Bait & tackle
7 bait and tackle stops on the island, with what each keeps live, the shop's own published hours, and who sells licences. The croaker tanks across the ferry, Rockport-Fulton and the Corpus Christi coast each have their own page.
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7 shops · every listing checked against the shop's own listing, site or Facebook page, August 2026
Pin popups open the matching ledger row · Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
On the island, live bait means Port A Outfitters, whose bait stand opens at 6 a.m. with shrimp year round and croaker, mullet and mud minnows in season, and Deep Sea Headquarters, which stocks live bait but asks you to call for the day's list. The other island names sell frozen or dead bait only: Island Tackle by design, Fisherman's Wharf and Island Moorings for offshore crews. For dependable croaker, cross the ferry to Aransas Pass.
Numbered in the order you pass them coming off the ferry, north to south.
Dead bait for inshore and offshore (squid, finger mullet, menhaden, cigar minnows, ribbonfish), the island's largest fuel dock and on-site fish cleaning; no live bait.
Live bait: None — frozen only
Opens: 5:30 a.m.
Also sells: frozen bait, tackle, ice, fuel
Charter headquarters with a bait counter, an ethanol-free fuel dock and a licence counter; call to check which live bait is in.
Live bait: Yes; species not published, call ahead
Opens: 6:00 a.m.
Also sells: frozen bait, tackle, ice, fuel, licences
The island's in-town live-bait anchor, and the only Port Aransas shop publishing its own dated fishing reports.
Live bait: shrimp, croaker (seasonal), mullet (seasonal), mud minnows (seasonal)
Opens: 6:00 a.m.
Also sells: frozen bait, tackle
Find it: Directions portaoutfitters.com Own dated fishing reports (361) 749-3474
No live bait by design: rigs, rod rental, frozen bait and licences. Buy live croaker elsewhere.
Live bait: None — frozen only
Opens: 8:00 a.m.
Also sells: frozen bait, tackle, licences
Find it: Directions islandtacklepa.com (361) 749-1744
The pier-house counter on Horace Caldwell Pier: frozen bait, tackle and rod rental on the deck; no live bait and no licences.
Live bait: None — frozen only
Opens: 7:00 a.m.
Also sells: frozen bait, tackle
Find it: Directions
Slip marina on the ship-channel side of the island with diesel and non-ethanol gas at the dock; frozen bait only.
Live bait: None — frozen only
Opens: 8:00 a.m.
Also sells: frozen bait, tackle, ice, fuel
Find it: Directions islandmoorings.com (361) 749-4100
Gas station and store on the way to the beach: frozen bait, ice and licences around the clock.
Live bait: None — frozen only
Opens: 24 h
Also sells: frozen bait, tackle, ice, fuel, licences
Find it: Directions thetexanstores.com (361) 416-1940
green rows sell live bait · ordered along the route, nothing else
Every row verified · correct a listing
Across the ferry
The dependable croaker tanks are in Aransas Pass — 8 live-bait stops, the earliest from 5:00 a.m.
Online from TPWD is fastest, and Deep Sea Headquarters, Island Tackle and The Texan (Mustang Island) sell licences over the counter; Lowe's Market and the Ace Hardware on TX-361 are licence vendors too. Every angler 17 or older needs a Texas fishing licence with the saltwater endorsement; a charter captain's permit does not cover you. TPWD licences
| Stop | Sells | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Lowe's Market 418 S Alister St, Port Aransas, TX 78373 · (361) 749-6233 The in-town TPWD licence vendor. | licences, ice | Daily 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Ace Hardware Port Aransas 1115 State Highway 361, Ste A, Port Aransas, TX 78373 · (361) 749-2004 | licences, tackle, ice | Mon to Sat 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sun 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
The Port A Outfitters bait stand opens at 6 a.m., two hours before the store; Fisherman's Wharf's fuel dock and store open at 5:30 a.m.; The Texan on TX-361 runs around the clock. The hours on each card are the shop's own published hours with the source named, and where a shop publishes none we say so rather than guess. Croaker sells out early on summer weekends, so call before a dawn run.
Straight answers
On the island itself, Port A Outfitters keeps croaker seasonally at its bait stand and Deep Sea Headquarters asks you to call for the day's live bait; Island Tackle stocks no live bait at all, and Fisherman's Wharf and Island Moorings sell dead and frozen bait only. The dependable croaker tanks are across the ferry in Aransas Pass.
Not at the piers. Deep Sea Headquarters, Island Tackle and The Texan (Mustang Island) sell Texas fishing licences over the counter, and the fastest route is buying online from TPWD before you arrive, since the licence lives on your phone. Every angler 17 or older needs one with the saltwater endorsement.
It closed in December 2021 and the building on West Cotter was demolished in July 2022 for a condominium development. Its website still ranks and still describes a bait counter and licences, but nothing is there; Port A Outfitters, on the same block, is the live-bait stop now.
Every bait and tackle shop on this coast is listed here free. No paid placement: Shops are listed in driving order along the route, nothing else — never by payment. The facts on each card come from your own listing, site or Facebook page, and each card carries the date we checked them.
Port Aransas Fishing Guide sells nothing to shops and takes no commission; the directory exists so anglers find bait.
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