State Biologist, Karen Meador, reports that the annual Aransas Bay gill net surveys are nearly completed. The trout population this year is about the same as last year, but the sizes of the fish are up. To illustrate the fresh nature of the bay, she reports a Tilapia captured near the Rockport harbor and a fresh water catfish elsewhere in the bay. I believe the health of the bay system may be down because I have seen very few shrimp boats on the bay. I have personally seen a total of only six boats since the season opened May 15th. Also of note, very few crab traps can be seen. Usually, they are all over the bay and boaters have to be on constant vigil. Now I see only an occasional trap.
The tide has been really high. Some of the comments of the guides can be found at www.fishrockport.com. They note the higher tides and large trout.
For those who liked the food at the old Silver Anchor, you will be grad to know that Haun has taken over the Rocky Hill Bar and Grill and now calls it the 301. I have no idea what the 301 means, but I'll ask when I visit. Her catfish and new potatoes were the best.
I talked to Ben Crabtreee at the Boat Shop. He has boat repairs backed up for three weeks. His calendar is booked solid until late in June.
Randy(308) reported going out twice this last weekend and coming back with a total of one keeper trout. He tried Gulp bait.
I have noticed something new in rentals this summer. Previously there were no monthly rentals that I knew of. Now, I see parkings tags that indicate three three bedroom bayside units have guests for the month of June. That's probably a good thing because it may lead to a more stable cohort of guests and less arrivals and departures.
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