Copano Bay
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Copano Bay, just west of Rockport off Refugio and Aransas counties, is a twelve-by-six-mile extension of Aransas Bay (at 28° 07' N, 97° 07' W). The bay was first explored in 1766 by Diego Ortiz Parrilla,qv who named it Santo Domingo, but after the port of Copano was established in 1785 and named for the Copane Indians in the area, the bay became known as Copano Bay. The surrounding flat, marshy terrain is surfaced by sand and dark clays that support mesquite and grasses.[1]
The bay has a southwest-northeast orientation and is bordered by Port Bay to the south, Mission Bay to the north, and Aransas Bay to the east. The Port Bay area is home to shallow and marshy waters and is a popular destination for duck hunters, whose brush duck blinds can be seen standing throughout the knee-deep shallows. A primary fresh water source for Copano Bay is the Mission River, which flows into Mission Bay before entering Copano Bay, with another source being the Aransas River.
[edit] Fishing
The waters of Copano Bay are shallower than neighboring Aransas bay, with depths often less than six feet deep. The bottom is mostly muddy sand, though the bay contains many oyster shell reefs. These reefs hold large amounts of Speckled Trout, which are a Texas Gulf Coast favorite. Relative to Aransas Bay and Redfish Bay, Copano is largely isolated, and though it can produce highly successful fishing trips, is journeyed far less than the aforementioned bays. Anglers who do not have access to a boat can fish off the popular Copano Bay Fishing Pier that marks the border between Copano and Aransas Bay.
[edit] Boating and Recreation
The majority of the bay's residents live on the easterly side, where waters are protected from the prevailing southerly winds by the northwesterly side of the Live Oak Peninsula. These calm and shallow waters are ideal for boating activities such as wakeboarding and tubing. Additionally the lack of vegetation in this and most parts of the bay make it more suited for a PWC than Redfish Bay, which supports mostly protected seagrass. The bay's mildly salty and shallow waters are also ideal for swimming.
[edit] Trivia
- Copano Bay has been immortalized in song by both the rising Randy Rogers Band and Texas Country superstar Pat Green. The Randy Roger's Band sings a song entitled "Copano Bay", in which the writer (long-time Roger's friend, Eddie Foster) longs to be back on "Copano's Gleam". Pat Green references the bay in his song "I Like Texas" when he declares he'll be "doin' fine...when the sun sets on the Copano Bay".
