Danger beneath the waves!

After finishing up all the grass-cutting that was put off from yesterday, I did a few more chores around the house and then headed to the pier. The pier is a place of relaxation for me..a place where I can escape from anything..especially the phone! Hubby had already called for the evening from his job on the riverboat so I figured anyone else who called could leave a message..I was going fishing! Or so I thought. As I made my way down the pier, I thought something looked a bit different. Something was amiss. I could not exactly lay my finger on it but there was something definitely different. I picked up the net to cast for bait...ahhh..that is it! My bucket had gone missing! I usually have a five gallon bucket on the pier. This, I fill with water to drop my bait minnows in so they will stay alive. I leave it filled with water so it will not blow away if any high winds come, but now it was missing! My bucket had been kidnapped! Sure, we had terrific winds yesterday with the thunderstorm, but my bucket surely did not blow away while it was full of water! It did...I spied it halfway across the Bay proudly sitting on the side of the marsh. It appeared to be looking smugly back at me as if to say.."I escaped!"

Now what was I to do? I had no bait container! Well, being as it was already getting late, I decided not to walk all the way back to the house to get another bucket. I would just catch a couple of baits and release any others. I threw the net and picked out two nice size minnows to use. The rest were dumped back into the water. Two poles were baited and cast out into the water. Just a matter of minutes later, something slowly eased out with my line. Thinking that I might have a flounder on the line, I waited until the opportune moment and then jerked. I had him! I tugged..he tugged..I reeled..he tugged. This went on for a few minutes before I realized that this was no flounder. Finally, the fish came to the top of the water and I saw just what I was fighting..STINGRAY! Oh my goodness! I did not need a stingray! I did not want a stingray! So much for my flounder.

The stingray has always been a menace to fishermen and swimmers alike. Both are in danger of being stabbed by the serrated stinger if they are not careful. This stinger or barb is located at the end of the whiplike tail and can be dislodged as needed for protection. The stinger is sheathed in a sac and contains venom which is powerful enough to kill a human. This venom stays potent even if the fish dies, so a fisherman can still be fatally injured by handling a dead fish. This is not a fish to be played with..better to lose a hook than a life. I usually do unhook any stingrays that I catch so that I can release the fish. This one, though, since it was near dark, kept my hook..I just cut the line. Most people will tell you to kill any that are caught but I just do not see the point in killing something that I do not eat..and I refuse to eat a stingray if there is any other fish that I can catch!

Most stingrays spend the majority of their time just buried in the mud or sand on the bottom of the Bay. Here they lie in way for some hapless minnow or shrimp to swim near enough to be gulped. That is what happened with my minnow..it swam too close to a adept predator. Oops minnow done gone! So much for fishing this evening, I did not get another bite. I put up the poles and net and waved goodbye to my bucket! I wanted to get back to the house before dark!