Fish Tale

  My evenings, as of late, are spent down on the pier.  There, I cast the net for shrimp while fishing for redfish.  This evening, the fishing was nil so I concentrated on catching shrimp.  These are large, fine shrimp and will make nice meals come this winter.  While tossing the net, I noticed that not only was I catching shrimp but also a variety of fish. This evening, the "fish" catch included..one trout, one mullet, two croakers, seven pinfish and a myriad of catfish.  I do not mind catching most fish in the net but those catfish are a nuisance!  The sharp fins catch into the net and make it nigh on impossible to shake the fish from the net.  They have to be plucked by hand making a poke almost inevitable.  

  Most of the catfish tonight, were tiny..very, very tiny! The first one that was hung up in the net was about four inches long.  "That is the tiniest catfish that I have seen in a long while!" I thought to myself.  Then another even tinier fish was netted.  This one did not even reach the three inch mark!  Ok, so THAT is the tiniest catfish that I have ever seen!  

  Just a few weeks ago, the large catfish came schooling into the Bay to spawn.  Thousands of catfish filled the area and now even more little ones are here.  Every toss of the net gave evidence of the quantity of little fishes.  For three hours, I handpicked the little critters from my net and tossed them back into the water. I had to be careful as I have found that these tiny catfish are usually the ones that will stab you with their fins!  That is painful enough but now with the flesh-eating bacteria floating about in the waters, extreme care needs to be taken.  Every evening after shrimping, crabbing and fishing, I soak my hands in a cleansing remedy and then apply an antibiotic remedy for good measure.  One can never be too careful with these matters!  Tonight, I was fortunate.  I did not get finned by the catfish AND I caught a good many shrimp!