# Cause for concern?



## reddoc (Nov 7, 2006)

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/energy/article/Fracking-formulas-still-secret-4246634.php

Have been tracking some of these articles and it kind of got me thinking. The last few years the fishing in POC(where I mostly fish) I have seen fewer fish as in years past. I know we had a drought but it seems to me, just by the numbers of fish I have seen on my trips over the last year, that the numbers seem to be down. Just curious if some of this pollution is tracking into POC/SA Bay? Does anyone know of any official fish counts from TPWD?


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## Billy Baroo (Apr 21, 2010)

there is alot more to it then just Fracking/pollution....research passes like cedar bayou and vs. There is alot stuff out that will have to dig through to help you determine your own decision.


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## Finn Maccumhail (Feb 16, 2009)

reddoc said:


> http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/energy/article/Fracking-formulas-still-secret-4246634.php
> 
> Have been tracking some of these articles and it kind of got me thinking. The last few years the fishing in POC(where I mostly fish) I have seen fewer fish as in years past. I know we had a drought but it seems to me, just by the numbers of fish I have seen on my trips over the last year, that the numbers seem to be down. Just curious if some of this pollution is tracking into POC/SA Bay? Does anyone know of any official fish counts from TPWD?


Short answer- No, the fracturing liquids are not getting into the bay.

You're talking about fluid that's injected thousands of feet below the surface, far, far beyond any groundwater aquifers which could potentially reach the bay.


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## Joe. T. (Jun 7, 2008)

boy how i would love to see the passes re-opened in my area.thank God for the packery.


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## Coconut Groves (Nov 2, 2011)

It doesn't take a scientist to know why there are less fish in POC. All you need to do is count how many boats are at their passenger limit and how many bait fisherman line the shores. POC is such a nice bay, the problem is that it gets way too much traffic. I really wish they'd impose more restrictive limits in that area.


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## reddoc (Nov 7, 2006)

Well I can certainly say I am not part of that problem. I fly fish POC and I have not kept a fish in over three years. All catch and release...maybe other folks should do the same.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Nov 4, 2011)

Definitely not oilfields fault other than lots of folks have made $$$ in the industry and can afford to fish more and buy nice houses near the area. Go out on any weekend from now until next winter and you will see why there is a lack of fish there. I have been out and sight cast forty or fifty redfish a day for several days and every one of them was 19-19 1/2"...does that tell you something? Trout too! If you can find a decent school of trout and start catching some theyre mostly all dinks in the 13-14 1/2" range. Look at Bay Flats Lodge reports, rarely will you see a picture with full limits of trout, it is usually a limit of reds, sheephead and black drum with the occasional 15-16" trout in the mix. Not rocket science, the area is over fished and in need of different size and bag limits without a doubt!

http://www.fishingscout.com/anglers/SmackDaddy


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## Coconut Groves (Nov 2, 2011)

reddoc said:


> Well I can certainly say I am not part of that problem. I fly fish POC and I have not kept a fish in over three years. All catch and release...maybe other folks should do the same.


It isn't just the fish limits, but the overall boat traffic. There are simply too many people down there on weekends for the size of that area. The fish are run down, ran over and scared off the flats. I can't tell you how many times I've been poling a flat to see someone just run across it in front of me, ruining the fishing. Or a boat limit of guys, wading neck deep, who get completely ****** off when you try to pole the shore behind them. Or people anchoring in the middle of a channel and they get ****** when you go by them. You are in the middle of the channel!

Hey, it is their water too, but I'll run an hour to get away from people because it makes my day much calmer. I'd like to see more people use common sense down there and not act like they own the place.


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## fishshallow (Feb 2, 2006)

I have been saying this for many years, i was saying and practicing Keep Five long ago. I have been fishing POC since my early teens and it is nothing close to what it used to be. 
I think this year I am going to take some pics of all the boats lined up all the way down the south shore line and down around pringle and long lake, and post em on here so people have a realistic idea of the fishing pressure this small area sees every weekend. Its a little depressing when you pull up to a shoreline that you used to be able to make a good wade on and see nothing but white dots every 200 yards for as far as you can see. I guess times change.
Bay Flats lodge is a perfect example! Id like to see the difference in quality of fish from 98'-00' to now! lol.


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## reddoc (Nov 7, 2006)

I do not fish on the weekends, I am lucky in that I can fish during the week, so I have not seen the traffic on the weekends. I do know that almost every weekend during the summer there is some kind of tournament down there. I have been fishing the area since 2001 and the numbers and size of fish is down. Maybe TPWD should look at a five fish limit just like the LLM.


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## Canberra (Jan 27, 2013)

Crazy to claim oil production is doing damage. There used to be a lot of channels to the Gulf to churn the water. They have to dredge the ship channels all the time and look at aerials of sand being deposited with the currents along the jetties.

Passes to the Gulf would be good. The bays get hot, low circulation. There is more damage from dog/cat deposits running into the bays from cities like Corpus Christi than the oil field. 

Look at the red tide, kills out entire bays. Then you have more and more boats with catch and keep. Hard for a system to maintain.


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## fishshallow (Feb 2, 2006)

Hey reddoc I fish during the week a lot as well, the only reason I go on the weekend as much as i do is because that's the only time my fishin buddies can get off work. Shoot me a PM when your headin down there next and maybe we can put a trip together. I haven't been fly fishing in the salt as much as I would like lately, I could use some motivation.


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## Coconut Groves (Nov 2, 2011)

Yeah, I actually think the red tide during the fall of 2011 had a big impact on fish population last year. But knowing that, I think that limits or a reduction in tournaments should have been done to ease the pressure on the fish.

My little skiff doesn't have too much range, but I'll be getting another one at some points with higher sides so that I can make even longer hauls to get away from the pressure.


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## Canberra (Jan 27, 2013)

Once the water warms up, the flats are a waste of time as the water is so hot. Lower oxygen levels in hot water as you know.


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## Joe. T. (Jun 7, 2008)

low oxygen leveld hmm i always thought it was the cat and dog turds floating in the bay.


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