If you’ve never been to the coast, you should definitely try to make your way out there. For me there’s nothing better than a subtle breeze that carries the smell of salty ocean air. Oh yeah, and there’s sun; so much skin reddening, soul warming sun, but don’t worry, that subtle ocean breeze makes your hair stand on end and for a split second even the sunburns seem to disappear. I’ve been fortunate to be able to see the ocean a few times in my life and this was a different experience. Port O’Connor, Texas is a smaller town that’s a part of a bigger town. Our time spent in Port O’Connor was brief, but you don’t really see all that this place is until you’re on the water. Shipping and barge channels run right through this marsh area and all along the coast line are houses with their own boat lifts and docks creating some kind of interlocking floating city. In a short boat ride, we had docked on Matagorda Island.
The boat ride from Port O’Connor to Matagorda was far from boring. With the intense sun bearing down on us, a breezy boat ride was just what we needed especially since the air conditioning in the vehicle I was in wasn’t working. As soon as we got out into the channel, we could see dorsal fins break the surface of the water. We were in dolphin territory! Not only that, but vast amounts of birds were hanging out in the water. With the shallowness of the water we could see schools of fish darting away from the boat as we sped by.
I can’t complain about getting to set up camp on an island that we had, what seemed like, all to ourselves. As soon as the first shift of people arrived on the island, Dr. Williams started getting dinner together and tents were being pitched. A proper, Cajun-style seafood medley was on the menu. Mouthwatering shrimp that tasted like they jumped right from the ocean into the pot, delicious sausage, juicy, golden corn, and potatoes and onions comprised the bulk of the meal. The sunset on the first night was something to see. North Dakota sunsets are extraordinary, and I think this one may have topped it (Figure 1). A wide range of colors filled the sky setting over the salty water. I don’t think there’s any better way to spend the night fishing than under that kind of sky. Fishing, a family meal around a campfire and just a bit more fishing filled the rest of our night on the island.
I managed to pick up a new skill while we were on the island. I tried cast-net fishing for the first time, and I found it to be super addicting. I thoroughly enjoy doing things that take time, patience, practice and skill and let me tell you cast-netting takes all of those things. I spent hours throwing the cast-net. I managed to, in true pirate-fashion, bring up an awesome Bubba knife from the depths. A few casts later I managed to catch a flounder (Figure 2)! Other fish that I caught with the cast net included multiple pinfish, a blue crab and a spot fish (Figure 3, Figure 4 ).
On our second day on Matagorda, our morning started with some fishing. We then took an eventful boat ride around the marshes. Birds, birds and more birds. From egrets and herons to whooping cranes and roseate spoonbills, this area is a bird-watchers paradise. We sped down shipping canals and were greeted by dolphins, birds and oyster fishing ships. The oyster ships were mesmerizing to watch. They dragged a dredge over beds of oysters as their boat spun in circles over and over again creating a hypnotic circle you couldn’t help but watch. We drove through shallow marshes and deep water and ended up at a beach that was about a mile from our camp site. We combed the beach for shells and sand dollars and of course I threw the cast net a few times and caught some pin fish. One side of the shore was calm marsh water while on the opposite side the intertidal waves were crashing against the sand. Soon after our beach excursion we got back on the boat and headed back to our campsite. On the way back, as I was sitting CO-captain, Cooper let me steer the boat for a little bit, so I got to practice my boating skills. Once everyone had gotten back from the boat tour we got to go out and sample a small area of the marsh with bag seines. We caught many little fish that were hanging out in the shallow grasses. A lot of pin fish were caught, a few gobies and even some jellyfish were caught. The day ended with Some more fishing, a little bit too much sun, and packing up camp to head back to port.
On the boat ride back to Port O’Connor I did a quick review of the animals we were told to watch out for while we were on the island: rattle snakes, alligators, sharks, tarantulas, scorpions, boars, and rude raccoons and realized I never had the privilege of coming face to face with any of them. I guess I’m not too upset about that though.
Now, on to the next adventure!
A special thank you to all those who came and helped us with our sampling and spent time talking and hanging out with us on this trip,
Cooper Knight: our guide at Port Oconnor.
Dusty McDonald: Trotline tour and helped us identify fish while at Matagorda.
Brad Littrell helped us with fish and mussel identification at the Guadalupe and San Marcos Rivers.
Dr. Weston Nowlin gave us the tour of the Freeman Aquatic Building at Texas State University.
Figure 1. Sunset over Matagorda Island, Texas on April 8th, 2019.
Figure 2. Flounder caught on our first night at Matagorda Island on April 8th, 2019 using a cast net.
Figure 3. Pin fish caught on April 9th, 2019 off of Matagorda Island, Texas using a cast net.
Figure 4. Spot Fish caught off of Matagorda Island, Texas on April 8th, 2019 using a cast net.