TexasKayakFisherman.com

Has anyone paddled out to San Jose Island from PA? I've been thinking about it but don't know if it's private...

It's a private island. Not sure anyone would chase you off if you set foot on it, tho I wouldn't try moving around a lot beyond the immediate area of a shoreline. I have done that more than once - relieving myself. The area near the airport is the most common area for humans to be.

Can you fish the bordering waters? Yes; many do.

Cool. Thanks. Other than the ferry, I can't find anything that says I shouldn't be out there. I was thinking about paddling out there carrying the yak over the jetty and doing some surf fishing.

The island is private and off limits. However, the beach itself is covered by the Open Beaches Act, and you can access it from the low tide line to the vegetation line. You can't cross the island to get to it though.

I believe there is a fishing ferry from Port A to the San Jose side. Runs on the hour I think. Some people take the last one out at night and spend the night fishing.

http://www.jettyboat.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

CorpusKeith wrote: I believe there is a fishing ferry from Port A to the San Jose side. Runs on the hour I think. Some people take the last one out at night and spend the night fishing.
http://www.jettyboat.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's pretty cool. Saltyakr, you ought to look into whether they'd let you carry your kayak along with your gear. I have power-boated out and around the end of jetties to fish the surf there in PA and at Sabine and Calcasieu jetties. The surf fishing always seems to rock in places with limited beach access and less pressure.

Yaklash wrote:

CorpusKeith wrote: I believe there is a fishing ferry from Port A to the San Jose side. Runs on the hour I think. Some people take the last one out at night and spend the night fishing.
http://www.jettyboat.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's pretty cool. Saltyakr, you ought to look into whether they'd let you carry your kayak along with your gear. I have power-boated out and around the end of jetties to fish the surf there in PA and at Sabine and Calcasieu jetties. The surf fishing always seems to rock in places with limited beach access and less pressure.

hmmm... might have to look into that instead. I'd feel more comfortable leaving my vehicle at the jetty boat instead of at the jetties.

Yaklash wrote:

CorpusKeith wrote: I believe there is a fishing ferry from Port A to the San Jose side. Runs on the hour I think. Some people take the last one out at night and spend the night fishing.
http://www.jettyboat.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's pretty cool. Saltyakr, you ought to look into whether they'd let you carry your kayak along with your gear. I have power-boated out and around the end of jetties to fish the surf there in PA and at Sabine and Calcasieu jetties. The surf fishing always seems to rock in places with limited beach access and less pressure.

hmmm... might have to look into that instead. I'd feel more comfortable leaving my vehicle at the jetty boat instead of at the jetties.

Yeah leaving my vehicle at the jetty boat sounds better and safer than leaving it by the jetty.

saltyakr wrote:Yeah leaving my vehicle at the jetty boat sounds better and safer than leaving it by the jetty.

Not to mention the ferry ride is safer than the 400 + yard paddle across a ship channel.

Shoot man, 44/45 years ago we used to paddle our surfboards across the ship channel pretty often to surf St. Joe! Wow, was we stupid or what? ..........cC

saltyakr wrote:Cool. Thanks. Other than the ferry, I can't find anything that says I shouldn't be out there. I was thinking about paddling out there carrying the yak over the jetty and doing some surf fishing.

I was out on St. Jo a few weeks ago. Good fishing and really clean / not crowded. You could paddle across and haul your kayak over the jetty to the beach if you want to save yourself a few bucks. You can also talk to the jetty boat operators and (if the ferry is not crowded) they might mothership your yak. However, the jetty boat landing on the St. Jo side is not close to the beach. It's about 1/4 mile you'd have to carry/pull your yak and gear.

I'd keep it simple, carry shade, water, and your fishing gear for some wade-surf fishing. It's pretty good all along the beach. Remember, no facilities over there, so pack what you need. The island's caretaker does come down the beach about once a day, but if you're on the beach or in the surf and you're being respectful of the island, you'll be just fine. It's a pretty great place, if you've never been.

Awesome. Thanks for the info guys.