From Down In The Murky Waters....

Sometimes I wonder just what lives down in the water under my pier. For any who do not know..water around bayou is not clear. It is sort of a murky, muddy brown. At times when the weather is really calm, you can see to the bottom in the shallows but not much anywhere else. This said, you can see why it is difficult to see what lives under my pier. Occasionally, but not often, there arises an opportunity to view some really unique sea critter. Today was one of those days. Not that this fish is rare or even unusual..except this far inland. I was on the pier this morning early and noticed a fish sort of swimming..or not swimming..on its side. I thought "Poor fish..he must be sick!" The mothering instinct in me wanted to haul him in and take care of him. Duh..is that ever stupid! In lieu of caring for a sick fish..I took pictures of it! That was about the same..right? Anyway, I took several shots of the fish as it swam around leisurely near the pier post. Then, out of the clear blue, the fish jumped! Up out of the water it flipped. As it hit the water again, it went quickly deep under the murk. I thought I had seen the last of the "dying" fish. Perhaps it went off to die in peace..perhaps it suddenly got a second wind and was miraculously cured! Whichever the case, I thought my photo ops was over..not so..there was the fish back on top of the water just a few feet away from where I first saw it.

It was a pretty fish..sort of gold with darker blotches. Something that might be seen in some saltwater fish tank in a seafood restaurant or somewhere like a large aquarium or even in some animated movie! I had never seen this fish before..especially not near the Bayou! I was puzzled, but knew right who would know the identity of my perplexing fish. Son has a friend that fishes a lot. I sent him the picture and received an answer almost immediately! My fish was a....Tripletail! Ok, so that just explained a lot..a Tripletail..hmmm. He assured me that my Tripletail was not dying..not sick..just enjoying itself. It seems that these fish have a habit of swimming around on top of the water..on their sides..just sunning themselves. Well! How deceiving of this fish! Here I was feeling all sorry for it and it was playing! Hmmmph! Seriously though, I was elated that the fish was well and I am happy to share the Bayou with such a beauty of a creature.

The Tripletail also goes by a few other names. Some folks call it Blackfish, Buoyfish and Driftfish. I am not sure why it is called Blackfish but all of the other names make perfect sense. Starting with Tripletail..the way its top and bottom fins go all the way down to the tail make it appear to have three tail fins. Bouyfish..this fish tends to hang around the buoy markers just lazily floating on their sides. Driftfish..well..could be two things..first, they like to hang around debris that is floating or drifting on the surface..second, this might be because to the way they float on top of the water. Anyway..those names make sense..now that Blackfish thing..as you can see by the picture..this one was definitely NOT black! They are supposed to be a very tasty fish but..well..I think this one is too pretty to eat so if I ever do by chance catch it, this one will be set free! I hope it hangs around for a while!