A Taste of Saltwater
A Morning of Fishing in Aransas Bay - June 2024
I consider myself a freshwater fly fisherman most of the time, but one Thursday morning in mid-June, while RV camping at Goose Island State Park, I gathered my seldom-used saltwater spinning rod and tacklebox and headed out to the park's pier for a taste of saltwater fishing. I planned to start at the far end and slowly fish my way back to the pier's entrance.
The 1600-foot-long wooden pier extended into Aransas Bay, over Bartell Pass, and made a dogleg turn over a shallow water reef before stretching to the end. There were several areas along the pier where wooden stairs provided access for fishermen to wade the shallow waters.
On the way to the end of the pier, I spotted at least a dozen fishermen wading around the shell reef that, the day before, had been underwater. The tide must be out.
There were also four of us fishing from the pier and even more folks fishing from kayaks and small boats nearby, each fisherman respectfully giving the others equal waters to fish.
The wind was calm, but three small storms surrounded our Aransas Bay fishing hole, any of which could move our direction and end the morning of fishing for everyone.
I began my day of fishing with "Gulp!" crabs and shrimp for bait, then tried a rubber sea shad, and last, I switched to various colored shrimp tails. There were times when I thought I had gotten a strike, but my hook more likely snagged an oyster shell in the shallow water as I was reeling in my lure.
With my spinning rod, I worked a rubber shrimp tail along a 100-foot section of the fishing pier near the outer dogleg turn, where a small area of the shell reef was above water. A couple of seabirds were pecking at the exposed shells. My hook got stuck on the bottom once - I thought I might have to cut my line, but with a little effort, patience, and luck, I broke it loose and continued fishing.
Suddenly, storm #3 - hovering over the town of Rockport - began to intensify and scoot across Aransas Bay toward us. The small motorboats closest to the squall line moved out of the storm's path, but the other fishermen remained in place. They must think (or hope) that the storm will fizzle out. To me, it looked like the storm had other plans.
I began to notice that the leading edge was getting stronger and the skies were becoming more ominous, but the storm appeared to be drifting east toward the Gulf of Mexico while the trailing edge seemed to weaken. There didn't appear to be an immediate reason for concern. So, I kept on fishing like everyone else. Just ignore it. It will go away.
In short order, the kayakers had begun to paddle toward shore, and many of the wade fishermen were plodding double-time back to the pier. They must see something that I don't - perhaps a waterspout. It wasn't impossible. Without warning, the storm's trailing edge reintensified and seemed to pick up speed as it plowed toward us.
That's it for me, I thought. I'm heading in.
The wind picked up as the skies darkened. I packed up my gear and hastily made my way back to the entrance of the pier. As I arrived at my truck, large raindrops began to fall exponentially harder during the short time it took me to stow my tackle. By the time I made it to the driver's side door, the bottom dropped out. I was soaked before I could take refuge. Other fishermen were still on the pier but were frantically collecting their rods and scrambling for cover. It was an exciting day at the fishing hole!
I didn't catch any fish that morning, but getting reacquainted with the hooks and lures in my saltwater tacklebox (many still in their unopened zip-lock containers) inspired me to plan more saltwater fishing trips.
The two hours I spent on the wooden pier at Aransas Bay took me back to the summers of my early teens when my mother used to drop me off near the mouth of Oso Bay for several hours of bank fishing (I miss you, Mom). Most days, I did not catch a single fish, but that never discouraged me from trying everything in my tackle box. On slow days, I mounted my fishing poles in rod holders and explored the sea creatures and their habitats along the water's edge. I have always loved the Texas Gulf Coast, the sound of laughing gulls, the squawk of brown pelicans, and the fresh smell of salt air.
~ Matt Bray
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