Best Times & Seasons to Catch Fish in Port Aransas
Port Aransas is one of the most popular destinations along the Gulf of Mexico for fishing. Knowing the best times of year to visit this awesome fishing destination can make a huge difference in your catch rates.
The best times to fish Port Aransas is May through September bring bigger fish into offshore locations. Inshore fishing actually is very good during fall and winter with greater numbers of sea trout, redfish, and flounder moving inshore.
| Fish Species | Best Seasons to Catch in Port Aransas |
| Redfish | Available year-round; September & October are peak months. |
| Black Drum | June through the end of August is the best time. |
| Sharks | Available year-round; best fishing is during summer. |
| Tarpon | May & June are the best months. |
| Speckled Sea Trout | May through the beginning of September are the best months |
Port Aransas is a city known for its great fishing. It’s located on Mustang Island, just off the south coast of Texas in the Gulf of Mexico. The most sought-after species in Port Aransas are Redfish, Flounder, Black Drum, Shark, and Speckled Trout.
There are countless other species that live in these waters, so having a mixed bag for the day isn’t uncommon. Anglers can use a variety of strategies to catch these fish as well, from fishing onshore or a pier to taking a fishing charter out for a day. Whichever strategy you pick, you’ll be sure to catch fish. Click here to find out the favorable times for fishing trips in Texas. Check out this helpful guide to the best fishing times for Corpus Christi. You may also be interested in this article on the best times for South Padre fishing.
Species of Port Aransas: Best Seasons
Redfish
Easily one of the most sought-after fish in Port Aransas, these fish are known for putting up a fight. The best months to catch big, bull Redfish are September and October, but they can be caught all year, you just might not find the same size.
The best time of day to go for Redfish is in the morning before the water warms up. Common bait for Redfish is mullet and shrimp.
Black Drum
Black Drum are common in the port, freshwater fishermen may think of drum as rough fish or less desirable fish, but Black Drum are incredible fighters, and drum upward of 30 pounds are common.
The best months to catch them are June through August when the fish start moving closer inshore to feed.
Black Drum can be caught all day, making them a safe bet if you want to make sure you catch fish. The most common bait used for Black Drum are crabs and shrimp.
Sharks
The most common types of sharks in Port Aransas are Mako, Bull, and Hammerhead. These sharks are aggressive and can be caught from the surf or with a boat. The most common bait is Bonita.
Bonita have a high oil and blood content, making sure the shark can smell your bait. As with most fish, shark are most active around dusk and dawn. Fishing for shark can be great year-round at Port Aransas, making them one of the top targets for fishermen taking a trip there.
Speckled Sea Trout
Speckled Sea Trout are beautiful fish found all over the Gulf of Mexico. They generally bite in the evening during May through August.
They do bite on live bait, but lures that make a lot of noise and vibration generally work the best. Poppers and suspending crankbaits are generally the go-to baits for these fish.
Tarpon
Tarpon are one of the most sought-after fish in the world by saltwater anglers and for good reason. These fish put up an amazing fight, can be huge, and even give you an acrobatics show if you get one on your line.
May and June are the most popular times for Tarpon, and they generally bite in the morning or early afternoon before the water warms up.
Pinfish and grunts are excellent bait for these fish, but if you’re feeling up to the challenge, Tarpon are commonly caught on fly fishing gear as well.
There are countless other species in Port Aransas and a lot of times you can target a fish all you want, and you’ll still catch some other species, which just adds to the fun of it all. As with any other fishing trip, timing is everything. No matter the season, you can catch fish in Port Aransas.
Recommended Fishing Charters in Port Aransas
These Port Aransas-based charters have earned great reviews from anglers and will offer you a tremendous service. The captains are knowledgeable, friendly, and are sure to put you on fish. By clicking the links below, you will be taken to the charter’s respective profile on Fishing Booker where you can read reviews, learn more about the charter, view photos, and book online at the best rate.
| Recommended Fishing Charters | Type of Fishing Offered |
| Lil Joe’s Guide Service (Port Aransas) | Nearshore & Inshore |
| Fillabite Guide Service (Port Aransas) | Nearshore & Inshore |
| Team Liberty Guide Service (Corpus Christi) | Nearshore & Inshore |
| Seidel Guide Service (Port Aransas) | Nearshore & Inshore |
| Steven’s Guide Service (Port Aransas) | Nearshore & Inshore |
Fishing Times in Port Aransas
Morning
Fishing in the morning is what’s commonly known as prime time for almost any species. You’ll find that almost every specie is active during the morning hours, slowly tapering off as you get closer to the afternoon. Fish normally hunt in more open waters in the morning as they don’t need as much cover from the sun.
Afternoon
Fishing in the afternoon can be a great time but is normally not nearly as good as other times of the day. The sun is high, water is hot, and the fish become less active. Fish will move deeper and go closer to structure to find cover. Finding cover is the most important thing about fishing in the afternoon.
Almost any spot can be good in the morning, you just need to pay attention to tides and baitfish activity. Unless you’re going offshore into deeper water, a lot of the spots in the area are shallow and you can somewhat track baitfish by looking into the water and looking for clouds of minnows or structure.
Evening
Evening fishing is a lot like morning fishing, except instead of tapering off, it usually gets better as the evening goes on.
The water is cooling down, fish are back out into more open water and roaming a lot more. The fish can still see well, but usually not to the point where they can see your line.
As with all the other times, live bait will work great at this time, but lures that make a lot of vibrations in the water will also work great. The jetties that were mentioned before would be a good bet on finding a lot of fish at this time.
Night
Night fishing is very popular here, with quite a few piers equipped with lighting to make it easier. There are also a few guide services that will take you out at night. Anglers who make it past midnight can keep double their daily limit. Boat traffic is at a minimum at night as well, making the competition a non-issue.
Usually, fish are more active at night as well, you can target any species that you regularly would during the day, the most common being shark and redfish.
Surf fishing at night is also a very promising venture, fewer people and not knowing what you have on the other end of the line adds to the excitement.
Using bait that has a strong smell is important at night because the fish are there, but they’ll most likely want something that’s real and has a strong scent, making it easier to track down.
Some of the most targeted species at night are redfish, trout, and sharks from the surf. If you’re out on a boat, head to a well-lit area, or you could fish the flats and have bright LED lights equipped on your boat. Either way, the fish will have enough light to see the fish(a full moon will help this) and they’ll be active.
You can find all of the normal fish you’d expect to find during the day, but sometimes fish bite more at night. Shark fishing at night is very popular among surf fishermen, grab a surf rod and large bait, either live or cut, cast it past any sandbars near shore, and wait.
There are a couple of hurdles to jump with low-light fishing, but if you’re prepared with the right equipment, you can find a lot of fish. The best seasons to target redfish at night are summer and early fall. The redfish like to move shallower as the water cools off.
For trout, you can target them by using dock lights, they also like to move into some shallower water as it cools down. As for sharks, you can catch them all year, they’ll usually be hanging just off a drop-off, cruising around for prey that goes just a little too deep.
Top Fishing Spots in Port Aransas (Best Times)
Shore Fishing Spots
There are plenty of places in Port Aransas to catch tons of fish from shore, the most common being jetties, which is another name for break walls. These are large, usually concrete, or rocky formations that break the current from the larger water, so boats and the shoreline don’t experience as much trouble with big waves.
More well-known spots are piers, most jut out far to compensate for low tide, making them great spots to fish during both high and low tide.
Throughout most of the day, you’ll mainly find some small-medium fish. At night, the bigger predators tend to move closer to shore to feed, giving anglers a great opportunity to catch big fish without breaking the bank.
South Jetty
This spot is well known and is close to downtown Aransas. It has a large concrete surface for anglers to fish from. The most common species caught here are Speckled Trout, Flounder, and Black and Red Drum. There is free parking located close to the water and plenty of room for lots of anglers to be there at the same time.
Horace Caldwell Pier
This pier is 1,280 feet long and is open 24 hours and year-round. The pier is lighted, so nighttime fishing is very easy here. The most common species caught here are Drum and Redfish.
The pier is equipped with concessions for food, bait, tackle and has restrooms. You can rent fishing equipment here as well, so this spot is perfect if you’re looking to add some cheap fishing to a trip without hauling your gear down.
Fish Pass Jetties
This spot is a beachy area right next to Mustang Island State Park. Most anglers will target Speckled Trout, Redfish, and Flounder here. The most common bait here is either dead or alive shrimp on a jig. The jetty here goes out a ways and creates a channel-like feature that fish like to swim around for food in.
Aransas Pass
This spot includes two lighted piers, restrooms, a boat ramp, and bait stand. There is no fee to fish here, making this one of the best value fishing spots on this list. Common species caught here are trout, flounder, and redfish.
In-shore and Off-shore Spots
Aransas Bay
This bay is about 16 miles long and 6 miles wide, this is an interesting area because it is more of a backwater area. It was created by years of hurricanes bringing water inland and is connected to the gulf through a series of channels.
There are oyster reefs in the northern section of the bay, these hold a lot of flounder and mackerel. The eastern side of the bay has grassy flats making it perfect for targeting redfish.
Bird Island in Redfish Bay
Bird Island is a small island that holds lots of big fish. Anglers can expect to see a lot of redfish here, hence the name. The area is covered with grassy areas making it a perfect habitat for redfish. The best seasons to target fish here are in the fall and early winter.
Brown & Root Flats
These flats are covered with grass and again, perfect for targeting redfish. This area is also a well-known spot for fly-fishers, with the average depth being around 5 feet, you can sight fish all you want here.
There are several islands and pipelines in this area, giving the fish plenty of cover. The area includes a variety of species as well, so you can expect to get a mixed bag and not just redfish.
Tropical Storms in Port Aransas
Port Aransas has seen its fair share of tropical storms, the most notable in recent history is Hurricane Harvey. There was also a storm there that almost destroyed the port in the ’70s.
Obviously, fishing during a tropical storm would not be a good idea, fishing before and after a storm won’t be as good either.
The storms cause changes in current and kick up a lot of sand and silt from the bottom, making the water dirty. The winds from these storms can also make baitfish movements unpredictable, making game fish movements unpredictable.
Winds from storms not near Port Aransas can also affect the fishing there, winds coming up from other places throughout the gulf can be a big factor in fishing quality, so it’s best to try to avoid these storms as much as possible. In Texas, tropical storm season is considered to be from August through mid-September.
Tides in Port Aransas
Tides are one of those things we wish we didn’t have to worry about, but they’ll always be changing, therefore changing how the fish act.
Tides mainly affect how active fish will be and what spots they will be in. In Port Aransas, fish are going to be more active in the time leading up to high tide.
Clean, high-oxygen water is brought closer to shore, giving the fish more energy to hunt. New food is brought closer to shore because baitfish like to hang out in shallower water, away from predators.
The predators will follow the fish close to shore but will usually sit right off a drop-off a little further out.
Or they will find a sandbar to lurk around, sitting just on the other side of the sandbar, waiting for their prey to swim just a little too deep. Low tide is a little bit trickier; the fish are retreating with the tide but also won’t turn down an easy meal.
Fish activity during this time is more unpredictable, but it is possible to track down fish that are hunting retreating prey. Usually during this time baitfish are more spread out, so baits that cover a lot of water wouldn’t be a bad idea at this time.
Winter Fishing in Port Aransas
As winter comes around, water temperatures drop and fish move to deeper water. This shouldn’t discourage you from fishing here though, there are still plenty of fish to be caught.
The edges of flats, where they drop off can be extremely good during the winter, as well as covering a lot of water on the flats.
Anglers will want to focus on in-shore fishing as the conditions out on bigger water can be rough, lots of wind and waves. Redfish, drum and snapper can all be caught on these flats in the winter. The fish will be hungry, some go-to baits are crab, shrimp and cut bait.
