Corpusfishing.com

[Prof. Salt]

The ship channel dredging has been going on for over a year, and last year they were pumping dredge into the open part of the Nueces bay near the river. They filled in hundreds of acres of bay with mud and I assume the thought process was that eventually it will become more marshland to support the fishery. Now they are pumping the dredge mud right into my marsh area and blocking up the entrances and exits for water flow. Now hundreds of acres of once knee-deep pristine redfish waters are full of mud and an inch of water. If the exits are plugged (and they are high and dry) the water can't flush and there will be no fish. I paddled three miles ("paddled" is an exaggeration - I pushed the kayak through the mud) as I searched for a way through the ruined part, looking for a way through to the part of the marsh that wasn't yet covered in mud. I couldn't get through the muck and turned back without seeing a single redfish. When I went back to the river, I tried trolling swim baits for trout. That usually results in more than enough fish, but after four miles of paddling I hadn't had so much as a single bump. I will start looking for other places where I can sight-cast fish, but it's a real shame that a huge swath of ideal fishery is being destroyed. I understand why, and it's the same reason I love that area - it's too shallow for most boats, and most paddlers aren't willing to go that far for fish. I guess destroying habitat that only serves a few of us (and thousands of redfish) is the best way to get rid of all that mud.

[Rebecca of Sunnybrookfarm]

that project is a sticky wicket Glenn, and you have to realize that because we choked off the sediment from coming down the river with the dam and low freshwater inflows that the Nueces Delta face has been experiencing around 14 feet of erosion a year, turning productive marsh into open bay, which is less beneficial to fisheries (read The Ecology of Open Bay Bottoms in Texas - Armstrong, found here https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA322507.pdf

yes, they are making a mess, and no, it isn't a perfect project....yes, it will take a few years to settle out, and yes, they are planning on doing additional shaping as time goes on with those floating track hoes, a lot like they did over by Porno Flats...all those interspersed islands with channels in between them...same folks (CBBEP), same contractor as well... here's the short story on the project https://www.cbbep.org/manager/wp-content/uploads/Restoring-Nueces.pdf

and yes, they will shape the drains too, and by this time next year, those drains are going to be major fish highway intersections...

are you done with white bass already? LOL
becky
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[Prof. Salt]

Thanks for the clarification, I'll just have to be patient with the process.

White bass are still going, but with such low water they require walking (even kayakers are having to pull over low spots) but after this cold front I'll be back after them. The last two trips were solid but 100% of fish I landed were males. That leads me to believe my Spring Break will be spent on fresh water with a fly rod in hand.

[Rebecca of Sunnybrookfarm]

[Central Scrutinizer]

This was fought, HARD, from the very beginning. Trust ME.
But the Port and the USACorpsofEngineers are buddy, buddy (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). Kinda like the City magically discovering that we have groundwater all around us for water supply - so long as you can dilute the salt by dumping it in the river before it makes it into the ON Steven Plant!!!!!

[Central Scrutinizer]

[Rebecca of Sunnybrookfarm]

[ziacatcher]

New route this year for the Barefoot Mardi Gras includes in front of the seawall. I still rather sit in my lawn chair in the sand sipping some IPAs.

[Rebecca of Sunnybrookfarm]