By Mike Holmes, Southern Boating Magazine
There are five “Port” cities on the lower Texas coast—Port Lavaca, Port O’Connor, Port Mansfield, Port Aransas, and Port Isabel. Only Port Aransas is on the Gulf of Mexico, while the others are all on the mainland side of their bay system, protected by a barrier island. Port Aransas is the largest of these “Port” cities, and offers the most attractions for visitors, whether they come by car, plane or boat.
Considered the “Fishing Capital of Texas,” Port Aransas is located on the very northernmost tip of Mustang Island, which is basically the northern end of the Padre Islands, as only a small cut and a two-lane bridge separate Mustang and North Padre. Port Aransas is reached via ferry from the town of Aransas Pass on the mainland, or via the causeway from Corpus Christi. By water, skippers come in from the Gulf through Aransas Pass, cruise down the ICW, or cross Corpus Christi Bay.
Port Aransas has a municipal marina (cityofportaransas.org), several private docks, and a few neighboring private marinas, like Island Moorings (islandmooringsmarina.net) on the Laguna Madre side of Mustang Island, which offer slips and amenities to visiting boats. The Corpus/Port Aransas/Padre Island area is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Texas, or indeed, the western Gulf. The beaches are beautiful and stretch uninterrupted for many miles; and the water is normally clear and green, both in the bays and the surf. Fishing, surfing, birdwatching and just hanging on the beach bring winter visitors, while easy Gulf access and a deep-water bay attract both sailors and power cruisers year-round. The Texas State Aquarium is just up the road, and Corpus Christi has a very nice art museum and a natural history museum that focuses on the immediate area. The municipal marina at Corpus lies just across Corpus Christi Bay.
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Spaniard Alonso Alvarez de Pineda mapped five passes on the Texas coast in 1519, including what is today known as Aransas Pass, and it was "re-discovered" in 1720 by French explorer Jean de BĂ©ranger. The name Aranzasus Pass was given to the cut between St. Joe and Mustang Islands in 1739 by the Spanish governor because it was the Gulf access for Fort Aranzasus. The named was changed to Aransas on a map made by a Captain Monroe of the ship Amos Wright in 1833.
The Aransas Pass lighthouse was built in 1857, and later became known as the Lydia Ann Channel Light. It was of major importance during the Civil War, when the Confederate forces removed the lens from the light and hid it in the marshes behind the Island to thwart Union ships trying to enter the channel to Corpus. The light was decommissioned in 1952, after nearly a century of service, when a major channel shift left it sitting a mile from the actual Pass.
One major attraction of the area is the Aransas Wildlife Refuge, where the endangered whooping cranes return to winter each year. The cranes have fostered a local industry, with boat and foot tours available through the refuge for those hoping to catch a glimpse of them. They are huge birds, standing as much as four feet tall, which made them easy targets for market hunters who shot them for their feathers in the past. The refuge also has many other forms of bird and wildlife, including whitetail deer and feral hogs.
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Fishing was and remains a major attraction for "Port A", and it was once one of the most popular tarpon fishing spots in the world. Many of the anglers visiting in search of tarpon stayed at the Tarpon Inn. The hotel was built in 1886 out of lumber salvaged from Civil War barracks to house workers building the south jetty protecting the Pass. When the work was finished the building stayed on as a commercial hotel. Destroyed in the 1916 hurricane, it was rebuilt using pilings set in concrete that went all the way to the roof to withstand future storms—which mostly it has done.
Two walls in the hotel are covered with tarpon scales signed by the angler who caught the fish, as it was common to keep a scale as a "trophy" and release the tarpon even in those early days. Among the notable guests who have stayed there were President Franklin Roosevelt, when he came to fish for tarpon in 1937; Duncan Hines of the cake mix family, who was there on his honeymoon; actress Hedy Lamarr; circus lion tamer Clyde Beatty; evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson; boxer-turned-actor Victor McLaglen; Dallas Cowboys legendary defensive tackle Bob Lilly, and physicist Edward Teller. In 1979 Tarpon Inn was listed in the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Texas historic landmark.
Although it has changed ownership many times over the years, and gone through periods when it was closed and inactive, the Tarpon Inn is now open to the public, including the hotel restaurant, "Roosevelt's" (for more information, visit thetarponinn.com or call 361-749-5555 or 800-365-6784).
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Tarpon, of course, are not the only fish around "Port A"; the Laguna Madre and connecting bays teem with speckled trout, redfish and flounder, while offshore waters offer anything from red snapper to marlin and tuna. This area has also long been the mecca for Texas shark fishermen who fish off the jetties, off Bob Hall Pier on North Padre, or from the surf, as well as from private vessels and charter boats. The Port Aransas Boatman's Association is the largest and most active charter boat operator organization in Texas, and is actively affiliated with the National Charterboat Operator's Association.
The distance to the deep water of the 100-fathom curve is much less from Port Aransas than from Galveston, or even Freeport, making it a popular jumping off point for deep-water anglers. A sort of trade-off, however, is the typically choppy seas off this stretch of coast. More than once I have been advised by knowledgeable boat repair folks not to buy a used boat out of Port Aransas because it likely will be fairly beaten up.
Most modern boats have little trouble with the waters on this part of the Texas coast, if operated prudently, however. That was not always the case in the early part of the last century, when boats were not what they are today. In 1915, Charles Frederick Farley and his sons started building the Farley Boats locally. Designed with a high bow, low freeboard and a low cabin for fishing access-much like a modern walkaround cuddy cabin—they performed much better in the rough chop, and became very popular with charter captains. When President Roosevelt came down to tarpon-fish, he brought a 35-foot boat of his own from the East Coast and hired Barney Farley to guide him. One of the area's most competent fishermen, Barney quickly judged the Eastern boat lacking, and took the president out on his Farley Boat to ultimately catch his tarpon. Today, Farley Boats are being used as planters throughout the city as a reminder of those days of glory. Barney Farley's book, Fishing Yesterday's Gulf Coast, available from Amazon.com, contains a lot of details about his days of tarpon fishing in Farley Boats, and his experiences fishing with President Roosevelt.
Today's visitors to Port Aransas enjoy great dining, comfortable accommodations, fun nightlife, fantastic beaches and beautiful water for fishing or cruising. "Port A" makes an excellent destination in itself, or a prime layover location for cruises up and down the Texas coast. Winters are mild and summers are, well, Gulf Coast Summers. The seafood is fresh, and the community very friendly—with a definite coastal attitude and a beach town demeanor.
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