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BAFFIN BAY
Baffin Bay is a remote hypersaline body of water that is unique for all of North America. It lies on the Texas coast within the inland waters created by Padre Island National Seashore.
There is essentially no development on its shores because it is bounded by only the huge King Ranch, which is the world's largest and most famous ranch, the Kenedy Ranch and the Padre Island National Seashore. This makes it an isolated and remote location for world-class fishing adventures. The best access is from Bluff's Landing Marina, closest marina to the fabled waters of Baffin Bay. The remote location means a short boat ride south through the Laguna Madre is required.
In reference to Baffin Bay, there is some good news and some bad news! The good news is that Baffin Bay is a fisherman's dream-come-true. It is the place to catch big speckled trout and .... lots of them. The bad news is that the bay is the most dangerous place for boats on the entire Texas coast. The very feature that makes it such a great place to fish is the same thing that makes it such a dangerous place to go boating. The whole bay is full of "rocks" that lay in wait just below the surface of the water. Many lower units have been destroyed on these rock reefs.
The bay is world famous for its production of large Spotted Sea Trout.
And the rocks are the reason for this. The smallest members of the food chain hide within these rock structures. Then there's the top of the food chain. That's you, the angler, seeking out the most proficient fish in the bay - the trophy trout.
From 1975 to 2002, the state record trout came from Baffin Bay. The current Texas state record trout was caught near-by in the Lower Laguna Madre. Hard-core anglers come from all over Texas and the nation with the allure of catching the next Texas state record speckled trout and all the glory that goes with it.
Folks are always surprised to hear that Baffin Bay contains rock formations of any kind because when they view the shoreline it is only sandy, South Texas terrain with no rocks at all. This skepticism is understandable and is due to the fact that what really exists there is not actually "rock" but more of a coral-like formation that was deposited over thousands of years by a segmented worm. This explains the reason that, like any other coral reef, the organisms that built them limited their construction project to a point just below the surface of the water.
Consistently the anglers of Texas, and points beyond, battle the largest trophies of their lives during the trips they make to Baffin Bay. Obviously Baffin Bay is not a safe place for boats and the best way to discover it in search of a trophy trout is with a professional guide out of Bluff's Landing Marina. If you decide to venture there on your own, do so after carefully studying the navigation maps. Avoid using popular "fishing" maps for navigation purposes in Baffin Bay. They can contain helpful fishing information, but are usually not as reliable as the latest Nautical Charts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Study the NOAA charts for Baffin Bay carefully before boating there.
The map at left is a scanned portion of the NOAA Nautical Chart #11308 that details the entrance to Baffin Bay. The part shown here is of an area known to local fishermen as "The Badlands".
Pink shading has been added to some of the known rocks in this area. Note the caution that is included on the NOAA chart to warn boaters of the hazards that lie in wait there. The Badlands is only one area that hides underwater rocks. Virtually the entire eastern part of Baffin Bay where it joins with the Laguna Madre is filled with submerged reefs. These are very dangerous, but as previously mentioned, they harbor big trout!
Further into Baffin Bay are the reefs of East Kleberg Point, Point Black Bluff, White Bluff, Marker 9 Rocks, Starvation Point, and Los Corrallos,....all are very rocky. The open expanses of the bay are 8 feet deep, but there are unmarked reefs (like Center Reef) that come abruptly to the surface out in the middle of the bay without notice and without association with any visable land mass or point. To sum up,.....do not go to Baffin Bay looking for big trout without guidance and assistance from Bluff's Landing Marina.
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