Panther Point–Matagorda Island

October 9-11, 2009

( 28°13' N, 96°42' W)

Week end camp out. Depending on the weather/wind we have the options to fish Panther Lake, Panther Reef, North of Panther Lake towards Cedar Point and Cedar Lake, and South of Panther Point, towards the Point of Ayres. Interdispersed grass beds, shell reefs, and sand and mud bottoms and back lakes along Matagorda Island are trademarks of the Panther Point area and provide prime habitat for forage fish and crustaceans as well as redfish, trout, black drum, and flounder.

We will be tent camping on the shell bar. The area allows you to leave your kayak pulled up near the campsites for easy re-launch. There are no shelters, water, or restrooms. All food, water, provisions, and camping gear must be brought to Panther Point via the Skimmer mother boat. The mother boat will deliver us as close as possible to the camping location. It may be necessary to offload the mother boat as far away as 100 yards to a quarter mile from our ultimate camping destination depending on tide. However, for the past several trips the Skimmer has been able to pull right up to the shell bar where we will camping, allowing for direct unloading from the boat to land. Remember, your personal camping gear may need to be transported via your kayak the final 100 yards plus.

Due to the conditions of the shell bar, it is recommended that extra long tent stakes be used. To assist in anchoring your tent small plastic grocery bags can be brought and filled with shell and tied to the corners of your tent. In past windy conditions, the long tent stakes, bags filled with shell, and filling the tents with provisions has been sufficient to anchor tents down.  

Fall (September to November) When the water and day time temperatures cool down, the fish start moving towards the back lakes and feed throughout the day. The average air temperature is 70-80 during the day and can drop to 40-50 degrees at night.

 Frank Canneto Click here to send a message 

We will meet at The Skimmer beginning at 9:00 A.M. to load kayaks and camping equipment onto the Skimmer. The boat leaves the dock at 10:00 A.M. on Friday October 9, 2009. 

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). or Register for a PACK login account and then use the Auto Enroll link above to automatically have your name added to the list below.

Note: The skimmer can only transport 18 kayaks. There are usually a few members that bring their personal power boats. Preference will be given in the order members signed up.

We will be taking a mother boat, The Skimmer, to Panther Point.  The boat is located in Fulton on the bay, approximately 3 hours driving from Sugar Land area as follows (Click here for directions and map)

See Standard PACK List for items to consider for any PACK outing

Important items:

• VHF Radio for communication and emergency contact
• First Aid Kit 
• Lunch, Water, snacks
• Kayak Drift Sock 

Recommended guidelines for participates:

• Make sure trip leader or an officer has your emergency contact
• Notify the trip leader if you have any potential concerns
• If inexperienced, then buddy up. Make sure the trip leader knows your experience level
• Communicate with the trip leader, if you are unsure of your skill level required
• Member dues are current
• Guests are invited to particpate
• Have performed deep water entries
• Cary a first aid kit
• Have a life jacket
• Have a VHF radio
• Inform the trip leader of your float plan if planning to fish alone or longer then the designated times.
• Sign in and sign out at the launch site. Inform the trip leader if you will be launching in a different place.

Recommended for Trip Leaders:

• Insures proper authorizations
• Secure sites
• Prepare emergency preparedness plan
• Keep abreast of weather conditions that might effect the trip
• Point out any potential area hazards
• Maintain a head count
• Have available a first aid kit
• Have a VHF radio

Expenses/Fees:

The Skimmer Fee
$70 per person with a minimum of 10 to make a trip. Extra dollars for a group meal, if arranged, and tip for the Capt. 

From Panther Point to the Second cut -

The south shoreline between the second chain of islands and Panther Point is a legendary spring and summer wade-fishing hotspot. With areas of dense grass and potholes, it supports a large trout and redfish population. In a south or southeast wind, this shoreline is crystal clear; its grass can maintain water clarity in some surprisingly adverse wind. In past trips in the Fall, club members have been most successful paddling down this shoreline and entering the lakes and sight casting to redfish. There are often holes in the channels which seem to hold the majority of the fish. In 2007 the hot spot seemed to be the mouths of the lakes for scattered trout and occasionally schools of trout. In 2006 the fishing action was dominated by catching reds throughout the day in the back lakes. 
 

Panther Reef

Kayakers who start at Panther Point and paddle northward will find an extensive shell reef that runs for about 3 miles. Panther reef is about 200 yards off the point. At normal tides, most of the reef is about 2 feet below the surface. The west side of the reef drops off to about 6 feet. To date club members have not focused on the reef however several people have fished towards the reef with DOA shrimp and been successful in landing trout.

The stretch of shoreline from Panther Point north has been lightly fished in the past by PACK members, this shoreline is good for wading and has several cuts to back lakes which can be excellent places to fish. In the past reds have been found feeding all day in the back lakes or trout schooling near the mouths of these lakes and channels. 
 

(We prefer for you to create a login account on this website so that you can have your name added to the auto register list below. If you don't have a registered login account on this website we can list your name here; please contact the trip leader to request your name to manually added. 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)

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