Maybe a good year?

  It seems that although I have not been able to fish much lately, it might be a good year to restock many folks' freezers.  Every day during my hikes, I wind up on the pier and, invariably, will toss the net a few times.  This is how I usually catch my bait but, more oft than not lately, it is to feed the birds.  There are a couple of night herons, egrets, gulls and pelicans that beg for handouts most every day. A toss of the net supplies the needed minnows or mullet for just such a treat.  Ms. Ez, the Bayou Dog, cannot be outdone by the birds and will eat her share as well.  

  Here lately, the Bay seems to be teeming with mullet.  While these are not large enough to eat or even use as crab bait, they are the perfect size for the birds.  Ms. Ez does draw the line on eating mullet.  She much prefers the menhaden!  The mullet, although small, have sharp fins that poke her whenever she snatches one.  The old dog has learned the difference between mullet and  menhaden and steers clear of those pointy ones!  The birds, however, are not picky.  They seem to eat anything and everything that is tossed to them.  

  The abundance of tiny mullet now means that there will be an abundance of large mullet in the near future.  Soon the Bay will be filled with boats and folks throwing nets after the "Biloxi Bacon".  Many folks do not like the strong flavor of mullet but down here, they are the staple for fish fries, the standard cookout on the Coast.  Personally, I like mullet when they are fresh.  After being in the freezer for a while, that strong taste becomes even hard for me to swallow.  I guess perhaps I am spoiled with the readily available fresh seafood.  Still, my little bird friends enjoy their fishy meals so I will continue to catch their handouts and with catches like these lately, it is easy to do.

Master Fisherman

I fish a lot. I like to fish, so I go whenever I have the opportunity..which pretty much is whenever I like. Since most of my fishing is done from the pier, it gives me an advantage over those who need a boat. As matter of fact, fishing could be said to "be in my blood"! I come from a family that all enjoyed being on the water, fishing and especially eating our catch! Even with this long love of angling, I cannot say that I am a "Master Fisherman". I catch a few here and there..enough to keep the hunger for fish sated but never to the point that I feel that I have truly outsmarted the critter. I am more of a happenstance fisherman! If one happens to be swimming by the pier and takes a liking to my bait, I might..just might by chance catch it! Then..lunch or supper is secured and I am happy.

Today, however, I witnessed a true Master Fisherman at work! I was on the pier as usual, when I saw the Osprey searching for breakfast. He was soaring high above the water, eying each fish that would be near the surface. Then it made a beeline for the one of his choice! Straight down, boom! It had its breakfast..a very hefty breakfast at that! I could not be certain of the type of fish, but it was large! Large enough that it caused the Osprey to struggle to gain altitude after the dive. Twice it almost lost its catch..twice the Osprey flipped the fish to grasp it with the other talon. Finally, it had a good hold and was able to make it to the top of the dead pine tree. By the time I made my way up the pier and around the edge of the Bayou, the Osprey had already eaten a good portion of its prey. I still could not determine for sure what type fish it had caught. The tail was a large, straight fan..so it most likely was a redfish. Rats! I could have had that fish for supper! These Ospreys never cease to amaze me with their fishing skills!

Speaking of fish..before my morning was interrupted by the antics of the Osprey, I noticed that there were many, many tiny mullet in the Bay. It has been this way for the past week..millions of mullet gathering in schools around the pier. These are just the perfect size to use as bait! And that..my friend..is probably why it has been difficult to hook a fish..the larger fish are just too full! They do not need to eat my bait! The masses of mullet reminded me of a picture that I once saw of sharks that were gathered off the Coast of Florida. There were hundreds of the sharks swimming about just doing sharklike things. Here my little mullet were doing quite the same thing only doing mulletlike things not sharklike things! I tried to get pictures of them but the teeny tiny mullet in muddy Bay water seem to be a tad more difficult to photograph than huge sharks in clear Gulf water. So squint your eyes and pretend that you see all of the little mullet in the picture..or just take my word for it that they were in the water!