Horace Caldwell Pier — Local services in Port Aransas

We stayed at the IB Magee campground for the month of April and the pier is a couple hundred feet from the entrance. I have been going to Port -A for years and have had mixed results on the pier, but this year was absolutely fantastic. Caught reds, flounder, black drum, sharks and lots of cool fish. The new check in booth with an open sign you can see from the street is great. The attendants are great. They were friendly and helpful! They ask if you need bait, drinks or a snack and stamp your hand so you can come and go as you need. I’m 63 so I need some reminders! One young man had me take a picture of my stamp in case I sweat it off, which is a great idea! When the bait shops were out of live shrimp and I had to buy frozen the attendant suggested I take it to the fish cleaning station on the pier and run water over it to thaw it out so I wasn’t waiting for it to thaw. After that I would dump the frozen bait in a small bucket of water and never had to fight frozen bait again. I wore a hole in the streets between Island Tackle and the pier. Normally the surfers keep a good distance from your casting range and everyone enjoys the water. This year during Sandfest I had them surfing over my lines and after a hook set a fish came out of the water a couple of feet from a guy. I was reeling in a hard head that came off and dropped between a guys legs who was crossing under the pier right where I was fishing. Be safe and watch out for others who may not be...

Seems great to fish off of. As someone who just walked across it, the fee of $3 per adult wasn't good and I wouldn't do it again...I thought there might be something up the buildings worth checking out but not much to do. Under the pier though is amazing. You can find the best seashells in Port A under and...

This is a nice walk, to see the gulf, and get some fresh air. They charge for you to walk the pier, but often the attendants are gone, and it's free. There are stinky garbage barrels along the pier, but still great to walk out piers and watch the...