Freeport Jetties, TX

Forty-eight hours of SSE has the pass in decent shape and the NW shift behind Tuesday's storms only carries 4 to 9 knots - nowhere near enough push to blow this bay out. You get one uninterrupted fall from the 5:37 AM high all the way down to the 12:25 PM low, so the water is moving at first light. Lures are workable in that light wind, but a 40 to 50 percent storm chance and 87 degree water keep it EITHER rather than a clean lure day. Get in early and watch the radar.

Start on top in the low light with a bone Super Spook Jr walked slow along the bar edges while the fall is still pulling hard. When the sun burns through, drop to a 1/4 oz jighead with a Down South Super Model in Chicken on a Chain or a Bass Assassin Sea Shad in plum/chartreuse - the stain wants some color. Fish the down-current side of the guts and let it sweep. Do not go lighter on the head and fight the current.

Live shrimp under a popping cork on a 24 inch leader over the sand-to-grass transition on the bay side, where the stain is worst and scent earns its keep. Once the sun is up and the fish slide off, free-line a live croaker on a 1/0 kahle down the deeper edge of the guts. Bring extra shrimp - the storms will move you around.

The SSE 155-degree mean over two days built the green water, and 4 to 9 knots of NW is too weak to undo it in one morning. The Gulf side of the throat will be the cleanest water you can reach; back toward the bay it goes noticeably dirtier after the overnight rain.

Redfish will push the shorelines on the falling water; a gold spoon or a cut mullet chunk on a fish-finder rig at the drain mouths gets bit. Flounder are stacking on those same drains this time of year.

Wind never tops 10 knots, swinging SW early then back S, and 4 to 9 knots of SW cannot dirty this pass - the two days of SSE underneath it still own the water. Better still, there is one long unbroken fall from the overnight high all the way to the 1:19 PM low, so the current works the entire morning instead of dying at nine. The 4:19 to 6:19 AM major runs right up to sunrise. Lures and bait both score in the low 80s, so EITHER is the honest call, with lures getting the nod until the water heats up.

Topwater at first light - a chrome/black MirrOlure She Dog or a bone Spook Jr walked across the bar edges while the fall is ripping. Once the sun is on the water, go subsurface with a MirrOdine XL in Texas Roach or a Lil John on a 1/8 oz head fished slow along the drop. Sandy green wants translucent and natural, not loud.

Live shrimp under a rattling cork drifted with the falling tide along the bars, letting it swing into the deeper cuts. After about nine, switch to a live croaker free-lined with one small split shot and put it in the guts - 87 degree water turns the better trout to croaker fast.

Light southerly flow keeps clean water coming in on every flood, and the light SW does not have the speed to reverse it. The bay side still carries color from Tuesday's runoff, so work from the Gulf side of the throat outward.

Redfish will work the bars all morning on that long fall - a live mullet under a cork will find them. Flounder sit on the drain mouths; slow-drag on the last of the fall.

Cleanest water of the stretch so far - three days of S and SE under 10 knots has the pass looking right. The problem is the tide. One lonely low at 2:18 PM with nothing else on the board means a long, lazy drain with very little push behind it, and slack-feeling water at this pass is what kills trips. What saves the morning is the 5:16 to 7:16 AM major landing straight on sunrise. Be there for it and be gone by nine. Lures and bait score close enough to call it EITHER.

Clear water and a weak tide means finesse. Walk a bone or okie shad Spook Jr at gray light, then go to a Down South Super Model in Opening Night or a Lil John in Opening Night on a 1/8 oz head - lighter head, slower fall, longer casts. Do not overwork it. If they short-strike, drop to 15 lb fluoro leader.

Free-lined live shrimp with no weight along the bar drop is the play in clear, slow water - a cork makes too much racket. As the sun climbs, put a live croaker on the bottom in the deepest cut you can safely reach from shore and leave it there.

Sustained S flow at 4 to 9 knots is the classic green-water setup and it has now had three days to work. Bay side is finally catching up and should be closer to sandy green than stained.

Redfish will be the more reliable target on a weak tide - work the shoreline sand with a live mullet or a piggy perch on a light cork. Flounder should be on the drains but expect a slow bite until water starts moving.

Everything lines up. Four days of S and SE at under 10 knots has the water green, and the tide gives you a 2.11 foot drain from the 12:06 AM high all the way to the 3:22 PM low - hard, uninterrupted current for the whole fishable window. The 6:16 to 8:16 AM moon-overhead major sits right on the 7:01 sunrise. Wind is 5 mph at daylight, which is topwater weather. Both methods score in the nineties so it is EITHER, but with water this clean and air this calm, lures are the more fun way to do it.

This is the morning to throw topwater and mean it. Bone or chrome/black Super Spook Jr along the bar edges at first light, walked with a steady cadence through the whole major. When the blowups stop, drop to a Down South Super Model in Chicken on a Chain on a 1/8 oz head, or a MirrOdine XL twitched over the drop. Clean water, natural colors, long casts.

Live shrimp under a popping cork drifted with the hard fall along the bar, working the down-current side of every gut. By mid-morning the bigger fish drop deep in that 87 degree water - free-line a live croaker on a 1/0 kahle into the edge of the deeper cuts and hold on.

Steady southerly flow has now pushed clean Gulf water in over four straight days with nothing to undo it. Even the bay side should be trout-green by Friday morning.

Redfish will be all over the falling water on the bars - gold spoon or a live finger mullet on a light cork. Flounder are worth a stop on the drain mouths on the back half of the fall.

Best day on the sheet. SE at 4 to 9 knots is the money direction for this pass and it has been building green water for the better part of a week. The tide is the strongest of the stretch - a 2.25 foot fall from the 2.04 ft high at 1:13 AM down to a minus low at 4:34 PM, so the current never quits. The 7:19 to 9:19 AM major overlaps sunrise and the peak of that fall. Clean water and calm air make lures a joy here, though bait scores 93 too, so EITHER is fair.

Topwater until they quit eating it - bone Spook Jr or a She Dog in chrome/black worked along the sandbar edges right through the 7:19 major. Follow with a Down South Super Model in Opening Night or a Bass Assassin Sea Shad in Texas Roach on a 1/8 to 1/4 oz head, fished on the down-current side of the guts. Clean water means natural and translucent, and keep a 20 lb fluoro leader on for the bigger fish.

Live shrimp under a popping cork drifted with the fall along the bar is going to be hard to beat early. Once the sun gets high on 87 degree water, free-line a live croaker into the deeper edges - that is what puts a heavy trout on the sand this time of year.

SE flow at 4 to 9 knots on top of a week of southerly wind is exactly the pattern that turns this pass green from the throat to the back side. There should be no meaningful difference between Gulf and bay water on Saturday.

Redfish will be running the bars hard on that big fall - live mullet on a cork or a gold spoon. Flounder are on the drain mouths and should be thick with the tide dropping to a minus low.

The tide is still perfect - a 2.05 ft high at 2:15 AM draining to a minus low at 5:53 PM, all day of moving water - and the wind stays under 10 knots. The only knock is the direction: it clocks W then N then NE through the morning before coming back SE. At 4 to 9 knots that is a nuisance, not a blowout, but it will put a touch of color back on the bay side. The 8:22 to 10:22 AM major is late enough that you can sleep in a little. Both methods still score high, so EITHER.

Start on top with a bone Spook Jr while the light is low, then switch to a Down South Super Model in Chicken on a Chain or a Lil John in plum/chartreuse on a 1/4 oz head as the major comes in at 8:22. The slight color coming off the bay means bump the contrast up a notch from Saturday. Work the drop-offs on the down-current side.

Live shrimp under a popping cork drifted with the fall - the light color from the north wind is exactly when a cork and scent out-earn a jig. Live croaker free-lined into the deeper guts after nine for the better fish in that hot water.

A week of southerly wind has the Gulf side clean and a 4 to 9 knot N/NE swing is not enough to wreck it. Expect the throat to hold green water while the bay side loses a little clarity through the morning.

Redfish should be strong on a fall this size - live mullet or a cut piece on the bottom near the drain mouths. Flounder on the same water as the tide bottoms out late.

The tide is still doing all the work - 1.99 ft at 3:08 AM draining to a minus low at 7:07 PM, moving water all day with wind at 3 to 5 mph in the morning. The catch is the direction and the heat: it starts W and WNW before turning SE in the afternoon, and it is forecast to hit 94 to 95 by midday. Light W will put a little stain back on the bay side, and 87-plus water shuts the artificial bite down hard by mid-morning. Fish it early. EITHER is right, but bait is the better bet once the sun is up.

Get your topwater bites in the first hour - a bone Spook Jr on the bar edges before the sun is up. After that, go to a Down South Super Model in morning glory or a Bass Assassin Sea Shad in plum/chartreuse on a 3/8 oz head and fish it deep and slow along the drop, because the fish are going to be down. Once it hits 90 degrees, do not waste your morning grinding shallow water.

Live croaker is the call on a 95 degree day - free-line it on a 1/0 kahle with one split shot and put it in the deepest cut you can safely fish. Live shrimp under a cork will still work the first two hours on the bar, but it fades fast once the heat comes on.

A light W and WNW morning wind is the wrong direction for this system, but at 3 to 5 mph it can only take the edge off - the throat should still show sandy green off the week of southerly flow. The bay side is where you will see the difference.

Redfish will keep eating in the heat better than trout - live mullet on the bottom at the drain mouths on the long fall. Flounder should be good late in the afternoon as it drains to a minus low.