Sunday, March 25, 2012

Flounder, Fire, and More of Matagorda Island

I was frustrated at watching my neighbors catch another flounder. They had been busy netting really nice fish and to add insult to injury, had caught a flounder right where I had been fishing. I slid the bobber stop up my line, making the bait drop deeper, and cast again into the surf's first cut.
Bait fish were everywhere and had been all morning. I had watched a fisherman on shore cast net his bait and then catch a nice red fish and of course a flounder. Pulling my line I felt some weight and at first thought I had more seaweed, but then the weight moved and I realized it was a fish. Let it be a flounder!
It came in pretty easy as I was standing on a walkway about fifteen feet above the water. At first the fish seemed headed for the jetty rocks and I feared it would become entangled and lost but I was able to force it up and over and I could see it, a really nice fish.
Fighting the fish with one hand I hoisted the hoop net over the railing. A lady fisherman came over to help and I could see she wasn't use to a hoop net so I was pleased when one of the others took the net from her hand and then held it perfectly as I swam the fish into the net.
I didn't catch any more fish or even have any more bites, but it was ok as a flounder dinner was in our future. Returning to our fifth wheel for lunch a fire truck went by, and then Renita noticed the smoke. We had a grass fire burning out of control, right across the road! The flames were at least six feet high and we watched the fire with a lot of apprehension but the fire was moving in a direction which would cause us to miss it, still.
Having lived out west for thirty five years we know how fast a grass fire can move and even though a tractor was desperately trying to construct a fire lane, the flames were so high that I wondered if they could stop it. It jumped the first attempt to block it but finally the fire fighters brought it under control.
The flames died down and we all felt a relief. Thank you firemen!
I remembered watching a grass fire in Gillette run across a field as homeowners stood their with their lawn hoses. Luckily that one had stopped as the wind had suddenly gone still. That fire had impressed me with how fast a fire can run. All was well and the flames were out so we relaxed and went back to watching some golf and basketball and wondering what to cook for dinner, hmmm fish perhaps? Clear skies

3 comments:

  1. Very nice flounder. Good post as usual.

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  2. Hubby and I keep talking about hitching up the Casita to the back of our Highlander and becoming wandering vagabonds for a year or so. I want to get up to see the northern lights and polar bears before they are all gone. Some fishing would be great too.

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    Replies
    1. Be careful as one year can easily become five. Its a great life!

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