Port Aransas

[Hate 20112]

Yep. The water is still warm and the days aren’t too hot. The beaches aren’t too crowded either.

[HenryJames 66120]

And lodging is about 1/3 the price of the summer.

[justhookit 4191]

On 5/18/2020 at 2:54 PM, mapplewhite132 said:

Any updates from this weekend? Headed down in 2 weeks

This weekend wasn’t nearly as busy as the previous 2. The crappy weather forecast probably had a lot to do with it although it turned out to be beautiful. Family staying in a hotel here said they were told there were a bunch of reservations that were cancelled. Memorial Day weekend will be a shitshow especially with the bars opening back up. The remainder of the summer will also be extremely busy.

i realize I keep repeating myself but I have no problem with the beaches being open and crowded. But what I am telling friends/family considering coming down here, they need to be prepared for stores, restaurants hotels being really crowded. Pretty much nobody wearing masks or even attempting to follow any rules. If that makes them uncomfortable they need to bring all their own food and drinks, or just don’t visit.

[Hank_Hill 18878]

21 hours ago, HenryJames said:

And lodging is about 1/3 the price of the summer.

And the reds are running 

[mchookem 16336]

17 hours ago, justhookit said:

This weekend wasn’t nearly as busy as the previous 2. The crappy weather forecast probably had a lot to do with it although it turned out to be beautiful. Family staying in a hotel here said they were told there were a bunch of reservations that were cancelled. Memorial Day weekend will be a shitshow especially with the bars opening back up. The remainder of the summer will also be extremely busy.

i realize I keep repeating myself but I have no problem with the beaches being open and crowded. But what I am telling friends/family considering coming down here, they need to be prepared for stores, restaurants hotels being really crowded. Pretty much nobody wearing masks or even attempting to follow any rules. If that makes them uncomfortable they need to bring all their own food and drinks, or just don’t visit.

here all week... i'd describe the beach as pretty busy but not overly crowded, we've found good spots on the beach each day with literally no trouble, neighbors stay well away. it's damn near perfect weather/temp wise. water is super clear, beach is lovely. 

we don't normally come in spring, too windy, seaweed usually everywhere, too crowded... much prefer the fall, always...

but this trip has been fantastic. we brought everything, made a couple of quick store runs but that's it. will try La Playa takeout tonight.

saw both gaters at the birding center yesterday, that was cool. was going to look into the ferry over to San Jose island tomorrow for something different...recommended?

 

[justhookit 4191]

12 minutes ago, mchookem said:

saw both gaters at the birding center yesterday, that was cool. was going to look into the ferry over to San Jose island tomorrow for something different...recommended?

 

It’s great fishing over there and much better than the south jetty here. I’m not a fan of just going over for the beach though since it’s a pain to get a cooler and beach stuff over. Some people like it for just a few hours to walk and sometime find good shells. To me other than the fact that there is almost no one there it isn’t worth it.

[ETHorn 15]

Just got back, and heading down again next week.  The restaurant closures sucked, but apparently that changes Friday.  Was pretty damn crowded over the weekend around Bob Hall Pier.  Someone tell me how/where to fish down there...I'm a fresh water guy and have no clue.  I throw shrimp out and get sunburned while my girl gets a tan.

[Ag with kids 581]

On 5/18/2020 at 3:38 PM, zman13 said:

Was in North Padre from Wed to Sunday. 

The beach on Wednesday was surprisingly crowded. Thursday and Friday at the beach was more spaced out. Saturday was jam packed - some areas were two or three cars deep. Sunday was quiet in the morning and busy in the afternoon.  The weekend felt like a busy summer weekend.

If you are trying to stay away from people on the beach, my advice is go in the morning and be prepared to leave around noon. Lots of people walk close by you, don't distance, etc.

Didn't go to any restaurants/bars/stores. A co-worker went recently and said they were crowded and few people were wearing masks.

Important info - Stripes is advertising curbside pickup

NPI has been packed this whole shutdown time.  I think it's partially because Port A was closed for awhile and everyone was off work/working from home and decided to come to the beach.

Middle of the week in the mid afternoon last week we had to go all the way down to the very last access road (right before PINS) so that we could get on the beach without having people all up our ass.

I shudder to think how bad it'll be this Memorial Day weekend.

On a good note, I own a condo here on the island and usually from April to late May it's not very busy.  But, my place has been rented solid since March and is booked out for quite a bit from now, too.

Edited May 20, 2020 by Ag with kids

[Ag with kids 581]

44 minutes ago, ETHorn said:

Just got back, and heading down again next week.  The restaurant closures sucked, but apparently that changes Friday.  Was pretty damn crowded over the weekend around Bob Hall Pier.  Someone tell me how/where to fish down there...I'm a fresh water guy and have no clue.  I throw shrimp out and get sunburned while my girl gets a tan.

Most of the NPI restaurants are open to 50% (at least) now.  I've been about 5 or 6 times to Scuttlebutt's since they opened up.

[justhookit 4191]

7 hours ago, ETHorn said:

Just got back, and heading down again next week.  The restaurant closures sucked, but apparently that changes Friday.  Was pretty damn crowded over the weekend around Bob Hall Pier.  Someone tell me how/where to fish down there...I'm a fresh water guy and have no clue.  I throw shrimp out and get sunburned while my girl gets a tan.

Bars open Friday, but the restaurant situation isn’t going to change. There are still some not open and we are at full-on summer visitor numbers. In the best of times they have a long wait during the summer. Local tip here - most of the high end restaurants will let you call in an order during the afternoon and then you can pick it up at 7 or 8 or whatever time they give you. Did it twice last weekend from Venetian and Liberty Hall and it worked really well. I’d try that.

as for the fishing this isn’t the best time of year to be doing it. I like the jetty, go hit it up with rattletraps, 2-3 oz spoons, or live mullet you cast net later in the summer and fall. Off the beach right now you can basically put any kind of bait in the water and catch 1-2 foot sharks if you are into that.

7 hours ago, Ag with kids said:

NPI has been packed this whole shutdown time.  I think it's partially because Port A was closed for awhile and everyone was off work/working from home and decided to come to the beach.

Middle of the week in the mid afternoon last week we had to go all the way down to the very last access road (right before PINS) so that we could get on the beach without having people all up our ass.

I shudder to think how bad it'll be this Memorial Day weekend.

On a good note, I own a condo here on the island and usually from April to late May it's not very busy.  But, my place has been rented solid since March and is booked out for quite a bit from now, too.

This weekend is going to be an utter shitshow. Not sure how long you’ve had your condo but this summer is going to be - by far - the busiest this area has ever seen. NPI and Port A will be turning people away in droves. Or, corona comes back and we shutdown again. But let’s not entertain that thought right now.

[Ag with kids 581]

On 5/20/2020 at 10:57 PM, justhookit said:

Bars open Friday, but the restaurant situation isn’t going to change. There are still some not open and we are at full-on summer visitor numbers. In the best of times they have a long wait during the summer. Local tip here - most of the high end restaurants will let you call in an order during the afternoon and then you can pick it up at 7 or 8 or whatever time they give you. Did it twice last weekend from Venetian and Liberty Hall and it worked really well. I’d try that.

as for the fishing this isn’t the best time of year to be doing it. I like the jetty, go hit it up with rattletraps, 2-3 oz spoons, or live mullet you cast net later in the summer and fall. Off the beach right now you can basically put any kind of bait in the water and catch 1-2 foot sharks if you are into that.

This weekend is going to be an utter shitshow. Not sure how long you’ve had your condo but this summer is going to be - by far - the busiest this area has ever seen. NPI and Port A will be turning people away in droves. Or, corona comes back and we shutdown again. But let’s not entertain that thought right now.

Any news on Shorty's opening up?  I'd hate to think this stuff shitcanned them.

 

And yes, the weekend is going to be bad.  My boss was in a meeting with the county yesterday and the sheriff and park rangers are going to be patrolling the ski canals heavily.  Which sucks, because that's where we locals go to hide out from the tourons on the beach on weekends like this...

[mchookem 16336]

we pulled out this morning, traffic was streaming in. the beach was not a problem at all, every day we went. social distancing was easy. it was frankly awesome. we took everything, just bought ice. and firewood at ACE hardware 🙂

[justhookit 4191]

1 hour ago, Ag with kids said:

Any news on Shorty's opening up?  I'd hate to think this stuff shitcanned them.

 

And yes, the weekend is going to be bad.  My boss was in a meeting with the county yesterday and the sheriff and park rangers are going to be patrolling the ski canals heavily.  Which sucks, because that's where we locals go to hide out from the tourons on the beach on weekends like this...

Shorty’s opened last night at midnight. I just drove past that whole strip and it looked like Bernie’s, Giggity’s, and Howie’s (Old Flats) are all up and running today. At least there are a ton of cars in that parking lot that’s been empty the last 2 months.

[justhookit 4191]

On 5/22/2020 at 12:47 PM, Ag with kids said:

Any news on Shorty's opening up?  I'd hate to think this stuff shitcanned them.

 

And yes, the weekend is going to be bad.  My boss was in a meeting with the county yesterday and the sheriff and park rangers are going to be patrolling the ski canals heavily.  Which sucks, because that's where we locals go to hide out from the tourons on the beach on weekends like this...

So I went to Shortys last night. They roped off the parking spaces in front and stuck a bunch of picnic tables out there. You could order a drink from a waitress or walk up to the bar window. They had a band. Good times.

drove the beach late afternoon and I’ve never seen it so crowded. People are behaving pretty well, but im not going inside to a store or anything until Tuesday.

[Ag with kids 581]

23 hours ago, justhookit said:

So I went to Shortys last night. They roped off the parking spaces in front and stuck a bunch of picnic tables out there. You could order a drink from a waitress or walk up to the bar window. They had a band. Good times.

drove the beach late afternoon and I’ve never seen it so crowded. People are behaving pretty well, but im not going inside to a store or anything until Tuesday.

Beach on NPI is packed all the way down to PINS Saturday.  Based on the clusterfuck that was on the bridge/causeway, I assume it was the same yesterday.  We just took the boat to Doc's for lunch and then Boathouse to watch a friend play.  Boathouse isn't a touron destination, especially during the day, so it was full of us locals avoiding them...

I heard The Slip, Farah's and Pelican were open, but haven't been.  This is NOT the weekend to be driving after drinking anything since NPI is crawling with cops looking to pull over everyone...

[Steamboat1874 4069]

I never understood the allure of going to the beach on a holiday.

Memorial Day and especially the 4th of July.

Of course spring break is a total clusterfuck.

Give me a Monday through Friday trip all day long.

 

[justhookit 4191]

Heads up for anyone heading down. Mosquito season has arrived. Bring a few gallons of off and some yard guard.

[justhookit 4191]

 

On 5/26/2020 at 7:33 AM, Steamboat1874 said:

I never understood the allure of going to the beach on a holiday.

Memorial Day and especially the 4th of July.

Of course spring break is a total clusterfuck.

Give me a Monday through Friday trip all day long.

 

You sound old. I’m old (er). But I can certainly understand why people want to go to party on the beach on a holiday weekend. 

you aren’t wrong and I often try to leave when I know it’s going to get nuts here. Price of living here.

[justhookit 4191]

On 5/26/2020 at 7:33 AM, Steamboat1874 said:

I never understood the allure of going to the beach on a holiday.

Memorial Day and especially the 4th of July.

Of course spring break is a total clusterfuck.

Give me a Monday through Friday trip all day long.

 

 apparently you were never a 20-30 ish year old person. I see a lot of them and for the most part they are good people wanting to hit the beach and bars. You are absolutely correct though

avoid hollidays, weekends, depends on what you want. Winter is good they are all 80 years old and from Minnesota.

[Armybrat 40851]

4 hours ago, justhookit said:

 

You sound old. I’m old (er). But I can certainly understand why people want to go to party on the beach on a holiday weekend. 

you aren’t wrong and I often try to leave when I know it’s going to get nuts here. Price of living here.

We’ve done SPI on the 4th twice.

Yes, it was crowded on the beach and in the restaurants, but the parade on the sand was a really cool new experience.

[NoName 16354]

Going to ask in here vs posting a totally new thread but does anyone have any recs for Rockport area?

[Armybrat 40851]

Never been there, sorry.

After three months working full days from home, Son & DIL just drove down to SPI yesterday afternoon. The beach was not crowded at all at dusk:

 

At Wanna Wanna....

 

[Armybrat 40851]

July 4th, about 5 years ago on SPI....

 

[Hpara759 1780]

10 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

Never been there, sorry.

After three months working full days from home, Son & DIL just drove down to SPI yesterday afternoon. The beach was not crowded at all at dusk:

 

At Wanna Wanna....

 

damn.......that's peaceful looking

[texashorne 1178]

Going to Port Aransas next week. I need some help with some non-boat fishing on the island.. You guys have any recs for good spots to fish? We will have kids of all ages.. 

 

 

[Mac8111 2107]

Tidal surge at 3am last night. Lots of people gonna have a rough morning. Water all the way to the dunes. (These pics are from FB)







Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[After irth 1243]

1 hour ago, Mac8111 said:

Tidal surge at 3am last night. Lots of people gonna have a rough morning. Water all the way to the dunes. (These pics are from FB)







Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

These will be people that will curse their dealer when their undercarriage rusts out in 6 months, and they will be oblivious to what could have caused such a thing. 

[HenryJames 66120]

Good luck getting that rv out.

[mapplewhite132 309]

[justhookit 4191]

Yeah crazy night on the island. High water on the beach, tons of drunk idiots out and about, impossible to get into restaurants, gun pulled in ferry line because someone cut him off. Honestly on that last one, you probably deserve to get a gun pulled on you right now if you are stupid enough to get in the 3 hour line.

[mapplewhite132 309]

Hundreds of stuck cars, trucks, and rvs. Not to mention all the tents, trash, etc that washed away into the ocean.

And then you have idiots driving trucks through 2 feet of saltwater going 30.

[williemackgarza 1826]

Looks like a total shit show. Damn

[luke duke 6413]

Hundreds of stuck cars, trucks, and rvs. Not to mention all the tents, trash, etc that washed away into the ocean.

 

I’m definitely not a beach person and have spent almost no time on one as an adult, but how difficult is it to predict this will happen? Are these people total idiots or does high tide vary so much that a reasonably cautious person may still wake up to a shit show?

[mapplewhite132 309]

I grew up here and it caught me off guard— was asking myself the same question.

There’s no warning system that I know of. I’m a little surprised nobody drowned in their tent.

[Hate 20112]

It most likely has to do with a tropical system in the gulf combined with high tide.

[After irth 1243]

1 hour ago, luke duke said:

 

I’m definitely not a beach person and have spent almost no time on one as an adult, but how difficult is it to predict this will happen? Are these people total idiots or does high tide vary so much that a reasonably cautious person may still wake up to a shit show?

It’s not difficult to predict, and I’m betting the local news announced it. There’s a storm in the Gulf.  It’s gonna push water. Tide is gonna come. Bit of a no-brainer, but, then again, I also grew up there. 

[utee94 15832]

34 minutes ago, After irth said:

It’s not difficult to predict, and I’m betting the local news announced it. There’s a storm in the Gulf.  It’s gonna push water. Tide is gonna come. Bit of a no-brainer, but, then again, I also grew up there. 

Yeah with the tropical storm approaching 500 miles up the coast, this isn't all that surprising.  

[justhookit 4191]

3 hours ago, Hate said:

It most likely has to do with a tropical system in the gulf combined with high tide.

It’s this. I actually don’t really blame the people that got swamped last night. I don’t know what if anything the city of Port A was doing last night as far as driving up and down the beach warning people, but this happens most every time we get a tropical storm in the gulf. More than likely the police and city were way overextended dealing with the fucking idiots here drinking too much and beating on their wife/girlfriend or stealing shit or having wrecks and didn’t  have time to actually go down the beach warning people what was coming. Or they were warned and ignored it. Regardless what happened last night is just par for 2020.

[CycleTex87 2972]

I’ve never seen the water do that in the 40 years or so that I’ve been going, but don’t know I’ve ever been down when there was an active storm in the gulf either. 

[Pescado_Rojo 19423]

water levels have been unseasonably high down there prior to the storm. Fishing down south last week, and it was all the way up to the bottom of the mangroves around Mansfield. You normally get high water like that in spring and fall. High water levels+High Tide+Storm Surge. 

[CycleTex87 2972]

Polar cap ice melting.  EcoMoose out front...  Good thing the place is on raised piers.  Someplace to tie the boat up to when the seawater is flooding the island.

[BevoSwag 272]

On 6/7/2020 at 9:24 AM, Mac8111 said:

Tidal surge at 3am last night. Lots of people gonna have a rough morning. Water all the way to the dunes. (These pics are from FB)







Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's probably a rental and they will deny deny deny when they return it.  Don't show this to WULawHorn lol

[Brew 3049]

SWFL was under high water advisories and rough surf advisories all weekend, was Texas not under the same? That would suck to wake up too.

[justhookit 4191]

1 hour ago, Brew said:

SWFL was under high water advisories and rough surf advisories all weekend, was Texas not under the same? That would suck to wake up too.

The advisories were out all weekend. All you had to do was open your weather channel app or wunderground app or whatever. In fact the advisories started Friday morning and we still had one today. Today’s was unnecessary. Do you get a flyer put on your windshield when you get on the island? No, but I addressed this a few posts upthread. This wasn’t unusual.

if I’m camping on a beach I’m checking weather before I do that and I especially might pay attention to the fact that a tropical storm is hitting the state next to us.

[Hate 20112]

I haven’t gone back and looked at the NWS warnings for Corpus/SA, but I can guarantee there were high water warnings all along the Texas coast this weekend. It’s surprising how many people don’t pay attention to the weather.

[justhookit 4191]

Yeah and what most people don’t realize is that there are high water warnings for the beaches pretty much every month.These are barrier islands and high tide/full moon/strong se winds don’t play well together. It’s usually a few inches and not an issue other than your tent might get a little wet. Tropical storms in the gulf change the calculus.

[Armybrat 40851]

Son & DIL got their feet wet sitting on the beach at SPI over the weekend. Surf was coming all the way up to the dune line in front of their condo rental (seabreeze1).

[kevwun 15797]

Last year there was a super high tide that made it all the way to the dunes when we were there one weekend.  On the ferry, if the wait is longer than 30 minutes we go down the island and back through Corpus.  I'd rather be driving than sitting in line, especially when it is hot as fuck.  Also gives us an excuse to stop by the the Boathouse for some fried fish.

[thrillhammer 684]

6 minutes ago, kevwun said:

Last year there was a super high tide that made it all the way to the dunes when we were there one weekend.  On the ferry, if the wait is longer than 30 minutes we go down the island and back through Corpus.  I'd rather be driving than sitting in line, especially when it is hot as fuck.  Also gives us an excuse to stop by the the Boathouse for some fried fish.

the boathouse is better than snoopy's?

[kevwun 15797]

Never been to Snoopy's.  My wife is all sentimental about the Boathouse because one of our first trips together back when we started dating was to Port A and we stayed on that end of the Island.  We watched the Texas OU game at the Boathouse that weekend and had a nice little drunken Saturday there.

Edited June 9, 2020 by kevwun