Coast Monthly - August 2018

< Previous50 COASTMONTHLY.COM / August 2018Fishing‘Nothing like this place’Anglers soon will bid farewell to a popular and historic ﬁshing spotStory by Connor Behrens Photos by Kelsey WallingOn a recent summer afternoon, Bolivar Peninsula resident Ted Vega looked out across Rollover Pass at fellow anglers, unsure of what the future would hold for the popular ﬁshing spot he has enjoyed for years.“I’ve been here since 2010,” Vega said. “I came here to ﬁsh and now I lead the ﬁght.”That bitter ﬁght Vega refers to has stretched on for years, culminating in legal battles and with the state ﬁnalizing plans to close the historic channel between the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf Intracoastal Water-way possibly in the fall, ending decades of ﬁshing tradition.Rollover Pass, 200 feet wide, 5 feet deep and more than 1,600 feet long across Bolivar Peninsula, links Rollover Bay and East Bay with the Gulf of Mexico in extreme south-eastern Galveston County.The Texas Game and Fish Commission opened the pass in 1955 to preserve wildlife resources and help improve ﬁshing. The cut was meant to allow seawater from the Gulf into East Bay to increase bay water salinity, promote growth of submerged vegetation and help ﬁsh travel to and from spawning (Right) Parker Balch, 11, ﬁshes on the Gulf side of Rollover Pass on Bolivar Peninsula. Balch has recently begun to ﬁsh with his grandparents and already loves it, he said. COASTMONTHLY.COM / August 2018 5152 COASTMONTHLY.COM / August 2018Fishing(Above) Nashe Riles ﬁshes at Rollover Pass on Bolivar Peninsula. Rusted structures on and around the area have raised safety concerns. (Left) Darrell Bean casts his line at Rollover Pass. Bean visits the pass frequently with his friends. (Opposite page, from top) Danny Balch unhooks a trout caught by Nashe Riles. Danny Balch, right, convinces Riles to hold her catch as her father, Melvin Riles, looks on. Melvin Riles, Karl Dever and Dianna Bean laugh while hanging out at Rollover Pass. The friends are disappointed in the state’s plans to close the pass, they said. The pass is great for ﬁshing and has a long history, they said.“This is the ﬁrst place my son fell in love with ﬁshing. It’s close enough to Galveston for people to enjoy the coastal life and this has become what we do as a family.” – Tania Balch COASTMONTHLY.COM / August 2018 53and feeding areas in the bay, according to the Texas State Historical Association.Rollover Pass is named for the practice of ship captains from the days of Spanish rule through Prohibition. The ship captains, to avoid the Galveston customs station, rolled barrels of import or export mer-chandise over that part of the peninsula, according to the association.Now, anglers might only get a few more chances to catch ﬂounder and other ﬁsh at Rollover Pass as the state gears up to close it.The state has long sought to close the pass, which it argues worsens coastal erosion. But the closure has been challenged in court several times.The Texas General Land Ofﬁce, which spends about $650,000 a year to ﬁght erosion and rebuild beaches around the pass, and even more to dredge the canal, plans to ﬁll the cut with soil and build a public park and ﬁshing pier on top of it. The land ofﬁce had originally planned to begin that work in June this year.But a request for bids published in March generated only one response from a contractor for about $12 million, which was far over budget, forcing the land ofﬁce to issue another request. If the land ofﬁce receives a bid it deems reasonable, work to ﬁll the pass would start in October at the earliest, ofﬁcials said.Many recreational anglers who have enjoyed Rollover Pass for de-cades ardently oppose the closure, arguing the state’s assessments of its effects are based on ﬂawed science.“I’ve been coming here for 10 years,” Bolivar Peninsula resident Tania Balch said. “My husband has come here for 20 years. It’s always been a great family ﬁshing spot. It’s close enough to drive and it’s a great spot to enjoy the marine life.”The pass is part of the area’s rich history, Balch said.“This is the ﬁrst place my son fell in love with ﬁshing,” she said. “It’s close enough to Galveston for people to enjoy the coastal life and this has become what we do as a family.”For some locals, the pass isn’t just a destination spot for ﬁshing, it’s their home, they said.“I stay here nine months out of the year,” Karl Dever said. “I can remember when I was 14 coming down here.”And the pass attracts people from all over, Dever said.“I don’t understand why they want to ﬁll this in,” Dever said. “It’s a bad idea. I’ve seen people all around the world who come down here to ﬁsh.”If the pass closes, Dever might be packing up himself and leaving everything behind, he said.“If they close it, I’m selling my trailer and going somewhere differ-ent,” he said.Closing the pass would hurt the local Bolivar community and Gal-veston, Vega said.“Folks come here depending on what they like to ﬁsh for,” he said. “Doctors, lawyers, campers come here. The county would be better off making this a park and keeping it the way it’s always been.”There won’t be a place ever again like Rollover Pass, Liberty County resident Bryan Casey said.“It will hurt a lot of people if it’s closed,” Casey said. “There’s noth-ing like this place.” 54 COASTMONTHLY.COM / August 2018TREASURE TROVEDresses, Purses, Tops, Shorts, Jewelry, Shoes, Exotic Soaps,Candles and so much more! 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ContACt youR LoCAL REAL EstAtE EXpERts foR A fREE MARkEt EvALuAtionSteve & Robyn Shepheard409-771-884058 COASTMONTHLY.COM / August 2018FishingWant to wet a line?Here’s what you need for a day of ﬁshingsummer means time on the beach and water. So, why not ﬁsh? If you’ve never ﬁshed before, then you’ll need to get a few things together. If you’re a pro, we have a line on some serious gear.– Compiled by Erin GrahamSMITTY’S BAIT HOUSEDana Gregory and Brenda Nelson of Smitty’s Bait House in Galveston have a few ideas about what you need in a basic tackle box:1. Pliers or a Hookout — to remove hooks from a ﬁsh’s mouth (or lip or gill — it happens)2. A bait knife3. Hooks4. Weights5. Leaders6. Bobbers7. Poly stringer — anglers use it to string ﬁsh to keep them alive and submerged in water.8. Extra ﬁshing line9. Lures — if you’re not using live or dead bait10. A can of WD-40 — in case you need it for your reel11. Bug spray12. A can of meat tenderizer to soothe jellyﬁsh stings13. Towel14. Flashlight15. Sunglasses — with a ﬂoating holder, Nelson added.“And don’t forget a tide chart,” Gregory said.1810111213SERIOUS TACKLEChris Gonzales of Serious Tackle in La Marque caters to clients who are serious anglers. Gonzales repairs reels in his La Marque shop. He also creates custom wraps, which start at about $350.MIRROLURE 51MR, COLOR 750, $8.99This lure has been producing trophy ﬁsh for decades. Its life-like appearance, built-in ﬂash and 3-D ﬁery red eyes are irresistible to all game ﬁsh. The line attachment is in the lure’s nose, so it’s great for wade ﬁshing.CUSTOM ROD, VARIOUS PRICESFor those anglers who are truly passionate about the sport and want only the best quality and performance, a custom rod may be for you. A custom rod can be embellished with decorative wraps and distinctive handle and grip additions to make it uniquely your own.PENN INTERNATIONAL 50VSW 2-SPEED REEL, $699.99Built for hardcore offshore anglers, this indestructible aluminum reel has the strength and power to handle big, angry ﬁsh. COASTMONTHLY.COM / August 2018 5923456791415Photo by Jennifer ReynoldsNext >