Corpusfishing.com

[Towboat Trash]

"Louis called it the Graveyard. Big shell sometimes, but usually, the graveyard. We were down thereabouts one day, and I asked him, "Say Louis?" "Yeah," he says. "With all this talk of swank resorts and parks and whatnot....well?" And Louis looks over across the water and back at me and grins. "They can talk about it all they want to. They can spend all the money they want to, but they can't go it. They can't whip Padre. There'll NEVER be a time when I can't go from Corpus Pass to Big Shell without seeing a soul."

-Louis Rawalt, 1947


"And I don't know where I'm going.
I just want to be left alone.
Well, when this train ends I'll try again...

Tuesday's gone with the wind...
Tuesday's gone with the wind..."


-Lynyrd Skynyrd, August 1973


"Boy, don't you worry... you'll find yourself...
Follow your heart and nothing else.
And you can do this, oh baby, if you try...
All that I want for you my son is to be satisfied...

And be a simple kind of man..."

-Lynyrd Skynyrd, April 1973


"Mr. Dunn--my gosh, especially Pat Dunn--here I have lived through both of them--could see what was happening down here now--old Dunn see he died in 1936 and Padre Island was as far away from things as you could get. It sure was, especially to come out here on a wagon across the Laguna..."

-mid 1970s interview with the old Dunn Ranch foreman


"Well it's right between the-the hill is between the house and the Gulf. Almost directly across there. The--one of the bad storms--and I think it was 1919 storm, that was one of the worse ones I guess--it was--the two Dunn children stayed on that hill. They were staying in that house alone and it got--the water--it's so flat out there from the house to the hill and they had to wade that flat to get to that hill and they took shovels and dug holes in the sand and buried their selves, I mean, in the side of the hill as the water rose and the hurricane came ashore. That was the Dunns....Burton...and his sister May."

--mid 1970s interview with the old Dunn Ranch foreman about the two Dunn children's hurricane experience alone down Island


"God brought this good man to us, returned Vasquez. Through the same road that all the rest had walked, to return to the port where the fleet had been lost. At the port, he waited patient while until a fleet from Mexico, arrived in search for treasures, which, there, had been lost. Francisco Vasquez won himself the fare back to Mexico and us, this narration of the two good religious men, whom if God punished, because they left this land, it is believed, that they were taken to heaven; for it is not of God to punish the same thing two times; and if He did not punish them, nor were they at fault, the more is their estimated dignity, their sanctioned life, and the glorious memory of their death."

-Archives of Spain, year 1558, an account of the "Flight of the 300" by survivor Fray Marcos de Mena (translated to English) of survivor Vasquez's rescue


Every single time I hear the most bada$$ band in the northern hemisphere, Lynyrd Skynyrd, it just takes me right back into the past...with my best pal Terry, 14 years old, blowing smoke rings from Marlboro red packs, sneaking out from home at night to go walk wet dirt roads and sing "The Ballad of Curtis Lowe." "Old Curt was a black man with white curly hair...When he had a fifth of wine he did not have a care..." Boy, weren't we something...learning to curse, and down at the shrimp docks teaching those old timers the lyrics to the other staple of a balanced life, "The Sultans of Swing," by Dire Straits.

Past and gone, past and gone. Where it all goes, nobody knows....but I do know this. Francisco Vasquez is more man than any of our behinds out here today. Yes, even Dr. Dre. Translation? The OLDEST Spanish wrecks in North America lie just off the shores of Padre. If you haven't read the "Flight of the 300," please do. You see, when the Spanish took off for Spain with a giant treasure flota, they got righteously WHACKED by Hurricane "Tearthatbuttup" around Havana. Three of those ships were tormented and blown clear back to old Isla Blanca here. 2/3 of those aboard drowned...YOU try to get back to the beach when it's surging so hard it's hitting the dunes and then sucking right back out 150 feet all over again. The other 1/3 were cannibalized by the old Kronks there while walking back to Tampico, and only one priest made it alive back to Tampico at all. Vasquez? That old devil hung loose at the site of the wrecks, hiding from the Kronks, shivering, afraid, and questioning the very meaning of his existence and the God that he had always claimed.

Boy, what a story! I like it already...and thus we begin this little typeup, just patiently waiting for these dogblasted mosquitoes to lay off a little bit so I could go spend a few days at the recently located..."survivor's camp," of Francisco Vasquez there. Because to be honest, I've been a little afraid to spend time down there....I'm not overly superstitious or anything....but those folks violently drowned down there in a time when sea crossings were "commissioned by God and priests," and if anyone is gonna talk to ghosts like Vasquez or do something dumb like walk around calling out names of those dead and gone, yep-it would be me. Old Isla Blanca has more than one secret it will never tell, and if you doubt that, just go sit under a full moon in a hurricane washover fan down in the 40s or 50s one night, alone. Only soul you might see down there just might be me. Lol....but first, a quick stopover to the last few weeks, where I do believe I fished every day including some Saturdays and Sundays...and boy, it's been good.

Unfortunately, "Trash-the-beach-athon," aka "Abandon-your-camp-athon" wasn't so great to the old Island.


Left.


Every year, same story...


Buncha animals, need to be Francisco Vasquez'ed via Hurricane...




Even the raccoons are cleaner...






Got 80 grand in gear, but can't even haul one bag of trash off. I vote we slap violators with a Patt Dunn horse and buggy. You wanna visit the island? Here's a wagon and one mule. Enjoy. Don't go too far past the 2mm now.




In fact, the deeper I went into Indian land, the more crap, destruction, and nonsense I saw.




And I also saw some friends that work at the park cleaning it up as they went along. Great message to send, "fellow" shark fishermen. Not.


Mile after mile of it...the Monday after the event.


Really? Starting to look like the back end of that mules' a$$ around here...




Some even had fun via driving up the side of the foredune ridge. Exciting. "O'Doul's" ONLY for you next time buddy.


And the destruction of driving down Island during a tidal flood advisory event was ridiculous. Railroad vine, coppice dunes, all of it...totally kaboshed for miles and miles.......TRUE CONSERVATION!


Backup dates anyone?


Unreal.


All ticked off, I unleashed some mullet rage on some jacks...


I normally have about 20 in deep freeze and this isn't the case lately, so something had to be done...


What a beautiful day it was...


Look at those clouds forming over Island...orographic lift producing orographic cloud cover? Hmm!


And even some Spanish.


And I normally carry home Jacks that all the Winter Texans and tourist fisherman throw up on the beach to rot, but this fellow was gotten before I could get him.


And a camper trip went into the books for the old lady and I. Fished Friday night, and all day Saturday for one red and 4 whiting. Lol. Not good. Thousands of dusky anchovies and menhanden still. No mullet at this spot.


But they set up all around us anyway.


And I wondered at the fortune someone besides you and I are making, while destroying whatever view we used to enjoy down this last remaining bit of public Texas treasure...


Come Monday, the old lady was off to work, and I was back to the jacks...


Can't fish on weekends anyways unless you have a Raptor, a lift kit, or 11 Avet 80w's.


Heck, dinner was served early! Trout and reds!




Love it...




Yella eye!




Fresh outta that bay...welcome to freedom old boy...no pink Columbia goin on here buddy...




And after weeks of waiting, the weather got good enough to go see about ole' Francisco Vasquez there...still hiding in those dunes down beach....can YOU imagine waiting months ALONE and in the 50's scared of Indians and your own shadow? And even without sunscreen, Avets, or Raptors?


Looking good.


And I ALMOST woke these folks up to tell they are AWESOME! Haha! Hardcore! Vasquez' in training...






Been this way a few weeks now...


And soon I came across this nonsense...


A little strange...


They COMPLETELY destroyed the railroad vine in this area 75 feet square by cutting it up and ripping it up to build this beach Stonehenge. Nothing better to do?




Yep and trashed the camp too. And left the hatchet stuck in the vines?


So that was that.


And soon enough I came on more nonsense.


I quite literally was thinking at this point I had come upon the "Sanford and Sons National Seashore."


Um...no explanation needed.


Dang.


Haha!


But on I went, to let Vasquez watch me until morning, for it was time to chase some sharks...


Fresh!


This ain't the shark rodeo, and no one is interested in blacktips or "points"....only that one big gal that I know is out there...


"Bye, bye baby, it's been a sweet love..." -Skynyrd...




See you peeping out from that ridge Vasquez....


Spanish wax...this was brought here in tubs by the Spanish to be used in their missions as they converted the Indians, and also for candles and for waxing the line of sailing ships of that era. Every storm it breaks up and I wait so patiently for it to come washing in, although nothing like Ralph says it used to in his day....oh the years and the history...





And the blood moon was to be that night, and a major solunar period from 0000 to 0200, and my hopes were so high...5 baits out....


And what a moon it was...no one but myself past Murdock's Landing...45 miles of lonely windy beach and thoughts bouncing around....


EERIE. Nights like these I just sit away from camp by the water and watch, listen, wait, think, and reflect...


And after a morning of someone doing something they shouldn't have that darn sure wasn't ME and darn sure wasn't Vasquez unless his ghost has come back as a "got dropped on his head baby" in massive moron Tundra 2am "tick off the Border Patrol" fashion, the day rose to greet me.


Howdy.


And while the night boasted immediate runs at 2100 hours and runs at about 3am....the baits were still lying in wait for my big gal...


But, boy did the Master's handiwork outdo itself....


To be alive...


And to be free.


Was a beautiful feeling.






And something caught my eye while changing into beach fishing clothes and off I went, naked as Francisco Vasquez after 9 months alone waiting on the salvage ships to come for the sunk treasure flota ships lying on the bar.


And was taken aback by the sunrise.




Yeah!


And as always, I hunted for any little sign...




So pretty, such a quiet place.


Howdy guys.


And the seas were building up to 5 feet already, but with two breakoffs, I had to go out and pull floats. Results same same.


With the day to blow like heck, I was off to explore. Blown out!


Mullet!


What a tidal pool.






I had a ball just swimming and watching the results of the blow increasing minute by minute....










Likely the last swim of the season this way for me!




And the mullet were so disoriented, they were swimming at angles to eachother and so confused.


I soon found a small fragment of mastodon tooth, so I go the snorkel gear to really get down to business.




One of my favorite patterns. The scientists have concluded with no new recent source of the shells on Padre, what is there...is thousands of years old. I despise the sound of them on my tires....what is there cannot be replaced....and each one has been around longer than you or I put together...the source of the shells is also unknown, but we do know that an old river delta used to exist in this general area....






The view of the trout!




And soon I was off.




Love it.


And with the winds howling and no one around but me, I finally spent time exploring the erosion of the foredune ridge in the lower Island.


These black sands are mentioned by Louis several times in interviews....Humble Oil sure was interested in them once upon a time...


The loot! Kinda scary! Needles and more needles! Thankyou Mexico!




The geology studies I've been obsessively reading the last 6 months sure do have my mind off the fishing sometimes...but I love learning so much more than how to toss a mullet at a saltwater carp....lol redfish.









And that trip was over and more daytripping began. Daytripping has always been my roots...and Lordy have I put some miles on those tires the last ten years...


And this boy was HUGE for a beach Spanish. Fed four of us the other night!




And, of course.


Complete with ray.



Well, I suppose that's a wrap folks. Just wanted to share a few fish photos. Wasn't planning on the rest, but I guess ya gotta take the good with the bad. Kinda like some fishing "events." And if I ever see Terry again if the Army will let him go, maybe we'll both pick the habit back up and share a smoke barefoot on a dirt road somewhere while wailing some Skynyrd. Lol, long as we don't have to repeat the a$$ whippings for sneaking out or sing Sultans of Swing to any more shrimp boat crews...what I wouldn't give just to hear Dire Straits play "Skateaway" one more time from a PA speaker on the back deck of a trawler rolling around in a beam sea 2 miles offshore in the Atlantic...15 and a head full of dreams...

Ya'll get out there and toss some mullet on an incoming tide, I gotta go back up the river to St. Louis and fight high river, but it's about to get real good out there I do believe...I pray Francisco Vasquez rests in peace, and I can promise when these skeeters let up to pay him a visit again real soon...

God Bless and tight lines.

-Colin
_________________
Protect Padre at all costs for future generations to use and enjoy and never forget our freedoms aren't free.

www.padreislandexpeditions.com

[Cudakilla]

Wow!!! What a nice report and nice pics. Thank-you so much for sharing. I have never been on PINS and your post really brings me there. Sincerely appreciate it.
_________________
Cudakilla.com

"To be is to do" - Socrates
"To do is to be" - Jean Paul Sartre
"Do be do be do" - Frank Sinatra

[ratherbefishing]

Beautiful trout. So many spots.

I always enjoy your reports. Thanks for sharing.....
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[Central Scrutinizer]

Great report, as always. Enjoyed. (Look very closely, the EZ Ups all fail at the same spot. I'm convinced it's a marketing ploy to keep the consumer coming back to buy a replacement). $$$ See you found your own version of 'Red Car'. This one won't likely make it either. I especially like the Loot. A sea purse, a brain bean, a pelican skull, some coral, and piece of a doll destined for Misfit Island.

On a side note, I hereby award 250 Super Secret Bonus Points for using 'orographic lift' in a sentence. NICE!!!!!!

[deputydawg]

AWESOME report as usual! Been way to long since i have been down. I would love to take that trash they leave and give it right back to them, in a "special" way!!!!! At least we didn't get a pop up camper left this year!!!!

Thanks for bringing us along! Made my day!

[wallhanger]

A great read as always.

[lagunarat1975]

killer report always dig the pics and stories great way to kill fifteen minutes of my company's time
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EAT,SLEEP,BREATHE,FISHING

[raiderred]

Nice Spanish mackerel.

The sight of trash left behind by a few bad apples following the tournament was disappointing coming from someone that removed it. It is the responsibility of Sharkathon to police the beach on Monday, and our crew was on the beach the same time Towboat was snapping photos. We drove the entire stretch and filled a truck on the way back. Trash left behind is something we take serious as many of our board members have served as section leaders (past, present, future) in the annual cleanup, and we are always discussing ways to reduce/eliminate this behavior. A couple camps left incriminating evidence behind (paperwork), and we will be speaking with them.

[mansfieldjetties]

Great read as always. Thanks for taking the time to write these. They sure do help you get through a long day at the office.
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"Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught."

[OSOMURF]

Excellent as usual TT. When you find Francisco Vasquez ask him to hang around awhile so we can hear about his adventures.

[cabrego]

Learned something thanks! By the way, where the heck do you find those needles, were they just scattered in the dunes?

[prod1816]

Been a long time since I went to PINS. Need to take my kids to Big Shell, but the trash on ANY Texas beach drives me nuts. My kids love going, but I make them clean our area no matter what.

Thanks for the pics. Looked like an awesome trip.

[seanu21]

Great report Towboat. Can't wait to get back down there. The water looked great!

[seanu21]

[ladyfish]

ty thats was great reading