The Weirdness Continues!

   With the drought still upon us (16wks with no rain), the salinity in the Bay and Bayou has vastly changed.  With that change, there has been a huge change in the critters, as well.  All of our brackish water creatures have gone farther up into the rivers leaving the saltiness behind.  Now, fish and sea creatures from the Gulf of Mexico are converging into our area.  This makes for some interesting fishing.  The Bay and Bayou are still filled with life...just of a different ilk.

  This morning, Mark and I headed back to the pier in hopes of catching enough fish for lunch.  Today, that was easy.  As I was throwing the net, I caught some nice mullet and a few shrimp.  Seafood is always welcome as a meal!  Then, I had to turn the net over to him simply because I caught something "interesting".  (Son always says that I have a short attention span and get easily distracted.  I say things are interesting.)  Anyway, it was time to do a quick photo shoot of the latest "weird critter caught from the pier"!

  This time, I caught a squid!  Squid are normally NEVER up this far.  These are strictly...very strictly "sea" creatures. They need that saltwater to live.  Well, that just shows how salty our Bay is right now.  This is actually a White Squid or Brief Squid or Loligunclia brevis...according to my expert in the field of sea creatures.  (Yes, Andre is truly an expert so I trust his identifications.)  It really did not matter what the critter was called, it was cute.  I knew it was a squid and did not belong near the pier so that was a good enough reason for me to drop the net and pick up the camera.  I took a few pictures and let my friend go back into the water.  Several folks had to reprimand me for letting it go as it could have been used as bait but I figured I had plenty of menhaden so the wayward critter got a reprieve.  So...the weirdness continues and I shall keep photographing! 

"Bayou" Mackerel?

   Yesterday's catch from the pier was a gigantic stingray.  I am still a bit sore from battling that monster but it was about as fun as it gets for anyone who loves to fish.  The challenge of landing a huge creature is thrilling.  Thankfully, the stingray will live to see another day.  That catch had me a bit pumped about heading back to the pier this morning.  After catching more menhaden for bait, Mark and I settled in for the morning of fishing.  It was not long before we had a few bites from catfish and trout. The morning looked promising!

  Then...leave it to me...an odd thing happened.  While watching a pod of dolphins making their way toward the pier, my line started zinging out.  Setting the hook, the battle began.  This was not nearly as tough as the stingray but, boy, did that fish jump about the place.  Thinking perhaps I had a ladyfish that are known to do a lot of jumping when hooked, I kept reeling.  Once I pulled the 18in fish onto the pier, I realized that this was definitely not one that I should be catching in our brackish water.  How in the world??  This was a Spanish Mackerel!  This fish should be out in the salty Gulf...not here by the pier!

  Actually, the drought has caused the salinity of the Bay and Bayou to go haywire.  What is normally considered brackish water has become quite salty do to the lack of rain.  This saltiness allows Gulf fish to venture up into the Bay.  With the overload of menhaden around the pier, it only makes sense that the fish will follow.  Without much promise of rain in the forecast, my daily fishing may continue to bring a few surprises.  As with the stingray (which we do occasionally catch here...salty or not), the mackerel went free.  I really did not want to clean that fish with all the "pin" bones.  Call me lazy but I prefer something a bit easier to fillet.  Go free, fishy!  I wonder what tomorrow will bring?
 

The Empty Net

 Not only do I view the Bayou as my home, my peaceful place and my paradise, I see it as a source of sustenance.  More oft than naught, we can at least catch a few fish to supply our table. Shrimp, crabs and fish are staples to our diet since they are, not only free(!), but definitely fresh.  Seafood is still something that I can eat since I cut meats from the diet (I am semi-vegetarian).  We depend on the Bay and Bayou and it rarely fails to supply.  This evening, however, things were different.  No fish, no shrimp, nor crabs were to be found.  The net came up empty even though Mark tried.

  This lack of critters in the Bay, Bayou and surrounding area is due to the deluge of rain we have received over the past few days.  The torrential downpours dumped so much fresh water into the Bay that the salt-loving fish fled to other areas.   Most have moved off to deeper waters and will return later once the salinity rises back to an acceptable level.  

  The lack of fish also led to a lack of waterfowl.  Fish-eating birds follow fish...makes sense.  Early this morning, I noticed that nary a seabird was in the area.  Overnight, they, too, made haste to follow their food source.  No herons, egrets, ducks, seagulls nor pelicans dotted the area.  It seemed mighty strange to not hear the constant splashing of the pelicans dive-bombing the mullet.  

  It will take a few days of no rain and tide changes before the salinity is back to normal.  Then, the fish will return with the seabirds hot on their trail.  Perhaps then, I can have a nice redfish for supper!