Goose Island, Fulton Harbor and Copano Bay provide documented public fishing or boat access around Rockport. Their official facility pages do not grant blanket permission to attach crab traps, and Aransas Bay has a special nearshore trap rule. Confirm facility permission before setting gear.
Goose Island State Park
Address: 202 South Palmetto Street, Rockport. Open daily 6 a.m.–10 p.m., with a 1,620-foot lighted fishing pier, shoreline, regular and paddle-craft launches, cleaning station, restrooms and showers. Accessible parking is available at the pier.
Admission is $5 per adult; children 12 and younger enter free. Capacity reservations are recommended. The park page does not explicitly authorize crab traps or extend the state-park fishing-license exemption to every crabbing method—ask park staff first.
Fulton Harbor public pier
The Aransas County Navigation District documents a public fishing pier, public restrooms, two bait stands, nearby picnic space and overnight harbor parking in downtown Fulton. The facility page does not publish pier hours, fees, accessibility or explicit crabbing permission.
Copano Bay Boat Ramp
Address: 5701 Highway 35 North, Rockport. The four-lane ramp is open 24 hours and has shared pier/ramp parking, restrooms and a cleaning station. The adjacent structure is described as a fishing pier; confirm whether handlines, rings or traps may be used there.
Boat and shoreline hazards
Goose Island includes oyster shell, concrete bulkheads, mud flat and marsh, making it unsuitable for swimming. Alligators are occasionally present. Around any harbor, weight and mark gear and keep it far from ramps and vessel routes.
Current Texas crab rules
Texas allows several legal devices, including crab lines, nets, folding-panel traps, umbrella nets and regulated crab traps. Blue crabs must measure at least 5 inches across the widest part of the body, and egg-bearing sponge crabs must be released. Current rules expire August 31, 2026, so check the new outdoor annual before a September trip.
Consumption advice
Aransas Bay is not named in the current statewide excerpt as a blue-crab advisory area, but absence from the list is not proof that every location has been tested. Review the live Texas advisory list before eating a catch and follow any local closure.
Goose Island State Park · Fulton Harbor · Copano Bay ramp · Texas legal-device restrictions · current crab rules · live consumption advisories
Access and current rules checked August 13, 2026. See the Texas crabbing report.