Turtle Bay Saturday - September 8, 2007

Trip Report: Turtle Bay - September 8, 2007 The Pack Armada turned out in force.  Twenty-five Members and Guest turned out.  One Member came all the way from Oklahoma to make the outing.  The Armada launched in two groups, the first launched at 4:30 am and paddled over to the second marsh about 2 miles from the launch point.  The second group launched at 6:30 am and made there way to the infamous culvert, and first marsh which is about 100 yards from the launch point.  The culvert became a challenge in trying to get thru it.  High tide had made access almost impossible, leaving only about 2 feet of head space to squeeze through about 10 yards, everyone including the oversize boys had to get as low as they could to make it thru.  It was a challenge but all made it.  Both marsh's were full a bait, but the fish weren't biting.  Only five keeper reds were strung along with one legal trout.  Reds were everywhere in the marsh but weren't taking the top waters we were offering.  The weather couldn't have been better.  Wind was out of the SE @ 5 mph.  At one point all were wishing for a little rain because of the heat of the day.  At the end of the day, the tide was still coming in; the culvert became a bigger problem for all.  The passage space was even smaller.  Everyone made it, but we did have one yak turtle in the culvert.  The tide pushed the yak with JB hanging on back into the marsh.  JB made it thru on his second try.  His waterproof VHF radio did not survive the dunking.  It was a beautiful day; everyone had a good time.  Next time we will try fishing the marsh on a falling tide instead of a rising tide.  The fish won this day by giving all the fin. Please see this link for the Trip Photos: http://www.packtx.org/Photos/tabid/58/AlbumID/385-76/Default.aspx Tight Lines Ken J

Trip Description:

Turtle Bay is a small bay on the north end of West Matagorda Bay. It is a great place to kayak. It has several marshes that are full of redfish and flounder. During September redfish will be schooling in large numbers getting ready for the annual run to the ocean. In the marshes and along the shorelines you will have the opportunity to view tailing redfish. Trout will be gorging themselves on huge schools of shrimp, mullet and shad. Flounder are abundant around the marshes. The water will be green to off color, but even when the water is off color the fishing is great. Water along this shore clears on light southeasterly or northerly winds.

Leader:

Ken Jennings (cell: 832-372-6594).

Date/Time:

Saturday, September 8, 2006, sunrise to whenever.

How to Sign Up:

If you want to go contact the trip leader (or sign up at a monthly meeting) and provide: name, email address and phone number (preferably cell phone).

How to Get There:

Map and directions will be provided at the August meeting or contact the trip leader. From Palacios: West on S-35, immediately after crossing Turtle Creek, turn left (South) on Jensen Point Road. Travel 2.5 miles South on Jensen Point Road to the Public Boat Launch.

What to Pack/Bring:

Standard stuff (lunch, snacks & drinks, favorite paddling/fishing gear

Fishing Options:

Launch at Jensen Point and fish Turtle Bay. The first marsh is approx 100 yards west of the launch point. You will see the culvert, pass through the culvert and explore the vast marsh full of redfish and flounder. Note: Do not get on the land – it is private property. The second marsh is approx 2 miles west of the launch site. It has two entrances. Between the two entrances is a sand flat, this can hold trout in the middle of the day when the water is very hot. Or fish the bay for trout, flounder, and reds. Launch at Turtle Creek and fish the creek towards Turtle Bay. This is a good place for redfish and flounder.

GPS Coordinates:

Launch end of Jensen Point Road N28 °41.253' W96 °16.463'

Tides:

High /Low Tide Time Height Feet Sunrise Sunset Moon Time % Moon Visible High 10:35am 1.1 7:04 am Rise 4:19 am 13 Low 11:30PM 0.0 7:39 PM Set 6:12 PM

Guest Participants:

(if you don't have a registered login account on this website we can list your name here; if you have a login account then use the enroll feature at the top of this page to become part of the auto enroll list below)

Dominic Guzman