Marketing continues for the sale of condos. A sign like this is posted on highway 35 as well as this one on Fulton Beach Road. There is about a quarter page ad in the Rockport Pilot also.

The largest trout hanging on the board here is 27 inches. Overall the largest was 29 inches.


It's hard to get a perspective here of the size of the fish unless you know just how big these icechests are. The beer can in one might give a frame on reference. I did allright. I asked for the rib meat that is usually fed to the seagulls and ended up with two full one gallon bags and one quart bag. I've already fried up a bunch for supper and will be eating well for the rest of the week.
The guides said if they had had a normal charter and not a tournament situation, they would have been back early and making excuses. Most of the fish were caught after noon. One group fished in north Aransas Bay.
I did ask what they thought would be the best surface for our fish cleaning station. They said the best is a product called 'starboard' that can be purchsed from Seaworthy Marine. I'll have to tell Justin about that.

The Lonestar Legacy organization is having their annual fundraiser here this weekend. They had their auction this evening and tomorrow is the fishing tournament. They have a website at www.lonestarlegacy.com that has a lot of pictures from last year's event. I'll be interested to see if this year's fish haul is as good as last year's. The event is called Cast for a Cause.

The lights are up on the crossbridge now. I think this will be a popular fishing spot in the evenings. There is some fine tuneing to do. Out of three fishing lights only one works. The lights come on two hours before sunset. There is still some left over debris in the water from the old crossbridge.

Scott and his family went into the Gulf for Memorial Day.

The Gulf was beautiful this past weekend. Waves no more than three feet and most of the time two or less. The water was a clear blue/green. We went out Saturday looking for a specific rock area but I must have the wrong coordinates because the rocks were no where to be found. This was a little frustrating because we were a good 18 miles from the jetties. We fished some near shore rigs on the way back with no success. I think we will call Saturday a successful boat ride. The weather and water were so enjoyable on Saturday that we went out again on Sunday but with a different agenda. We went straight for the anchored ships waiting for their turn to go into port. I could not find the rocks on Saturday but I felt confident I could find several oil tankers. My confidence was justified. We found several ships. Stopping at the first we dropped ribbon fish in the water and drifted along the stern of the ship. After only a couple of minutes Amy's pole bent over and the reel started singing. We quickly landed a 36" Kingfish. As I pulled the Kingfish into the boat I noticed a worker on a crew boat tied along side the anchored ship. He was furiously waving his hands, hollering at me and stretching tight a blue and white flag. I could see he wanted us to get away from the ship and we obliged. We moved to the second anchored ship. My curiosity got the best of me and I called a harbor pilot friend of mine and inquired about the significance of the blue and white flag. He promptly told me that is the international sign for Diver Down. No wonder the man on the crew boat was so excited about us fishing close to him. Learn something new every day . . . anyway, at the second ship we hooked another King fish and a 42" shark. The girls were more excited about the shark than the King fish. They feel they have now personally lived one of the countless shark shows from Discovery or The Learning Channels.

Both days we returned from the Gulf safely and without incident. I cherish my opportunities to spend time with the family in the beauty of Mother Nature. I try not to take these experiences for granted but take the time to stop and enjoy them.

I heard from Lynn Edwards of Save Our Cedar Bayou today. Everyone wants to know what the Army Corps of Engineers has decided.
She sent me the letter below that was submitted by Texas Parks and Wildlife that opposes the dredging permit. All other state and federal agencies filed similar, very similar, letters in opposition. She is not sure what is driving this. Anyone who fishes the Mesquite Bay and Aransas Bay area knows the fishing has been dismal since the passes have been closed.
Lynn met with the Aransas County Commissioners and all are in support of the permit to dredge. She has answered all the questions raised by the objectors. They may be just stalling. She plans to meet with state officials including the governor very soon. She has the support of Sen. Hager and Rep. Todd Hunter. She asks that Texans contact their senators and representatives to garner their support since this seems to be a political rather than an environmental issue. (Remember to double click on the letter images to increase their size.)

Welcome to our newest owners William and Lynn Goeglein-Porter of Ingleside. They have purchased condo 206.

I heard from Heather Snyder(our bookkeeper)today that Jim Brooks(502) passed away on April 10th. Jim had served on our HOA board of directors. He will be greatly missed. We had some really long conversations on their back deck.

Anne and Jim Teeling brought their new Blue Wave to Kontiki last week. They asked me to go out with them to give some tips on the operation of their new boat. I suggested they call Brett Hopkins of Ace In The Hole. Brett took them out on Monday and they learned a lot about the bay and their boat. By Thursday they had this 22" drum they picked up at Long Reef. They will be back in October to try again.

Next week is the last chance for owners to protest their property appraisals with the Aransas County Appraisal District. The posting of a number of condos for sale could not have come at a better time. One owner called in and had his appraisal immediately decreased by $18,000. There are some benchmark condos that can be used to protest other condo values. The sale prices for 503, 601, and 704 give owners a lot of leverage. The appraisal district considers a furnished condo to have a furnished value of $10,000 over the market value. For example 704 is listed at $134,900 furnished therefore the market value would be $124,900. Other two bedroom units, even those not remodeled, in the 700 building are appraised at $160,000. That's a difference of $35,000.
I don't see any help for the bayside condo owners, but owners in the 500, 600, and 700 buildings should have a good case for lowering their appraised value.

David Williams(603) found this trout action in Corpus Christi Bay today. There was only one trout in the boat after the first four hours. All the rest were caught during the next two hours before the heavy rains ended the trip. He says he's ready to try it again tomorrow.

At the end of the day on Wednesday, the pier repair had shown some real progress.

By Thursday evening, the railing was up. Jim(210) and I checked it out and noticed that some of the leftover lumber debris that is visible in the top photo had floated up to the wall behind the condos. Jim contacted Justin and he sent out help to remove the debris. Jim said he fished out one piece that was five feet long.
The center post in the middle of the deck is to be used to mount lighting that will illuminate the deck area. Fishing lights will be mounted on the corners of the deck. I would prefer to mount the fishing lights on tall 4x4s that are attached to the north, east, and south sides of the tall center post, similar to the way the martin house posts are mounted. Long carriage bolts could be used. This would provide lighting to the deck as well as light on the water. This would likely preserve the lighting fixtures in the face of tropical depressions that have, in the past, damaged the pier. Last summer we lost two of the expensive fixtures and they have never been recovered. At one time the board policy was to remove the fixtures when there was a storm in the gulf. Mounting on the center post would allow for that to be done easily.

I posted earlier about the New Mexico fellow catching the reds from his small homemade boat. Here he is coming into the marina from another bay fishing trip.

Mike Aldrich shows off his 18" trout that he caught today. He used a small mullet and leaned his rod against the sign at the end of the Phase II pier where it joins the concrete wall. We were talking near his truck about ten feet away when the rod started to bend. He walked his catch up to the HEB beach. Outside of the trout, his only catch a big stingray.
The fish talk of the day was about the two big reds that were caught yesterday. The fellow from New Mexico who comes here several times a year and fishes from his homemade boat went out the channel and back around near Moyra's house. He tied on to the breakwater and proceeded to catch the reds. One was oversized and had to be released. Today he was back there early in the morning, but did not catch one. I saw him late this evening, near dark, coming in from out in the bay and bouncing like an oversized cork. His boat can't be over six feet long.
Jim Jacobus and his son went to Bird Island this morning and picked up six reds and four trout.
Nancy Jacobs hosted an open house this morning in 205. I saw about six to eight cars arrive to check out the condo. Gus(203) told me today that he has reduced his price to $275,000.
New carpet was installed in 601 today. Bedingfield came by to finish the pest control treatment that was started yesterday.
HBO has been removed from our Charter Cable lineup. The plan was to remove HBO to offset the cost of bringing on line the wireless internet.
Concrete work has been posponed this week because it could not have been completed before the Memorial Day crowd arrived. They plan the next and last pour to occur next Wednesday.
It was interesting that when my google stats for last week arrived, I noticed that Austin, Houston, and San Antonio had each sent the identical number of visitors to the blog. There were 25 from each city.
I visited with Pack(former owner of 307) yesterday. He is recovering from wrist surgery after a ladder collapsed under him.

It may be necessary to click on this photo to enlarge it to see why I posted it. There are two tall palm trees near the back corner of 708. This Eurasian Collared Dove has a nest in one and the Mockingbirds have a nest in the tree next door. They have formed an alliance to defend their territory from the ever present Boattail Grackles. The Grackles have a nest or two in the palm trees near the pool. This morning the doves and Mockingbirds were taking turns chasing the grackles in circles around the roof of the 700 building.

The parking lot looks a little empty. This won't last long as we will have a big crowd this weekend and for every weekend until late August. New strips were painted on the new concrete. The stripes are now yellow and somewhat more narrow. The old spaces were a generous ten feet apart and now most are nine feet across. This added one space to the 100 building and two to the 200 building. I would guess other buildings also gained spaces.

Rob and Tony began work today on repairing the Phase I pier. Light winds the rest of the week will help to allow progress toward completion. The deadline for the agenda for the Texas School Land Board to hear our application for replacing the Phase II pier was not met. We will be on the agenda for the first meeting in June.


The shoreguard on the south side of the breakwater continues to come apart. Kinsel & Company worked on it one day and took off. Each day it is not worked on adds more expense to the final cost of repairs. While it remains open the newly dredged channel is at risk. The dredge barge pulled out today. I didn't see it leave so I don't know if it left by land or by sea.

The Babes on the Bay tournament brought a huge crowd to Rockport on Saturday. This is a picture of the weigh in. The cars were parked all the way around the ski basin just to get into the weigh in. I don't recall when I've seen more boats here at Kontiki. The trout the women brought in were really big. They could weigh in three trout and one red. I have never seen so many trout over thirty inches long, except in photos. I saw one of my East Central friends, Susan Gonzales, who had particapted. She said she caught only gafftop and skipjacks. There is a website for the tournament. www.babesonthebay.com The last time I checked it still showed the 2008 winners. I'm sure they will soon post the 2009 champs.


Scott(702) entered his daughter Meg and her friend Katie. Here they weigh in their one trout.



Here Katie shows her trout while still on Scott's boat. She caught it near Paul's Mott.

Wally and Bunnie Montgomery are long time owners of unit 406. Wally has had his first book published and sent this note to me. Congratulations Wally.



A 1961 Hopewell High School graduate who now lives in Belton, TX, Wally Montgomery smiles as he holds his first published novel, "Regeneration".
After several years of drafting and rewriting, Wally used his own company, Bryn Colwyn Press, to publish his first work of science fiction.
Asked about his book, Wally stated, "This is a story about a brilliant scientist who, during his search to find a way for humans to regrow severed limbs, develops an experimental drug from the venom of a rare subspecies of Black Mamba." Although Wally invents Republic University and the Paisley Reptile Research Center in his novel, many other places mentioned are well-known to Central Texas residents. "After losing a hand in a traffic accident, the scientist becomes his own guinea pig and injects himself with his experimental drug. The results exceed his expectations.
Great discoveries, however, sometimes come with a price. The CEO of a major pharmaceutical corporation sanctions theft and murder to acquire the formula--and the Black Mamba. The mamba escapes and terrorizes a Central Texas university town."
Wally's ideas for this and other stories spring from a vivid imagination and familiarity with the story's setting. "That's a great combination for crafting a story that's both fun to write and, hopefully, fun to read."
Another soon-to-be-published novel invites the reader to journey with several World War I "Doughboys" back in time to the Civil War. An avid Civil War buff in his younger years, Wally spent a lot of time exploring the
local battlefields, which provided the setting for that story.
Writing may seem an unusual pastime for this retired Army lieutenant colonel whose second career spanned eleven years on the staff of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas. Full-time retirement gave him the time needed to seriously pursue his interest in writing. The Writer's League of Texas recognized Wally as a finalist in the 2005 Novel Manuscript Contest for "Regeneration" in the Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror category. Now it appears in print and is available from the author at wmontgom@vvm.com.
Proceeds from his novel will be donated to the Central Asia Institute to help build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The replacement of the crossbridge has been completed except for the lighting. Rob will now take his barge and crew to work on replacing the end of the Phase I pier.
Concrete was poured in the parking area this morning. They have reached the area up to the maintenance shed. The last two pours have had extra calcium added to the batch to speed the drying process. This decreases the strength somewhat, but it lets cars get on the concrete in about 36 hours.
There will likely be a crowd this weekend with the Babes On The Bay fishing tournament. Large tents are set up downtown near the ski basin. There are over 800 entries this year.

Although the wind was too much for me today, some friends who are staying with me went out anyway. They spent most of their time at Paul's Mott. Their total was two drum, two trout, one gafftop, and one shark. The guests in 107 were out most of the day too. They came back with about 10 large gafftop.

Here is a complete listing of the Phase I and Phase II condos that are being sold. The goal is to sell them all by the end of the summer. Two are already under contract. Contact Rachel if you need more information. A double click on the price list will produce a larger image.

Rachel Schmidt, Realtor
RE/MAX Security Real Estate
(361) 230-3245 mobile
(361) 729-2256 RE/MAX Office
(361) 729-2318 Kontiki Office
(361) 729-3212 Fax
1-888-404-6359 Virtual Fax
www.texasgulfproperty.com

Wow!

This new part was installed on the pool pump today. I believe its called a "vac alert". What it does is protect someone from getting trapped against the vacuum that recycles the water through the filter. When it senses a higher than normal vacuum it sends air into the line to allow the trapped object or person to pull away from the vacuum. I'm told that our whole pool piping system needs to be replaced because of leaks in the system.
My next door neighbor for the winter generously left a blooming hibiscus. Ron planted it in the bed next to my cedar tree. It lasted about a week before the cut ants found it and stripped it bare. Those cuts ants are very active at this time of the year. The only way to get rid of them is to use the product sold by Adams Nursery and others that I have blogged about before. Ron says he is not allowed to buy the product. Our board has always preferred the "tried and true method" of pouring bleach into the ant nest. That is environmentally irresponsible as well as ineffective, but cheap.

This is how the sand pile looked this morning and then, about noon, the dump trucks arrived and hauled it away. I sure think we could have used it.
I met a Mr. Porter yesterday from Ingleside who is in the process of buying unit 206. They plan to close about two weeks from now. This will be the only unit that I have ever known to have been sold at a loss by the owner. If my numbers are close, the loss will be about $50,000. It may be some time until we see sale prices at the levels they were just a couple of years ago. I guess the national economy is offsetting all the improvements that we have made in the property.

The concrete work has been completed on the east side of the campus. Work began today on the west side in front of 506. They will proceed down next to the tennis court to allow traffic to continue around. The final phase will be the outer edge of the west side nearest the parking side for the 600 building.
The dredge work continued this morning. They did not work in the afternoon. From where I saw them working this morning, they may have finished.
Kinsel has not come back to finish the breakwater repair.
George and friend Mike Flowers came by this afternoon to clean their catch of trout. Two weeks ago they had a fine catch. Today they went back to the Land Cut and had only five barely keeper trout.
The quarterly budget numbers are out. We are way over budget for the three month period, $41,796 to be exact. This is nearly $700 per unit. If that trend continues, it would be over $2,500 per unit for the year. We will still have a big assessment for the pier projects. After that we ought to get a break. Owners who are trying to sell are starting to lower their asking prices. I hear that 206 has lowered his price to $279,000. Unit 104 had an open house on Sunday. I believe seven units are on the market now.
Ron Layton, our grounds employee, tells me he is moving to Corpus at the end of the month and will no longer work here.
Chris, Rob, and Justin went deep sea fishing today. The winds were not too bad. I don't know how they did.
The Mujica and Herrera family staying in 606 this weekend caught a 22 inch red in the marina.
I saw Stewart(Becky's son) here today. He was working with a tree trimming crew. They used a bucket lift to trim the taller palm trees. They must have been paid by the number of leaves they cut. They only left about five at the very top of each tree.
Scott and I went to the Nautical Flea Market on Saturday morning. They were expecting 3,000 people. I know there must have been about 2,999 when we were there. There were some good buys.
The Reynolds(304) were here this weekend.
Jim and Kristie(208) were here in their place.
Sandra and Keith and Taylor(508) came over from Corpus.
Paul and Christine(505)and the boys were here for the weekend.
Nancy and Leo(507) and grandson Koy left this morning.
Joe Mitchell(709) arrived today.
Pat Noack(602) and friend Guy Bodine came in today and are going out fishing in the morning from Goose Island.

This is the barge that Rob purchased last week from a person in Port O'Conner. He will use it to finish the crossbridge and to build the "super pier". We will save a lot of money by Rob doing the pier rather than bidding it out. The Texas School Land Board will meet on May 19th to consider our permit. In the meantime, Rob will begin taking the old pier down since a permit is not needed for that.

These pictures show the need for additional sand to fill the area along the entrance road. The dropoff from the new concrete is at least eight inches in most places and a lot of fill would help. Along the bulkhead of the mitigation site there is some washout. We have about ten yards of sand from the concrete work piled in front of 508 right now. Likely tomorrow, a dump truck will show up to haul the sand away. I don't see why we can't save the trouble and cost later to just use the bobcat to place this sand where we need it now.

Work on the crossbridge continues. The new posts are installed. Shoreguard was added at the end near 608. A large pile of debris remains. The posts that I thought could be reused are all gone. I guess someone will use them. There were probably $2000 worth that could have been reused, perhaps in other projects. The new bridge is progressing from the boat ramp area. The new bridge is two feet higher. Instead of using steps to transition from the sidewalk area, a long ramp leads up to the higher lever. So far it looks really good.