The sun was hot, the winds were light; and we had netted mullet and shad and bought live shrimp for bait.  This 'rat' red was caught on a large shad, near the Tarpon hole, south of the causeway.  We always enjoyed catching our fish, because we used fairly light rods and line no stronger than 17 lb. test.  At that time, I had a boat that I had built from scratch; and it was almost perfect for the Laguna Madre (If I had put a canopy on it, it would have been perfect).

Every trip that David and I made turned into an adventure, one way or another.  On this trip, we pulled the boat up on a sandbar while I went over the side in the shallow water to  catch mullet with the castnet.  I had caught a few and put them in the bait bucket; and took a few steps further away from the bar to cast at a nearby school, when I stepped into a mud hole.  I gotta tell you, people have died from being caught in those things!  I don't know how they come to exist; but one minute, you can be wading in calf-deep water, and the next, you're up to your waist in black, gooey, stinky mud.  The harder you struggle, the deeper you get, just like quicksand.

There I was, already up to my hips in that mud hole; and I couldn't grab onto anything to pull myself out!  Fortunately, we had plenty of rope aboard (I sometimes fished in really deep water), so David was able to throw me a rope and pull me out.  I still ask myself, though, "What if I'd been alone?".

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