Trip Report:  East Fork Double Bayou, Saturday April 19, 2025

 

I joined the Houston Association of Sea Kayakers for this trip coordinated by David Lehmann.  It was a lovely overcast day for the 10,8 mile trip.  It’s been quite a long time since I paddled this bayou and I’d forgotten how really pretty and interesting it is.  It’s an out-and-back trip starting and ending at the boat ramps of Job Beason Park in Oak Island TX, with the turnaround point upstream at Double Bayou Park and its recent floating boat ramp and dock made just for canoes and kayaks.

 

There was quite a headwind that day as we set out, but within a few miles we were protected by the forested banks.  The coastal marshes were lined with nice growths of spartina grass.

 

The bayou is deep and known for its availability for both sailboats

and commercial shrimp boats

 

Some of the shrimpers have obviously not seen a lot of action of late.  At least one was sunk down to its superstructure.  Ann Andrisek in the bright green kayak in many of the photos is  a longtime resident of the area and has interesting tales of adventures and families who have been in the area for many generations.

 

The upper reaches have beautiful oak trees overhanging the water.

The new boat dock at Double Bayou Park at our upstream turnaround  provided us opportunities for experimentation.  Two methods of egress/ingress were provided, plus the traditional one of the muddy natural steep bank.

 

Here is Chuck Falk enticing Carl Kuhnen to try the sloped ramp.  Carl declined, favoring instead the flatter platform.

Greg Fan was game for the test of the slanted approach.  His discovery is that a good head of speed is required and the penalty for failure is a swim and wade in the waist deep water.

The alternative dock approach is to the parallel-to-the-water ramp.  With enough folks standing on the dock it sank low enough to make this feasible.

Carl’s kayak is resting on that ramp.  I tried it too but we both declined to use it again on our departure;  both our fiberglass hull boats creaked and scraped.  Most folks had plastic boats which seemed a good choice.  Carl and I put in from the mud banks when it was time for departure.

 

Our arrival at the park coincided with a carnival/celebration of which at least Ann availed herself with a tasty free barbecued chicken plate.  The rest of us enjoyed our repast on the grass or the bench on the dock.

 

 

Luckily we were able to work off our lunch at the park in time to have a fun meal at the Channel Marker 17 restaurant/bar in Oak Island afterward.  Let me recommend the Kick Ass Shrimp.  Overall a fun trip on the bayou and great visiting on the water and afterwards.  Life is good, get out there and paddle!

 

Trip Coordinator

Natalie Wiest