A friend sent me an e-mail a couple weeks ago saying shark and reds were going nuts off of Surfside Beach and Freeport so we decided Oct. 10 would be a good day to head down there. Now there are about 12 people wanting to go and we are planning on camping on Surfside Beach and launching my boat from somewhere near Freeport. We decided all this before Ike decided to thrash the Texas coast.

I heard they were letting residents in to salvage what they can from their homes but there are curfews and non-residents are prohibited from getting into Surfside. Has anyone heard how long the clean up process will take or have any idea when visitors will have access to the beach?

Dude!!!!

I would not plan on being there in Oct.I have heard of up to 6 months before they will start to letting non-residents in. Sorry I say the trip is not looking good.

Mavs

That was my exact reaction too!

Anyone have a location that would be a good alternate to Surfside/Freeport?

For Sharks And Reds---Corpus Christi Area---(PINS)-Padre Island National Seashore, no (trailered boats) allowed to launch on shorline(unless it's soft-hulled under 11' I believe)...But you can put a boat in a at Bird Island ramp and fish Laguna Madre... Port Aransas beaches, free boat ramps at PortA.... Mustang Island-Packery Channel, but not sure if boat ramp at Packery Channel is reopened yet...But you can put in at Clems Bait shop for a fee, and fish the Causeway area for reds and trout...All theses areas are within 5-10 miles of each other...
$12 for a yearly sticker per vehicle for all county beaches you can camp, fish, etc,,, Pins is $10 for a week or $20 yearly per vehicle camp, fish, etc...

Where do I get the permits for Port A?

I got an e-mail back from the City of Quintana Beach and they said they didn't get hit near as hard as Surfside and everything should be back to normal by October. We are now planning on camping on Quintana near where the Brazos River discharges into the gulf. A co-worker said there are some pretty nasty currents in that area. Is there anything else I should know about that area?

Don't know much about Quintana Beach, mainly used to fish closer to the SLP and KOA campground when I lived in Houston area...But they supposedly have concreted the top one of the Quintana Jetties there...Whick makes it a lot easier to walk on...

But anyhow, PortA permits can be purchased at most local Stripe convience stores...Or there will be someone at the entrance to the beach on weekends...

The Brazos River kind of dies right before the Gulf because the Intracoastal Waterway intersects it. If you are taking a boat be careful in that area between the Intracoastal and the Gulf as a buddy of mine got a hole in his boat there.

Thats good to know, I'm planning on launching my boat from the ramp under the FM 1495 bridge and running the Intracoastal back to the Brazos and out to the gulf. Guess I should look into another place to launch.

Hey 4X4---I've fished that region for years.

All I can say is---if you are not very familier with it---don't risk it.

I don't know ya but would hate to read your obit.

As for camping----Think wrath of God bugs and double it at night. I've tried it and I know.

trust me there is nothing I would rather do than park my butt on the beach for a couple days and fish the surf.

Don't know about access but also --avoid driving to the MOB. Beaches will move--50 and 100 feet at a time. A beach will just drop down into the ocean also--it is the strangest thing.

Also--the currents---Dude---put it this way---have a very good float and a buddy--you can wash out and float half way to the flower gardens before the coasties can get to you.

With all that said---If you do go---be carful and enjoy.

Rich, are the bugs really that bad in mid October? I understand the tides coming in and out, but I figured if we camped close to the dunes the likely hood of being stranded seemed small but you're the local and know more than me.

I wasn't planning on wading out past knee deep while fishing the surf, too many fish with teeth for my taste.

Here is the deal. A week after we set the date for the trip my girlfriend, a first grade teacher, found out that she had to participate in the school carnival that happens to be October 10. She and I wont be able to get away from the school until around 8:30pm and I was shooting for the Freeport area because its the shortest drive but will still put us on the beach around 1:30am. It tacks on another 2 hours if we head to Port A.

If the coast is messed up from Louisiana to Surfside and Quintana is as bad as you say it is I guess all I can do is have a longer drive.

Anyone have a good place on Port A to camp and fish?

i was down a quintana last week good fishing,i could not get to the jettys res only over the bridge but i think you can get there now i am going back this monday any questions call pm me for cell #

So...non-residents are allowed (and able) to access Quintana Beach?!? I am dying to go surf fishing and am limited due to the fact I live south of Houston.

I don't know about right now but I spoke with the city secretary and she said everything will be back to normal by early October.

Hey 4x4 hoss! I work right by the surfside bridge an I had a friend that was doing cleanup work on the beach and he told me that the beach would be opened back up on the weekend 9/27/08. I decided to go down there and check things out but it was still road blocked. Bummer! I decided to go back on Monday 9/29/08 at lunch and there is no more road block. You can get on the beach at the first couple entrances but the futher you go down the more difficult it becomes with out 4 wheel drive. The water looked very good and there were no waves and the birds were just having a feast. Should be very good for at least the next week or so. I also drove down to Quintanna \ Bryan beach area and you can access the jettys now. On the Bryan beach side, if you take the side road at the stop sign you can go all the way down to the Brazos mouth. There is a pretty deep section of beach washed out between the old shrimp boat rigging and the back road exit. Hope this helps.

SWEEEEEEEET!!!

We rented a house out there for the weekend of oct. 17, I hope the fishing is good. never been there. There is a curfew at 10pm. They said it should be lifted any time soon.

We got back from Surfside. The beach is open and pretty busy but there is still a lot of construction and clean up going on. The curfew has been lifted. Live bait is available at a couple bait shops North of the bridge to Surfside. Bridge Bait is closed and so is the ramp but we were able to put in at the public ramp in Quintana. Caught lots of black tips and gaftops and they were biting pretty steady. Saw a couple guys haul in a 10' hammerhead a few hundred yards off of the Surfside jetty. All in all it was a good trip.

Anybody know how the Bridge Harbor Yacht Club is doing? When we go down there for offshore trips we usually stay in their rooms that are over the slips.. If you dont know, it is just east of the causeway on the mainland... I know the Bridge Bait stand is a mess ( they kept showing it on News cast under water).. just curious.

So Jetty park is up and running?

not sure the exact name (jetty park?), but the surfside and quintana jetties are open. went this past weekend to quintana and saw people fishing on the surfside side.

When I was down there there were people fishing on both jetties, but if I remember correctly I think the park on the Quintana side was still closed for repairs.

Hey Hoss where exactly is the quintana park, i know the surfside park is near the beginning of the jetties, but never knew of a park on the quintana side. Or is it just the area near the beginning of the quintana jetties?