Fishing Is Better Than Politics

 The dictionary defines "croaker" as a person or animal that croaks.  Well, duh??  That makes sense but, here on the Bayou and the surrounding areas, mention to someone that you caught a croaker and they will immediately know that you have been fishing.  Here, we talk fishing more than politics, religion or anything else!  That is a good way to keep friends.  We do not mind sharing fishing tips, bait and tales.  Just ask.

  This afternoon, I should have known better than to try to fish.  There was a stiff wind coming from the south and that makes for rough waters at the pier.  It also pushes the tide in and floods the marsh with more water than usual. Fish move into the inlets of the Bayou to escape the beating waves.  Still, I tried to catch bait, if for no other reason than to feed the young heron.  I threw the net a dozen times only to catch a single croaker.  As I was just about to toss the fish back into the water, I thought of how pretty this fish actually is.  It is also tasty!  While some folks treat croakers as "trash" fish, if I catch a large one, it goes in the frypan!  Though quite bony, they have a delicious flavor! Today's fish was tiny so it was released.  

  Croakers have a sort of pinkish/golden hue about them and the older fish have slightly darker stripes.  They do, of course, make a croaking sound (hence the name).  They, like several other fish, use muscles against their swim bladder to make this sound but this is the only fish that can lay claim to the name!  Some folks brag of catching croakers of four, five or more pounds but that is pushing it.  Most are much smaller and weigh in about a pound maybe a pound and a half.  I imagine if you were out in the Gulf, they are larger but not here in the Bay waters.  The poor fish just do not have a chance to get overly large in the shallow waters since they are eaten by just about any larger fish that can catch them.

  Once back at the Little Bayou House, I did a bit of research about the croaker.  The "official" name of the fish is Atlantic Croaker and, get this, it is kin to just about every fish in the Bay.  The croaker can claim to be a relative to the Red Drum (which I always figured since they look so much alike), the Black Drum, the Weakfish, Silver Perch and Speckled Trout (also known as Spotted Sea Trout).  It seems that our Bayou has one big, happy family of fishes!