Paddling St Charles Bay, Whooping Cranes and Redfish, January 2013

I really do have some good images for this post, hmmmmm

I looked up at about the same time as I heard the whoopers. Renita had just cast out and was winding in the extra slack and so she hadn’t seen yet them. I told her to look up and she quickly grabbed her camera. Of course her pole doubled over as did mine and we had a double on! I fought in my fish but she simply stepped on her rod and kept snapping image after image as the whoppers flew overhead.

It has been cold here in Texas and so as soon as the weather warmed we loaded the canoe and headed to St Charles Bay. There we hoped to catch a glimpse of whoopers and perhaps catch a few fish for dinner. Regardless it would be a good day to paddle near Lamar.

As we launched four whooping cranes flew across the sky and you, (I), could even hear their distinctive call. Several birders had taken up stands at the canoe launch site and of course they were enjoying their quick glimpse of the white birds.

Heading out we paddled smoothly across water that had a small ripple but clear water none the less. We passed and disturbed several schools of mullet. We could see a whopping crane family in the distance and so we went wide as we didn’t want to disturb them. Two other kayakers actually landed on the beach and took images, which I thought was a little close, but the whoopers didn’t seem concerned.

Reaching an abandoned duck blind we anchored and cast out some live shrimp, but no redfish or black drum disturbed our poles. I knew it wouldn’t always be so easy and so we moved to another spot hoping the fish would be there.

Now there are several types of fisherman, those that anchor on a spot and those that like to move. I of course am a person who has little patience and so we decided to move again. The second spot was also devoid of trout or black drum and so we paddled to a protected cove.

Renita handed me my lunch and as we ate her pole jerked violently when a redfish blasted the shrimp! She adroitly grabbed her pole and balancing the sandwich on her knee she fought the fish in! I netted it and then my pole got hammered, we had found the fish!

We caught redfish and black drum and while they were mostly small Renita did catch and keep two legal reds for dinner. For the next two hours the bite was on and we were rewarded with a fun day of birds and fish and another memory.

Running out of bait the fish slowed and it was time for more images as Renita aimed her camera at passing night crowned herons. The wind picked up and so we had to fight back to the landing, taking water over the side from larger waves.

It didn’t really matter as it’s so shallow here that we were in no danger, after all I could always get out and wade and drag the canoe. It had been a fine day and we had ended up seeing twelve whooping cranes, along with Renita’s catch of a twenty one and twenty three inch redfish. Fish dinner tonight and maybe a side of cornbread. Clear skies