The southern most bay in the Texas Coastal Bend is Baffin Bay. This large bay complex is unique in many ways. Due to its lack of any major freshwater drains and any open passes leading to the Gulf of Mexico, Baffin Bay has a higher salinity level than the other bays of the area. Its fragile balance of salinity can be adversely affected during severe drought and has resulted in a lack of shell fish such as oysters and other environmentally sensitive marine species. Despite this seemingly disastrous fate, Baffin Bay has become a mecca for trophy speckled trout, black drum and redfish.
While still theory, it may very well be that this high fairly constant level of salinity may attribute to the growth of trophy trout in Baffin Bay by not needing to make constant adaptations to changing water salinity.
Another unique feature of Baffin Bay is the presence of "rocks". Long the subject of Easter Island type mystery, the rocks in Baffin Bay were unique to its waters and like nothing that could have been washed into it from adjacent lands. It has been determined that the "rocks" are actually the remains of reefs built long ago by the Serpulid Rock Worm. The Baffin Bay "Rocks" are spread through out the bay in a very random nature.
In addition to being a natural structure for fish, they are a natural deterrent to fishing pressure. The tops of many of the rocks are not visible and extend up just inches below the surface of Baffin Bay. Many boats and lower units have been damaged by cowboy anglers zooming across the waters of Baffin Bay, only to be stopped immediately by the rocks!
The remote setting of Baffin Bay, miles from any major populated area in Texas, its treacherous rock formations and its high salinity all could play a part in it being one of the top trophy speckled trout destinations in the world.
