May 7 – “Not a nobble”

OK.  OK.  I bowed before your encouragement.  One person wished me better weather.  Another offered to loan me waders.  I have never worn waders.  I understand some pastors do that when they are baptizing.  But fishing?  Never have.  With all the pushing I received, I had no choice but to go fishing yesterday. 

And the conditions were absolutely perfect.  The water was clear enough to see the bottom.  It was cool.  Not cold, just cool enough to be comfortable.  There was a very slight breeze from the southeast.  The tide was moving.  I could even see schools of mullet and other bait fish and even some bigger predators as they swam around me.  A dolphin made an appearance early on.  Pelicans flew by.  Perfect.  Just perfect.

Now let me say up front, I did what I usually do fishing.  I used the down time to take a deep breath or two and pray.  That is especially effective when I don’t have to worry about leaping over crashing waves, of which there were none.  The water was calm.  Perfect.  Just perfect.  Except for one thing.  Someone forgot to remind the watery denizens that they were supposed to eat shrimp.  I cast out little ones.  I cast out really big ones.  Didn’t matter.  Not even a nibble from those little guys who like to eat the legs off the shrimp.  Very strange.  I was just about to call it a day when I got one strike.  Pretty nice one, too.  Hit hard like a spec and took off.  Sadly, however, he didn’t have all of the shrimp in his mouth.  So that bit of excitement ended as quickly as it began.  A few casts later, however, I did land a good sized whiting.  Slid him into the catch net with the trash I had picked up as it floated by.  That would turn out to be the only company that old whiting would have for the rest of the trip.  Not a single other nobble.  Oops.  Spell check didn’t catch that one.  Nobble.  I like that word.  Think I’ll just leave it.  So, I didn’t have a nobble or a nibble. 

Chris was happy that I cleaned the fish outside.  I did bring in the remaining bait, however.  I decided it would be awful to waste, especially the really big ones included in the batch this time.  So I cleaned the shrimp and packaged them up as well.  And I have to say, I have a profound respect for whoever it is that cleans the popcorn shrimp I like to order at Shrimp and Stuff.  Those things are hard to get skin off of.  They’ll taste good, though.

Hebrews 6:19-20 says, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

Father, thank you for the quiet peace of the time in the water yesterday.  Amen.