Yachts For Sale In Aransas Pass

Located north of Corpus Christi Bay and Mustang Island, Aransas Pass on Redfish Bay is known as a “small paradise where the fish are always biting.” Hwy 361 (aka Scenic Drive around Corpus Christi Bay) crosses the channel over the Redfish Bay Causeway to Port Aransas on the northernmost end of Mustang Island and continues 18 miles south to Padre Island and Corpus Christi. The city of Aransas Pass is 12 miles south of Rockport and a 2 to 3-hour drive from San Antonio and Houston. Aransas Pass is currently promoted as a destination for boating, fishing, watersports, birding, kayaking, duck hunting, and ecotourism. The Aransas Pass area is more water than land—of a total of 51.8 sq miles, 20.71% (10.7 sq miles) is land and 79.29% (41.1 sq miles) is water! Aransas Pass was named for the pass between Mustang and St Joseph (San Jose) islands that formed a natural inlet to the Gulf of Mexico, and to Redfish Bay. Aransas Bay is north of Redfish Bay and Corpus Christi Bay is to south.

United Yacht Sales can help you find the perfect yacht for sale in Texas. Give us a call today at 1-772-463-3131 about purchasing a new boat or listing your current yacht on the brokerage market.

The history of Aransas Pass is centered on the development of a deep-water port on the Gulf of Mexico, utilizing the natural pass between Mustang and San Jose islands. The saga began in the mid 1800s with Pryor Lea, an early Texas public official and railroad promoter who chose the site for a deep-water port on Redfish Bay and a link to San Antonio by highway (and railroad).

Through his Aransas Road Company and Central Transit Company in late 1850s, funds were raised, plans made, and construction started, but interrupted by the Civil War. Various groups in latter 1800s tried to continue the development and Congress passed a Resolution to deepen Aransas Pass for a shipping channel, without success. Two other development companies attempted the project, and in 1890 a jetty was completed on one side of the pass. The financial panic of 1893 ended it and the project was turned over to the US Army Corps of Engineers who successfully installed the second jetty and extended the deep-water channel to Harbor Island—completing 50 years of struggle in 1907. Real Estate developers sold land lots in one of South Texas’ largest land sales and the city of Aransas Pass was founded in 1909 via promotional land lottery—greatest in South Texas!

The dredging of the pass and Harbor Island provided material that formed the roadbed for the Terminal Railway that connected to the Southern Pacific line on the mainland and to San Antonio. In 1912 ocean-going cargo ships were moving tens of thousands of bales of cotton. Shipping had become routine when the area was hit by damaging hurricanes in 1916 and 3 years later in 1919. And in 1920, the Army Corps of Engineers announced the decision to build a deep-water Gulf Coast port in Corpus Christi and no further cargo shipments were made from Aransas Pass and Harbor Island after Corpus Christi’s port opened in 1926.
A seawall was built after the 1919 hurricane and a growing fleet of shrimping and fishing boats brought commerce back to Aransas Pass. 300 large shrimp trawlers were annually netting millions of pounds of shrimp! Canneries opened and later, quick-freeze packing plants were built on the harbor. After WWII, Conn Brown Harbor was improved to accommodate the shrimping fleet as it grew to become the largest on the Gulf Coast. For various reasons, including overfishing and damage to the seagrass beds of the bay, the industry died out and shrimping trawlers were left to decay in the harbor. Recognizing the value of the harbor’s assets, the city developed a plan to rejuvenate and repurpose Conn Brown Harbor to attract recreational boaters, anglers, and tourists to this flats fishing paradise on Redfish Bay and its easy access to the Gulf of Mexico’s deep waters. Today, only about 3 active commercial shrimping trawlers remain in the harbor to carry on the tradition.
Conn Brown Harbor is a natural safe harbor that is known for spectacular fishing in the flats of Aransas Pass, especially for big redfish. All methods and means of fishing are utilized—wade fishing, sight fishing, fly fishing, kayak fishing—using lures or live bait. Other popular flats species are black drum, flounder, speckled trout, and sheepshead. Local restaurants will cook your catch and you can enjoy your meal with sunset vistas on the water. Conn Brown Harbor Point Park features piers, miles of shoreline for fishing, and public boat ramps for easy access to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and area waters that are rich in fish. Construction of the new transient marina began after funding was secured in 2011, to provide short term moorage for anglers and recreational boaters. Bellingham Construction’s Unifloat ® concrete floating docks feature low-cost slips to accommodate vessels up to 60 ft LOA and side-tie space for vessels up to 100 ft with power and water, and fuel dock. Other amenities are fish cleaning tables, picnic shelters, boat pump-out facilities, and restrooms.
Lighthouse Lakes is another excellent fishing area for motorboats at high tide and features a paddling trail. The Lighthouse Lakes Paddling Trail was established in 1999 by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept as the first paddling trail on the Texas Coast. Trail’s area is on North Harbor Island between Aransas Pass and Port Aransas. Accessed from launch points off Hwy 361, this very shallow area is ideal for paddling through the maze of mangrove channels (sloughs) and open flats (lakes). Great fishing for flounder and redfish. The area is named for the historic second Texas lighthouse built in 1856 on Lydia Ann Channel by the US government to protect shipping in Aransas Bay. Its 4th order Fresnel lens was lighted in 1856. The 67-ft tower marked the natural Gulf pass to Aransas and Corpus Christi Bays via the Lydia Ann Channel (shipping channel). During the Civil War, Confederate soldiers supposedly removed the lens and buried it in the swamp, never to be found and recovered. The lighthouse was merged into the US Coast Guard in 1939 and decommissioned in 1955. Today it is privately owned and is the oldest surviving structure in Aransas Pass and Corpus Christi area.

Port Aransas Nature Preserve at Charlie’ Pasture is a 1,217-acre area of coastal island habitat of migrating and resident shorebirds, waterfowl, and songbirds, featuring hike and bike trails, and viewing tower. North access point has parking, a large pavilion, and restroom facility. South access has parking, picnic area, plus two trails, including one leading to the Community Park. Ecotourists can register for the free Nature Walk on Saturday mornings. Hurricane Harvey did a lot of damage—being repaired.

Newbury Park Hummingbird Garden in Aransas Pass is a small community park with picnic tables and benches shaded by coastal live oaks. Uniquely, the park is a wildlife habitat in an urban setting to attract some of the tens of thousands of migrating hummingbirds that seasonally fly through Aransas Pass on their way to or from Mexico and Central America, and northern breeding sites.

Billed as fun for the whole family, Aransas Pass Aquatic Center is a public swimming pool with water slides and tunnels, diving boards, pools, and kids splash area. The Center offers aquatic fitness classes. Open seasonally six days a week, Wednesday to Monday (closed Tuesdays).

The Realto Theater is a non-profit arts organization of volunteers and features arts education in visual arts, music, and live theater. The Realto began as a “state of the art” movie theater in 1937 that seated 460 people in air-conditioned comfort with plush seats and inclined floor for unobstructed views of the screen. Movies were shown until 1991, after which the theater languished. In 2004 new owners brought the Realto Theater back to life in a new iteration—a 100-seat theater auditorium fronted by a 40-seat wine and beer bar, lobby and gallery for art exhibitions. Offers a year-round event schedule.

About 8 miles from the city of Aransas Pass, across Redfish Bay Causeway, is Port Aransas Beach and I.B. Magee Beach Park (northernmost point of Mustang Island on the shipping channel). Port Aransas Beach is 5 miles of drivable sandy beaches (parking permit required) on north Mustang Island’s Gulf coastline. Popular beach with soft sand, warm Gulf water, and amazing views. Great for outdoor recreation—surfing, swimming, sunning, sandcastle building lessons, fishing, and more. No food trucks or nearby restaurants—bring a picnic lunch. Public toilets and rinse showers are available. IB Magee Beach Park / Horace Caldwell Pier is 167 acres with 75 primitive beach campsites and camping with electrical hook-ups and rinse showers. Picnic tables, bathhouse, public coin showers, and first aid station.