Lisette, Gary, Kathy & Roy
made a delicious trip
to Baffin Bay recently and sent these pictures...
Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard!
Some history....
(skip to the yellow highlighted place if you get bored.)
Baffin Bay is a very remote and unique bay. It is located fifty miles south of Corpus Christi and is almost completely surrounded by the King and Kenedy ranches. If you travel the Laguna Madre and head south by boat, the trip will take about fifty minutes. You will turn west into the waters of Baffin Bay. But there is another way to reach these waters that many people don't know about. At Corpus Christi, Highway 77 South will take you to Kingsville. Eleven miles south of Kingsville is the little town of Riviera. This is where you turn and travel east another eleven miles till you reach the water. You will find a few fishing campgrounds and the Kaufer-Hubert Memorial Park. This park has RV hookups, a long fishing pier and a free public boat ramp. This park is on the Cayo De Grullo which is connected to Baffin Bay. Next door to the park is Bayview Campground which also has a pier, rental cabins and smaller RV spaces to rent. There are other fishing lodges in this area and a couple of bait shops also.
Most people don't know how treacherous the waters of Baffin Bay can be. The bottom of Baffin Bay and the connecting waters are studded with rock formations. These are motor wreaking serpulid reefs that are unique to the Laguna Madre and mostly to Baffin Bay. These reefs were created by prehistoric and now extinct worms that were apparently huge. These rocks are now the worms petrified remains and are similar to coral. All marine fish like to gather around these reefs. Some of the reefs are only a foot under the water, so a depth finder is absolutely necessary. All boaters need to use caution when boating and fishing these waters. You can easily tear up your boat if you are not careful and are not aware of these serpulid reefs.
The salty waters of Baffin Bay used to be considered "healing waters." At one time in the early part of the 1900's there was a resort hotel here, a dance pavilion that was built over the water and a train that connected Chicago with this area. Hundreds of people used to come to Baffin Bay for its healing qualities. They would ride trains that were equipped with sleeper cars to make the long trip from up north. Hurricanes destroyed all that stood there. Since the hurricanes destroyed so much no one wanted to build there anymore. Recently there has been some development in this area. Many people think that the only place to eat around there is Kings Inn, which has been there for years. People travel for miles to enjoy the family dining of great seafood at King's Inn. But now there is a new place that has opened up. It is at the location of the old dance pavilion, where you can still see the old pilings in the water. This new place is called Baffin Bay Café. They serve great food along with a great view of the water. They even have an outdoor dining area. Baffin Bay Café is decorated with poster sized enlargements of old photos taken of this area when it was a resort area. The history of the area is printed on the back of the menu for you to read. This café is known for the "all you can eat fish ribs" they serve, which are delicious. All the fish they serve here is black drum and is caught in the local area.
The Texas state record trout was caught here at Baffin Bay, by a wade fisherman. The depth of the water in this entire bay is less than ten feet deep. Many areas are very shallow and this is what draws the redfish and trout. Trophy sized trout and redfish can be caught here, especially in January and February. Always look at the weather conditions before you drop a hook into the water here. For best fishing you should get tidal and wind factor reports, and find out the sun and moon conditions. When the water temperature rises, concentrate on deep water for trout in depths of four to six feet. The reds will be in shallow water early and then later in the day they move to the edges of the flats, to the deeper cooler water.
The Baffin Bay area has lots of history,
great birding, great fishing and more.
****************
Here is a copy-cat recipe for the King's Inn Tartar sauce.
I've made it.
It's good.
Good enough to eat by the spoonful.
Don't make it if you have no will power.
You have been warned.
King's Inn Tartar Sauce/Seafood Sauce
Prep Time: 20 mins Total Time: 20 mins Yield: 3 quarts
About This Recipe
"There is a very famous restaurant in Baffin Bay, Texas (East of Riviera, Texas), called King's Inn. The specialties of the house are sliced avocado salad, onion rings, shrimp, and their tartar sauce/seafood sauce. It's definitely a restaurant recipe, as it makes a huge amount...so reduce the recipe as needed."
Ingredients
1 quart mayonnaise
1 quart Miracle Whip
10 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled
saltine crackers (3 tubes or 3/4 box, or cracker meal)
5 stalks celery
jalapeno peppers, seeded ( to taste)
2 1/2 ounces Worcestershire sauce
salt ( to taste)
2 small bell peppers, seeded
1 (4 ounce) jars pimientos
1 (2 ounce) cans anchovy fillets
1 large onions fresh garlic ( to taste)
Directions:
Finely chop celery, jalapenos, bell peppers, anchovies, garlic, and onion. Add salt and Worcestershire sauce. Break crackers into small pieces. Mash the hard-boiled eggs. Mix all ingredients together with the mayonnaise and Miracle Whip.
WARNING...Highly addictive!
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