San Luis Pass, TX

Two days of SE and SSE wind built decent water, but this front swings it NW then W most of the day and will put a stain on the bay side. Speed is the saving grace - 4 to 13 kt out of the NW does not blow this system out the way 20 kt would. Tide is the best part of the day: high at 5:51 AM, then a long uninterrupted fall to 1:16 PM. Lures are workable early before the NW gets on it, and bait matches it stride for stride once the water dirties, so it's EITHER.

Get on it at gray light before the NW builds. Bone Super Spook Jr worked on the sandbar edges while it's still slick, then drop to a 1/4 oz jighead with a Down South Super Model in Chicken on a Chain once the chop starts - you want a little flash and a dark back in water that's going off. Cast up-current on the falling tide and let the plastic tumble across the drop, keep contact, most bites come on the fall.

Live shrimp under a popping cork on the bay side of the pass where the water is dirtier - the pop plus the scent gets you found in stained water. Free-line a finger mullet along the deeper cuts on the falling tide with just enough split shot to hold bottom. Stay well off the channel, that outgoing gets ugly.

Two days of SSE at 154 degrees stacked clean water in the pass, and the light NW today isn't strong enough to undo that in the throat. Behind the pass on the bay side, expect the NW push plus the thunderstorm runoff to stain it noticeably by mid-morning.

Redfish will be pushed up on the shallow flats and along the marsh drains as the tide dumps out to 1:16 PM - work the drains with a gold spoon or a live mullet. Flounder start stacking on the down-current side of the sandbars on a fall like this one; a 1/8 oz jighead dragged slow will find them.

Wind flips back S and SW overnight and stays southerly all day, which is the direction that rebuilds green water fast after a front. Clarity is the best thing going here. Tide is the weak link - one lonely low at 2:08 PM and a slow, lazy build the rest of the day, so you're waiting on movement most of the morning. Lures and bait score nearly even, so fish whichever you like, but keep it simple.

Fish the end of the fall into the 2:08 PM low - that's when the little water you've got is actually moving. Bass Assassin Sea Shad in Opening Night on a 3/8 oz head to hold in the SW chop, worked along the windward guts. The minor at 11:57 AM to 12:57 PM lands right in the middle of that fall, so be there. Slow-roll it just off bottom, no sharp snaps.

Live croaker on a Carolina rig with a 1/2 oz egg sinker along the deeper edges - water is 89 F and the trout will be sitting low and lazy. Piggy perch under a cork if you want a shallower presentation on the bar. Work the last two hours of the fall toward that early-afternoon low.

South and southwest wind at 9 to 13 kt is pulling Gulf water back in and cleaning up what yesterday's NW shove dirtied. The Gulf side of the pass will be a clear shade or two ahead of the back bay, which is still settling out.

Redfish will cruise the sand along the surf side with the south wind laying it down - a live mullet on a fish-finder rig gets them. Flounder are slow with weak tidal push today; not worth targeting until Thursday.

Three straight days of S and SE wind now, 4 to 13 kt, and that is exactly the setup that builds clean green water in this pass. Tide is a monster - 1.5 ft high at 12:54 AM feeding one long unbroken fall all the way to a 0.01 ft low at 3:06 PM. That means water moving hard right through sunrise. Major runs 5:15 to 7:15 AM, overlapping first light and peak flow, and lures are perfectly workable at 4 to 9 kt in the morning.

Topwater day. Start with a Super Spook Jr in bone or a MirrOlure She Dog in chrome/black on the bar edges at first light, walking it slow with long pauses - clear water means they'll track it a long way. When the sun gets up, switch to a MirrOdine XL or a Lil John in Texas Roach on a 1/8 oz head and fish it deeper on the drop. Natural and translucent in this water, no loud colors.

Live croaker free-lined on a 3/0 kahle along the deep drop-offs is hard to beat with the water at 86 to 88 F - big trout go deep and sulky once the sun is up and croaker drags them out. Early on, live shrimp under a rattling cork over the reef and bar edges. Work the falling water from the beach side of the bars, never toward the channel.

Sustained southerly flow at 154 degrees mean has had 72 hours to push Gulf water in and it shows. The throat of the pass will be green enough to see your lure work; up on the bay side expect a sandy tint where the bottom is still getting stirred.

Redfish will be running the guts hard on that long fall - a live mullet on a light Carolina rig in the drains produces all morning. Flounder will pile on the down-current lip of every sandbar with this much sustained outflow; drag a 1/4 oz jighead with a Sea Shad slow and low.

Wind is S at 4 to 9 kt, the lightest and cleanest direction we've had all week, and the water will be at its best. Tide is even better than Thursday - 1.63 ft high at 2:08 AM falling all the way to a negative low at 4:10 PM, so you get fourteen straight hours of moving water. The major hits 6:16 to 8:16 AM, right on sunrise with the tide ripping. At 4 to 9 kt lure control is dead easy, so this is a genuine artificial day.

Topwater first hour, no question - Super Spook Jr in bone or a She Dog in chrome/black, walked slow over the bar edges while it's slick calm. Once they quit blowing up, go to a Down South Super Model in plum/chartreuse or Texas Roach on a 1/8 oz head and swim it along the drop-off on the outgoing. In water this clean use a 20 lb fluorocarbon leader and lengthen it - they will look at everything twice.

Live croaker on a light Carolina rig worked along the deeper drop-offs once the sun is up and the 86 F water pushes the better fish down. Live shrimp under a popping cork over the reefs and bar tops at first light. Free-lined finger mullet in the guts on that long fall for the bigger bites.

Four days of sustained S and SE flow with nothing above 13 kt to churn the bottom - this is the classic build. Even the bay side should have tightened up by now, though the throat of the pass will still be the cleanest water you can reach.

Redfish are on all day with this much moving water - gold spoon or a live mullet in the drains and along the sand. Flounder are stacking hard on the down-current bar lips ahead of the fall runs; slow-drag a jighead and expect them to be there through the weekend.

This is the best day of the week and it is not close. SE wind 4 to 9 kt, five straight days of southerly flow, the cleanest water of the stretch. High of 1.71 ft at 3:08 AM feeding an uninterrupted fall to -0.07 ft at 5:21 PM - fourteen hours of hard-moving water. The major runs 7:19 to 9:19 AM sitting right on sunrise with the tide at full rip. Lures at 4 to 9 kt in clear green water is as good as this pass gets.

Be in the water at gray light. Bone Super Spook Jr or a MirrOlure She Dog walked slow across the bar tops while it's calm - clear water and a hard fall means blowups. When the sun climbs, MirrOdine XL suspended over the drop or a Lil John in Texas Roach on a 1/8 oz head worked slow on the outgoing edge. Keep colors natural and translucent and fish a long fluorocarbon leader.

Live shrimp under a popping cork over the bar tops and reef edges through the whole morning major. Once the water heats past 87 F by midday, switch to live croaker on a Carolina rig in the deeper drop-offs where the better trout drop down. Free-lined mullet in the guts on the back half of the fall.

Five days of S and SE wind averaging under 10 kt has put clean Gulf water everywhere you want to stand. The throat and the outer bars will be as clear as you'll see them all season; only the farthest back-bay water still carries a tint.

Redfish will be everywhere - the drains, the sand, and the guts all produce on a fall this long. Flounder are a genuine target on the down-current side of every bar; slow-drag a 1/4 oz jighead with a Sea Shad and you can pick a limit.

Tide is perfect again - 1.72 ft high at 3:57 AM falling clean to -0.06 ft at 6:33 PM, and wind stays feather-light at 4 to 9 kt. The one caveat is the morning wind swings W then N before it comes back E and SE by midday, and that short northerly puff will put a slight stain on the bay side. At 5 mph it is nowhere near enough to blow this system out, so lures stay fully workable. Major from 8:21 to 10:21 AM covers the strongest part of the fall.

Topwater at first light before that light N swings around - Spook Jr in bone on the bar tops. After sunup go to a Down South Super Model in Chicken on a Chain on a 1/8 oz head if you're working the stained bay side, or Texas Roach if you stay out toward the cleaner Gulf water. Match the color to the water in front of you, not to the forecast.

Live shrimp under a popping cork on the bay side where the slight stain works in your favor - the rattle finds them. Live croaker on a Carolina rig in the deeper drops as the water climbs past 87 F. Fish the drains and guts hard through the middle of the fall.

A light overnight westerly and a brief N at 5 mph will take a little polish off the back-bay water, but the five-day southerly build underneath it holds. The Gulf side of the pass and the outer bars stay noticeably cleaner than the bay side today.

Redfish are a lock on the drains with this fall - live mullet or a gold spoon. Flounder are still stacked on the down-current bar lips; the sustained outflow has had four days to concentrate them.

Wind stays very light at 3 to 11 kt with a W and WSW lean through the morning before it turns SE in the afternoon - light enough that it will not blow the pass out, but it does soften the water a shade compared to the weekend. Tide is still excellent: 1.68 ft high at 4:36 AM falling all day to a 0.01 ft low at 7:40 PM. Solunar is the weak spot with the major not starting until 9:21 AM, well after sunrise, so first light is running on tide alone. Lures are still perfectly workable at these speeds.

Start with a bone Spook Jr on the bar tops at gray light while it's slick, and give it plenty of time before you decide they aren't there - the major doesn't fire until 9:21 AM. Then fish a Bass Assassin Sea Shad in morning glory or a Lil John in Texas Roach on a 1/8 to 1/4 oz head along the drop on the fall. Air hits 93 F by midday, so front-load your effort.

Live croaker on a Carolina rig in the deeper drop-offs - with the air at 93 F by noon the trout will sit down early and croaker is the only thing that pulls the good ones up. Live shrimp under a popping cork over the bar edges early. Free-line a mullet in the guts through the strongest part of the outgoing.

A morning westerly at 4 to 5 kt takes a little of the edge off, but it is far too light to actually dirty this system. The SE turn in the afternoon starts pushing clean Gulf water back in, so the water improves as the day goes on rather than the usual reverse.

Redfish will work the drains and sand all morning on the long fall - live mullet is the easy call. Flounder remain on the down-current bar lips; drag slow with a 1/4 oz jighead and give them time to eat it.