Free Food Is Good!

  Mark and I usually head to the pier early in the morn to catch our lunch.  With crabs and fish plentiful right now, it does not take too long before we have a meal in hand.  It appears that in a few weeks, we will be able to add shrimp to that menu, as well.  Each morning, Mark throws the net to catch bait and mullet.  I sit and fish for whatever will bite.

  This morning while throwing the net, Mark caught several small white trout.  These were about 5 inches in length so they got a reprieve!  As I slipped the small fish back into the water, I pondered several things.  What was the true name of the fish and how long before they will be large enough to eat!  Most of the white trout we catch are about 14 inches long so these two have a long ways to go before they wind up on my plate.  As for the true name, the fish are known as sand seatrout with white trout being a local term.  We call them that simply because they lack the specks that their cousins the spotted seatrout  (speckled trout) have.  These fish are mostly white with golden fins.  After their first year, they get a lavender sheen down their backs.  The lavender looks so pretty with the golden fins.  It is almost a shame to clean the fish for food!  Nah.  Free food is good and I gotta eat!