“Gosh-darn, grimaced the struggling angler, this critter just won’t give up! With a seriously bowed rod and aching arms the angler fought a “toe-to-toe” battle with a stubborn redfish estimated to be 3ft long. Finally, after a 20 minute see-saw battle that pulled drag towards the Gulf, then circling back to the bay before going gulf bound again, he managed to land the huge fish with the help of a fellow angler. “Thirty five inches long, he measured, about 40 lbs, he estimated. Then, with a big splash, the bronze hued “bull” was suddenly gone, released back into Rollover Pass to bite and fight another day.
“He was way too big for us to keep, stated Leroy Machala, besides, we have three slot reds on our stringer already for the trip home. Leroy and Charles Machala, brothers in blood and Texas WW-II vets, were spending a few days at “the-cut” fishing for “whatever”. “But we weren’t having much luck until today, grinned Charles. “Having engine problems with our boat we decided to come to the pass to relax, fish, and reminisce. Hurricane Ike had destroyed their home on Crystal Beach and they were in the process of rebuilding. Both brothers, who have been fishing Rollover Pass for 50 years, were enjoying a day at the Pass catching fish and having fun. When informed about the possibility of Rollover being closed by the State, both grimaced in disbelief, stating. “Why, that just stinks!! Where will we go and what will we do, they both chortled, we’ve been fishing here for half a century!
After hurricane Ike “bullied” its way across Bolivar Peninsula in September of ’08, wrecking Crystal Beach homes and businesses, flushing the seaside community of Gilchrist into Galveston’s East Bay, and all but wrecking the prime fishery at Rollover Pass, opportunists found an opportunity for closing Rollover Pass. Their arguments were that the Pass was just too expensive to maintain by dredging and caused serious beach erosion problems. So the State of Texas ruled in favor for its closure.
Since 1954 Rollover Pass, or “the cut” as locals call it, had become a Mecca for anglers and birders alike with its exceptional fishing draw pulling anglers from far and wide. This year round saltwater fishery offers superb speckled trout, redfish, golden croaker, black drum, and flounder runs that everyone and anyone can enjoy. Being that “the cut” is only 250 yards long by 75 yards wide, with a tidal flush flowing between the Gulf of Mexico and Galveston’s East Bay, “the cut” is usually full of bait and hungry fish. Easily accessed by vehicles and RVs, Rollover is also a major feeding and breeding area for migratory birds, mammals, and sea turtles, drawing strong visitations from the breath of Texas as well as other states and countries for viewing its wildlife treasures.
One group of concerned citizens, the Gilchrist Community Association (GCA), are actively fighting the Texas decision to close the pass for two major reasons. To keep it open for the recreational enjoyments of the public and to recover their economy from that income for rebuilding their beachside community of Gilchrist, wiped out by hurricane Ike. For, without this tourist income from the pass, Gilchrist will most assuredly become a ghost town where once tread a half million visitors a year who played, lived, shopped, and combed the beaches for hidden treasures…
Right now, the pass is producing exceptional redfish and speckled trout action mingled with some excellent golden croaker. Flounder also are beginning to show up in numbers for their Fall flounder migration from the bays to the Gulf. The main bait for reds, specks, and flounder are finger mullet, with dead shrimp loading up the croaker coolers.
New limits on the flounder have been regulated for this season however, allowing only 5 flounder per day, with 14inch minimum size limits. And again during November and December with only 2 flounder per day allowed. The legal creel for redfish are 3 per-day between 20 to 28inches, with one over 28 when legally tagged. Speckled trout are 10 per-day at 15inches, with only one over 25inches allowed per-day. Croaker have no creel or size limits and provide a very tasty and excellent table fare for those family fish fries.
You can reach the Rollover Pass area by driving to Bolivar Peninsula thru Winnie to High Island, taking Hwy 87 south to the cut, or riding the ferry from Galveston to Bolivar, then driving north on Hwy 87 to Rollover Pass. The beaches are drivable and clear of all hurricane trash. Surf-fishing is at its peak right now with lots of “bull” reds to 40 lbs hitting dead mullet, with the pass producing plenty of slot reds and croaker.
If the State has its way this may be the last time that anglers like Leroy and Charles can enjoy fishing at Rollover Pass, but if the GCA has its way you’ll be able to enjoy “the cut” for many years to come. But they need your help. For more information on the fight to keep Rollover Pass open contact the Gilchrist Community Association at www.rolloverpass.com or email [email protected]: Ed Snyder / Ed Snyder Outdoors
