Best Fishing Times in Texas This Week
Near Port Aransas, Jasper and Del Rio: today on a 24 hour timeline and the next seven days rated Fair to Best.
Working out the moon and the sun for Port Aransas, TX, and reading the forecast.
Fishing somewhere else? Enter any ZIP for your own spot
Photo: “Fall fishing on the Madison River at sunrise”, Jacob W. Frank, Yellowstone National Park (NPS), Public domain
Texas at a glance
Solunar windows plus the agency calendarWhen fish bite in Texas
Texas fishing turns on trophy largemouth bass in March, speckled trout in the shallow bays in spring and summer, bull red drum on the Gulf beaches in fall, and rainbow trout stocked from Thanksgiving week.
Each entry below is from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department or its published guides, quoted word for word and linked. Line the season up with the week above: a run in its prime and a Great day with a window at first light is the morning to take off.
- March
Largemouth bass
March is the best time for a trophy bass, when big females are most likely near spawning areas and heavy with eggs.
“March is the best time to catch a trophy-size bass. That’s when the big females are most likely to be near the spawning areas, and they are heavy with eggs.”
Largemouth Bass in Texas, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, read October 9, 2026 - Spring and summer
Spotted seatrout
Speckled trout are most common in the shallow bays in spring and summer.
“They are most common in the shallow bays during spring and summer.”
Spotted Seatrout in Texas, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, read October 9, 2026 - Fall
Red drum
In fall, especially in stormy weather, large red drum move to the Gulf beaches, where they are caught from piers and the surf.
“During the fall, especially during stormy weather, large adult red drum move to the gulf beaches, possibly for spawning, where they can be caught from piers and by surf anglers.”
Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, read October 9, 2026 - Winter, from Thanksgiving week
Rainbow trout
TPWD stocks rainbow trout starting the week of Thanksgiving, giving anglers a winter chance at them.
“The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) will stock thousands of rainbow trout beginning the week of Thanksgiving to give anglers a chance to catch one of these iconic fish.”
News Release: Nov. 16, 2023: Rainbow Trout Fishing Heading to a Waterbody Near You, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, read October 9, 2026
Reading the Texas timeline
Each day has two major solunar periods of about two hours, centered on the moon overhead and underfoot, and two minor periods of about an hour at moonrise and moonset. A window within an hour of sunrise or sunset is marked in gold. The rating adds the moon phase, the gold windows and a capped nudge from the National Weather Service forecast for each town. Every factor and its points.
Dawn and dusk are the reliable part; the moon windows are the old angler’s rule.
