After a long night of sitting up with an ailing dog, I had to escape for a few moments. Since he was resting easy, I slipped out the front door to catch the sunrise. Sometimes, a few moments can mean all the difference in the start of a new day. While there, I noticed a tiny ripple in the water near the pier. This ripple was different than those made by the little mullet running along the shore. I strained my eyes to see what was making the small waves. To my surprise, I found that it was a grasshopper floating on top of the water. With no wind to push the critter along, I pondered how it had gotten so far from shore and how it had not been snatched up by a fish.
Figuring that the grasshopper had been resting in the marsh and washed from its perch by the torrential rainstorm last night, I knew it had to be exhausted. Knowing how I am, I probably would have tried to help the garden-eating pest had there been anything handy to extend down to the water's surface. There was nothing on the pier that would suffice as a lift for the critter, however. I watched as the grasshopper kicked its feet. That motion sent it propelling across the water placing it within inches of the pier post. "Grab ahold to the post!!" Nope, the critter pushed again but in the opposite direction. The grasshopper was kicking toward shore but it was moving away from its only hope.
The push to go to shore put the grasshopper right in line of a red drum that was chasing the school of little mullet. Redfish are not choosy. A grasshopper fills the belly just as good as a tiny fish and when it is helplessly floating atop the water, it is a lot easier to catch. The poor decision making of the grasshopper caused its death. A grasshopper became breakfast, a redfish filled its belly and I eased my way back up the hillside to check on old Mr. PJ, the old dog.
.
Since the heavy rains last week, fishing has been poor on the Bayou. Fresh water has come barreling down through the rivers and creeks to make our normally salty or brackish water unusually fresh. This has pushed our salt-loving fish out to deeper waters and left us with things like bass, shellcrackers and perch. While those will do in a pinch, I am spoiled by the flavor of saltwater fish. Freshwater fish just do not taste right.
Today, all that changed and our fish came back. After a few tide changes, we are back in business! The fish are biting and the Bay is filled with little mullet to use as bait. Early this afternoon, my friend, Darlene, came to visit and, as usual, we wound up on the pier. While she piddled around catching small croakers, I decided to go after the big fish. A six inch long mullet was chosen as a bait and I tossed the line out far from the pier. First bite and I had a 17 inch long speckled trout. Nice! This was going to be a good day! I baited the hook with another six inch long mullet and tossed the line again. It wasn't long before the line started zipping out. I set the hook and immediately could tell that this was a huge fish. "Here", I told Darlene, "Catch this fish." She argued a bit but I shoved the pole at her. "Yeah, right! You want me to reel in your catfish." she said before even taking the pole. At that point the line started singing as it was being pulled out. The drag on the reel was not even slowing down this fish. "Hold the pole up!" I told her. "Get the fish on the top of the water!" By experience, I knew that if she let that fish stay deep, she would never be able to land it.
It was a good thirty minute battle between my friend and the huge fish. I knew she had a gigantic red drum but I did not know just how big it really was. Just as I thought she was going to give out and grow too tired to reel any longer, the fish came to the top. "Its a redfish!!!" she yelled as her strength was renewed. "Yup." I agreed while I was photographing her battle. Then came time to land the fish. Scooping that thing in the net was a problem and it was a greater ordeal to get him up on the pier but we did. Now to measure.....44 inches!!!!! That was one big bull red! I heard a thump and looked over to see Darlene flat on her back! Side by side, Darlene and the fish laid on the pier. Both were exhausted! She had her fish and the big grin on her face proved that she had won the battle.
When fishing on the Bayou, one is likely to catch a red drum or as locals call them "redfish". These fish seem to like the brackish water that breeds shrimp and other small crustaceans. They also feed on the small mullet, menhaden and bull minnows that school in the shallows. We catch a lot of redfish when fishing from the pier. Most are of the four to five pound range but, occasionally, we hook into one of the large bull reds. These massive fish are usually returned to the water but there is nothing better to eat than a smaller red. Redfish are probably my favorite fish to eat.
"Red" is not quite a good descriptive term for the fish as they are more golden than red. Their obvious "trademark" is a black dot on the tail. Usually, there is just one dot but often there are two, three or more. Last year, we caught a redfish that actually had close to 35 spots on each side but that seems to have been a fluke. Just recently, it was mentioned on one of my photographs that the black spot found on the tail has a purpose. Indeed it does. The large black dot is believed to be a built in bit of protection for the fish. A predator fish that is wishing to dine upon the redfish is confused by what it thinks is the fish's eye (the black dot) and attacks the tail instead of the head. The redfish is more likely to be able to escape if being attacked from behind. That said, can you imagine how confused any predator may have been if trying to figure out the spotted redfish? Which was the head and which was the tail? There were too many "eyes"!
I should have been doing chores about the Little Bayou House. I should have been watering the plants in the greenhouse. I should have been putting the final touches on the Christmas decorations. I should have been doing a lot of things....instead, I went fishing. It was a gorgeous, sunshiny day and the weather forecasters are calling for storms for the next three days so it was only natural for me to head to the pier before the rains set in for the duration. I needed to get in that last bit of fishing. I figure the rainy days can be spent doing all the inside chores that need doing. There was no use in letting a pretty day go to waste. Make hay will the sun shines and all that good stuff. In other words, I grabbed ahold of any reason just to get to the pier. It seemed to me that it was my turn to catch a big fish.
I did catch a nice redfish which will make supper tomorrow night. I am sure that I probably could have caught more but it seemed selfish to take more than needed. This one twenty-eight inch fish would more than suffice as a meal..or two. The only problem was that with Hubby out of town, I had to fillet that fish. He usually fillets the larger fish but, here again, I guess it was just my turn. For anyone who has never cleaned a large redfish, it is no easy task. Those scales are rather tough and slicing through them requires a super sharp filleting knife. It did not help matters much that I had just smashed my finger trying to repair the washing machine! The wounded finger did not want to cooperate making the job doubly difficult.
Once I removed the nice slabs of meat, curiosity got the best of me. It seemed that the stomach of this fish was unusually "packed". Since I had to retrieve my hook (I had cut the line instead of digging around hunting for my hook.), I slit open the stomach. That redfish was a bit of a glutton! Inside I found, three menhaden, one goby and one small catfish! (I cannot believe the fish ate a horned catfish!) But that was not all. As I wiggled out my hook, I found another smaller hook. This fish had already been caught once and had gotten free only to snatch my bait. Here, he was not so lucky. I caught him! I picked out the other hook only to find that it was not the line that was broken but the hook itself. The eye of the hook was missing! A lot of folks make fun of me with my large hooks but I guess this just proves it pays to think big if you want to catch huge fish!
Finding the second hook inside the redfish made me think of an old that old saying "Even a fish would stay out of trouble if it would learn to keep its mouth shut!" This one just did not learn its lesson well the first time.
It must be a year for big reds. The red drum fish that have been caught near the Bayou are huge! While I normally do not keep these gigantic monsters, if a visitor catches one and wishes to keep the meat, the fish is cleaned. Or, if need be, we will clean the fish to provide a few meals for folks. Personally, I do not care to cook these large fish. The meat is coarse and strong. I prefer those reds that are around five pounds and not thirty-five or larger! That said, Mark did clean another just yesterday. A friend (Darlene) and I were on the pier when my sweet sister-in-law (Cynthia) meandered down the board path. Being the dutiful hostess, I baited a hook with a live menhaden, tossed out the line and handed her the rod. "Here...catch a fish." Yup...she did.
After just a few minutes of her holding the rod and not paying one bit of attention, I noticed a large fish roll about fifty feet from the pier. "Uhh...one of you has a big fish on your line." I told my visitors. "Not me." said Darlene as she dangled her bait in front of me. Cynthia, on the other hand, said "Maybe? I am not sure." Again, the large fish swirled in the water. Then, Cynthia realized that the fish indeed was pulling her line. She started to wind the reel..."Umm...you might want to set that hook." I reminded her.
To make a long story short, the fish was on her line and she did try her best to reel it in to the pier. Not being used to fishing, she found the task too difficult so I had to relieve her occasionally. We played "Swap the pole" for a few times before the massive fish tired and came close enough for Darlene to scoop it in the net. That, in itself, was a difficult task., The scoop net was rather smallish for a fish of this size. After a few attempts, she literally shoved the fish into the net and it took the two of us to haul it onto the pier. Geez! With the tide being low, that scooping was hard!
Once the fish was unhooked, measured (at 31 inches!) and photographed, the discussion changed to whether she wanted to eat her catch or let it go free. She opted to save the meat for a family meal when all of her kids were home over the holidays. Good deal! This was the largest fish she has ever caught so it was a proud moment for her. A great catch and a good team effort! Fun for all....
One never can tell just what lurks beneath the murky waters of the Bayou and the surrounding Bay area. Our waters are not the pristine, green/blue seawater that can be found in the ocean. By the time the water sloshes around in the Gulf of Mexico, spills through the Barrier Islands, channels up the Bay and finally sludges into the Bayou, it is pretty dark. The bottom of the Bay is mud. Pure mud that is soft and gooey and swirls around with the tide. All of this mucks up any possible underwater view. That said, one wonders what huge monsters dwell in the unseen world of the Bay and Bayou.
Mark caught one of those "monsters" today. Not that this is any "terrifying, horrible sea monster" but it does give one the idea of just how large of fish swim unnoticed under the water's surface. His catch was a large red drum fish. The redfish was a good 41 inches in length! That is one hefty fish! Plus, this was not his only bite from such fish. He had hooked and battled another equally as large monster of a fish before hooking this one. The first broke his line just as he was trying to haul it into the boat. Wow! What an exciting morning! These two, along with a nice mess of trout, made for a happy fisherman!
The large redfish was cleaned and the meat weighed. The one redfish yielded seven pounds of pure meat! A lot of good folks will share in this bounty! Happy fishin', y'all!
It's a speck! Grab the scoop net! Yep, both Mark and I were getting pretty excited this morning when he hooked this fish. By the way it was tugging on his line, we could tell it was a hefty fish. He played the thing out and when it finally was near enough for us to see it, we both thought that he had hooked the first big Speckled Trout of the season. I grabbed the scoop net and fell to my knees on the pier. There was no way that I could reach the fish with the short handled net unless I got closer. The tide was not too high so the water was a far reach from the top of the pier. I did not mind, though, because "It's a speck!" Well, once scooped, we realized that this was no speck....this was a Redfish! Ok, so we would dine upon Redfish and not trout. That was just fine and dandy by me!
What caused the confusion was that this Redfish had multiple spots and in the early morning light (or lack thereof) the water was dark. We saw spots and thought "Speck". Normally, one spot graces the tail of such a fish....sometimes two...maybe three but never as many as what was on this fish! Almost never anyway. The record number of spots ever recorded on a Redfish was 606 on a fish caught back in 2007. Mark's fish had 38 spots on one side and 34 on the other. I guess you could call it a "Speckled Red Drum!
Redfish are actually Red Drums. They also go by the names of Spottail, Red Bass and Channel Bass depending on who is telling a fish tale and the region where the fish is caught. We have always just called them Redfish. The fish is good eating, plentiful and fun to catch so what more can you ask?
Mark has a knack for finding fish out in the Bay even when no one else does. He will always have a nice catch when he comes home. Right now, however, the fish are plentiful. Menhaden and shrimp have moved into the area so fish follow. It makes for some fun times when you are out on the water and makes for good eating for us back home. The other evening, he stayed late. While he was much later than normal, I knew he was ok and just catching fish. I was right.
Fishing with menhaden is a bit different than fishing with lures. The line is rigged with nothing but a hook, sinker and swivel. That is all that is needed. The minnow is hooked and will wiggle about under the water. Fish will snatch the easy target, in turn, making themselves the easy target. Mark told me that just before dark, he saw his line starting to move out a bit. Thinking he had a trout, he picked up the pole and was ready. When he jerked back, the large swell in the water told him that this was a red drum and not a trout. Alrighty then! Mark played the thing until after dark. Finally, the redfish was tuckered out so Mark just had to pull him toward the boat. Grabbing the scoop net was a futile effort. Mark managed to scoop the fish but it was so large that the handle on the net broke! Instead of losing his fish after this battle, Mark just reached in and grabbed the fish!
The three foot long fish was cleaned and cut into pieces. We called our niece, Eva, and asked if she wanted some red fish. "Sure!" So the fish went to her house. Mark had the fun of catching the huge fish and Eva received five pounds of fresh fish! It is a good feeling to share with those you love and we adore this girl and her little family!
*For any who are interested, Ms. Ez, the old Bayou Dog, made it through the night and seems some brighter today. She is still weak and has a slight bit of bleeding from even the smallest of wounds. We are still not sure just what caused her malady but have been investigating all ends. Neighbors have been asked about their usage of poisons such as rat poison, sprays and even engine fluids. All can cause internal bleeding and discombobulated blood levels. Both from which Ms. Ez is suffering. We do not wish to lay blame on anyone even if they have used any of the poisons but would like to know what we are battling. She is still one sick pup and will be for a while. Folks, do be careful with any toxic substances. While we (usually) are smart enough to avoid partaking of the substances, our furry friends are not. To them, if something smells yummy, it must taste yummy! And if it tastes yummy, then surely it is good for the tummy. Not always...not always. Sometimes it is deadly.
Mark and I are at the stage in our lives that we would rather sit at home and enjoy each other's company than deal with the hubbub of going out on the town. "You two need to go out and have fun.", "Why don't you go out to the casinos?" and "You need a 'Date Night'." were some of the comments that we have heard in the past from well-meaning friends and family. "Nah, we're good." was our standard reply which never once seemed to satisfy any of these insistent folks. So...alright, already! Date Night was planned...or not planned as the case may be. We never sink much thought into plans and, more oft than not, jump headlong into things. Tonight was just such a jump.
"Hey, wanna take a walk to the pier?" "Sure!" "We can check the crab pots." "Let me grab my moccasins and the camera!" "Ok, com'on, Ez." Yep, that was our best-laid plans! So, our "Date Night" consisted of a hike to the pier to pull up muddy crab traps filled with smelly, dead fish! Wow! What more could a girl ask?
Once there, Mark caught a few baits so I just had to try fishing. No sooner had the bait hit the water than a big swell rumpled the water! My line took off and I pulled back! Wow! I knew I had a good one when I saw it break the top of the water. "Redfish!", I yelled to Mark, who, by this time, was at the other end of the pier. He came scurrying down the pier just in time to grab the scoop net and snag my fish! Ahh! What a beauty this thing was!!! Later we weighed the fish and it was right at four pounds. That, my friends will be supper tomorrow! A few shrimp were caught to add with the fish. There is nothing better than a redfish stuffed with shrimp and crabmeat! "Hey, Mark. Do you want to go to supper tomorrow night?" "Sure! How does seafood sound?" "Great!"
Well, now! Two Date Nights in a row and we will never even have to leave the Bayou! Sounds delightful to me!
