Well,
it finally happened. I actually had a
really successful fishing trip. By
successful, I mean, of course, that speckled trout were involved. Chris and I were returning from Home Depot
yesterday (she needed a pot and some
special dirt to repot her orchid plant).
As we drove down 61st Street I noticed that every single bait
shop had their white flags flapping in the breeze. Live shrimp were now available. That was clue number one that I should really
be at the beach fishing. So I checked
the beach cams on the Galveston.com website.
Calm, clear, green seas. That was
number two. The only strike against
going right then was the fact that it was 3:00 in the afternoon and specs
usually prefer early morning or late afternoon.
Oh, and it was hot. Really
hot. Hovering around 90 degrees. But I have handled heat before. And I do carry sunscreen in my tackle
box. Chris agreed to swing by the
seawall on our way home so I could have a look for myself, and it was
gorgeous.
So
when we got home I loaded up the truck and went for some of that advertised
live bait. I was kind of hesitant at
first. Oh, the bait was live all right,
but the shrimp were really big – eatin’ kind of big. Had I been planning to go anywhere but the
beach I would have balked, but, hey.
It’s the Gulf of Mexico. Anything
can happen, right?
Once
at the beach I waded out and established my spot beyond the tourists and made
my first cast. Lost that bait on a
really good bite, so I used one of the smaller shrimp to see what was out
there. Caught a whiting, so I decided,
where there’s small ones, there should be big brothers and uncles, so I went
back to the big shrimp. And then it
began. Speckled trout showed up to do a
little feeding, and they were especially fond of my live shrimp. And because they were so big, the youngsters
pretty much left them alone. I started
catching some of those Big Daddies. In
fact on one cast something hit the line and took off, zinging my drag like it
wasn’t even on. I was at his mercy until
he calmed down enough for me to reel him in closer. I thought maybe it was a Jack Crevalle, the
way it was fighting. I never expected
what slipped into the dip net, though.
It was certainly the biggest spec I have ever caught. Similar to the ones that get their picture in
the paper. I was in this day for the long
haul.
And
it turned out to be quite a day. Seven
big specs, so I didn’t limit out, but a family fish fry is certainly
imminent. One keeper red. I actually caught and released a total of six
rat reds. I kept two whiting. I also released two black drum, just because I
didn’t want to deal with cleaning them.
They weren’t very big either. I
did have to deal with three or four catfish.
One of them even managed to stab my finger, so I had to deal with that
ache for a while. Only had one of those “ones that got away.” Reeled him in pretty close, but he broke the
line before I could get a good look at him.
When I ran out of bait I decided
to make a few casts with a lure I found in my tackle box. First cast yet another big speck decided to
join my team. That was the last one,
though.
As
I dragged my catch onto shore, a young family approached me and asked, “May we
record your catch?” An unusual request,
but I said “Sure.” They both whipped out
cell phones and literally recorded my stringer.
Odd. Then when I finally got up
to the truck, another guy came over and asked all about the fish. He was fascinated by the red fish color. “It’s like a mix between red and gold.” He was also surprised to hear that the others
were trout. He asked, “Are those the
same as they have up in Colorado.” I
assured him it was the same name, but there were two key differences. 1. These
were salt water fish. And 2. You don’t have to catch and release these …
you can eat them. He agreed that they
would “sure be gracing his supper table tonight.”
Romans
12:15 says, “Rejoice with those who
rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”
Father,
thank you for gracing our supper table every night. Amen.
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