On The Beach

Ghost Shrimp

Have you ever been fishing at the beach and you run out of bait? You wish you had live shrimp? Well, do as Jamie Greer does and capture Ghost Shrimp, using a special sand pump, called a “slurp gun”. Look for the small burrow holes near the water’s edge…you’ve seen them before. Place the slurp gun over the burrow hole and pull the handle. The sand is sucked up into the barrel. Pull the pump out

Wave goodbye to HUGE green St. Augustine lawns

lawns0By Brenda Beust Smith
I had an extraordinary experience recently. I attended the Wildscapes Workshop presented annually by the Native Plant Society of America/Houston Chapter (this year in conjunction with Texas Parks & Wildlife and the Houston Zoo, which provided the venue). On the agenda were many experts, all of whom were outstanding. But two

WOW!

 Catch of the day! Posted by Ange Busceme‎ on the Bolivar Beachcombers facebook page.


Catch of the day! Posted by Ange Busceme‎ on the Bolivar Beachcombers facebook page.

Seaweed removal, a continuous operation

It happens every year. Large chunks of seaweed break away from the Sargasso Sea and drift with the currents into the Gulf of Mexico. The Sargassum weed is transported by the gulf stream to the Texas coast, typically in the spring and early summer months, and washes up in huge deposits on the beach. Rich in sealife, the weed starts to decay on the beach, and residents and visitors want it

Buoy ‘oh Boy

An early morning cruise on the beach turned out to be quite profitable for this beach bum. One day last week, with camera in hand, I went to the beach a little earlier than normal. It was too early for a sunrise shot, so I headed down the beach to see what may have washed up. I decided to head west so when I headed back the sun would be coming up in front of me…what a stroke of good luck. After a

Sand Sculptures on the beach


Building a sand sculpture on the beach can be buckets of fun! On Bolivar, you have all the beach and sand you need. With a pail and a shovel, you can be as creative as you want…and people will be amazed as your imagination comes to life on the beach. Here are a few examples we found this weekend.

10 reasons why we love the Gulf Coast

by Georgia Osten

After losing our precious beachside community, many of us have a new appreciation for our surroundings. Yes, we remember BI, “before Ike,” but having lost it for a while, we can now sit back and take in the picture with a new found love and devotion. Why do we love the Gulf Coast?

 

Reward offered for the recovery of stolen fishing rods

$500.00 reward offered for the recovery of fishing rods and reels stolen in Kona Kai during the week of June 11th while homeowners were away. The owners have been fishing for 35 years in this area and have won rods in tournaments and have a great collection of rod and reels, some which have very sentimental value. If you have any information, please call 713-598-8338.

Attorney General ruling…whether off road vehicles may be legally operated on a public beach…

The AG released his opinion that counties do not have the authority to register off road vehicles or an all-terrain vehicle for personal use on beaches. It specifically states:

SUMMARY: Whether an all-terrain vehicle or recreational off-highway vehicle may be lawfully operated on a public beach or a particular area of a public beach cannot be answered categorically without reference to particular

God Bless You, Norm!

The tribute to Norm began to unfold early Saturday morning, as Donna Anding, shovel in hand, began digging away at the sand, the vision in her artist’s mind of the sand sculpture she was about to create to memorialize dear Norm. Norm Brode, husband to Sarah, dad of Staci and dear friend to all who knew him on Beaumont Drive in Crystal Beach, died only two weeks ago. He was

3rd Annual B O N Party USA

The 3rd Annual Biker or Not Party will be held June 1st, 2nd & 3rd at TIKI Bar & Grill in Crystal Beach. All proceeds benefit the EMS Angel Motorcycle Club for their “Share The Pain” Teddy Bear Project. Each year, the EMS Angel MC helps re-stock teddy bears in all EMS vehicles in Galveston County…and this year they will include Chambers County vehicles. “The medics need you, the kids count on you”.

Have a seat in the shade

by Kelly Moad
Have a seat in the shade and let the water tickle your toes. Sounds good to me. Mark Porretto is providing that very accommodation to all beach goers. He sets up shop in a few locations along the 27 miles of public beach. Mark and his crew beautify the area; they groom the sand, arrange many lounge chairs with brightly colored umbrellas, and rent them out daily to anyone who wishes to

Bunker Up Fishin’ blasting away

Dan Triano, inventor of The Sand Blaster Bait Caster, was on the beach this weekend demonstrating his patented new product. This incredible fishing apparatus from Bunker Up Fishin’ can launch bait up to 300 yards out into the gulf, where the big fish are!

You start by attaching the frozen bait and weight to

What’s in the water?

Our Texas beaches are extremely popular year around for swimming, fishing, and various other water related activities. To help ensure the safety and health of beach visitors, the Texas Beach Watch Program collects water samples from 167 locations along the Texas coast, including 70 locations from San Luis Pass to Gilchrist and 15 locations on Bolivar. These weekly samples are sent to a lab to measure

Sand Castles on the beach

The Spinler and Williams families have been coming to the beach every Easter for 6 years, and part of the program each year is to build a two-family sand castle. The Spinlers are from Spring and the Williams are from Friendswood. They started building this sand castle on Saturday, thinking, “okay, the tide will come in tonight and we’ll have to begin building again tomorrow morning.” Well, the tide may

The French Riviera, Nope …

Driving down the beach yesterday, we were captivated by this outstanding sight. Mark Porretto, an enterprising young man from Galveston, set up these 16 umbrellas and 32 beach chairs near Emerald II.

Beginning in May, Mark and his “beach girls and beach guys” will set up in 3 different locations along the beach

Blast your bait to where the big fish are

by Georgia Osten
We spent many days on the beach watching our friend Hugh fishing for bull reds. He would kayak out several hundred yards, drop his bait, then kayak back in, never taking his eyes off his rod planted in the sand at the water’s edge. Well, Hugh, the latest in “getting your bait out there” has surfaced. Meet Donald Currier, the “bait shooting cowboy”.

Hummers

Photo-Ed Snyder/Outdoors

Be on the lookout for these lil critters- being that we’ve had a warmer winter than normal we should start seeing hummers- I’ve seen them as early as March- so please put feeders out to attract the early fly-bys.

-Ed Snyder

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