Tidal water has no streamflow gauge. Tide predictions, water level and water temperature from the nearest NOAA stations are in the readings below.
South Bay is a saltwater flats in Texas, listed as Agency-named saltwater fishing water by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department lists 8 species, including common snook, crevalle jack and fat snook. 3 guides nearby are listed here; the nearest destination hub is Port Mansfield & the Lower Laguna Madre.
South Bay is a saltwater flats in Texas. Our destination hub Port Mansfield & the Lower Laguna Madre is 39 mi away in a straight line and lists it among its waters. Texas has 2 waters named South Bay in the USGS Geographic Names Information System; this page is the bay whose point is in Cameron County, the one the agency list names.
Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.
Nothing on this page grants or implies access.
Shops and guides within 40 miles
Map of South Bay: gauges, shops and guides
Map of South Bay, and shops and guides with an exact address within 40 miles.
Restrooms within 2 miles of South Bay in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.
No restroom mapped within 2 mi yet — add one you know.
Campgrounds, fishing access sites and boat ramps often have one that isn't on the map yet.
Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Arroyo ColoradoSouthern Corpus Christi Bay as Tropical Storm Beta neared the Texas coast. Photo: Supportstorm, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Arroyo Colorado.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Laguna MadreGalveston Bay from Skyline Drive near the Texas City Dike, Texas. Photo: Jeremy Mosley, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Laguna Madre.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Baffin BaySabine Lake at Pleasure Island, Port Arthur, Texas. Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Baffin Bay.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Alazan BayFly fishing on a flat in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Photo: NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Alazan Bay.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Laguna SaladaA beach in the Ten Thousand Islands, Everglades National Park. Photo: olekinderhook, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Laguna Salada.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Cayo del GrulloSand flats in Florida Bay off the Flamingo visitor center, Everglades National Park. Photo: NPS / Everglades National Park, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Cayo del Grullo.
Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.
Each comes from the agency's own published list; where the list names a reach it is quoted. A designation applies to the listed reach, not necessarily the whole water. Listed in the finder under trout, saltwater.
On the TPWD Gulf Coast paddling trails: bays named with the trails' fishing text list (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, read 2026-10-24). All waters with this designation
Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.
Laguna Vista, TX · 4 mi
Saltwater & ocean charters · Beginners & lessons
Nearby
No shop nearby yet.
The species the agency lists here; presence varies by reach and season.
Listed by the state agency
Species guide
Red drum or redfish (Sciaenops ocellatus), illustration by Duane Raver for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Photo: Duane Raver, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Species guide
Common snook (Centropomus undecimalis), Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (NOAA). Photo: Bob Care - Florida Keys NMS, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Species guide
Spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus), illustration by Duane Raver for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Photo: Duane Raver, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Port Mansfield is a small fishing town on the Lower Laguna Madre in Willacy County, across the lagoon from Padre Island; the Port Mansfield Channel cuts through the island to the Gulf, and Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge and South Padre Island lie to the south.
Destination hub · 39 mi away in a straight line
A saltwater flats fly-fishing checklist: a 9 ft 8 weight rod, sealed-drag reel, tropical line, fluorocarbon leaders and shrimp/crab flies, plus sun protection and flats booties, with estimated prices and where to buy.
9′ rod, 8 weight, sealed-drag reel, tropical floating line · Bonefish, redfish, permit and other flats species
Open the checklistSight casting, the strip set and sun on the water.
Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.
Not sponsored All videos on saltwater flats
Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with South Bay.
No stories from here yet.
Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.
A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.
Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown; tides from NOAA CO-OPS. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: the point for “South Bay” (bay) in the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Water type is our own classification.
Tide predictions predictions for NOAA station South Bay entrance (8779768), 1.5 miles from this water in a straight line. Times are local time at the station; heights in feet above mean lower low water.
Thu, Nov 5
Fri, Nov 6
Sat, Nov 7
Predictions are astronomical tide tables; wind and pressure move real water levels. Station predictions page
Observed Nov 5, 5:00 PM CST at Port Isabel (2.9 mi)
Checked Nov 5, 5:09 PM CST; observations refresh at most every 15 minutes and predictions daily. Conditions change: re-check before you go. This is general guidance, not a fishing forecast, a safety guarantee or a statement about access.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Arroyo ColoradoSouthern Corpus Christi Bay as Tropical Storm Beta neared the Texas coast. Photo: Supportstorm, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Arroyo Colorado.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Laguna MadreGalveston Bay from Skyline Drive near the Texas City Dike, Texas. Photo: Jeremy Mosley, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Laguna Madre.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Baffin BaySabine Lake at Pleasure Island, Port Arthur, Texas. Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Baffin Bay.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Alazan BayFly fishing on a flat in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Photo: NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Alazan Bay.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Laguna SaladaA beach in the Ten Thousand Islands, Everglades National Park. Photo: olekinderhook, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Laguna Salada.
Agency-named saltwater fishing waterRepresentative photo · not Cayo del GrulloSand flats in Florida Bay off the Flamingo visitor center, Everglades National Park. Photo: NPS / Everglades National Park, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Cayo del Grullo.
