PINS Webcam https://www.nps.gov/customcf/webcam/dsp_webcam_image.cfm?id=81B467E2-1DD8-B71B-0B91DCA0B089397B 6/13 PINS - Dirty cool water owns the beach right now all the way to the Mansfield Jetty. Catches the past week included numerous pup sharks of various species including scalloped hammer, blacktip and Atlantic sharpnose. A few hardheads and reds were brought in. Watch the Tropics for a development later this week. The fishing should be on fire once this upwelling and the wind settles.
4/9 PINS - Water was up to the dunes in the afternoons earlier in the week. Sargassum is showing up thick in areas south of Big Shell. Lots of small Portugese Man o War and By-the Wind Sailors. Slot and oversized reds, whiting, pompano, a few jacks, whiting, black drum and sheepshead. Lots of bonnetnosed sharks showing up and the bull sharks should be cruising the beach soon if not now.
3/14 PINS - Prior to this last front today there was action for redfish, Oversized and slot drum, whiting , a few pompano and hardheads. Watch for Jacks to appear soon!
2/5 PINS - Some good catches were reported earlier in the week during the calmer warmer periods but most was found south of the 40 mile mark as weed and dirty water was present north. Catches included pompano, large whiting, redfish and black drum. Fronts will have things unsettled until Monday. Watch for a big weather change to cold for the end of next week!
12/27 PINS - Great fishing conditions greeted us Christmas Day after the Big Front Wednesday night. Pompano were caught by those who ventured out with low tides, light winds and clear skies. Good catches of whiting, pompano and redfish. Weed was spotty but you could find places south to get lines out. Winds increase this week with another big front around Thursday.
12/11 PINS - The Coastal Flooding subsided and after a couple of cold fronts a pompano window opened up Tuesday thru early Thursday of this week with great catches up and down the beach with good driving as well. The outlook is good for Tuesday and Wednesday next week. Cold fronts Friday night and Sunday might have things stirred up.
11/19 PINS - Coastal flooding during the evenings has the beach narrow and that last front Sunday didn't help. The water is a bit rough though fishable. Fishing has been good for slot and oversized reds, blacktip pups and full size blacktips and a few bulls. The Dr. Seuss bite is still on with my friend Manny getting and redfish and a bluefish though the one fish and two fish seem to be illusive. Good structure in Little Shell and Big Shell is banked up pretty good so watch the tides.
10/23 PINS - Lots of moon jellyfish hitting the beach. They can sting though not as bad as Portuguese Man of War. Front coming in overnight strong north winds for Saturday immediately switching hard Southeast Sunday prior to the next front Mon/Tuesday. Could be tough surf fishing but you may pick up some reds in the surf and ladyfish. There were a few pomps around today. Watch out for water hyacinth and move until you find an area clear enough of them to fish.
10/17 PINS - The front blew out fishing for Friday and most of today but as the surf calms the bite should be back on for slot reds, bluefish, spanish mackerel and trout on live finger mullet. Lots of just over keeper sized blacktip pups are everywhere. Beach Bum caught and released over 20 this past week. Pompano fishing should improve as the water cools off probably with the next front but they are around.
10/11 PINS is open once again - The endless coastal flood warnings pretty much closed the beach for three days with the waves and water from Gamma and Hurricane Delta. The seashore is back open and the forecast is for two to three footers going to 4 foot seas at the beginning of this week. Expect great action for slot and oversized reds on cut and live finger mullet, bluefish, spanish mackerel and trout could follow if the water clears as could the first pompano. It is getting to be that time. Watch the tide charts and take heed to coastal flood warnings.
10/3 PINS - The tide finally receded enough to allow fishing this week and it has been great at times for slot and a few oversized reds, spanish mackerel and bluefish, with good trout and pup blacktips feasting on live finger mullet. Pompano are beginning to show. Jacks could show after the next cold front. The last half mile of the south beach was closed off this past Thursday to begin dredging operations at the North Mansfield Jetty. That could be closed until March of 2021.
9/11 PINS - Surf is running 2 to 3ft thru Monday with a 50% chance of rain but this could be a great time to try for slot reds, trout, spanish mackerel and more on finger mullet if you can find them. There should be a world of ladyfish around and possible tarpon. Watch for lots of pup blacktips too!
9/04 PINS - Surf is expected to increase Until Sunday as a tropical wave gives us a chance of rain. Before the crowds began arriving, friend David Williams and two friends managed 6 reds and on huge ladyfish on finger mullet. Driving could get tough with the crowds on higher tides.
8/28 PINS Reopened today at 7am - Everything but the campgrounds are open including North and South Beach for this weekend. Expect a big crowd wanting to enjoy the fruits of 62 miles of relative solitude away from the crowds. Offshore wave forecasts have the surf calming down somewhat and depending on how rough it is, trout, redfish, spanish mackerel and bluefish in addition to ladyfish should be around. Expect some huge sharks to be caught this weekend as well. Be courteous and kind and watch out for kids.
8/21 PINS Reopened 8/20 - Kudos to the National Park folks for getting things squared away. North and south beaches are open. Driving is good but be aware of debris that may have washed up. There were good reports of trout, redfish and a world of skipjacks. Yarborough Pass is open and so is the Boat Ramp and Parking lot at Bird Island Basin. The dock, however, remains closed. Seas building late Sunday with not one but two tropical systems expected to enter the gulf.
8/14 PINS remains closed including Bird Island Boat Ramp until further notice!
7/24 PINS is closing this evening at 8pm due to Hanah and will reopen if conditions allow at 6am Monday
7/10 PINS - PINS is back open for day use they say including the Bird Island Boat Ramp. The visitors center, and campgrounds remain closed but the bathrooms at the Visitor's Center and at the end of the pavement are being serviced. Expect the beach curfew to be extended thought it was to expire 7/11. Water is dirty in close and catches are tough with mostly hardheads and pup sharks and a few reds and black drum. Nick Meyer reports that the cold water upwelling is in full force as far as the eye could see this morning to the 39 mile mark at least.
6/19 PINS - Big crowds once again. Reports of lots of blacktip pups, redfish, blue fish and some trout. Lots more greater hammer heads have been caught from 9 to 13 ft 6 inches. Tides will begin dropping after noon so watch those areas down south where the beach is tight. Be on the lookout for kids, and dogs as there is not much beach at times especially with the crowds on the north end. Have a safe and Happy Father's Day weekend.
6/11 PINS -The seashore is charging once again though the visitor's center remains closed. Turtle releases are also closed to the general public due to the Covid 19 rules. Keep in mind they will be releasing turtles down island south of the 30 mile marker quite often this week. 85% of the turtle releases occur down south between the hours of 6pm and 8am so watch for them. You are allowed to observe but keep your lights off and don't wear any white. Weekend prospects look good except for the crowds of people. Expect trout, whiting, redfish, bluefish and sharks to be caught possibly even a few king mackerel. Be careful and cautious on the north beach as it is extremely crowded and difficult to see people and pets.
5/15 PINS - Surging high tides and wind has made fishing difficult and this weekend looks windy and rainy. Those able to make it out should find eager whiting and some keeper reds. Earlier this week Diane and her husband went and she got two jacks fishing a Breakaway pomp rig with fishbites and shrimp. Weekend waves should be 3 to 5 feet so that's not going to be great for those wanting to trout fish or kayak baits out for sharks. And again there is that surging tide.
5/8 PINS -On the Seashore the tide and rough waves are going to be an issue. There have been slot reds, and whiting caught in addition to hardheads. There was a ten foot greater hammer caught and released last weekend and a good number of tarpon caught and released at Mansfield Jetty.
5/1 PINS - Expect an ease in back into normal operation though it might not happen this weekend. For now the park remains open for day use only. No overnight camping or overnight use of Bird Island Basin for parking. Tides were high most of this week. Water was dirtier the further south you went. There have been plenty of slot reds caught this week. Jacks, a few trout, whiting, hardheads and pompano have been reported as well. The weekend surf is four footers plus. Yarborough Pass remains closed.
4/25 PINS - Is open 6am to 8pm for day use only. Big tidal swings made for tough conditions but there were reports of bull sharks, redfish, pompano, whiting, hard heads and a few jacks reported.
4/13 PINS - Is open after closing for the Easter Weekend but high tides forced the closure of south beach this morning at the pavement. The parks hours are 6am to 8pm for day use only no camping. Bird Island is a day use area only as well with the same hours. Fishing was getting good with reports of whiting, and jacks. Lots of anchovies showing up so there are certainly game fish like spanish mackerel, bluefish, troutvand reds around as well as pomp, whiting and black drum. Big bull sharks are there too!
3/07 PINS - Water is rough on these NE winds expect poor fishing until winds die down and water clears. Earlier this week, black drum and pompano were reported. Congrats to all who made this year's 25th Annual Billy Sandifer Big Shell Beach Cleanup the best ever!!
2/7 PINS - Driving is very good at low tide. A full moon Sunday morning early. Low tides are in the morning but be careful later in the afternoon. Water was dirty out to the third bar near the Visitor's center but could clear south. Water hyacinth remains in some areas. Decent catches of whiting, pompano and slot and oversized reds over last weekend. Expect more of the same this weekend. Water temperatures remain in the lower to mid 60's.
1/31 PINS - A Pompano window is open this weekend with great water clarity and small surf. There are areas of weed around. Move until you find clear conditions or until you find the fish. There were good catches of keeper sized pompano and whiting this week after the fronts. Great time to be on the beach as the crowds will be down due to Superbowl Weekend. Water temperature is 6 degrees.
1/17 PINS - Bull reds, whiting and a few pompano. Water is offcolor. Another front is headed in Saturday night. Fishing outlook is poor with the exception of bull and slot reds until the wind and surf comes down. Water temp is up to 69 degrees.
12/27 PINS - Pompano, whiting and redfish. Sargassum reported to the 25mm good conditions south. The driving is soft south of the 18mm.
12/13 PINS - Coastal Flood warning for tonight but over the weekend, pompano, little tunny and jacks were caught with some very good pompano catches. There could be a pompano window on Saturday before the strong winds return out of the south after the front on Friday.
11/19 PINS - Nick Meyer went in this morning. No pomps not much tidal movement. A drum and a lot of whiting but no pompano reported.
11/7 PINS - Prior to the front, jacks were reported along PINS this week especially today. Reds, bluefish, lots of pup blacktips, pompano and whiting were caught as well. Next window to fish will be possibly Sunday as the surf calms to two to three feet.
11/1 PINS - Prospects look good for Sunday as the seas diminish to 2 to 3 ft. Prior to the front this week last weekend saw lots of spanish mackerel, bluefish, a few trout, pompano, black drum on redfish. All but the pompano and black drum on cut or live finger mullet.
10/25 - Prior to the current cold front tides had remained high though there were reports of slot of oversized reds and a few drum caught. Watch for pompano and possibly Jack crevalle to show up once the water settles by Sunday or Monday.
10/17 - Congrats to all who stuck it out during the horrible weather during Sharkathon. There were plenty of sharks caught in spite of the high tides and the front and even two trout got weighed in to 19 inches! Amazing. Plenty of redfish around too with the winning red 45.5 inches. Complete photos of winners and lengths up now on Sharkathon.com Earlier this week the reds, black drum, bluefish, spanish mackerel, and a few trout continued to bite. Expect lots of pomano around next week when the weather finally settles. In the meantime the weekend forecast looks dreadful for surf fishing.
10AM Tropical Update from the National Weather Service. Get ready for more Coastal Flood Warnings for the beach by Friday. Surf fishing looks out for the weekend.
The National Hurricane Center has started Advisories on Potential Tropical Cyclone 16. Tropical Storm Warnings have been issued for portions of the Northern Gulf Coast.
***This system poses no direct threat to the mid Texas Coast***
Summary of 10 am Information
Location: 22.4 N 95.7 W or 140 mi E of Tampico Mexico
Maximum Sustained Winds: 35 mph
Present Movement: N 8 mph
Minimum Central Pressure: 1007 mbForecast:
The tropical disturbance in the western Gulf of Mexico is getting better organized and a tropical depression or tropical storm could form later today. Thus, the National Hurricane Center has started advisories on Potential Tropical Cyclone 16. The system was moving toward the north near 8 mph. A turn toward the northeast is expected this afternoon or tonight, and a northeastward motion at a faster forward speed is expected on Friday and Saturday. On the forecast track, the system will approach the northern Gulf
coast Friday and Friday night.This system poses no direct threat to the mid Texas Coast. However we expect scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms over the offshore waters of the Mid Texas Coast Today through Friday morning. In addition, north to northeast winds of 15 to 20 knots with gusts to 25 knots are expected over the offshore waters Today through Friday morning with seas 4 to 6 feet. Conditions should begin to improve Friday morning.
South Texas Impacts:
Winds: North to Northeast winds 15 to 20 knots with gusts to 25 knots possible over the offshore gulf waters along the mid Texas Coast.
Rainfall: Scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms expected over gulf waters through Friday Morning.
Tides: Tides will continue 1 to 1.5 feet above normal (1 foot inundation, above ground level) through early next week. Water will reach the dunes during peak high tide.
Rip Currents: There is a low risk for rip currents today. A moderate to high risk for Rip Currents is expected Tonight, Friday and potentially through the weekend.
Next Update:
Around 4:30 PM Today
9/26 - Lots of Coastal Flood Warnings this week with water to the dunes often just past midnight. The early week did see some trout, reds and zillions of Skipjack. The weekend forecast looks iffy with Low pressure offshore. The wave forecast offshore shows 6 footers plus on the weekend. IF the water doesn't go to the dunes expect rough surf. Oz said the water was good, no coldwater upwellings. Clear in the 40's but got dirty not cold south with plenty of bait in the water.
9/19 - The surf is going to be big this weekend with 5 and 6 foot seas offshore. There are a bunch of dusky anchovies on the beach and if you find a calm enough spot you may catch trout, spanish mackerel and redfish on live finger mullet. Use a johnson silver minnow (only one hook :) ) to catch skipjack for hours of fun! The annual Adopt a Beach Cleanup will be held this Saturday starting at 9am. Visit the Malaquite Visitor's Center before 9am to get in on the cleanup!
9/12 - More Tiger Sharks were caught and released over the weekend. Spanish Mackerel, redfish and trout were reported from the surf. Yarborough Pass was closed due to heavy rains but has since reopened though more heavy rain down there could force a change. Weekend prospects are fair with E winds and 2 to 4 foot surf. Winds diminish for Sunday and change to Northeast. Driving should be good but tougher on high tide with the full moon.
8/23 - Looks like a coldwater upwelling is owning the beach this week. Guide Jeff Wolda says water temperatures were 66 in much of the 30's and 40s with most of it dirty though there was some clear patches on the beach with some colder than others. Look for any bait if you plan to fish. Ladyfish and whiting were reported but look for black drum, redfish and whiting on fishbites and shrimp.
8/02 - Conditions are perfect thru Tuesday with less than 2 to 3 foot seas offshore. Expect large crowds on the north end. Padre Island Light Tackle Adventures Guide Jeff Wolda said they caught, trout, redfish, ladyfish and mangrove snappers with most of the trout early on top and later griding it out in holes using soft plastics and spoons. The surf is back up to it's normal warm summertime temperature. Dusky anchovies increasing as well so Tarpon should show up in the next few weeks as well. Pompano, whiting and black drum have been caught on fishbite/shrimp combos. Good Luck!
7/25 - The water is looking good again though I haven't heard of a lot of surf trout being caught. There are whiting, redfish and pompano around enough to keep things interesting. Shark fishing especially for blacktip has been slow due to most feeding offshore behind the shrimp boats. Driving will be tough at high tide due to the lack of recent rainfall. Sargassum has been light. Lots of sea nettles around so bring vinegar and benadryl to ease the swelling and pain.
7/6 - Continues high surf, wind and rain has been making fishing nearly impossible but a window finally opened up last weekend and the first part of this week. Catches included pompano, a few trout, jacks and reds. There was a 13' Greater Hammerhead that was brought in over the weekend. Unfortunately it got wrapped up in the leader and died before they were able to bring it in for a successful release. More tide to the dunes but PINS was opened once again late Wednesday afternoon. Weekend prospects look good!
5/21 - The surf has been to the dunes the past five days and winds look strong until Friday when they slacken a bit to 15 to 25 mph. Fishing and driving are tough at the moment.
5/16 - After the tides receded somewhat there were some redfish and a few jacks, and skipjacks caught this week. Lots of finger mullet and atlantic bumper fish around.
5/10 - This just in!
South Beach are closed to vehicle traffic due to extreme high tides
Corpus Christi, TX -
The National Park Service has closed park beaches to driving due to high tides. Note that the rest of the park is open for business as usual. The Bird Island Basin boat ramp and campground are open, as are the Malaquite Campground and Visitor Center. Those wishing to visit the park are encouraged to do so however, until the tides recede, beach driving will remain prohibited. Park Rangers will be reevaluating beach conditions and notifications will be posted when beach driving is reopened.
Padre Island National Seashore closes the beaches a few times a year for visitor safety. Visitors are encouraged to visit our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/nps.pais/), our website (https://www.nps.gov/pais/index.htm), and/or to call the Malaquite Visitor Center at 361-949-8068 for informational updates. The visitor center is open daily from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
Prior to the high tides, last Sunday the driving was good and there were reports of whiting and ladyfish. Expect conditions to get better once the rain and low pressure subsides.
5/3 - Tides and strong winds have made PINS unfishable for the past week. Sunday looks like the best window. Watch for late jacks if the bait comes in. Lady fish, reds, black drum, whiting and pompano are also possible.
4/5 PINS - Watch for fog and higher tides. Catches yesterday included black drum, whiting and pompano. Keep an eye out for severe weather Saturday afternoon and evening.
4/3 PINS - Yesterday, redfish, black drum, and a few pompano reported. The outlook for Friday is best, Saturday gets a bit rougher. In the meantime check out this REPORT from the Friends of Padre from 3/30/2019. Meanwhile, here's a little teaser!
3/25 - 27 via Red - Check out his report HERE
3/11/ PINS Report -
2/27 Billy Sandifer Big Shell Cleanup - A huge turnout and wonderful tribute to Billy. Thanks to Augs Art for the Awesome Video that shows it all from the vehicles arriving to the beach cleanup, down island fun and the return to the Visitor's center with 75 tons of trash and the celebration and food in the parking lot! Thanks to all of the volunteers and sponsors who made it possible!
Meanwhile the forecast is for two to three foot seas until Sunday so go get the whiting, pomps and reds that are surely around!
2/6 PINS Beach Debris Removal -
2/4 PINS Report - Park officials are clearing the debris in the Big Shell with help from some Nueces County. Front end loaders are moving the big trees out of the way to clear a path for the Big Shell Cleanup. Nick Meyer went 2/3 and reported slow fishing with just a few whiting. Higher tides have pushed a lot of the debris to the dune line.
1/17 PINS Report - Lots of wood debris! HERE
1/09 PINS Report via Towboat Trash - HERE
12/25 PINS Report for Festivus and Christmas Eve! -
With the pompano season about to begin it's annual winter nap, I made sure I made the most of what little windows were left. Sunday looked to be a bit too windy with 2 to 4 foot seas predicted with occasional 5 footers thrown in. Luckily the winds had died overnight and it was amazingly calm given the wave forecast. The tides were extremely low even for our late start at 10:15am, which made for excellent driving. I ran into Kevin around the Baby Nash spot in Big Shell but the water was still muddy and weedy from the pavement until about the 30 mile mark. Daughter Shawne, who was in town for Christmas, joined me for what we hoped would be a Festivus Miracle. Armed with a good variety of fishbites and shrimp we headed south to just north of the wreck of the Nicaragua. But first stopped to check out this buck playing in the dunes.
The water had cleared somewhat in the 30's but was perfect in the upper 40's and near the 51mm. It was still a full moon so I really wasn't expecting much of a bite until later in the afternoon. Unfortunately I was right and we got one tiny pompano and a few whiting and began the trek back north as the tide, and a cold front would be greeting us sooner or later.
I wanted to be no further south than the 30 mile area around 4pm so I could assess the tide safely for the trip north back through Big Shell. We stopped at a nice spot around the 38 and finally bagged our first nice pompano of the day at around 3pm.
I told Shawne the bite was just starting but it would likely be short-lived as I looked north to see the approaching front moving in a little faster than cat's feet.
And it brought strong NE wind, higher tides and the end to our fishing. This video should say Festivus Front but oh well pompano on the brain!
That was it for the day but we did run into Kevin and Becky who were toughing it out in what was now becoming the wade gut under their parked trucks at Baby Nash's Undisclosed Secret Fishing Hole.
It was rough but an hour later by the time we made it back to the pavement the winds had subsided by about 50% and there looked to be some hope for one last pompano window on Christmas Eve!
Up Next Christmas Eve
After some serious planning what with young folks wild party schedules the "plan" "wink","wink" was to head south at 8:30am with Shawne, Becky, and Kimberly in tow.
I woke up several times in anticipation of another fine day. The prognosis didn't look great so I didn't know how the rest of my more "partying" crew had fared for the night. We gathered up our group and managed to head out loaded to the gills( with fishing gear! ) by 9:30am or so and out to the beach. Again with a predicted late bite the not so early start was ok. We found the beach surprisingly calm though still dirty at the start. It was even dirtier with more weed farther south than Saturday. But oh was it worth the extra miles south.
On the way we saw some old familiar friends and reintroduced them to Shawne and showed them to Kimberly for the first time.
The entrance to the back road, the wrecks at the 36.???, the 39, Miss Piggy and the wreck of the Miss Lillian behind the dunes. And our old friend the Nicaragua.
More on the Nic https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/alamoareaanglers/the-wreck-of-the-s-s-nicaragua-t1910.html?fbclid=IwAR0JM-9dRdGvlzGJfW3wyRdZ88q8gezJ0YDsro7OHNPD_3w1ZSzyvwQ-v6A
The bite started out slowly but as the afternoon wore on it was steady with about 10 solid keepers and a few grander whiting. It was warm and we only saw two other groups that day. One pickup drove up from the south and Marilyn and Jarod introduced themselves to Shawne and Kimberly having recognized them from a previous pomp expedition that was posted on Corpusfishing.com.
Kimberly reels in a keeper pomp and small whiting.
Not realizing she was no longer hosting the debutant party from the night before she proudly curtsied to the pompano in these designer waders!
Note the lack of people on a beautiful Christmas Eve.
The tide inevitably rose and we were greeted with a long four wheel drive ride back to civilization near the 19 mile mark. It was a great two days of fishing that we will always remember!
12/17 PINS Report -
I flew up this past Friday to the frozen tundra of Omaha to drive Kelle home from a Travel Nurse assignment.
A shot from Saturday morning.
Knowing there was to be a pomp window on Sunday, I was a bit bummed knowing the pomp season will be slowly fading away soon. The plan was to see how far we could go on Sunday and just see how we felt. Well checking on Monday's forecast I realized the pomp window was still open. Well 1058 grueling miles later we made it home with a burning desire to pomp fish and hit the sack around 2:30am. At 5:30 I was texting Beach Bum regarding his outing the day before. Fortunately he game me the info that the bite was late. So after about four hours sleep I packed my gear and rounded up Joe Alcala and we hit the sand just after noon and headed for a spot just where Big Shell starts just to keep the pompano honest. If they're closer to the north end why burn fishing time traveling south?
About 40 minutes into it, it looked like a "small" pomp window.
So then we decided to bomb south to near a spot known as "Baby Nash Hole". That's Kingkilla's son. Well someone moved the marker or we just could not find it. But we found a spot where the first bar came in really close and set out our lines.
We were there for about an hour catching and releasing large whiting and finally the bite turned on at 3:10pm
Nothing huge but some nice keeper pomps from 14 to almost 18". We released everything under 14".
Here Joe got a nice one on his custom made pomp leader with red 100lb test, It also doubles as a stringer!
We shut it down with them still biting around 5 and ended up with 12. Best bait was Fishbite Sandflea with no shrimp. We found we got more whiting when we added shrimp. Sandflea worked best for whatever reason.
Hmm might try south of Bob Hall late this afternoon!
_________________12/12 PINS Report - This just in from the Park "YARBOROUGH PASS CONSTRUCTION DELAYED DUE TO WEATHER
Due to the rain we received last week, construction on Yarborough Pass has been pushed back. Construction is currently planned to start on December 20th. The park will continue to update as planning progressed."12/11 PINS Report -
Fun day fishing with my old friend, Nick Meyer.
We bombed south in search of pompano.
I finally found Nick at my first stop 42 miles down the beach.
We fished a few spots. Nick's first cast produced a keeper redfish. I caught a few whiting then got a double on pompano.
I thought we'd slay them after that, but I only ended up with two more pomps.
We went as far as the wreck of the Nicaragua at the 51 then back to find the old southern entrance to the backroad where we met Jack who's a member of this forum. Jack had like 7 pomps.
Nick found the now sanded in backroad southern entrance within yards of Kingkilla's Baby Nash pomp hole.
I ran back south around 1:30 to find greener water but with two rods out and over a half hour of soaking I headed back north to where BeachBum has been having some luck in dirtier water. Sure enough I found him a little south into Big Shell and he did in fact have 8 or more pomps and a keeper black drum. He invited me to join him and I finally got one more keeper pomp. He wanted me to wash it off for the picture but I have lost a few doing that trying to be too cute for a photo!
I ended up with four keepers from 14 to just over 16". Thanks Bum!
12/09 PINS Report - The waves were down but the water was chocolate milk to at least a quarter mile out from the pavement to the 20 mile mark with lots of that spongy bay weed too. No takers for 20 minutes at the 20 so I headed back. Nick Meyer reported green water in the 60 mile area south and picked up a bull red and 5 pomps and one large whiting. 12/10 one of his customers posted 8 nice pompano caught today location unknown. Tuesday looks to be the next possible chance until this coming Sunday with Southeast winds and 2 foot seas. Get them if you can.
The pavement Sunday
At the 20mm
Three does escaping the rut in the dunes
Lots of weed
An amazing display of packing from a couple from North Carolina camping with a Subaru Baja complete with tent, mountain bikes and all the camping supplies, solar panels and big Yeti ice chest!
11/29 PINS Reports Yarborough Work to Begin YARBOROUGH PASS: IT'S TIME!
PINS 11/28 and 11/24 - I took a quick afternoon trip down the seashore hoping for pomps with son, Bryan. We arrived right near the 20mm where we met our friend Beach Bum who had bagged 10 good keeper pomps and some whiting fishing mainly in the front of the bar. We hit a nice squeeze just a bit south and started to fish both in front and over the bar. After about a half hour we hit south to Donnie's Hole near the 24. This time there was a suckout so I tried inside and either side of the suckouts and over the bar. There more whiting including a grander whiting which was released but no pomps. I think the best bite occurred before high tide at 1:15p. We started at 1:30p.
Baron enjoyed another nice day at the beach.
I found some great looking fishbites at Roy's Check out the bicolor sandflea and the electric chicken.
On a different note. I was careless on the nearly empty beach and realized I was going 30 inside the 15mph area. Actually around the 1mm the rangers did a U turn and flashed the lights on at the Sticks. After about ten minutes of checking vehicle records, driver's license, liability, rolling down the window to see Baron in the back the ranger told me I was getting a citation just a warning this time! I told yeah I just lost track and that I definitely knew better running the beach and being a board member on Friends of Padre, writing the surf articles for 12 years. I guess he knew I was sincere and probably saw that I have never gotten a traffic ticket. In fact people give me crap for being such a grandpa following the speed limit.
So to celebrate my luck I made "bait picatta" with the remaining frozen shrimp in my freezer and a big whiting we got on Saturday.
11/24 We hit the sand around 8am with the CCA Ladies again in hopes of getting Kingkilla pomp numbers! We ran to a secret undisclosed location in the Big Shell and Lo and Behold the Kingkilla was already set up so we tossed our lines out and we also only were getting whiting. Earlier we ran into Donnie Schwirtlich from the message forum in his Subaru Outback. Donnie had several pomps and whiting. After a few more moves and a big tide we moved north of the Big Shell. A couple of spots later we got a nice Whiting which we kept and two average sized pompano. I took about 10 shots on my cell phone but only one showed up. The ladies spotted a popping cork bobbing in the water and thought there might be a keeper fish on there so Kimberly went and pulled it out. It was safely released.
The ground has dried out and the park is going to be able to start work on Yarborough Pass next week! Construction will start on Monday December 3, 2018. Watch this space for updates on how the construction is proceeding. We can't wait for when we can say that it's open!
11/19. PINS PompaYes 11/17 -
After getting our first taste of pompano action on October 28th we waited patiently for the next pompano window and this past Saturday looked like the day. The forecast was for sunshine and light northwest winds but as we headed out to "bomb down the beach" we were met with threatening gray skies. The first stop near the 6 we met up with Becky and the CCA babes in "Black Betty" and Kevin in his white Tacoma. They were just setting up. We made a couple of tosses there. We picked up one smallish "smoker sized" pompano and decided to go a few miles south to escape the weed in the wade gut. Just before heading out we recognized a blur going by us in his black Tahoe and said hello to our Ranger friend who was headed south also in search of pompano. About the ten mile mark or so we saw a couple of nice looking spots and quickly set up our spreads. All of the pomps would be a 50 yard stroll out to the first bar with one long cast over the next bar. Yours truly in mid stroll.
The action was steady and thankfully not a single hardhead made it to the beach. In all I think we had close to 20 or a bit more in our group. Others who went south got into more but we were limited in time until about 2pm.
Kimberly with her first pomp
Claire loves her first pompano
Shawne brings one in.
Val finally successfully lands her first pompano!
In no way was there any mimosas out there or a guy whose name rhymes with mud in possession of aerial contraband.
Now it was getting silly!
A great time with friends and family! And the pompano cooperating just made it better.
11/16 PINS - Not much to report since two fronts with strong cold winds pushed through since last Friday. The outlook is great for today and Saturday with small surf and improving water and warmer weather. Expect lots of pompano, reds, whiting, black drum. Also be on the look out for Jack Crevalle they will reveal themselves when you see pony mullet exploding in the first gut jumping for their lives! :)
11/9 PINS - Prior to today's front there were redfish both slot and oversized caught and lots of undersireable fish such as hardheads, gafftop and small whiting. The pompano bite was off but should improve once conditions calm on the next front Monday. Most likely next Wednesday could provide a good though chilly pompano window.
11/2 PINS Weekend Good - Pompano were the stars of the weekend with good catches being reported both Saturday and Sunday. The bite shut off on the warm south winds Monday.. The tide was low. Weed was some trouble south of the thirties. Most of the finger mullet were south of the 30 as well. Saturday 11/3 shows winds returning to the south 15 to 20 with 2 to 4 ft seas offshore.
Jay with a solid keeper
About 14 Pompano in the box
Here's one that went 3.75lbs
Friends of Padre Report 10/28/29 HERE
10/26 PINS Open to Overnight Camping - "Coastal flooding has receeded so the beaches are open overnight again. Tides are still predicted to be high all month, so make sure you're watching where high tide is coming up to at 6:30 pm tonight and 7:30 pm tomorrow. Enjoy the nice weather this weekend!
Previous to the high tides there were numerous reds, whiting and good pompano caught during last weekend's Sharkathon.
Heres a link to the 2018 Sharkathon Winners
10/22 PINS Closed to Vehicle driving - Law enforcement closed the beach to vehicle driving due to dangerous high tides that have brought the water to the dunes. Once conditions warrant they will reopen it says Ranger Buzz.
10/18 PINS - One word "SHARKATHON" is this weekend. The weather remains dicey with rain in the forecast but the surf should be coming down somewhat. Still tough for paddling shark baits. In the meantime here is some Recon in a report from my now retired friend Deputy Dawg who was down yesterday.
"Had a good trip today! Caught a pile of reds and kept a limit that measured 22, 27, and 27 7/8. Got several oversized and a bunch of under. Also got a few stud whiting.
I went to about the 28 and caught most of my fish there. Also got some at about the 18.
Driving was good. Water was okay but not great. Weed was terrible but lightened up at times. Lots of sharkers heading south to set up for the big weekend."
10/12 - NORTH AND SOUTH BEACHES ARE OPEN FOR DAY USE ONLY
Driving is at your own risk and there is no overnight camping allowed right now. You will want to be off the beach by high tide, which is at 8 pm. Coastal flooding is expected to continue through Sunday at least and we'll reevaluate the conditions on the beach every morning.10/11 - PINS Beaches remain closed at least until Friday morning according to Park Officials who released this statement " When the high tide is expected to be about 2 ft (like it is for all of October) any low pressure system in the Gulf can cause coastal flooding and make it so the park needs to close the beaches. Keep an eye on the tides and the forecast for any storms when planning a trip, especially this month.
The National Weather Service has extended the coastal flood warning due to hurricane Michael through at least Friday morning.
The park will continue to monitor conditions and post information as updates are available."
Prior to the rise in tide from Hurricane Michael there were good catches of redfish, spanish mackerel , trout, bluefish and of course ladyfish on finger mullet and cut mullet mostly.
9/26 - No signs of red tide in recent tests since the initial outbreak. Our collective fingers are crossed! Catches have included lots of slot redfish, some trout, spanish mackerel, skipjacks and small blacktips. A few washout areas due to the heavy rain earlier this month. Fishing should be better in the afternoons due to the recent full moon. Weekend prospects look good except for potential chance of showers and thunderstorms.
9/13 PINS Red Tide Advisory - We were hoping that the Sahara dust and rainfall runoff would not result in this but the Padre Island National Seashore released this today.
"RED TIDE ADVISORY
As the disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico continues to bring high winds, heavy rain, and higher-than-normal tides, it is now speeding up the return of “red tide” to the Texas coast. We have been monitoring "red tide" levels in the park since it first appeared in Port Aransas, and it has now reached levels that can negatively impact park visitors. Beach closures may occur, but the park itself will not close. Here's what you need to know about Red Tide:
Red Tide (Karenia brevis), is a type of dinoflagellate algae that can make the surf appear dark red or brown at high enough levels. Minuscule amounts of this algae always exist in the ocean, so their byproducts are usually harmless. As concentrated levels increase, the brevetoxins (a type of neurotoxin) can kill fish and other small ocean life. As K. brevis is agitated in the waves, these toxins become an airborne gas and then can become a hazard to people and other life.
The smell of these aerosolized toxins is similar to ammonia. If these toxins are inhaled they can cause coughing, sneezing, itchy throat, and in some populations severe headaches and asthma attacks. If swimming in red tide, skin and eye irritation can also occur. Dogs are also known to be particularly vulnerable, and pet fatalities have occurred in past years from high levels in the water.
Updates will be posted here to assist visitors who may be planning to visit the coast. In the meantime, those with respiratory issues such as asthma emphysema are advised to postpone their visit until the red tide dissipates. Those with pets are also advised to leave their pets at home. There is no known method to predict how long the event will last, so your patience and understanding will be much appreciated."
9/06 PINS - Water is on the high side right now but should diminish after the swells from Gordon diminish. Fishing was good over the labor day weekend. Black drum, redfish and several tiger sharks caught in addition to whiting, hardheads etc. David Sikes had a great article about a couple and their five kids who caught and released two tiger sharks this weekend. Article HERE
8/30 PINS - The coldwater upwelling has diminished and fishing is better though driving is worse on high tide in Big Shell. More decent sharks caught this week. David Williams caught and released several blacktips. A young Tiger shark was also caught and released. Pup Hammerheads and spinners and a few bonnet nose caught. Whiting and undersized reds reported. Further north KlebergCaster filed this report from South of Bob Hall Pier fishing on Wed 8/29
2 lines out with flea fish bites at 5:27 pm, 08/29/18. Clear warm water, small swell and light current.
East
North
South
Lots of these little water drops, don't recall seeing them before.
Anybody know?
Cast 1 and 2 on rod #2 in second gut around #287. Moved to two more spots heading north. Nothing but hard heads and a couple of small whiting after that. Lines in and heading home around 7 pm.
Ties my PB
Ceviche
8/23 PINS - Late word from Jeff Wolda of Padre Island Light Tackle Adventures tonight said. There is a coldwater upwelling on the beach still but it warms up during the day. His clients grounded out some trout, he did see a few black drum and reds as well,
8/22 The water has been dirty out to the second and third bar along most of the Padre Island National Seashore for the past week though there were some notable catches including two Tiger sharks over 11 feet long that were caught photo'd and released in a local shark tournament. Generally the fishing has been really tough. My friend David Williams managed a few whiting and caught, tagged and released three blacktip sharks to 6 feet so they aren't all eating the free buffet at the shrimp boats offshore.
8/16 PINS - An interesting story I got on a shark bite on PINS via email on August 8th HERE Meanwhile catches have included redfish, hardheads, water is dirty in places. Repairs on Yarborough Pass are expected to begin and conclude next month. Also the Army Corps of Engineers has permitted the dredging of Mansfield cut to take place either this fall or in 2019 before and or after Turtle nesting season.
8/03 PINS - Hot off the press from yesterday's trip the Friends of Padre Beach Report
https://www.friendsofpadre.com/blogs/friends-of-padre/friends-of-padre-beach-report-8-03-2019
_________________7/27 PINS - Check out Cody's Friends of Padre Report
https://www.friendsofpadre.com/blogs/friends-of-padre/friends-of-padre-beach-report-7-24-2018
________7/24 PINS - Nick Meyer reported from Sunday water looked pretty good the length of the beach but the best water was south near the Mansfield Jetty. Reports of reds and trout inside the channel. Nick had 8 species including a pompano, whiting, barred grunt, ladyfish and several other undesirable fish. That sauerkraut Bryzoan was present on the north ends and ladyfish were working under gulls near the 15. Driving was mainly good but there are three or four spots that drop off and are extremely soft so use caution.
7/13 PINS - Cold water upwelling still around though there is some clear water south. Trout, redfish and even a king mackerel were reported last weekend. Don't forget the Big 40th Anniversary for the Ridley Turtles tomorrow 7/14 at the Malaquite Visitor's Center. Friends of Padre will debut a Memorial to Captain Billy Sandifer and the Big Shell Cleanup, For more listen to the weekend outlook.
Brought to you by TLC Complete Care Padre
7/3 PINS - The coldwater continues to plague the entire length of the seashore and up into Mustang Island. The Filamentous Bryozoans are back too. Here's a fresh report from earlier today. G.Krane writes "Thought today was gonna be a better day with the lower winds and smaller surf. Wasn't meant to be. Fished from around 7:00 am to around 11:30 and things were bad. That clear bryzoan stuff is back in the water as bad as it was 3 weeks ago. Could not keep any type of long rod out for more than a minute or so. Water seemed very cool compared to normal, and I noticed a really strange thing. There were literally tens of thousands of dead blue crabs on the shoreline. I mean everywhere. The birds werent even picking at them. I went down to about the 15 mm to see if the sauerkraut stuff would thin out but it never did. Neither did the dead crabs. Managed to get 2 whiting and a lot of hardheads. Hae no idea of what it will take for this to turn around. I was going to go tomorrow with the wife and son but now now. I cant see things being any better tomorrow."
6/7 - present - Filamentous Bryozoans were giving folks fits using the long rods. It temporarily cleared but still the fishing was slow and there was brown water in close.
Filamentous Bryozoans - a colony of animals that look like algae. It ruined the fishing at Bob Hall, well the dirty water didn't help either.
My friend and Charle's Stockton's brother Len, said it was everywhere making it impossible to fish so he left!
Learn more here: https://www.google.com/search?q=filamentous+bryozoans&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-abTowboat Trash filed this report and the fishing was slow lousy he only reported on the new food truck out there!
5/31 PINS Report - The winds should calm down this weekend and it should be good with the waning mood.
Here's a report from Sunday.Our friend Rachel got this slot red fishing near the Nicaragua 51 miles down the Padre Island National Seashore. It was very crowded on the north end but not so much down south except for at the Mansfield Jetty. Coming in last night close to 10pm we saw someone trying to release what looked to be like an 8 foot hammerhead around the 3.5 mile mark. I hope they got her released.
5/18 PINS Report - Jeff Wolda at Padre Island Light Tackle Adventures had a wonderful father-son trip Wednesday. The son is 6' 9" and the dad at 6' 8" so keep that in mind when you look at the size of these trout. Trout and jacks all came on topwaters.
Please Join us Sunday we will be holding an informal memorial to honor "The Life and Times of Captain Billy L. Sandifer" on Sunday May 20th at 11am until 1p at the Briscoe King Pavilion just behind one of Billy's first treasured fishing locales, Bob Hall Pier. We invite Billy's friends and admirers to join us as we celebrate the life of "The Padre of Padre".
5/15 PINS Report - Lots of big sharks caught this past week. Some of them didn't survive. Please do your best to catch, photo and release quickly. If they do die, do your best to get the meat off the beach and don't just waste it. More info HERE
Fishing was slower on Sunday according to Nick Meyer of Breakaway Tackle due to slow tidal movement. Driving was pretty good and weed was there but not bad. The best days will be now through Friday but the waves and wind will increase in height and strength Saturday and Sunday. Prior to that trout, redfish and jacks were reported.
Please Join us Sunday we will be holding an informal memorial to honor "The Life and Times of Captain Billy L. Sandifer" on Sunday May 20th at 11am until 1p at the Briscoe King Pavilion just behind one of Billy's first treasured fishing locales, Bob Hall Pier. We invite Billy's friends and admirers to join us as we celebrate the life of "The Padre of Padre".
Here's Billy fishing with my personal favorite topwater CRCH She Dog. I caught one of my biggest trout fishing with Billy using that lure. That was one of our favorites along with the Blue Chrome and Spanish Mackerel pattern. < Free advice right there LOL!
Thanks!
Tyler Thorsen
5/08 PINS Report - Reports from the past weekend and the first part of this week have included lots of reds and trout on lures and on flies including this one from Jeff Wolda of Padre Island Light Tackle Adventures. T
here is a brown algae in the water in some areas. It is not the harmful red tide however.
5/03 PINS Report - Jeff Wolda of Padre Island Light Tackle Adventures tells me "Trout on the fly and on lures. A few reds and spanish mackerel are available so when this wind lays down it should be good." The weather looks like it will be Sunday before that happens. Lots of good sized sharks from Blacktips to Bulls, Hammerheads and a Lemon Shark by Oz have been caught and released this past weekend.
4/26 PINS Report - Ranger Buzz reports that the turtle patrol has reported lots of tar balls in the 40's so bring lighter fluid to take it off your feet if you go down this weekend. Jeff Wolda will have a report for me this evening. Donnie from the message forum got into a bunch of nice 15 to 18 inch whiting last night before the lightning ran him off. He reports the water is ok in close then gets muddy and then turns green after that offshore. See 4/24 report about dirty water. Jacks down at Mansfield Jetty . Watch for birds frenzying and you could find them all along the beach at times. Weather should be great thru Sunday morning.
Here is what it looked like South of Bob Hall yesterday morning.
4/24 PINS Report - Conditions should be great with light winds and only two foot seas predicted offshore thru Sunday. The fly in the ointment - Nick Meyer reported that folks told him there was a muddy cold water upwelling from the 5 mile mark down to the 35. Trout have been reported and there are pompano out there too in addition to whiting, jacks and spanish mackerel. Avoid the coldwater areas.
4/20 Sorry about the Break in Reports - The winds have been brutal so the reports have been scarce. This week there have been redfish, and jacks reported in addition to some good sharks, blacktip and sandbar. Adopt a Beach is Saturday 4/21/2018. We will be holding an informal memorial for Captain Billy Sandifer on Sunday May 20th 11am to 1pm at the Briscoe King Pavilion in Padre Balli Park. All of his friends and admirers are welcome to attend.
Nick Meyer made a video this past Sunday 4/15
Jeff Wolda of Padre Island Light Tackle Adventures put his clients on a smorgasboard on 4/12 with redfish, black drum, trout, spanish mackerel and jack crevalle.
3/30 Friends of Padre Loses Founder and Mentor -
Billy Sandifer, legendary fishing guide and friend and mentor to many lost his battle with cancer this morning March 30th, 2018. His wife Joy and family ask for their privacy at this time. We will definitely be sending off this man in style in many ways. We are so happy that we knocked this year's 23rd Annual Billy Sandifer Big Shell Beach Cleanup out of the park for him with the record number of 1175 volunteers picking up 85 tons of trash, with 17 tons of that being recyclable material. He was really proud of that.
I spoke with Billy last week and told him about various efforts being planned to honor him at the park including either naming the Big Shell Beach "Billy Sandifer Beach" or maybe a bronze statue at the Visitor's Center. He said "It's about the Deed not the Dude, Tyler". Well I said "this is more for the friends you leave behind and Dude, your deeds have been many".
Rest in Peace my friend. Billy Sandifer 6/11/1947 - 3/30/2018.
"Life's A Hoot. Get You Some of It. Be Careful, Be Courteous, Be Kind", Capt. Billy L. Sandifer"
_________________
Like Corpusfishing.com on Facebook!3/27 PINS Pics via Victor Delgado - Check out this 45 inch redfish he got on the 24th on cut bait
3/24 PINS Report - The winds came up blowing things out for the most part at the end of this week. Last Sunday however was pretty good down the beach for Jeff Wolda and his clients who caught reds and a nice trout.
3/3 PINS Report via Redfin21 - "3 generations of my family packed up Friday morning and headed down to PINS. My father, Son and I. We stopped right before the 20mm and set up camp. No bait found in surf so just fished for whiting. Fishing was slow but managed 4 nice size pompano and 28 whiting. Several bull whiting in the mix. All caught on fishbites in the day and a half. Packed up Saturday afternoon around 1 and headed home. Sun was out Friday but fog and clouds surrounded us SAturday. Just a quick report. Portuguese man o war washing up so be careful on the beach. Have a good one everyone."
2/25 Epic Cleanup Folks - More Pics Here
2/15 PINS - Saturday 2/17 is Kite Day with lots of neat kite demos and flying for families and kids. Going on from 10am til 2pm at the Malaquite Visitor's Center Parking lot and out on the beachfront.
23rd Annual Billy Sandifer Big Shell Cleanup Saturday 2/24/2018. Be there at 8am
Fishing has been tough lately with the cold water with temps in the mid fifties. Catches have included mostly hardheads and whiting. Jeff Wolda will be making a Friends of Padre Report Friday 2/16 and should have a full report when he is done on driving conditions, birds and fishing!
2/08 PINS - Surf temp is still very cold at 54 degrees winds are going to change SE for the weekend with seas to three feet which should improve the fishing.
2/04 PINS via Sinker -
Down PINS end of pavement at 8:00AM, quite foggy and even with receding tide beach was narrow.
Water temperature 57 wind calm air temperature 56.
Drove down 23 miles with plans to go further but a break in the first bar made stop.
Catch results after 3 hours:
34 hardheads
4 Whiting
2 Reds that were 26 and 27 inches
Bait for Reds was Whiting heads.
Reds back in the gulf.
Water 4/10
Driving 5/10
2/1 PINS - Prescribed burns today through Saturday 2/3 possibly
Project Details:
Burning will be limited to the north end of Padre Island National Seashore, but will occur on both sides of Park Road 22.
Expect temporary smoke in the vicinity of any prescribed fire activity; drivers should pay extra attention while traveling through or adjacent to burn areas.
Expect some temporary road closures when roadside ignition begins on both Park Road 22 and the Bird Island Basin Road.
Bird Island Basin boat ramp will be open, however be prepared for delays getting into and out of the area due to temporary road closures.
People with respiratory issues are advised to avoid visiting the seashore February 1-3, 2018.
Seashore visitors are urged not to stop along the roadway or enter areas while ignition operations are being conducted.
Both Malaquite and Bird Island Basin Campgrounds will be closed February 1-3, 2018. Visitors already staying in the seashore at the two campgrounds will temporarily be relocated elsewhere within the park.
The Malaquite Visitor Center will remain open.
Another front is coming tonight so expect higher tides with NE winds and more of the same with the water temperature in the mid to upper 50's. Expect whiting and hardheads with some oversized drum in the Mansfield Channel.1/30 PINS via Sinker - We arrived to first spot at the 17 9:35 today.
Water temp was 55 air temp 57 north wind of 15 mph.
Bait shrimp and fish bites on all lines.
The current was fast and strong moving south.
Water clarity 3 of 10 and clear water could be seen on the horizon.
Driving was good 7 of 10.
We fished the first stop for one hour and caught Whiting and hardheads plus one 29 inch Red.
Red was caught in wash gut just beach side of first bar.
Little action in the first gut and nothing biting in the second gut.
Good luck if you go and Red is back in the gulf.
Fished our way north with only hardheads.1/25 PINS, South of Bob Hall etc - Sinker reported 1/20 "Well today four of us winter Texans made a test fishing expedition to the surf when the fog started lifting at 11:00AM.
I fished near the end of Whitecap, one headed north of Packery, one drove to PINS and one fished off Bob Hall.
At cocktails tonight all had same report of cold dirty water and tall surf with no fish caught.1/19/-/20 PINS via Towboat Trash HERE
1/16/ PINS via Towboat Trash 1/9 - 1/11 - Check out his latest exploits HERE
1/08 PINS - Last week when the weather warmed up from the cold fishing was excellent with whiting, black drum both keeper and oversized reported along with slot and oversized redfish. There were even a few winter trout that made an appearance for the first time in many winters.
In the meantime enjoy this tome from our friend Towboat Trash!
12/1 PINS - PINS has been on fire the past week with pompano, trout, redfish, snook, bluefish and whiting. The reds and trout have been on live finger mullet when you can find them. The pompano and whiting have come on fishbite and shrimp combos with the pompano at long distance on most of the beach from the highbanks back north. There are spots of troublesome weed but if you move you can find them. The tides this weekend start out low. Nick Meyer says the pomps have been biting on the outgoing tide and that won't start until mid afternoon so be advised.
Here is Nick's catch from Sunday
11/16 PINS Veterans Day Weekend Bull Red Blitz - Rick Aka Skipjack Underbrink and friends had an epic weekend with huge numbers of Bull reds caught and released on PINS near the start of Big Shell. When the hungry bulls came through everyone with a rod out saw it go off from north to south as the schools moved through. Similar stories were reported up and down the beach with bluefish and ladyfish also in the mix.
Here's Rick with a 44" Bull Red caught on a fly by going out into frantic bait and casting.
11/7 PINS PM Report via Donnie - My son came down and we had a great time down pins. We jumped out of our vehicles, saw lots of birds working, set out our bait rigs with the store bought live mullet, 10 minutes and we had a nice slot red.
We thought - we are going to limit out again !!!! And of course, that was the last red we put on the sand. I caught this shark - as well.
I believe it was a blacktip after googling up pictures on it - I had thought it might the Atlantic sharp nose - but that little whitish fin near the anal vent seems to prove it was a blacktip. It was 33-36 inches or so, took cut skip jack.
Conditions were great - I think we have a front coming through shortly.
_________________
Donnie
11/2 PINS Via Ranger Buzz -FISHING REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 2, 2017
BY RANGER BUZZ
Fishing on Halloween afternoon on Tuesday, October 31 brought more treats than tricks! The first ten to fifteen miles the surf was murky and full of various sea grasses and algae making fishing marginal, at best. Thankfully fishing guide Jeff Wolda was on his way out and mentioned that the water was much clearer in the twenties. Sure enough, not only was the water clear down at Big Shell beach, but there was no weed to foul the fishing lines either. In addition there were large schools of migrating mullet minnows heading south. Those attracted plenty of skipjacks and some Spanish mackerel to the all they could eat bait buffet.
The fish everyone is currently fishing for are redfish. While finger mullet did catch one redfish, three more were caught on cut skipjack. Many regulars to the park are familiar with using skipjacks for bait. If you want to catch some for bait, using a silver spoon and reeling if very fast will usually do the trick. If skipjacks (also called ladyfish) are around you will see lots of activity from the bait fish fleeing the predatory skipjacks. Once you see the activity in the surf, get casting with the spoon and you should be able to catch some for bait
Once you have the skipjack fillets ready, cut off some pieces and bait up. For catching mullet minnows a cast net is the best method to capture them. If you don’t know how to use a cast net, live mullet minnows are plentiful right now at the bait stands.
Using a “Fish Finder” rig with a sliding sinker seems to work well for bait fishing. This allows the fish to pick up the bait without as easily detecting the weight of the sinker. Other anglers stick to the tried and true double drop hook rig so the choice is yours. Anyone fishing will need to experiment a bit to determine how much weight is needed to hold the bait in place. Depending upon how strong the currents are running parallel to the beach, it may take up to six ounces to keep the bait in position. Most days however two or three ounces are enough.
With luck you will land some “slot” redfish that are in the 20” to 28” range. These sizes are legal to keep for eating. Lately many of the reds have been running on the larger end (i.e. above 28 inches) which is not a bad problem to have! Several fisher men and women have reported catching fish in the thirty to forty inch range.
Lastly, if you have ever tried taking a selfie holding up a large fish, here is what it looks like. Rest assured it doesn’t work very well. The moral of the story is be sure to take someone else with you when you fish to take the pictures for you! It’s more fun that way also. Good luck and note that ice is now available at the visitor center between the hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily!
10/26 - Oz and his clients reported lots of oversized reds. Wednesday Ziacatcher got into slot and oversized reds south of Bob Hall Pier
10/13 PINS Sharkathon Weekend - Coastal Flood advisories in effect through Saturday morning 10/14. Highest tides are after midnight. Remember to camp above the high tide lines. Sharkathon participants need to keep their rods even with the tide line so when the tide falls out their rod racks should move closer to the water so it won't leave shark lines blocking roads early in the day. Recent reports showed water muddy for the first 10 miles of PINS. Don reported hardheads and whiting on Wednesday evening. Sharkathon Awards Ceremony and raffle drawings will be Sunday 2pm at Padre Balli Park and the Briscoe King Pavillion.
10/10 PINS North and South Beaches open to driving and camping -
10/4 PINS North and South Beaches closed to driving -
10/3 Coastal Flood Advisory - Tides 1 to 3 feet higher than normal are expected thru Thursday morning with water getting close to the dunes with each high tide. Expect big surf later in the week as a tropical system heads into the Gulf.
9/23 PINS Via Donnie - Wanted to get in a trip down pins before the thumpers dreams came true. Went down to just past the 20 without an issue except for a few washouts - but it got softer and softer right there - asked a guy in a big high wheel ford - and he said, it was a mess for a while - so I decided that right where I was , looked pretty darn good. Cast net for a bit, nada, but found a large hole in it as I was cleaning things up - that might explain a few things.
Caught some very large very nice whiting there - and then over about an hour had hooks ripped off my leaders. These leaders I bought on-line through Amazon (labeled Muzata) - looked strong but not strong enough for PINS. Cleaning them out of my tacklebox this morning. So I need to make new ones or buy new ones , as well as a new cast net.
Caught a nice load of whiting - and got a good lesson (actually I screwed up to teach my daughter a lesson) on paying attention to high tide. I wanted to stay and fish the high tide movement hoping to tie into some reds, though I didnt get the bait I wanted (i know, I should have cut up a whiting ) but driving out, the 'road' kept getting more narrow and more narrow.
This is my USMC vet daughter, loves the island like I do.
The water was nice, 7/10, and even though there was a bit of seaweed on the shore, none in the water, birds were moving around, not hammering the water like the night before or earlier in the week.
Promised my wife a one rod - no tackle box - picture taking, driving trip down the island - probably next saturday - AT LOW TIDE this time.9/ 20 Pins report via Donnie - "I went 8 miles down, should have gone farther and maybe have outrun the hardheads. The water was dark with 'anchovies' - spoon thrown out far enough would get a hit from dink fish, skip jacks, little whiting , and one, I dont know what the hell - I had changed to my son's go to lure, the green and yellow cocohoe minnoe, the large size - and cast it several times, I wasnt paying close attention, my big spinning reel and my 4/0 were both bouncing around, there was a huge splash - swirl , water thrown all over, large fish - wasnt skip jack, i think maybe small shark, large red, large trout, jack fish - but jerked my rod almost out of my arm (this of course was my little shimano ) the line popped (17 lb test ). The throught occurred to me "Donnie, I think you are going to need a bigger rig." So I went back and took out the next bigger spinning reel available - with a wire leader and another large cocohoe - but of course, nada. Driving was great - very few folks , couple of campers, saw 4 or 5 vehicles in the 8 miles. My next trip, probably Friday pm, i will not stop early. I caught a few whiting - not enough for a meal (wife and I had Monday's catch for dinner today before I left - delicious) . My hope is that the farther I go down the island (17 miles on Monday ) I will get away from the hard heads. I would have stayed longer tonight - but dont like unhooking hard heads in the dark. Also, I soaked a live whiting 7 8 incher in the second gut, from when i got there to when i left (830 2030) and it was alive when I released it as I was leaving. It was never touched. "
Donnie S.
9/18 Pins Report via Donnie - Got to the sand around 445 (1645) and the water looked great. About 10 miles down, a couple in a toyota CJ had stopped by lot of action in the water, they were having a blast with skipjacks, I asked if they minded if i parked nearby and join in. They laughed and said, 'come on'. Caught me enough for bait, those things are fun. Little past the 15 mile sign, I stopped. Put out the 4/0 with skip jack front (head and several inches of body) - tried for a bit with kastmaster, nada. Put out a line for whiting - and slow at first but caught a bag full of filets worth. The skipjack head wasnt touched by the way, I threw it way and put about 6 inches of skip jack body on, and I missed the bite/run I guess, line had run out (my clicker doesnt work) and the bait was gone. Was a blast, the water clarity was 5 /10 , a little annoying was old weed hanging onto everything, but wasnt enough to aggravate you. Hopefully, be back out wednesday and friday evenings of this week, my Salt Water Therapy. Very few folks out there, btw. Probably 3 camps/vehicles from 10 miles on in to the pavement. Oh, and I saw Wiley (or one of his cousins) around 2 miles from pavement, he didnt stop and pose though.
9/17 Fatality on PINS - Corpus Christi, Texas- On the evening of Saturday September 16 at approximately 10:30 pm the National Park Service received a report of a missing person. Park rangers initiated a Search and Rescue operation. On Sunday morning September 17 at approximately 9:15 am the body of the reported missing person was found on the beach. An investigation is being done by Kenedy County Sheriff and Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office. The name of the deceased is being withheld at this time while family members are being contacted and the investigation proceeds. All inquiries at this time should go to the Kenedy County Sheriff's office to Chief of Operations Marc Estes at: (361) 294-5205. No further information at this time.
9/13Quick Pins Trip with Towboat Trash - Speaking of trash there is a lot of debris coming into the beach from the recent flood and Hurrican Harvey. Expect debris to come in from Irma as well.
HERE is Colin's aka Towboat's Report.
9/7 PINS - Yet another Hurricane down south has the water churned up and dirty but prior to that post Harvey it was unbelievable for Colin Davis' Report HERE from 8/31 - 9/1 - 9/5
8/21 PINS Report 8/20 Via Nick Meyer - Nick of Breakawayusa.com was down Sunday and reported the water was dirty until about the 30's cleared some and was a bit warmer with some bait and that is where they found pompano, whiting, skipjack, Brenda Meyer got her reel stripped by a jack but she did get a trout and Nick caught this gorgeous member of the pompano/jack family called a Palometa. Looks like a Florida Pompano all dolled up!
Watch for possible coastal flooding depending on that tropical system expected to enter the gulf late this week.
8/2 PINS Fishing Great! - Some of the best summer fishing conditions in three years has been observed on PINS with good surf trout fishing, the whiting and pompano are also good. Redfish and drum are also in the mix. two large Tiger Sharks caught over the weekend. Generally the water had been colder and clearer down south and up to the Little Shell Area earlier this week. Temperatures moderated on Tuesday on the north end. Live bait, topwaters, and soft plastic has worked for the trout. Spanish Mackerel are also around. Look for anchovies and birds to find Spanish Mackerel, ladyfish and trout,.
7/24 - 7/25 Towboat Goes on a Walkabout - View the complete report HERE
7/21 Fee Increase Proposed - The park is looking at increasing daily and annual rates for admission to Padre Island National Seashore and the Boat Launch at Bird Island Basin. The seven day vehicle pass would go from $10 to $20 and the annual pass would go from 20 to $40. The Boat launch fee would go to 10 dollars from 5 dollars daily with the annual pass going to $30.
7/19 Epic Pins Weekend - from Tyler view the report HERE
7/12 PINS - Good fishing recently with the calmer water on the National Seashore. Trout, reds, whiting, drum and sharks caught in the past week. Nick Meyer pulled out some nice trout on his favorite red head white body Skitterwalk this past Sunday.
Driving good on low tide. Sargassum reported to be light.
7/6 PINS - Water was dirty on the north end at the start of the month. Nick and Brenda Meyer of Breakawayusa.com had good luch fishing for reds both Sunday July 2nd and on the Fourth of July. Water was green south of the thirty and they got the reds here and there at every bit of structure, close out etc. Caught on the lighter Breakaway Alpha rods on Simpleton rigs.
6/30 PINS - Trout reported earlier in the week with the lighter surf. Expect a lot of wind and strong surf this weekend. That will hamper any shot at trout but there could be some reds, black drum and plenty of whiting around.
Here is what it looked like just after 7am this morning.
6/27 - 6/30 PINS Trout and Bay Reds via Gut Bucket - Family trip to the coast, me, the boys and phil leave SA tuesday at 2:30am hit the beach (pinns) at sun up. start fishing and BAM BAM BAM!!!! the trout bite was good! it slowed at the first spot. so we go to another and its CRAZY ON FIRE! banged out a 4 man limit of SILVER BULLETS BY 945am!! oh and my 1st fis of the day was a red fish! and i get mad! lol my luck i catch the red and the boys are catching solid trout! but i get in the game and my sliver bullets
the second day its the girls turn to go fishing, they kill them too!I stay back at the condo with the kiddos cause im a good husband and let my wife go fish. lol im just scoring browine points for when i come alone! lol so i tell them i would meet them down the beach when they wake up. so i find them, and we come up 1 fish short of a 5 man limit. oh well we have plenty. lol
so day 3 we decide to go on the boat and go after some reds! its me my wife my lovely princess and phil. we fish shallow and the 1st spot almost instantly my wife rod bows over and POP! line pops! redo her rod and out she goes hits the water and five min later another run and missed it!!! we stay there and NOTHING!! we go to another spot and thats where we find them! crazy bite and we end up with 10 so we head back cause my princess is hot and hungry! so we go back take a quick picture. and the boys come out and say they want to fish. we have bait left over so we try it out.
so they help us get a 4 man limit plus some trout. it ended out to be a good day.
me and my LOVES WITH ONE OF 2 DOUBLE HOOK UPS!!!!
my son with his RED!
MOMMA WITH A SLIVER BULLET!
the last double be for we head in. my princess tells me you do it daddy its to hard! lol...... shes tried
and my baby boy watching us clean fish, teaching him young! all in all it was an awesome family fishing trip total alot of fish fir my freezer! fish fry fish tacos, reds on the half shell and blacken red fish all summer!!! till again good luck guys!!
6/22 PINS Beach Driving remains closed - Corpus Christi, Texas- On the morning of June 22nd the National Park Service made the determination to continue the closure for at least another 24 hours. Beaches were closed on June 21st to vehicle traffic due to high waters on the beaches associated with Tropical Storm Cindy.
The next assessment will occur on Friday morning (June 23rd). The national seashore is still open to the public, Bird Island Basin is still completely open and visitors are welcome to walk on the beaches (just no vehicle traffic). However there is still high chance of RIP CURRENT DANGER. To learn more about the dangers of Rip Currents and how to survive if you are caught in one go to: http://www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov/
6/21 PINS Beach Driving Closure Padre Island National Seashore - Corpus Christi, Texas- Despite Tropical Storm Cindy being far to the East, the beaches of Padre Island National Seashore are being affected by extreme high tides (gulf waters are up to the dune line and waves are very rough)!
SOUTH AND NORTH BEACHES ARE CLOSED TO DRIVING.
The National Park Service has closed North and South Beach to vehicle traffic due to high waters on the beaches. Park rangers will monitor conditions and the public will be notified when the beaches are reopened to driving. We expect the closure to be for at least the next 24 hours.RIP CURRENT DANGER, swimming is not advised at this time due to the high possibility of being pulled away from shore by a rip current. To learn more about the dangers of Rip Currents and how to survive if you are caught in one go to: http://www.ripcurrents.noaa.gov/
6/15 PINS - Got a call from Jeff Wolda who reported on fishing Thursday. I was surprised to see that he had taken customers down there due to the windy conditions. He said they insisted so they went. Driving is rough with lots of whoopdy doos and bumps along with the weed. They did report a couple of reds and some other "less desirable" fish. The forecast looks like there will be rough seas and possibly tough driving on higher tides through Sunday morning when the surf forecast is predicted to come down. Keep an eye on the tropics early next week as there could be some development in the Bay of Campeche Tuesday or Wednesday.
Sad to report a 79 year old kayaker lost his life in front of Bird Island Basin yesterday after becoming entangled in his anchor line and fishing gear inspite of him wearing a PFD. Be careful folks and if you can fish with a buddy.
6/09/PINS - Jeff Wolda of Padre Island Light Tackle Adventures says "Padre Island National Seashore has been on fire" this past week. His customers caught 20 trout from 19 to 24 inches all solid fat surf trout. There were jacks and mangroves too.The trout came on topwaters and later in the day spoons. The best bite has been when the tide starts falling out in the morning and other periods when it drops after holding steady.
The weekend outlook is great for today and tomorrow and gets windier by late Sunday with 6 foot seas in the forecast by Monday.
6/02/ PINS - Prior to the rains and high water. John Baerly got this nice haul of pompano, reds and whiting. Photo courtesy of breakawayusa.com. Conditions look okay today through Saturday with more rain and wind predicted Sunday bringing higher surf and stronger currents.
YARBOROUGH PASS CLOSED TO TRAFFIC
Current conditions on the Yarborough Pass Road, which provides access to the bay side camping and public use area, may cause vehicle damage and resources adjacent to the road are being heavily impacted by off road travel.
In the interest of safety and resource preservation the National Park Service is closing Yarborough Pass Road until further notice. Specific dates for reopening are unknown at this time.
5/25 PINS - There is a new temporary toll booth set up before the road that goes to the sticks. You will be expected to pay from that point south. If you go down the beach from Bob Hall and enter the National Seashore you may be asked for a pass. Fishing was decent when the winds were calm for trout, jack crevalle , whiting and sharks. Redfish and black drum were also reported. Here is a Friends of Padre report from 5/24
https://www.friendsofpadre.com/blogs/friends-of-padre/friends-of-padre-beach-report-5-24-2017
5/17 PINS - Winds and sargassum have been making it tough on PINS at times. Nick Meyer was down Sunday and said the water was decent but weedy on the north end and downright dirty from the 25 to the 50 where it turned Caribbean blue. Fishing was slow he said he got some big whiting and heard of a few redfish and black drum.
Previously the fishing has been excellent for sharks with many over 7 feet including Bulls and various hammer heads. Usually has to to do with the number of green turtles around.
Speaking of Turtles! Check this out
NEW STATE RECORD SET YESTERDAY!
Yesterday, 43 Kemp's ridley nests were found in Texas, including 28 at Padre Island National Seashore, 6 on South Padre Island, 4 on North Padre Island north of Padre Island National Seashore, 1 on Bolivar Peninsula, 1 on Galveston Island, 1 on Surfside Beach, 1 on Mustang Island, and 1 on Boca Chica Beach.
The 236 Kemp's ridley nests found in Texas this year exceeds the previous annual record of 209 nests found in 2012. The 144 nests found at Padre Island National Seashore exceeds the previous annual record of 117 Kemp's ridley nests found there during 2009 and 2011. The 14 nests found at Boca Chica Beach also exceeds the previous annual record of 12 nests found during 2008.
Nesting has already started today and the nesting season could extend until mid-July, so certainly more nests will be recorded in Texas this year.
KEMP'S RIDLEY TURTLE
So far this year, 236 nests have been confirmed on the Texas coast including (north to south in state):
2 Bolivar Peninsula
4 Galveston Island
0 Brazoria County, N. of Surfside
1 Surfside Beach
0 Quintana Beach
0 Bryan Beach
0 Brazoria County, N. of Sargent Beach
0 Sargent Beach
1 Matagorda Peninsula
0 Matagorda Island
1 San Jose Island
8 Mustang Island
6 North Padre Island north of Padre Island National Seashore
144 Padre Island National Seashore
55 South Padre Island
14 Boca Chica Beach
LOGGERHEAD TURTLE
So far this year, 0 nests have been confirmed on the Texas coast including (north to south in state):
GREEN SEA TURTLE
So far this year, 0 nests have been confirmed on the Texas coast including (north to south in state):
Data presented here are preliminary. Do not cite or quote without permission. Contact Donna Shaver for further information.
Updates regarding nesting are also posted at the Padre Island National Seashore website: https://www.nps.gov/pais/learn/nature/2017-nesting-season.htm
4/13 PINS - Some new and old sargassum. Whiting, redfish, black drum a few trout and Jack Crevalle reported with a nice jack on the north beach reported today on live mullet 4/13. Weekend prospects are okay until Sunday when the winds whip out of the south 20 to 30mph. Happy Easter and don't be surprised if a shark bait gets taken by a ling as April is when they are in close to shore.
4/8 PINS - Sargassum, a few redfish and now the Jacks are starting to show again. Once this wind subsides it could be game on at the National Seashore. Spanish Mackerel, bluefish, whiting and blacktip sharks also in the mix.
Towboat Trash filed another stellar report at a time when the tides prevented any fishing. Here is his story from 4/4
3/20 PINS - Sargassum reported but Nick and Brenda Meyer dipped south of the thirty to find cleaner water and picked up some redfish, big pompano and whiting on shrimp and fishbites. Blacktip and bull sharks also caught tagged and released by some of my fishing buddies down south.
Nick with a slot red
Brenda with a good pompano!
3/17 PINS - Road construction has the toll booth and entrance sign down and there have been some closures on the road to Bird Island however the beach is open.
Jennifer Merchant was down two days and filed this report for the Friends of Padre this morning HERE
2/22 PINS - Here's another Corpusfishing.com Beach, Surf and Pier report! Don't forget about the Billy Sandifer Big Shell Cleanup Saturday at 8am 2/25
2/16 PINS - Driving good on low tide beach gets tight on high tide near the 6mm and in the 40's. Don't forget the Big Shell Cleanup Saturday Morning 8am 2/25/ For more information go to www.friendsofpadre.com Beach has been producing, pompano,black drum and whiting. Shark fishermen reporting Sandbar sharks. Remember Sandbars are catch and release only!
1/23/2017 Big Front Blows out Water - Tides extremely low this morning see PINS cam above for current conditions. Strong offshore winds all day Sunday. Good action for pompano, drum and whiting. Water temp is 62
Here is a shot from Central Scrutinizer yesterday of the 30mph plus winds and conditions.
1/19/2017 Friends of Padre Beach Report - HERE
1//09/2017 Friends of Padre Beach Report - https://www.friendsofpadre.com/blogs/friends-of-padre/friends-of-padre-beach-report-1-09-2017
12/26/2016 Friends of Padre Report - HERE
12/20 - 12/21 - Another epic pre Christmas report from Towboat Trash - HERE
11/15 - Great Pomp fishing today reported today by Breakawayusa.com's Nick Meyer. Large pompano at long distance using shrimp and fishbites. Meanwhile the Park has temorarily closed Yarborough Pass to vehicle traffic. The recent rains have created a situation where folks are getting stuck and or stranded and the ruts and other ways around standing water is tearing up the road. This will reopen when conditions dry out.
11/7-11/8 - Which way to the bombing range? Towboat Trash with another stellar report from in front of and "behind the dunes" HERE
11//2 PINS - Coastal Flood Warnings have closed South Beach at times this week and as of 11/2 there is still a Coastal Flood Warning. Look for a front to kick things off again by next week. There have been some reds, whiting, pompano and Spanish Mackerel when folks have been able to fish.
Here is a Friends of Padre Beach Report from 10/26 - HERE
10/13 PINS Via joejoe7716 - Spent the last few days down the beach with a couple of friends
Here is what we ended up with
9/29 PINS Red Tide Update via Ranger Buzz - Malaquite VC, 14:47, 27.42395, -97.29764, 40 cells/mL, no dead fish and no irritation
20 MM, 13:54, 27.13353, -97.37402, 160 cells/mL, no dead fish and no irritation
40 MM, 12:56, 26.84419, -97.35944, 320 cells/mL, no dead fish and a report of slight nose and throat irritation from fishermen with cast nets in the surf at this site.
56.2 MM, 12:03, 26.60304, -97.29168, 820 cells/mL, 15-20 dead fish/10 feet, slight nose and throat irritation, thunderstorms, Dead marine life consisted of pompano, flounder, large redfish (25-30 inch range), black drum (large), flounder, striped mullet, spotted seatrout, sand seatrout, 1 Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle (length 23 inches). A vast majority of the dead fish reported here were pompano. Mix of fresh dead and recently dead.
58.6 MM, 11:03, 26.56874, -97.27863, 490 cells/mL, slight nose and throat irritation, thunderstorms, 30 dead fish/10 feet, dead consisted of the same species listed above minus the sea turtle with the vast majority of dead fish being small pompano in the 4-6 inch range.
Field Notes:Driving conditions were less than ideal and due to high tides access to Mansfield Channel was cut off at the 58.6 MM. Dead fish were observed from the 52MM to the 58.6 MM with numbers varying from 10-30 dead fish/10 feet. Large redfish in the 25-30 inch range observed approx. every 40 feet.
9/28/2016 Friends of Padre Report via Jeff Wolda - https://friends-of-padre.myshopify.com/blogs/friends-of-padre/friends-of-padre-beach-report-9-28-16-just-in-time-for-sharkathon
9/23 PINS Report - Some aerosols from red tide reported around the Mansfield Jetty. Readings at the Malaquite Visitor's center showed levels around 100ppm - aerosols produced when levels reach 550ppm and fish kills occur at 1000ppm and higher. In spite of that fishing has been great depending upon the bait available in the area. Finger mullet and dusky anchovies are running the gauntlet south bound and everything is there to feed on them. Reports this week included bluefish, redfish, skipjacks, trout, a 44 inch king and several sharks including a six foot bull shark. Pompano are increasing in size and number on fishbites and shrimp.
Dee Dee Barnes and husband Mike with a 23.5 inch trout and a couple of slot reds for Mike.
9/19PINS Report via Shin Deep 9/18 - Made it to PINS this morning before sunrise, hoping to tear into some redfish. Caught plenty of live mullet starting around the 20 mm. Lots of birds working the first and second gut. Water clarity was excellent. Fish were feeding on bait fish most of the morning. Conditions were perfect. Maybe a little too perfect. Even saw a large fish (shark?) past the third sandbar come completely out of the water. Driving conditions were great as far as the 30 mm. Caught mostly skipjack, a few whiting, one keeper red, and lost a couple of reds - one right at the beach. Jellyfish were plentiful, so wear long pants if you go down any time soon. Nice day on PINS, despite the lack of redfish.
9/7 The Dreaded Red Tide - Reports coming in from PINS See Friends of Padre Report from 9/7 Here
Here is the latest from Texas Parks and Wildlife
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is working with other agencies to monitor a red tide event along the southern Texas coast. On August 24, 2016, the Image Flow Cytobot located at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas alerted responders to the possible presence of Karenia brevis, a microscopic algae more commonly known as red tide. Water samples were then also collected at Bob Hall Pier (North Padre Island) by staff at the Center for Coastal Studies, Texas A&M Corpus Christi and by the Coastal Studies Lab in South Padre Island at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. These samples confirmed very low cell densities of K. brevis. They reported no fish kills or respiratory irritation.
On September 6, 2016, Padre Island National Seashore (PINS) received reports of a possible fish kill and some respiratory irritation. An investigation conducted by PINS staff indicated a very small fish kill was associated with moderate cell densities of K. brevis from the 0 mile marker to the 25 mile marker. Currently, the fish kill appears to be in small numbers and the extent is localized along this part of the Barrier Island. PINS staff is also reporting mild respiratory irritation in that area.
TPWD will continue monitoring all Texas bay systems and testing for the presence of red tide. Any further updates can be found online through the Coastal Fisheries Facebook page, Harmful Algal Bloom Research and Education Facebook page, the TPWD Red Tide Status web page or by phone at 1-800-792-1112 by selecting 'fishing' and then 'red tide'.Thank you.
Alex Nuñez
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Coastal Fisheries - Ecosystem Resource Program
Kills and Spills Team, Region 4
Coastal Ecologist
And This PINS press release 9/8
Park Visitor's Should Use Caution When Visiting the National Seashore Due to the Presence of Red Tide
Corpus Christi, TX- Superintendent Mark Spier announced today that Red Tide has been reported at the National Seashore. He asks park visitors to be cautious, especially those with children or with respiratory issues such as asthma, since Red Tide can irritate the respiratory system, eyes, and throat. Also, those traveling with pets are advised that dogs are particularly susceptible to the aerosols due to their keen sense of smell. Pet owners are advised against bringing their animals until the Red Tide passes. There have been cases of visitors' dogs dying after being exposed during previous Red Tide events. Even after the Red Tide passes, keep a close eye on pets to prevent them from consuming dead fish which may prove toxic.
Red Tide is a HAB, or a harmful algal bloom, of small planktonic organisms called Karenia brevis. The organisms produce a toxin that affects the central nervous and respiratory systems of fish. As a result, Red Tide blooms often result in fish kills washing ashore. When K. brevis reproduce in dense concentrations, or "blooms," they are sometimes visible as discolored patches of ocean water, often reddish in color. High concentrations of K. brevis in the rough surf can cause the irritants to become suspended in the salt spray when the waves break, thus affecting people, and especially pets. Of the water samples collected yesterday at the National Seashore, the highest K. brevis concentrations were detected around mile marker 19 at South Beach, with levels at 300 cells/ml (cells/milliliter).
Please call Malaquite Visitor Center at (361) 949-8068 for more information before visiting.
For additional information:
http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/hab/
http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/hab/beach_conditions.html
https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/water/environconcerns/hab/redtide/status.phtml
https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/water/environconcerns/hab/redtide/faq.phtml
9/02 High Tides Cause Coastal Flood Warnings - Coastal Flood Advisory in effect until 6 PM CDT this evening...
... High rip current risk remains in effect through this
afternoon...The National Weather Service in Corpus Christi has issued a
coastal Flood Advisory... which is in effect until 6 PM CDT this
evening.* Coastal flooding... long period swells will reach the dunes
along the open beaches and tides may reach some roadways along
the bays.* Timing... the greatest concern for coastal flooding will be from
530 am through 830 am... then again from around 2 PM through 5
PM. The high threat of rip currents continues through this
afternoon.* Impacts... at 2 feet above mean sea level... several beach access
roads become flooded. Minor flooding along area beaches may
occur. Steady periods of water at the dunes may occur. Water may
flood portions of Laguna shores drive in Flour Bluff. Low lying
areas along the bays may experience minor flooding... including
North Beach. In addition... frequent life threatening rip
currents are expected. The surf is expected to become dangerous
for all levels of swimmers.Precautionary/preparedness actions...
There is a high risk of rip currents.
Rip currents are powerful channels of water flowing quickly away
from shore... which occur most often at low spots or breaks in The
Sandbar and in the vicinity of structures such as groins...
jetties and piers. Heed the advice of lifeguards and the beach
patrol. Pay attention to flags and posted signs.Swim near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current remain calm.
Dont fight the current. Swim in a direction following the
shoreline. If unable to escape... face the shore and call or wave
for help. If tired... float or tread water until out of the rip
current.A coastal Flood Advisory indicates that onshore winds and tides
will combine to generate flooding of low areas along the shore.8/29 Friends of Padre Beach Report - http://friendsofpadre.com/friends-of-padre-beach-report-8292016/#.V8m0sjWPZwo
8/18 Friends of Padre Beach Report - Water clears south of the 31 but it is 74 degrees. Report HERE
8/14 -8/15 via Towboat Trash with another epic tale - Report HERE
8/3 PINS via Jeff89 - Went ahead and camped at the jetties a couple nights ago. The entire surf from the blacktop to the jetties is loaded with finger mullet. Not many predator fish though. Not much action at the jetties aside from a few redfish and trout. Didn't see any tarpon rolling. Decided to slow cruise it back yesterday afternoon with a rod ready for anything. Sure enough, a street gang of 10-15 jacks was bombing it south. I hopped out of the jeep and launched my own version of a kinky muddler fly into the wade gut and let it sit while they approached. Once the lead fish saw it, he jumped on it. Almost felt like i was in baja again chasing roosters...
Anyways, I'm looking forward to cooler weather and more opportunities like that.
Oh and the Nic is still there....
And Yarborough is a $hit show...even if you can drag a boat through the pass, the bumpy terrain park that you have to go through will definately eat a trailer. Glad I scoped it out, gonna have to launch the Gheenoe at BIB.
This damn Heron demanded a picture...
7/29 PINS Still Dirty - Tough fishing continues with the dirty water affecting most of the beach. Nickaway and Jeff Wolda say the water south of the 40's looks great but it is cold and not productive. Fishing with my brother in law and nieces last weekend was tough though the water was clearing there was nothing but hardheads and a few small whiting. Something needs to change to stir things up.
7/21 PINS - has been really tough for the past two weeks since the cold dirty water upwelling hit the beach. Things look to be improving. We have been seeing some black drum, gaff top and whiting in the reports and yesterday I heard that several trout were caught on soft plastics in the morning in the clearing water. Let's hope the wind stays down.
7/6 I'm Back from two week vacation and the big news - Rocky's CPR Tiger Shark from the 4th of July Weekend - This is how it is done. Rocky Guerra of Roy's Bait and Tackle with an 11.5 foot tiger shark he caught and successfully released this past 4th of July weekend fishing with his wife, Silver on the Padre Island National Seashore.
6/17 Coldwater Upwelling - Unfortunately the cold water upwellings we have been seeing for the past two years beginning in mid June returned this week. Eric "Oz" Ozolins reported 78 degrees at the Port Mansfield Jetty. The upwelling goes the entire length of the beach and goes for a mile offshore in some places. Generally fishing is poor when this happends though whiting and hardheads can be found at times. The good news is that the cool water will make for great relief from the inland heat indecies of 109 degrees. Have fun and play in the water and sand anyway!
6/10 Coastal Flood Warning for this Morning - Driving will be tough on high tide this morning. Tides have been fairly high all week. Several hammerheads and a 10' plus tiger shark were caught this week. Most were successfully released. Jack crevalle, whiting, pompano and a few trout showed up as well. Weekend prospects look good once the tide falls out.
5/27 Big Crowds this weekend - No word on the body found in a ship's container this week. http://www.kristv.com/clip/12465908/fbi-investigating-death-of-man-on-national-seashore Water has been close to the dunes the past few days and the surf is rough. The winds are expected to reduce by Sunday and Monday. Meanwhile Towboat Trash filed another one of his unique reports on his latest adventure on 5/25 He has a great report on the road into Yarborough too! You can check out his report HERE
5/20 Friends of Padre Beach Report - Expect crowds on Park Rd 22 due to Beach to Bay. Here is the report Jeff Wolda Filed Today http://friendsofpadre.com/friends-of-padre-beach-report-5202016/#.Vz-aLyGPbVQ
5/12 Friends of Padre Beach Report - It is muddy all the way to Mansfield Channel to at least the second and third bar in some spots. Read the report HERE
4/28 report from 4/22 - 4/24 Via Yak Daniels - Check out all of the sharks from last weekend! HERE
4/14 PINS - Jack Crevalle, Redfish, whiting, black drum and Spanish Mackerel reported the past week.
Guide Jeff Wolda's Clients with some of their catches in recent days
3/28 Friends of Padre Report 3/25- 3/26 - HERE
3/13 Friends of Padre Report - HERE
3/4 Big Shell Cleanup on Saturday 2/27/2016 A Huge Success!
Total tonnage 60 tons, 700 volunteers, 18 miles cleaned!
Pics and more on the Friends of Padre Facebook Page
David Ainsworth, thanks again for the incredible help from you, the rolligon, trailers, the manpower and all you do to help with this event. Jim Lago, thank you and Frank Edwards Franklin, for letting me chat this up on the radio. Daniel Dain and Dominos thanks so much for all of those pizzas, CCA Coastal Conservation Association Corpus Christi Chapter, thanks for all of the volunteers in your crew and thanks Jay Gardner for the chili cheese dogs. Nice to see a great showing from Citgo, Woodstock Tree Surgeons and any other group I may have forgotten. Thanks to Val Katherine and Roadkill Willie for their much needed help. Thank You All! It was an unbelievable day smile emoticon
2/16 FOP Report 2/15 Via Captain Billy and Don't Forget the Big Shell Cleanup Saturday 2/27 8am at Malaquite Visitor's Center
"Troy Adler and I traveled the entire length of the beachfront. Fog was dense and remained off and on during the day and hindered seabirds attempting to feed and no bait fish were observed. The first 50 yards of the beach was soft although in the afternoon PINS personnel had graded it and it was much better. On low tide there were few soft spots; most of these are when large trees are blocking the beach and you have to drive up high around them. On high tide there was quite a bit of 4 wheel high driving; especially in the Big Shell. Sure hope it rains this coming week and packs that loose sand down some. The water was green all the way but really pretty the farther south we went. Quite a bit of Turtle Grass from the bay was scattered along stretches of the beach; especially on the north end but no sargassum weed was observed. No wildlife and very few fishermen were observed. The trash in the Big Shell area isn't too bad this year due to the abundance of high tides which cover it up. There is more trash on the south ½ of the Big Shell. Sections should be able to knock out a mile easier than usual and if this is the case PLEASE hop scotch your way to the north and pick up more trash rather than quit. It sure would help how many miles we can clean. Weather forecast sounds good with temperatures ranging from the 50s to 70s but there is a 50% chance of rain. Of course the forecast could change. The tide forecast is for low tide levels.
No migrating birds yet. Bird species observed included 1 White-tailed hawk, 1 Osprey, 1 Northern Harrier, good numbers of Ruddy Turnstones, Sanderlings, 1 Black-bellied plover, Brown Pelicans, Royal and Forester's Terns, 1 Wimbrel, Laughing, Ring-billed and Herring gulls, 25 Long-billed Curlews and 66 Horned Larks. "Hope to see you on the 27th
Billy
2/12 PINS - Nick Meyer snuck away on Wednesday the 10th and reported great driving on the low tide but the fishing was non existent due to cold water temp of 59 and little water movement.
Nematocyst filed a similar report on the 10th - "Got to the beach at probably 1:30 5 miles down and set up camp.
Water was super clear and tide was low. Surf was under 1 foot. no breakers on the third bar. Beautiful day.
Had shrimp, fish bites, crab, frozen mullet and a frozen pomp.Started with with running half a pomp out ~400 yards
cut mullet ~300 yards
and casted out cut mullet and shrimp.Got absolutely no bites for 4 hours but i decided to wait it out for night.
Finally about 30 min after sunset I got a bite on cut mullet. Turned out to be a small 3.5foot shark. Better than nothing
Before sunset I decided to run out cracked crab about 350 yards and about an hour after sunset got a nice run on the crab. Felt like a real nice fish and fought it all the way to the second bar where he decided to make his first real run and seconds later the hook popped out. No line cut or knot failure, just the circle hook popping out somehow. I was disappointed to say the least after putting in the work all day. Probably black drum?Around 830 my big rod with the pomp starts clicking. I set the drag and im on. Reel in all those yards of mono and there's a shark on the beach. 68inches. Sandbar I think? My first shark of any mass and I was quite unimpressed with the fight he put up. Just felt like reeling in dead weight. Going to have to hook up on some bigger specimens.
The key seemed to be low light conditions probably because the water was so clear and the water was so calm."
Redfin21 with this report from Tuesday 2/9 - "Well, I just back back to N.B. now from a one day trip with a good friend of mine to PINS. We arrived on PINS around 8:30 am. Made our first stop at around the 18mm. Fished shrimp and fishbites. Nada. Moved south around a large she'll bank around the 22. Nada. Another thick shell bank around the 28. 2 nice whiting and still no pompano. Buddy had a hard hit on one of his surf rods. Never hooked up. Moved down to the 35.By this time it's around 1:00pm. Caught just 3 more good size whiting. Still no pomps. Decided to work our way back north with incoming tide. Nada the rest of the way making about 3 more stops. Just bad day of fishing for us. Did not seem like anyone else on PINS was doing much good. Was good to get away and enjoy the beach. Was my first trip of the year. Hopefully the fish bite will turn on real soon. Hope to be back to my second home by the end of March. God bless ever one and Hope Yall find some fish"
2/1 PINS - Nick and Brenda Meyer of Breakawayusa.com reported dirty water south until south of the 50 mile mark on Sunday where the water cleared nicely. Nick said Brenda kicked his butt on pompano, whiting and reds. He was right! Weekend might be okay with strong westerly component to North Northwest winds Saturday.
1/30 PINS - Whiting, black drum reported. There should be scattered pompano if the weather finally calms down. Don't Forget the Big Shell Cleanup Feb 27th!
1/15 - 1/17 Towboat's Report - HERE
1/14 PINS Via Our Friend Ranger Buzz from 1/11 - "While winter has arrived, the surf is still producing plenty of fish when conditions allow for fishing. On Friday, January 8th, Ranger Buzz and some friends took a day off of work to drive down South Beach to the twenties to try and catch some pompano (or at least that was the hope). Since the weather has been relatively mild this winter the water temperature has been staying in the high 50’s and on January 8th was 58 degrees. The water was murky for the first few miles going South but cleared up somewhat around the 15 mile marker.
Driving was fair thanks to a below normal low tide on Friday however several of the logs that washed in a few months back have gotten covered with sand so don’t go too fast or you risk not seeing them in time to slow down. On the way south, two groups of fishermen were seen that had just landed large black drum. This year has seen an abundance of drum in the surf. While they are always caught they have been especially plentiful this winter and can get quite large. The size limit for them is a slot, meaning that if they are too small or too large they may not be kept. The slot for black drum is a minimum of 14 inches and a maximum of 30 inches. There is a limit of 5 fish on black drum and while many consider them to be a bit hard to clean, the flesh is firm and tasty.
Due to the higher tide expected later in the day, Buzz decided to not go farther south than the twenties. At that point the water was clearer than back at the zero mile mark but wasn’t clear enough for the pompano’s liking. While no pompano were caught, the first fish of the day hit immediately and was a large black drum (photo below). That was followed by a 27 inch red and several additional black drum including some within the slot. Intermixed were a steady number of whiting.
The “flavor of the day” for the reds, black drum, and whiting were white-colored, shrimp-flavored "Fishbites" brand synthetic bait along with about a half of a peeled fresh dead shrimp. Nothing hit the green, pink or orange colored fish bites on that day, but remember to vary the color choice until you find one that is popular with the species you are targeting.
As of today the water is considerably clearer. Wednesday and Thursday are shaping up to be good looking fishing days this week. For those considering the weekend the forecast is for some strong winds Friday but milder winds and fishable water on Saturday and Sunday with air temperatures in the low to mid sixties. Good luck!"
12/16 PINS - Recent catches have included black drum, redfish, whiting and pompano all on Fishbites and shrimp combos. A note that the concessionaire at the Malaquite Visitors Center will close permanently on December 19th. Be sure to bring your own provisions from now on. Good luck to the folks who have been there for the past nine years.
11/23 Via Jeff Wolda - Jeff Wolda of Padre Island Light Tackle Adventures http://pi-adventures.com/ tells me the fishing has been unreal the past couple of days. Tides get big in the afternoon and there is not much road. The wind may blow things out by Thanksgiving but traditionally it is the best time of the year for catching jacks. The water temp at Malaquite is 67 degrees. No red tide reported. These jacks and reds were caught 11/23 on spoons and finger mullet. The jacks wore these guys out and they were done by noon. They had to wake them up to get this picture lol!
11/18 Report via Mel - My first day there on this trip, we went down about 13 miles. Got set up and fishing about noon. Didn't have any luck till about 3:30 and then a reel started singing. The fish broke my 25 pound mono and i never turned him at all. I caught a 43 inch redfish and a small shark. Also caught 2 whiting on fish bites. Released everything today. The water out 100 yards or so looked a brownish red color. No weed at all.
11/12 Report via Allen from 11/10 - Coming from SA I read your report before I head to the coast. great job. On 11-10-2015 did a 1 day trip to PINS for for a ditch day from work. Sneaked in a few hours of fishing. The beach was flat, clean and great driving. Set up a about 17 mile maker and nothing for 30 minutes. Moved to about 21-22 marker and killed them for about 4 hours. Everything was hitting mullet in the back of the 2nd gut. 2 Slot Reds and 3 bulls ranging from 33-44 inches. Not to mention Black Drum, Pompano, 1 Blue fish, 1 trout and a ladyfish. made for great pics (Whiting and hardhead as always) thanks for the reports.
Allen11/10 PINS and South of Bob Hall - Ziacatcher reports slow fishing south of Bob Hall on 11/9 with nothing biting on shrimp, fishbites or cut bait. Water Brown. Guide Jeff Wolda reports water is brown to the horizon and lots of weed making fishing nearly impossible. Prognosis not good until the front passes.
11/2 Quick Report North Sticks area via Shallowsport - Fished just north of the walk beach. Water was slightly off color and the waves were moderate. Mullet are running. Caught mullet every cast even though most of my casting was blind.
Lots of skipjack biting. Did manage two reds, 22" and 25". Picked the Reds up in the near side of the wade gut. Skippies were all over.
10/6 Weekend Report via A_A - I frequently rely on reports like these from others, so I figured its time for me to start giving back a little bit with a thorough report.
Surf, weather, and driving conditions were about as good as they can get. I witnessed about a 38" bull red being pulled up on the beach at about the 11 while I was driving. Water was almost crystal clear.
Birds were absolutely destroying the first gut from the sticks until around the 15. Finger mullet were as thick as I've ever seen them, constant streams of them in wade gut. I can verify that this was the case from the 10-upper 20's
I camped around the 25 and set up at about noon on the 4th. I set up my large cooler and aerator for mullet and got around 50 finger mullet in a few casts.
Something bothered me though, as I walked out in the first gut i saw a large bull red red cruising towards me...and I ended up bumping him with my foot before he swam off. I saw another bull and ended up sight flipping, like bass-fishing style, and finally he bit on a live mullet after a couple casts. I hooked him and he ran for about 8ft and then basically went unconscious. I immediately unhooked him and walked him out to the 2nd gut and he acted completely exhausted like a shark after an hour-plus fight, He swam off, but he wasn't right at all.
I went back to my cooler to start baiting close rods and found all of the finger mullet completely dead on the bottom of the cooler...in less than 15 minutes. I changed out water and mullet 3 times before I accepted the fact that the water is not in good shape. I ended up cast netting mullet as I needed them because they would almost immediately die. I feel like I need to mention that this is the same cooler aerator setup that I regularly keep mullet alive for 2-3 days in.
The first gut was deep and as I pulled up the cast net on one of my throws, I literally got light-headed in a couple breaths and was coughing for about 20 seconds straight. That was the first wave of red tide aerosol's coming through. There were three more really bad waves between then and I went to bed at midnight. They were bad enough that I started to break camp twice in emergency fashion...only to have it completely subside within 20-30 minutes.
Another thing to add is that there was a wicked south-moving current ripping at 2-3 knots almost the whole time I was there. If you stood still in the water for more than 20 seconds, or so, you'd be up to your ankles in sand....slowly being buried. I long dropped a large blue fish shark bait around 7-800 yards out and paddled back to find the 50w full of braid almost spooled just from the current. This same bait soaked and got picked up by a very heavy, wide-head shaking shark at around 9:30. I got impatient 30 minutes into the fight and leaned into him too hard with too much drag and a full harness...and pulled the hook. I had a feeling the hook didn't set that well anyways (long story)
I never did see a single predatory fish going after mullet the entire time I was there, it was eerily quiet in the 1st and 2nd guts. A few large, fresh dead birds floated up on shore...also I woke up to a little dead bird a few feet away from me that wasn't there the night before. The whiting might be a good sign of water health, I noticed thousands of them on the 1st bar for a few hours out of the trip and not a single one the rest of the time.
The wind shifted out of the straight north to northwest early on the morning of the 5th, which it was never supposed to do, and the rotten carcass smell coming from the high-road/dunes was very similar to fertilizer, wet dog food, and a port-a-potty...all mixed together. It was awful. On the plus side, I was able to keep mullet alive after the wind shift, but it's unknown if it was actually related to the wind shift.
I ended the quick trip with an amazing sunrise, a couple 5' blacktips caught on the back of the 2nd gut, a giant blue fish, and two zombie bull reds...and, undoubtedly, the largest shark I have yet to hook up with laughing at me way beyond the 3rd gut. My opinion is that the first 150-200 yards of water has problems...nothing seemed normal in that range. I'm betting someone from the sticks to the 15mm might have a different report.
So...when they take water samples, think of it like the spot checks that they are. Red tide moves in patches and with a 2-3 knot current you get a whole new world every few minutes. As I type this, my throat and lungs are still burning a bit, like I inhaled vodka...not that I've inhaled vodka before.
Side note: I witnessed a near-new Toyota Yaris at the 20 redlining his motor, going about 15mph with all sorts of broken stuff hanging down underneath the car...with a drive wheel buried in the sand and what was left of a flat tire hanging on by half a bead. His windows were down and music was up...you, my man, are a true rock star in my books.10/2 Update from Padre Island National Seashore - Red Tide Update 10/2/15
Good News and Happy Weekend!Yesterday's tests results came back and we are happy to say that it looks like the Red Tide has moved on (for the most part). The beaches around Malaquite campground, the visitor center and down to the 15 mile marker came back with Low Levels of the red tide algae! Around the 30 levels are a bit higher at the Moderate Levels. It isn't until around the 45 that the red tide levels reach High Levels and down near the channel the levels are higher still, about 5 times higher than around the 45MM.
If you are coming out to the beach you still want to be careful of the remains of dead fish. While the high tides have moved most of them up to the dune line there still may be some in the high road portion of the driving beach. The spines and bones from fish can pop tires so please be aware and try to avoid these hazards. Enjoy your weekend and the beautiful beach weather!
9/29 Just in from Jeff Wolda and Padre Island Light Tackle Adventures -
"After tides to the dunes last night and a NW wind this morning I figured it would be a good time to head south and see what the conditions on PINS are.
I hit the beach at low tide and made it to the 30 without even a hint of red tide. Driving was excellent and the water was clear. I saw no bait with the exception of a ball outside the 3rd bar from the pavement to the 20. From the 20 to the 30 there were schools of dusky anchovies getting hammered by small skipjacks. A few schools of pony mullet were seen in the 2nd gut. There is a lot of dead weed on the bottom so soaking bait in the 1st and 2nd guts is going to be a real chore until it goes away.
Once I hit the 30 I experienced my first hint of red tide and by the 32 it was in full force. Made it to the turtle shack (39) and had to turn around. Fresh dead fish really started showing up on the beach around the 33 and steadily got worse the farther south I went. I would say 90% of the fresh fish on the beach are hard heads. There are some skipjacks, pony mullet and a few large drum washed in.
With 2.2 ft high tides forecast through the weekend I would only recommend driving the beach at low tide. On the north end most of the dead fish are pushed up against the vegetation where driving will be at high tide. There's a ton of hardheads there!!!! Do not drive over them or you will have flat tires!!!
The good news is, fall fishing is not here yet. Water temps are still in the mid 80's. Hopefully these north winds will continue and the bloom will keep moving to the south. Still need that first big cold front to kick things off."
9/23 Here's the Latest Update on the Red Tide at Padre Island National Seashore -
Corpus Christi, TX - Reported conditions for Red Tide (Karenia brevis), a known harmful algal bloom (HAB), for Texas through Thursday, September 24 confirms dead fish and respiratory irritation from the Port Aransas/Mustang Island to Padre Island National Seashore regions.
Water samples have confirmed background (less than 1 cell/ml) to high (> 1,000 cells/ml) concentrations of Red Tide along the coast of Texas from Galveston Bay to the Rio Grande (TPWD; 9/17-9/23). Samples collected along Padre Island have documented an increase in cell concentrations ranging from moderate to high, with the greatest densities observed at the Padre Island National Seashore from Mile marker 0 to mile marker 19.
Winds forecasted today through Thursday have the potential to promote high levels of respiratory irritation in from Aransas Bay to the Rio Grande. Concentrations are patchy and discomfort to the eyes, nose, and throat will vary based upon local bloom concentrations, ocean currents, and wind speed and direction. Children, elderly, and individuals with asthma commonly experience elevated sensitivity and should avoid areas causing symptoms. Common symptoms include: coughing, sneezing, tearing, skin irritation, and difficulty breathing among others. Dogs are particularly sensitive to these conditions and may become sick or even require advance veterinary care if they ingest dead fish or lick any part of their body that comes into contact with beach sand or Gulf water.
If you plan on coming to the seashore please come prepared for the conditions. Bones and spines of dead fish can puncture feet and lead to serious infections. Driving conditions are also difficult; the number of fish on the beach makes this hazard hard to avoid and may leave you stranded with punctured vehicle tires.
Caution is advised for persons with respiratory problems, infants, and pets being on the beach at this time. If you start to cough, have a burning sensation in your throat or itchy eye it is recommended that you leave the beach area.
9/21 RED TIDE THE LENGTH OF THE BEACH - Oz reported "For those wanting a red tide update on PINS... it is finally making it to Mansfield. Fish kill (and fresh sargassum) from the blacktop to the rocks. Bloom highly visible from the sand to over a mile out in some locations. This is a bad one folks and we just only scratched the surface. Millions of ghost shrimp per mile, the first 30 miles. Perhaps hundreds of thousands or even millions of eels (at least 3 different species) the whole length of beach. Warzone in the 40s with fish (tens of thousands of juevenile gafftop). Snapper, Cobia, Jacks, oversized Red and Black drum starting to wash in today. Many large trout up to 10lbs. The 50s were the last area to get hit. Fish were wiped out off the Nic (amazing amount of small spadefish). If you do hit the beach, bring a couple spare tires and a case of fix-a-flat. Leaving today there were live fish at the jetties but blooms visible offshore and area will likely be toast within the next day or two especially with the calm weather.' Oz's facebook page has more photos
9/15 RED TIDE - Towboat trash made a trip down the beach 9/14 and filed this report
9/8 - 9/9 Towboat Trash is back at it and he's got pictures and a report - HERE
8/15 Red Reports a King at the 30 on PINS! - It's been some time since my last report. I was able to take some time off and my brother and made it down from San Antonio on Thursday. We were at the beach around noon and made our way south. Diving was not bad with some soft spots. We ended up near the PM jetties. Nothing really to report. Water had good color, warm, but little bait activity and no fish to speak of. We gave it a try the next morning, but nothing to speak of so we moved north. We ended up around the 30 to a nice area which had mullet rolling in throughout most of the day off the first bar. As evening came there were near shore and easy to catch with the cast net. The fish of the day and trip, was caught on a whiting casted over the first bar. It had been soaking for a few hours. I thought a big shark was on as the line was peeling/smoking off the reel. I thought I was going to get spooled, but finally got it turned. I ended up with a nice blister on the left thumb trying to add some drag. Then when bringing it in the hook came out right at the water's edge as the fish was shaking and flopping. I thought it was over and it reminded me of the past trout lost at the water edge. My brother a I were able to quickly get a hold of it and wrestled it on the beach. That was the catch of the day and actually more like 3 days with some night time fishing thrown in. We tried for trout throughout the trip but no takers. We managed some skipjacks and a blue. On Sat morning I had a good run on a whiting casted out past the first bar. Thought it was a big shark and again I thought I was going to get spooled. After going back and forth It turned out to be a big ray. I was able to get it close to the beach, but could not get it out of the water. Line busted as I was trying to bring it on shore. We did not manage any trout, but that king was a blessing along with the water conditions and calm surf. When driving north from the PM jetties, we talked with a shark fisherman who mentioned catching a tiger Thursday evening. Of note for the trip was the number of blue crabs. We saw many at the spots we hit on the trip. Till next time, enjoy the fishing and thanks for reading. I forgot the tripod so I got my brother to snap a pic as well.
Richard Rousset with King caught near the 30 MM, PINS
Robert Roussett taking a picture. He did not want to, but I forgot the tripod. It's been some time since we hit the beach together.8/13 Good Water is Back! - Check out the report from Friends of Padre HERE
8/2 Coldwater Upwelling Loosens it's Grip - Captain Jeff Wolda of Padre Island Light Tackle Adventures reports the water is clearing on the Padre Island National Seashore. Cool spots remain but the trout fishing heated up this past weekend.
Emily Gunter got this beauty!
Jeff caught 12 trout from 17" - 27"s in 45 minutes while scouting.
7/29 Stumper Jumper Hooks A Monster - >Hooked into this beautiful specimen yesterday about 26 miles down pins.
She ate a whole 15" whiting, circle hook was easily removed after the 40 minute fight and after some rest she swam off strong.
Water color was getting a lot better but was still cold. We caught whiting, a croaker, a gaftop and a decent blue fish.7/27 - Captain Billy Sandifer and two friends go on a Friends of Padre Beach Report Trip 7/26 HERE
7/24 Towboat Trash with another history lesson and report with loads of pictures! - HERE
7/15 - Weekend Reports via Friends of Padre 7/12 HERE
Nick and Brenda Meyer of Breakawayusa had a fun day down south Sunday 7/12 on PINS with Pomps and a Bluefish
7/2 - 7/5 via Trio assassin - Haven't posted on here a lot but did a 4 day/3 night trip this past weekend. We knew this cold water would be a problem but it seemed not to be after all...first night on Thursday we got 3 blacktips 63"/60"/40" all on casted baits. Friday we didnt do so well, set baits out all night on kayaks with no hits. Saturday woke up and caught a nice 25" red, 1 stingray that we used for bait later that night, and 1 nice pompano that i was surprised to catch in the dirty water (also caught around 30 small pompano 4-5" in the cast net which i thought was weird). Also many whiting were biting in the first gut. Saturday we kayaked 2 baits out around 6pm and around 5am we got a run. 79" bull shark!
6/26 PINS fishing good but surf getting bigger - Earlier this week Capt Jeff Wolda had an excellent day with his clients catching jacks, whiting and trout. The surf will build but go back down in the 2 to 3 foot range by Monday. Driving is excellent after the high tides from T.S. Bill. Billy Sandifer posted this report on Friends of Padre's website HERE
Capt Wolda's Clients with Jack Crevalle
6/20 PINS reopened late this week - It had been closed due to high water caused by Tropical Storm Bill. Capt Jeff Wolda of Padre Island Light Tackle Adventures filed this report Friday "Fishing conditions were decent until 2 in the afternoon. Brown water moved in and shut it down except for the hard heads. Early there were trout and pomps. Some of the pomps were running the waters edge as the dirty water moved in. Beach combing is excellent after the storm!!"
The surf is a little big with 3-5 foot seas offshore so expect a lot of hardhead action and a few reds.
6/12 PINS Report for 6/10 - Lots of folks on the north end where driving was good until about the 18 mile mark. At high tide you needed four wheel drive in parts of the Big Shell in the lower 40's and in the 50's most of the way. There is a really treacherous bit of soft blow sand at the tiny pinch you have to drive at the 55. Small trout were being caught on the north end of the beach, whiting and a few nice pompano. The larger skipjacks are also present. Conditions are expected to deteriorate starting today with larger waves and rain coming in with low pressure this weekend into next week. Any rain will improve the driving however.
Billy Sandifer picked up this 20 inch trout south of the Big Shell area but they are not aggressive at all on lures.
Two jacks were observed in the lower 30's. The water was gorgeous. The driving improved as the tide went out in the afternoon.
What a waster! This six foot scalloped hammer was observed near the 50 mile mark.
6/3 PINS report with more to come on Friends of Padre - Headed south observed loads of whiting in the big shell and south to the 40's. Driving is excellent except for a tiny strech south of the 50. No significant sargassum observed. Trout were not aggressive though I observed ten or more but I only managed one 17 inch male for the group. We did observe 13 jacks in pairs or singles south ofthe 30 mile mark. Troy Adler tossed a topwater in the direction of one bruiser and 45 or 50 minutes later and two episodes where his reel got down to three wraps managed to bring in this fine example of a Jack Crevalle estimated to be around 22lbs. There are lots of whiting from Big Shell to about the 40 mile mark.
Here Captain Billy offering encouragement during the fight "Don't ever let em rest, keep pressure on him the whole time"
6/1 Friends of Padre Beach Report 5/30 - Conditions look spectacular for the first part of this week. Meanwhile Old Captain Billy Sandifer is back fishing for fun! Enjoy the report HERE
5/18 - Water has been getting close to the dunes. Meanwhile Nick Meyer of Breakaway caught this nice jack in the 30'a 5/17 on his HDX using whiting
5/15 Friends of Padre Beach Report - HERE
4/30 - 5/2 PINS Report via Fishmeister - My son and I left Killeen around 5:00 PM Thursday.
Stopped at Clem's for some shrimp and made it to the end of the payment by 10:00 PM. Driving was OK but the wood debris was ridiculous. Stopped at the 16mm and made camp with the tent cots and decided we would start our pomp search at the 16.
Picked up four nice pomps right away on an out going tide.
Definitely not a pomp.
That's me. I'm the one behind the camera.
Then the bite slowed to a crawl. Did manage a few more, seven total and we decided to move on down the beach. Spent 15-20 minutes at our next few stops and had no bites.
Water was looking a bit sandy so we turned around and headed north to a previous spot but some one was there so we settled down a couple hundred yards further north.
All pomps were caught during out going tide. On the incoming tide is when the whiting started their bite. Weird. Total bag for our 2 day trip was 22 pomp and 23 large whiting.
Our largest pomp was 20". A few more pics of the catch.
4/29 Friends of Padre Report for 4/29/2015 - HERE
4/22 Jacks, Reds, and Sharks this past week - Tides got higher but still no big mass of sargassum. Jeff Wolda and his clients ground it out on lures recently and picked up spanish mackerel and reds.
Rachel Bray with a nice red
Will Bray Sr with a spanish mackerel
3/26 The Jacks and Spanish Mackerel are Back! - And Capt Jeff Wolda's group had a great time on Wednesday 3/25 He says "I'm really glad winter is over!!!! Had a great day down the beach. Jacks and reds. Rain, wind and clouds for most of the day made it tough but they grinded them out. The biggest jack was sight cast with a BG-15 spinning reel. 45 minute fight but he got it in. All but one red today were caught on topwaters." Visit Jeff's Facebook Page HERE
3/15 Gut Bucket's Family Trip Report - Hey y'all, long time reader. 2nd ever post! lol we'll we take off from San Antonio Thursday after the kiddos dentist appiontment Get home and load up the truck! Finally on the road and hit the sand at 4:30! We get to our spot and set up camp, my little princess 1st beach trip! Get rods baited up and in the water. About 45min later bam my little girls first fish, nice 16' black drum. Night goes on and ended up with 6black drum. The morning comes and it's WHITING ALL DAY LONG! The kids had a blast bringing in doubles. Ended up with 6black drum 14whiting all in all a good fish haul for our freezer. Already planning to come back.
3/13 Big Shell Cleanup a Success in Spite of Tough Conditions - Billy has the complete details and thanks HERE
Whiting, black drum and reds should be biting this weekend with warmer , clearer water. The surf is still in the 50's temperature wise so expect slow going until the afternoon. Watch out for SPRING BREAK. Go in early and come back before 3 to avoid the backups on the Causeway
Big Shell Cleanup is SATURDAY FEB 28 Now with a new later starting time. Be there no later than 8am
2/19 PINS Report FOP 2/18 - Great driving water clearing. Lots of whiting and a few reds this week - REPORT
Epic Report from Towboat Trash 2/6 - 2/12 Great Historical Stuff and Photos - Read the report HERE
1/28 - 1/31 via Fishmeister - My son and I hit the end of the payment around 21:30. Drove down to the 17mm and set up tent cots and made ready for an early Thursday morning - target species pompano. Water temp was 61 degrees a bit cool but what the heck. Woke to a flat sea, rigged up the long rods and fished about 20 minutes and no bites. March ordered the rods and went looking for some better water. Made numerous stops and got down to the 25mm before we got our first keeper fish. No pomp but a nice bull whiting. Landed several more before the bite stopped and moved on down the beach. Stopped near the 27mm and immediately began to bag huge bull whiting. Still no pompano. Caught whiting on and off all day. Called it a day and eat some dinner and racked out. Woke to a howling wind Friday AM. Fished most the day and bagged more large whiting and a plump 27" red. Put the rods to bed early, eat some dinner, got a good night sleep with intention of leaving at first light. Woke up to a surprisingly light south easterly wind and decided to try for a stray pom. Within ten minutes had our first pomp in the cooler. Re-energized we went after the unfortunate pomp's mother, father, brother, sister, and of course the cousins. Notta. Did land another keeper red and one over-sized red.. Called it a trip and left the beach with a cooler of large whiting, two reds and a single POMPANO.
Me with a 30" red. Released.
My son with a 27'' red. Kept.
1/29 PINS Report via Padre Island Light Tackle Adventures Jeff Wolda - Outstanding conditions all week!! Only problem was the lack of life in the surf. Crystal clear water, flat seas and the best driving there is but the fishing was tough! Once the wind shifted out of the southeast and the water started moving again the bite picked up. Just in time for another cold front tomorrow. See you on the beach!
1/22 Here's the latest from Friends of Padre's Billy Sandifer - FOP PINS Report for Tuesday 1/20 "We traveled to the Port Mansfield jetty yesterday. Sand is hard packed and 2 wheel drive the entire length and the beach was 2 wheel drive. Water was Pompano green with 2 rows of surf at one foot. 500 Cormorants and 72 Horned Lark made up the majority of the birds. No sign of fish activity was observed. Very few people were observed"
Conditions will deteriorate with today's rainfall and the front this evening. Weather is expected to be best for fishing Sunday and Monday with seas two feet or less and Nwest winds.
1/20 Weather warming up! - Driving was good over the weekend and the increase in temperatures will be good for fishing. Over the weekend limits of black drum with a few whiting thrown in on fishbites and shrimp. More bad weather predicted for the end of the week. Captain Billy Sandifer will have a report for us tomorrow regarding condtions on friends of padre dot com.
1/10 - Too Many fronts and cold temps this week - However this past Monday the 5th there were plenty of Black Drum, oversized and slot reds caught down south. Prospects are better when the weather warms up. Surf temp is at 52.
12/28 PINS Report via April and Richard for 12/26 -
April emailed me this report Sunday and included several reds and a keeper black drum in addition to the pictures below
Hi, just wanted to give you a little fishing report. The husband and I decided to do some fishing out and around the fifteen mile marker today on PINS. We used mullet and shad to catch these beauties in a matter of four hours. The weather was decent and so was the seaweed. Hope you enjoy.
12/22 PINS Report and Hazardous Waste Notice - Today's report via Jeff Wolda of Padre Island Light Tackle Adventures
"Great conditions down the beach today! Spent the day chasing them on the south end. Jacks, reds and pomps."
Important Notice to anglers and other visitors traveling down island on South Beach at Padre Island National Seashore: A large container of an as yet undetermined chemical is rolling around in the surf around mile marker 35. It is leaking and those traveling south into that vicinity are being advised to not stop or fish anywhere near the container. The United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the Texas General Land Office (GLO) have both dispatched crews to try and determine what is in the container and to safely remove it from the park.
Thankfully, incidents such as this don't happen very often. However, as many visitors are aware, the currents push a lot of waste items ashore in the area. It is a good idea to stay well away from any containers that appear to be leaking liquids since you never know just what may have washed ashore.
Many of these containers are the result of either illegal dumping, accidental loss, or storm events that wash the containers into the ocean. The picture included with this post shows some of the hundreds of chemical containers that washed ashore in the park following Hurricane Ike in 2008. They were carefully collected then properly disposed of by the park's trained hazardous waste management team and our partners at the GLO and the USCG.
If additional information becomes available, the park will update our Facebook page to help keep visitors informed on the status of this potential health hazard
12/21 Report via Nick Meyer - Driving was slow yesterday. Went as far as the 40. Very few people on the beach and weedy in spots. Current was from the North and the bait was offshore. Did pick up a Black Drum and load of Whiting. Did report a large diesel fuel tank spewing fuel into the gut at the 35. Very few people south making for a nice day.
12/11 PINS Report - Water is green and the forecast looks good through Saturday Afternoon. Quite a few pompano caught down south last weekend. Bull reds, slot reds, whiting and Pompano in the mix. Also Oz has been getting some sharks as well.
12/8 Watch Where you Drive! -
Five drivers to pay over $150,000 for damage to sensitive natural park resources, from prohibited Off Road Driving, within Padre Island National Seashore.
In July 2011, five individuals drove their vehicles into a prohibited area of Padre Island National Seashore causing extensive injuries to sensitive tidal flats. Park Law Enforcement Rangers, Natural Resource Specialists and a Damage Assessment Case Officer from the National Park Service's National Damage Assessment Office conducted a comprehensive investigation and assessment, into the identities of the responsible parties and the nature and extent of the injuries. With the assistance of the Department of Interior Solicitor's Office, the National Park Service (NPS) submitted claims for costs and damages, under the Park System Resource Protection Act, to each of the five drivers and their insurance companies. The Park System Resource Protection Act, 16 U.S.C. § 19jj, provides that any person or instrumentality who injures, destroys or causes the loss of any Park System resource is liable for response costs and damages. By the end of 2014, in an out of court settlement, all five drivers and their insurance companies agreed to pay over $150,000 in costs and damages to the NPS.
Wind-tidal flats are a very limited and specialized environment existing within a few centimeters of sea level. Wind-tidal flats such as those in Padre Island National Seashore support large blue-green algal mats, which host the most productive and diverse benthic communities in the Laguna Madre. This nutrient-rich environment is an important winter and migration foraging habitat for shorebirds, including the federally threatened Piping plover and the highly imperiled Red knot.
The five drivers in this incident created over two miles of vehicle tracks, destroying two acres of algal mats and impacting an additional eleven acres by changing the natural hydrology of the site. The tracks broke through the algal mat crust, sinking as much as eighteen inches into the ground. The displaced sediment formed ridges along the outer edges of the tracks. These deep ruts not only destroyed the algal mat within the tracks, but also disrupted the natural surface hydrology or flow of water across the flat, impacting the algal mats over a much larger area.
Padre Island National Seashore will use the settlement monies to implement restoration of the injured area which will include re-grading the tracks by hand, thereby restoring the natural hydrology, and monitoring the return of the area to its natural state.
Operating a motor vehicle within the confines of Padre Island National Park is prohibited except on park roads, in parking areas and on routes and areas designated for off-road motor vehicle use.
11/16 PINS Report via Mel - We made it back to the coast finally. We got to PINS about 11 and fished to around 4:30. Caught a bunch of whiting and 2 reds. The first red was 26 inches.
The next red was 28 1/2 and was chewed up I guess on the way in?
A little closer look at her tail
We also saw this guy out there
It was a little cool but lots better than back home where it snowed a couple of inches today.
11/10 Lots of Slot and Bull Reds - Conditions calmed over the weekend and the tide went out. Bull and slot reds reported in addition to Spanish Mackerel, bluefish, whiting, ladyfish and pompano. Here is one report from Bill0705 "Weed was bad from about the 15 to where i stopped. I parked around 32 and boy im glad i did. Caught three slot reds in 30 min. 1 pole, 3 mullet. Strong south current and waves were manageable. Water was beautiful for the first 10 miles and some people were catching skip jack. Smacks, oversized reds, jack crevelle, whiting, and a few hardheads. All in the second cut!!!"
Jeff Wolda of Padre Island Light Tackle Adventures clients had good luck with the bull reds too!
10/30 Good Fishing but More Sargassum - Slot reds, spanish mackerel, bluefish, jacks, pompano, trout, black drum, whiting and blacktip sharks all reported this week. Jeff Wolda of Padre Island Light Tackle Adventures clients had some nice fish the past week including this palometa a relative of the pompano
Spanish Mackerel
and this jack crevalle
10/20 Great fishing over the weekend with jacks, spanish mackerel, pompano, reds, whiting, black drum and trout all in the mix - Here is a report from O Brother who made his firsrt trip down PINS with the family on 10/18 - "Made our first trip ever down PINS yesterday with my wife, youngest daughter and her boyfriend. I have bay fished for 15 yrs down here and tried surf fishing between Corpus and Port A a time or two. The surf fishing I have tried was just tossing some lures when the kids were playing in the sand but nothing more than that. I have followed other surf fishing post on here and have always thought about making a serious trip to just go surf fishing.
Well, I will say up front we had a blast..... I picked up some live Piggy perch and some frozen finger mullet from Cos Way and went through Pins gate about 7 am. We drove down to about mile marker 10 and saw some birds working the water. We pulled over and tried wading the first gut. After about 30 mins with nothing biting we loaded up and headed farther south. Found Yarbough Cut and went over to the bay side and found some guys coming off the water. They said it was slow all morning with only a few black drum on shrimp. A rain shower come over so we headed back to the surf. Went down between mile markers 20 and 25 and set up on some more birds working the first gut. My wife caught two reds both right at 25" within about 10 mins. My daughter and her boyfriend caught numerous whiting, skip jacks and smalll Jack Creville. We worked that spot for about 2 hrs with them catching something on every cast. It was about 3 pm by then so we called it a day and headed out. The water was clear, no weed so the biggest thing to deal with was the wind but wasn't bad for down here. We broght home two reds and 6 whiting all about 14". My wife is baking them in the oven as I send this report..... Already planning the next trip...
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Come out of the grass with your fins up....... "10/17 Excellent Fishing - Conditions after the front Monday have been spectacular with good catches of redfish, spanish mackerel, pompano, whiting and of course blacktipped sharks.
http://friendsofpadre.com/friends-of-padre-beach-report-for-10152014/#.VEEhe1chArs
10/1 Sharkathon is in the Books and It was Wild and Wooly - Check out these reports. First up Poco Bueno's Winning Girls.
Report HERE
Here's Another from Hickroots07 Sharkathon 2014
9/25 Seas Building and Rain Coming Must Mean SHARKATHON THIS WEEKEND - Sharkathon starts tomorrow and lasts through Sunday. Expect huge crowds on the Padre Island National Seashore. In addition the Texas GLO will be conducting their Annual Fall Beach Cleanup on area beaches from Nine until Noon on Saturday. Jeff Wolda and Billy Sandifer Filed a Pre Sharkathon Scouting Trip Wednesday on the Friends of Padre website HERE
Heres a shot from their trip showing the weed to the dunes and the bumpy road.
9/20 PINS Gets Better - After weeks of tropical lows, northeast winds and sargassum, things are looking up on the Seashore. Jeff Wolda of Padre Island Light Tackle Adventures reported that the dusky anchovies were out in full force along with skipjacks but they managed some redfish, jscks, and this big stingray 9/19
9/4 PINS Reopens - (Corpus Christi, Texas)- After two days of closure due to Coastal Flood Advisories the park rangers at Padre Island National Seashore have reopened South Beach to vehicle traffic.
Drivers attempting to travel on South Beach need to be aware that there is no established road at this time. Also there is a large amount of marine debris including sargassum seaweed, trees, and various objects. Be aware, be prepared!
9/3 PINS South Beach Remains Closed to Vehicle Traffic - (Corpus Christi, Texas)- The National Park Service closed South Beach to vehicle traffic starting at 6:00 pm last night (9/2/14) due to the Coastal Flood Advisory issued by the National Weather Service. Early morning assessment of conditions on South Beach has led rangers to conclude that the beach is not yet safe for vehicle traffic. The gate will remain closed at this time. The next assessment will be conducted at 3:00 pm this afternoon when the tide is going out.
9/2 PINS South Beach to Close Tonight at 6p to Vehicle Traffic - (Corpus Christi, Texas) - The Coastal flood Advisory issued by the National Weather Service is from 10 pm on Tuesday September 2nd until noon on Wednesday September 3rd. To protect the visiting public the staff at Padre Island National Seashore will be closing South Beach to vehicle traffic from 6 pm on Tuesday September 2nd until conditions change to allow for vehicle traffic to safely resume.
For further information go to: www.noaa.gov
8//27 Water to the Dunes and Brown Surf reported as a result of Invest 98! - Be sure to check the local weather. Here is the forecast for shore to 50 miles out.
http://www.wunderground.com/MAR/GM/250.html
8/27 Friends of Padre Pre Labor Day Scouting Report 8/26 - Watch that Low Pressure! Report HERE
8//24/Friends of Padre Report HERE
8/25/2014 - Roger Mortimore with a nice black drum on fishbites and shrimp!
8/06/2014 Friends of Padre PINS Report via Jeff Wolda and Capt. Billy Sandifer - Report HERE
7//29 PINS - Driving is good at low tide minimal sargassum. Redfish, spanish mackerel, pompano and a few trout oh and one big Stingray from Mike35 who filed this report 7/26/27 on his trip to the Mansfield Jetty.
7/22 PINS Via Friends of Padre - Water in the 70's south of the 20's and the beach gets NARROW in the 50'd. Complete Report HERE
7/14 PINS 7/9 Via Dmchan - Headed out with a couple friends from out of town late. Left the blacktop about 2. Driving was no problem and water looked pretty good. Finally I it appeared I could soak a line without clearing weed every 30 seconds!! Wound up about 4 miles down. Was mostly a leisure trip but glad i grabbed a couple rods anyway as the surf was finally fishable. Soaked lines for about 10 minutes with practically no weed before the first hit. It didn't find a hook but after 20 minutes of hunting for bait I got another hit and a hookup. First one was a skipjack but the non locals had fun with it. From that point we landed several jacks on live baits in the second gut.
Maybe not the best day of fishing but far better than I've seen in the surf since the sargasso showed up and I was able to put another friend on fish this year. I'm calling it a success.
*edit Wow, those pics were huge. Weird.
Towboat Trash Epic report 7/6 - 7/9 - Report HERE
7/8 Good Fishing as Water Turns Green - The water calmed for the Fourth of July Weekend and fishing turned on. Jeff Wolda of Padre Island Light Tackle Adventures reported good fishing for redfish and trout on topwaters and gold spoons.
Claus fishing with Nick Meyer got this nice red on fishbites and shrimp
7/2 Park Updates to Pass Along via FB - via FB
Planning on taking a trek down island this weekend? If you have a 4-wheel drive vehicle, it can be a fun adventure. To make it a safe one, we have a couple of updates for you.
Yarborough Pass, which is an optional access sand road that goes from the beach across the island and over to the Laguna Madre, is considered impassible at this time. It requires crossing very deep, soft sand, and even 4-wheel drive vehicles are getting stuck. Try it at your own risk.
On South Beach, between Mile 53 and 54, there is a narrow stretch that, at high tide, can be very tricky to cross. Please be aware of the tides if heading down island.
Call our Beach and Weather Conditions Hotline at 361-949-8175 for daily updates on park alerts, driving conditions, tides, and other helpful information. And have a great weekend! (JM)
7/1 6/27 - 6/29 WATCH OUT AT HIGH TIDE - Report Via Hungerbuster who says -Took the older kids down PINS on a trip my wife insisted we take. I did not argue. But, given the conditions of the surf and the beach, maybe I should have Very Happy
We got on the beach around 6:30 Friday evening to a windy, but still beautiful front-lit surf. It had been a while, so we all just enjoyed seeing the beach. And at that time of day on the surf, it's hard not to find yourself standing still like a 10 year old with his mouth open staring at the coolest roller coaster he's ever seen.
We found ourselves rewarded with what SEEMED to be great driving conditions-- hard packed, smooth road above the still substantial weed line. We stopped and looked at some really promising structure around 5, passed another around 7 and finally called it good at a spot around 8. We were planning on going down farther, but what's the point when you find a good spot? I think sometimes folks go down farther just to "go down."
Anyway, the wind picked up to about a sustained 20 that night, and we enjoyed just being on the beach. Got up early Saturday to great weather conditions, but a surf that looked like a blender. No sets, waves breaking in every direction and seas so high that you couldn't see beyond the surf horizon to the green water. Weed was manageable if you knew how to fish it (just old stuff in the wade gut). Didn't catch anything but a few whiting and more hardheads than you could count. Of course, with the surf looking like it was, we weren't expecting to fill the box anyway. Like I said, it had been a while.
Of course, the real story was the road--there wasn't one. At all. Surf killed it to the dune grass. You shoulda seen the idiots driving their $50,000 trucks (even saw an Acura SUV) through six inches of salt water at 20 mph. Throwing water, mud and weed all over their gear. If it wasn't so sad, it would have been funny. Of course, it led to some interesting thinking on our part-- maybe we should leave when the water table goes down.....
Needless to say, it was an adventure trying to get off the beach. But, in the end, we got our feet in the sand, some salt water on our skin and lines in the water. Though I gotta say, the 30 mph winds Saturday afternoon got a bit old. Of course, the good Lord provided us with wet sand, so as long as you stayed away from the dunes, no blowing sand.
Anyway, we had fun. Right now, the only time to go down the beach is after 4. Otherwise, you're going to have to drive in the water to get past 10. Likewise, the only time to come off the beach easily is after 4, for the same reason. Waves did set up in the afternoon once the tide started to move, and the water TRIED to green up early evening.
But that's that. Like I said, we had fun. Be safe and fish hard.
HB
6/13 and 6/11 Via Tyler and Jeff Wolda - http://friendsofpadre.com/friends-of-padre-report-6132014/#.U5xHfpR-v84
6/11 - While Dad was out to Red Lobster for his birthday dinner Jeff Wolda and I hit the beach. We popped in at Whitecap and saw the water was still brown in close so we hit PINS. Water was off color but had a hint of green and little to no weed. It got bigger after 6pm. We tried topwaters but it got too big but we tried anyway. Had a few tailslaps and Jeff managed to catch a skipjack on a Kastmaster. I finally hooked a skipjack on a Johnson Silver Minnow before going all in with a glo she dog at the end. It was not quite ready yet but we couldn't stand to not go with the surf building this week. It should be good soon! Lots of stingrays out there so be careful!
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6/8 Weed Continues. Here's Why There are No Fishing Reports from PINS 6/7 Conditions at Malaquite - Unfishable and not great for swimming I would guess with rough and dirty water past the fourth bar. Fresh sargassum is coming in and the old stuff is thicker than it looks.
And video
6/4/ It is still horrible weed wise - Amy and Ron Chambers reported on their blog after a trip 5/31 - 6/1. You can read it here Ron took a step out in the sargassum and instantly found this sink hole
The prognosis remains poor as guide Jeff Wolda says it is as bad as it gets right now. You might want to leave the fishing gear at home right now and find a nice cleanly raked spot on the Malaquite Beach if you just want to go play.
5/21 More Weed and Reason Why Reports Are Dead - I wish I could tell you the beach is clear but this is more the norm than the exception. There have been some breaks way south near the Jetty. When the sargassum does clear it will be from the south to the north on the southeast winds. Here is Kyle Christenson with a selfie he took down the beach last week 5/16. Kyle is a Biology Technician at the Padre Island National Seashore.
5/15 Still Weeded Out - Sorry but the weed, wind and rain has just about owned the surf since the end of April and today Jeff Wolda went down for a Friends of Padre Report and the driving is tough. WATCH OUT AND DO NOT DRIVE THE LOW ROAD ON THE WET SAND NEXT TO THE WEED LINE!
Details HERE
4/22 JohnnyReb 4/18 - 4/20 Report -Quick report, driving horrible, weed HEAVY!, water murky to the 33 where it cleared nicely to the mid 40s. lots of 5 to 6 ft Blacktips cruising the wadegut, tried sightcasting baits to them, but they were really spooked? Huge schools of jacks are mixed in with the BTs, theres fish to be caught if the weed will give ya a break. Fletcher and i landed several 6ft class Bts, felt good to finally hit the beach...its been awhile. A few pix.
4/9 PINS Report from Friends of Padre - HERE
4/8 Report via Jetty Bandit - Hit the sand at about 11 pm Monday night and, Got to the jetties at about 2:30 am...
Slept in a little bit, made some breakfast and started taking our gear down the jetties to run some baits....
I had a bait get picked up and dropped and immediately after Cole was hooked up on a 5' class blacktip. CPR
Ryan's bait got hit next which produced a blacktip just over the 6' mark that put on a nice aerial show. CPR
Next up my rod started taking off which ended up being another blacktip, this time a little male, a little over 4.5'.... also CPR
Then the slot reds started schooling up so we snatched up a couple of those before hiking back to the beach. We put a few baits out right before dark off the beach but they got weeded out pretty quickly. Made some dinner on the pit, and got some sleep before waking up at 5 am so we could make it to class on time today... If I didn't have a stupid presentation to give we would still be down there because this morning was BEAUTIFUL. It was so difficult driving off that beach with the conditions how they were...
Anyways it was a good short little trip, no monsters but we put some more points on the board for Team Hardhead Mafia4/7 South of Bob Hall to Sticks on PINS via Jebsays - Decided to hit the beach today since the weather looked great and I'm limited on opportunities for the next few weeks photographing an African safari.
Drove south from Bob Hall and ended up just a bit south of the northern bollards of PINS. Driving was fair; no sweat in 4 HI but some of the patches could have been a little tough for 4x2's.
Old weed on the beach, very little fresh weed in the surf.
Water clarity wasn't horrible but not great by any stretch of the imagination. I'd say 5-6/10.
Got my first baits in the water a bit after 3pm... shrimp fishbites (pink and flesh colored) led to whiting which led to some cut bait. Worked the wade gut and both sides of the 2nd bar with little luck beside the occasional whiting.
I began to vacillate whether I should head in or not to get some things done... pulled the first rod out of the holder - still deciding in my head what to do - gave the handle a crank and was met by a blistering run south towards Mexico. The fish gods made the stay or go decision for me.
Only took a couple of pics for the day... but here they are.
Jack : 45-46" fork length, weight... dunno, felt heavy. Hit on fishbites.
Headed in shortly before sunset and stopped at "the bowl" to take a couple of pictures. Pretty heavy cloud line was coming in with some thunderheads. Was hoping for some lightning along with the sunset but it didn't happen...
4/4 PINS Set to Reopen Saturday Morning 4/5 - Jim Lago, Nick Meyer and I went on a reconnaissance mission to Malaquite Beach this morning. We were underwhelmed with the oil on the beach and could only find one tar ball in the sand . Our experience left us wondering why the beach needed to be shut down.
PINS Partial OPEN for driving. All Beaches Open 8am Saturday April 5th
(Corpus Christi, Texas)- Progress continues with the oil clean-up at the national seashore. The hard work will allow park beaches to reopen for the weekend. The short stretch of beach known as North Beach, has already reopened to driving. The South Beach area is taking longer to clean since heavier oil saturation levels further north in the park were addressed first.
Workers have now cleaned over five and a half miles of beach. Park staff continues to monitor the migrating and resident bird species to watch for sickened or dead birds. Visitors that find oiled birds or animals are asked not to handle them but to instead note the location and report them to park rangers or call the Wildlife Hotline at 888-384-2000.
While crews have done their very best to remove the oil from the beach, note that there are still small amounts of oil present on sand and other debris. Anyone visiting the park should consider bringing a small bottle of baby oil and some disposable rags or paper towels to clean oil off of shoes and skin. Do not use gas or paint remover type products as they are more dangerous than the oil.
Park Superintendent Mark Spier would like to thank everyone for the patience and understanding exhibited during the past five days while the beach was closed. Spier said "Our goals throughout the entire event have been to insure visitors have a safe and healthy place to recreate and that we provide wildlife a clean environment to live in. We appreciate the outstanding effort of the many partner agencies that helped with the extensive effort to clean the Texas coast."
42 PINS Remainds Closed to Beach Vehicle Traffic - (Corpus Christi, Texas)- The National Park Service continues to monitor the clean-up work taking place along the beach at Padre Island National Seashore. While the portions of the park's beach that are normally open to vehicle traffic are still closed, Bird Island Basin boat ramp, all park campgrounds, and the Malaquite Visitor Center remain open for use.
On Tuesday, a twenty-person hand crew made good progress in cleaning Malaquite Beach, the park's most popular visitor beach access area. School and education programs are continuing at the visitor center; however, beach goers are being advised to check their footwear for tar when returning from the beach. The size of the work forced doubled on Wednesday as partner agencies brought additional personnel and equipment into the park to handle the work load. Other staff members continue to watch for oiled wildlife and are working to get the injured birds or other animals to decontamination facilities.
If no significant amounts of additional oil wash ashore, the park is optimistic that we can begin reopening cleaned areas to regular beach use as soon as is practical. As soon as those decisions are made, another press announcement will occur so that businesses and visitors can resume their normal activities.
4/1 PINS IS CLOSED NO JOKE - Oil from the barge spill in Galveston is impacting the beaches and right now contractors are removing the oil soaked patches of sargassum from the beach before people drive over it making it more difficult to remove. Beaches and driving will be open as soon as possible.
Here is the official press release from the National Park Service
(Corpus Christi, Texas)- The National Park Service, in an effort to prevent additional clean-up issues caused by vehicle traffic pressing oil into beach sands, has temporarily closed park beaches to driving. The beach driving closure will remain in effect until the clean-up has reached a satisfactory level to minimize further risks to park resources. The park will remain open to visitors wanting to access Bird Island Basin boat ramp, park campgrounds and the Malaquite Visitor Center. Hiking and swimming along park beaches are strongly discouraged due to hygiene reasons. Visitors to area beaches are advised to carry baby oil and paper towels to remove oil from the skin or shoes.
The vehicle beach closure is to allow clean-up in the most efficient manner possible. As long as oil is on the surface of the sand it may be readily lifted off. Continued above average tides this week will mean that vehicles would be forced to drive through the mix of algae and oil droplets found at the high water line. This would serve to "plow" the oil down into the sand and make for much more difficult clean-up. That would then potentially keep the beaches closed for an even longer duration.
As soon as the beach clean-up has reached a satisfactory level, the park will send out an additional press release to update area visitors and residents. For additional information, please call the Malaquite Visitor Center at 361-949-8068.3/23 Report via Stumpjumper150 - Went down the beach this morning not far past the 4x4 sign. We ran out one big bait and it sat all morning untouched. We did however catch 6 pompano, 1 big whiting, 3 stingrays and 2 bonnethead sharks.
3/22 Hickroots07 - Report HERE
3/8 Friends of Padre Beach Report 3/7 - REPORT HERE
3/7 Report via Redfin21 - "Well just got back to N.B from Pins today. Spent Thursday evening and half of today down the beach with a good friend of mine. Thursday late afternoon stopped around the 15mm and started picking up a few whiting right away. Hooked up with a 23 inch red about 2 hours before dark. That would be it for that evening. After some BBQ and some cold beverages that night, We wake up to calm and clear condition the next morning. Fished till 3:00 pm and landed a nice keeper drum, 1 very nice pompano, and a 31 inch red. Then whiting after whiting till the action stopped completely around 2:30. All in all was a great first trip of the year. Will be back after Turkey Season. Tight lines everyone."
3/1 Seanu's Cleanup and Fishing Report - REPORT HERE
2/23 Big Shell Cleanup a Huge Success! Captain Billy Sandifer says "A record 540 volunteers tied the record by cleaning 13 1/2 miles of beach and picked up 40 tons of trash. The whole thing was absolutely awesome, everyone was awesome and I apologize for having a pulled muscle in my back and not getting around more and getting to see more people. Your Brother in the Sand, Billy "
2.5 year old Brantley Queeney gets a wave from Captain Billy and David Ainsworth Sr. as they pass by in "Trashzilla" the Rollagon
2/15 Stunned Turtle Release Sunday 2/16 - Maybe one of IMS's turtles will be in the group.
Here is the info from the Park's FB page
"Come watch release of about 100 cold stunned green sea turtles tomorrow! Temperatures have warmed over the last few days and cold stunned turtles are ready for release. Although most of the turtles were found in the Upper Laguna Madre, bay water temperatures are still low, so we will be release the turtles into the Gulf of Mexico surf where they can disperse to warmer offshore waters. Release information follows:
Where: Padre Island National Seashore (North Padre Island), in front of Malaquite Beach Pavilion
When: Sunday, February 16 at 11:00 am
The event is open to anyone that would like to attend. No fee is charged to attend the release. Admittance to Padre Island National Seashore and other National Park Service units is free this weekend in honor of President's Day. To attend, follow Park Road 22 to Padre Island National Seashore. About two miles after the National Seashore Entrance Station, you will see a bright yellow Turtle Release sign on the right and the large Malaquite Beach Visitor Center parking lot on the left. You should turn left there, park your vehicle in the large lot, and walk onto the beach in front of the Visitor Center. See you there!
2/14 Big Shell Cleanup Next week - Here is a bit of history on how the Cleanup started from Billy Sandifer courtesy of David Sikes and the Caller Times
Jeff Wolda and I fished on Sunday - http://friendsofpadre.com/friends-of-padre-beach-report-february-9th-2014/#.Uv7h72J-v84
1/31 Week After Week of Cold Slows Reports but Here is one from 1/26 from Friends of Padre via Capt. Billy Sandifer HERE
12/31 - 1/1/2013 Via Deputydawg - The wife and I decided to bring in the new year at PINS. We got there Monday around 2PM and left around 1PM today. We continued our string of bad weather trips with this one. I believe it was around 40 when we hit the beach and I dont think it got much warmer than that till this morning. It also was misting rain the entire time! Pretty much as miserable as it could get!!!!
As I expected the fishing matched the weather. Miserable!!! I had rods in the water most all the day new years eve and this morning. I had a single bite the whole trip. It was a 32.5 lb black drum out of the first gut on a shrimp/fishbite combo. I also tried some frozen mullet with no takers. I don't think I lost another bait the whole trip!
We went down to the 23 but camped at around the 18ish. Actually stayed at the exact same spot as we did on our Thanksgiving trip. While driving along we saw the same pallet we used last time as a porch so we pulled right in. The driving was good on the low tide. The high side looked like it was getting pretty rutted up though. The beach/dune combing was also less than spectacular! The wife found a couple of sea beans, a handful of good sandollars, and a few other things but overall a dissapointing haul.
Now for the good news! In spite of bad weather, bad fishing, and everthing else bad we had a GREAT trip!!! What better way to bring in the new year than hanging out with your best friend (who also happens to be your wife)! We made some great memories!!! Enjoyed some great campfires, walks, talks, and just enjoyed each other. Played with our dachshund, he had a great time. We not only made it through the miserable weather we did it comfortably. I feel like we can pretty much take anything that beach can throw at us now.
12/14 PINS 12/6 - 12/9 Seanu21 -Read his Yarborough and Beach report HERE
12/2 Great Fishing Thanksgiving Weekend - Lots of oversized drum, redfish and keeper and slots over the weekend. Nickaway of Breakaway Tackle had this huge fat 48 Inch Red along with some Pompano fishing Sunday 12/1
Brenda aka Surfgirl caught the biggest pomp
Fishing prospects look great till Thursday afternoon with morning fog and light surf!
11/28 Happy Thanksgiving! - With the cold weather and rain expect the winter pattern to begin at the beach meaning Bull Reds, whiting, black drum and pompano. The Jacks might hang around a bit longer but they will leave by the middle of December - Normally.
Guide Jeff Wolda and his clients caught and released a lot of bull reds just prior to the cold snap 11/24
You can get the hole report on the Friends of Padre Site HERE
11/11 11/9 Report via 4thereels - Hey guys.....
Went out to PINS Saturday morning and found her looking great...the drive was great...no weeds in the water what so ever...it was beautiful.
Went to about to the 21mm or so.
Didnt see any bait in the water.
Using shrimp and fish bites...I caught a few small hardheads....and some whiting....which I used as cut bait.
And using that....I caught this baby.....she went 40" and about 18lbs. What a great fish to battle. My personal best there at PINS.
She went back in the water after a few pics.
What a great beautiful day...I could have stayed longer but only had 2lbs of shrimp.....so it only lasted about 5 hours...bummer.
If I would have know it was going to be that great out there....I would have bought more bait and stayed the night probably....oh well.
11/6-7 Via DeputyDawg - Short trip and not a whole lot to report. Actually hit the beach late tuesday night and was met with high tides all the way to the dunes. Stayed just off the pavement and had a great night going to sleep listening to the surf. Woke up the next morning and started the journey. Tide was out and the driving was fantastic!!! I stopped occasionally and never found a spot to fish that wasnt to weedy. There was mullet but the water looked pretty bad anyway. After a morning of fighting the weed and roaming around the dunes and beach I made it to the jettys. Weed wasn't bad there but water didn't look good. The mullet were thick on the surf side along the rocks and I had high hopes. I ended up spending the afternoon catching a truckload of lady fish. Nothing to bring home but a blast to catch on topwaters!!!
I parked and made my litte camp right at the start of the jetties. At dark I decided I would just hunker down and wait for that front to come in. Boy did it ever show up! Not sure what time it got there but those winds were ripping when it did. Thursday morning sure made me question my decision to go all the way down. The tide was crazy high, wind seemed hurricane force, water crashing over the rocks, it was BAD!!! The tides eventually went back out though and I made a break for it around 11:00. Made it off no problem and can't wait to go back when the conditions are a litte better. I had a great time even though I didn't catch any of the fish I was after!
I did find something around the 20 that I will gladly return to the owner if they give me a description. Probably been lost a week or two.
11/1 Lots of Waves and Current After and During Sharkathon - There are plenty of threads on the message board about Sharkathon. Acoustennis went down Wednesday and said it remained rough though he did scratch out three pompano. A front comes in tomorrow and north winds will blast the waves from the opposite direction Sunday and Monday look much better.
10/23 Sargassum Owns Most of the Beach! - Captain Billy Sandifer was down Monday and filed this report on the Friends of Padre Website.
10/20 PINS Reopened last week. Sharkathon set for the weekend 10/25 - 27 expect HUGE Crowds. Meanwhile on Sunday 10/20 Nick Meyer of Breakaway tackle reported small and large jacks and slot reds.
Guide Jeff Wolda's clients ground out some slot reds.
Evan with a 24.5 inch red
10/1 PINS IS CLOSED TFN DUE TO GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN - Park Rd 22 will be gated and locked TFN. No access to Malaquite Beach or to Bird Island Basin until the shutdown ends.
9/25 Fins on Pins Gets a Nice Variety of Fish - See it all HERE
9/21 Towboat Trash Assesses the Beach 9/20 - Complete Report HERE
9/18 PINS to Reopen but it may not last - Status update...the beach is RE-OPENED TO DRIVING as of this morning. That being said, conditions are not the best for driving, so use caution. Coastal flooding pushed up a lot of debris to the upper road and there is also much debris hidden by seaweed. It will be very slow going if you do not want to damage vehicles. Finally, there is another system off the Yucatan that we are watching that has potential to force us to close once again. Stay tuned...
9/13 Padre Island National Seashore Beaches are CLOSED to driving due to High Tides - As of this morning,the park's beaches are CLOSED TO DRIVING due to unsafe driving conditions. The disturbance in the Bay of Campeche is causing unusually high tides, bringing water and lots of seaweed up to the dune line. There is also a HIGH RISK of RIP CURRENTS. These conditions may continue through the weekend. We will post a notification when the beaches re-open.
9/12 Rain, Sargassum and Wind Own the Beach! Friends of Padre's Jeff Wolda reported 9/11 Went to the 15 this morning. Weed OWNS the beach and the water. The only road is the high road and driving is good due to the rains. Strong NE-E winds the next few days will prevent the tide from dropping like expected so there may be no low road for some time. Weather forecast for the weekend does not look good as the water could go to the dunes due to the low pressure system in the southern gulf. Jeff
8/31 Friends of Padre Report 8/30 is up and Sargassum Owns All But the Last Two Miles - Report HERE
8/28 PINS Report via Jeff Wolda - First off as you can tell the PINS camera is down and the park is aware of it. Jeff says the weed owns the beach from the pavement to the Mansfield Jetty. (Strange August North and Northeast wind brings in sargassum from offshore. Look for it to diminish once the wind goes strong SE.) A few small jacks and loads of whiting on the Monday charter.
Alan Carneal with a baby jack crevalle
8/20 PINS 22 mile mark 9/17 via Krspykrmeburritto - Report HERE
8/14 Another Tiger - After the 11'4 Tiger at Packery on 8/9 JohnnyReb gets one on PINS. Report HERE
8/12 Deputy Dawg filed this report 8/8 - 8/11 - Spent thursday, friday, and saturday on PINS with the wife and daughter. We had a great time even though the fishing wasn't that good. Spent thursday around the 20, then moved down to the 25 on friday. Finally on the way out we stopped at about the 10.
The fishing was okay but not great. Caught a couple of reds, 1 keeper drum, and a bunch of big whiting. I saw very few mullet and no birds working. The water was beautiful though! Didn't talk to anybody that was catching many.
We did all our driving on low tide so the driving was good. The high side looked pretty bad though and the entrance area was pretty rough as well.
Overall it was another good trip! I caught some fish, the wife found some beans on her walks, and the daughter spent plenty of time in the water. We can't wait to come back!
Other weekend Reports 8/10 Jeremy and Jesse Torres reported good action for Pompano and whiting in the Little Shell just past thje 15 mile mark.
8/2 Friends of Padre beach Report for Today is ready! - HERE
Below is at the 7 mile area.
8/1 Report via Jiggin Joe - Been reading the forums for quite some time and love all the useful information it's provided me. I figured it I'd finally make an account and join the community! Went out to PINS yesterday with some success so I figured I'd post up my novice fishing report for whatever it's worth.
Made camp somewhere between mile marker 9 and 10 around 530pm, the surf was very calm with few breakers except around the bars. Got fishing around 6 and on dads first cast of some cut jackfish he had a shark on the line. Reeled in a pup black tip around 20 inches. By 730 when he left to cook the previous days catch (2 mangroves, a red, a blackdrum, and a spec, we had caught at least 8 pup black tips between the two of us. I even managed to catch a whiting and a shark at the same time! After dinner I switched to some fresh dead shrimp and started cleaning out the whiting. Ended up with a nice stringer full. All in all the conditions were great, clear water up to my hips, small waves, and lots of fish. I think the best part was there wasn't a single hardhead pulled in! The trip was a success. Heading back out today, hopefully the same thing. Tight lines,
Jiggin Joe7/26 PINS via Jeff Wolda and Padre Island Light Tackle Adventures - Tough conditions on the beach today. To say it was windy would be an understatement. Chris Wood and David Bensen fished hard all day and were rewarded. Water is starting to clead some bait is showing back up. The summer pattern should be back again soon! See you on the beach!
7/20 PINS lots of Sargassum - You can find the latest report from 7/19 on the Friendsofpadre.com website HERE
7/9 PINS Red White and Bluefish Report 7/4via Stinger A - Keep this short and sweet. Hit PINS about 6pm on the 4th, only stayed until 930pm. Driving was rough first mile or two with plenty if stuck cars at the end of the pavement. Crowds were in full force an I won't be surprised if there is a fire in the dunes tonight due to all the fireworks. Water was clear with very little new weed coming in. Tons of big whiting and a lot of blue fish were caught. I used a blue for shark bait with no takers, I didn't bring my kayak due to not having a partner helping me. Until next time....
6/27 Hot of the Press from the Friends of Padre Courtesy of Jeff Wolda filed on 6/26
Air Temp: 87
Water Temp: 80
Wind: 15 SSE
Waves: 3-4 ft
Water Clarity: North of the 20 is trying to clear. South of the 20 is still dirty.
Weed: Not an issue the length of the beach.
Driving: Still bumpy but improving from last week. Some 4x4 needed south of the 20. No road south of the 48.
Birds: 7 Curlew, 2 Marbled Godwit, 2 Tri Colored Heron, 9 Cattle Egret, 13 Black Skimmers.
The water on the north end of the beach is trying to clear and is noticeably warmer than on the south end. Current is ripping hard to the north due to the constant strong SE winds over the last 10 days. Did not see any bait the length of the beach. 3-4 foot blacktips are still showing up in the first gut in the morning. The offshore bird activity was impressive early in the morning at the color line outside the 2nd bar. Did not see anything come out of the water but the birds were working hard. If this coldwater upwelling goes away it should get good really quick!!
Had two illegals stop me at the 44 and wanted a ride. Made it pretty clear that wasn't going to happen and notified Law Enforcement. They were picked up shortly after.
6/21 6/19 24hr PINS Trip via CRMSN - When live gives you lemons! Report HERE
6/19 Father's Day Quick Morning Report via Bamared54 - Left the house around 5:15 and my guests for today were my dad, my little brother, and....... Drum roll please...... IMS!!!! Fished topwater a and plastics all morning! Had several blowups and fish on between the 3 of us (dad just watched) but only boxed 1 Jack for bait on a later date! Stan lost some big ones! Weed was STACKED from the 5 on! But we didn't go much further! I heard it clears up after the 10-15 but we didn't want to go down too far as we promised the wives we wouldn't be out long! Had a buddy that met us down there and after 20 minutes of fishing the surf he high tailed it to Yarborough! I will let y'all know how he did! The tahoe messed up while we were down there so that blows!
6/10 - 6/14 Father Daughter Trip Via Seanu21 - View the whole report HERE
6/14 Quick PINS Update from Bighead - "I hit PINS early today...hit the beach about 500 AM, and just started driving. When I could start to make out the water, I started looking, and behold, I saw a nice little pinch at what I estimate to be about the 22 mile mark.
Threw a 4" white/chartreuse tail plastic on a 1/4 oz. jighead and about the 4th cast, hooked up with a nice red that measured on the cooler at 23" long.
Shortly after I put the red in the box, I saw a shark in the wade gut that was an easy 6' long from dorsal to tail...so it had to be about an 8 footer...about the time it showed up, any action ceased.
I headed further south and about the 30 mile mark, saw a nice pool with a big pinch on the end, and then saw some action...figured this place might pay off, and it did. I threw a red head/white mirrolure 52MR, and caught two VERY nice trout that were also in the 22-23" range. The action stopped on the mirrolure, but I could still see the trout blowing up on bait, so I switched to my other rod with a red head/white body Super Spook Jr...and had MULTIPLE blowups, but no hook ups.
About that time, I saw the time and needed to pack it in to do some work today...and left to come home with 3 nice fish, a red and two specks, and the thrill of seeing a big shark up close.
Driving was easy, seaweed was there, but manageable. Water was nice, a solid 7.8/10 for clarity.
Pics coming soon to facebook.com/pinspals
Bighead
6/7 -6/9 report via email from Ralph C - We hit the beach at 12:00pm, and drove down to mile marker 42, we were keeping our eyes open for breakers only within the first but, we found a spot that had an area where there was only the first sandbar and nothing past it. The water was blue and clear, had seaweed to deal with. We set up camp and then the first storm hit and it started to pour, with wind gust up to 30 miles per hour at times, we thought at one point our tent was going to be blown away. The rain and wind lasted all day and we could only pan fish and use surf rods only. We could not even think about taking large baits out. The surf turned rough and this lasted the rest of the day into the night. We kept getting rain showers through the night. We decided to turn in early and move to a new location, seaweed was too bad. Next morning we broke camp and headed to the end of Big Shell, (Port Mansfield Jetty). We arrived two hours later to a perfect location, No seaweed what so ever, we set up camp, and stared catching bait fish. At 4:00pm we took three big rods out, two of them baited with Cow Nose Stingrays and the other with a large whiting that we caught. My Daughter and her boyfriend were catching trout on top waters and we hooked up on some jackfish. I had one fish spool me out, never knew what it was, but there was no stopping it. It hit a TOP DOG lure, I had 300 yards of 30# test and I could not even turn the fish. All 300 yards of 30# test went with the fish, as soon as I had no line left on my reel all I could do was hang on to the rod and POW, it was gone.
We cooked steaks around 7:00pm and had a great meal, great camp location and waited for the big rods to go off. Around 10:30pm, my 80W Penn International started screaming. I'm talking SCREAMING!!! I ran this bait out about the same length of the end of the jetty using a Cow Nose Stingray with two large hooks. When I arrived to my reel, the fish was still peeling off line. I put my harness on and strapped the real to myself. Line was still being taken out and I counted to 6/1,000 in my mind and pushed the lever on the reel to full lock and ran back setting the hook to the fish. As soon as I set that hook that fish yanked me back towards the surf and I had to back off the drag. I decided to let my friend William bring in the fish, since he has never caught a large shark before. We fought the fish for 45 minutes and landed a 7'-6" Tiger Shark!!
I have plenty of pictures as well as video of the whole trip, I will make sure to put this on your website with pictures and video. We are going back to the Mansfield land cut next month.
I truly want to thank you for your helpful information you provided, Keep up the great work on your website.
Here is a picture of the shark attached. I'm the one on the right in the photo.
Best,
Ralph Candelario
5/28 5/24 - 5/26 via Hungerbuster - "Decided it had been too long since the last trip, so loaded up the kids and headed to the island. We got on the beach around 5:00 friday evening. Driving was great until about 19, then it turned SOFT, even in the ruts. Decided to just take it slow on the high road rather than get beat up going 15 mph down low and risking someone trailing off into the shell bank. Made it down to the high banks in about an hour and a half. Fished our rear ends off all day Saturday and along with 50+ hard heads (no joke) and a couple of Jacks, we boxed 14 whiting, a god sized pomp (!!!). The turtle patrol was out in full force and at one point we found ourselves joking about how many we were seeing. Seemed like such a waste of time and resources.
THEN we packed to head off the beach Got back to about 22 and there's a turtle patrol stopped in the surf. He's waving at me on the low road and I figure he wants me to cut over to the high road. So I do. Then he gets a little urgent with his flagging and I finally decide he wants me to stop. So I do. Then the kids start saying, "look at THAT HUGE turtle." Low and behold, a massive Ridley is literally coming up out of the surf. She must have been well over 24" in diameter. We watch her make her way through the low road and she cruises her way (at turtle speed).... into the first rut of the high road. She then proceeds to dig and lay her eggs...RIGHT in the high road rut, less than 2o yards from my truck. Now look, I've been an at times vocal critic of the turtle stuff on the beach...but that was down right cool. We watched her until she was done, and the turtle folks gathered her eggs, waived us around her back down to the low road, and we were back on our way.
A 20 minute delay, but well worth it. And the kids had a blast to boot. Plus I had a cigar while we waited, so it all ended up good.
Can't wait to make it down again. Anyway, water was relatively clear, weed was non-existant where we stopped (though bad to little shell, patchy-bad from little shell into the high banks), and the weather was absolutely perfect for the time of year. That said, when we went off the beach Sunday afternoon, I can safely say that in the 15+ years I've been going down island I have NEVER seen it as crowded from 15 to the pavement. Almost DOOR TO DOOR the whole way. In addition, the line outside of the PARK was WELL over a mile long. And the line from Whitecap stretched all the way to FREAKIN HEB in the bluff!!!
I said a prayer for all of those poor souls and had a scotch later in their honor.
Until next time..."
5/22 - 5/25 report from WHAT - Jacks, Reds, Whiting and Pomp Report HERE
5/22 Friends of Padre Beach Report via Jeff Wolda 5/21 -
FOP BEACH REPORT 052113
Air Temp: 82
Water Temp: 78
Winds: 10-15 SE
Waves: 4-5 ft
Water Clarity: None, looks like chocolate milk
Weed: Only new weed on the beach in from the 10 north. Lots of old weed still on the beach.
Driving: Some 4x4 in the upper 20's. Rest of the beach is torn up and VERY bumpy. It took 5 hours to get to the jetties and 5 to get off.
The color line in the surf is about 200 yards past the 3rd bar. Runs straight down the beach until the 59 where it goes to the horizon. I'm not a shark fisherman but I'm guessing there are some big ones running the color change. It looks like it should be mid April down PINS. Thanks late season cold fronts.
Birding was minimal. The migration has just about ended. 1 Snowy Egret, 7 Cattle Egrets, 7 Red Knots, 19 Black Skimmers, 3 Tricolored Herons, 176 Black Terns, numerous Least and Sandwich Terns, 1 Caracara. Also saw 1 Coyote.
It's a holiday weekend and a lot of people will be hitting the beach. Make sure you do not drive over the weed or close to it on the surf side. A lot of the weed on the beach is dead and covered up by the sand. It creates sink holes that will swallow your truck to the frame in an instant.
5/21 PINS Report water remains dirty per webcam image above here is a 5/18 report from Magadorm - Posted: 18 May 2013 01:44 pm Post subject: PINS 5/18
Ended up being a waste of time. Got up at 0430 to beat the Beach to Bay crowd. Stopped off at a little hole and got about a dozen finger mullet in two casts. Then hauled supple bum to the island. Picked up some ice and dead shrimp on the way. The traffic was already starting on the island at 0530 as I passed Padre Balli Park, but I got through without much delay. Next stop was about 17 miles down PINS. Water was very dirty, about 3 inches of visibility and moderate weed in the surf. Put out a finger mullet on the big pole and then rigged up a small pole to try to get some whiting. Ended up catching 3 hardheads back to back and the big pole wouldn't stay out due to weed build up. So, packed it up and headed just north of the 15 mile marker. Same story there. Caught a hardhead and pole washed in, so I packed it in and headed to the 10 mile marker. This time I didn't bother with the big pole and ended up catching two more hardheads. Interesting thing though at the 10 or 15 I did have something grab my shrimp and pull hard. At first I thought it was some seaweed on my line being sucked into a wave, but it kept pulling. Ended up pulling the hook. After the 10 I then headed to the 8 mile marker and this time changed my 4 ounce breakaway weight to a 6 ounce claw weight to try to hold in place. It worked better but still not great. Caught a couple more hardheads. Finally, for PINS, I headed all the way to the 3 mile marker and tried both poles again. Same as before, nothing but seaweed and hardheads. By this time I was very frustrated as I had covered 14 miles of beach and the only thing biting was hardheads! So, I packed it in again and headed north to Mustang Island at the Fish Pass jetties. Threw my line in and hooked a hardhead... I headed home.5/8 Friends of Padre Report 5/7 - Jeff Wolda filed this report for the Friends of Padre
FOP BEACH REPORT 05/07/13
Air Temp: 78
Water Temp: 75
Winds: 5-10 ESE
Waves: 1-2 ft
Water Clarity: Gin clear length of the beach
Weed: Little new weed coming in except in the 30's. Lots of dead on the bottom of the 1st gut length of beach. Dead weed will be an issue for some time with old weed being pulled off the beach.
The bird migration is still going strong on the beach. 11,069 Black Terns. 41 Red Knots. 1 Curlew. 1 Yellow Crowned Night Heron. 2 Caracara. 1 Peregrine Falcon.
17 Spotted Sandpipers. 5 DC Cormorants. 90 Blue Wing Teal. 900 Sanderlings. Lots of Ruddy Turnstones. 2 American Avocets.
1 Wilsons Phalarope.
Lots of bait in the water the length of the beach. Skipjacks could be seen length of beach. Small Jack Crevalle and Spanish Mackerel length of beach.
Driving conditions are excellent but starting to get soft in the high banks.And Here's a quick report from South of Bob Hall Pier via Bamared54 - Report
4/23 April Martinez' report from 4/20 - April sent in this report: Hi, my husband Richard Martinez, caught this Jack Crevalle just after the 20 mile mark. In addition, he caught this 25" red and they were both caught using whiting as bait. The water was full of seaweed and tons of plastic. I, April Martinez, caught this awesome sack which we filled with all the plastic we pulled out of the water today. The entire sack contains only what we pulled off our lines and nothing else. And there was plenty more just floating everywhere. Hope you enjoy the pics!
4/13 Friends of Padre Beach Report for 4/12 - Report prepared by FOP member, Jeff Wolda.
Air Temp: 71
Water Temp: 69
Winds: 15 E
Waves: 3-4 ft
Water Clarity: Dirty length of beach, clearing in the afternoon
Driving: 2WD length of beach. Road above weed getting very bumpy. Some soft areas in the high banks.
No reports of Kemps Ridley nests. Birding was excellent today. 1 Reddish Egret at the 48. 1 Yellow Headed Black Bird at the 46. 1 Scissor Tail Fly Catcher at the 44. 1 Caracara at the 40. 1 White Tailed Hawk at the 34. 1 Osprey at the 14. 1 Shoveler Duck at the 8. 8 Curlew 70 Cattle Egret the length of the beach.
Sargassum is now in full effect south of the 30. 1st gut is full in some places with large mats coming ashore outside the 3rd bar. North of the 30 there is some new weed coming in and a lot of old weed being pulled off the beach.
4/10 Constant wind has water about to the dunes prior to today's front
4/7 Friends of Padre Report - Jeff Wolda is now a member of Friends of Padre and we will soon be putting up reports like these with pics on the soon to be revamped website at
www.friendsofpadre.com FOP will also be at Earth Day at Heritage Park this Saturday April 13th
FOP BEACH REPORT 040713
Air Temp: 72
Water Temp: 68
Winds: 15-20 SE
Waves: 3-4 ft
Water Clarity: Green
Weed: 0-30mm has old weed at high tide line with little in surf.
30-60 new weed moving in with new and old at high tide line.
Driving: 2 WD the length of the beach. Some soft areas forming at the 17 and in lower 20's.
A small Green Sea turtle was found by turtle patrol on my way south to the jetties at the 37. It was missing its front left flipper. I gave the turtle patrol a bucket with fresh Sargassum in the bottom to take the turtle to the shack at the 39. Amos came and picked it up. No update on if it
made it.
Driving north from the jetties I came across a large dead turtle washing in at the 57. It appeared to have been dead for some time. No visible injuries such as a shark bite. Notified turtle patrol heading north at the 52.
There were very few birds on the beach outside of the regulars. Only exception was 60 American Avocet at the 46. Did see 2 Curlew over the 60 miles. No birds of prey.4/5 First Time Report via Seabreezetwo - Here
4/4 April Fools Trips one via Shallowsport - Here
And BamaRed54 4/1 - Here
3/23- 3/26 via Seanu21 - Pomps, big ulgies , reds and a big bull shark - REPORT HERE
3/21 PINS report 3/18 via Hightide - I went to the PINS this morning not sure what to expect. Some 8 miles past the blacktop I ran into Zia. He told me he had been farther South and that all he had gotten were a few Whitings. With that information, I decided I would head back North for about 1/2 mile. I caught 2 Pomps and no more, so I decided I would go home. As soon as I could get a signal, I called my wife and told her I was heading home. She said she was out shopping and wouldn't be home for a while. That's all I needed to try it one more time. I was very close to the black top when I stopped. A few cast later and I had landed 7 Pomps, a 22" Red, a Sheephead, and 2 large Whitings. Threw back some Whitings and a Bonnethead shark. The shrimp I used was from HEB. I didn't use fishbites. I just wanted to see if it would work without them. I guess when they're biting they'll hit anything. While there, I saw this Heron feeding.
_________________
HighTide
BamaRed54 got into some nice shark action also on the 18th Report Here
3/15 PINS Report via Jebsays - Full report HERE
Say What?
3/11 PINS Report - Today water remains dirty and rough PINS 3/9 via SilverTundra4x4 - "Water - chocolate milk
Bait - went to South Padre Winds - BLOWING!
Pompano - could only manage 6 in the pinch between MM15-20Also landed 2 Bull Whiting - atleast 16-18" or so"
Earlier in the week we were plagued with back to back blows with two fronts and little fishing reported.
2/26 The Big Shell Cleanup - It was a huge success with more details later. Here are a few shots from Jeff Wolda
Meanwhile on Sunday Finonspins had a good assortment of fish with redfish, drum and pompano read his story HERE
2/15 Surf Update from Jeff Wolda - "Surf Report
It's been typical winter surf fishing the past few weeks. Every few days a new cold front dirty's up the water and just when it clears, another front hits. Weed has also started becoming an issue or more of a hassle than anything. Expect it to continue to increase in volume as always. LOTS of Portuguese Man of War washing in. Many are just the size of a quarter but can still cause some serious discomfort. Reds are still plentiful on shrimp and plastics. The occasional black drum on shrimp. Pompano are there one day and gone the next. Really need some time between fronts for the water to clear for them to show in force. Trout on swim baits worked very slowly against the first bar. You really have to grind it out but, they are there. Driving has taken a turn for the worse recently. Need another big cold front with strong NE winds to fix it.
"2/8 PINS Update from Jeff Wolda -"Just to give you a quick beach update before you go down range. Driving is getting worse by the day. A week ago the beach was like a highway. Drove off this afternoon with lots of 4x4 from the 30-7. If everyone would stay in the same rut driving down the beach instead of all over it would make driving much easier. Weed starting to show itself but still fishable. Small front tonight shifting winds out of the north will bring some more in. Portuguese Man of War the size of a quarter line the beach. I'd strongly recomend waders just to avoid them. Pomps on the North end and reds on the south end. Trout have been on and off down south. Look forward to your reports! Jeff Wolda.
2/3 PINS report from FINSONPINS - Fished for a little while this afternoon and made stops at the 6&10mm's. Pomps were there, but the action was slowww. Weed wasn't a problem and the water was nice and green. Managed 5 pomps and a handful of whiting in a couple hours then headed home.
1/24 Zia's back down and Mary took some nice pics! - PINS REPORT 1/23 Here
1/18 Once again Ziacatcher's report South of Bob Hall - Fished SBH from late morning to about 4PM. For the first few hours The only bait lost was to seagulls attacking the shrimp on the tailgate. Between Dale and I, we had 5 poles out with various baits in various distances and nada. About 2PM tides change and so did the catching. I wound up catching 11 whiting but that was about it. Only poles touched were those with shrimp/fishbites. Cut baits of various types were not touched. Weather was nice and water was great, as was the company.
1/11 Just North of PINS via Ziacatcher - Mary and I met up with some friends SBH this morning. Was going to be more of a sit around and visit, with some fishing thrown in, kind of day. Water was not too rough but pretty churned up when we got there.
Although the water wasn't too nice the flowers in the dunes were!
For the first couple hours not much of anything was caught. Slack tide. When it started coming in, it came in with a vengeance. We had to move our rod holders and vehicles at least 5 times. Finally parking at the base of the dunes. Water started clearing up and we started catching some fish. 1 pomp, 1 24" red, a couple harheads and about 20 whiting. Kokopelli really enjoyed his whiting sushi this evening.
Rods rigged with finger mullet, cut whiting, cut skipjack, pig perch were not touched. All fish were caught on shrimp/fishbites.
This guy came for a visit so we kept him well fed.
12/15 Great time last weekend by Red and and his Dad - Check out his "Pompano Bar" report from the past weekend here
12/6 P1NS -Sent the last 3 days down the beach. Conditions changed every day with the passing of a cold front on the middle day. Made for an interesting 30 minutes Tuesday night about midnight! My tent cot actually came off the ground a few times with me in it. Caught fish each day. Reds and Blues on plastics and pomps on shrimp and pink fishbites. Weed is an issue south of the 35. Driving is still good. Water is trout green the length of the beach. Saw 10 does and 1 buck on the way down Monday morning. Arctic cold front coming in next week. It will soon be time to grind it out throwing artificials looking for those big winter time sow trout! Here's a pic of one of the many reds caught. He went 27 99/1
11/30 PINS - Between fronts fishing has been excellent. Nick Meyer of Breakawayusa.com says when the winds are out of the NE the bait moves off but when the winds shift back to SE, the bait and reds and bluefish and pompano are there. Wind and tide looks good through Monday. Weed is present from the 15 mile mark south and fresh weed is thick from the 52 south but as you can see it is still fishable. Here is Jeff Wolda's group from Wisconsin from Padre Island Light Tackle Adventures 11/29.
11/15 PINS - Water had been to the dunes earlier in the week and back down today. Weekend looks better with two to three foot seas though NE winds will persist. Prior to the front and the high water. Sharks and Jacks were all over the place in addition to slot reds. Finger mullet and flies resembling bait worked well for the jacks. Redfish were caught on mullet and gold spoons. Here is Robdog with a fly caught jack prior to the front.
11/2- PINS - Pomps on the north end plus jacks and big spanish macks south of the 18. More sargassum coming in this afternoon. Here's a Halloween Report from Pablo
10/24 Towboat Trash PINS 10/23 - Went down the Island.
Surf blown out majorly, winds way above forecasted levels. Caught a few reds, and was lured away from fishing via dune explorational endeavours.
10/19 Word from Captain Billy Sandifer - "Fishing was poor then reported exceptional on 17 Oct. and dropped off yesterday. We may or may not go pre dawn this morning and will go Saturday morning. We’ve missed the Black Tern migration and this is not unusual. It is less common than getting them though. Jack Crevalle and Reds should start raising hell Saturday. Tides and driving remain high and tedious."
10/11 Ziacatcher is at it again 10/10 Report - Went to PINS with Mary this morning.
Pelicans flying at sunrise.
Guess where we stopped?
Mary left her footprint at little shell. About the 18.
When we first got there I put some cut bait I brought from home until the mullet started showing up.
Caught some mullet and the skippies were plentiful.
Put mullet on one rod and cut skip on the other. Cast out the mullet and when I went to put the rod in the holder it was completely slack. Started reeling it in and nothing. Was thinking how could I have lost my spider weight. Kept reeling it in then all of a sudden reel stops and line starts being stripped from my reel. 38" Jack
I then catch a 20.75" blue on cut skip and a 25" red on live mullet.
About 30 min. later I get a bend in the rod with skippie and pull in a clone to the first Jack. Another 38"er.
Re-bait with mullet and put rod in holder. Went and grabbed a beer and before I could uncap it I get a hit on that rod I just threw out. This one knew how to fight. It eventually took me out to the 3rd gut. Finally get it tin and it is a 40" beast.
Stayed a little while longer without much of anything but skippies and hard heads.
Mother nature's dune restoration.
About the 5mm I noticed the water in the wade gut and 1st bar was really black. I thought that maybe it was churned up seaweed. No! It was a 1/4 mile of shad.
Hoping that it was more than skipjack munching out I threw a shad looking spoon but nothing but ladyfish.10/6 Jay and Coyote filed a report on Friday's conditions - Here
10/4 The latest on PINS from Guide Jeff Wolda of Padre Island Light Tackle Adventures - Spent the last couple of days down the beach. LOTS of reds if you know where to look. Water has cleared in the 40's and is now crystal clear the length of the beach. Still crazy amounts of mullet in the first and second guts. Driving is excellent the length of the beach. You know its good when you see a 4 door car headed north and you're at the 54! Lots of birds offshore early. Still waiting for that first cold snap!!! See you on the beach.
9/27 Sharkathon this Weekend on PINS - The tournament is sold out and unless you want to chat with participants I suggest fishing north if you want some space. Rain is in the forecast but fishing could be great. For more information visit http://www.sharkathon.com/
Meanwhile Ziacatcher got a couple of nice jacks south of Bob Hall Pier on 9/26
9/24 Trashheap's Pomp Quest 9/23 - "The tide was very high and the surf low, making it difficult to pick places to stop, but the water clarity wasn't too bad. The best points were in the 30s, but mostly occupied by the pre-Sharkathon camps. Watched on small group being torn up by a school of jacks near MP 30.
Fished as best I could while headed south, but found I'd left the Fishn'Strips behind, along with the gaff and measuring board. Got only hardheads, baby jacks and a single small whiting.
Beyond MP 40 the beach straightened out again, and the second gut became very wide. Finally wound up at about MP 48, where I caught one small pomp on shrimp among a ton of hardheads, so I started putting finger mullet on one pole. That produced a whopping smack and several runs, one of which was a tiny skipjack, as I assume were a couple of the others. Had a really nice run on the shrimp as well, to which I had added by this time a white wiggle-tail grub that sometimes catches pomps when the hardheads are thick, but when I reeled in the hook was broken.
Driving conditions were passable on the way down, and much better on the lower tide on the way back. There was a little dead weed in lower Big Shell and the upper 30s, but nothing to bother a long rod. Finger mullet in several sizes were abundant. Huge flocks of sooty terns were everywhere."
9/23 Epic Towboat Report Isla Blanca 9/15 - 9/21 - HERE
9/8 PINS Report and BTB via MakoMark - Did a quick trip to PINS and found a large school of oversized Reds. Only caught one but hand fun hooking others. Their was also a lot of sharks following the Reds one of which got one of the Reds I hooked. School went down after that and could not find them again. Sat met up with a few other kayakers and ended up with a limit of snapper and one Ling. Seen a lot of Kings caught but I didn't catch any my buddy ended up catching 3. Ended up being a fun couple of days.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiU4PBmsd3o
Robdog's Fly Fishing Mansfield 9/7-9/8 - Tried to download a video. Hope it works. A few fish landed on the jetties. A drum sight casted in the shallows and Cuda loosing a red he sight casted. This also has the video of the landlocked drum he caught with his hands that had been shark bit. I am new at the go pro so most of the fish I landed just show up to the point they are pulled ashore. All fish where released.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MqMw2zqS8s
8/31 Big Weekend at PINS Sobriety Checkpoint Saturday Sept 1st - DON 'T DRINK AND DRIVE - No word from down south mainly due to PINS beaches being closed due to Isaac.
Here's a report from Ziacatcher south of Bob Hall 8/31 - "After the Time Warner guy left I hit the surf SBH. All the mullet I wanted was caught in ankle deep water. Only thing I caught on them were 2 skippies that went 24" and 26". Nothing else.
Stopped at NPJ on the way home and was throwing soft plastics and bringing them back between the rocks. Caught 9 trout in about and hour but only 5 were keepers. It was fun just the same. Will not get on the water until at least Tues. after all the crazies go home."
And Another from 8/29 from Bmfdop - Made it to SBH just before noon, went down a few miles. Water was very calm. Visibility was very good. Water was slightly cool, but warmed up. Weed was present on the bars, but was mostly broken up and not a problem. Driving was a breeze. Tides must have packed the beach good. Soaked cut bait, gulp shrimp and fishbites. Caught the usual trash suspects, hardhead, skippies, pinfish and whiting. Caught two very large whiting, about 18 inches. Did have something make a good run but did not get hooked. No mullet present. Did see a bunch of shad jumping out of the water away from something. Here's a couple of pics of the surf. [img]http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h23/Bmfdop/Beach2.jpg[/img] [img]http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h23/Bmfdop/Beach.jpg[/img]
8/28 PINS BEACHES CLOSED TO ISAAC - .. High rip current risk now in effect through Wednesday
evening...
... Coastal Flood Advisory remains in effect until 7 am CDT
Wednesday...* coastal flooding... long period swells will result in higher
than normal tides and result in minor coastal flooding during
the times of high tide along the Gulf facing barrier islands.* Timing... the high rip current risk will continue today through
Wednesday. Minor tidal overflow will be possible during high
tide late this evening through tonight.* Impacts... dangerous rip currents will be possible along barrier
island beaches of the mid Texas coast. The rip currents will be
most frequent and strongest near the vicinity of structures such
as jetties and piers. Both the strength and frequency of these
rip currents will result in surf that is dangerous for all
levels of swimmers. Rip currents are life-threatening to anyone
entering the surf. Tides are currently running half of a foot
above predicted levels. Tide levels are expected to increase to
1.5 to 2 feet above mean sea level during high tide Tuesday
night along the barrier islands. At 2 feet... water levels may
reach the dunes leading to minor flooding.Jayandcoyotes South of Bob Hall 8/35 and Padre Island National Seashore 8/26 - Went SBH Saturday evening for some family beach time. I had one rod and a couple of spoons. Did a little digging and sand castle building with my son and decided to try the spoons. Caught a red that went 29.5" right before sunset. Red was tagged and bagged with only six days left.
Went down PINS Sunday morning. Tide was up and driving sucked. This pic was after tide was going back out.
Went as far as the 17 or so. Decided to turn back since the water looked better back north. Stopped at Y-Pass to get a couple of pics.
It does not look like anybody has crossed over lately.
Water at the 15MM.
Water looked a lot better around the 10MM after the tide went back out.
There were plenty of small whiting on crab or shrimp flavored Fishbite strips. I used a whiting for cut-bait and that got me a few skippies up to 24" that I then used for bait. That got me a huge gaftop and a snapped line when I was fighting a mystery fish.
I really didn't see anybody catching much or say that they caught much. I did see a guy that caught his pinky finger with a treble hook pretty bad. He said he was just going to yank it out.
I told my son I would post this pic from few weeks ago. We were "master/blaster" fishing for whiting.
Have a great week everybody.8/22 Pins Report from MWJUST 8/27 - 8/19 - Finally made it down to PINS Aug 18,19 for the first time in 3 years.. Always seems to be something happening but with my son heading off to college this weeknd we just had to make time. Went with my wife and son and took our dog for her first trip to the beach. First 2 miles extremely crowded but driving was pretty good. Some weed on beach but almost none in water. Water was pretty with decent waves.
Driving was pretty good except for a few spots where people camp in road. Made it down to 21 miles easily with a few stops along the way to wet our lines. Was going to try Yarborough pass to cast net some mullet but it was way too soft especially since I had no one else with me to pull me out if stuck.
Our dog Wrangler loves the lake water and the beach was no exception. She had a blast fishing with us.
Never caught much most of the day except small whiting and a small pompano. Set up camp and fished with topwaters last hour of daylight. Caught a bunch a skipjack and a another small pomp. My son hooked into about a 2 1/2 foot tarpon that jumped once and broke the line. That last hour was a blast. Nothing like a topwater bite.
Woke up next morning to a beautiful sunrise(aren't they all when fishing).
Tried topwater again and caught a few more skips. Worked our way back up the beach stopping several times. Caught more small whiting and son hooked a nice red that came off right before landing it. Right before quitting for the day had a pelican dive on my soft plastic and get a hook in its beak. Twenty minutes later had another pelican fly into my line as I casted. Got both birds untangled and released unharmed. Decided that was it for me so I cleaned up. Son kept fishing a bit longer but only more small whiting.
No big fish but it was a great weekend. Just hope its not 3 years before I go again. Going to try late September but don't know yet.8/09 Quick Report from Capt. Billy Sandifer - Driving has gotten a lot softer but is still O.K. Let's call it a 6 out of 10. It appears to me the total reason for the poor driving is a LOT of vehicular traffic during the past week. Sargassum is sporadic along the entire beach front. Some places not fishable at all; others O.K. Water color is excellent. In the past week the Dusky Anchovies have disappeared and with them at least 1/3rd. of the fish eating bird species. In my opinion this is not migration but simply following the schools of bait during a layover in migration on PINS. Good Curlew and Marbled Godwit numbers as well as Piping Plover. We only fish lures. 3 people caught 10 trout and 2 reds.
7/27 PINS - PINS might be a bit rough Saturday from all the wind lately. 3-5 foot offshore etc but supposed to calm down some this weekend. Towboat Trash called me this morning and said he could not buy a trout while fishing down there with his brother. Water was way cool down in the thirties also. Driving bad in the usual spots 18 to the 30.
A Kemp’s ridley sea turtle hatching release is scheduled for 6:45 am on Saturday July 28 at Padre Island National Seashore, on North Padre Island. No fee is charged to watch our public hatchling releases. However, sometimes hatching speeds up or slows down, so before you come to the release you should call the Hatchling Hotline at 361-949-7163 or check this Facebook page to make sure that the turtles are ready for release on schedule. If the release date must be changed, we will post a cancellation message on the Hatchling Hotline and on this Facebook page. If these have not been done by 2:00 am on Saturday July 28, then the release will be held as scheduled.
RELEASE DIRECTIONS: The release will be held in front of the Malaquite Beach Visitor Center at Padre Island National Seashore. To attend, follow park road 22 out to Padre Island National Seashore. No fee is charged to attend the release. If the National Seashore Entrance Station is open, identify that you are attending the release, and you will not be charged park entrance fees. About two miles after the National Seashore Entrance Station, you will see a hatchling release sign on the right and the large Malaquite Beach Visitor Center parking lot on the left. You should turn left there, park your vehicle in the large lot, and meet on the deck of the Visitor Center. A park ranger will meet you there to deliver a program about the turtles and lead you to the release site. However, the hatchling release sign and ranger will not be present until about 6:20 am.At the release, you should not bring or eat food since it will attract gulls, and you should not wear white colored clothing or white colored footwear or take photos using a flash, since all of these will disorient the hatchlings.
7/22 PINS - Here's an article about PINS during a rare Monday session with Capt. Billy and Caller Times Outdoor Writer, David Sikes. ARTICLE What David failed to mention is that he got one trout I got three and a redfish below. Billy got well not as much :)
Driving is difficult in the Big Shell at high tide but then again it always is. There was more weed on the north end but only a bit. I have heard that south of Bob Hall Pier has been unfishable.
The shark fishing should have slowed down with the start of shrimping season on the 15th of this month. They hit the free buffet and leave the near shore at times. Redfish, ladyfish, spanish mackerel, trout, pompano and whiting have been caught recently.
There was a controlled burn on many areas in close so don't be surprised to see a barren landscape from the Bird Island turnoff to the restrooms at the end of the blacktop. The burn was done to keep that fire that started on the 15th from getting out of control. Lightning was the cause of that brush fire.
7/11 Texscrambler's 7/7 Report with the Double Gabby's :) - GO TO REPORT
7/8 Quick PINS update - We tested out the new old jeep on PINS Saturday. The entrance was really chewed up and the low road was completely blocked off by all of the parked vehicles for the first mile or two. Four wheel drive was needed in the way in but not the way out as many had left. We managed some skipjack and one undersized trout. Sargassum was light. We only went as far south as the 4. I saw Nickaway and Brenda and they picked up a couple of trout in a suckout north of us. As we headed off the beach I decided to check out south of Bob Hall from the sticks north to the pier. Much more sargassum was present and the wade guts were very shallow. There was bait in the first gut and I even saw a jack and some reds cruising along but nothing except for a few curious skipjacks wanted anything to do with my topwater. :)
7/6Weeklong PINS report from OZ -
http://extremecoast.com/reports/report062712.php
6/27 PINS Report via Towboat Trash - Report Here
6/19 6/17 PINS Report via Seanu21 - Sean went down south and filed this REPORT
Sean also reported on the status of the Yarborough Pass Entrace
6/8 PINS Weed Down so is water temp - Looks like the sargassum is diminishing but there is a pesky coldwater upwelling impacting many areas of the beach causing the water to remain dirty in spite of lighter winds and surf. Generally fishing it difficult in the dirty water. You are lucky to get whiting and hardheads. There have been quite a few blacktips caught though for those kayaking baits beyond the dirty water. Driving is better in the evenings as the tide drops and of course always tough in Big Shell with the lack of rain lately.
6/3 Report from NaplesJohn - Late start to the day, got up read the paper, drank coffee, and then noticed wind was not blowing as hard as forecast. Figured me and the pooch would make a little trip down PINS.
On the way
The sign sums it up
Arriving at the beach, and the water is still churned up, though pretty clean green water was maybe 1/2 mile off the beach. It was a parkning lot for the first three miles.
Can we stop yet?
Well once I got down to about the 7 the water was still cruddy, and the driving still not so great. The good news is there was no weed, so now all we need is a few decent days to let the water settle and maybe thing will start happening. Lots of hard heads and only a few small whiting on shrimp and fish bites. I had one long rod out with a jumbo finger mullet, and was pondering calling it a day when the rod went off. Finally a good bend, and taking some line on my Breakaway LDX Fish took off to the North up the second gut in the strong current. Well up this guy comes, my first Texas surf shark, a feisty 36" blacktip...
A couple people came up to watch, and offered to take a pic w/ me in it, prior to a quick release. (thanks!) Though this one was relatively small, I can see why the serious shark guys enjoy what they do.
5/25 5/24 report from Towboat Trash - Weeds and Wind for the weekend and lots of Turtles nesting - 27 nested on Wednesday alone 87 have reported so far on PINS. Report
5/18 BEACH TO BAY THIS SATURDAY 5/19 PLAN YOUR TRIP OUT TO THE ISLAND FOR BEFORE 6AM OR AFTER 11AM. Weekend prospects look great in fact the sea forecast is 3 feet or below through Tuesday. Look for jacks, spanish mackerel and skipjacks if you see birds working. Try topwaters in those areas that will give you enough room between the mats of sargassum. Driving is tough in Big Shell and BEWARE of the rotted sargassum down low near the water it can be like quick sand. Watch out for nesting Kemp's Ridley sea turtles. So far 49 nests have been found on the Padre Island National Seashore.
5/10 PINS Report from Seanu21 5/5 - 5/08 - I could complain about the week leading up to this trip. If it could break on the truck, it did... that week. I was second guessing for the first time in 4 years whether the trusty Tacoma would be able to make the run. Got it all squared away Thursday at midnight for a Friday after work departure. I could complain about the seaweed and bumpy ride to the 30. I could really complain about the 2 boats at the jetty Sunday afternoon, both of which ran through our lines(think Red\Trout rods, not Shark lines deployed) as we were actively fishing them. But that was to be expected because I just knew fate was out to get me for making the journey and I was just waiting for the truck to catch on fire at the jetty.
Well, luckily no truck fires and I fought back. Weed from the 30-jetty tapered off to nothing and was extremely fish-able. Driving was good same area. Water was stained but not horrible w a killer color change just offshore. Fishing poles, whiskey and cigars in hand, it was easy to forget it all and just look out and smile. Me and some friends had met up down there to do some fishing. We got into the normal, Reds Jacks and Trout. We had a great time. One guy from work rode with me, and he's never been to PINS or surf fished anywhere for that matter. So Sunday, when everyone else left, me and him were staying til Tuesday. I decided time would be better spent running the beach in search of victims. Ran into some of the usual suspects out there, exchanged random beach info, and carried on. I found a spot that would make the sweet baby Jesus smile if he had just rolled up on it and that was camp Sunday night. Deep wade gut pinched off just South of us and a really deep 2nd\1st that I could cast into. Reds and Jacks on the low tide, then 2 cast baits at sundown for the incoming high tide. First reel to sing I told my buddy was gonna be all him so to be ready cuz it was gonna happen sometime that night. First toothy was at 10pm. Hooked up and reeled in.
4'10" BT on my 4/0. His first Shark.
2nd reel would be me. And what a decision that was. I cast the 4/0 back out, and I got hit at 3:45am Monday morning. Short run, thought the fish dropped it. Convinced myself I HAD to get out of the tent-cot and at least try to get the weight to reset. It reset into something that tugged back. So game on. My buddy was sleeping like a little princess in his tent and I figured just another small BT so I would let him sleep instead of watching me reel it in. A few minutes later, I got a glimpse in the moonlight and it didn't look normal. Finished up the fight and got my buddy up to take some pics of this one.
4'5" PINS Nurse Shark (check the leader)
From what I can tell, this is a rare jewel for PINS. It wasn't even on my radar of hard species to catch out there with Lemons and Tigers and Hammers still on the list. This is an amazing catch for me personally. It's been an amazing year really. Got my biggest Shark earlier in the year and my first Sandbar (same Shark) on the 4/0. Now I've got a Nurse on PINS (that sounds naughty) on the 4/0. I'm not the superstitious type but when I re-spooled the 4/0 at the beginning of the year, it was because it never caught fish and I had no faith in it so I was going to re-spool with some decent line so I could make longer drops and double as my yak Shark reel because I wouldn't cry if it went overboard. Now it is quickly becoming my favorite reel on a 12ft Ugly Stick. That's the combo and it's working for me. It really is showing up the 9's and 12. When I deploy\cast it, I no longer feel like that was a waste of time. Funny how something simple like line can take something from garbage in the closet and make it a go getter. It also has my biggest yak Shark. Faith in what your doing is how you'll catch fish.
My buddy ended up on his first PINS trip catching his first Shark, first surf Reds\Trout and first Jack. He had a blast.
Stop by and say hi if you ever see me on the sand.
Check out the color change
Later
Sean4/26 PINS Report from Towboat Trash 4-19 - 4/23 Epic with 9 foot Lemon - Caution heavy on pictures and intrigue! REPORT
4/23 PINS 4/23 - Lots of weed on the beach. Looking at the fabulous weather no matter what you "needed" to do you had to go to the beach. We headed out after noon and played around near the 4 mile area. Too much weed to fish the long rod. I ended up tossing topwaters and mannolures. No trout, plenty of mullet around and I got one small skipjack. I saw RArnold and family out there. Maybe he will report.
Driving was really bumpy not soft but you could not go very fast even 15mp at times without rattling your teeth.
4/10 - 4/11 CRMN - Report HERE
3/29 PINS via Crmsn 3/26 - 3/27 -But first! PINS has put out a press release saying that the 15mph speed limit will produce no significant impact therefor the speed limit of 15mph will be in effect now and in the future from March 1st each year until the end of the Labor Day Weekend.
3/22 PINS via Ziacatcher - Mary and I planned all week to go to PINS today and spend the day. Got to the end of the pavement, stopped, looked for a place to drive. There was none. Went back toward north sticks and this is what the conditions were. And this was like a highway compared to PINS
Also, these guys were almost as thick as the weeds.
Did find some clear water with relatively little new weeds coming so we tried for about 45 min. Got one whiting and couldn't give any more bait away.
Stopped by Packery on the way home. Saw a few ovines being caught but more rocks were being caught than fish. Decided to go home and fish ULM.3/17 PINS - More weed showing up but it was fishable earlier in the week and the water held fairly green. 3/14 was good for HRod2222 who reported good luck with his first time using Fishbites
Took the girls out to the north sticks for some sun and waves. People have been ranting and raving about fish bites so I thought I give them a try. Water was clear.
Caught a handful of whiting's and upper slot reds with a piece of shrimp and crab fish bites. I'm a believer and so is my lil helper.
_________________3/8 Spring Break starts - Forecast looks bad until Monday but good after that. Sargassum is coming in. Be sure to watch out for hardhead spines when walking the high tide line where the red tide killed fish are buried. Here's a report from Tony Cortez fishing 3/3 - 3/5
"Tyler,
My wife and I headed out to pins late saturday night from Austin, its about a 4 hour haul until you hit the sand. Got to yarborough pass about midnight and thought forsure since the winds were so calm saturday night I was going ot clean up on gigging flounder but had no such luck. It was still too murky I guess from the wind that day.
Drove over to the surf side at around 8:30am the next morning on Sunday only to see dark brown rough water. I thought forsure with that north wind it was going to be flat and semi-clear. Ofcourse Tonette and I fished anyway and turned out to have an awesome day of fishing! Put 5 pompano in the fish box along with 2 slot reds. We also caught and released one oversized blackdrum and one oversized red fish at 33", Caught them all on peeled shrimp in the first gut. The reds were on cut frozen mullet.
Monday morning turns out to be calm and clear and ofcourse we caught nothing but whiting. Packed it up and headed back to Austin around lunch time.
I realized this trip that everytime I go to PINS I always hope when I drive over that last stretch of pavement until you hit the sand that its going to be calm and clear and when it is I never seem to do that good, except on mackeral and skippys of course. But when its rough, dark brown water the fish bite always seems to be on. Good times this weekend...and Monday.
-Tony
Tony's Drum andTonette's Pomp
3/1 Ziacatcher's Report South of Bob Hall and down PINS - HERE
3/1 Big Shell Cleanup Successful in spite of the weather Thanks to all who came out! - Weekend prospects could be okay with mostly gusty northwest winds to knock down the surf. Expect plenty of whiting, black drum, redfish and possible pompano if the water clears. Meanwhile here is a brief report on the Big Shell Cleanup check out the weather radar from Saturday morning on weatherunderground.com
Big Shell Cleanup - Done! It started with wind and rain and temps near 50. Rain continued until about 11am. 246 volunteers - about half the number but pleased with the turnout considering the miserably cold and wet conditions! I think we cleaned 8 miles of beach. Thanks to all of those who came to help out. Thanks to Candace, Roadkill Willie, Al, Rodney and the rest of the crew who served us chili cheese dogs and Domino's pizza. Thanks to Daniel Dain's folks for bringing out the pizza to the volunteers. Thanks to Ace Leal for the great job on wrangling, producing and getting the shirts and swag bags passed out to the volunteers. Thanks to David Ainsworth's crew for hauling trash and providing ice and water for everyone.
Thanks also to Todog15, Raiderred, James, Curtis, Kingkilla, Augs, David Spooner Webb, Clay Wernli, Jeff Wolda, Kevin, Mako, Oz, Porkfetus, Old Salt, Towboat Trash and hot date, Bizzy, CCBOBBER, Russell Yakmon, Fishinglady, Corpus Christi Chapter CCA, Rockport Chapter CCA, and the rest of you board folks I may be forgetting who showed up. Those there can tell you it was brutal but together we got it done.
Here is the weather radar from 6:43 yesterday morning stolen from Naplesjohn's Facebook :).
2/24 Big Shell Cleanup Saturday Feb 25th RAIN OR SHINE - I hope to see you out there and thanks to all of the volunteers who make the Big Shell Cleanup Possible! Meanwhile here is another in depth, inside the head classic Towboat Trash report from 2/16 - 2/19 HERE
2/20 NaplesJohn went down Sunday - He got into some nice pomps and whiting. View the report HERE
2/11 PINS Report - No reports made this week, a lot of that was due to the rainy weather. Prospects look wet and cold for the next two days though you should be able to get whiting, and black drum when the weather calms down. Driving is still lousy around the 5 mile area and this is due to currents and the makeup of the beach. Don't forget the Big Shell Cleanup is Saturday February 25th!
PINS Wants your input on a study and EA proposed for the Windflats on the back side of the island. See what Caller Times Outdoor writer, David Sikes has to say about it
http://www.caller.com/news/2012/feb/08/work-to-reclaim-pins-tidal-flats-needs-research/
2/2 PINS Report 2/1 via Ziacatcher - With the weathermen predicting light winds, temps about 80 and fog burning off in the AM Mary decided that she wanted to go to PINS for some shelling and fishing. Drove as far as the 20 and with the fog really thick and seeing several areas where vehicles had gotten stuck we decided to head back north. Driving was fair at the best. One of the worst areas was about 6mm where one of the oil rig trucks was stuck. Those trucks really tear up the beach. But that's another post.
Here is what the conditions looked like at 10:30 AM.
This was what it was like about 1:30PM.
Mary, with one of about 8 whiting and a pomp caught, about 2:30.
All we had was about 1 1/2 hours of sun all day. On the way back we drove SBH and the water was a lot cleaner. Was going to stop to fish it but was tired and winds were picking up so came home instead.
David Sikes article on Sargassum(seaweed) The Caller Times published an article on 7/8/01 with the headline Kenedy Foundation comes out against Bombing Range - read the story here
On 7/4/01 the Caller Times published an article saying that without the support of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson, the bombing range proposal including the use of amphibious training on the National Seashore, is all but dead. Hutchinson said all along that if the locals didn't support it, she wouldn't support it. She received a five page letter from the Kenedy County Commissioners outlining their opposition to the plan.
Below, you will find a list of names and addresses of politicians and civic leaders should you want to contact them concerning your opinions on the Navy Proposal.
Click here to read the first story that broke Bombing Range Story
Click here to read the second story which detailed the use of PINS to include aphibious training with three proposed cuts in the Seashore beginning at the 15 mile markHere is some great contact info for you to use should you want to comment on the Navy Range Issue or any other matter concerning our fishing resources.
Governor Perry
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711-2428
Web: http://www.governor.state.tx.us/contact information/email/email_the_governor.htmCarole Keeton Rylander
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Post Office Box 13528, Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711-3528
(512) 463-4444
carol.lauder@cpa.state.tx.usSenator Kay Bailey Hutchison [Republican]
284 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5922 (tel)
202-224-0776 (fax)
915-676-2839 (tel)
512-916-5834 (tel)
214-361-3500 (tel)
210-340-2885 (tel)
713-653-3456 (tel)Email: senator@hutchison.senate.gov
Web: http://www.senate.gov/~hutchisonSenator Phil Gramm
370 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-4302
Email: Phil_Gramm@gramm.senate.gov
Web: http://www.senate.gov/~grammSenator James Inhofe
453 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-3603
Web: http://www.senate.gov/~inhofe/webform.htmlTexas State Senator Sen. Carlos Truan
The Honorable Carlos F. Truan
Suite 1E.14
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711 4531 Ayers, Suite 402
Corpus Christi, Texas 78415
(361) 853-2693Representative Solomon Ortiz
2304 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-7742 3649
(361) 883-5868 3505
(956) 541-1242Richard K. Armey [Republican]
Washington DC 20515202-225-7772 (tel)
District Office9901 East Valley Ranch Parkway
Suite 3050
972-556-2500 (tel)
Web: http://armey.house.gov301Henry Bonilla [Republican]
1427 Longworth HOB
Washington DC 20515202-225-4511 (tel)
202-225-2237 (fax)
210-697-9055 (tel)
210-697-9185 (fax)
210-726-4682 (tel)
210-726-4684 (fax)
210-774-6547 (tel)
210-774-5693 (fax)
915-686-8833 (tel)
915-686-8819 (fax)Email: http://www.house.gov/writerep
Web: http://www.house.gov/bonillaLt. Governor Bill Ratliff
Capitol Station
P.O. Box 12068
Austin, Texas 78711
512 463-0001Other:
http://www.berkshire.net/~ifas/activist/tx/index2.html
Texas State House of Represenatives: http://www.house.state.tx.us/house/member.htmPINS Resource Management Division at (361) 949-8173 extension 227 (Ken McMullen).
PINS Superintendent
PO Box 181300
Corpus Christi, TX 78480-1300Ron Kitchens, President/CEO
Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development Corporation
361-882-7448Gary Bushell, Consultant to Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce
Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce
1201 N. Shoreline Blvd.
Corpus Christi, Texas USA 78401
(361) - 881-1800
Fax (361) 888-5627
361-814-2008Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce
Melissa Longoria
Director of Public Affairs
mlongoria@theccchamber.orgCorpus Christi Chamber of Commerce
Tom Niskala
CEO
tniskala@theccchamber.org
Thanks for all of the reports guys and send pictures and I will post them!
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