7 HR Cast & Blast: Fish & Hunt South Padre
Shared Trip
Inshore Fishing
7-hour combination duck hunting and inshore fishing adventureTarget redfish, trout, drum plus redheads, pintails, tealMaximum 2 guests with Double Mermaid Outdoors
Looking for the ultimate South Padre Island adventure that combines the best of both worlds? This 7-hour Cast & Blast trip with Double Mermaid Outdoors delivers exactly what serious anglers and hunters crave – a full afternoon of inshore fishing followed by prime duck hunting action. You'll start by working the flats and grass beds for redfish, speckled trout, and black drum, then switch gears completely to hunt redheads, pintails, and teal as the sun starts to drop. It's a customer favorite for good reason – where else can you land a trophy red and bag your limit of ducks in the same day? The Laguna Madre serves up this kind of variety like nowhere else on the Texas coast.
This top-rated combination trip kicks off in the early afternoon when the fishing bite is still hot and the ducks haven't started moving yet. You and one other angler will meet your guide at the launch, ready to spend the first half of your day working South Padre's legendary inshore waters. The shallow flats and oyster reefs around the Laguna Madre are absolutely loaded with gamefish year-round, and your guide knows exactly where they're staging. After a solid session of sight-casting and working structure, you'll transition to duck hunting mode as the birds start their evening flights. The beauty of this setup is that you're already positioned in prime waterfowl habitat – the same shallow bays that hold fish also attract diving ducks and puddle ducks looking to feed. Your guide will have decoys and blinds ready to go, so the transition is seamless. By the time you head back to the dock, you'll have experienced everything the Laguna Madre has to offer in one action-packed day.
Your guide provides all the fishing tackle you'll need, from light spinning rods perfect for sight-casting to redfish, to heavier setups for working deeper structure where the big drum like to hang out. Live bait is the name of the game here – fresh shrimp and finger mullet are hard to beat when the fish are finicky. You'll also get plenty of opportunities to throw artificials like soft plastics and topwater plugs, especially early in the trip when the fish are most aggressive. For the hunting portion, your guide brings all the waterfowl gear including shotguns, shells, decoys, and calls. The hunting setup focuses on layout blinds positioned in the shallow water where ducks naturally want to land. This isn't your typical pond hunting – you're working tidal flats and protected bays where birds feel safe dropping in. The combination of natural cover and strategically placed decoys creates the perfect scenario for close shots at committed birds. Weather plays a big role in both parts of this trip, so your guide will adjust tactics based on wind, tides, and bird movement patterns.
Redfish are the bread and butter of South Padre inshore fishing, and these copper-colored fighters are what most anglers hope to tangle with first. Reds here typically run 20 to 30 inches, with plenty of slot fish mixed in with some real bruisers that'll test your drag system. They love the shallow grass flats and oyster bars, especially during moving tides when baitfish get pushed around. What makes reds so special is how they eat – you'll often see them tailing in skinny water or cruising the edges of drop-offs. When one inhales your bait, get ready for a bulldogging fight that'll have you wondering if you're tied to a small shark. Fall and winter months are prime time, but honestly, South Padre reds bite year-round.
Speckled trout, or "specks" as the locals call them, are the other main target that keeps anglers coming back. These beautiful spotted gamefish are absolutely delicious and put up a respectable scrap on light tackle. Specks here average 15 to 20 inches, with gator trout pushing 25+ inches showing up regularly during cooler months. They're ambush predators that love to hang around structure – shell beds, grass lines, and channel edges are all prime real estate. What's fun about trout fishing is how visual it can be. You'll often see them blowing up on shrimp or small baitfish in shallow water, and a well-placed cast to the commotion usually results in a hookup. Spring and fall offer the most consistent action, but summer nights can be world-class.
Black drum might not be the prettiest fish in the bay, but they're absolute tanks that'll give you a workout. These bottom-huggers can range from smaller "puppy" drum around 20 inches up to massive bulls that push 40+ inches and weigh as much as a good-sized redfish. They're suckers for fresh shrimp fished on the bottom near oyster reefs and deeper holes. When a big drum takes your bait, there's no mistaking it – they'll load up your rod and make long, powerful runs that'll have your arms burning. The really big ones show up during their spawning runs in late winter and early spring, turning what should be an easy fight into a serious test of endurance.
For the waterfowl portion, redheads are the star attraction during peak season. These diving ducks are fast, smart, and absolutely beautiful birds that provide some of the most challenging wing shooting you'll find. They typically show up in large rafts during migration periods, especially from November through January. Redheads are notorious for being decoy-shy, so your guide's setup and calling skills really matter. When they do commit, though, they come in fast and low, giving you just seconds to make the shot count.
Pintails are the speed demons of the duck world, and South Padre's shallow bays are perfect habitat during winter months. These elegant birds are early migrators, often showing up in good numbers by October and staying through February. Pintails
South Padre Island, TX