Oh, Clam Up!

  Since it is now a nightly adventure to be on the pier shrimping, my tales will lean toward the denizens of the Bay.  Usually, I will see some sort of critter that spikes an interest or perhaps catch a really weird fish that causes a bit of wonderment.  The Bayou and its inhabitants never cease to intrigue me.  Not only are the critters that live in the Bay of interest but those whose lives depend on the water can fully amuse me. 

  While on the pier waiting for the shrimp to "come in", I fish.  Most of the time, I will catch some fish to have for supper although I do catch a number of catfish or "trash" fish.  These are either used for crab bait or returned to the water.  This evening, I caught something highly unexpected.  It was not anything that I have ever caught before nor anything that I have ever heard of anyone else catching with a rod and reel.  

  The Bay was beautiful.  There was a slight breeze coming from the north and a few wispy clouds drifted about the sky.  Since I had about a half hour before starting my shrimping, I decided to try my hand at fishing.  A fish had taken my hook the night before and I had forgotten to bring a replacement.  The only one handy was an old, rusty on that was found on one of the pier posts. Oh, well.  It would just have to do.  I baited the hook, tossed the line and waited.  After just a few minutes, a wiggle on the line told me that something was interested in my dead shrimp.  Still, this was unlike any bite I had ever had before.  I eased back on the line and felt a tug.  Hmmm?  Perhaps this was a flounder?  I waited a bit longer then eased back a bit more.  Yep! Something was definitely hanging on the hook.  Perhaps a crab?  I eased again.  Still there.  So I decided to wind the reel a bit and see what happened.  Nothing.  The line did not take off in a mad rush like most fish.  It did not wiggle and jiggle like a crab frantically trying to get the bait off the hook before I pulled it up on the pier.  Instead, whatever this was, it just held on tight.  Maybe a stick?  I reeled the line in and pulled it up on the pier.

   Wow!  I had caught a......I actually hooked a.......on the end of my line was a.....a clam!  Sure enough, a large clam had my shrimp!  As I pulled the clam up on the pier, it slowly closed and tightened down on my hook!  Oh, geez!  I had never seen something like this before!  Now how in the world was I supposed to unhook that thing?  I picked up the shell and looked at it closely.  There was not a whole lot of leeway to get my hook out from between the two sides of the shell. I really did not want to pry around too much so to injure the clam inside but I really wanted my hook.  Hmmm?  Idea!  I gently laid the clam (with the hook still inside) into the bait bucket.  I figured that maybe the clam would open on its own if it was back in the water. Sure enough about ten minutes later, the clam opened its shell just a bit and out came my hook...minus the shrimp!  

  Now I seriously doubt that the clam ate my shrimp just as I seriously doubt that the thing actually "bit" my hook.  Most likely some pinfish was nibbling on the bait and when I pulled the line, the hook dragged over the open clam.  If the hook irritated the clam at all, it probably instinctively closed and the hook was snagged.  It was all by accident that I was able to reel in the bivalve.  Still, it does indeed make a grand fish tale!  I CAUGHT A CLAM!