Cotton Bayou and Cotton Lake HCC Float
Dec 1, 2019
by David Portz
Participants (2): Chuck Falk, D. Portz
Coordinator: David Portz
Blue Skies and a Norther starting up
Temp in 60s
Wind: steady say, 12 mph
No perceptible current
Executive summary: We shelved venturing very far on open water (to Anahuac and back) and instead entered Cotton Bayou, crossing Cotton Lake and going until impassibility on Cotton Bayou on the lake’s west side. Steady wind from the North, increasing toward midday, had pushed a foot or two of water out of the Cotton basin – we navigated mud flats amid exposed clumps and islands. We observed lots of bird life feeding and floating, e.g., clumps of White Pelicans watched by White Ibis. In channels we found roseate spoonbills dredging for crustaceans, undaunted at our approach. This was a day on which many duck decoys chose to escape.
Report
Our group of two (my kayak and Chuck Falk’s fine 28 lb canoe) gathered circa 8:30 and were on the water by 9:00, launching from the Hugo Point put-in. I should note that I also coveted Chuck’s van, set up to guide meet-up groups paddling and offer safe ACA paddle-craft training.
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We were curious to paddle to Anahuac but put this plan aside once we paddled a bit among the whitecaps. We ducked down Cotton Bayou instead – the entrance marked by the derelict tower. Access to a channel beside the cement levee there was choked by water hyacinth. Cotton Bayou grew shallow as we approached Cotton Lake – the stiff wind was blowing the water out of it. A margin of shoreline mud was everywhere exposed.
Crossing Cotton Lake was a hard pull but we quartered the wind northeast until reaching the shelter of the lake’s northern shore, lined with large houses. Before the cane took up again we entered the upper portion of Cotton Bayou, and got moments of full placidity, relief.
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Padding up the bayou we flushed water birds and tried to identify the non-buzzards in the distance - an osprey, a red-shouldered hawk, and the way back, a bald eagle. Lots of Anhingas and Cormorants were in the trees and in the water. At certain pools the water was broken by many fishes: judged solely by their tails – we saw redfish, mullets, alligator gar. On the shorelines that weren’t back yards, many thrashed-up and chewed-up paths and slides gave evidence of active alligators and wild pigs. We slid into some channels choked with palmettos, brush and waterlogged branches, expecting to meet something, apprehensive. On topic, Chuck told me about a recent bout he’d had with an alligator, which he’d repeatedly paddle-smacked with no effect. We saw no basking shoreline alligators today however, despite our being tentative, and there being sun.
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As to decoys, this was a rare three duck day. With the wind they probably perceived their opportunity to mosey away - “duck out” on their owners. Around noon on the paddle back we heard four shotgun blasts from a duck hunter. Back at the Hugo Point pull-out we saw an AR-15 change hands among two callow youths on a small fishing boat, and almost drop overboard.
And yes, you read correctly, we skipped lunch. We landed at approximately 2:00 pm, 11.75 miles, and paused to ponder the recent drunk boating accident’s four memorial crosses. Driving back to Houston I felt the windburn on my face. The sting is a small price for a brilliant day and a batch of Chuck’s good stories.
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The author, David Portz |