Best place in Texas or Louisiana to winter over??

[shineybullet]

I live in oregon and am a avid fisherman I want to find a place to go from maybe nov to march in either maybe south Texas or La that is great for surf fishing and not cold I been hearing a lot about the Holly Beach and grand Isle area of La . We don't need a fancy place to stay nothing real expensive what is the average low temperature for them areas ? Momma has a couple more years to go before we can both retire maybe some of you southern surf fishermen have a few suggestions on some good areas ? I wanna catch them big red bull drum
Florida is to crowded and to expensive from what I hear ? Don't want to stay in any high crime area either

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by shineybullet

I been hearing a lot about the Holly Beach and grand Isle area of La . We don't need a fancy place to stay nothing real expensive what is the average low temperature for them areas?

Anywhere south of I-10 or US-190 will experience very few below-freezing temperatures, and those mostly the overnight lows. Daytime highs will usually— but not always— be above freezing. North of I-10 the temperatures get a bit colder, but still not too bad.

One place I will recommend is not actually in Louisiana or Texas, it's in Mississippi. Sun Roamers RV Park in Picayune, MS. About an hour from the New Orleans metro area, and best of all, the owner is an Airstreamer. They have a number of snowbirds who stay all winter. WBCCI Region 6 is holding their Region rally there in October, and I've already stayed there once before for a WBCCI GNO Unit rally, making it only the second campground so far that I'll be staying at for a second time since I bought my Airstream; I usually prefer to go to new places every time I go camping, just for the variety of it.

[Nelson428]

I will be staying at Buccaneer State Park in Waveland, MS. I like it because it is on the coast line and newly renovated, and very few Snowbirds, they have not discovered the park YET. Prices are reasonable for 30 day periods. Sun Roamers is a nice place as well, you just have to drive to the gulf, you can walk from Buccaneer 😎. South Louisiana around Grand Isle is nice as well however, I have not stated over a few days down there.


J Nelson
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[87MH]

Give Deep East Texas a look.

I have lived in Grand Isle and worked in Holly Beach. They ARE right on the coast, but also have the primary disadvantage of the coast, salt water deposition on the aluminum AS. The coastal winds make these locations very corrosive.

One alternative (and one of the most affordable) is in East Texas, the Texas Airstream Harbor Inc (TAHI). TAHI may be best suited for you for many reasons, and the Texas and Louisiana coast is only a couple of hours away.

I usually do not winterize the trailer when it is parked there,

You can read more about the Harbor on Lake Sam Rayburn (SE of Lufkin) at:

Texas Airstream Harbor, Inc.

Full hookups are only $15 per night if you decide to stay for a week or so. You need not be a WBCCI member to overnight at the park - the only requirement is an Airstream product.

TAHI is a non-profit organization, and relies on volunteer labor to keep costs at a minimum.

TAHI is a secure gated community - lots of roads and park areas to ride bikes on. Birding is second to none in Texas. We are right on the shore of Lake Sam Rayburn, so most any type of fishing is available almost from your parking spot. Lake Rayburn is one of the top Bass lakes in the US.

TAHI (Texas Airstream Harbor) is a couple of hours north of Houston, so plenty of medical and entertainment are close at hand. Lufkin, Texas (more than 33,000 population) is only a half hour drive away.

It is possible to purchase an existing "cabanna" (usually a 12' X 20' room) with an attached cover for the Airstream for a minimal price - depending on availability. Yearly assessments at this time are only $400 per year. The assessment covers pretty much everything (roads, water, sewerage, trash, taxes) except for phone and electricity. The real benefit of a cabanna is the ability to leave your winter "things" in a secure, locked environment while you travel to cooler climes in the summer.

PM if you have any questions.

[Melody Ranch]

Port Mansfield. Small village atmosphere and close enough to bigger things if so inclined.

[Arcticfox]

Originally Posted by Melody Ranch

Port Mansfield. Small village atmosphere and close enough to bigger things if so inclined.

Interesting. This is an area we have been looking at for next winter. Can you recommend a place to hang our hats for a few weeks. What is the weather like in Feb and March

Thanks

Doug

[Melody Ranch]

Doug, I can't recommend any particular one place in Port Mansfield. I lived in the Rio Grande Valley for over twenty years and would go to Port Mansfield regularly. It gives you the choices of Back Bay, Arroyo or Beach surf fishing....direct access to the Gulf too. You can have lots of Canadian contact too with a short drive to the Valley proper. Mexico for a day trips and the best bird watching areas in the World....right there.

[shineybullet]

I'm looking for something really close for some great surf fishing ,a couple of hours is just to far away because sometimes you have to fish really early in the morning and I don't want to do much fresh water fishing just mostly coast fishing .
Would like to know what your AVERAGE temperature is in the winter months in Southern Texas and southern Louisianna , would you southern folks give me a little info on the best places to go????

[07007]

We spent 5 yrs wintering in Rockport/Aransas Tx. kind of like Brookings Or. One or two days in season got down to 30s. RV Parks in area ran $350 - <$500 full hookup some included electric others do not. $0.075 per Kwh at the time. Good fishing, surf (you can drive on most beaches), charter, etc. 1/2 hr from Corpus Christi where you will find very good medical, many restaurants, good shopping, cheap gas. Friendly people.

Another great area is Dauphin Island, Al (2 winters) south of Mobile at the entrance to Mobile Bay (great fishing). There is a City RV park (get reservation) inexpensive but not near shopping just couple small groceries. Take the ferry to Gulf Shores or drive 45 min to Mobile for major shopping.

[Lily&Me]

And....there is also Padre Island National Seashore, in SE Texas, where you can camp on the beach and walk into the surf to fish.


Maggie

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by shineybullet

Would like to know what your AVERAGE temperature is in the winter months in Southern Texas and southern Louisiana

Pick a city, look it up on the Weather Channel Online, select "monthly" forecast, and pick the month you're interested in. You'll be able to see the average high and low temperatures for each day of the month, and if you scroll down you'll see a graph where you can see the average temperatures and record highs and lows for each month as well, along with a graph of average monthly precipitation.

It's a whole lot more accurate than asking us to play weatherman for you for the whole Gulf Coast region.

To get you started, here's a link to my hometown of Metairie, LA:
http://www.weather.com/weather/monthly/l/USLA0314:1:US

[Jaxon]

Originally Posted by 07007

We spent 5 yrs wintering in Rockport/Aransas Tx. kind of like Brookings Or. One or two days in season got down to 30s. RV Parks in area ran $350 - <$500 full hookup some included electric others do not. $0.075 per Kwh at the time. Good fishing, surf (you can drive on most beaches), charter, etc. 1/2 hr from Corpus Christi where you will find very good medical, many restaurants, good shopping, cheap gas. Friendly people.

I second Rockport-Fulton... of course, I’m biased. There’s in the neighborhood of over 60 RV parks between here and Corpus Christi and then there's Port Aransas & Padre Island. Rates can vary from $225/mo. + elec. to over $800 + electricity. October thru April are the Winter Texan months and the place fills up. I know several Minnesotans who bought a lot in town and made them into their own RV “park” for 2 or 3 RV’s - full hook-ups, city water & sewer and electric. They’ve turned their lots into a veritable tropical paradise with outdoor kitchens & such.

Pretty spiffy.
.
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[KrisE MN]

Originally Posted by shineybullet

I live in oregon and am a avid fisherman I want to find a place to go from maybe nov to march in either maybe south Texas or La that is great for surf fishing and not cold I been hearing a lot about the Holly Beach and grand Isle area of La . We don't need a fancy place to stay nothing real expensive what is the average low temperature for them areas ? Momma has a couple more years to go before we can both retire maybe some of you southern surf fishermen have a few suggestions on some good areas ? I wanna catch them big red bull drum
Florida is to crowded and to expensive from what I hear ? Don't want to stay in any high crime area either

S Padre Island. Been there many times. Free beach parking.

[alexj]

I lived in Madisonville TX through all of Last Winter in a SOB and while it was below freezing a few times and froze my water hose a few times, it never got cold enough to need any heat beyond an electric blanket

It did however get cold enough that the turntable in my microwave exploded, so as a lesson do not microwave when the temperature is below 40 inside the trailer

[InterBlog]

Once you get yourself narrowed down in terms of a few possible locations, I recommend that you launch a separate round of questions regarding the specific targets you are considering. Such as how far up or down the coast you can go from that location before you might run into unforeseen situations.

Lawlessness is an issue on some of the more remote parts of the Texas Gulf coast. Not so much the violent kind but rather the drug-abusing kind. Groups of like-minded people congregate where they know that no law enforcement is likely to reach them as they conduct their activities. Those same areas are favorited by those who are very serious about fishing. The two groups tend to utterly ignore each other, which is surreal to me. I've seen fishermen casting lines and just a few feet away, hard core meth users stumbling around in the surf, not even aware that they were IN the surf.

It becomes a quality-of-experience issue. I would go out and explore lesser-known coastal stretches to try to get away from the crowds, but what's worse than crowds is having to watch acutely ill people at risk of OD-ing and drowning right in front of me.

[JCWDCW]

we stayed in the Rio Grande Valley for 6 years and I plan to go back (single handing it) there this year. There is a wide range of amenities and prices for parks. Definitely less expensive than Florida. Weather in Jan and Feb can be a bit dicey, but if the Tip o Texas is cold then so is everywhere else; and more so! You can stay in any of the parks along HWY 83 and still be in Pt Mansfield in 40 minutes I believe.
JCW

[bayoufrank]

I live about 35 miles North of Holly Beach near Lake Charles, LA. There are private campgrounds around the area, but most are full to capacity with all the construction workers in the area, and will probably get worse before it gets better. Sam Houston Jones State Park is a nice wooded camping area, I think you are limited to 14 day stays. If you are looking for blue water and white sand, Holly Beach is not for you - brown sand and muddy water - you have to go about 100 miles east or west to find clear water. Fishing for Reds usually is done in Dec thru Feb. Many folks do catch and release, as the bigguns' can get gamey, but are certainly edible. Someone mentioned the corrosive atmosphere near the Gulf, when I was shopping for my AS several years ago, I looked at several that had "lived" near the coast - not only pitting, but severe frame damage - High humidity and salt air can be an expensive combination. Reds are caught all along the coast in the winter, you can migrate East to West and pick your spot. One thing for sure, the beaches won't be crowded. Drop me a note if you decide to fish around SW Louisiana -

[JCWDCW]

To put numbers on the temperature, the last few winters in Rio Grande Valley have been very cool in Jan and Feb. Below 32 is not common but it does happen from time to time. A good day in February last year was only about 60-65. Oct through Dec has been warm and March and April gets hot like 80+. We have not been to Texas for two years but friends go for the whole allowable 6 months (Canadian eh!) and say they did not had a good January or February both years. Our friends who go to Florida say it was the same their last year. That is a change from 2007-2012 where a few cold days in January were common but on the whole temps were warm enough to want to go swimming. As I noted before, When the Tip is cold, the only warm spot in the US is Miami. Anything 6 - 8 hours north had freezing temps when the Tip is in the 30's.

Still I intend to go back to Texas this coming winter.

JCW

[Americal]

We stay at Port Aransas. Small town resort, fishing village feel. All kinds of fishing in the area. Rockport - Fulton areas are very nice places too. Can get into the 30's when a cold front comes through but usually nice temperatures.

[shineybullet]

I think I'm kinda looking at the area between Corpus Christe and crystal Beach close to Galveston or maybe someplace in the middle like Matagorda Texas it all looks like great fishing .Would like to find a close by eagle,moose or elks lodge or a American Legion post