Kayaking on South Padre Island

A growing leisure activity on South Padre Island, kayaking, offers visitors a tranquil way to explore the Island and surrounding waters. Unlike a landlocked job, I went to work with two ocean kayaks in the bed of my truck and a pair of board shorts to change into before hitting the beach. I decided since it was a calm day, to launch in the Gulf of Mexico. I kayaked to the jetties, and then followed them out to sea. A typical summer day on South Padre Island leaves calm surf and crystal blue water with slightly cool and refreshing water, and today was no different. Paddling over schools of fish made me wish I had snorkeling gear with me on my adventure. My journey continued down the jetties, quietly gliding past sea turtles* coming up for air and watching fishermen brining in their catch. Continuing down the jetties, the swells started getting larger and as we passed the end of the jetties, the swells proved too large to continue so we turned back to shore. The trip back was a lot quicker; as we were able to catch a few little waves that made it pretty exciting, realizing that larger surf would be too dangerous. Another great place to kayak would be the Laguna Madre, which is also known as the bay. The Laguna Madre is shallow and in places is very clear. Kayaking in the Laguna Madre is very eco-friendly, since kayaking has very little or no damaging effects on the ecosystems. The Laguna Madre is a very shallow bay with important grass beds, caution should be used to not damage these beds. A kayak is also a great tool for fishermen, silently placing fishermen in shallow inlets and coves, filled with tailing redfish.

Some kayak rentals that I found in the yellowpages were:

Air Padre Kiteboarding 956-299-9463

Windsurf-The Boatyard 956-561-4189 http://www.windsurftheboatyard.com/kayaks.html

Please, if you rent out kayaks, comment on this blog with your contact information for interested readers.

*Corrected from Kemp Ridley Sea Turtle. I was mistaken.

Shrimping the Brownsville Ship Channel

At 4:15am I began my day to the dreaded buzz of an alarm clock and the temptation of pressing snooze. The shrimp boat was leaving the dock at 5:15am so I hurriedly put on old clothes, grabbed a banana, a granola bar, and a Dr. Pepper and drove to the docks.

A friend from college and his father offered to take me out on their shrimp boat and I could not refuse the offer. The morning dew was thick on the deck of the boat and all was quiet in the harbor except for the sound of shrimpers starting their motors. Slicing through the waters of the fingers, we made our way past million dollar yachts; millions that were made behind the desk of corporate America, rush hour traffic, so they could one day watch the sunrise from their boat. Captain Barrera is able to watch the sunrise every morning, behind his desk, a steering wheel, with his millions being made through smiles and the joy of doing what he loves with his son by his side. Captain Barrera shrimps the waters of the Brownsville Ship Channel for bait shrimp.


As we lowered the nets into the water, the sun began peaking out of the water. The sky filled with a magnificent display of oranges and reds with a dark blue backdrop shedding light across the ship channel. After making a round with the nets it was time to bring them up. Our catches included lots of shrimp along with crabs, croaker and even a small hammerhead shark. Seagulls began to flock to us as we threw back the fish; they defiantly are the rats of the sky. Our coolest visitors were the dolphins, they would come right up to the boat!!! It was amazing. The day continued on with catching more shrimp and seagulls attacking us, a day that finally had me passed out in the cabin.

The life of a boater is one glorified by Hollywood and dreamt about at desks in a windowless office or a tiny cubical. A life already attained and being lived out by shrimpers, making their living on our dreams.

The Jetties

The setting South Texas sun beat down on the rat race refugees. Sitting under their beach umbrellas, they enjoy Hemmingway and an icy margarita. Their suntanned faces look out across the Brazos Santiago Pass to the tranquil waters of the Gulf of Mexico, living out a Jimmy Buffett song as a pirate, a few hundred years too late.

Lining the Brazos Santiago Pass, the jetties serve a wave break, guiding ships into their harbor in Port Isabel or the Port of Brownsville. During the Mexican-American war, U.S. Army General Zachary Taylor set up a military depot along the pass, on Brazos Island, which served as a critical staging ground for thousands of troops and prevented supplies from entering Mexico. Then, at the outbreak of the Civil War, the U.S. Army pulled out, but returned in 1863. Landing unopposed, Union troops marched to Brownsville, stormed Fort Brown and took over the city.

Today, the Jetties, serve as a great afternoon walk from many of South Padre Island’s resorts and condominiums. The Jetties are made up of large granite rocks and require extreme caution, conquering the Jetties is no easy task. Over the crashing waves and faint boat motor, the sound of aerators fill the air, keeping buckets of live shrimp bait alive until becoming some fish’s last meal. Fishermen line the Jetties, trying to catch the coveted tarpon, or enough Whiting to have a fish fry and a Corona with their compadres.

Sea life abounds among this artificial reef. Hidden in the granite crevasses, I pried a sea urchin from his suction grip on the rocks. His spiny body lay tickling my hand, using his spines as legs to escape his captor. Placing him carefully back on his home, an Ink Fish (also known as a Sea Slug) swam up. These creatures are very slow, so I reached down and picked him up. His slimy body lay pulsing in my hand as he began using his defense mechanism of squirting a purple ink.

Looking off to the north of the Jetties, a surfer paddles for the next wave. Although it has been said “There ain’t no surf in Texas,” South Padre Island is not only the premier surfing destination in Texas, but in the entire Gulf Coast! South Padre Island enjoys an average swell height of 6 feet, with much larger swells when tropical systems enter the Gulf. South Padre surf is not only enjoyed by surfers, dolphins can be regularly seen riding the waves and jumping through crashing waves.

Continuing my journey to the end of the Jetties, I began to spot sea turtles. Over the next five minutes, I spotted about five different turtles. These turtles are the endangered Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles . In response to dwindling numbers, Ila Loetscher founded Sea Turtle Inc. in 1977. Ila became known as “The Turtle Lady of South Padre Island” due to her efforts in protecting and restoring the ridley population.

After a half a mile walk over granite boulders and interacting with numerous sea life, I reached the end of the Jetties. Standing on the last rock of the Jetties, the waves crashing against the rocks around me, I looked out across the ocean, with no land in sight, and knew this was paradise.