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Galveston Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The workingman's saltwater capital: jetties, piers, surf and bay within an hour of four million Texans.

3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Next tide
High 4:25 AM
Air / High
88 / 88 F
Wind
ESE 8 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8771450, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.

Galveston serves up more heat: the productive hours are the dim ones. Today brings cloud cover, wind ESE around 8 mph, steady pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 88. Tides: high 3:28 AM, low 4:44 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 85 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Redfish (red drum)Excellent

Dawn topwater over grass flats and shorelines, then follow them to deeper guts and channel edges with gold spoons and paddletails. Look for wakes and nervous bait.

Speckled troutGood

First light topwater over grass and shell, then deeper: free-lined live shrimp or croaker over 4-8 ft structure. The bite dies with the sun; night lights fish well.

Tomorrow: Similar at 86 F with a rain chance. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 8771450 (Galveston Pier 21). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
HIGH3:28 AM1.8 ft
LOW4:44 PM-0.1 ft
Sat
HIGH4:25 AM1.8 ft
LOW5:53 PM-0.1 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp88 F
High / Low88 / 80 F
WindESE 8-9 mph
Pressure1013.4 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain100% cloud, 52%
Sunrise / Sunset06:58 / 19:37
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~85 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Storms, 88/80 F, wind 11 mph, rain 52%

Fair or better. Cloud and a rain chance can stretch the morning bite well past breakfast: keep moving baits tied on.

Species guide

The species that matter on Galveston: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Redfish (red drum) illustration

Redfish (red drum)

Best: Sep-Nov bull run

The copper-flanked king of the flats and surf: tailing in inches of water, schooling by the hundred in fall. Dawn topwater over grass flats and shorelines, then follow them to deeper guts and channel edges with gold spoons and paddletails. Look for wakes and nervous bait.

Speckled trout illustration

Speckled trout

Best: spring and fall

The Gulf coast's everyday obsession: soft mouths, violent topwater strikes and a fishery that lives by tide and bait. First light topwater over grass and shell, then deeper: free-lined live shrimp or croaker over 4-8 ft structure. The bite dies with the sun; night lights fish well.

When to come: the Galveston calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Redfish (red drum)
Speckled trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 85 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~85 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Galveston today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 88 F, wind to 12 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 90 F, wind to 17 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 84 F, wind to 12 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Texas requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Texas saltwater endorsement required. Speckled trout: 15-20 inch slot rules apply on the upper coast, 3 per day: confirm current TPWD regs. Redfish: 20-28 inch slot, 3 per day.

Access

The 61st Street and Galveston piers, both jetties (North and South), San Luis Pass, and public bay access at Texas City Dike and Seawolf Park.

About this water

Galveston Bay complex, upper Texas coast. The largest estuary in Texas: 600 square miles of bays behind a 27-mile barrier island.

Fishing Galveston: the full guide

A complex, not a beach

Galveston is really five fisheries sharing a name: the bay complex (trout and redfish over shell and grass), the jetties (the granite highways where everything migrates past), the surf (speck runs on calm green summer mornings), the piers, and the ship channel with its winter refuge depths. Whatever the wind allows, something is fishable.

Playing the wind

Southeast light wind: run the surf or the bay shorelines with topwater at dawn. Hard south blow: hide on the protected west shorelines or the channel. North wind after a front: the back lakes and bayous load with redfish. The tide rules everything: moving water at the jetties and passes is the metronome of the whole system.

The complex, decoded

Galveston's fishery is a complex of complexes: East Bay's shell for wade-fishing trout purists, West Bay's grass coves for redfish skiffs, the jetties' granite for bull reds and sharks, and the surf's green-water summer mornings when trout push against the beach. The rule of thumb: find moving tide and bait concentration and the species sorts itself. Winter deep-holes in the bayous complete the year.

Common questions

When is the surf trout run in Galveston?

May through August on calm mornings when the water goes "trout green": wade the first gut at dawn with topwaters or soft plastics. Flat, green and early: the three conditions that matter.

Is fishing good at Galveston right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.

Nearby waters

Texas City Dike8 miLake Houston50 miSabine Pass63 miSabine Lake70 miMatagorda82 miNeches River85 mi
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