Gone Fish'in

Jun 22, 2009

So this past Saturday I had a blast.  I went wade fishing with my girlfriend Roxy (not her real name) and her parents.  It was a chance to get to know them better, relax, and have fun.  Everything went great.  Michael (Roxy's step-dad) was worried that we weren't catching enough fish, but I told him that I had fished enough that I understood that some days were better than others.  Also, I thought we were catching about the right amount of fish for wade fishing. 

Diane (Roxy's Mom) is a lot like my Mom when it comes to fishing.  I think they both consider fishing to be a contact sport complete with smack talking.  But then again, she did catch a Spanish Mackeral and a flounder early, and those were the only keeper fish amoung the four of us. 

For the day I ended up catching a spot (most people consider it a kind of pinfish), a porgie (sometimes called a hogfish, but not a true hogfish), a silver trout, and three jacks.  All were small, but I was more than happy to catch anything.  I just didn't want to put up a big donut (zero.) 

We were fishing out at Fort Desoto in a lovely spot.  As I looked around the place I figured out why it was a great spot.  On land, it was all mangrove trees.  There was also a small freshwater stream running out into the saltwater.  There was anywhere from 50 to 100 yards of seagrass running along-side of the land.  In other words, it was a true estruary.   Also, about 200 yards out was the edge of the channel.  So it was a place for fish to come in to spawn, a place for young fish to live, and a place for migrating fish to pass by. 

Also nice was a chance to see a couple manatees up close.  I had one surface within 20 yards of me.  Another passed by under the water about 35 yards from me.  Also, all day long we kept spotting porpoises swimming out in the channel. 

But that wasn't all the wildlife we saw.  After lunch me and Roxy went out and walked along the shoreline.  It was low tide, and there was lots of critters out and about.  There was quite a few horseshoe crabs swimming around.  They were small ones, about four inches across.  One had just shed his old shell, and it was all white and soft. 

I also found an old sea urchin shell.  It was purple, and must have been a sign from the Gods, so I gave it to Roxy.  She will probably make a necklace out of it.  That, or a very small hat.  Also slimeing their way around was a whole mess of very small conch snails.  (Here's a funny Adrian fact:  I have a soft spot in my heart for snails.)

On another wildlife note, I kept being surrounded by lazy pelicans.  They kept eye-ballin me.  People feed them, and they learn about getting a free lunch real quick.  I even yelled at one, and splashed water at him, but he wouldn't go away.  Well, at least not until I let the fish go back into the water. 

Overall, it was a great day.  I hope to do it again.  The other good news for the day, was that Roxy's parent's and me are getting along well.  However, next time I will bring a silver spoon lure with a treble hook on the end.  I'm sick of those pinfish stealing my bait.