I’m on the coast south of San Luis pass. I can’t seem to find a list of what fish I can use for bait. I know shrimpmullet and pinfish. I caught a ladyfish, that worked great. I also caught a spade fish. I threw it back. I caught a keeper redfish and an undersized one. A bunch of hardheads. I know I can go buy bait, I prefer to learn what else I can use. Thanks

Anything not a gamefish.
So no trout red flounder or sheepshead
Sand trout croaker piggie perch all good

Here is the link to the list of gamefish. Gamefish cannot be used as bait.

https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/...-regulations/general-fishing-regulations

Thank you both! I saw a guy catch a cownose ray. on cut mullet about 3 feet across. No pictures, The guy who caught it had a friend pull the stinger out before getting the hook out. Said they are venomous. it was released it to be caught another day.

Not that you would ever want to use them for bait, but I don’t believe flounder or sheepshead are game fish.

Anything that has a limit is a gamefish.

And yes rays barbs are very toxic. Get stabbed by one and it’s a most painful trip to the hospital.

No, not everything that has a limit is a gamefish, and some things that don’t have limits are game fish. Freshwater yellow bass for example. This is why you can gig a flounder or a sheepshead. Just click on the link provided by another user above it gives a list.

List of game fish in Texas waters-
Bass: Alabama, Guadalupe, largemouth, smallmouth, spotted, striped, white, yellow
Catfish: blue, channel, flathead
Cobia
Crappie: black, white
Mackerel: king, Spanish
Marlin: blue, white
Pickerel
Red drum
Sailfish
Seatrout, spotted
Sharks
Snook
Spearfish, longbill
Swordfish, broadbill
Tarpon
Tripletail
Trout: brown, rainbow
Wahoo
Walleye

Red fish can't be used as bait but black drum can. Spotted seatrout (or speckled trout) can't be used as bait but sand trout can. Flounder, red snapper, grouper are just a few head scratchers for me that can be used as bait though no one I know would legally do this.

Mullet can also be used as bait, but many people don’t know there are restrictions from October to February. You cannot take mullet over 12” during this period. The wording from TPWD states, “ May not take from public waters, or possess on board a boat, mullet over 12 inches during October, November, December, and January. No limits apply during other months.”

Yes sir I’m aware of that rule but honestly I don’t think it affects many fisherman. Really the only time you want to keep mullet that big is to fish them live offshore and there are a lot of alternative options for that. 12” mullet are really too big to use for cut bait unless you’re going for bull reds. If that’s the case crab is preferred anyway. Live finger mullet is my preferred bait for reds with cut mullet a close second so I throw the net for them quite a bit and I can’t tell you when the last time I caught a 12 incher. Again that’s with a cast net in shallower water.

Frozen bluegill and green sunfish work great.

I don’t like cut bait unless it’s the last resort. The hard heads tend to stay off the live bait a bit better. I will say last time I went in October I was catching 12-18” mullet like crazy, especially in the surf. Mullet are some crafty fish, they’ll see that net coming and dart off and if you have even a small hole in your net, they’ll find it.