I will occasionally taste then spit out the water to see how salty it is, although, sometimes the less dense fresh water will ride on the surface and saltier water will be down deep. We fish a number of creeks and rivers that receive freshwater runoff, but are connected to the nearby gulf and tidally influenced. Texas Parks and Wildlife draws a line from the Rio Grande to Sabine Lake and on one side the state considers it freshwater and certain regulations apply and on the other side they consider it saltwater and different rules must be followed. For example, crab traps are legal on the saltwater side, but not on the freshwater side. The commercial crabber runs his traps right to the bridge that divides the two zones. I live very close to the dividing line.

Redfish, flounder, snook, tarpon tolerate completely fresh water, but speckled trout will die in totally fresh water. I did not taste the water yesterday, but it looked mostly fresh from the recent snow/sleet/rain event. I caught one 14” speckled trout in about 6’ of water which tells me there was at least 1/5 or so strength saltwater down a little deeper. The Gulf of Mexico/America runs around 35 ppt. Trout need something like 7 ppt minimum. Totally freshwater pushes the trout towards the gulf where there’s always some saltwater available.

You just never know where the fresh water salt water line is at down there.
Always best to get the salt water license so you don't get a ticket.
Especially if not from there.
I can't remember what bridge but it's salt water on one side and fresh on the other.
I think I went over it all the time.

worth1 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 26, 2025 8:49 am You just never know where the fresh water salt water line is at down there.
Always best to get the salt water license so you don't get a ticket.
Especially if not from there.
I can't remember what bridge but it's salt water on one side and fresh on the other.
I think I went over it all the time.

Funny, I believe back when you were here, the saltwater/freshwater line was the bridge just to the east of Brazoria over the Brazos River, on FM 521. The state for whatever reason moved the line a little closer to the gulf so now it is the bridge over the Brazos River at FM 2004, the road that runs Southwest by Clemens prison farm. The line then travels northeast on FM 2004 over Oyster Creek and continues on over Bastrop Bayou east of Richwood and then Austin Bayou, Chocolate Bayou, and Halls Bayou on into Galveston county.

In droughts, saltwater travels well up the Brazos River past FM 2004 and even FM 521 on up to nearly Rosharon in long lasting drought. Becomes a problem for the nearby chemical plants that rely on the freshwater for cooling purposes. The major players have all secured water rights and have built reservoirs to ensure continuous access to freshwater. We live very close to where they pump water out of Oyster Creek above the Saltwater dam, but the water isn’t really from Oyster Creek, it is water rights water from the Brazos River that was diverted into Harris Reservoir and then diverted out of Harris Reservoir into Oyster Creek. They, you know who, recently rebuilt the pump station and upgraded the whole facility with big new pumps and reworked canals.

Water is key to these operations. Sufficient freshwater for running everything. Access to Saltwater to transport everything. It was the Magnesium in the saltwater that got the ball rolling to begin with, but those Magnesium extraction/casting operations have long since been shuttered and torn down, courtesy of the PRC.

If it weren’t for cheap Eagle Ford Shale or Permian Basin oil and gas, I think we wouldn’t have anything of those operations remaining. Things were moving to Saudi or the PRC, but the Saudis dirty dealed. BASF is building I hear an enormous facility in CCP controlled China. Basically, the same stuff BASF makes here. Doesn’t bode well for here. In the long term, it doesn’t bode well for BASF as there’s nothing honest about dealing with the CCP lead country.

These heads of the chemical companies are just as dumb as anyone else. I’ve known more than a few. Very human, fallible even if they might surround themselves with people that tell them otherwise.

@karstopography
I was there when they shut down the mag cells and hauled everything off.
There was also a super crane they used to haul off the hydrogen plant in OCD.
The heavest lifting crane in the US I was told.
I got to see the whole operation because I was across the street.
It went to the CCP.
I knew a lot of operators that collated bait shrimp out of the intake screens going into the plant.

The hydrogen plant was another big mistake. @worth1 As far as I know, it never ran a single day.

I see more and more videos like this.

@worth1 for some reason people are buying land and homes on public water and then have this idea they can make it private. Doesn’t work that way.

I've questioned the people putting a dock in a public park and saying it's a private dock.
It's at or was at fisherman's park in Bastrop.

Bastrop River Company had this dock set up.
It's one of the few places in the park you can actually get to the river and fish.
I think it's gone now
The sign says no fishing private property or some such rot.
Quite naturally the picture is set up for the website.