Thursday, April 28, 2011

[fishingtheusaandcanada] Land Cut’s lighted docks offer prime angling action

 

By Ralph Winingham
Special to the Express-News

Scattered along the Texas Intracoastal Waterway like a handful of child's toys tossed with abandon, fishing cabins in the area known as the Land Cut have been providing top-notch saltwater angling opportunities for decades.

"I tell people that fishing the Land Cut is a great way to relax and forget about the world — plus you have the chance to catch more fish than anywhere on the coast," said Capt. Blair Reeves, a Texas Gulf Coast fishing guide with more than 40 years of saltwater angling experience.

For the past 11 years, Reeves has been transporting anglers looking for limits of speckled trout, redfish, flounder and black drum to his floating cabin about 5 miles south of the northern boundary of the Land Cut.

"Night-time fishing at the cut is just special. You can catch a ton more fish than anywhere from the lighted docks and if you know the secret, you can pick up some real trophy trout and reds," Reeves said. "The lights bring in the bait, and the bait brings in the fish. This is such a remote area that a lot of people don't come down here. That's what helps make the fishing so great."

Remote is an understatement when describing the 25-mile stretch of the Intracoastal Waterway that was constructed in 1962 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to serve as a waterway for marine traffic between the upper and lower Laguna Madre.

All necessities — food, water, fuel and fishing gear — have to be hauled to the cabins by boat with about an hour ride required to reach the area from ramps around Corpus Christi.

Generators are required to provide power for lights and other equipment at the cabins that range from basic to luxury accommodations. Cell phone service is normally very limited and television or radio reception is poor.

Some of the cabins have been in place for more than 40 years, with state officials estimating there are about 100 floating and pile-?supported structures along the waterway.

"The area has a long history of commercial fishing, and then in the '70s and '80s the sport fishing took over," said Art Morris, constituent outreach specialist for the Lower Coast Coastal Fisheries Division of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.

"The Land Cut area starts about 25 miles south of Bird Island and ends at Marker 21 above Port Mansfield. You have to be pretty dedicated to fishing to put up with the boat ride, but there is a lot of good fishing in the area."

In 2002, the state took steps to limit the number of cabins along the waterway with leases controlled by the Texas General Land Office and TP&W issuing use permits while monitoring the facilities. State approval is required before the leases can be transferred to a new owner.

"I believe that we have only sold about four new permits in the past 20 years and people grab them up pretty quickly," Morris said.

Amy Nunez, cabin program coordinator with the Texas General Land Office, said the state legislature placed the structures under control of the General Land Office to make sure the cabins do not interfere with marine traffic on the Intracoastal Waterway and to maintain environmental control.

All of the cabins are about the same size — about 1,000 square feet — and are self-contained.

"It is a carry-on, carry-off system," Nunez said. That means everything taken to the cabins, other than construction materials or other equipment, must be hauled back on the boats at the end of a fishing trip — even trash and waste."

Reeves said not having nearby access to supplies such as fuel, food and drinks is an inconvenience, but just adds to the "get away from everything" element of the fishing trips.

"We still are able to have steak and shrimp dinners every Saturday night and can haul in all our drinks, food and other supplies to make it a comfortable trip," he said.

One of the main problems with Land Cut cabins is the maintenance.

"I am on my third cabin," Reeves said. "The environment down here just eats them up, so you have to come down pretty regularly to make repairs and take care of things. But the great fishing really makes it worth the trip."

Ralph Winingham is a freelance outdoors writer and photographer. Email rwiningham@att.net.

CONTACTS

Capt. Blair Reeves can be reached for more information about Land Cut fishing opportunities at 210-844-6930 or reevescharters.com.

Additional information about the history and monitoring of the cabins can be obtained through the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department at tpwd.state.tx.us or the Texas General Land Office at www.glo.texas.gov.


http://blog.mysanantonio.com/outdoors/2011/04/land-cut%e2%80%99s-lighted-docks-offer-prime-angling-action/

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