I managed to get some live shrimp, some of
which were those big old monsters, but in the surf, those big ones sometimes
bring in the most surprising catches. I
went to my usual spot, just in front of WalMart. The tide was up, which was a good thing,
except that it meant I had to feel my way over the rocks to reach the
beach. And on top of that, there was a
lot of old, black seaweed gripping the shore line just between the rocks and
the sand. Never a good combination. It was so nasty right there that I used my
pole as a sounding rod to make sure I didn’t step in a hole or in between
rocks.
I was lamenting the dirty water when I
finally made my way onto the sand and started walking out. But as I got ten or fifteen yards from the
shoreline I began to notice something I haven’t seen in a very long time … the
bottom. The water was so clear that I
could count the ripples in the sand beneath my feet. I could see the tiny bait fish racing back
and forth in their schools. No waves,
either. It was a Lake Galveston kind of
day. This was looking more and more
promising. I lost my bait on the first
cast. Felt like a whiting or maybe one of
those piggies was nibbling a piece at a time.
It was encouraging, though. At
least something was biting. I hooked up
one of those monster shrimp and made my second cast. Almost as soon as it hit the water, I had a
bite. And I could tell it was a nice
one. Sure enough, it was a very nice
speckled trout, my all-time favorite fish, not just to catch, but more
importantly, to eat as well. About that
time I glanced up and saw one of my good-luck charms, a big dolphin, surfacing
not too far away. And before I could
even make the next cast, I heard a loud, blasting honk from the seawall. As I turned around to see what had made that
horrific noise, there was fire engine 4 driving past. Now I don’t know if they were honking because
they had seen my fire department sticker on the truck or if they were just in a
hurry to get to their next call, but I waved anyway. I always consider seeing a fire truck to be a
good sign as well. Two good luck charms
back to back. I knew this was going to
be a good day.
And I certainly wasn’t disappointed. Virtually every cast brought some kind of
strike. And I started reeling in the
specks. Not just tiny ones that I had to
throw back, either. These were keepers
on the high end of the limits. It was
really exciting to be able to actually see them as they made their runs through
the clear waters. My well net filled up
quickly. I even tried switching to bottom
dragging to get a few whiting, but the specks just wouldn’t have it. They even hit on the dead bait I cast. Oh, I did get a few whiting, a few pompano,
and a lady fish or two, but I haven’t experienced that many specks in a feeding
frenzy since back when we fished under the lights at Ken Fryer’s house on the
bay. And this time I could see
them. Amazing. Needless to say, I limited out on some really
nice speckled trout.
And so, Young Zakary, it looks like it’s
time for another family fish fry. When
are you guys coming back down this way from Waco? That would be way better than us having to
come up there to run from a hurricane.
Genesis 9:1-3 says “Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, ‘Be fruitful and
increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall upon all
the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that
moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into
your hands. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you.’”
Father, thank you for an incredible
experience fishing yesterday. The food
you provide is amazing. It’s even more
special when it works out that I can catch it myself. Amen.
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