Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

Crevalle jackPeak season

Bar · Texas

Josephine Reef

28.33°N · 96.52°W · Bar · San Antonio, Mesquite, and Espiritu Santo Bays

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · Crevalle jack

71/100Great
Now
442 PM CDT
Best window
2-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
High0.3 ft

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

Notify me when Josephine Reef scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score44Fair
Tide0.3 ftHigh
Current0.4 knmodeled · toward WSW
Wind11 kn Egusts 18 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.7 ft · 4 s
Air temp88°Hot
WeatherMostly cloudy82% cloud
Water92°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Texas state waters (shore to 9 nautical miles, bays included)

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Crevalle jack is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with TPWD before you keep a fish.

Species rules here

  • Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
  • Cobia Retention open (1 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)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Crevalle jack is best here

Peak season for Crevalle jack · 1 more week at peak

Crevalle jack season by week of the year. Peak season for Crevalle jack · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Crevalle jack in Texas

Spot profile

Josephine Reef

Depth
6-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Reef · Inner · Semi-exposedReef · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonCrevalle jack

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 Josephine Reef

Josephine Reef is a bar in San Antonio, Mesquite, and Espiritu Santo Bays, Texas. Depth is 6-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads reef, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 15 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, gray triggerfish and red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, red drum, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for gray triggerfish, red snapper, black drum and king mackerel. Atlantic croaker peak from June through September. Gray triggerfish peak from May through August. Red drum peak from August through November.

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
Gray triggerfish
Gray triggerfish hover a few feet over reefs, wrecks and ledges, usually in 60 to 200 feet, and often show up while snapper fishing. Use small, strong circle hooks with small pieces of squid or cut bait on a short bottom rig, because they nibble and strip big baits. Keep the bait just off the bottom and reel steadily at the first solid pull.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Shoalwater Bay

    Bay · 3.7 mi

    64
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Atlantic tarpon 55
    • Red drum 52

    11 kt EH 2:27 PM · 0.3 ftL 12:14 AM · 0.1 ft

  • Espiritu Santo Bay

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    62
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 62
    • Atlantic tarpon 53
    • Crevalle jack 50

    11 kt EH 2:27 PM · 0.3 ftL 12:14 AM · 0.1 ft

  • Rahal Bayou

    Bay · 2.2 mi

    62
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 62
    • Atlantic tarpon 53
    • Red drum 51

    11 kt EH 2:27 PM · 0.3 ftL 12:14 AM · 0.1 ft

  • Lighthouse Cove

    Bay · 5.2 mi

    59
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 59
    • Atlantic tarpon 55
    • Crevalle jack 51

    11 kt EH 3:39 PM · 0.3 ftL 10:35 PM · 0.1 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.