~ Captain Paul's response to: ~ Harlequin11 ~

Freemason Island is west of the Chandeleur Islands in Chandeleur Sound. It is about 8 miles west of one part of the Chandeleur chain and is about 8 miles WSW, 227°Magnetic from the North Islands. It is between the southern part of the Chandeleur Island barrier chain and Point Chicot. It is about 17.3 miles at a bearing of 74° (magnetic) from the Point Chicot Green # 1 marker/light.

The present Freemason Island is configured in a banana shaped island that has very little vegetation. The only vegetation is by the east end it looks like it is a small clump of mangroves. It presently is about 1.25 miles long in a west ~ east direction. NOAA Marine Chart 11363 of The Chandeleur Sound indicates that the island in now classified as a shoal, but aerial photo maps show the current island as a sliver of sand above the water. Many days the island sometimes is awash with high tides or strong winds.

I keep referring to the current Freemason Island as the original island has migrated to the south west and is now about 2500 feet to the south west of where it was before Katrina.
The east point of the present island is at or about 29° 47.193’ N ~ 88°58.086’W. The western most part of the island is now at or about 29°47.491’N ~ 88° 59.227’W.

Freemason Island was at one time in the shape of a reversed “C” about 1.7 miles in length mainly in a north to south direction. The northern most point was at or about 29° 48.342’ N. Lat. ~ 88° 58.823’ W. Long. The southern most tip was at or about 29° 47.181’ N. Lat. ~ 88° 58.872’ W. long. I mention this because the charts indicate that the water depths around the present Freemason Island vary between ten and two feet. The shallow water evidently is where the island was once located, and should be locations that hold fish.

Before you try to navigate to Freemason Island, sure that you get up to date official NOAA Marine Charts of the area. Depending from your launch point, it looks like you will need NOAA charts # 11363, Chandeleur Is; #11361, Miss. River Delta; 11371 Lake Borgne and Approaches and possibly # 11373, Miss. Sound and Approaches.

All of these approaches to Freemason Island are littered with many, many large and small oil and gas platforms as well as numerous wrecks through out the area. Use caution in the area as the charts show numerous shoals through out the entire Chandeleur Island chain of islands.

Using the remnants of FREEMASON Island as the face of a clock that is about 1.5 miles in diameter, and beginning at the 12 o’clock position, there is a wreck indicated at or about 29°48.403’ N ~ 088° 58.922’ W.
At about the 1 o’clock position one is at or about 29° 48.212 N ~ 088° 58. 386‘ W.

Continuing in a clockwise direction to the 4 o’clock position there is another one at or about 29° 47. 614’ N ~ 088° 58.386’ ~ W.

At the 5 o’ clock position one can be found at or about 29° 47. 337’ N ~ 088° 58.733’ W.

At the 7 o’clock area although a little farther from the center yields a wreck at or about 29° 47. 381’ N ~ 088° 59.707’ W.

Again continuing around the imaginary face to the 11 o’clock position you should find one at or about 29° 48.524’ N ~ 088° 59. 627’ W. These wrecks are listed as having a Position Approximate on the current charts. Any or all of them should offer cover for fish in the area.

You can access Freemason Island or what is left of it from Venice by the way of the canal at the end of Baptiste Collette in Breton Sound, which is about 33 miles @ 37°Magnetic ; from Hopedale via the Old MRGO to Gardner Island then to the Island, about 26 miles @ 74° magnetic, and from the Waveland / Bay St. Louis in Mississippi which is about 42 miles at 152° magnetic.

One of the larger shoals that I call FREEMASON SHOAL is located to the North East of the Island. The rough center of this oval shoal is at or about 29° 48.670´ N LAT ~ 088° 57.393´ W LONG. The charts show water immediately around this shoal as between 1 and two feet.

Get a current version of NOAA chart 11363 if you want to see the remnants of the Island, as the shown on the chart. USGS Topographical map titled Freemason Island will give you a decent rendition of how the island once looked. If you want to actually see the island, you better hurry as it is slowly disappearing.

Unless otherwise specified, all positions are stated as H,DDD,MM.mmm and were determined using WGS 84 DATUM. All Headings/bearings/courses are stated in statute miles and Magnetic Degrees.

Captain Paul

~ Captain Paul's response to: ~ Harlequin11~

The platform BS 53A platform is located at or about 29°25.7162 ~ N. Latitude ~ 089°08.1173 using NAD 27 Datum.

It is a Century Exploration of New Orleans, Inc. site that was is manned 24 hours a day and was installed in 1-2-1978, in 12 feet of water in the Breton Sound Leased Block 53 Area. It is almost dead center of Leased Block 53. It is a collection station that is fed by several of the surrounding platforms via underground (water) pipelines. It is prominently displayed on NOAA chart 11363 ~ Chandeleur and Breton Sounds and Chart 11353~ Baptiste Collette Bayou to Mississippi River.

It is about 10.5 miles at a bearing of 87° Magnetic from the Green #2 light at the mouth of the Baptiste Collette channel in Breton Sound and about 30 miles at a bearing of 122° from the mouth of Bayou Terre Boeufs at Black Bay and is about 6.25 miles at a bearing of 39° Magnetic from the mouth of Main Pass of the Mississippi River.

Unless otherwise specified, all positions are stated as Degrees, minutes and thousandths of minutes (DDD,MM.mmm) and were determined using WGS 84 Datum. All bearings and courses are stated in Magnetic degrees.

~ Captain Paul ~

~ Captain Paul's response to: ~ Harlequin11 ~

~ Captain Paul's response to: ~ Harlequin11 ~

I have the north end of the shell Reef just north of Jahncke”s Ditch at or about 29°52.804’ ~ 89° 35.853’ W. Longitude. The reef runs from that point toward the shoreline just east of where Jahncke”s Ditch enters Lake Borgne which is at or about 29°52.7313’ N ~ 89° 35.842’ W . Most of the time the reef is under water, but at low tide it can clearly be seen. It is about 940 yards at a heading of 221° from the mouth of Bayou St. Malo at Lake Borgne.

Be careful when in the area as it is most of the time just below the surface of the water.

The shoreline site immediately west of the Ditch was a staging area for the Jahncke Company which was a big entity in the 1910-60’s. For additional information on the Jahncke endeavor, see the WYES TV web site at http://www.wyes.org/local/german-new-orleans/ It is alleged that the Jahncke company paved most of the city streets and provided material for major endeavors such as the Tulane Stadium, the Robert E. Lee circle monument and many other building projects in and around the city of New Orleans.

There are remnants of clam shells through out that area. The actual site was in the tree line area just off of the shoreline and was mounted on concrete footings with heavy joists linking them together. There were several sheds there that housed their office and operating equipment. After the Jahncke moved its operations, the site was used by boaters as a protective cove if adverse weather caught them in the open lake. It was an ideal site for such use by small boats. I used it several times to escape bad weather.
Back then we rented skiffs from Campo’s at Shell Beach and put our 10 h.p. motor on them and ventured into Lake Borgne. The MRGO was just being cut at that time, so the Jahncke Ditch and the Priest camp farther to the west by Doullutte’s canal were the only way to get out of bad weather other than Bayous St Malo and Yscloskey. Several times we were grateful for the protective waters of the Ditch and the small “Y” bayou just inside the mouth of the Ditch. Other times we would wade fish the reef while actually anchored in the “Ditch.” We would pull the big ones up to the skif.

That whole area is a very productive location. The southern part of Lake Borgne from the old Fort Beauregard Ruins , the pilings around the mouth of Bayou Yscloskey, the mouth of the Doulluts Canal, and the canal itself, the Jahncke Ditch and Reef and the mouth of the Bayou St Malo area have always been a prime fishing area. It is unique in that it can be fished with a South, East and West wind. The only time I would avoid it would be in a sustained or heavy northern blow.

There was the remnants of the old road that was on the high just in from the shoreline. It was an old asphalt road that linked the buildings along the shoreline with Shell Beach and it even had a bridge over Doulluts Canal. It joined LA 46 at Bayou Yscloskey.

I remember that big reds would run hundred of mullet up on the shore line and even onto the roadway. We had several wade fishing spots along that stretch of the shoreline that were very productive. Be careful wading the area now, as I don’t know if the entire shoreline is safe to wade fish as there have been several major storms visit the area since out trips there in the 50’s.

Most anglers speed by these locations to what they think is better fishing areas; Oh if they only knew about these locations!

You are on to a very good fishing area, that doesn’t require 100 gallons of fuel to reach the location. It can be reached of course from the Shell beach area and from the Hopedale launches by using Bayous La Loutre and St Malo. The area is a very worth while stop.

Unless otherwise specified, all positions are stated as H,DDD,MM.mmm and were determined using WGS 84 DATUM. All Headings/bearings/courses are stated in Magnetic Degrees.

Keep Safe,
Captain Paul