I found a new website called Take Me Fishing (TMF) while searching the Texas Parks and Wildlife website. TMF is a boating and fishing site hosted by the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation RBFF. This is a good beginning fishing and children fishing website. Learn about fishing regulation, boat registration, where and when to go fishing. This pledge caught my eye. I always like stories and folklore in the oral tradition being passed along to the next generation.
Another tidbit of information I would like to share is that Texax State Parks and Wildlife are still waiving the normal fishing license and stamps–as long as you fishing on a body of water that is within the boundary of the park.
Once you have paid the park entrance fees, no one needs a fishing license or stamp, whether freshwater or saltwater, adult or child, as long as they’ are inside the state park. However, bag limits, length limits, and other regulations will still apply, and be enforced.
Gone Fishing Events include basic instruction in fishing skills and safety. Bring the whole family! No fishing license required. Fishing equipment and bait may be provided or you can bring your own. Bring drinking water and sunscreen; children must be accompanied by parent or adult guardian during instruction and fishing. Weather permitting we will meet in the boat ramp parking area at the park.
Angler Instructor Training, Fish with a Ranger, Fish from a Pier
Rocky Bayou State Park began as a bombing range for the Air Force. After WWII, development in the area precluded continued use of land as a bombing range. Colonel Frank Gannon, Director of Civil Engineering at Eglin AFB, was the driving force behind converting a tool of warfare into a state park, state recreation area and an aquatic preserve. When completed, the park became part of the Florida parks system.
Rocky Bayou State Park sits on the shore of Choctawhatchee Bay, which is 27 miles long, with a surface area of approximately 129 square miles. They bayou varies from one to six miles wide. The bay is an estuary, a semi-enclosed body of water where freshwater and saltwater mix. Estuaries function as nurseries for fish and invertebrates. Wetlands, oyster bars, mud flats and sea grasses provide a diverse environment that shelters and feeds the nursery residents.
Rocky Bayou State Park spreads over 357 acres. The park has 42 campsites, complete with water, 30 or 50 amp electrical service, picnic table and ground fire grills. Most sites have shade and there are several ADA sites with concrete pads and sidewalks to the bathhouses.
There are three hiking/biking trails: Sand Pine Trail, Rocky Bayou Trail, and Red Cedar Trail. Sand Pine Trail is the longest and roughest trail. It follows the shoreline of Puddin Head Lake (I am not kidding), Rocky Bayou Trail is well marked and easy to walk, and Red Cedar trail is a short loop to and from the playground.
There is also an exercise trail, with exercise bars, workout benches and stair stations. In the same area is a large playground, picnic tables, a pavilion, boat ramp and a kayak/canoe rental kiosk.
When you stay at Rocky Bayou State Park, you also receive day use of Henderson State Park on the Gulf of Mexico for free. At Henderson State Park, you may sunbathe, swim, fish, hike, picnic or just enjoy the beautiful water of the Emerald Coast. If you visit Henderson SP, check out the camping area, accessed by the boardwalks through the dunes.
Leaving St. Martinville and New Iberia behind, we hit the Atchafalaya Levee Road and went south to the entrance of Lake Fausse Pointe State Point.
The Atchafalaya Basin was once contained by the natural levees of Bayou Teche and the Mississippi River. Two protection levees where built to help with flooding. Lake Fausse Pointe State Park encompasses 6,000-acres of swamplands that were cut off when the new levee was built.
The park is on an island in the middle of Lake Fausse Pointe. There are 50 RV or tent sites with water and electricity. Each campsite has a small fishing dock on the water. There are also 18 waterfront cabins, primitive camping and canoe campsites.
There are three hiking trails, one of which may be biked as well. Trail A is.75 miles, Trail B is 1.6 miles and Trail C is 3.3 miles. There are also two canoe trails. The inner canoe trail, which has two canoe campsites, takes 2-3 hours to paddle. The outer canoe trail, which has three canoe campsites, takes almost a day to complete.
You might also leave the park and bike the levee road or walk the top of the levee. You can see for miles at the top of the levee.
It was a beautiful park and we recommend it highly. We stayed two nights in a travel trailer.
