Randy(308)sent this interesting article about local fishing.

Corpus Christi Caller Times
Forbidden no more: Fishing the former Naval Station
Fishing plentiful at spot near old base
By David Sikes

Saturday, August 20, 2011

INGLESIDE — Matt Stennett and a few of his closest friends recently caught 15 redfish in quick succession within sight of Ingleside on the Bay.
This is not particularly remarkable. Stennett is a skilled fishing guide, who finds similar success on the water many days. What's worthy to note about this accomplishment is that not too long ago Stennett's behavior could have become courtroom evidence in a federal case.
And in fact, any angler who had attempted last spring to do what Stennett did this recent summer morning, would likely have been ordered by megaphone to vacate the premises before catching a single fish. At least since Naval Station Ingleside was officially dedicated in 1992 — and certainly with greater vigor after the 911 attacks — gun wielding sailors aboard military vessels or from a security tower overlooking Corpus Christi Bay have had the authority to guard the Mine Warfare facility against encroaching anglers and would be intruders.
I assume that ignoring these verbal warnings would have been viewed as an act of terrorism or a really aggressive act of angling defiance. In 15 years I heard no reports of either within these forbidden waters.
But I've heard numerous accounts of intimidation from unsuspecting anglers visited by armed military security forces aboard inflatable zodiac boats. And I learned that locals labeled the Naval station's manned security tower "the deer blind" for its boxy appearance and its narrow gun windows facing the bay.
But these waters are forbidden no more. A bugler's reveille no longer announces the dawn at the 400-acre compound as it had since 1992.
Naval Station Ingleside officially closed last year in April.
I assume the facility's new owner, Canyon Supply and Logistics, won't be allowed to restrict anglers from plying its rocky shoreline, bulkheads, concrete docks and plunging boat basins.
This past week, Stennett offered to show me his newfound bounty near Ingleside on the Bay in his brand new Tran Sport XLR8, powered by a 250 high-output E-TEC Evinrude. Rockport Marine's general manager Chip Harmon coordinated the trip and agreed to tag along.
We got an early start from Cove Harbor to work out a few bugs with the new engine, which turned out to be a smart plan. Did you know Rockport Marine is the only local boat dealer with a waterfront service dock, which is right there at Cove Harbor Marina. This was convenient for us, made even more so by Rockport Marine's helpful mechanics.
Once under way, the boat took us smoothly to the former military site, which is a shell of its former self. An imposing structure sat alongside the main dock where an unmanned deer blind still stands. The structure looks like the upper deck of an offshore oil platform or jack-up rig. Stennett said it wasn't there during his previous visit.
He wondered aloud whether bringing in this massive structure might have affected the fishing nearby.
A rather nonthreatening, civilian, juvenile brown pelican stood guard on the riprap that protected the shoreline north of the towering bulkhead where I imagine the USS Inchon or the USS Scout mine countermeasures ships once were moored. Did you know Naval Station Ingleside was at one time planned as a home port and training facility for aircraft carriers or battleships? Yep. Early on, the USS Lexington aircraft carrier and the USS Wisconsin battleship were each destined for Ingleside.
Stennett used electric power to slide silently into position. Based on previous success, Stennett outlined a plan to toss grunting piggy perch toward the shore and gently bounce them just above the rocks to the depths below. The bay bottom was about 15 feet below the deck of Stennett's Tran Sport.
More often than not, an aggressive redfish would engulf each piggy that made it to depth, Stennett said.
Soon, three piggies were hooked and submerged in the formerly forbidden waters. Actually four piggies. Stennett was testing the double-bait method.
After one or maybe two casts his rod assumed the expected arch. But the performance at the other end of his line was not that of a redfish. Instead of a long, drag-testing run, Stennett's rod tip plunged abruptly toward the bay surface and erratically angled one way and then the other in manic fashion.
When the fish finally surfaced there was no disappointment aboard our boat. Redfish are great fun and I would never discount them as a sport fish. But in the Coastal Bend redfish are a bit ordinary.
Mangrove snapper, on the other hand, have somewhat of an exotic image here. They are equally fun to catch but even better to eat and not nearly as common. Especially the bigger ones, which is what we found.
The local population of gray snapper, known in many areas as mangrove snapper, had been building in the Coastal Bend for more than a decade. Catches of the tropical fish at area jetties, bulkheads and other structures were becoming more and more common as South Texas continued to enjoy its second decade of mild winters. And the average size was improving. Two- to five-pound fish were on their way to becoming almost common for those who targeted them. Then came a fish-killing red tide followed by a cold snap in January that killed additional fish and likely pushed others into deeper haunts.
The docks and bulkheads at Naval Station Ingleside have everything a mangrove snapper wants. Hard structure, deep water and current from the nearby ship channel.
Remember that the most frequent reason for ending a day of mangrove snapper fishing is an empty bait well. They devour live shrimp, but are expert bait stealers. Mud minnows or small piggies will produce bigger snapper. I've also had to quit fishing earlier than planned because I ran out of hooks. Bring twice the bait you think you'll need and plenty of extra tackle.
So after boxing Stennett's snapper, which weighed about 1.5 pounds, my heart was set on a combination mangrove-redfish kind of day. And we did catch both.
But Stennett raised the stakes with his very next cast, which produced an 18-inch flounder.
It seems the Navy was harboring more than ships at Ingleside on the Bay.