Port Aransas Fishing Guide

Bait & tackle

Bait and tackle shops on the Corpus Christi coast

8 bait stops on the Corpus Christi side of the water, from the Flour Bluff shops on South Padre Island Drive to the causeway marinas and the downtown L-Head, with what each keeps live and the shop's own published hours. Inland Corpus tackle stores are deliberately left off.

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8 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

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Where can you buy live bait between Flour Bluff and Padre Island?

Every stop on this page keeps live shrimp and 5 of the 8 list live croaker, so the causeway run is the deepest live-bait corridor on the Coastal Bend: the Flour Bluff shops open by 5:30 a.m. and stay open into the night, and the causeway marinas add ramps, piers and fuel. Downtown, the L-Head seafood house covers the bayfront.

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Down SPID through Flour Bluff

Numbered in driving order toward the JFK Causeway.

  • Stop 2

    Bait Bucket

    Bait shop · 10649 S Padre Island Dr, Flour Bluff

    Live bait: shrimp, croaker, mullet, mud minnows

    Opens: 5:00 a.m.

    Also sells: frozen bait, tackle

    Find it: Directions Facebook (361) 939-7311

  • Stop 4

    Red Dot Pier

    Pier · 11801 S Padre Island Dr, Flour Bluff

    A lighted pay pier on the Laguna Madre with its own bait counter.

    Live bait: shrimp, mullet, pin perch, crab

    Opens: 6:00 a.m.

    Also sells: frozen bait, tackle, ice

    Find it: Directions reddotpier.com (361) 937-5347

Over the JFK Causeway

  • Stop 5

    Clem's Marina

    Bait shop · 13304 S Padre Island Dr, Padre Island

    Bait shop, ramp and lighted pier on the causeway.

    Live bait: shrimp, croaker, mullet, mud minnows, perch, crabs

    Opens: 5:00 a.m.

    Also sells: frozen bait, tackle, ice, boat ramp

    Find it: Directions Facebook (361) 949-8445

  • Stop 6

    Marker 37 Marina

    Marina · 13317 S Padre Island Dr, Padre Island

    Full-service marina at the JFK Causeway with a ramp, fuel and a pier; the bait counter and fish-cleaning station inside are run by Sunset Bait Co.

    Live bait: shrimp, croaker, mullet, finger mullet, piggy perch, crab

    Opens: 5:30 a.m.

    Also sells: frozen bait, tackle, ice, fuel, boat ramp

    Find it: Directions marker37.cc Bait and fishing updates (361) 949-4750

Downtown bayfront

  • Stop 8

    Jane's L-Head Seafood House

    Bait shop · 90 Coopers Alley, Corpus Christi bayfront

    Seafood market on the L-Head at the downtown marina with live shrimp for the bayfront piers.

    Live bait: shrimp

    Opens: 5:30 a.m.

    Also sells: frozen bait, tackle

    Find it: Directions janeslheadseafoodhouse.shop (361) 882-2248

green rows sell live bait · ordered along the route, nothing else

Every row verified · correct a listing

Where do you buy a fishing licence?

Online from TPWD is fastest; on this side of the water the Ace Hardware on North Padre sells licences over the counter, and the Port Aransas and Rockport pages list more vendors. Every angler 17 or older needs a Texas fishing licence with the saltwater endorsement. TPWD licences

Licence, ice and supplies stops that are not bait counters
Stop Sells Hours
Ace Hardware North Padre 15326 S Padre Island Dr #B, Corpus Christi, TX 78418 · (361) 949-3483 licences, tackle Mon to Sat 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sun 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

What time do bait shops open?

The Flour Bluff shops open between 5 and 5:30 a.m. and several run past 11 p.m.; the causeway marinas open at 5:30 a.m. The hours on each card are the shop's own published hours with the source named. Croaker sells out early on summer weekends, so call or check the shops' Facebook posts before a dawn run.

Straight answers

Bait questions, answered

Where is live croaker sold on the Corpus Christi side of the causeway?

Bait Bucket, Cos-Way Bait & Tackle, R&G Bait, Marker 37 Marina and Clem's Marina all list live croaker, and every one of them opens by 5:30 a.m. The Flour Bluff shops sit on South Padre Island Drive before the causeway; Marker 37 and Clem's are on the causeway itself with ramps and piers.

Is there a bait shop downtown for the bayfront piers?

Jane's L-Head Seafood House on the L-Head at the downtown marina opens at 5:30 a.m. with live shrimp, the practical stop for the bayfront and Cole Park piers. Licences are sold online by TPWD and at the Ace Hardware on North Padre.

Own one of these shops?

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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