Galveston Pier 21, TX

This is the one. High 1.76 ft at 3:28 AM falls all day to a minus 0.08 ft at 4:44 PM - thirteen hours of uninterrupted movement with no slack to kill it. Wind is S to SE at 5 mph, and three straight days of S flow means genuinely clean water. The morning major runs 6:14 to 8:14 AM with sunrise at 6:58, so peak solunar, low light and hard falling water all stack in the same hour. Lures are absolutely workable - this is the best artificial day of the run.

Be on the water before light with a Super Spook Jr in bone and walk it over the bar edges through the major. When the blowups stop, go to a Down South Super Model on a 1/8 oz jighead in Opening Night or a translucent natural pattern, and fish the drop-off on the falling water. A MirrOdine XL suspended over the shell is the sleeper if they short-strike the topwater. Clear water means finesse colors - leave the plum and chartreuse in the box.

Live croaker on a 3/0 kahle, free-lined into the current and allowed to swim down the drop, is the biggest-trout rig on the coast right now with water at 90 degrees. Live shrimp under a popping cork works the first two hours in the shallower water, but the croaker gets the better fish once the sun is up.

Sustained S and SE wind at 5 to 10 kt since Tuesday night has pushed clean Gulf water deep into the pass. The bay side lags a shade sandier but is still fully fishable.

Reds will be running the drain edges hard on this fall - gold spoon or a weightless soft plastic. Flounder will stage in the guts on the back half of the drop; a slow-dragged 1/4 oz jig with a white paddletail will find them.

A carbon copy of Friday, maybe a touch better on the tide. High 1.83 ft at 4:25 AM drops all the way to minus 0.11 ft at 5:53 PM - the strongest single fall of the week. Wind is E to SE at 5 mph all day, which is nothing, and the water has had four days of S and SE flow to clean up. The major from 7:17 to 9:17 AM sits just after sunrise, so you get low light first and peak solunar second. Lures and bait both work; pick your poison.

Topwater first light - Super Spook Jr in bone, or a She Dog if you want more noise over the deeper shell. Once the sun clears the horizon, a Lil John or Bass Assassin Sea Shad on a 1/8 oz head in a natural translucent color, worked slow along the deep side of the bar. In water this clean use light fluorocarbon leader and lengthen your cast - they will spook in the shallows on a flat calm morning.

Live croaker free-lined on the deep edge of the drop-off is the play once the water heats past 85, and it is at 90. Early, before the sun, live shrimp under a popping cork along the reef edges will get plenty of eats. Keep the bait alive and lively - clean water means they inspect it.

Four consecutive days of S and SE flow at 5 to 10 kt has the pass as clean as it gets in early September. Even the bay side should show a green tint rather than the usual stain.

Sight-casting weather for reds on the sand flats - a weightless soft plastic or a gold spoon. Flounder will be on the guts through the afternoon drop to that minus tide.

Tide is as good as Saturday - high 1.83 ft at 5:03 AM falling to minus 0.10 ft at 7:04 PM, a full-day pull. Wind goes W then NW in the morning, but only at 5 mph, and 5 kt of NW does not blow this system out - it just takes a little polish off the bay side. Major runs 8:20 to 10:20 AM, later than ideal, so fish the low-light hour first for the topwater bite and then work the major on plastics. Still a real day.

Work a Super Spook Jr in bone through first light, then switch to a Down South Super Model or Sea Shad on a 1/8 to 1/4 oz head through the 8:20 to 10:20 major. Step the color a shade darker than Saturday - Chicken on a Chain or Texas Roach - to account for the slight sand in the water. Keep it on the deep edge where the current is doing the work.

Live croaker on the bottom in the deeper water once the sun is up; at 90 degrees the fish are sulking deep and croaker is the only thing that reliably drags them off the bottom. Live shrimp under a popping cork along the color change first thing is worth an hour before you commit.

The overnight swing to W and NW is light enough at 5 mph that it barely touches the water, but it will pull a little of the back-bay stain toward the pass by mid-morning. The Gulf side holds its color all day.

Reds will work the drains on this long fall - live mullet on a fishfinder rig or a gold spoon. Flounder are a good bet on the back half of the drop toward that evening minus tide.

Tide is still excellent - high 1.77 ft at 4:28 AM falling clean to minus 0.05 ft at 8:08 PM with no slack in between. What pulls it down is a W to WSW wind at 8 to 10 kt through the whole morning, which is the wrong direction and enough speed to put sand back in the water. The major does not open until 9:20 AM, well after the good light. Lures still work, but you are fishing a lesser version of the weekend. Wind swings back S and builds to 14 kt after dark.

Fish the first hour with a Super Spook Jr in chrome and black - the darker back shows better against a west-wind sky. Then a Down South Super Model or Sea Shad on a 1/4 oz head, plum with chartreuse tail or morning glory, dragged on the deep edge where the fall runs hardest. The heavier head keeps you in contact once the west wind puts a belly in your line.

Live croaker free-lined on the drop is the highest-percentage bait with the water at 90 degrees. If the west wind stains it up by mid-morning, go to live shrimp under a rattling cork - the noise and scent still get found when a soft plastic disappears.

W and WSW at 8 to 10 kt through the morning will undo some of the weekend's clarity, worst on the bay side. The throat holds green longer because the falling tide is dragging Gulf water through it.

Reds will feed well in the off-color water - cut mullet on the bottom near the drains or a gold spoon along the shoreline. Flounder should be good on the long afternoon fall.