We all have them. We love them to pieces but, at times, have to shake our heads at their actions. Some friends take a mile when offered an inch. It does not damper the friendship but can be a bit bewildering.
My new found critter friend, the young heron, has been coming regularly to the pier for its handouts. This morning, it was there waiting before I even came out the door. By the time I made it to the pier, the bird was doing a steady bit of pacing as if to say "Hurry up with breakfast, please!" I obliged and caught it a nice helping of menhaden. Then a bit later, the bird came back for a mid-morning snack. For being such a skinny bird, that thing can eat!
Well, along about ten o'clock, I decided that I had enough fishing for the time being but I still had a nice bucketful of menhaden. Hmmm? With the aerator going, the minnows should stay alive so I did not toss them back into the water. My scoop net was laid across the top of the bucket to provide a bit of shade and I headed to the Little Bayou House to do a bit of painting. Son was installing the new screen doors, today! Touch up painting would be required if he had to do any trimming. I had hopes to return to the pier to catch more trout after my chores were complete.
Along about four in the afternoon, I headed back to the pier to catch my friend red-handed (or red-beaked, as the case was.) The young heron had cleaned my bait bucket! Only three minnows remained in the bottom of the bucket and they were exhausted from dodging that dagger-like beak! Give that bird an inch and it will eat you out of house and home (to jumble up some idioms). That silly bird had helped itself to the contents of my bait bucket! Then, to top it all off, the bird stood begging for yet more minnows! Silly bird! Some friend you are!
Mark and I have surely been enjoying our morning fishing from the pier. We have been able to catch a good many fish but, also, have lost our share. We were beginning to think our fishing skills were lacking until Mark caught a fish in the net while throwing for bait. That explains the missed fish! He caught a nice sized blackdrum! Those bait thieves are at it again! Blackdrum are so adept at stealing a bait off the hook that it is sometimes hard to even tell you have a bite. Now, fish like we do with at least two poles each and it is doubly hard. Mark and I have a tendency to bait and throw out two lines each. We leave the reels on "free spool" and set them on the bench. We watch the lines to "see" a bite. I do this so I can still be photographing whatever critters are in the area. He does it since he is usually still trying to catch more bait or is baiting the crab pots. This fishing method works great for us and we usually catch our supper in just a short while. But not recently as our hooks would come up empty with no trace of a nibble!
These fish are notorious bait stealers. They can cut a minnow from the hook without ever wiggling the line! These fish usually feed on crustaceans and mollusks but are not above taking a "soft" meal when the opportunity arises. Eating shellfish gives them powerful jaws that can cut a minnow in half with a simple snip. When they do bite and you do set the hook, they give a great pull!
Now that we know what has been taking our bait without our knowledge, we will be extra watchful of the lines. While I prefer a good redfish or trout for supper, a blackdrum will work just as good! The only problem is those sharp spines along the back. Those things make it a bit difficult (though not impossible!) to clean the fish. Today, however, the fish caught in the net was given a reprieve. After a stern warning for it to leave our bait alone, I tossed it back into the water. It will live to see another day....if it agrees to stop its thieving ways!
