Trip Description: Day Trip to the Surf: Surfside Beach Area via Public Beach Access Road 4 off of the Blue Water Highway (County Road 257)

When: Saturday, August 5, 2023
Where: Surfside Beach Area via Public Beach Access Road 4 
Start Time:  7:00 am
End Time: 11:00 am 
Trip Leader: Barry Sandler and Jim Richards
Phone: Barry: 7I3-398-4252  Jim: 7I3-854-O5I7
Email:   Barry: BOSANDLER(at)GMAIL.COM.   Jim: JimMRichards(at)Comcast.net     

Lunch and water will not be provided.  Participants should bring their own food, water, sun glasses and PFD (Personal Floatation Device).

We will meet on the left side of the intersection of Public Access Road 4 and the beach. If you are signed up and will not be at the designated location at 7:00 am please contact Barry or Jim via cell phone at one of the numbers above.

How to sign up:
E-mail or text one of the trip leaders

Cost: A beach parking sticker is not required for this location so there should be no cost other than the participants personal expenses.

Waiver Form: A club waiver form for this event will be available at the meeting location.

Directions: The location of Public Access Road 4 is here: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Brazoria+county+beach+access+%234/@29.0273117,-95.1871165,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x86407361996041d7:0x6f8c1cb96bea67cf!8m2!3d29.0273117!4d-95.1871165!16s%2Fg%2F11sv_9mtxq?hl=en-US&entry=ttu

CAUTION:  Soft, deep sand can be encountered on the access road and anywhere along the beach.  On a scouting trip on July 29th at least one car was seen stuck in the sand; however, there were may vehicles, primarily pickup trucks and SUV’s, which had successfully navigated one of the access roads to the beach area. A 4X4 vehicle would be the preferred choice if available. However, a 2WD vehicle with good ground clearance would probably be able to navigate the sand, given what the trip leaders observed on July 29th. Nevertheless, the driver would want to be careful to avoid soft sand, particularly at the beach entrance, where the access road ends.  A passenger car with limited ground clearance would not be a good transportation choice for this event. A shovel is a great piece of equipment to bring along in case you get stuck and both trip leaders will be carrying a shovel in their vehicles. A few driving suggestions are as follows: should you encounter soft sand, keep your vehicle moving; if you do get into sand which is too deep and feel like you are bogging down and losing momentum, then stop-do not continue to hit the gas once you have lost momentum, as this will only bury your vehicle to the frame and virtually guarantee you will need that shovel mentioned above; finally, sometimes lowering the air pressure in your tires and shoveling a little sand out of the way is all you may need to do to get unstuck.

If after arriving at the access road entrance you feel uncomfortable about the conditions, feel free to contact either of the trip leaders, both of whom will be driving a 4X4 vehicle and one will meet you to provide assistance.

Continuing with directions: The turn onto Public Access Road 4 can be accessed from either the Freeport or Galveston direction.

From Freeport/Surfside as you drive east on the Blue Water Highway, (road 257) you will begin to see blue signs on your left designating the entrances to public assess roads. The entrances to the access roads will be on your right. The beach/surf will also be on your right. These signs will count down from Road 1 to Road 5. After passing Public Access Road 3 be on the lookout for a tall cell phone tower on your left:

Just past the cell tower you will see the entrance to Key Largo on your left:

Just past the Key Largo sign you will see a blue sign designating the entrance to Access Road 4 at which point you will turn RIGHT onto Public Access Road 4:

The drive to the beach on the access road is short. Shortly after turning right onto the access road you will come to this sign on your right:

Just past the sign, as the access road meets the beach we will meet on the LEFT. NOTE, TRAVEL ON THE BEACH FROM THIS POINT FORWARD WILL BE ONE WAY ONLY TO THE LEFT.

The meeting location can also be accessed by coming from the direction of Galveston/San Luis Pass. From this direction, you will eventually see a blue beach access sign on your right for Beach Access Road 5. You will pass the entrance to access road 5. You will then see a tall cell phone tower on your right just behind the blue sign for the entrance to Access Road 4. The beach/surf will be on your left. When you come to this sign, you will turn left onto Public Access Road 4:

You will then drive the short distance down the access road to the meeting location as described above.

Suggested Fly Fishing Gear

Fly Rod and reel size 7,8,9 or what ever size you choose to cast the flies of your choice with a fly line of your choice.

Floating or Intermediate lines are generally appropriate.

Tippet Material of your choice; generally monofilament or fluorocarbon is acceptable; however, should the fish species at the location cut your leader or tippet material, a wire tippet would be an option.

Flies: There are many flies to choose from. Generally a fly of a hook size 01 to 4 is a good choice-a Clouser Minnow is a good choice to start.

A PFD (Personal Floatation Device) is recommended as are sunglasses, a good hat and sunscreen.