PINS August 1st-6th driving condition question

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smokedcuda
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Joined: Sun May 05, 2013 7:21 pm

PINS August 1st-6th driving condition question

Post by smokedcuda »

Good day Gents, I along with my better half and kiddos will be looking to get down PINS a ways next week and I was wondering if anyone had been down this week and could comment on the driving conditions. In this heat with the wife and kids getting stuck is not really something that sounds fun. Any other pertinent info from a recent trip would be much appreciated as well, jelly fish super thick, Sargasom weed as far as the eye can see, roving bands of rabid coyotes whatever anyone can provide is welcomed and appreciated. I have to be a bit more prepared since my entire nuclear family will be in tow, if it was just me by myself I might just roll the dice and see what happened but with all of us got to be more responsible in my decision making process. Thanks for any input fellas...
John Hall
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Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2019 3:23 pm

Re: PINS August 1st-6th driving condition question

Post by John Hall »

Check out YT channel by Nick Meyer.....Breakaway Tackle....he does daily reports of the conditions.
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Endo
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Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2009 5:00 pm
Location: Austin

Re: PINS August 1st-6th driving condition question

Post by Endo »

How far down are you planning on driving? That matters, as conditions usually get worse around the 20s. If you're only going 15 miles in, i wouldn't worry about driving conditions. That said, driving gets worse the dryer the sand is and the longer it goes without rain. So given the drought we've been in, I would expect the sand to be powdery (you sink in more), rutted and trenched. I assume you have a 4x4.

I haven't seen bad sargassum in a long long time. I think the currents changed a lot from 10-15 years ago, it used to be loaded every spring. That said, our family loves sargassum for the kids. Bring them nets and 5 gallon buckets and they can spend days dipping and catching all the shrimp, crabs, triggers and other critters that hang out and under sargassum clumps.

Poster above mentioned Breakaway Nick, you can check his YT, but a lot of times he just give fishing report.

You can also call the PINS beach report 361-949-8175, rangers update that every day and would comment on driving, tar, jellyfish, and sargassum if its worth mentioning.

As usual, if you can time your drive in and drive out at low tide, your driving will be much better experience and stick to the high tide line. The high tide will compact the sand for better driving.

Good luck and have fun!
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smokedcuda
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Re: PINS August 1st-6th driving condition question

Post by smokedcuda »

Thanks for the info fellas, that's all really good data and its much appreciated.
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impulse
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Re: PINS August 1st-6th driving condition question

Post by impulse »

If the beach reports from some buddies who went down there last week are still valid, bring your Baby Oil. You'll need it for the tarballs.
trolling dirty
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Joined: Fri Sep 30, 2016 4:15 pm

Re: PINS August 1st-6th driving condition question

Post by trolling dirty »

From my experience going down to PINS: The most important thing is timing your drive at low tide. You will be able to essentially drive on pavement that is slightly leaning. You will be able to avoid the dry sand completely unless you have to go around someone parked in your way. You may even be tempted to drive 35 mph, but I would take it slow as there are gradual rolls (perpendicular to the shoreline) that you cant see and if you run over them fast your suspension will feel it
John Hall
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Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2019 3:23 pm

Re: PINS August 1st-6th driving condition question

Post by John Hall »

Almost forgot re: roving band of rabid coyotes......they are more like a meandering band and they are not rabid this year for the most part. They do have fricking laser beams attached to their heads which is a new wrinkle from years past, however their aim is pretty pathetic and not a point of concern unless you arent wearing sunglasses. They also seem to be more passive aggressive than anything this time of year and somewhat unsure of themselves.

On a side note, they do like belly rubs and scratches behind the ears. Playing fetch is a fool's errand however, so dont even try. Fill out Park Service form 21A, 89G and 127B to initiate the adoption process. Once done, forms 22A, 23A and 17B (in that order only) for permission to remove from park service land. Then and only then forms 21A (again) and 87W in triplicate (not yet online, paper version only) and wait the required 90 days for review and approval from the Department of the Interior.
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Endo
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Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2009 5:00 pm
Location: Austin

Re: PINS August 1st-6th driving condition question

Post by Endo »

Re coyotes down PINS....

I woke up in my tent one night, felt something was wrong. Got out of tent take a leak and was looking around for whatever that felt off. Something, somewhere...

I went over to my kayak sitting in the sand to check if some of my gear got stolen... sure enough, my two drybags and two plano fishing gear boxes were gone. I had some electronics, gopro, gps, first aid kit, and all the usual stuff you carry out with you. Arrrrgh....

Walked around a bit in moonlight and found a few of my items trailing off into the dunes. Plano boxes didn't make it far. At that point, I knew the coyotes nicked my stuff, right out of my kayak beside my tent. My fault too, as i had left a cliff bar and trail mix in one of the bags.

Next morning I followed the trail up over the dunes and found all my stuff scattered about in the sawgrass, thank goodness. They were only interested in the tasty snacks.

There's a lesson in there somewhere..... :)
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