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What year did galveston bay freeze?

Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2004 9:37 pm
by Drift fisher
just curious

Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2004 10:09 pm
by MarkT
You are probably thinking about the great Christmas freeze of 1983. Here's a Shannon Tompkins article from the Houston Chronicle that recounts the event: http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mp ... ns/2319895

Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2004 10:45 pm
by Texan
Mark T,

That's good stuff, I was born in Texas and had to spend way too much time in Oklahoma. Needless to say I was not around when that happened, and I don't think that I would be worried of a repeat performance this time around. I don't think you or anyone else is making that implication either

I will say from a historical point that it obviously can happen again before we know it or would bet against it! Up in my neck of the woods we've seen too many darn floods in too short of a "historical" point of view. With mother nature, I think all bets are off :!:

I do know this..... it's too freak'in cold :evil:

Sorry about the GD type post!

Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2004 11:09 pm
by hookset4
Thanks for another useful link Commodore Mark. That article really brought back some tough memories for me. Right when I was switching from freshwater to saltwater the bay systems got totally derailed.:oops: Fortunately they rebounded (though kinda slowly) but then BAM! :shock: It happened again. This time the recovery was quicker. It's been a long time since we have had that kind of bad luck and I hope it is still longer.

Texan wrote:I do know this..... it's too freak'in cold :evil:


I agree with that.......brrrr!

-hook

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2004 12:13 am
by vincent
happened 2 times in the 80s ....sucked..caught dink trout for 3-4 years after that..I remember scenes of people snagging literally using big trebbles and heavy weights 30" 10lb trout out of offats bayou by the boatload...I think it happened again in 89 but was lighter

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2004 12:46 am
by mike
The article quotes someone that the ice was 4" thick. I would have to see that to believe it. The weather did kill lots of fish.

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2004 6:45 am
by Yakfish
I remember seeing some pictures of people walking on the ice on Galveston Bay around Texas City. There was even one of a horse drawn wagon on the ice.

Texas and Oklahoma's Greatest Hits

The most significant weather events to strike Texas and Oklahoma

John Nielsen-Gammon
Texas A&M University
Texas State Climatologist


Howard Johnson
University of Oklahoma
Oklahoma Climatological Survey


We have to go back over 100 years to find the most memorable cold snap on record in Texas and Oklahoma: Feb. 12, 1899. On that day, all of Oklahoma got below -10F, and over half of Texas was below 0F. Ice reportedly covered most of Galveston Bay. The Texas state record for coldest temperature was set that day at Tulia, which got down to -23F.

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2004 7:24 am
by rabbit
mike wrote:The article quotes someone that the ice was 4" thick. I would have to see that to believe it. The weather did kill lots of fish.


I dont know about the ice on galvaston bay but I was living in dayton at the time. Just recently move from minnesota and I was cracking up all the water lines freezing. I couldnt believe people left there water lines ontop of the ground. It froze out the valley so all fruit sold in the valley for the next 3 years came from indian river florida. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2004 7:59 am
by jetty67
I have seen pictures of the old cars driving out on the ice that my grandfather had. I think it was in or around 1933. It might have been a few years ealier because the cars were not quite model T's but not the bigger heavier cars they built in the 40's.

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2004 10:13 am
by GoinCoastal
I was actually fishing POC the day the bay froze. WOW!!!!!!!! It was something to see.....

The front hit right before Christmas. A buddy and myself hit the Army Hole on CHRISTMAS EVEmorning and tore up the reds. The front stayed and was strong. We had several days in a row where the temps didn't get above freezing. We decided to go hit the Army hole again before new years. We loaded the boat and drove across ESb to the Army Base. When we got to the base we couldn't believe our eyes. The bay was frozen solid a good 50-75 yds out into the bay. The channel to the Army Hole was frozen solid. And the ice was thick!!! We were trying to break the ice with a steel gaff and it took a lot to break it. We turned around and came back in. That's when saw everyone scooping up fish with landing nets everywhere. Any place where the north wind blew against a bank, there were live but helpless fish. After that freeze, limits were lowered and slots restricted more. It was some very hard fishing for the next 3 years after that ...............................

to the comment about 4" ice.... I saw it!!!!!!! It happened!!!!

That same front... I was driving down near George West and saw a horse standing on top of a frozen water trough trying to break the ice with his hooves to get a drink. It was something that south Texas just doesn't see very often.

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2004 10:16 am
by Animal Chris
GoinCoastal wrote:to the comment about 4" ice.... I saw it!!!!!!! It happened!!!!


4"? That's nothing. Barry, tell 'em how thick it was during the Ice Age!

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2004 10:31 am
by CM
The Freeze of 83! I remember that trout was selling for $1.17 a pound and before 12 noon it went down to .37cents per pound. I hit a trout with the outboard in offets bayou that I know was 10lbs. There were fish everywhere floating frozen.

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2004 10:44 am
by Bluffer
oso bay here Had ice along the edges that year (saltwater)

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2004 10:57 am
by let's go
I was duck hunting that morning in the Hall's Bayou Ranch up above Caranchua Lake. We walked out into the marsh through the the small lakes that were about thigh deep in water. The mud out there was very soft and you would sink about a foot with every step. After the front hit and the north wind blew for a few hours we headed back to the truck. The water was gone and the mud was frozen solid. We walked across the boggiest parts and didn't break through.

I drove over to the causeway to see how much water was gone. It was incredible to see. Most of the bottom of West Bay was exposed. The only water left between the Deer Islands was in the ICW. I for one hope to never see that again. The fishing was horrible for a long time. Just about the time it was getting better we got slapped again in '89. Those of you just coming to the sport of saltwater fishing just can't possibly comprehend how bad the fishing was. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that we can slide through anouther year without a kill.

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2004 11:55 am
by Backlasher
Seems like in the book,Plugger, Rudy said that there were fish picked up by TPWD that were bigger than the state record.

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2004 12:01 pm
by let's go
A gamewarden that I know picked up a trout from Hall's Bayou just above Chocolate Bay that he said was close to 14lbs. There were lots of stories of 10 lb + trout being found everywhere on the coast.

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2004 12:01 pm
by GoinCoastal
So TRUE Scott!!!! Most of these folks have no idea how good they have it today. Between TPWD, the CCA, and conservation-minded anglers, our bays have recovered bettter than they were!!!! I too hope we don't have another.....

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2004 6:48 pm
by mike
Were there any ice shacks and guys with augers out there???

Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2004 9:54 pm
by Bluffer
Snowing here tonight & saying 26 overnight.
screwed up my BBQ plans
Image

Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2004 1:35 pm
by Kayak Kid
The freeze of 83 was awsome......and so very sad.

A buddy of mine had a duck hunting day planned in Corpus Christi. There was absolutly no warning of the 15 degree temp. One of my blinds was in the flats, just North of the Kennedy Causway bridge. I used a 17 foot alum. skiff with a go devil motor, in those days and we had to break through ice all the way to the blind. Standing inside of the blind,
we skidded the deeks accross the ice as far as we could. What a mess. No semblence of pattern or purpose. String and weights totally exposed and most of the deeks laying on their side.

At very first light, we were attacked by Pintails from all points of the compass. They were fighting to land among our rediculous looking spread.

I don't recall playing even one note on my pintail whistle. We killed our limit within 15 minutes of shooting time and only then took the time to stand up and look around.

Such a sad sight. The ice, in front of the blind was covered with dead ducks, decoys, and too much blood. The entire area we were hunting in was solid ice and the shoreline downwind from us was thick for about ten yards out with dead and dying fish.

I will never forget that sight. I will never forget my contribution to the degredation of the environment on that freaky day.

After so many years of duck and goose hunting along the Gulf Coast, I never fired at a duck or goose after the freeze of 83.