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CobiaRetention openBay · Texas
Red Fish Bay
26.60°N · 97.43°W · Bay · Laguna Madre From 5 nm North Of Port Mansfield To Baffin Bay TX
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 12 AM · Cobia
- Now
- 3312 PM CDT
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- High1.4 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Red Fish Bay scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 12 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
22Tide: High slackCurrent: 0.2 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
74Wind: 11 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
39Water temp: 87°F, hotLight: Partly cloudySolunar: Near a majorSeas: 2.0 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
55Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Texas state waters (shore to 9 nautical miles, bays included)
Cobia
Retention open- Daily limit
- 1 per day
- Possession
- 2 in possession
- Size
- Minimum 40 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- The possession limit is double the daily bag and does not count fish stored at your residence. While fishing, you may not hold more than the daily bag.
From TPWD 2026-27 Outdoor Annual, Cobia Bag & Length Limits, read Sep 13
Other species here
- Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
- Gag grouper Retention open (2 per day)
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (20 per day)
- Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
- King mackerel Retention open (3 per day)
- Red drum Retention open (3 per day)
- Red snapper Retention open (4 per day)
- Sailfish Retention open
- Sheepshead Retention open (5 per day)
- Snook Retention open (1 per day)
- Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Striped bass Retention open (5 per day)
- Tarpon Retention open (1 per day)
Source: TPWD · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Cobia is best here
Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Red Fish Bay
- Depth
- 5-7 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonCobia
NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.
About this spot
Fishing Red Fish Bay
Red Fish Bay is a bay in Laguna Madre From 5 nm North Of Port Mansfield To Baffin Bay TX, Texas. Depth is 5-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 15 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, crevalle jack and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, crevalle jack, Atlantic tarpon and red drum, and shoulder season for gray snapper, gray triggerfish, red snapper and Spanish mackerel. Atlantic croaker peak from June through September. Crevalle jack peak from June through September. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- Cobia
- Cobia cruise inlets, beaches, buoys, wrecks and the backs of rays in 5 to 100 feet of water. On calm, sunny days sight-cast bucktails or live eels to fish near the surface. Otherwise anchor up-current of structure, chum, and fish live eels, crabs or menhaden near the bottom.
- Atlantic croaker
- Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
- Crevalle jack
- Jacks roam in schools through inlets, passes, bays, river mouths and along beaches, pushing bait to the surface, and big fish also hold on nearshore reefs and wrecks. Watch for birds and surface blowups, then cast a popper, a spoon or a bucktail into the school and retrieve fast. Bring heavy spinning tackle, because a jack over 15 pounds runs hard and fights for a long time.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Fourmile Slough68
Gut · 5.6 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 68
- Atlantic tarpon 56
- Crevalle jack 53
11 kt EL 7:58 PM · 0.7 ftH 3:27 AM · 1.7 ft
- Port Mansfield Channel66
Channel · 5.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 66
- Atlantic tarpon 55
- Crevalle jack 52
11 kt EL 7:58 PM · 0.7 ftH 3:27 AM · 1.7 ft
Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with TPWD before you keep a fish.