Everything is bigger in Texas and this includes fishing tournaments. With more than 367 miles of coastline on the Gulf of Mexico and along the famed Laguna Madre with charters running from Galveston to Corpus Christi and all the way south to the Mexican border in San Isabel, Texas can satisfy your need for deep or near-shore saltwater fishing.
One of the largest tournaments, the Texas Star State of Texas Angler’s Rodeo run by the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) lasts a solid three months. This tournament with more than 45,000 participants is unusual in that tagged species of fish are specifically released throughout the coast for the purpose of the tournament. Registered participants have the entire summer to reel in those tagged reds and trout. Successful anglers can reel in their share for more than $1 million in prizes and scholarships. ccatexas.org, startournament.org
Chandeleur Island Fishing off Mississippi Motherships. Photo: Troy Gilbert
Chandeleur Island Fishing off Mississippi Motherships. Photo: Troy Gilbert
Chandeleur Island Fishing off Mississippi Motherships. Photo: Troy Gilbert
Chandeleur Island Fishing off Mississippi Motherships. Photo: Troy Gilbert
Down the coast in Matagorda, the Matagorda Bluewater Challenge is another monster multiple species tournament with boats allowed to leave from several ports. The tournament also includes a small boat (under 25 feet) class. The big action is offshore where winners are decided over the combined weight of multiple and specific species hauled in. This two-day event brings out the Who’s Who of Texas fishing and novices who charter vessels with groups of friends and try their luck at bringing in the largest kingfish, ling, and dolphin. Winning isn’t everything, but two days spent offshore is a perfect recreational investment for men, women, and children.
Not to be outdone and celebrating its 19th anniversary on the legendary Louisiana barrier island of Grand Isle, the Swollfest Fishing Rodeo kicks off June 8-12. Headquartered at the Sand Dollar Marina on the easternmost reach of Grand Isle, this event has exploded from its humble beginnings as a group of eight guys going out fishing one weekend to one of the largest fishing rodeos in Louisiana.
With world-class offshore and inshore fishing throughout the waters of Louisiana, Swollfest was among the early to recognize and adopt the growing trend in spear and kayak fishing and have adopted them as classes alongside the standard fishing rodeo classes. Kayak fishing is ideal in these estuaries of southeast Louisiana with kayaks able to navigate all of the shallow coastal marsh and find those hidden and previously unreachable honey spots.
Located at the edge of Barataria and Caminada Bay and the deep-water oil platforms of the Gulf of Mexico that serve as incredible artificial reef habitats, Grand Isle is known for hosting multiple world-class fishing events. The species of fish from the multiple habitats are far too numerous to list, but there is a definitive reason why southern Louisiana is known as the “Sportsman’s Paradise.”
By Harlen Leslie, Southern Boating Magazine April 2016
South Padre Island and Port Isabel—where the fish and seafood are plenty and seasoning is most likely unnecessary
Perhaps the large territory comes to be associated with the arid deserts of the southwest, yet the Lone Star State also boasts a nearly 400-mile-long coastline on the Gulf of Mexico dotted with white sand beaches, littoral towns and a wealth of charming anchorages. Halfway down her coast, south of Corpus Christi and far from any interstate highways lies the mouth of the Laguna Madre, among the most remote and forgotten cruising grounds on the Gulf Coast.
Shielded by South Padre Island and stretching all the way south to Mexico, this narrow lagoon not only runs along the Gulf but is also a rarity: It is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world, even saltier than our seas and oceans. With its shallow depth, few inlets to the Gulf of Mexico and lack of fresh water coming from the plains of South Texas, this unique ecosystem buffered on both sides by sand dunes has remained in a pristine state, her shores barely touched by developers. Cruisers who have discovered the Laguna Madre’s unique beauty lament South Padre Island’s reputation as a college spring break destination, yet the 34-mile-long island and the artsy town of Port Isabel at its furthest point south open their arms wide to cruisers throughout the year.
Cruising families enjoy Schlitterbahn, one of the nation’s biggest and best amusement parks.
Hobie Cats prepare for the Great Texas 300.
Everyone loves babies especially sea turtles released on South Padre Island.
Sportfish boats line the docks at Padre Island marinas waiting for fishing season—and the weekend.
Fine beach sand attracts world-class sandcastle-building competitions to Padre Island.
First discovered and mapped by Cabeza de Vaca and his Spanish conquistadors in 1528, South Padre Island was an encampment for an unusual tribe of Native Americans known as the Karankawas. They were said to wear rattlesnake rattles in their braided hair, cover themselves in alligator grease and were portrayed as skilled bow hunters. Myths about the tribe abound. The Spaniards believed them to be cannibals, yet their diet mainly consisted of seafood and oysters. They may also have been among the earliest people to fly fish. The Karankawas were eventually chased off South Padre Island by a group of European settlers who roped a cannon onto a donkey and trudged it across the sand dunes. While the loud cannon failed to frighten the tribe, Spanish missionaries reported that it was the “magical” donkey and its jumps from the cannon’s recoil that scared the native tribe forever into the depths of what would become Texas.
Today, billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX Corporation is building a new launch facility (for things other than donkeys) immediately south of Padre Island and Port Isabel. With the Tesla fortune seemingly pouring into the area, local government officials are already in the planning phases to upgrade coastal parks and other launch-viewing sites. Dockside restaurants such as Pier 19 in Port Isabel are perfectly located to provide unobstructed viewing areas for launches paired with delicious, locally caught seafood—do not miss out on the (rocket) Blackened Baja Tacos. This far south, expect a heavy Mexican influence on traditional Gulf cooking.
Plying the Gulf of Mexico and the Laguna Madre, locals—South Padre Island and Port Isabel count no more than 5,000 permanent residents—fish the waters for their prey offshore of the nearby and massive King Ranch. Expect bridge delays as horsemen lead massive herds of cattle to their next grazing lands. Charter boats head deep into the Gulf of Mexico to hunt for tuna, amberjack, kings, and other big-game fish, while inshore guides take you to hit the speckled trout and big reds along the coast.
In downtown Port Isabel the waterfront is the center of the action with the Tarpon, Port Isabel and Pelican Point marinas all within walking distance. Rustic seafood restaurants such as Will and Jacks Burger Shack & Beer Garden, Joe’s Oyster Bar and Dirty Al’s are filled with down-to-earth and artsy locals. Take time to chat with them as this quiet and low-key beach town is filled with stories and hospitality.
If your cruising itinerary includes an arrival here in October, the weather cools off and the town’s Day of the Dead festival on Halloween weekend explodes on Maxan Street; the township is in its full quirky splendor. Or, join the adventurers in June and arrive for the start of the Great Texas 300 when Hobie Cat sailors race the entire Laguna Madre up to Galveston in what is billed as the longest distance small-boat catamaran race in the world.
But the best reason to cruise south to the border is to experience the true untouched beauty of South Texas’ waters. The Laguna Madre is, indeed, a still-undiscovered boating natural wonder in America with her salty waters, near constant winds and predatory birds soaring from the plains. With sand-covered barrier islands protecting bays, fertile estuaries rumored to have sheltered the infamous pirate Jean Lafitte, and empty beaches stretching for miles along the Gulf of Mexico, the Texas coast should not be forgotten. These cruising and fishing grounds are just waiting for adventurous boaters and anglers to come and discover them. The fresh oysters and blackened redfish freshly landed are also waiting for your plate at the many restaurants and beachside eateries of this rustic island town. Then just dig your feet in the white sand, sip an adult beverage and watch the fiery sunset that customarily plays out across the deserts of Texas—but this time with surf rolling at your toes.
CRUISER RESOURCES
—Dockage—
Pelican Point Marina and RV Park
40 Tarpon Avenue • (956) 943-6464
Port Isabel City Dock
800 Pompano Street
(956) 943-2682
Tarpon RV Park & Marina
226 Basin Street • (956) 943-2040 tarponrvpark.com
—Eateries—
Dirty Al’s
201 S Garcia Street • (956) 943-3344 • dirtyalspi.com
Joe’s Oyster Bar
207 E Maxan Street • (956) 943-4501
Pier 19
1 Padre Boulevard • (956) 761-7437 • pier19.us
Will and Jacks Burger Shack & Beer Garden
413 E Maxan Street • (956) 640-7440
As boaters, we love our waterways in Texas and Louisiana—they’re our stomping grounds. Whether our boats take us to a favorite fishing spot for those big reds or that secluded little beach for an afternoon with family and friends, our lives would never be the same without access to and the freedom found on the water. We may not realize it, but boaters are natural environmentalists. No one wants to anchor off that prized beach and find it covered in trash or discover that a secret fishing hole is devoid of fish. Luckily, boaters are becoming increasingly aware of the many issues that affect the health of their waters, and there are multitudes of ways for them to give back.
Perhaps the easiest method is to simply enroll as a member or “friend” of a nonprofit organization that seeks to restore and preserve favorite waterways and cruising grounds. These organizations’ dedicated teams of volunteers conduct water quality samples, plant marsh grasses, and fishermen assist in conducting fish surveys.
If giant nonprofits receive the most charitable donations, they may also tend to have the highest cost overhead and expenses to cover before your money is brought into direct action. However, throughout the Gulf Coast there are small organizations made up of volunteers—many might be your neighbors or friends at the marina—for whom $50 or $100 would go a long way to help preserve a favorite boating or fishing ground. Here are a few of our trusted organizations, but a simple Google search will help you find a nonprofit group dedicated to your favorite bay, lake or estuary. So log on and make that donation. Better yet, deliver some much-needed cash as you sign up for a few volunteer hours and have another excuse to get out on the water.
Coastal Conservation Association-Texas: Dedicated to the restoration of the once highly productive marine fisheries along the Texas Gulf Coast as well as her barrier islands, the CCA-Texas is a devoted division of the larger Coastal Conservation Association, which has been highly successful in their attempts at preserving and growing recreational and commercial fisheries. ccatexas.org
Gulf Restoration Network (Gulf Wide): Covering the health and preservation of the entire Gulf of Mexico, this organization and their efforts came into real prominence immediately following the BP oil spill off the Louisiana coast in 2010. While it’s a medium-sized organization, this group and their army of volunteers are very active throughout the Gulf Coast from the planting of marsh grasses to the restoration of barrier islands and the preservation of fishing grounds. healthygulf.org
Lower Laguna Madre Foundation:Dedicated to preserving the Laguna Madre that stretches nearly the entire southern Gulf Coast of Texas, the organization is a major advocate for preserving the recreational use, habitats and smart economic development along this incredible natural resource. lowerlagunamadrefoundation.com
By Harlen Leslie, Southern Boating Magazine March 2016
With boating season warming up on the Texas Gulf Coast, thoughts are turning to cruising destinations with white sandy beaches or to docking up at waterfront seafood restaurants with friends and family. While everyone has their favorite port of call, often overlooked as cruising destinations are the sailing regattas held throughout the waterways of Texas. Whether you own a sailboat or have always been a powerboater, these events offer an unmatched boating experience as an on-the-water spectator to the action or as a participant convoying to a raft-up. Afterward, the marinas and yacht clubs fill up for the legendary post-event parties with live music, food and sailors from throughout the Gulf Coast. Here is a sampling of regattas and cruising events along the Texas and southwestern Louisiana coasts that should be on your radar for 2016, and all have facilities to accommodate transient cruisers looking to attend the party.
From cruising events at your local yacht club to major regattas where anchoring in the spectators’ area provides great views of the action, there are ample opportunities to get out on the water with friends and family and make new Texas boating memories this year.
J/70 North American Championship
Seabrook, Texas; May 19-22: An entire flotilla of these little speedsters will descend on the Lakewood Yacht Club for four days of events and on-the-water excitement. Drop an anchor to watch some of the top sailors in North America showcase their prowess and then enjoy the endless hospitality of one of the finest clubs on the Texas coast.j70nac.com
Race to the Border
Galveston to South Padre Island, Texas; May 28th to June 2nd: The 8th running of this biennial regatta hosted by the Galveston Bay Cruising Association and the Laguna Madre Yacht Club offers the perfect opportunity for cruisers and powerboaters to participate in a distance event along the Texas coast. Running for 240 miles, the event has specific classes tailored for cruisers and even has a “Jalapeño” class, which is geared for floating parties. Regatta participants overrun the town of Port Isabel and the nearby beaches.racetotheborder.com
GT300 and the Ruff Rider
Laguna Madre, Texas; June 15-18 and Labor Day weekend: Texas is known for big things and so it is with sailing. These two major distance races for beach cats are legendary the world over. Sailing the Laguna Madre, the two-person teams on Hobie-style catamarans trek nearly the entire coast of Texas with beach parties along the way. greattexas300.com; ruffrider.net
Harvest Moon Regatta
Galveston to Port Aransas, Texas; October 13-15: One of the largest cruising and sailing events on the entire Gulf Coast, nearly 200 yachts participate in this regatta to Port Aransas hosted by the Lakewood Yacht Club. Many large powerboats make the cruise alongside the regatta, but it is recommended to reserve slip space early. harvestmoonregatta.com
By Harlen Leslie, Southern Boating Magazine January 2016
The Laguna Madre is an unheralded and stunning cruising ground running along most of the 367 miles of Texas’ coastline. Lined with barrier islands, the vast stretch from Corpus Christi south to the Mexican border is a postcard of undeveloped dunes and massive cattle ranches such as the enormous and legendary King Ranch. Best known as a Spring Break destination, South Padre Island and Port Isabel are frequented by cruisers in the know, but now they are primed to become a cruising destination for something unexpected—rocket launches.
Cruisers on the east coasts of Florida and Virginia have long understood the cruising appeal of anchoring in the designated locations for rocket or (in the past) space shuttle launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida, or the Wallops Island facility in Virginia. However, Texas billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX Corporation is constructing the first commercial orbital spaceport immediately south of Padre Island and Port Isabel and is expected to become operational in 2016. Local government officials are already in the planning phases to upgrade coastal parks and other viewing areas, including new boat ramps and mooring areas.
Located only 500 feet from the Boca Chica Beach on the Laguna Madre and the Gulf of Mexico, the site was originally a finalist for the Apollo moon launches before NASA selected Cape Canaveral in Florida. Only a few miles to the north, South Padre Island and the waterfront restaurants of Port Isabel will all see a boon to tourism as the launches will be easily visible from their decks, waterfront parks and campgrounds.
This past October, a wayward sailboat forced the scrubbing of an Antares rocket launch from
a NASA facility in coastal Virginia and the rocket subsequently exploded during the launch the next day. This boat violated the serious boating restrictions in place in the shadow of the launch trajectory, and while having no direct or indirect effect on the loss of the rocket, it makes the point of how serious NASA or private space corporations’ safety and security precautions are, and undoubtedly they will be in place in south Texas.
Rocket launches have always been a major draw for the curious and the enthusiasts with RV parks, motels and highways crowded with sightseers, but cruising down the pristine Laguna Madre in your Hatteras or Beneteau will be an ideal way to escape the traffic and congestion. Anchoring and grilling offshore with friends and family is one of the great boating experiences. Add to that the awe and anticipation of watching (and feeling) a heavy rocket launch or resupply missions to the International Space Station only brings the added depth of witnessing space exploration while conducting your own cruising explorations into new territory.
Invasive species are a very real threat and a menace to natural ecosystems across the planet, and the lionfish is one that has garnered a lot of public and media attention as of late. However, a new foreign scourge is rampaging through the lakes of Texas and has forced strict new boating and fishing guidelines in an effort to halt its spread.
The zebra mussel was imported from its natural Eurasian habitat into the Great Lakes around 1988 and has since spread rapidly down through the Mississippi waterway. Preferring still or slow moving bodies of water, their larvae can be easily transferred via rivers, bait wells or bilges and survive in this stage for up to 30 days and allows their population to multiply aggressively.
With colonies large and concentrated enough to actually sink buoys with their weight over time, the Zebra Mussels adhere themselves to keels, boat trailers, pilings—basically any solid structure under water. Very difficult to remove from even the hull of a boat, the mussels can damage or block any water system on a vessel including heads, air conditioners and engine cooling systems. On a larger scale, the mussel colonies are specifically wreaking havoc with drainage, irrigation, cooling supplies for power plants, and pipes for local water supplies. The colonies bloom out and adhere to each other and block these larger water intake and discharge systems similar to blocked arteries. The environmental damage to local ecosystems is also radical, with entire populations of fish dying off due to the large colonies of mussels’ ability to alter the temperature of lakes via their natural filtration of the water columns.
One of the many efforts the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department are using to control the Zebra mussels. Photo credit: Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept.
Already discovered in Lake Texoma, Lewisville Lake, Lake Belton, and multiple others across Texas, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department began enforcing new regulations that went into effect over the summer. Applying to flatboats, skiboats, personal watercraft, sailboats, kayaks/canoes or any vessel of any size—whether powered or not—owners must now flush and clean all livewells, bilges, motors or any other item or machine that comes into contact with public waters, a good boating habit to begin with.
With their larvae capable of transiting in any standing water from one lake to another, cruisers are now the first line of defense in staving off infestation between bodies of water throughout the country. Already discovered in California and even Utah with recreational boats the likely transportation, cruisers throughout the South must become vigilant or the millions of dollars already being spent throughout the Great Lakes region on removal and eradication will surely arrive on lakes across the Gulf Coast—along with higher boating fees necessary to pay for the damage.
