This is Artificial Lure with your Gulf Coast Texas fishing report for November 18, 2025. We’re rolling into prime late fall and the bite's been steady from Sabine down to South Padre. First, let’s set the stage with today’s conditions.

Tides are a big player, and Freeport’s tidal report from Tides4Fishing calls for a low at 7:37 a.m. around 0.2 feet, climbing to a high near 2.0 feet around 3:57 p.m.—so that afternoon push should fire up the bite, especially for folks fishing outgoing or incoming water in the bays. Corpus Christi tide forecasters echo that, with a low early and the main high mid-afternoon. Sunrise is about 6:47 a.m. and sunset 5:25 p.m. The weather’s typical November—a cool morning, warming mild under mostly clear skies, and light winds, perfect for both the surf and flats.

Recent action has been classic late fall. Around Matagorda, Galveston, and the Upper Laguna Madre, wade anglers and boaters are bringing in solid stringers of **redfish**, with some pushing slot upper limits. **Speckled trout** are running on the edges of channels and over potholes, especially good at first light. There’s scattered **flounder** staging along drop-offs and marsh cuts, and shore anglers are hitting some bruising black drum and sheepshead near jetties and pilings. According to recent updates from FishingReminder.com and Lone Star Outdoor News, schools of **bull reds** have shown up on the Port Aransas and Packery jetties, and action is good at the surf between High Island and Bolivar, too. Down in South Texas, kayak fishers report scattered tarpon still moving in the Port Mansfield area, but expect those to thin as waters cool.

For lures, it’s all about slowing down. Soft plastics—paddle and curly tail shads in natural or root beer/chartreuse on an eighth-ounce jighead—are money right now over grass and shell. *Gold spoons* still work for cruising reds, and with cleaner water in the afternoons, tie on a topwater like a Spook Jr. at dawn, then switch to plastics or a slow-sinking jerkbait as the sun rises. For bait, you can’t beat live shrimp or finger mullet under a popping cork for a mixed bag. If you’re in deeper holes, dead shrimp is putting black drum in the box. Remember, winter patterns mean fish are less willing to chase—Maj. League Fishing experts and KFMX radio both point to slow retrieves with long pauses, especially on jigs.

Now, a couple of hot spots:
- **Packery Channel** and the spoil islands along the JFK Causeway—great for early redfish and trout, especially on an incoming tide.
- **Freeport surf** between San Luis Pass and Follets Island—the outgoing tide in late afternoon is a classic flounder ambush.
- If you’re looking for a quieter bay bite, the windward lagoon shorelines near Bird Island Basin still have lazy trout and reds hunting mullet in shallow potholes.

Harbor areas like the Corpus Christi Marina or La Quinta Turning Basin can be productive, especially as cooler water pushes bait in. For structure, work the jetties at Port Aransas or Galveston for sheepshead and drum, using shrimp or crab on the bottom.

Big thanks for tuning in and letting me be your fishing partner this morning. If you get out and tangle with a trophy, tag Artificial Lure! Don’t forget to subscribe for more local reports straight to your feed.

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