Corpusfishing.com

[Spinky]

Hey guys- was wondering if there are updated water depth charts for the Port A/Aransas Pass area post Harvey. Specifically, was wanting to drift Redfish Bay. My boat does not run skinny- 24' deep-v hull, start getting nervous around 3-4 feet and I know that water can get shallow fast! I could approach from either direction either from the ICW or go down the channel to AP then go from there.
Thanks so much for any helpful info!

[reallifetexan]

If you have an existing depth chart, or buy a new one, it's most likely going to be good enough. While I don't get much time on the water because I don't (yet) live down there, what little time I have spent in that specific area post hurricane my experience has been that not a lot has changed from a water depth perspective. There's a few guts between islands that lead out to the major bays that got deeper due to being scoured out from the hurricane tidal movement, but if you're nervous in 3-4 feet of water, you're pretty much going to be nervous the entire time you try to fish redfish bay. Look on google maps satellite, and it will tell you all you need to know. It's a little deeper south of 361 in the Morris and Cummings cut area, but once you go north of 361, it's mostly pretty shallow except for the defined channels and California Hole. Admittedly, I'm not an expert, so I'm likely overlooking some areas, but that entire body of water there is protected by law from propeller scarring, so if you end up digging up some grass with your propeller, you might get fined. I was down over Memorial Day, and my boys and I watched multiple boats hit bottom and get stuck, and these were shallow draft boats when the tide was way above normal. That happened because those people insisted on driving full speed in waters they obviously weren't familiar with, and if you do that in that area it's just a matter of time before you hit bottom. If you're going to fish that area, it really helps to have a trolling motor with a fully charged battery and lots of patience and willingness to go slow. Good luck.