# Bayou Chico questions



## tkh329 (Mar 14, 2012)

For you Bayou Chico regulars, I'm curious about boat access up the bayou, specifically, can you get a bay boat north of the 98 bridge? Also, whats up with the really narrow part just south of the bridge? Does anyone live on or around Chico and, if so, how do you like it? Any input is appreciated!

Thanks


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## southern yakker (Jun 25, 2012)

I fishes bayou Chico all my life. Are you sure you are reffering to bayou chico? Or are you referring to the Navy blvd bridge? If you are talking highway 98 you might be thinking of bayou heron.


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## foxtrotuniform (Nov 11, 2013)

tkh329 said:


> For you Bayou Chico regulars, I'm curious about boat access up the bayou, specifically, can you get a bay boat north of the 98 bridge? Also, whats up with the really narrow part just south of the bridge? Does anyone live on or around Chico and, if so, how do you like it? Any input is appreciated!
> 
> Thanks


You shouldn't have any problem getting up Bayou Chico with a bay boat. I've seen a fairly large de-masted sailboat come under the Navy Blvd. bridge before. 

I suspect that the narrow spot is where a sewage main is buried under the water. There's a sign there that marks the shallow spot. Keep to the east of it, and you should be ok.


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## markw4321 (Oct 4, 2007)

Fished regularly with a guy for 20 years that kept a 26ft shamrock on a lift north of navy boulevard on bayou Chico. The shamrock was a displacement hull with a keel. Therefore, a bay boat should not be a problem. There are nice waterfront homes along bayou Chico north of the navy point bridge but for homes located on the upper end of chico for most of the northern shoreline you have to enter via Jackson street through keys court to idle wood drive. Houses are separated by a railroad track from Brownsville one of the absolutely roughest of all pensacola crime areas in my opinion....

Once you get on idle wood drive the homes are nice on the water. However, you have to beat the crack ho's off of you driving through it to get there.

Waterfront Homes along chico on the southern bank north of navy boulevard bridge are generally nice as well and the neighbor hood is somewhat better but has its crime issues as well. The houses that lie along the southern bank north of navy and to the east of the navy boulevard bridge where it crosses seem to be in the better area. At one time frank patti's had a house there don't know if he still does but I think so. 
Bottom line Some of the waterfront homes along that northern end of Chico are very nice and there is nothing like having your own dock and waterfront access, but I would want a vey large well trained watch dog in my yard to guard it and a superior home alarm system with cameras on as well if I lived there. You will need to be watchful of " wild ******" coming via land and pirates by sea if you live along bayou Chico north of navy boulevard.


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## tkh329 (Mar 14, 2012)

Thanks guys, good info. Markw, exactly the kind of info I want to know about, thank you. 

Any other input? Thanks.


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## oldflathead (Oct 3, 2007)

*18 year resident*

We bought a house on the northwest arm, west of Pattis in 1996 and love it. We tore down the old house and built a new larger one in 2003/4. The homes on the water on Edgewater Dr. are mostly well kept, several new larger houses with our own docks. We are a fairly close knit community, have our "First Friday" gathering at one of our neighbors home and are all boating, fishing friends.

I keep my 46' motorsailor, 25' pontoon, "Chico Limo" and 22' Panga CC on my dock. So far we have had no crime on our street. We make it known that an old Marine, retired Firefighter, Gun collector lives here. We do not go in and out on Chaseville St from Navy Blvd. after dark. The trailer park/"Hood" has some rough looking alpha hotels who hang out by the street try to make a sale.

An older house, 44' waterfront with a small dock sold for $125,000 last year.
I will be 10-7 a few days for knee replacement, but give me a call or PM, then come over for a visit and a tour of Bayou Chico.
Tom


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## tkh329 (Mar 14, 2012)

Tom, thank you, that's incredibly generous of you. If I get past the toying with the it stage I will absolutely get up with you!


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## markw4321 (Oct 4, 2007)

To add a little info to it. It was my brother that lived north of navy blvd (hwy 98) along the upper end north shore of chico for 27 years or so up until 2006. Homes along chico South of the Navy Blvd bridge look to be better situated to me. Check out the bayou chico waterfront homes along lakewood drive in warrington North of barrancas avenue. I grew up in that neighboorhood. Some tear downs of older homes in there with new builds going on.


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## foxtrotuniform (Nov 11, 2013)

markw4321 said:


> Houses are separated by a railroad track from Brownsville one of the absolutely roughest of all pensacola crime areas in my opinion....


Aah, good old Frontera Circle! I wrote a story about that little slice of paradise when I was at the PNJ. I even dragged Gene Valentino out to visit the warzone with me and chat with a nice gentleman who lived on the water just south of the tracks. 

Last I checked, Frontera was pretty quiet. The county started knocking down the abandoned crack condos a couple years ago, and most members of the worst family on the block were in jail on various serious charges. 

That was the wildest case of right/wrong side of the tracks that I've ever seen though. The absolute worst shithole in the city just a golf chip shot from a beautiful waterfront neighborhood...


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## markw4321 (Oct 4, 2007)

foxtrotuniform said:


> Aah, good old Frontera Circle! I wrote a story about that little slice of paradise when I was at the PNJ. I even dragged Gene Valentino out to visit the warzone with me and chat with a nice gentleman who lived on the water just south of the tracks.
> 
> Last I checked, Frontera was pretty quiet. The county started knocking down the abandoned crack condos a couple years ago, and most members of the worst family on the block were in jail on various serious charges.
> 
> That was the wildest case of right/wrong side of the tracks that I've ever seen though. The absolute worst shithole in the city just a golf chip shot from a beautiful waterfront neighborhood...


 
True that. The owners of the waterfront property weren't all that happy when on one of the Clean sweep brownsville operations the county cut back all the vegetation between frontera circle, the rail road track, and the water front. All of a sudden it looked like a "walmart" that you never knew existed before had been discovered just down the hill from frontera...


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## Gator McKlusky (Oct 8, 2013)

oldflathead said:


> We do not go in and out on Chaseville St from Navy Blvd. after dark. The trailer park/"Hood" has some rough looking alpha hotels who hang out by the street try to make a sale.


I think it is a crying shame that a military veteran like you who has helped many has to worry about where they can drive safely at night in their own damn neighboord. just saying...


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## mrplmbr (Mar 31, 2010)

*Bayou Chico*

Just bought a house on edgewater dr. and met a couple of the neighbors over the weekend and it seems like a really nice community. Looking forward to fishing the bayou. I may need a few navigation tips for the bayou.


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## Breeze (Mar 23, 2012)

I live in Edgewater too, just off chaseville. I do community patrol one night a week. I park just down the street from that trailer park sometimes just to save gas and make our presence known. Usually adjust my mirror to watch while I sit. There is some shady stuff that happens there, sometimes there is a woman in a motorized wheel chair out there running them off. But they don't mess with me. Sometimes a couple of them walk by my truck and check me out, I wave to them and say hi. I have had no problems with them at all. The neighborhood in general is pretty safe. We have very little crime here. The people in the trailer park tend to stay in that area for the most part. The most excitement I have during my rides is occasionally running people out of the park cause it closes at dusk.

Cycles By Breeze
Motorcycle and ATV Service
www.cyclesbybreeze.net
850-438-0401


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## foxtrotuniform (Nov 11, 2013)

mrplmbr said:


> Just bought a house on edgewater dr. and met a couple of the neighbors over the weekend and it seems like a really nice community. Looking forward to fishing the bayou. I may need a few navigation tips for the bayou.


I lived a block over on Frisco Rd. for four years. I really enjoyed that little neighborhood. It can look a little rough in places, but the neighbors were all awesome, and I never heard of any thefts or breakins. 

All the thieves go to East/North Hill to steal, apparently. 

I do know about the dodgy looking characters on Chaseville North that OldFlatHead mentioned. They are quite certainly, ahem, _urban entrepreneurs,_ but I can't say I had a bit of trouble out of them (or their South Chaseville counterparts near the Frisco roundabout) in the four years that I lived there.

That neighborhood is really the best of both worlds. Waterfront, great neighbors, five minutes to downtown, even at rush hour, but rough around the edges enough that home prices are 25% of what they'd be in East Hill. 

You'll love it mrplmbr!


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## Smarty (Nov 23, 2008)

I grew up at 332 Ross St, Pensacola, FL. 
3rd house north of the railroad tracks down Keys Court. There's no sign but it's "North Ross St. between the tracks and the median on Keys Court. Lived there '66 to'99 when I sold the house. Doesn't matter how nice any of the waterfront homes are in that area. Trust me when I say it's not been decent since before the early 80's and is now a sh!t hole. 
I'd live in a cardboard box in Milton before I'd live in a so called decent home anywhere near north of the Chico :no:
Home sweet home is no longer sweet.


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## markw4321 (Oct 4, 2007)

Smarty said:


> I grew up at 332 Ross St, Pensacola, FL.
> 3rd house north of the railroad tracks down Keys Court. There's no sign but it's "North Ross St. between the tracks and the median on Keys Court. Lived there '66 to'99 when I sold the house. Doesn't matter how nice any of the waterfront homes are in that area. Trust me when I say it's not been decent since before the early 80's and is now a sh!t hole.
> I'd live in a cardboard box in Milton before I'd live in a so called decent home anywhere near north of the Chico :no:
> Home sweet home is no longer sweet.


 
From what i have seen i tend to concur with you!


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## tkh329 (Mar 14, 2012)

Thanks for all the insight, keep it coming! There's a house at 204 N Pinewood for sale that piqued my interest and got me thinking of Bayou Chico. I've always wanted a place on Texar, but that's not happening without a winning lottery ticket.


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## welldoya (Oct 5, 2007)

I remember that article in the PNJ. Very good article.
As I remember there was a female lawyer who lived there and her Rottweiler got stolen. She went out in the yard and yelled for him and he came running from the direction of Frontera Circle with a hood rat in pursuit. 
I could not live like that.


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## aroundthehorn (Aug 29, 2010)

tkh329 said:


> Thanks guys, good info. Markw, exactly the kind of info I want to know about, thank you.
> 
> Any other input? Thanks.


Watch the channel markers closely coming in and take note of the tide. Gets *really* shallow in a couple of places. (I'm talking about the mouth of the bayou.)


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## aroundthehorn (Aug 29, 2010)

tkh329 said:


> Thanks for all the insight, keep it coming! There's a house at 204 N Pinewood for sale that piqued my interest and got me thinking of Bayou Chico. I've always wanted a place on Texar, but that's not happening without a winning lottery ticket.


There are plenty of nice and affordable houses over here. You might not be on the water but it's a matter of a few minutes to launch your boat.


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## tkh329 (Mar 14, 2012)

aroundthehorn said:


> There are plenty of nice and affordable houses over here. You might not be on the water but it's a matter of a few minutes to launch your boat.


Thanks for the notes about getting shallow, good to know! Only reason to move would be for a house on the water with a lift. I was surprised by how reasonable the prices are!


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## Smarty (Nov 23, 2008)

Frontera Circle used to be a very nice apartment complex area when I was a kid. Had several girlfriends living there over the years when young. Once it was changed to low income housing it went to hell quick. Efforts to improve the area were even made later by building Habitat for Humanity homes on the complex property. I assisted in building a few hoping for a positive change in the direction of our neighborhood. The only change was the scum had brand new homes to destroy. Makes me sad to know the beautiful neighborhood that I grew up in was turned into a pure wasteland.
The one common denominator they all had was no responsible Father teaching them how to be men.


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## aroundthehorn (Aug 29, 2010)

This site is becoming a broken record.


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## mrplmbr (Mar 31, 2010)

Thanks for the info. We bought the house next to the park. Can you tell me if the dock at the park is closed at sunset because I like to fish at night also.


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## Smarty (Nov 23, 2008)

tkh329 said:


> For you Bayou Chico regulars, I'm curious about boat access up the bayou, specifically, can you get a bay boat north of the 98 bridge? Also, whats up with the really narrow part just south of the bridge? Does anyone live on or around Chico and, if so, how do you like it? Any input is appreciated!
> 
> Thanks


Aroundthehorn are you trying to stir the pot and how many years have you actually lived in that area? Your info was good and I'm sure helpful which is great. If your comments were directed at me that's fine but the man asked a question. My 1st 33yrs of life were spent there and I felt the man deserved an honest assessment of the area that I know like the back of my hand. Sadly it was in a negative light. No one can hate that more than me and my family. I learned quick to recognize people for what they are and not for what you would like them to be. 

OP, I hope the house you bought brings you a lifetime of joy and happiness. Watch those little hard head catfish from the bayou. They can get pretty fiesty! :yes:


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