I went by to visit Scott's boat at The Boat Shop yesterday. Ben was tearing it down to see exactly what the problem was. The picture shows what we first thought. The cylinder on the left shows the rings have come completely apart and a major repair is in order. Ben says he can have the engine rebuilt in two weeks. Fortunately, this is not the busiest time of the year for boat repairs.

On Wednesday, Marv and I went back to Ayres Reef. The tide had dropped a foot and the water temperature was down to 64 degrees. The water was too shallow to fish the same areas that Scott and I fished on Sunday. We tried both DOA and live shrimp. We caught only about 12 small trout with most preferring the DOA. On the way back we fished the east shoreline of Sundown Bay. We ended up with a total of 14 small trout and one keeper that was over 16 inches. Marv and Rita returned to Houston yesterday.
No concrete work was done on the entrance road this week.

After months of unusually high tides, the last norther has pushed out about a foot of water. This should have a positive effect on the fishing. Four guests staying in 601 waded the HEB shoreline today and came back with three trout, two reds, and four drum. The water conditions were not that great, but the fish were still biting.
Someone else must have shared my concern about the lights mounted on the pier railing that I mentioned earlier. Today I noticed they have been removed.
Gas prices continue to drop on a daily basis. The Exxon station today had a price of $2.02. The local newscasts show Corpus stations are as low as $1.85.

After months of unusually high tides, the last norther has pushed out about a foot of water. This should have a positive effect on the fishing. Four guests staying in 601 waded the HEB shoreline today and came back with three trout, two reds, and four drum. The water conditions were not that great, but the fish were still biting.

Yesterday, Scott(702) and I finally found some reasonable trout action. We went to Ayres Reef about 11 a.m. There were five waders on the reef and we could see them netting some trout. We threw DOA shrimp and began to get some hits. We caught nine trout in three hours. Five were keepers, but we lost two of those at the boat. That's not great, but a vast improvement over recent results. We tried Gulp, spoons, and topwaters with not even a single hit. The DOAs did all the good.
Without Barbara( the flounder lady) here, the other flounder lady(Pat) has had the flounder action all to herself. They arrived on Friday and the flounder better lookout. I saw her carrying an 18 inch flounder that she caught at the fishing cleaning stand yesterday.
Speaking of flounder, I stated earlier that Scott and friends caught 17 flounder. The number was actually 21. Most were gigged in Carlos Bay. The 17 flounder belonged to Brian Pontoon who gigged them on last Wednesday. Brian and his wife, Patsy, own and operate the B&P Resale Shop here in Rockport.
This afternoon Jayme came to my door to give me the phone number for Tom Stehn, the director of operations at the Aransas Wildlife Refuge. She said he wanted some more information on the sighting of Whooping Cranes that I mentioned on the blog last week. I called him and had an interesting and informative conversation. The sighting that I reported at Sundown Bay on last Tuesday was of a Whooping Crane that had arrived the day before. They keep really extensive records of Whooping Crane activity. This year they are expecting about 285 birds. I told Tom about seeing two Cranes at Newcombe's Bend in Copano about three years ago. I thought they were just passing through. He said those two now have taken up their winter residence at that spot and defend it against other birds. I had seen two birds down at the Ranch House by Mud Island. He said there are five or six that stay in that area. I believe he said there are about 17 that reside on San Jose Island. All this time I thought the Whoopers all stayed at the refuge in one big colony!

Randy(308) sent this from his recent trip with Terry Coufal. Terry has a really good website with complete fishing reports. It can be found at www.terrycoufal.com and then click on "reports". Terry does say in his reports that he has never seen fishing so poor for this long a time.

Today I had another good client Randy Schulte. Randy got finned by a hardhead catfish the evening before so I wasn't sure if he could fish today. But he arrived at the dock ready to go. We headed back to St. Charles where I had been catching the black drum. We finally got them going and managed limits of some really nice fish. I hate to admit it, but Randy had caught the biggest a nice 22-24 in fish and as I turned to put it in the cooler I "accidentally" dropped it overboard so I guess there is no proof that the beat me !!!! Cant tell you how many undersized fish we caught today. Tons of action but only one keeper red caught by Randy. Great day on the water with an avid fisherman. Todays photo is of Randy with his nice red.

I have heard numerous guests complain about the lack of fishing opportunities because of our damaged piers situation. This morning I talked to some folks who had driven over 600 miles to stay with us and were so disappointed with the piers they said would not likely return. This week some additional lights were added to the pier as in the picture above. I'm not sure just how effective this type of lighting will be. This type will not penetrate the water to any significant depth and won't likely attract any trout.

This pair of lights is mounted directly on the pier railing. We do need some additional lighting on the pier walkway itself, but these lights could present some liability issues. Small hands could be burned by the hot light or worse. I can only hope that if a new pier is built, really adequate lighting is part of the project.
Scott(702) had some business associates here this weekend. They went with a floundering guide Thursday evening. They picked up 17 flounder from about 7:30 p.m. until midnight. The next morning they went in Scott's boat out to Long Reef. I got a call from Scott just after noon that his engine had shut down. Gus(203) and I went out to tow them in. When Scott removed one of the spark plugs, part of the piston ring was embedded in the plug. Not a good thing.
Later Gus, Marv, and I went out to Spaulding Reef. Marv caught one small trout, Gus caught one 20 inch Drum, and I caught two Robin Fish. Not too great. Today we went out for three hours and did not catch anything. Gus later used my boat to take out his family and caught two drum. One group staying here came back with six reds between the six of them. They had been wading at Paul's Mott. I know that's where they caught them, because I saw them there. Lyle(304) caught one 22 inch red off the pier last night. I have not seen nor heard of anyone catching a keeper trout this weekend. The water temperature was in the high 70s early last week and after the latest front it dropped to the low 70s. We all had hoped that would help, but I guess not. I did see my first two Whooping Cranes of the season on Tuesday.

Its hard to tell which is in worse shape, the American economy or fishing in these parts. When I catch anything at all its encouraging. Tuesday afternoon Marv and I went out to Paul's Mott. We used DOAs, perch, and spoons. The bad news is we had only one bite, the good news, if there were any, is that the trout was a keeper, by one half inch. The DOA did the trick. Wednesday, the weather conditions were about as good as they get. Marv had gone with a guide two weeks ago who took him into Sundown Bay and they caught some trout, so we tried that. I went all the way to the entrance of Mesquite Bay and then drifted across Sundown Bay to the west shoreline. Nothing happened. We could hardly lose a shrimp. We tried the south entrance to Sundown off the intracoastal and caught a few small reds and trout. We then came out to Aransas Bay and fished near the Goose Island breakwater project just off the intracoastal. We found two keeper trout there. Later in the afternoon we went out again and fished near the HEB property at Tin Can Point. I caught one trout that was 14.99 inches, but wouldn't stretch to 15 inches. Last Saturday Marv went with guide and caught just one keeper red. I guess things are tough for guides too.
Early Wednesday morning Richy, Rob, Justin, and I went in my boat out to the barge doing the work on the breakwater. The workers had reported that they had stuck concrete under the shoreguard they were to replace. Upon further review it was determined that what they hit was the broken off portion of the old shoreguard. It was noticed, as I wrote about last week, that they were using shorter pieces of shoreguard than specified. They have since begun using longer length pieces. At least one of the pieces they removed was only ten feet long. They were supposed to be 18 to 20 feet. We really had no quality control over the job Moose's people were doing and now we're paying for it.
I understand the heirs of Edd Bowers' estate are trying to sell his condo. I believe they are asking $300,000. Moyra tells me that she has her house listed on www.forsalebyowner.com and is asking $885,000 there. She is very anxious to move to San Antonio and sell her house here. She told me today that the Sea Shell Shores owners are being asked for $1,300 for building a new lift station in conjunction with Phase II and the Sailboat development. Earlier I had heard that Sailboat will become a partner with us on sharing the boat ramp and costs for maintenace of the breakwater and channel. That's probably not a bad deal. The costs for maintaining the breakwater and channel will be ongoing and not inexpensive.

Kinsel's barge continues to work on repairing the breakwater. I would think this is an expense that would be shared with Phase II and Sea Shell Shores, but from what I know so far Phase I is paying for it. You can see in the picture the water today is really beautiful.
Work also continues on the security camera installation. A window was installed in the maintenance shed wall to provide surveillance. The camera equipment will be kept in the shed. At the top of the post what appears to be a light is really a camera. At the far end near the boat parking, the post there has two cameras attached. Another is mounted at the northeast corner of the tennis court. The last camera monitors the ingress and egress from the property.
Another length of concrete was put down yesterday on the entry road. It appears they will complete the entry road work prior to the annual owners' meeting.

Pat(602) sent these to show at least someone found some fish. Pretty nice catch. The top one was over 30" and was released. The red on the bottom was 28".
Marv, myself, and another friend went out in Copano today. There were bait fish everywhere, but not much chasing them. We only caught one small trout, one small red, and one gafftop.
Kinsel began work on the breakwater this morning. They picked up the two washed up whalers and will reuse them. From what I can see on the barge, they are taking up some 20' shoreguard and replacing it with 16' lengths. That really should not be a problem. It wasn't the shoreguard that failed. The barge was being brought in for the lunch break when the steering gears came apart. They used alternating thrust from the two engines to maneuver back into the harbor. They will get a new gearbox Seaworthy and get back to work tomorrow.

I understand that after a review of the improvement projects budget, we will be able to concrete the parking area. The increased cost will be just north of $80,000. I think the contractor was encouraging us to go with asphalt because his profit margin may have been greater with asphalt. I was not initially in favor of concrete, but after seeing the job that is being done on the 700 building area, I am sold on concrete. I have not talked to any owners who do not think this is the way to go. There is a problem in getting the concrete work completed soon because the last owner assessment is not due until April, 2009 thus producing a cash flow problem. I believe Chris and Karra are going to pay their 2009 assessment in advance so that the concrete on the parking area can be done sooner.
However, there are some other projects that are going to have to be funded, dredging the channel and building a pier, that will like require an assessment in the area of just under $2,000.
Fishing has continued to be dismal. Scott(702) went out with his family on both Saturday and Sunday and did not get a keeper. Randy(308) went out with a guide on Monday and picked up one red and a few drum. Marv went with a guide on Saturday and picked up four trout. Phil(staying in 501) said he has never seen fishing so poor. The guys staying in 210 are still picking up a few reds. Six of them, in two boats, got seven yesterday and eight today. Larry and Ruth(staying in 503) have been out each of the last four days and have not caught a keeper yet. Fishing off the deck has been unproductive as well.

Jim and Barbara say "Hi". Check those new wheels.

This is Ray Mayo with his Jack Crevalle that I mentioned last week.

Crevalle Jack

Family Carangidae, JACKS and POMPANOS
Caranx hippos

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Description: color bluish-green to greenish-gold back and silvery or yellowish belly; soft dorsal and anal fins almost identical in size; prominent black spot on operculum (gill cover); black spot at the base of each pectoral fin; no scales on throat.

Similar Fish: other Caranx.

Where found: common in both INSHORE waters and the open sea.

Size: usually 3 to 5 pounds.

*Florida Record: 51 lbs.

Remarks: tolerates a wide range of salinities; schools corner a school of baitfish at the surface and feed with commotion that can be seen at great distances; feeds mainly on small fish; peak spawning occurs OFFSHORE from March through September.

* The Florida records quoted

The south entrance lane concrete was put down Thursday. It will be really nice when finished.
Fishing is still very poor. Pat(602), who really knows what he is doing, is also having trouble finding the trout. He started at Mud Island Wednesday and worked his way to Long Reef without a keeper. Thursday, he did find two barely legal trout. Others here have had about the same success. A few reds came out of St. Charles bay and today I saw a Jack Crevalle and one red come in from Lydia Ann Channel. Marv and his son in law are going with a guide tomorrow. I had planned to try perch off the deck this morning, but during the night someone lifted my bait bucket and perch. I can't wait for the new security cameras, lol.
I visited with Keith(606) on Wednesday. He said that his son, Kent(previous owner of 206), was in a car accident on Monday. A 16 year old girl on her way to school hit Kent head on. She died and he had some broken bones, but is doing well at this time. I was very sorry to hear about the young lady. Kent is fortunate to be doing as well as he is. I hope he continues to improve.
I heard from Lynn Edwards on Wednesday. She heads the Save Our Cedar Bayou organization. She said things are going well. The environmental assessment is completed. She is waiting to hear from the General Land Office and expects that will happen soon and that they will approve. Then the application to dredge will go to the Corps of Engineers for approval. If things go well all the way, work could begin next spring.

I reviewed the financial statements for June, July, and August today. They are much cleaner than at this time last year. I found only one clearly identifiable Phase II expense that was charged to Phase I. Over $1,000 has been collected from owners who are/were late with their payments. A considerable part of that amount was charged to a board member.
There were two payments made to Kinsel Construction in late August. Today his barge arrived and is parked in our marina. I am guessing he will soon begin work on repairing our breakwater. I believe the contract said that he wanted half his fee up front.
Two Charter cable vehicles were here today. I took the opportunity to ask them about the digital channels. I have been hearing that not everyone receives them. The employees were not too sure, but said that some receivers pick up the digital signal and some don't. I get the digital signal perfectly on one set and another newer set tells me the signal is encrypted.
Steve and Carrie, the barbecue folks right around the corner, will be open tomorrow, but will close and move their operation to Seafair for the rest of the week beginning on Thursday.
The new mailboxes work really well. I don't have to worry about picking up the mail every day. It is secure in the new box until I decide to check on it.
I hear that the owners' meeting is definitely on for November 8th at 9 a.m.
Justin tells me the concrete contractor feels that putting concrete on our parking area would be a waste of money. He feels that a two inch coating of new asphalt over the old will do just as well and save over $60,000. Traffic is now driving on the new concrete on one side of the entrance road. It is a really smooth drive.

This is what guide, Brent Hopkins, recently said about the local fishing. I think he has it right, but I hope it doesn't take too long for things to return to normal. Usually guides are overly optimistic. When they say its been "grind" they mean the average angler is not going to catch much of anything.

Just before the hurricane we had an incredible prolonged incoming tide which turned the fish on and made them really bite. Limits were easy with those kind of conditions just before the storm, but since the storm it's been a real grind. We had such a high tide due to the storm that afterwards it was hard to find a good concentration of fish. The fish & bait were so scattered because we had so much water for them to roam in. It took nearly a week to lose some of that water, but just when I thought things were going to get back to normal, we had conditions for another round of astronomically high tides. Don't that beat all? The off-shore flow brought in another very high tide and kept us on it for at least a week. Again we had to battle the high tide conditions. Even the bay shrimpers have been having a big problem with finding enough bait to stock the bait stands. But now the tides and water levels are just beginning to get to a normal level again and I believe our "catching" should pick up for the next couple of months or so once things get back to normal.

The large tents for this weekend's Seafair were put up early last week. They are expecting a big crowd this year.
Kontiki was pretty booked this weekend. A lot of boats went out and I talked to some when they returned. The fishing is about as poor as I have seen it. I know I can't catch anything. No shrimp boats are working the bay. Bait shrimp are scarce. Even shore birds seem to be down in numbers. I have not seen feeding gulls in the bay in months. We usually see gulls perched on the piers during the day, but now we see very few. I think the pelicans have written off our fish cleaning stand area. No one is cleaning fish.
On the upside, gas prices dropped below $3 per gallon today.
Work has started on the south side of the entrance road.
CMT landscape service came out Saturday before last and then again on Wednesday. The grass looks good, but could use some water. I'm surprised that CMT came out twice within five days, but I guess they get $240 per visit and if they miss one they just come back when then can to keep the money flowing. Bedingfield Pest Control came out last Thursday. I had not seen them in a long time. They said two employees had quit and they closed their Ingleside office and now have to come out of Kingsville. Two men in two trucks spent all day here and did a good job. Of course, now I'm finding dead roaches. One owner came in Friday and found his door unlocked and slightly ajar. Someone probably needs to follow up when the doors have all been opened to insure that things are secure.
I visited the Johnson&Cate office today to review the financial statements for March., April, and May. It is much easier now to review them since the Phase II accounting in being done by a company in Aransas Pass. I plan to review June, July, and August tomorrow.

You can see from the length of the shadows that these workers worked pretty late into the evening to extend the concrete up the road. I don't know how they are doing this with the mosquitoes as bad are they are. This portion is being placed on top of the existing asphalt.

Work has begun on installing the security camera network. A ditchwitch was rented and John ditched all over the place yesterday. Conduit will carry the wiring under ground. Two long 8" by 8" posts have been delivered. I would guess these are to mount the cameras. Work continues on the entrance road.
I visited with Moyra(a previous owner of 206) on Sunday. She has sold her unit in Phase II. She has placed a "For Sale by Owner" sign on her house in Sea Shell Shores. She is asking $999,000.
Electrical issues, primarily due to the recent high tide, are being addressed. The power to the fish cleaning stand has been restored.