Catching Mullet

  During this time of year, it is a common thing to see boats dotting the bay with someone in the front throwing a net.  Mullet school as they are heavy with roe and are heading off shore to spawn.  Each female can lay one to seven million round eggs on the sandy bottom.  Many of the eggs are eaten by other fish but after about thirty-six hours the rest hatch.  The little ones are also fair game for larger fish and even birds.  Many do not make it past their first week of life but those that do, head back to the shallows of the bays and bayous.  There they feed and grow to produce another generation.

  The mullet run occurs in late October and goes on through November. This is the time that local fisherman can catch a literal boatload of the fish.  While a lot of uppity folks claim they would never eat a mullet the fish has pulled a lot of folks through hard times.  Down here in the Deep South, we are grateful for what we have and never pretend we are too highfalutin to eat a mullet.  We know how to clean and fry a mullet so that they are actually delicious!  Its a Southern thing, folks, get over it.

  Mark has been catching his share of the fish, lately.  Since we know that mullet are best eaten the same day they are caught, very few will make it to the freezer.  Most of the fish he catches are cleaned and given to a bunch of our elderly friends.  They appreciate the time and effort that Mark takes to provide them with fresh fish.  Most of them have memories of doing just what he does.  

  The net-throwing takes a bit of skill in itself but when throwing from a boat, you had better have good balance, as well. A small skiff like we use to go "mulleting" (I am not referring to a hairstyle here but a way of catching fish) can shift out from under you in a heartbeat!  Let that boat get full of flippity-floppity fish and it gets a bit slippery so wearing a good pair of non-slip shoes is also a requirement!  Mark has this task down pat and comes home with buckets full of the fish.  An hour later, the fish are cleaned, fried and eaten or delivered to our friends!  Life on the Bayou is good.

Its Doesn't Work That Way

  Fishing is a way of life when you live on a bayou.  Seafood is a staple in our diets and catching it fresh is a necessity.  Even though, we depend on the waters to supply a good portion of our daily meals, our fishing gear is pretty basic.  A good fisherman does not need fancy gear.  A lot of folks may ridicule how we live and how we fish but we get the job done and do it well.   Our fishing is for fun and food not to put a big show for others.  So, the basic gear is usually a cast net to catch bait, a sturdy rod and reel and a couple of packs of "accessories" such as hooks, sinkers and swivels.  Oh, and a scoop net for when you catch a big fish and a good, sharp fillet knife.  That is about it.  There is not even the need for an expensive boat.  The pier works fine.  Even with the simple gear, we catch our fair share of fish and even have plenty to share with our elderly friends.  

  That said, sometimes that gear can present problems.  Just yesterday, I had to use my fishing pole in a way in which it was never intended. The day started out like any other.  I threw the cast net five times from the end of the pier.  Here the water is deeper and larger mullet run near the pier.  Those mullet were to be bait and shared with my friendly heron(s)....another story for another day.  Still, I needed a few smaller mullet just in case the fish were not biting the six inch long ones.  So, I walked up the pier to the "cut".  This is a place where the marsh is cleared into a tide pool of sorts.  The otter runs were carved to the main Bayou which feeds the area with fresh water and plenty of little fish.  The first throw went well but the second was when things went awry.  I threw the net as usual but as soon as it left my hands, I knew something was terrible wrong.  It did not "feel" right.  It was then that I realized that the rope draw line on the net was slack.  Hmmm?  I pulled the rope thinking the net would follow.  Nope, my perfect circle of netting stayed in the shallow water.  All that came was the rope handline.  The large metal swivel that connects the rope to the bag strings had broken leaving the net far out in the water.  Well, now!  That would never work!  Ponder, ponder.

  It took just one cast of the reel to snag the net.  Gently, ever so gently, I pulled the netting toward me.  I did not want to risk ripping the fine webbing.  Once, I got the net in hand, it was an easy task to haul it on the pier.  I even had 10 little mullet still caught in the net!  Now comes the chore of mending the cast net.  I am glad Pop taught me many things about living on the water, about how to live simply yet happily and about how to use a bit of ingenuity when needed.

It Is Time

There comes a time when all things must go to their proper homes.  Yep, I do believe that time has come.  Since both my oldest son and my daughter have met their soulmates, married and moved into their own homes, it is high time that all of their belongings move with them.  (My daughter-in-law and my son-in-law will probably cringe at the thought!)  I have come to the conclusion that the Little Bayou House would not be near so cluttered if it were not that I am storing stuff that is not mine.  It is time...it is high time...that this stuff moves.  Yes, a lot of it was being tossed when they left here and I admit that I salvaged it.  I pulled things that I thought they would like to have somewhere down the line.  These items had some special meaning to them when they were younger and it might have the same special meaning as they age.  Even if it is only for a bit of nostalgia, things can be revisited at some point in life and have a whole new value.  For instance, a few (very few) things that I had as a youngster have over the years found their way back into my possession. The memories that were held by these items are priceless.  These things are from a time past....a time that will never be again.  The cobwebs in the corners of my brain get shuffled about a bit when I touch some long-lost bit of my childhood.  I hope the things that I saved serve a hefty bit of nostalgia to my kids when I bestow the gifts of things past to them.

  There are two things that my son might actually enjoy seeing once again. One is a tiny rod and reel that was his very first.  No, this is not one of the toy type reels that kids use today.  This is an actual rod and reel....small but real.  We bought this for him when he was a little over three years old.  He used to go fishing a lot with my dad and used a hand line.  He caught so many fish using that piece of string that we figured it was time to upgrade to a real pole.  He loved it and learned to use it quickly.  With this tiny rod and reel, the kid caught some pretty huge fish!  

  The other item is a small net.  An elderly gentleman that was Pop's good friend used to talk with my son when he was just a tyke.  One day, he told my son to stand tall and let him get a measurement.  We had no idea what he was up to with this bit if information but fully trusted the old man.  Mr. Rosetti had been a fisherman for all of his life and he wanted to do something to help instill the love of fishing in our little boy.  A few days later, he came back to Pop's house and was carrying a brown paper bag.  He was grinning from ear to ear when he handed the bag to my little boy.  Inside was a homemade brail net.  It was perfect! He informed us that to be a good one, a net should be just a bit taller than the person throwing it.  This is why he measured our son. He wanted to make a net that was just his size. The net is one of the old style cotton nets and not like the new monofilament types of today.  My son learned to throw the net and soon could catch bait or shrimp with the best fishermen.  His net was one of his favorite gifts he ever received.  How could I toss this thing to the wayside when he outgrew it.  The thing has lasted all of these many years.  Many little kids that have visited the Bayou over the years have learned to throw a net using this very one.   I am in hopes that my son will now teach his little ones the fine art of brail net casting.

   I am also in hopes that the net and the rod and reel will bring back many fond memories.  That will make all of those years that I stored the thing well worth the trouble.  Most likely, most of the things I saved really should be tossed but that will have to be up to my kids...not me.  I just do not have the heart to do it.  Not after some thirty years of storing the things?....not at all.

Spider Webs and Cast Nets!

~"The difference between utility and utility plus beauty is the difference between telephone wires and the spider web."~Edwin Way Teale

You know..Edwin Way Teale said it all when he said this. I was out and about early this morning trying to get another photograph of the sunrise. It did not happen..no sunrise this morning. Oh, I imagine it rose..I just could not see it for the fog that engulfed the Bayou. There was a complete "white out"! I could only see maybe twenty-five feet in front of my face! I was just thankful that I did not need to drive anywhere in this pea-soup! But despite the blurriness of the world around me, I could see beauty! There are spiders that make webs in the marsh every night. This morning those webs were dripping with jewels of fog droplets. I was mesmerized by the strength of the webs and by the intricate lacework that the spider had spun. Some were so off-kilter in their design that I made the assumption that some intruder had torn the web at some point. The spider had obviously made hasty repairs and had not bothered to match up the lines of the web. Hopefully, the poor trapper still caught supper and did not go hungry. Life must be hard for a marsh spider..what with high tides, birds and marsh critters constantly smashing their traps to smithereens. I can only think that a lot of patience is tested each night as the webs are rewoven.

Later when the sun did make an appearance, I was thrilled to see the number of Pelicans in the Bay! While on the pier earlier, I could hear the constant splashing of some diving bird but was not sure if it was Pelicans. I counted eighteen beautiful fishermen diving for Mullet this afternoon.

Speaking of Mullet, for some reason the Bay is full of these fish. It is a little "out of season" for them but I am not complaining! I have been going down in the late afternoons and casting the net to catch a mess. The first two days yielded enough for me to give my oldest brother some and then the third day, I decided enough was enough! I needed a mess of fresh fish! I caught six nice Mullet and then threw the net over a hefty sized Sheephead. I cleaned the Mullet for supper but the Sheephead managed to gain a reprieve and was let loose! The Sheephead is a spiny fish and is quite difficult to fillet so after its photo ops..it was slipped back into the water. Perhaps another day it will become a meal..but for today, it attained freedom.

Spider webs and cast nets..sort of alike when you think about it!