South Padre Island - Pier 19
Feb 24, 2022 17:28:21 #
Was it just fate, or what? Fishing the pilings around Pier 19 for sheepshead and whiting has come up a time or two in recent postings, but Tuesday night the whole thing caught fire and with 20 MPH winds helping out the whole structure burned to the ground/water. No cause has been determined and the SPIFD is waiting better weather conditions to send an inspection team out there. They used to have a boat-in bar at the elbow of the pier that was fairly popular with fishermen. But it is all gone now. 
Feb 24, 2022 18:47:53 #
Feb 24, 2022 18:50:07 #
Brownsville Tony: How will the destruction of 'above the water' structure affect fishing below the water? I suspect the fish in the area will not likely be bothered. Maybe I am wrong, and do not understand the situation. Just Sayin...RJS
Feb 24, 2022 18:58:45 #
Brownsville Tony wrote:
Was it just fate, or what? Fishing the pilings aro... (show quote)
Sorry to hear that, Tony, did anyone get hurt. I think it went downhill last year and fell out of one of my favorite places to eat list. But, there are so many good places to eat down there. Let us know when they find out how it started.
Feb 24, 2022 21:16:30 #
Feb 24, 2022 23:46:57 #
Robert J Samples wrote:
Brownsville Tony: How will the destruction of 'above the water' structure affect fishing below the water? I suspect the fish in the area will not likely be bothered. Maybe I am wrong, and do not understand the situation. Just Sayin...RJS
Hard to say, RJ. The restaurant on the pier has been closed since the pandemic hit and the bar for many years before that. The timbers were old but pretty solid and I don't know if everything burned. There was also an adjacent pier where the Osprey (offshore party boat) tied up and they had a dolphin watch tourist type boat too. I'm not sure how all that fared out either. "They", and I don't know who 'they' is, have been replacing all of the old wooden telephone poles that spanned the bay at that narrow point with new, fewer, bigger concrete and steel poles so there was already activity going on that wasn't conducive to good fishing anyway. And right in the middle of all that is the ICW, so I'm sure it will all be cleaned up and any hazards to navigation removed. The poor critters of that area, Mexiquita Flats, South Bay, old and new causeway have been under stress since before the freeze last year and this will just add to their load. They could use a break.
Feb 25, 2022 13:33:17 #
flyguy wrote:
Sorry to hear that, Tony, did anyone get hurt. I think it went downhill last year and fell out of one of my favorite places to eat list. But, there are so many good places to eat down there. Let us know when they find out how it started.
So far the only pictures published was one taken with a guys phone and it didn't show much, but I'll be on the lookout for later ones that show how extensive the damage is.
Feb 25, 2022 14:04:37 #
Brownsville Tony wrote:
So far the only pictures published was one taken with a guys phone and it didn't show much, but I'll be on the lookout for later ones that show how extensive the damage is.
Feb 25, 2022 14:17:39 #
Is that the spot just past the KOA campground? If so, the bride and I spent a week there as a maiden voyage with our toy hauler when I retired. Enjoyed the bar and the vittles. Rained almost every day, but got the Harley out for a ride up the beach and over to Brownsville. Lost my transmission in Kansas at Thanksgiving on the way home. Added 4K to the first trip!!!
Feb 25, 2022 14:30:46 #
Feb 25, 2022 18:18:50 #
Thanks Gordo - I found the same ones today. Pretty spectacular fire, I'd say.
Feb 25, 2022 18:26:20 #
Thomer wrote:
Here’s some pics( I think!)
That's it, Thormer, or was it I guess. I'm really surprised how many people have some memories of SPI. When I was a yakker I used to launch/park there so there was always the temptation to go in and have a beer after we had the gear stowed. Met lots of nice folks there from all over the world.
Feb 25, 2022 18:27:30 #
Brownsville Tony wrote:
Thanks Gordo - I found the same ones today. Pretty spectacular fire, I'd say.
You're Welcome. Sorry for the lose of a great looking pier Y'all had. Would love to have had a chance to visit it once.
Feb 26, 2022 10:10:15 #
Feb 26, 2022 12:29:24 #
Were there anyZero's in the air? Looks almost like Pearl Harbor. Just Sayin...RJS
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