Hey y’all, this is Artificial Lure with your Rio Grande, Texas, fishing report for Sunday, November 16, 2025. Let’s get you ready for a great day on and around the border.

First up, the **sun’s rising at 6:51 AM and setting at 5:37 PM**, giving you plenty of daylight to work that bite. We’ve got **breezy, warm weather continuing; highs in the low 80s with steady Southeast winds**—typical for mid-November down here, just enough breeze for a good surface chop that’s got things moving according to KRGV’s most recent update.

**Tidal detail is key for you saltwater folks near Boca Chica and South Padre:** NOAA’s forecast calls for a **low tide at 6:15 AM and the next high tide rolling in at 2:21 PM, peaking around 1.85 feet**. That ebb-and-flow around midday is prime for pushing bait and stirring up reds and trout, so plan accordingly. The best bite windows today run from early morning through the afternoon changeover—don’t sleep late!

**Fish activity’s been strong** as reported by local guides and trip logs at Captain Experiences: Inshore hauls keep showing solid numbers of **redfish, speckled trout, and flounder**, with redfish up in skinny water on the outgoing tide. They’re chasing mullet and mud minnows along the grass edges and sand pockets, especially at The Flats east of Port Isabel and around Holly Beach—both real hot spots this week.

If you want numbers, anglers have been **stacking limits on slot redfish (16–23 inches) and keeper specks**, with a few oversized reds and a handful of flounder in the mix—flatties up to 20 inches, a couple even larger. Don’t forget, November’s transition is also bringing **a few ambitious snook into the lower river mouth**, and near the rocks at the jetties you might tangle into oversized sheepshead and occasional black drum.

**Best baits and lures:** For artificials, nothing’s beating **quarter-ounce jigheads rigged with chartreuse paddle tail swimbaits** right now. Gulp! shrimp in new penny or white, especially on the incoming tide, mimic what they’re after and get hard strikes. When it comes to hardware, gold spoons and topwater plugs like the Spook Jr. are drawing early morning blow-ups. Live shrimp and finger mullet are still king for those who prefer bait—free-line ’em or under a popping cork.

If you’re headed upriver for freshwater action, the Rio Grande’s been steady for channel and blue catfish using cut shad and fresh cut baits, especially near deeper outside bends. The Texas Parks and Wildlife all-tackle records show recent common carp and Rio Grande cichlid catches for you panfish hunters willing to work the slower eddies and brush piles. Try worms or small pieces of cut bait under a slip float.

A couple more **hot spots** to pencil in: **South Bay near the Highway 4 bridge** is still firing for slot reds at dawn and dusk, and don’t overlook the **old causeway pilings off Port Isabel** for mixed drum and trout all through the moving water.

That’s all for today from your boots-on-the-ground, lure-slinging insider. Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure’s Rio Grande fishing report. Be sure to subscribe for the latest straight from the border. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn

This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI