Share your catch

Port Mansfield Fishing Report

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

The Laguna's quiet door: a fly-in-sized village facing the clearest flats in Texas, where redfish tail at dawn and the East Cut opens the Gulf.

3/5
Fair. Fish early or late.Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows.
Next tide
High 2:38 AM
Air / High
92 / 94 F
Wind
ESE 18 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8778485, 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.

Port Mansfield stays in its summer rhythm: early magic, midday siesta, evening reprieve. Today brings clear skies, wind ESE around 18 mph, steady pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 94. Tides: high 12:40 AM, low 2:48 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 92 F. 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 8778485 (Port Mansfield Channel Entrance). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
HIGH12:40 AM1.9 ft
LOW2:48 PM-0.1 ft
Sat
HIGH2:38 AM2.0 ft
LOW4:04 PM-0.1 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp92 F
High / Low94 / 80 F
WindESE 18-22 mph
Pressure1011.0 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain2% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset07:10 / 19:46
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 · Overcast, 94/80 F, wind 18 mph, rain 1%

Fair or better. A 18 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Port Mansfield: 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 Port Mansfield 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 Port Mansfield today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

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 92 F, wind to 20 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 94 F, wind to 22 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 94 F, wind to 20 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

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 license + endorsement. Trout: Lower Laguna limits; snook: tight slot, mostly release: check TPWD.

Access

Port Mansfield public harbor ramps; lodge docks; East Cut jetties by boat.

About this water

The Lower Laguna's village fishery, Willacy County, TX. Sight-fishing's quiet Texas capital.

Fishing Port Mansfield: the full guide

Village at the edge

Port Mansfield is barely a town: a grid of fishing lodges and a harbor facing the Lower Laguna Madre's clearest water. No beach traffic, no strip: the village exists for the flats: and the flats justify it: gin-clear sight-fishing for reds and trophy trout with the King Ranch's emptiness behind.

The sight game

Dawn wades and poled skiffs work the west-side grass and potholes: tailing reds in inches, trout ghosting the edges: with the same trophy-plug winter culture as Baffin to the north. The East Cut's jetties (the Laguna's man-made pass) add snook: this is their Texas heartland: and tarpon rolls in the channel come summer.

The Cut and beyond

The East Cut runs straight to the Gulf: kings and Spanish outside, bull reds in the fall current, and the surf of Padre's wild stretch (boat-access) fishing like the 1950s. Offshore, the tuna-and-snapper grounds sit a long but real run: the village fleet does it all from one small harbor.

Mansfield practicalities

The public harbor ramps serve everyone: lodges run the guide culture: and provisioning is minimal: bring what you need, the village store covers the gaps. Wind is the Laguna's meter: mornings and lee shorelines: and the run south to the Cut demands basic navigation respect: shallow is the whole point here.

Common questions

What makes Port Mansfield special?

Clarity plus emptiness: the Lower Laguna's best sight-fishing with a fraction of anyone's traffic. The village exists for exactly this.

Can you catch snook at Port Mansfield?

The East Cut's jetties are Texas snook's home water: summer fish in the rocks, handled gently and mostly released. Tarpon share the channel in the warm months.

Is fishing good at Port Mansfield 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

South Padre Island35 miBaffin Bay51 miCorpus Christi72 miPort Aransas92 miRockport104 miFalcon Lake112 mi
Share your catch