Padre Island National Seashore 2012, Seaweed

You cast out and the line would quickly enmesh itself in seaweed. Then the longshore drift would sweep your mess down current and you would began the arduous chore of dragging in a mass of weed and kelp like material. Rebaiting and recasting, your line would stay clear for about a minute and then you would soon began anew the dragging process.
Arriving at the PINS Visitor Center we learned that he beach driving was poor, (not really as the rain had packed the sand), and that there was lots and lots of seaweed. We decided to try driving anyway and although the tide was still high we were able to follow tracks alongside the shore and it wasn't really that bad. There were lots of tree trunks and sea weed but we didn't have to worry about getting stuck!

After driving a few miles south we stopped at a break between cars and started to fish, or at least tried to fish. I soon gave up in disgust and ate my lunch while Roy kept casting and cleaning. I watched in amazement as he caught two whiting and then a pompano! As pompano is my favorite fish I finished lunch and waded back out into the surf.
I watched Roy cast out and determined he was throwing into the second cut and switching poles I actually missed a bite. Rebaitng, my line started to become entangled in seaweed when the fish struck and then took off on a drag burning run. I knew it was a nice fish and here I was using a tiny circle hook.

Working the fish in I had to stop and grab handfuls of weeds, tearing them off my line. Then I would tighten my line and hope the fish was still there. I had forty pound power braid and a twenty pound mono leader so I felt pretty good about the line holding, as long as it wasn't a shark.
Actually gaining ground I saw the color of the fish and realized it was a really large legal black drum. Renita came down to watch and eventually I was able to drag the fish onto the shore. Measuring twenty five inches it was the largest slot sized black drum I have ever caught, (black drum must be between 14 and 28 inches to keep), I held the fish up for an image and then put it on ice. Finally a fish!

We didn't catch much else, another whiting was added to the cooler, and too soon it was time to leave. The drive back had the inevitable wait at the ferry, (Spring break is here and the place is packed), but it wasn't too long and the new ferry's really helped move all the cars across. Home and cleaning fish and then dinner at Los Comales but that's another story. This day was all about pompano and seaweed and a big black drum! Clear skies.

A Roller Coast Ride That Lasted for Eight Hours, Deep Sea Fishing

It wasn't just the swells, it was the chop on top of them that made the boat toss and turn so much. Before long the deck hands made the way to the front deck and helped an elderly couple who had gotten sick and couldn't move from their seats. Next to us a younger man suddenly bolted to the railing and it wasn't pleasant. The cabin was quickly filling with folks who wished the ride was over instead of just beginning.
The shows were all over and so now it was time to relax, which meant fishing. Pam and Roy were visiting us from Iowa and Roy said he had regretted not going deep sea fishing last year so we booked on the Kingfisher for an eight hour trip. Arriving early we paid and signed in, before loading aboard. Anticipation was high as two fellow fisherman told us they had caught their limits the day before and that someone had caught a fifty eight pound grouper.Personally I couldn't care what kind of fish I caught, I just hoped to catch some fish and the kingfish were biting.

Arriving at the spot we saw another charter boat, the Scat Cat, with its deck lined with fisherman. No time to sight see and we took our places along the railing and let out ninety feet of line. Before long my pole tugged but the fish didn't get hooked. Roy was luckier and he started to fight a nice kingfish. Running to the boat it dove with a powerful run and the hook pulled out.
Rebaiting a thawed Spanish sardine, Roy had no sooner let out his line when another hit and he battled the fish to the side of the boat where the deck hand reached down and gaffed the fish. The deck hand sliced Roy's initials into the fish's skin and then hurried to gaff another fish.

I waited patiently but no fish took my offering and so I simply passed the time waiting and watching other fish hoisted aboard. Returning to the same spot we started another drift but only two fish were caught and so the captain moved us to a new location. There I hooked a fish but it pulled free and then I had one cut my line with its razor sharp teeth.
Lots of people had limited and here I hadn't caught a fish yet. Meanwhile a young man hooked his second and let yell with a yeehaw and you know I have never liked young people. Another drift with no fish in the cooler.
Starting our last drift I had resigned myself to no fish and also to the fact that I hadn't gotten the Mal de Mer. I had barely let out when a fish took my sardine and ran as kingfish do. The initial burst of speed is about forty miles an hour as they thrust their powerful and streamlined shape with heir broad crescent shaped tail.

Finally stopping the run, I reeled the fish to the boat and after a sudden dive I was able to raise it to the surface where the mate performed his coup de gras. I had a fish aboard! In the time it takes to write this I put out another bait and this one too was quickly taken by another greedy kingfish. In less then ten minutes I had gone from no fish to a limit and it was good to relax a bit as the school ran to the boat in a feeding frenzy.
The fish were so close that you could actually see them take the bait and I was snapping some images when the captain yelled shark! I had forgotten about the shark pole at the back and another fisherman grabbed the pole as an eight foot shark hooked itself.

Moving to the stern, the shark made powerful dives and runs and it took about fifteen minutes before three men gaffed the fish. Watching a large animal die is never pleasant but it was a legal shark, and caught in US waters so I simply stood there and thought of all the shark meat.
Time was up and the captain announced,"Reel in". The ship turned west and headed back. The ride was with the swells and it was so much easier  though the people in the cabin didn't seem to brighten up any. It was quite a change by the time we got to the dock as they were all up and almost smiling and they had all survived the roller coaster.

I never did get sick and I never have. Perhaps I am just lucky but it may be also due to the fact that I had taken a ginger root pill before we left. I know that it worked for the people on the tv show, "Myth busters". Taking the obligatory images we watched the fish cleaners, an all women crew, make short work of turning the fish into fillets.
It had been a good day and Roy was able to take the deep sea fishing trip off his bucket list. I still have one more trip to make as I want to take the overnight trip where the boats fish for tuna. That however is for next year's winter visit and so we headed back to the Blue Lagoon Rv Park with a cooler full of iced fillets,(Watersedge has been bought and undergone a name change and manager change). Clear skies.

Gulf Coast Gem and Mineral Society's 50th Show

The Gulf Coast Gem and Mineral Society formed in 1953, two years after I was born, and here we were sharing a booth with one of the charter members. We felt honored, to say the least. As the doors opened the crown quickly swelled and the first day of the show was on!
The day before the show Roy and I had volunteered to help move the display cases from storage and as we got there was Dick. He is eighty seven years young and there he was helping to push a cart laden with cases onto the trailer. Arriving at the Robstown Fairgrounds we were able to back in and the setup went as easy as you can expect, with fifty years of practice( I know the numbers don't add up but the society didn't have its first show until 1962).

We helped Dick unload his cases for his booth and I scattered Sweetwater moss agates on our two tables before setting up our own display. This year our theme was about our prospecting in Wyoming and we had aventurine, snowflake jade, and lepidolite, all rocks that we had found and then sawed polished and cut. All were rocks we have written about in this blog.
The next day we got up early and headed to the show. Renita and I were kind of old hands at the setup, but it still took us about an hour to get the tables ready. We had added several new displays including one in which people pick out a stone and then we make it into a custom  ring It was our first show in which we were using two tables and it was the most expensive we have ever paid for a place.

Quickly the show packed as the club had a near record crowd. Strong winds had made outdoor activities impossible and the club had really made a push in advertising and promotions. The day went fast as we were packed with people admiring our art and we barely had time to walk around and purchase some much needed equipment, rocks, and tools.

When the day ended we had achieved a best day ever and the show was a success! This is in spite of all the money we had spent ourselves and the cost of the tables. All the other vendors we talked to were all pleased with the days crowd and the willingness to spend money.
Too soon the alarm went off, ok we don;t really use an alarm as I an an early riser, and we headed for the second day of the show. Being as it was a Sunday it started off slow, and we had time to visit with other club members and meet some of the Rolling Rocks, rock club members form other cities in Texas. We were invited to show at the Houston show, and while we can't attend it this year it sure is an interesting possibility.

Our sales were slower than the first day but we did have a custom order to wrap a piece of brindled turquoise. While we didn't sell any of our new bracelets we did have lots of people who admired its beauty and weight. Made from some pink jade in graphic granite, its one rock we found near Jeffery City, Wyoming.
It contains so much silver we can't afford to make more then one at a time so its more of a custom order piece in which we will make one special from each persons wrist measurements.
The day ended and we were tired as we loaded our displays and helped to tear down the clubs cases and supplies. It was the best show ever for us and got us thinking about next year, as we were told we were going to be offered a contract for sellers,(we had gotten in this year on Dicks contract as we helped him and his daughter in law Teresa with their breaks and sales. Time to take a break from rock and go fishing! Clear skies.

2012 Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, A Crazy Day of Dodging Wildlife!

The turkey struck the sliding door with its beak, and then strutted before attacking its image again. It even gobbled its frustraion that its reflexion wouldn't retreat from the fight. Again and again we watched it while it refused to concede defeat, it is spring time after all!
So Pam and Roy arrived for their yearly visit, and they suprised us by showing up in their new to them motor home. It has been a few busy days as they fixed some systems but it is so nice to see how happy they are with their rv!
We decided to take a break, us from rock and them from repairs, and we headed out for a picnic lunch at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Of course we hoped to see some whoopers, a few alligators, maybe a new life bird, and basically just a fun day viewing wildlife. We got more then we asked for!

Arriving, we checked the bird list and headed for Jones Lake. Now it has been dry here and so we didn't expect anything biut there was a small pond of water and some very large alligators. No birds, other then circling turkey vultures, but oh my were those gators big!
The next stop was the observation tower and we were surprised to see that the ANWR had built a new tower that is handicapped accessable and has even added another elevated trail. It was so nice to be passed by a gentleman in a wheelchair who plainly was happy to be able to climb the tower and see the whoopers.

Besides the whoopers, the bay was filled with twenty one oyster boats, and circling and harvesting oysters for the Fulton Oyster festival starting tonight. Suprisingly there weren't any shore bids along the trail but at least there was some water where it had been bone dry.
We drove the eleven mile road and soon Renita yelled at me to stop and then back up. What I had mistakenly identified as a mockingbird was in fact a loggerhead shrike and it posed nicely before flying away and displaying its narrow white wing bands,(loggerhead shrikes are also known as butcher birds as they catch and impale grasshoppers on barb wire femces and tree thorns, saving them for a later meal).

The next stop was at the Bay View area and there we were greeted by swarms of mosquitos. We basically ran to the beach and then back to the car and Renita only stopped once so I could image the bugs on her back side.

One of our favorite stops is the Heron Flats Trail and there an alligator was waiting for us to leave the safety of our car. I grabbed my camera and headed out to get a good image as it watched me and then walked to the water, before swimming into the reeds. A much larger gator was sunning itself next to the trail, hmmm maybe we should be more careful when we walk!
Our last stop of the day was in front of the Visitor Center and there we watched the turkey strut its stuff. Renita got tired of the display and went to the waters edge where she found three more alligators enjoying the spring like day.
Heading home we all felt tired but refreshed from the day at the wildlife refuge. It was a good day when Teddy Roosevelt decided that we needed to save such places for future generations. Let us hope the politicians will speak for the birds and trees and gators, and yes even the mosquiitos. Let us hope there continues to be a place for them all! Clear skies.

Obsessed With Stone and Wire

We have been so obsessed with stone and wire and that I haven't written anything for a while. Each day we get up and wrap finished cabochons, often times as pendents but sometimes as bracelets or necklaces. Each piece is different as the stone we are working is superb and unique and so today I am not going to write much more just share our new treasures.

Above, is a superb amethyst and silver bracelet I made Renita for Valentines Day. The stone is from a Colorado silver mine, long closed, and it shows bands of amethyst, chalcedony, and a rare band of pink rhodonite. It contains over an ounce of silver and is the heaviest piece we have ever made.

Sometimes you cut and grind a stone and magic appears before your eyes. In this case the two so looked like eyes that I had to wrap them into a single necklace. What could be more fitting for two eyes that came from the same Montana Moss Agate!

Renita works and grinds her stones, in some ways better then mine and then she wraps it in her own unique and beautiful style. She often finds rock while we are rock picking, in this case King Cobra Jasper, that I dismiss as boring and she says nothing until I admit I was wrong again. I don't mind being wrong and I always buy any rock she picks.
So the days have flown, as they do when you are retired from your past life and now embarked on a grand adventure. Our days happen to involve rock and wire and there are worse obsessions one could have. Clear skies

Busy, Busy, Busy

Jed Clampet once said that a man who is too busy to go fishing is too busy. He didn't say anything about the fish actually cooperating by biting. So I have gone fishing but no catching has taken place. Luckily there has been plenty of other things to keep us busy and we have been really busy since our last post. Busy teaching wire wrapping classes, making a local trip to buy rock, setting up and selling at an Art and Craft Show, and enjoying the company of friends at Watersedge.
Part of the joy of any learned skill is passing that skill on to others and so we decided to hold classes on wire wrapping. We set up a class where we are and also at another rv park. Both classes had people who signed up for them and so we have taught classes at Lagoons and Watersedge.

They are basically "Make and Take" classes in which we provided all the materials and some of the tools that allow the participants to make a wire wrapped cabochon pendant. The stones are ones we sawed and ground and the wire is copper and brass from our own supplies. We charge thirty bucks for the class and we don't make a lot from them but we also do sell our stones and show our work, so we do make money from the classes. So it works out good for students and teachers.
Yesterday was a day of madness in which we taught a class in the morning and set up and sold at our rv park's Art and Craft show. Our work was well received and we had a really good day as people gave us the best compliment of all, they bought our pendants and stones.
We also made a trip to Beesvilee and bought rock from a rock shop that has gone out of business. There we  found some pietersite, quite a bit of dinosaur bone, and even some really beautiful dinosaur coprolite,(fossil dinosaur poop). Its about the most exquisite poop we have ever seen and even has visible and large fragments of plant material, chewed of course! I can't wait till we can work some of it as its going to make great cabochons and jewelry,(It doesn't smell and tastes like rock)!
Tomorrow we have our biggest show at Lagoons Arts and Craft Fair. There are going to be over fifty dealers and  we our now armed with a credit card account so people can pay with plastic! WE were told by other dealers that it really makes a difference when the prices of your stuff is over thirty dollars and our prices range from thirty five to over three hundred per piece, so we shall see. Regardless we have had a good month and have lots of coprolite! Clear skies.

Fishing Mud Island, Getting My Butt Kicked!

I took a step and felt the mud ooze around my wading boot as it sank deep. Moving my other foot I felt it also sink and I wondered if I would be able to get them out before I lost my balance and fell over into the thigh high water. Of course I didn't have my life jacket on and as usual I was wondering where there was a firm path of shell and sand. Dave and Ken seemed to wade through the area with ease and Ron had wisely stayed behind fishing a shell ridge. Was I that out of shape or was it simply knowing where the  firmer bottom lay?
It didn't really matter as I had already decided that today was one of those dues days,( A dues day is when you catch or find nothing but gain a little bit of experience which theoretically leads to a payoff down the road).
The day had started and I had no inkling I would be fishing Mud Island. I have been coming here for five years and it is the first time I have ever had the chance to fish the bay side of San Jose Island. Excited but knowing that it was my first time there I wondered if I would catch anything. We were after red fish and the others all had strike indicator bobbers on their lines while I was fishing a Carolina rig, a Lindy rig to my walleye fishing friends.

I waded and cast and stopped for a bit, waiting to see if I got a pickup. I saw Ken catch a sting ray and then Dave hooked one himself, It was a really large ray and he had to break off his line to get rid of it. After about a dozen steps I felt a pick up and waited for the circle hook to work its magic and it did! The fish made a small run and then came in too easy, it was a rat red. Now the people here call under size red fish rat reds and consider anything to small to keep and eat a waste of time, but I felt good to catch a red fish, regardless of its size. See I learned long ago, in a walleye tournament in Montana, that what ever you catch is what you catch and you should always be proud of your fish.
A little later I saw Dave set the hook and land a nice keeper red and he measured it before putting it on his stinger. It was as it should be, the captain of the boat should always catch fish and even when others out fish the captain its still about his/her skill and knowledge. The captain also gets the blame, but I have been there too many times myself and so it doesn't really matter, its all about time spent on the water, and dues days.
I never did catch another fish although I did have two pickups. We went to several other spots and Dave did catch another keeper, this time a nice twenty seven inch red. I was happy anyway, I had fished new water, got to watch experts wade fish for reds, and most importantly I hadn't fell over in the mud! Clear skies.