A tale of two big fish

It’s been a long time since I last posted…. Sometimes you get so busy that you don’t think of anything to write. For the last two weeks I have been making jewelry for our shows and went fishing twice. After all, Jed Clampett once said, “A man too busy to go fishing is just too busy!” Last week we went in Dave’s boat and caught three fish. Roy had the biggest fish of his life on but he couldn’t hold it. After a while the fish sensed something wasn’t right and took off. There was no stopping the fish! It was the biggest fish of Roy's life, but we never saw it as it broke the swivel during its run.. It wasn’t long before Dave’s pole went off and after an initial run, Dave stopped the run and turned the fish. He brought the fish to the boat, and I almost missed it with the net, (small net). It took both hands for me to lift the fish into the boat. The Texas State Record Black Drum was measured at forty-nine inches and weighed eighty-one pounds. Dave’s fish measured forty-eight inches and using the conversion scale on the Texas Game page, was estimated to be about fifty-six pounds. After measuring it he safely released it and we watched it return to the depths. It wasn’t the biggest fish he has ever caught but it was the biggest fish I have ever netted.

We all wondered how big Roy’s fish had been. Perhaps a new state record? Looking for smaller fish to eat, (Any Black Drum over thirty inches must be released), we moved from spot to spot but no luck. I did catch a string ray, and I kept it as I have always wanted to try eating stingray. They are supposed to be good to eat, I will let you know the results of my taste test. Clear skies

Another trip to Lamar, counting whooping cranes

It had been a couple of weeks since we had last gone to Lamar to see the whooping cranes, so we grabbed the cameras and crossed the Copano Bay Bridge. Driving along the St Charles Bay Road we saw cars along Eighth Street and that’s a great sign. The Whoopers had arrived for lunch and so we stopped and counted twelve birds.

Four others were flying away, bringing our total count to sixteen of the magnificent, endangered cranes.

The bird lined up. They were waiting for the feeder to start dispensing corn, and it looked like a bunch of snowbirds in our Recreation Hall! The birds do have a pecking order and the dominant whoopers are always first.

Some sandhills cranes were also waiting nearby and being smaller they wait patiently for the whoopers to allow them to also feed on the free handouts. In addition, a flock of rock doves, pigeons, flew in to wait for their turn. Meanwhile a large flock of Rosette Spoonbills napped in the warm sun.

The one thing we have not seen this year is the huge alligator that sunned itself in the backyard of a nearby beach house. Perhaps the reptile had been moved or more likely harvested. I certainly would not like such a large cold-blooded predator living in my backyard. The Texas flock now numbers over five hundred birds. It’s a success story as the flock at one time only numbered sixteen. The count was only twenty nine in the entire world. Hats off to all who saved the beautiful birds! Clear skies