rollover closing getting closer to reality

**fishingtwo** · #1 12-10-2011, 08:55 AM

Quote from fridays galveston daily news.

The big news on the fishing front involves an update on the closing of Rollover Pass.

Friday, the Texas General Land Office announced plans to construct a beach front fishing pier at Rollover Pass once the pass is closed. Along with the announcement was a request for public comments on the plans for building the fishing pier.

My associate at The Daily News, Amanda Casanova, will be writing a more-detailed article on the subject; however, if you would like to read the GLO at www.glo.texas.gov/coastal.

**Swells** · #2 12-10-2011, 11:51 AM

What do y'all think about this? So far I've hear the locals hate it, the surfers love it, the Army Corps of Engineers will like not having to dredge so much, and the concrete holding together the pass itself is falling down and is a hazard. I think it's more expensive than what people think though ... and a pier could cost 10 mill easy, just by itself.

One comment I saw was that you're going to shut down one of the better walking-accessible flounder and croaker fishing runs on the coast, although a pier might be OK in exchange - but it would probably cost money instead of being free access. My comment is that instead of fishing a pass, the fishing would become more like Bob Hall Pier in Corpus - a few shark maybe, in addition to the usual surf stuff. I'd rather fish off the beach than a fishing pier, thank you.

**fishingtwo** · #3 12-10-2011, 04:54 PM

Yeah not much of a trade off if you like bank fishing or wading.

Fish gonna have a long way to swim to get out of east bay. Guess time will tell as to its

effects.

**boom!** · #4 12-10-2011, 05:05 PM

Close the pass and why build a pier? Do they think that the fishing will be anywhere near as good after the pass is closed?

**Jolly Roger** · #5 12-10-2011, 07:22 PM

place looks like a trash dump most of the time. It is private property, they do not have the funds to repair the retaining walls or do trash pick up. Was Going to be closed to the public anyway in time. Might as well get a pier out of the deal.

**johnmyjohn** · #6 12-10-2011, 08:13 PM

East Bay is a pretty big piece of water not to have a way to flush it out here and there. But if you look back before the intercoastal or anything else it was land locked except for the west side. The question is will it be as productive closed off again. Would be nice to see fishing reports or fishing history from that time frame.

**Trouthappy** · #7 12-10-2011, 08:39 PM

I guess the state doesn't care about water quality in East Bay. An expensive pier, maybe knocked down in the next hurricane, would never have the fish traffic of a real pass like Rollover.

**Jolly Roger** · #8 12-10-2011, 08:55 PM

ICW runs into east bay, along with many marsh drains. There is no water quality issue, it will help the water when it is closed. All that muddy water from the surf will not be able to reach east bay,the upper coast surf is not known for it's water quality.

**histprof** · #9 12-11-2011, 12:44 AM

I saw in one news story that the main idea behind the pier would be to offset the economic impact for the folks that live around the pass. My concern about such a plan is that Rollover was a fairly distinct resource: a concentrated fish highway connecting the Gulf and the Bay. Rollover and 'runs' went together. The pier would be a totally different resource. And, it would be a resource that is very similar to others already in place. For the folks coming down 45, why drive the extra time/distance to a pier on Bolivar when there are two in Galveston off the seawall? I sold my boat some years ago and have returned to being totally bank-bound, so I am in favor of any project which creates quality access to interesting fishing. I am not sure that another pier does that. Honestly, I would be more interested in seeing a pedestrian friendly refurb to the south jetty so that it could become a super long fishing platform. I have not fished Rollover all that often, but caught fish every time that I did. I enjoyed fishing there.

**jim smarr** · #10 12-12-2011, 10:29 AM

Closing any fish pass should not be allowed. The closure is not one that the RFA and the General Land Office agree on.

Sad Day when our State Officials do not understand the importance of fresh saltwater inflows and migratory fish passes that allow natural migration of spawners that produce billions of fry to replenish the bay easy access between Bays and the Gulf.