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Estes flats varying water level
#10747447
04/06/15 12:08 AM
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Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 2
HarberFishing
OP
Green Horn
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OP
Green Horn
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 2 |
Happy Easter,
Got a question for you guys familiar with estes flats.
As a kid my uncle would take my father and I out there to a few spots, California hole, around the islands etc, but I was to young to remember of notice water levels, which brings me to my question.
How do the water levels in Estes and other surrounding bays vary through the seasons?
I got a boat last winter and spent dec-Jun in Copano to cedar bayou, getting use to the boat and how it felt. Then around July I ventured into estes, found the hole, and a few other spots and GPSed them because I could get to them without bottoming out props, trolling motors, etc. All the spots where 3 feet or so, untill I went out last weekend. *feel free to laugh, I went out, found the cut into estes and went out towards the island and big cut, when I got to my GPSed spot I shutdown and bam, not enough water for trolling, AT HIGH TIDE, so I spent the next hour and a half pushing to get to a reasonable depth. Not how I wanna fish estes, so any advice would be appreciated. I have noticed varies spots that are "low" compared to when I started paying attention last year.
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Re: Estes flats varying water level
[Re: HarberFishing]
#10747507
04/06/15 12:30 AM
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 16,502
Tejas Trofeo
muy peque�o hombre
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muy peque�o hombre
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 16,502 |
estes flats is territory that is best explored by shallow running boats
I've fished that area my whole life and I've never seen much of a tide change. not like we used to have up in Galveston and West bay where you had to time your incoming and outgoing trips to coincide with high tide
unless there was some kind of a neap tide due to the full moon I would say that you may not have been in the exact same spot as before
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Re: Estes flats varying water level
[Re: HarberFishing]
#10748813
04/06/15 04:25 PM
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,939
TOO
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,939 |
Good Lord.................................HbF, to try to answer your question, when did you run Estes, 4th-5th or the 28th-29th? This time of year the Texas coast gets the Spring "Bull tides" where the tides are usually higher than normal as "clean/good" saltwater from the gulf starts getting pumped into the bays.
However a few things that might have affected H2O depth. One, if a cold front pushed through you'll see the flats lose water fast even with a high tide, especially if the wind is strong from the N quadrants.
Second, are you certain you fished a high tide period for Estes? Asking cause the tide times are different from the gulf beach to the back bays as well as mid-point of the bays. Tides during the 1st or last 1/4 moon usually are not as strong as a full or new moon tide so you could have been fishing a low tide time frame on Estates with a lower water mass moving to start with when out there. Third, if you fished last July once or only a few times you might have fished when the tides were higher than normal, which is not common in July. Often the tides are lower in July, but factors can make for a "higher tide" than normal in July. 3' depth seems a bit high for Estes. Just possible ways the water levels could have been different from last July. suggestion, next time if Estes is low get over to Hog island hole and fish up towards the Klondikes, especially towards end of this month, should be a lot of trout in 2'-3' of water then.
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Re: Estes flats varying water level
[Re: HarberFishing]
#10748994
04/06/15 05:29 PM
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,153
Grinder55
Extreme Angler
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Extreme Angler
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,153 |
Yep, you have to factor in low tide vs. high tide, and if a northern just blew through and blew the SaltH20 off the flats.
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Re: Estes flats varying water level
[Re: HarberFishing]
#10749867
04/06/15 11:58 PM
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 16,934
Pat Goff
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 16,934 |
Estes, Seadrift back lakes, lower laguna are just not kind to non tunnel flats rigs at all. It's just too hard to navigate, where a properly setup flats boat can run anywhere they see dark bottom, no so much a bay boat. Not dogging you at all, but trying to run something that doesn't belong there is just a hard future.
Pat Goff Seadrift TX
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Re: Estes flats varying water level
[Re: Pat Goff]
#10773484
04/17/15 12:08 AM
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 184
Fish Art Texas
Outdoorsman
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Outdoorsman
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 184 |
goff seems to have the right answers llm really needs a flats boat.i got an old redfish line and yammie four stroke it takes me places i cant believe.
Joe Spurgin
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Re: Estes flats varying water level
[Re: HarberFishing]
#10774331
04/17/15 12:34 PM
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 16,934
Pat Goff
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 16,934 |
Sometimes it gets the best of us. I can usually run in anything that's got a ripple on the water, just avoid the oil slick shoalwater, and good to go. Had an extra person on, full tank of gas, extra bag of ice, and that boys was all it took to take it from 2" to 3" and ground it up fifty yards up a sand bar. I promise when I get stuck, it's really stuck.
You *MIGHT* want to consider this, I carry a little comealong and can use my mud anchor and it holds enough to be able to winch myself back to ankle deep water and go, without it we'd still be sitting there.
Pat Goff Seadrift TX
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Re: Estes flats varying water level
[Re: HarberFishing]
#10774360
04/17/15 12:54 PM
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 16,502
Tejas Trofeo
muy peque�o hombre
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muy peque�o hombre
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 16,502 |
I ran aground on a spoil bank last Saturday, don't feel too bad
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Re: Estes flats varying water level
[Re: HarberFishing]
#10774851
04/17/15 03:29 PM
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 16,934
Pat Goff
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 16,934 |
It's just embarrassing. Thought you knew what you're doing. Me too Can someone pull us out? See any airboats? No? Then no.
Pat Goff Seadrift TX
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Re: Estes flats varying water level
[Re: Pat Goff]
#10775576
04/17/15 07:49 PM
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 16,502
Tejas Trofeo
muy peque�o hombre
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muy peque�o hombre
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 16,502 |
It's just embarrassing. Thought you knew what you're doing. Me too Can someone pull us out? See any airboats? No? Then no.
My boat is harder to bury. I just got out, raised the motor and floated off, thank God. When I got out water was just over the tops of my ankles We helped a guy that hit a sandbar over in Baffin in a 24' skeeter and it took hours to get him out
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Re: Estes flats varying water level
[Re: HarberFishing]
#10780475
04/20/15 04:31 AM
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Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 555
Fritz423
Pro Angler
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Pro Angler
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 555 |
I judge the water level in Estes Fats by how high it is relative to the walkways in Palm Harbor. When it's over the docks you can go straight over the spoil islands from the intercoastal. When it's way below you better have a tunnel hull, or find a cut.
Wishin' I was fishin', and dreaming of beer
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