Rollover Pass (also called Rollover Fish Pass) is a man-made strait that cuts through the Bolivar Peninsula and links the Gulf of Mexico with Rollover Bay and East Bay on the upper Texas coast in eastern Galveston County (29°30′N 94°30′W / 29.5°N 94.5°W / 29.5; -94.5). The pass was opened in 1955 by the Texas Game and Fish Commission to increase bay water salinity, promote growth of submerged vegetation, and help marine fish to and from spawning and feeding areas in the bay.
Rollover Pass earned its name from the practice of smugglers who, from the days of Spanish rule through prohibition, avoided the Galveston customs station by rolling barrels of import or export merchandise (i.e., whiskey and rum) over the narrowest part of the peninsula.
Rollover Pass is a popular location for fishing and birding.
On the morning of September 13, 2008 Hurricane Ike came ashore near Galveston, Texas. The storm surge associated with Hurricane Ike devastated the adjoining coastal communities of Gilchrist (northeast from Rollover Pass) and Caplen (southwest from Rollover Pass) along with most of the Bolivar Peninsula.
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