Now I remember why I don't fish much in the summer. Yesterday was as good as it gets with the weather. Scott(702) and I went out at 7 a.m. He tried a new Gulp and I threw DOA. We tried most of the reefs this side of the intracoastal. After two hours without even a small trout to show, we pulled up to a shrimper who was culling his catch. For five dollars he gave us about a thousand shrimp. We then tried the wells just off from Key Allegro. There were boats at the wells, but they were doing the same thing that we were, catching many many small trout. We did measure two that were ever so slightly too small and that was it. We came in at 12:00.
Randy(308) drifted Estes Flats with perch and caught two keeper trout. He caught four there on Saturday.
Today Scott took his family on an eight hour trip on the Scat Cat. It was a great day to be at sea. The winds were light and the fishing good. There were only twenty on board and that always makes for a better trip. Scott caught a King at the first stop and one of his daughters caught two more later. There was a Sailfish caught and a shark. The boat limit on Snappers was 40 and they came back with 39. One of the Snappers weighed in at 15 pounds. My son, Ryan, and a friend are going out on Wednesday. I hope they do as well.
Jerry Hill came by Kontiki last week. He had not been by in a while. He is still living in Beeville and goes to San Antonio once a week to go to the VA for treatment on his knee. His mother is not doing well and he was coming to Rockport to see her. His parents have been married for 72 years.
Jerry thought the new colors looked great, but was dismayed at the condition of the grass. He took great pride in the lawn and to see it in such sad shape was disappointing. The sprinklers have been fixed, but I have yet to see them on. I am told that they come on at night, but I have not seen any evidence of water in the early morning. Even the manually operated sprinklers that go around the outside of the harbor side buildings are not being used. Pat(602) is turning them on when he is here to save some grass behind his place. I asked Ron and John if the sprinkler repair company could repair the system between 108 and 201 while they were here. The roofing trucks as well as the sand delivery trucks have made a mess of the grassy area there and I can't take care of it because the sprinkler system doesn't work. I'm sure there are other priorities right now and this will be taken care of in due time.

The finger piers are substantially completed. The cleats were put on top, but the end posts were cut off. Most comments are that they look great, except for those who try to use them. They work great for kayaks, but the end cleats are too close to the front for larger boats to tie up well. There is presently only one cleat for the bow of a boat and only three tie off points can be used. With the prevailing southeast winds this means boats cannot use the south side of the slips as the bow cannot be restrained. Maybe one cleat will be added to the concrete wall between the slips so that there will be four tie off points. Of course a post could be added, but I doubt that will happen.
Justin has purchased a 19 foot Bayhawk with an 88 hp Johnson. I think the fishing bug may be biting him, but I'm not sure when he will find time. He had to come out at 4 a.m. this morning for a sewer backup at the motel. It was a real mess. Jayme and John came out too.
Painting continues on the 500 building, but all others appear finished.

This is a pretty nice view of the finished back of the bayside units. It does show, in some way, that the yellow and white do not contrast very much and from a distance it is hard to tell that the trim and walls are a different color. Not that that is a bad thing and I guess the close view is more important than the view from a distance. It would be nice if the water were always like this.

Main building roofing was completed last week. The last section done was this north side of the 700 building.

I had some questions about what exactly was the pumphouse after a recent post. Prior to 1996 we operated our own sewage disposal operation and this structure housed the pumps that moved the sewage through the system. It now serves no practical purpose and was to be taken down years ago. You can see by the misaligned side boards that the structure is listing to the right. I would not reroof this, who knows? There are shingles stacked in front of the maintenance shed and the roofing contractor told me he was to return in two weeks to reroof the gazebo at the pool and the one at the end of the 300 building as well as the pumphouse.

Welcome to our newest owners, Dave and Hannah Wright of Spokane, Washington. They have purchased unit 307. I'm sure they will find that they made a great decision.

A lawn irrigation company came out last week to see if they could get our sprinklers to work. They tell me that the problem was sand in the solenoids that open and close the valves. Of course, everything here has sand in it. I would have thought a sand filter on the well pump would solve that problem, but the decision was made to install new valves that can be manually operated. The theory being that by opening and closing the valves manually, the sand will be loosened and will not accumulate enough to interfere with the operation of the electrical solenoid. I have my doubts, but that's why we pay management to make the calls.

The HEB beach continues to erode at an alarming rate. The tide is not really that high and still the water encroaches into the vegetation. Normally, at this time of year, 15 to 20 feet of shell can be seen between the water's edge and the vegetation.

szygiru

Here is an interesting note sent to me by Randy(308).

June 14, 2008 - 5:48 p.m.

Hello, anglers!

It seems as though Mother Nature is still mad at all the fishermen and fisherwomen in the Coastal Bend area. Winds continue to blow above normal 24 hours a day, seven days a week without any signs of letting up. Hopefully, calm weather will be heading our way in the not-to-distant future.

I’ve talked to numerous anglers who have fished in the Port O’Connor area the past two weeks with no success. These guys are excellent fishermen who are using croakers but are still not putting many fish on their stringers. I believe the problem is directly related to the wind.

The south shorelines from Greens Bayou to Panther Point have been hammered every week by hundreds and hundreds of fishermen and tournament fishermen. These are the only areas that can be fished during windy conditions because they hold green water and are protected.

There has been so much pressure on these areas that I believe the majority of the fish are gone and the ones that are there are feeding at night. The fish are in muddy, windy water above grass, sand and shell. I’ve had great success the past month in the Rockport area in muddy, windy water.

No one wants to fish this type of water, so there is no pressure on the fish. I think I’ve only had one or two trips where we’ve had less than 20 trout and the trout we’ve been catching have been above average size.

From November to April each year, it is usually artificial lures only on my boat. But this time of year, croakers are the best bait to use when water temperatures move into the 80s.

Surefire solution

There are all kinds of techniques that are used when using croakers. Some just free-line a croaker with a leader. Some use round beads above the croaker while others tie a chatter weight above the croaker. These set-ups all have worked, but there is one set-up that is by far the best and will catch fish when all else fails, especially in muddy, windy water.

Go buy some pink salt shakers. Then get some red 5/0 mustard wide-gap hooks. Make sure they are red and are not smaller than 5/0. Wrap the salt shaker about 18 inches above the hook after you put your croaker on it. Spray it with WD 40 and cast it as far as you can.

Shake your rod tip very aggressively several times every 30 seconds. The silver balls inside the saltshaker are larger than BBs that go in a BB gun and make a tremendous amount of noise. The loud sound under water made from the salt shaker and the strong scent from the WD-40 will draw a strike in the muddiest water.

Good Fishin’,

Capt. Danny

Danny Goyen is a fishing columnist for the Victoria Advocate. Contact him at 361-574-1206 or at sports@vicad.com.

The finger piers are getting closer to completion. All posts have been set and the framing is done. Only the decking and installation of the cleats remain.
I had a call from Chuck(107) earlier this week to say that his electrical service provider had gone under. I went to www.powertochoose.org and found that the pricing has changed dramatically. I went with YEP in January for a year fixed rate at 10.9 cents per kilowatt hour. Their rate is now 16.9 cents. Some are as high as 26 cents. I can see how some will be folding their companies if they have long term commitments at low rates that now makes them operate at a net loss. I predict that we will have electrical bills for more than $500 this summer.

The tide continues to be very high, which is not unusual this time of year. The water is eating away into the HEB property and into Richy's property that adjoins the HEB property. This is a picture of his security light post that is now surrounded by water. Looking closely, you can see two wires that send power to the Phase II pier lights. They are totally exposed and surrounded by rock, shell and other debris. I'm sure the exposed wires have been nicked and anyone stepping into the water here could well be subject to serious injuries. Its not our property, but someone may figure a way to make it our fault should an accident occur.

Today was about as good as it gets for fishing this time of year, despite the full moon. Pat(602) had gone with his wife late Saturday and picked up their limit of trout as well as a 40 inch red. Today he invited me to go with him to the same spot. We went out about 7 a.m. and there were two other boats at the spot. Pat caught a keeper on the first cast we thought this was going to be easy. Alas, that was it for the next hour. Meanwhile one of the other boats, no more than 30 yards away, was catching trout on every cast. Watching them haul them in grew old in a hurry. We moved about 2 miles away and had the same experience watching another boat haul them in. They finally left and we pulled into the spot. For the next hour we caught trout on every cast. We probably caught 60 total and put 12 keepers in the box. The water was exceptionally clear and the wind was light. We had a great time.

The spray painting is such a huge mess. I have to have faith in what Justin said about being able to clean it up, but I have my doubts. I see no way. These pictures are of my fabric deck chair and back door. Everything is speckled with paint. The last time we painted an owner had some specks on her car and the painter, Peter Clark, paid to have it cleaned up. This time I can only imagine the claims if it is not successfully cleaned up. Even the mailboxes are speckled and they are not close to the painted area. The window screens, door screens, doors, decks, you name it, has to be cleaned. The front doors were painted, even the new ones. There are paint runs, and streaks and paint on the door hardware. Even our river rock beds are several shades lighter.
Today I saw a paint roller being used on the 700 building. I have no idea, but I would think the rest of the buildings will be painted with a roller like we have always done, but maybe not.

Here is how the new paint, trim, and roof look on the 100 building. The painting has a long way to go and is really a mess. I visited with Justin for a while this afternoon and he assures me the end product will be well worth the distress of the mess. Paint spray is everywhere. They are using a pressure washer to go behind the painters to try to clean off the areas that are oversprayed. Only time will tell.
Justin and Rachel now have the rental office management back again. Steve has moved on.
The grass areas are in really bad shape. Ron tells me the watering system is not functioning correctly. Justin said he called the guy who installed our system and the guy said he wished to have no further dealings with us. He has called someone else to see if they can repair our system.

It is so very difficult to watch little problems become big problems because no one has time to take care of them. I posted weeks ago that this is what was going to happen to our breakwater if the allthread bolts were not replaced. Many were coming out and it was only a matter of time before the whole thing began to unzip. The breakwater has proven to have been a real boondoggle. I know Richy pushed it hard and many felt it would be a good idea, but Moose really did a poor job and walked off before it was completed. He took $340,000 with him and this is what we have left. I doubt the contract ever said that Sea Shell Shores or Phase II had any responsibility for continued repairs. I do think we have some legal recourse to go after Moose, but I think he is still Richy's friend and that will probably not happen. I'm told that Kinsel's guy will be here to repair the damage, but that is just short term. This picture is the south side and the north, or pier side, is really loose too. We will just throw good money after bad if we don't just do it right and finish the job. The whole new section of our pier is taped off as dangerous because of the instability of the breakwater. The tide is still high and when the low July tide arrives, boats will not be able to get out of our channel. Even Robbie's pontoon boat bumps bottom in the channel now.

More posts for the finger piers have been installed. It appears only about two more sets remain to be put in. I am told that Robbie will have them all finished by the end of the week. The cleats will be put on top of the walkways. This boat behind 606 would rather tie up to the posts alone than to use the walkways without cleats.

The roofing work continues. The front of the 700 building still has tile to be removed, the back side is progressing. The top photo shows the new roofing being raised by conveyor to the rooftop. The bottom shows the work being done to install the new shingles. The contractor tells me he will be through soon. He said he was delayed because Chris decided to use 40 year shingles after 30 year shingles had been ordered and the new shingles arrived a week later than had been planned. There is so much going on its hard to tell which workers are working for whom. The smaller out buildings still have to be completed as well as the bay window roofs and the electrical box roofs. I feel we should tear down the old pump house rather than reroof it. The owners voted seven years ago to tear it down, but it never happened. It serves no useful purpose and is leaning as if it will fall soon anyway. The last decks on the 700 building have not been replaced. They will probably be painted anyway and replaced later this summer. I suggested to Justin that if Rob is too busy now, it could be done by someone else and not have to be done later at an extra painting expense. Justin said he wants to have everything finished up by July 4th.

Fishing has not suffered because of the high winds. One of my friends caught five keeper trout last evening off the pier. The water is still off color, but the trout have to eat.
The boat ramp has been closed while the old roof tile are being placed at the end of the ramp to fill the crater caused by boat engines as they pull boats off the trailers.
The barge has returned to begin to complete the finger pier replacements. By noon on Saturday they had nearly finished placing the posts that are being used to anchor the walkways.
Work on the roof project should move pretty fast tomorrow. All the old tile has been removed and the bundles of new shingles are placed on the roof and ready to attach.

From the Rockport Pilot
An 81-year-old Rockport man was killed Tuesday, June 3 in an accident on the Copano Bay Causeway which involved four vehicles.
Herman Dabbs, who was traveling southbound on the north side of the hump on the bridge, died from injuries he sustained after being in the wrong place at the wrong time when one northbound motorist attempted to pass two others.
The driver of this Ford Expedition suffered serious injuries in a four-vehicle collision on Copano Causeway Tuesday afternoon. According to DPS Trooper David Cordova, the chain-reaction accident began when the driver of one of the vehicles attempted to pass two other vehicles.
The accident, which was reported at 2:22 p.m., sent one other motorist to the hospital.
It took Department of Public Safety Trooper David Cordova and other DPS personnel almost five hours to investigate the accident and determine exactly what happened and in what order.
Dabbs was driving a 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis. The other vehicles involved and the drivers of those vehicles are a 2006 Ford F-150 pickup, driven by Emilio Cuevas of Corpus Christi; a 1994 Toyota pickup driven by Alfred Sousa of Rockport; and a 2007 Ford Expedition driven by Harvard Newt Noble, 69, of Portland.
Noble was transported to an area hospital via HALO-Flight with serious injuries, including two broken legs and a broken arm.
According to Cordova's report, Dabbs' vehicle was traveling southbound behind a vehicle which was not involved in the accident. The Toyota pickup, the Expedition, and the Ford pickup were northbound in that order.
The chain-reaction accident began when the driver of the Ford pickup attempted to pass the Expedition and the Toyota pickup.
As the Ford pickup passed the two vehicles, the driver of the southbound car in front of Dabbs' Marquis braked to avoid a head-on collision.
Dabbs failed to control his speed and veered left to avoid the vehicle in front of him, steering him into the path of the Ford pickup. Those two vehicles collided front left to front left.
Dabbs' vehicle continued forward out-of-control and struck the Toyota pickup in the area of the pickup's left rear quarter panel. The Toyota pickup then spun counterclockwise and struck the concrete guard rail with its right rear bumper.
The Expedition, which was behind the Toyota pickup, took evasive action to the right and came to rest up on the curb and guard rail, causing damage to the front and rear wheels.
Dabbs' car had spun counter-clockwise and was struck by the Expedition, causing the Expedition to strike the concrete guardrail in the area of its right rear quarter panel.
Dabbs' vehicle then spun around again counterclockwise and struck the northbound concrete guardrail with its right rear bumper before veering back into the southbound lane, stopping on the southbound curb.
The accident detoured traffic for almost five hours. DPS troopers reopened the causeway at about 7 p.m. after the vehicles were removed, the highway cleaned of debris, and the accident investigation was completed.
Charges are pending until the report is complete.
Responding to the scene were the Aransas County EMS, HALO-Flight, DPS, Fulton and Lamar volunteer fire departments, Aransas County Sheriff's Office, and Aransas County animal control.
At the scene it was reported a dog in one of the vehicles survived the accident.

The concrete roof tiles have now all been removed except for the 700 building. No new shingles have yet been installed. There is a 60% chance of rain tomorrow. Removing a roof is necessarily messy. I swept the debris from my decks, but I'm not sure how others are handling it. I know that at least two offsite rental management companies have had complaints from rentors about the noise, debris, and early starting time for the roofing crew(7:30 a.m.). If I were doing a roof at this time of year, I would want to start at daylight. I really can't understand why the board would want to do this work at the such a peak rental time. Painting of the buildings continues.
The April financial statements are as confusing as ever. There is a charge of $18,000 for pier repair. This didn't happen. I would guess this is a draw against the finger pier replacement. Chris had assured owners that the assessment money would be accounted for in a separate account. This was an important consideration for the owners, but it's not happening. Justin told me that he will send a letter to owners expaining the costs that have been incurred with the assessement money. Maybe at that time the current accounting will be corrected. Johnson and Cate billed us for an extra $100 in April which puts us $700 0ver budget for the year for bookkeeping. We now have a category under utilities for "telephone". The April cost was $64.92. I have no idea what this phone is for.

A five-vehicle accident on the north end of the Copano Bay Causeway claimed the life of one person Tuesday afternoon.
The accident was called in at 2:23 p.m. The causeway was closed until shortly after 7 p.m. as DPS personnel conducted their investigation.

Yesterday saw lots of activity around here again. The roof tiles are being removed from the 300 and 400 buildings. The 600 building is being painted, yellow. The 200 building is being caulked to prepare for painting. The water lines that were punctured were repaired. Will Petty agrees that this should not be an HOA expense and if someone from management will contact him, I'm sure the cost of repair can be allocated other than to the HOA.
When CMT came out to do the landscape work last week, they did trim the grass around the inside of the tennis court. They said they had been told that they could not go onto the tennis court unless they were wearing tennis shoes so that's why they never trimmed inside the court fence. I'll have to think about that one!
Jim Sikes is having double knee replacement surgery tomorrow. I wish him well. The rehab can be tricky.
Pat(602) said he picked up six trout last Thursday. He usually fishes the Allan's Bight area although I didn't ask him this time. The water is so pretty right now, except for the wind. Most guides favor June for trout fishing.
Rob was busy helping Justin and Rachel move last weekend. Ron Layton said he also moved last weekend. His family moved into the Villas.

Work continues on the finger piers. These most recently worked on two have not had the posts cut down. I hope that at least two posts will be left. Better yet, four would be nice to tie on to. Boaters that were in the harbor this weekend were not real happy that we had not put in anything for them to tie on to, but progress is progress.
The roofing shingles are due to be here on Monday. There was and still is some facia painting going on yesterday and today.
A 27 inch red was caught in the mitigation site this weekend.

We survived another Will Petty "Cast for a Cause" fishing tournament. They had a great time and the weather was fine. At the weighin yesterday there were at least thirty boats here. They were lined on both sides of the entrance road and on both sides of the parking area from 701 to 604. They had a really good catch. Nearly every ice chest was loaded with hugh reds and really big trout. Of course, they used croaker. Only seven fish could be weighed, two reds and five trout. The winning team had over 31 pounds. The guides used big electric fillet knives and wasted so much good meat. Several years ago I took a bucket to the cleaning stand and asked them to throw the rib meat into it for me. I ended up with over ten pounds of trout after I took out the bones. At least the guides made the seagulls happy.
When the tent erection crew showed up Friday morning, I knew what would happen. They drove the long steel pins into the ground with reckless abandon. Before John turned the water off I saw two and probably three water lines that had been pierced. In recent years the HOA paid for the repair. I'm not sure what will happen this year. It always seemed wrong for owners who have nothing to do with the tournament to have to pay for damages.
The winds finally got into the summer pattern on Wednesday, finally. They were light in the morning and just a sea breeze in the afternoon. The water is very clear and a lot of small trout are being caught under the lights at night. Ron repaired four of the lights that have been out on the north pier. The owner of the house directly across from 501 has installed a green light in the channel. It is well within casting distance from our side. Personally, I have never had much luck with green lights. Richy had several put in years ago and I caught exactly one keeper during the two years they were in place.

I believe the decision has been made to go with all yellow buildings. Justin said that Karra and Richy and Deborah(210) all want all yellow. I can go either way. All that I see is that with all the white, the yellow is kinda bleached out. Looking from the back of the 100 building it appears that the yellow is less prominent than it is on the front. The trim does not stand out. The motel looks very good trimmed in white with the darker color. The back of the 100 building here almost looks hot. Even the yellow looks different from the front to the back with all the white trim.