Mile 137.8 - RBD Shell Island Pass

137.8 RBD Shell Island Pass

The Shell Island Pass is the very first possible western exit into the Gulf of Mexico off the main channel of the Atchafalaya, and begins at the base of Shell Island (which is indeed a pile of shells - at least here at the mouth of the exit). There is a dry place with limited space to make landing up to 6 MCG at the mouth of the Pass. We found the inflowing water speed to be 2-3 mph when the river was at 5 feet on the Morgan City Gage (MCG), and the banks of the pass to be at bank full.

In 2015 we paddled this route, with these observations: In hushed tones we floated down the Shell Island Pass, feeling the end coming near. The water slowed and the current began releasing its hydraulic grip on the sediment load, and the channel broadened subtly, like the base of a Tueplo gum tree. We made landing at the last possible shelf of land, the last piece of riverbank. This was not a bank at all, as in the hard sand/gravel/mud edge true for most of the Lower Mississippi; this bank is composed of living matter, an intertwining lattice of hyacinth, lotus, milfoil, alligator weed, elephant ear, and bull rush. The veggie stew is not meant for heavy creatures like man. Nevertheless it is the home of a thriving community of birds, amphibians, insects, crustaceans and fish. Nutria seem to be the largest mammal allowed on this veggie mat. They rule their floating vegetable kingdom from thrones made of piles of bull rush blades which add a couple of crucial inches of elevation and afford them a comfortable place to dry off, preen themselves, sun, play, procreate. Furthermore these bullrush nests provide an effective vantage point from which they survey their vegetable wildlands and are able to scurry to safety at the first sight of danger (like a bald eagle or an alligator) or outside incursions like ours.

The Shell Island Pass took us off the Atchafalaya and floated us through the steadily descending treeline of scrubby willows, renegade willow clumps here and there hanging tough in the ever-increasing expanses of grasses... including rice, cut grass, saw grass, cat-tails, horse-tails, climbing hempweed, smart weed, and bull grass, and other swaying grasses of the marshes. The grasses themselves eventually breaking off in clumps of floating grasses, and from there breaking down into individual stands of grasses, and then even individual shoots, as the land disappears completely into a mat of floating vegetable matter composed of elephant ear (also known as wild taro or coco yam), softstem bulrush, chickenspike, broadleaf arrowhead, purple ammanina, pondweed, water nymph, wild celery, stargrass, and lotus. The nutria rules from his kingdom from his bullrush throne, nests of bullrush clipped and arranged on slightly elevated mounds. (From John Ruskey journal)

Gulf Route: Crossing over to the Wax Lake Delta

Expeditions could paddle out to the Gulf from the Atchafalaya and make a three-mile crossing over to the Wax Lake Delta for the return trip to Morgan City. Check forecasts first before attempting this route. You would not want to be be making an open bay crossing in high winds from any direction. Here is how the crossing went for the Rivergator Expedition in 2015:

We exited the Atchafalaya Delta and became salty sailors for a long crossing to the Wax Lake Delta, leaving our freshwater habitat behind and letting ourselves loose upon the seas in an open craft (the canoe). Six paddling sailors subject to the wiles of the Gulf of Mexico, which lapped our prow in gentle north breezes which kept things calm and didn’t blow us out to sea. The Grasshopper joyfully slurping the brackish water which rounded in front of us unbroken to the distant Wax Lake Delta. Wax Lake Delta resolves into Vermillion Bay, Marsh Island, and the open Coastal Prairies beyond, extending across the Sabine into Texas, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, and rounding all of Central America to South America, and across all of the stepping stone islands of the Caribbean back to Cuba, Florida, Alabama, the Pascagoula, Mississippi and then across the Pearl River Delta, Honey Island Swamp, Lake Borgne, Breton Sound, The Mississippi Birdsfoot Delta, West Bay, Barataria Bay, Grand Island, Terrebonne Bay, and then back again to the Atchafalaya Bay, to form the great rounded pool which we are now floating upon, and the one place Louisiana is not losing ground, but is gaining ground. To be truthful, we never got more than three miles off shore, and the muddy water flooding the Delta never actually cleared out enough to be called ocean water, and the Atchafalaya Bay we crossed probably never got deeper than 20 feet. Still we could feel the ocean. We felt connected to everything else connected to the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean. And it felt good to be connected this way, the river rats to the rest of the Americas. (From John Ruskey journal)

Atchafalaya Delta Wildlife Management Area

The Atchafalaya Delta Wildlife Management Area is a 137,695-acre area located at the mouths of the Atchafalaya River and the Wax Lake Outlet in St. Mary Parish. The area is located some 25 miles south of the towns of Morgan City and Calumet and is accessible only by boat. Most of the area consists of open water in Atchafalaya Bay. Within the Bay, two deltas (the Main Delta and the Wax Lake Delta) have formed from the accretion of sediments from the Atchafalaya River and from the deposition of dredged material by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Only about 27,000 acres are vegetated on these deltas. About 15,000 acres of marsh and scrubby habitat occur on the Main Delta, and about 12,000 acres of marsh occur on the Wax Lake Delta. Hunting on the Delta is primarily for waterfowl, deer, and rabbit. Deer hunting on the Main Delta (deer hunting on the Wax Lake Delta is not permitted) is restricted to archery hunting by adults and youth lottery gun hunts. Harvest per unit effort on deer is extremely high. Fur trapping, commercial fishing, recreational fishing (especially for redfish, catfish, bass, and bluegill) and alligator harvests also yield great returns. Non-consumptive recreational pursuits include boating, camping, and bird-watching, especially on the Main Delta. The area has two campground areas (with primitive restrooms) and has a number of pilings available for houseboat mooring. Overnight mooring is allowed via permit only (16-day permits or hunting season permits). Year-round mooring is prohibited. LDWF offers both lease and lottery opportunities. Contact LDWF New Iberia Office for more details at 337-373-0032.