# McCollum Park



## SpecOps (Apr 12, 2005)

For my first trip in Galveston Bay in quite some time, I decided to hit McCollum Park in Trinity Bay. 
Bad idea.

I rolled up there at about first light and there was a new yellow Chevy Malibu there with it's engine running and the windows rolled down. As I stopped my truck and got out to begin gearing up I glanced over to the vehicle and saw the guy inside waving me over. Figuring he had a fishing related comment or question I was a little taken aback when he made a very indecent proposition to me to which I replied, "Dude, No." I thought about making a counter-proposition that involved a substansial amount of violence on my part, but a quick risk assesment told me that as I a pretty big guy, the guy in the car would either have to armed with a firearm or mentally unstable to say what he had just said to a stranger. Soooo I just went back to my truck finished getting geared up and got in the water. The reason I related this incident is as I stated I felt a strong possibility that the guy was either armed or crazy and I just wanted to get the warning out there to BOLO a new yellow Chevy Malibu with temp. paper plates from LandMark Chevrolet driven by a fat 35-40 caucasian male with a yellow cross air freshner hanging from the rearview mirror.

On to the actual report:

Winds were low from the north, water was cold. as the sun got further up in the sky I began to see how craptastic the water really was. There was no more than 4 inches of visibility all the way out to the HL&P Discharge. Plenty of bait in the water though. I fished top waters the entire time, no bites/blow-ups or even any thing closely resembling one. I will say that I think if I had had soft plastics or especially DOA shrimp I might have been able to pick up some dinks but nothin for sure.

I reckon I will try Cold pass in the morning.

Stay Safe,

S.O.


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## Rip-N-Lips (May 25, 2004)

It's probably still pretty fresh in that area due to all the runoff from the Trinity. Not to mention the 20-25mph winds out of the South we had all weekend. Sorry you had a bad trip.


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## Redfishr (Jul 26, 2004)

Plenty of freaks and not enough fish.
Good luck on your next trip>>>>>>>>

One other thing.......Thanks for all the hard work and God Bless you.


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## Fishin-Inc (May 27, 2004)

*date*

Sounds like that boy was looking for a date? 
Sweet cheeks. LOL

"That would be in the butt, bob"


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## Freshwaterman (May 21, 2004)

Man that sux about that freak. I would have called the police on him. Never know he could be a serial rapist or something. I have never fished Trinity Bay before. I was reading a little about McCollum park. I have a couple questions if y'all don't mind. First is can you fish there from the bank and if so is it any good? Next is I remember quite awhile ago that TPWD was stocking Stripped Bass fingerlings in Trinity Bay. Did it take can you catch Strippers there or is it just like any other place Trout and Reds? Lastly how do I get there from NW Houston and is the park open all night? Thanx for any info!
Billy


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## SpecOps (Apr 12, 2005)

Billy,

Interestingly enough, there were some guys fishing from the banks that I entered from as I was wading back to the car. As I was approaching them I was thinking man they are totally wasting their time. As I got closer to them and my exit point I realized that they were actually fishing some decent depth water that somehow had some clarity to it greater than all that that I had fished on the 30 min wade to the discharge. So yes, I would say that if a wader were to stop short of the discharge than they wold be just as good off fishing from the shore at McCollum. It is also 24 hours. Neg knowledge of the strippers though I will say that the comment above about there being too much fresh water totally made sense looking at all the debris floating in the water.

Stay Safe,

Brett


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## Freshwaterman (May 21, 2004)

Thanks for the info Brett. How far is it to the discharge canal and genarlly how deep?
Billy


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## scubaru (Mar 28, 2005)

It is a short death march from McCollum Park to the HL&P Spillway. Your best wading is about halfway to the spillway about chest deep. In any case though, bait will be your key. If you want stripers, you'll catch all you want free shrimping on the bottom against the boards inside the spillway. It's hard to justify though, due to all the boats and limited real estate.


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## Freshwaterman (May 21, 2004)

WOW it gets that crowded huh? I'm thinking about maybe getting a lil puddle jumper for the bays. I've never really fished that far in the bays before. My main fishing is on the coastline. 
Billy


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## Freshwaterman (May 21, 2004)

Billy,

The water has been really fresh at McCollum Park since last Fall due to runoff from the Trinity River. The fishing in that area is generally best during the Fall and early Winter although I've caught fish there in the spring and summer. Most of my fish have been caught on the flats either directly in front of the park or half way to the spillway as mentioned by Scubaru. I wacked them on several occassions last Fall, but the water became fresh in mid-November and has really never recovered. I fish with topwaters and Mirrolures and had days when the action was so fast that I hooked up on every single cast. The size of fish is generally better in this area than the rest of the spots I fish in the Fall. I don't know why it is, but it's been pretty constant in the 18 years I've been fishing this spot.

The spillway proper can also get hot at times, especially in the winter. I have a couple of friends that waded the inside of the spillway on December 30th last year and caught 4 limits of 4-7 pound trout in an hour's time (2 limits were released of course). I've never seen a two limit stringer with that many 23+" fish. All were caught on soft plastics and both friends described it as an "arm aching" session. The fish were there because the water in the spillway was a bit warmer and held more salinity than the surrounding flats. There are always fish there but it's not a normal thing to pick 'em off like they did that day. 

I think a small boat is a great idea...I use a kayak to fish the spot. Many times in the Fall, the birds work just far enough off the shoreline that they cannot be reached by wading. One can, however, ease right into the action with a kayak. One word of caution before you buy a boat...the hill leading down to the water is quite steep. Make sure your puddle jumper can be pulled up and down without too much strain or you'll go cardiac on that hill!!! My kayak weighs only 42 lbs. and can get me out of breath when I tote it uphill.

The park is open 24/7 and I have seen people pitch tents and camp there. There are no fees to enter or camp and the park has pretty decent bathroooms. There are some shady characters there from time to time as evidenced by SpecOps at the start of this thread. It's pretty remotely located, not patrolled well and can get weird at times. I wouldn't camp there alone, and I'm 6'3" and 230 lbs. 

P.S. Mosquitos are present at all times of the year in HUGE numbers, make sure you have plenty of repelant!!! 

-Junkie


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