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LOCATION: Espirito Santo Bay
HOTSPOT: Lighthouse Cove
GPS: N 28 20.48, W 96 26.926
(28.3413 -96.4488)

SPECIES: Redfish
BEST BAITS: Bass Assassins
TIPS: Wade the shoreline, keying on grass beds; dawn through dusk.

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LOCATION: Espirito Santo Bay
HOTSPOT: Spoil Cut
GPS: N 28 21.34, W 96 34.514
(28.3557 -96.5752)

SPECIES: Redfish
BEST BAITS: Menhaden
TIPS: Cut menhaden needs to be on the bottom, best fished on a falling tide; morning, afternoon.

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LOCATION: Mesquite Bay
HOTSPOT: Cedar Bayou
GPS: N 28 4.3309, W 96 50.832
(28.0722 -96.8472)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout, Redfish and Flounder
BEST BAITS: Live Croaker
TIPS: Close to the Aransas Wildlife Refuge, use live croaker over shell and mud where the edges drop off.

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LOCATION: Redfish Bay
HOTSPOT: Bird Island
GPS: N 27 56.035, W 97 5.119
(27.9339 -97.0853)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Flappin Shad soft plastic by Gambler
TIPS: Nice and easy, slow and easy, pump straight up, and let it drop down. Let the tail do all he action. You will get most of your bites as the lure drops.

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LOCATION: San Antonio Bay
HOTSPOT: Chicken Foot Reef
GPS: N 28 15.832, W 96 46.8889
(28.2639 -96.7815)

SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Live croaker
TIPS: Croaker rigging … Keep the bait looking as natural as possible using a 5/0 hook, moving to a 6/0 hook later on as the month progresses.

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LOCATION: San Antonio Bay
HOTSPOT: Panther Point
GPS: N 28 14.95, W 96 42.5819
(28.2492 -96.7097)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout, Redfish and Flounder
BEST BAITS: Live Croaker
TIPS: Let the croaker sink to the bottom. Give it a few seconds, crank the reel a few turns, and move it around. Pop it a few more times. Once you feel the bump, let him run for a second, then set the hook.

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LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre
HOTSPOT: King Ranch Shoreline
GPS: N 27 29.134, W 97 21.1079
(27.4856 -97.3518)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Topwaters
TIPS: Topwaters produce early in the morning. Silver, chartreuse, pink work under clear skies; Natural colors, a black or mullet color work better on cloudy days.

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Lower Texas Coast

HotSPOTLight: GLADYS HOLE AREA

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LOCATION: Arroyo Colorado
HOTSPOT: Horse Head Island
GPS: N 26 20.258, W 97 19.896
(26.3376 -97.3316)

SPECIES: Redfish
BEST BAITS: Soft plastics, spoons
TIPS: Wade shoreline south to north in a zig zag fashion, looking for the zone; dawn through morning.

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LOCATION: Baffin Bay
HOTSPOT: Cat Head
GPS: N 27 18.382, W 97 26.263
(27.3064 -97.4377)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Croaker
TIPS: Fish outside the edge of the rocks with live croaker, let sink to bottom; dawn through midday

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LOCATION: Baffin Bay
HOTSPOT: East Kelberg
GPS: N 27 16.259, W 97 29.976
(27.2710 -97.4996)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Topwaters, live bait
TIPS: Anchor on rocks’ outer edge with live bait, or fish topwaters in shallows; dawn through morning.

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LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre
HOTSPOT: El Realto Bay
GPS: N 26 15.354, W 97 18.4649
(26.2559 -97.3078)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Live Croaker
TIPS: The deeper water further south, 3-4 feet deep. Also, the water has more color, greener.

. . .

LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre
HOTSPOT: Long Bar
GPS: N 26 8.592, W 97 14.2249
(26.1432 -97.2371)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Live Croaker
TIPS: In July, you should be fishing further south with live croaker, always looking for the big trout.

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LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre
HOTSPOT: South Bay
GPS: N 26 1.785, W 97 11.0109
(26.0298, -97.1835)

SPECIES: Black Drum
BEST BAITS: Live Shrimp, Gulp! Shrimp in New Penny, Pearl
TIPS: Fish the drop-offs and channel edges with bottom rigs with live or dead shrimp. Free shrimping rigs also work. A transient snook might also strike your offering. Bounce a Gulp! Shrimp on the bottom.

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LOCATION: Middle Ground
HOTSPOT: Gladys’ Hole
GPS: N 26 49.038, W 97 30.45
(26.8173 -97.5075)

SPECIES: Redfish
BEST BAITS: Soft plastics, topwaters, live bait
TIPS: At high tide and at low tide drift the mid bay; dawn thru midday; dawn through midday.

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LOCATION: Middle Ground
HOTSPOT: Jones Cut
GPS: N 26 44.3, W 97 25.636
(26.7383 -97.4273)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Topwaters, soft plastics
TIPS: Freeline and drift the break with topwaters or soft plastics; dawn through midday.

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LOCATION: Middle Ground
HOTSPOT: Rincon de San Jose
GPS: N 26 46.837, W 97 28.481
(26.7806, -97.4747)

SPECIES: Redfish
BEST BAITS: Topwaters
TIPS: Wade potholes near shore, be there at daylight; dawn through morning.