doktorstick Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Howdy. A few of my friends were talking about taking a day trip down to Port Aransas. While down there, we were going to grab some sand and ocean water (probably off a pier). But, more importantly we want to find some good places where pools of water collect when the tide washes out... to hunt for critters. Do you have any suggestions on locations in Port A. for such a scavenger hunt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barderer Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 the port a jetty is your best bet. Let us know what you find. Its pretty random. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Vash Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Before you go across the ferry, there is a bridge you go across. Both sides (left and right) have great spots for fishing. I've seen plenty of small crab and tiny fish. Tons of hermits. It's my favorite spot to go. The water is very calm in those parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+capty99 Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 i thought you weren't supposed to get SW from anywhere close to shore.... thats what i read somewhere. its full of crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 I was also told to make sure you have your fishing license to collect anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doktorstick Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 i thought you weren't supposed to get SW from anywhere close to shore.... thats what i read somewhere. its full of crap. Yeah, you can mitigate that by lowering a bucket off a pier and getting water that way. A boat off-shore is even better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 You might do a search in the forums on "Port A" or "Aransas". This has been brought up before a couple of times, so should provide some good info on proper licenses, locations, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 As far as fishing license yes you do have to have a salt water fishing license even to pick up stuff by hand since that is still considered fishing. You can check out www.twpd.state.tx.us for more info. You can really get into a lot of trouble on accident. If your not sure about something being legal to have my advice is to throw it back. Game wardens can really mess up your world if they want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Vash Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 You can buy day or week pass licenses now. That would probably be easiest if that is all you need to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doktorstick Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 You might do a search in the forums on "Port A" or "Aransas". This has been brought up before a couple of times, so should provide some good info on proper licenses, locations, etc. Doh. I didn't even consider searching. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKarshens Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 I would seriously reconsider using any water or sand from down there. It is not clean by any means. A guy I follow on RC in CA gets NSW. He found he has to go 50 miles out to get clean enough water. I do know people have collected Peppermint shrimp down there. The hard part is keeping them alive on the way back. A cooler and a battery powered air pump seem to work best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 I got curious on the whole subject and kept reading so here is some more info. It is a violation to take more than 15 live univalve snails during a day which include no more than 2 each of the following snails: lightning whelk, horse conch, Florida fighting conch, pear whelk, banded tulip, or Florida rocksnail. I think you can actually get in trouble for transporting water from the coast because it could contain hitchhikers. Also there is a permit process to collect sediment materials. It appears as part of an erosion control plan. I'm not sure how you can take sediment without hitchhikers either but that is the way I'm reading it. These rules about water and sediment I have only found on the Texas Administrative Code so it is kind of hard to understand. I'm sure the Texas Parks and Wildlife could answer more questions or at least direct you to the right place to get them answered. There is just a lot to know about going down and taking stuff from the coast that could get you into trouble if your not aware of the laws. Just FYI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddybluewater Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 My biggest concern would be what is reef safe and not as far as live stock goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 Yeah good point. Plus some species if brought out of their normal habitat could just completely infest your tank if nothing keeps them in check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doktorstick Posted November 10, 2009 Author Share Posted November 10, 2009 Setup a Port A. "natural" tank then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddybluewater Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 My wife would really kill me if I set up another tank. She isn't happy now with the amount I am spending on the 120g. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted November 10, 2009 Share Posted November 10, 2009 I got curious on the whole subject and kept reading so here is some more info. It is a violation to take more than 15 live univalve snails during a day which include no more than 2 each of the following snails: lightning whelk, horse conch, Florida fighting conch, pear whelk, banded tulip, or Florida rocksnail. Most of those you would not want in a reef tank. Welks are bad ... and I think so is the tulip snail. Not sure on the horse conch, but most conchs get way too big for most tanks. Fighting conchs are good guys (have a few in my tank), and stay small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caferacermike Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 There is plenty to collect down there and the process has been written several times. A quick search ill provide all the information and arguments you will need. But I would like to ask, why on earth do you want beach sand? Beach sand is the same stuff in your sandbox the neighbors cat craps in. Same quartz mineral that HDepot sells. It's not what you want in your tank. Quartz/silica sand does not make good tank sand. It packs to dense, does not provide any buffering benefits of aragonite, and can produce diatom outbreaks. It is a "terrestrial" product, not from the sea. Basically the sand is old shoreline rock that has been refined into sand by the pounding surf, hence why beach sand is different colors around the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbnj Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 But I would like to ask, why on earth do you want beach sand? There's a reason they "comb" beaches. It's to turn over the sand to get the wet stuff underneath exposed to the sun. That kills all the nasty bacteria that builds up in beach sand. Definitely not reef tank material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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