Coastal Master Plan hope for Vermilion Bay?

[vbay]

My uncle-Ted Beaullieu has been working for this for 20 years. He's pushing 90 so I doubt he'll ever see it but ideas have to come from someone/us. his father was one of the first camp owners at The Point. Trying to get things back like it used to be will be an uphill battle for sure.

[Duck Butter]

Originally Posted by vbay

My uncle-Ted Beaullieu has been working for this for 20 years. He's pushing 90 so I doubt he'll ever see it but ideas have to come from someone/us. his father was one of the first camp owners at The Point. Trying to get things back like it used to be will be an uphill battle for sure.

Forgot to check back on this thread so missed this. This question is for you and everyone who has said 'like it used to be'. How was the point during the 'good ole days', how did it 'used to be'?

Surely no one is claiming this was a year round speckled trout fishery right? Please catch me up someone

[Montauk17]

Originally Posted by Duck Butter

Forgot to check back on this thread so missed this. This question is for you and everyone who has said 'like it used to be'. How was the point during the 'good ole days', how did it 'used to be'?

Surely no one is claiming this was a year round speckled trout fishery right? Please catch me up someone

Maybe not year round but it stayed much saltier from the old timers I talked to. The bay at one time was a hotspot for tarpon. The biggest reason the bay stays fresh longer now is from the wax lake outlet.

[Smalls]

Originally Posted by Montauk17

Maybe not year round but it stayed much saltier from the old timers I talked to. The bay at one time was a hotspot for tarpon. The biggest reason the bay stays fresh longer now is from the wax lake outlet.

I made this point in an old thread to someone I will not mention, lest he interject himself in this conversation. Tarpon live in freshwater ecosystems. They are not solely a saltwater species. They once occurred in Prien Lake--when it was a swamp! Go back over 7,000 years, the Bay was a former delta of the Mississippi. Heck, go back 2,500 years and it was. So for a long period of time, it was probably a low-salinity estuary, same as Calcasieu Lake. And I would imagine somewhere between 400 and 7,000 years ago is when the Atchafalaya River formed (probably between 400 and 2,500 years ago when the Lafourche Delta was the active delta).

Honestly, if nature took its course (or would be allowed to take its course), the Atchafalaya would be the new course of the Mississippi. The Old River Control Structure prevents that, but if it ever had a catastrophic failure, the Atchafalaya would most likely capture the majority of the Mississippi's flow.

All that being said, based on historical records, I doubt that Vermilion Bay was ever a high salinity system for a long period of time. For nearly 5,000 years it was part of the active delta, so at most it was probably Brackish.

[Montauk17]

Originally Posted by Smalls

I made this point in an old thread to someone I will not mention, lest he interject himself in this conversation. Tarpon live in freshwater ecosystems. They are not solely a saltwater species. They once occurred in Prien Lake--when it was a swamp! Go back over 7,000 years, the Bay was a former delta of the Mississippi. Heck, go back 2,500 years and it was. So for a long period of time, it was probably a low-salinity estuary, same as Calcasieu Lake. And I would imagine somewhere between 400 and 7,000 years ago is when the Atchafalaya River formed (probably between 400 and 2,500 years ago when the Lafourche Delta was the active delta).

Honestly, if nature took its course (or would be allowed to take its course), the Atchafalaya would be the new course of the Mississippi. The Old River Control Structure prevents that, but if it ever had a catastrophic failure, the Atchafalaya would most likely capture the majority of the Mississippi's flow.

All that being said, based on historical records, I doubt that Vermilion Bay was ever a high salinity system for a long period of time. For nearly 5,000 years it was part of the active delta, so at most it was probably Brackish.

I agree with you,but at one point and time it held saltier water for most of the year. For better or worse...

[Reefman]

Originally Posted by Duck Butter

Forgot to check back on this thread so missed this. This question is for you and everyone who has said 'like it used to be'. How was the point during the 'good ole days', how did it 'used to be'?

Surely no one is claiming this was a year round speckled trout fishery right? Please catch me up someone

The dynamics of the Bay has changed considerably. Back in the 50s you could fish Weeks most of the year. The Intercostal was not opened to the Bay in Weeks. The Wax didn't exist, 4 mile was a 1/3 of its size. Fresh water did not enter the Bay as it does now. The wells in mid bay held trout all year. Tarpon were caught yearly right in the pass in late summer. We've lost a huge amount of banks in VB causing salt water to kill trees and the brackish marshes that border the Bay. Removing all those shell reefs (shell dredging) on the east side of Marsh Island did the most damage. Rabbit Island was always out the water. There were few passages out to the Gulf from the east side; only the Amerada crew boat channel below Burns was safe to hit Eugene Island rigs. In spring we would get fresh water in the northern areas of the bay by natural flow from the marshes but not enough to effect the fishing.

[Duck Butter]

Originally Posted by Reefman

The dynamics of the Bay has changed considerably. Back in the 50s you could fish Weeks most of the year. The Intercostal was not opened to the Bay in Weeks. The Wax didn't exist, 4 mile was a 1/3 of its size. Fresh water did not enter the Bay as it does now. The wells in mid bay held trout all year. Tarpon were caught yearly right in the pass in late summer. We've lost a huge amount of banks in VB causing salt water to kill trees and the brackish marshes that border the Bay. Removing all those shell reefs (shell dredging) on the east side of Marsh Island did the most damage. Rabbit Island was always out the water. There were few passages out to the Gulf from the east side; only the Amerada crew boat channel below Burns was safe to hit Eugene Island rigs. In spring we would get fresh water in the northern areas of the bay by natural flow from the marshes but not enough to effect the fishing.

That was 60 years ago I can not think of one body of water that hasn't changed much in the last 60 years. I thought you all talked about the good ole days like the 90s or something

'They' were probably targeting largemouth bass in Big Lake and Golden Meadow 60 years ago