At the bait store, and getting a bit of a late start on the fishing.
No mullet in sight and the water the color of Thai tea does not bode well for the fishing. That's my son James, heir to the house of Clay, and darned handy with a net or a Blackhawk helicopter.
Another bad sign: hardhead catfish. If you can't keep these off your line, chances are they're all you're going to see all day. Nevertheless, catching is always more fun than fishing.
A birdnested reel, a fish on one hook and a live sand dollar on the other. I'll need Liz Emrich to read the omen in all of that, and McGarrett to ID the fish.
Let's take another look at a live sand doller. There are days when I've gotten rich picking up sand bucks, but I've never seen a live one in my life, not to mention taking one on a rod and reel. Proving that no good deed ever goes unpunished, I stepped on a sting ray while replacing him (her?) on the sand bar. Luckily, I wasn't stung: I'm here to tell you a sting ray on a bare foot can ruin your whole day.
These Men O' War have an annoying sting, too, but you can stick a fork in this one.
This is as clean as I've seen Padre Island National Seashore in many years, and I'm a regular visitor. Quite a bit of new dune formation was evident since Hurricane Ike passed north of here last summer.
You never know what you're going to see at the beach. This is the endangered Kemp's ridley turtle. We watched dozens of them feeding (on something besides the shrimp we were throwing at the fish--probably the seaweed), on both the channel side and the gulf side of the Packery Channel Jetty.
This is a Dogfish. The crusty old fisherman next to me said "Don't let it bite you!"
In honor of International Surfing Day (and Beth Mann), here are some surfers.
This Laughing Gull seemed to want me to take his picture. Or maybe he was simply waiting for me to throw him a shrimp.
As you look down this all-but-deserted jetty towards Florida, try to imagine 100 degree heat and 200 percent humidity, and it isn't even noon. Let's call it a day.
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I'll go back down to the Marina and see if the whale is still there.
Thanks. I'm sooooo ready for summer!
I can't believe you saw a Kemp's Ridley turtle. That's a real honor. Give a moment of gratitude for that. Very special. As are all the creatures you had the privilege to meet. We're very lucky, aren't we?
And yes, that gull clearly wanted shrimp. More, more, more.
The net casting shot is particularly nice.
Oh and thanks for the surfer nod!
However, I bond with my children over fishing. We have a family tradition called "holding the fish" I will write about someday. Fishing is a part of mixed-up me.
Designanator, I keep hearing about all the clouds and rain. Feel free to send some my way.
Dorelvis, get your butt on the other side of that mountain and get some salt water in your eyes.
Without a paddle, try and get us a picture of that whale.
Style, I can feel the cool breeze now. I wish I were there to share it with you.
Beth, I was thinking about you when I took the shot of those surfers. Later in the evening, I went to the Surf Museum in Corpus Christi, which was pretty darned cool.
But I did enjoy your pics. Gald you had a good time and snuck in a wee bit of fatherly pride to boot ;-)
Patricia, the same goes for you. Even (or especially) if you leave out SeaWord, Schlitterbahn, and Six Flags, the rides of Texas are amazing. We didn't take James's 4-wheel drive all the way to the mile 21 mark at Little Shell, so no great beachcombing, but my son offhandedly handed me a beautiful shell he had recently found.
Julie, you're sweet! I take that "throwing the net" shot every time we go. I have a better version where the sun is just beginning to rise. The water was all churned up and brown this time (as it so often is); I want one where the water is crystal blue and where I can see those bait fish reflected in the swell.
Excellent stuff, guy. Thanks for sharing. :-D
Great shots Rich