Unknown pass near San Bernard

[FishinHippie]

I've been spending alot of time checking out google earth in the SS area and noticed something strange.

About 3-4 miles SW of the old mouth to the San Bernard is a gap between the surf and a marsh that is connected to the ICW. It looks like a boat may not be able to access it.

Here is a pic of the pass. Anyone fish there? Will this post get deleted because it is someone's honey hole? Hmmmmm....

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m151/FishinHippie/unknownpass1.jpg

[FishBone]

I will delete this post if anyone tells about my honey hole. LOL


Michaels Cut?


FishBone

[fishinH2O]

What are the thin aqua colored lines?

[FishinHippie]

that is the outline to a park in the area... San Bernard Wildlife Refuge?

[fishinH2O]

OIC.... Then that must be Mitchels cut. Close to Sargent.

[FishinHippie]

That sounds about right.... nice looking cut.... of course the photo is a couple year old I think.. I'm sure it has changed alot since the photo...

Is the cut still open?

[aggiemulletboy]

If it is mitchells, last I heard it was still open. we did well on flounder and reds there last year.

[Mrschasintail]

Delete...Delete...Delete!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Moonpie]

Thats is Cedar Lake cut. Vehicle access is possible but difficult.

Mitchell's Cut is down past Sargent, about 3 miles south of the drawbridge.

[Mrschasintail]

MP...Hush up yo mouth....lol

[chasintail]

My Dang DELETE button is not working!!!

[FishinHippie]

Hmmm.... ya'll wouldn't send a hippie on a wild goose chase would ya?

Well... I was planning on targeting it anyhow. One way to get there is down sargents beach. I'll bet my 4X4 will be tested there!

Only other option I see is to launch in San Bernard Wildlife refuge and paddle down there.

So... does anyone know if that is public access??

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m151/FishinHippie/potentiallaunch.jpg

[Mrschasintail]

FH...Be careful..Really shallow and lots of oysters!

[Moonpie]

FH,

The besttest route is to drive up from Sargent, along the beach, and launch right off the beach into the cut. BEWARE: the drive is a real bear that last few miles along the beach, specially if it has been raining/wet. A 4x4 is the only way to go.
Cross the drawbridge on the ICW, turn left, go down the road until you cross the little one lane bridge, keep going down the road until you can cross over onto the beach, drive along the track just above the beach until you run out of dirt. Can't miss it.
Coming in from the way you have outlined is one heck of long paddle(miles).
Haven't been down there in some time so can't tell you latest conditions.
Sounds like the Moonpie needs to do a trip!

[FishinHippie]

The route from the refuge is 2 miles one way.... I've done 10 mile round trips so no problem there. Plus, that canal and lake look pretty nice... might be worth spending some time back there!! I'll bet anything I can find some reds back there!!

But I would prefer to launch at the cut so driving down sargents beach sounds like the best option. Looks like about 4.5 miles of beach. My lil FX4 Ranger outta get 'er done!

Thanks for the input guys and gals!

[Chongo]

Moonpie is correct, that is cedar lake cut. It is about a 45 minute drive in my jeep from the draw bridge. There are no fish there so stay away..........:rant:

[FishinHippie]

So Mitchels cut is the one SW of Sargent?

[Wes]

That is correct FH

[Gigem]

FH,

I have had limited experience in fishing that area, but I will tell you what I know. The "canal" you mentioned is what I call Salt Cedar Bayou, the lake above the canal is Salt Cedar Lake, or that is what I call it.

Salt Cedar is full of oyster reefs and is very shallow. Also, I'm not sure of the status of that "road" you see on google earth. Turn off the road layer and you will see that it looks more like a ditch than a road. There is a boat ramp in the refuge about 15 minutes by boat from Salt Cedar Lake. Regardless, I don't think you could drive down to the lake very easily. A lot of those roads are probably only accessable by ATV's etc (Feds have nice toys).

I have fished in and around the Cedar Lakes, but not with much luck. Potus, TideRunner, and a few others on here can give you more tips. Cedar Lakes is definitely an interesting place, but difficult to navigate, which is why a kayak may be an ideal thing to have down there. There are a few more threads about this cut on here, I am looking for them.

Let us know what you find, I look forward to making a drive down the beach to the cut soon.

[Gigem]

Here's another thread on it:

http://www.fishcoastaltexas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3300

[FishinHippie]

Gig..

yea I suspect that road in the refuge is not accessable but just had to ask.

Those lakes do look good but there is a paticular canal in there that looks very promising. (See red arrow) My experince is that a canal like this almost always holds reds and flounders if it is deep enough. But if it requires a 3 mile paddle from Cedar Lake Cut, than it's not worth it.

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m151/FishinHippie/saltcedarlake.jpg

[fishinH2O]

O... I thought it was further down than that. This year Cedar Lakes dried up & the cut was closed as well as the chanels were dry. No rain or storms to open it up. The year before it did not produce any fish but there was a little hole on the beach closer to the Brazos that is gone now. Maybe 2007 will be a better year for Cedar Lake to come back to life. :noidea:

[Gigem]

FH:

I have fished from the other side of the lake (refuge side) but never have done any good in there. I hear that you can really catch the reds in there but you have to go at the right time. I tried to go across the lake but could not locate the channel (I draft 4") and it is solid oyster reefs.

Keep in mind that the bayou on the north side of the lake is not very wide, maybe 20-30' (It's been awhile) in places. That "canal" you speak of is probably less than 10 feet wide, and very shallow, but it would be worth checking out. I will see if I can get back there in my boat next time I go and post up the results.

Do you have a boat? I have always wanted to start from the ICW in my boat and put a kayak on the boat. Go up into Salt Cedar Lake, anchor, and kayak around that area. Also explore Cedar Lakes.

MP: don't you kayak around cedar lake?

[FishinHippie]

sounds like a kayakers territory. I draft 2"... :dance: I don't have a powerboat... just a kayak. Hope to have a nice offshore boat someday... but for fishing in the bays, a kayaks is a awesome tool!

I'd be willing to bet that the 10' wide channel has some deeper hole in it... there is almost always a honey hole in a channel like that.

The key is the marsh lake it supplies. The tidal movement digs deep holes at the corners and the red will stack up there. It's the kinda place where I park the kayak before the corner and throw a plastic into the hole. If you can find the where the channel gets deeper then work the plastic just above the point and bring it into the deeper area slowly with a few twitches.... Fish On!

At least this is the pattern that I have had the most success at when targeting slot redfish. Of course sometime ya find nothing but rats in there but once ya find the deepest spot in the channel it will usually hole a couple slots.

Still... this canal might be too far for me to kayak too. Might be a good spot for a ferry ride. If I were to camp at the cut I would be willing to paddle up there for a look-see. Could be a tagged red just sittin in that hole!

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m151/FishinHippie/canal.jpg

[fishinH2O]

Could be a tagged red just sittin in that hole!



:nono: They do not release the tagged reds around these parts. You might catch some left overs from last year or the year before. If you want a tagged red you fish Galveston bay area.

[Potus]

Just saw this.

Yes, that is the Cedar Lake 4 cut & I was last there in early September. I've fished a lot in that area & can answer most of your questions. When I was last there the depth of the cut itself was perhaps a foot shallower than it had been since it opened during a tropical storm some yrs (7 - 10?) ago. However, any reports as to it's demise are (to quote Mark Twain) premature. That delta you can plainly see right in the area where the mouth of the cut opens into Cedar Lake 4 is at best a foot deep & is the main reason it's ALMOST impossible to get to the Gulf in a boat from CL 4. Moonpie can attest to that. The fishing there can be phenomonal & b/c it ain't easy to get to it's never CROWDED but it does get a bit jammed at times, generally during prime times during the summer. There are trout & redfish in the surf & into the mouth of the cut & back in the area on the Sargent's side of the cut. In the Cedar Lake 4 area, well, let me say, would you like to practice your flounder on a lure catchin' skills? Much of CL 4 is accesible by a shallow draft boat & the bottom is mainly sand or sand/mud mix w/a bit of oysters & stand of grasses. In short ideal flounder habitat. Not divulgin' my best spots but there are plenty of flounder in there if ya got the technique.
As to launchin' from SBNWR - the ramp I've been to is not far from the HQ bldgs so I doubt that is the same one you are lookin' at. The launch I'm talking about is on a bayou perhaps 20 - 30 ft wide at best but is relatively deep 4 - 5 ft. It's a good putt (20 - 30 mins) at idle or just above (not on plane) down to that shallow lake others mentioned. We could never find a channel thru it either but a yak might be able to get across. There were some promising spots between the ramp & the lake but all we caught were dink specs. My bet is there are reds back in there this time of year. In a yak I'd be a bit concerned about gators in the warmer parts of the year.
However, the best access is indeed up the beach from Sargents. Be very careful even in 4WD about driving on that beach - the sand is a few inches thick at best & there is clay beneath it. You can be cruisin' along on what seems to be firm footing & stop to check out birds working off the beach & get stuck when the clay squishes down. The best thing to do is go along the track behind the beach. Now if it's been rainin' recently, 4WD may be necessary but if it's kinda dry, the wide tires help but 2WD is usually enough but it is ROUGH - the suspension will get a work-out, so go slow - you probably won't get out of 1st gear. Right at the cut the beach widens & flattens such as there is a large flat area a few ft above water level that is perfect for camping. The only thing is that when it's warm the skeeters will flat carry you off.
I've got a 14' Aquaterre yak so if at some point you'd like to explore some spots which I ain't puttin' out in the public domain let me know ;-) there are some good ones around there - Cow Trap would be a bit of a paddle & there's also CL 3 & the blowout hole among other places.

Questions???

[Gigem]

Thanks for the good info POTUS, that's what I also know about the "north" part of the lake.

I have a trip to the cut planned in the near future.

[FishinHippie]

As to launchin' from SBNWR - the ramp I've been to is not far from the HQ bldgs so I doubt that is the same one you are lookin' at. The launch I'm talking about is on a bayou perhaps 20 - 30 ft wide at best but is relatively deep 4 - 5 ft. It's a good putt (20 - 30 mins) at idle or just above (not on plane) down to that shallow lake others mentioned. We could never find a channel thru it either but a yak might be able to get across.

Here is a map of the SBNWR. Is that the ramp you mentioned? Also, do you know if the road marked actually is usable?

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m151/FishinHippie/SBNWR.jpg

I've got a 14' Aquaterre yak so if at some point you'd like to explore some spots which I ain't puttin' out in the public domain let me know ;-) there are some good ones around there - Cow Trap would be a bit of a paddle & there's also CL 3 & the blowout hole among other places.

I will be down there soon to explore these areas. Possible even tomorrow. I drive a silver FX4 Ranger and will be in a green kayak, my buddy will either be in a red or green kayak. I can't say for sure if tomorrow will be the day but I'll do my best to convince my buddy we need to check these areas out soon. I'll let ya know what I find. Thanks for the info!

[Potus]

That seems to be the ramp I was referring to - w/o seeing where the road to The Point is (FM 2918?) I can't say for sure. I've not been down that other road that goes down to Salt Cedar Lake but if it's like the other roads in SBNWR it's probably passable when it's dry but not after rains. The rangers at the HQ are helpful & could tell you. I'd also be curious as to if there's a back way into the bayou that flows into the NW part of the back of Cow Trap.

And don't discount Mitchell's Cut either - yeah, it's easier to get to & more crowded but plenty of good fishing there as well.

[Dr Jeff]

PM me if any of you need a kayak fishing partner, even on short notice. I'm not working,so I'm available anytime.Best to call me at 832-618-6736 to get me on short notice.I'm extending my pontoons out so I can stand & sight cast.

[Gigem]

Did you ever check this place out? Have not heard ?

[YakMan]

I was out there last weekend and Cedar 4 is dried up.There was a little water in the cut but not much.You can walk across the mouth and not get your knees wet.

[Hog]

An interesting finding since looking at the pictures on the first few post and doing a bit of searching on the net. The pictures you show are off google. If you will go to Mapquest.com under maps, I think you'll see in the pictures that there are about 2 years difference. I zoomed in on my house on google and it didnt show the circle drive way i now have and it showed my ole boat parked at my house where as mapquest shows my driveway and my new boat. I put the drive way in over 2 years ago.

Also another neat thing to see comparing the maps. if you will go to the mouth of the San Benard, and compare the two photos using a water ditch just a bit north west of the mouth, you can see that the mouth has moved farther down the beach a good bit.

Also the google aerial shows Bport High School Still standing before construction was started and the old grass Hopper field, where as mapquest shows the new Bport high school already built except for the front of the school and the new football complex completed.

Just wanted to pass the comparison on. kinda neat to compare'm

Hog