November 3, 2006
Growing Up (And Old) In The Rio Grande Valley
This will be a series of posts about my life as a kid; and, later, as an adult in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. It will be fishing/hunting oriented; and may be interspersed with other stories, as they come up in my mind.My earliest memories of growing up in the Valley include trips to Boca Chica Beach. I was maybe 5 or 6 years old, back then; and, like most kids, had a lot to learn. We went to Boca Chica because we could drive there. At that time, the only way to get to South Padre Island was by ferry from Port Isabel.When we went to the beach, it usually was several branches of the family at the same time, in several vehicles. That way, if someone had trouble (it was a dirt road all the way from Brownsville), there was plenty of help. When we got there, my dad, uncle, and some cousins would start looking for bait. If there were mullet in the surf, they would use either a cast net or a seine to catch enough to start fishing. If not, they would find sand crabs or hermit crabs for bait. Fishing, in those days (we’re talking about 60 years ago) was hot and heavy. Reds, trout, whiting, you name it, and you might catch it.I learned one very important lesson on one of those trips. I was bored, and my dad told me to take a can and go find some hermit crabs for bait. I took off down the beach, looking for the little buggers; and, of course, found a stick of driftwood to poke around with. There were a lot of Portuguese Man ‘o War jellyfish on the beach, that day; and I was having a great time popping their bubbles while I was looking for bait. I didn’t know about those things, yet!When I headed back to the group, I unthinkingly tucked my stick under one arm. You guessed it! In a minute, I was screaming! The end that I tucked under my arm had some of the jellyfish tentacles on it. Back then, there wasn’t much to do about it, except wash the affected area and wait for the stinging to stop. What my dad did was to wash the area with seawater, then with beer. I don’t know how, but the beer seemed to stop the stinging immediately; and all I was left with was a rash and a memory.Those were the days! I’ll tell more stories later…November 2, 2006
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October 26, 2006
An Update & More…
Update to ‘Fishing And Politics’
I recently found out that Rick (the RINO) Perry appointed three of his larger campaign contributors to the TPWD Commission. Perhaps this might account for the huge increase in the cost of sport fishing under Perry. I voted for Kinky…I think you should, too!
November 1, 2006
An Old Incident
When I was just a young guy, We lived in Southern Oklahoma, east of Ardmore, for several years. There was a large wooded area (several square miles) back of where we lived, and I spent a lot of my spare time walking those woods and meadows, hunting small game. I usually carried a Mossberg 152 .22 semi-automatic rifle, the only exception being when I was hunting quail or dove. Rabbits, squirrels, and varmints were no problem, ’cause I could take ‘em sitting, running, or flying (I really was that good!).
I had just graduated from high school, so I was still living with my folks. I was working, so I wasn’t actually sponging off them. This is to set up the incident that I’m gonna tell you about.
My dad and I were frequent hunting/fishing partners; and he was very proud of my accuracy with either a gun or a rod. One evening, he came back from a trip to the little store nearby, laughing.
When he finally got to where he could talk, he explained:
He was looking for something on the far side of one of the shelves, and overheard a conversation between the grandson of the guy who owned the land behind where we lived (We’ll just call him ‘Cecil’) and the store owner (we’ll call him ‘Shug’). The conversation went something like this:
Cecil: “Shug, tell that boy that lives back up there on the hill that, if I catch him hunting back there again, I’m gonna open up on him with my nine-millimeter.”
Shug: “I’ll tell him; but I can tell you that your granddaddy gave him permission to hunt back there.”
About that time, my dad stepped out from behind the shelves. “Cecil, I gotta warn you. If you ever do take a shot at that boy, you better kill him with the first one; ’cause he always carries a rifle when he’s out there; and he don’t miss!”
Shug: “I’d listen, if I was you. That boy goes through 500 rounds of .22 amo every week; and most of it is practice shooting. I saw him pick an owl out of that big cottonwood down by the creek from his back yard; and that’s over 200 yards. That’s a good gun he carries; but he’s even better.”
My dad: “Not only did your granddaddy give us permission to hunt back there, he asked us to, to keep the coyotes down, so they wouldn’t bother his horses. So far, them horses haven’t learned to climb trees; and we ain’t shot none of ‘em.”
Cecil puffed up like a pouter pigeon and left.
About a week later, we spotted smoke down in back, and I grabbed my rifle and put the ’scope on the area. There was Cecil, walkin’ from west to east, lightin’ matches and droppin’ ‘em. The wind was from him to us, and it was pretty plain that he wanted to start a fire that would sweep right up to our place and burn us out. I wanted to drop him right then; but my dad figured it’d be better to call the Sheriff and let him handle it, while we went to stop the fire before it got too big.
We grabbed a couple of empty buckets (we would get water from the creek) and some gunnysacks; and headed down to the fire. It took about three hours; but we got all the fires beat and stomped out. When we got back to the house, the Sheriff was just pulling into the driveway. He had caught Cecil comin’ out the east side and had him handcuffed in the back of the car. I heard that he did some time over that incident; and his Granddaddy disowned him and cut him out of his will (the old man owned several thousand acres in that area).
I hope you enjoyed this. At my age, I got a lot more stories to tell…
October 18, 2006
Unlicensed Fishermen
Certain people (especially one outdoors columnist) have questioned my statements concerning Mexicans coming across the border and fishing without a license and with no concern about size limits or bag limits.
FYI, I was born and raised down in the Rio Grande Valley, right next to the Mexican Border. I was married to a Latina for ten years; and was very much a member of the family. I also spent many days at the beach on South Padre Island; and had friends who were game rangers. I, personally, have driven up and down that beach and seen nothing but Mexican plates for as much as a mile at a stretch; and many of those people were fishing.
I left there ten years ago; but, at that time, the situation was the same…Texas could not force people from Mexico to buy a fishing license. Because of that decision, cars with Mexico tags were treated as simple, innocent beach goers. No license check, no cooler check, nada.
This practice has been accepted for so long that it seems to be invisible. We need a way to control those people and force them to either stop fishing here or help pay for the upkeep of the resource and the facilities!
October 17, 2006
Fishing And Politics
Normally, they don’t mix. However, during the reign of ‘Pretty Boy’ Perry, the cost of fishing has risen to the point where many people can no longer afford to go fishing.
Higher license fees, new ’stamps’, lower catch limits, and more restrictions are preventing poorer Texans from going fishing, while people from Mexico come across and catch all they want without a license; and without having their coolers checked.
It’s time to retire Rick ‘Pretty Boy’ Perry! I’m supporting Kinky Friedman!
October 10, 2006
Fishing The Brownsville Ship Channel
I’m making the possibly erroneous assumption that one can still fish the Ship Channel. I no longer live in the Rio Grande Valley. I haven’t forgotten the good times I had, either from a boat or from the bank, fishing there.
From a boat, the channel is yours. Just watch out for the big boats. When one passes, you want to either be solidly anchored or tied up, or you need to be under power. As a big guy approaches, the water level will drop significantly; and as it passes, the water will rise, also significantly. If you aren’t careful, your boat can be sucked into the big boat’s props or pushed ‘way up onto shore. When I anchor along the channel, I usually use a Danforth anchor off the bow; and a mushroom anchor off the stern. Neither one has ever failed; and my position stays fixed the way I want it.
Fishing from the bank, all you have to watch out for is the return wave, which can inundate you when you are sitting in a low spot.
Now, on to the fishing…
Whether you are fishing from the bank or from a boat, most things remain the same. I used to use one of three baits for the channel…salted shad, live shrimp, or cut mullet. I also fished one of three ways…free (using the bait for casting weight), popping cork, or bottom rig. You can catch almost any kind of fish there, in almost any size. I’ve lost a lot of terminal tackle there without ever seeing what was on.
Try it, if you can. I don’t know what has happened there since 9/11/2001. If you can still fish there, it is well worth the effort.
Until next time, tight lines and rod tips high!
October 7, 2006
Humor
A man was stopped by a warden in the Lake District recently with two buckets of fish leaving a lake well known for its fishing.
The warden asked the man, “Do you have a license to catch those fish?”
The man replied to the warden, “No, sir. These are my pet fish.”
“Pet fish?!” the warden replied.
“Yes, sir! Every night I take these here fish down to the lake and let them swim around for a while. I whistle and they jump back into their buckets, and I take em home.”
“That’s a load of rubbish! Fish can’t do that!”
The man looked at the warden for a moment, and then said, “Here, I’ll show you. It really works.”
“Okay, I’ve GOT to see this!” The warden was curious.
The man poured the fish in to the river and stood and waited. After several minutes, the warden turned to the man and said, “Well?”
“Well, what?” the man responded.
“When are you going to call them back?” the warden prompted.
“Call who back?” the man asked.
“The FISH”
“What fish?” the man asked.
It’s time…
It’s time for me to pass along some of my favorite fishing holes, techniques, and tips. I’m a lot older than I ever expected to live to; and I want someone to enjoy fishing as much as I have.
I will start with one of my favorite ‘fun’ fishing holes and how I used to fish it. It really was fun, too!
North of Harlingen, Texas, near the Cameron/Willacy county line is what is called the North Floodway. This thing looks like a little creek running between two levees; but it is really a very prolific fishery. From US 77 downstream, you are as likely to catch redfish or speckled trout as you are catfish or gar. Castnetting in the right locations can bring in jumbo white shrimp. There are some really huge gar and channel cat in this place. It is narrow in some places; and has large pools in others.
My favorite bait for the North Floodway is shad. Fresh or salted makes little difference. I find myself a spot where I can sit right at the edge, with little or no vegetation in the edges downstream (overhanging stuff downstream is ok), and I use a fairly long rod, at least 8 ft. Use a steel leader! I hook a shad through the eye, then push the hook back into the bait about 1 1/2 in. further back. I then snap one of those big round red & white bobbers on about 3-4 ft up the line; and cast across almost to the other bank. I keep my bail open, letting out line until the bobber is maybe 20-40 yards downstream, then I take a turn around a twig or a grass stem (just enough to stop the drift) and leave the bail open. The current will swing the bobber back to your side; and the rod tip will hold it just off the bank.
If you haven’t already got a fish on, don’t leave your rod! The big ones are all over; but they like to hang along the bank; and they move up and down stream. You will get some action!
September 14, 2006
It’s that time!
Bull Reds are showing up in the surf! Best bait (in my opinion) is fresh cut mullet. I like to wade out to chest-deep water, and cast as far out as possible, then walk back to the beach, sit down, and wait. 40-50 pounders aren’t uncommon; and you can have a lot of fun!
Tight lines and rod tips high!
September 4, 2006
Memories
I remember when my dad used to take us fishing down at the jetties on South Padre Island. The fishing was usually good; but those weren’t always happy trips for me.
My dad had a temper, which usually ended up aimed at me, for whatever reason. My younger brother could do no wrong. I spent more time reeling in and moving (because he frequently cast across my line) than fishing. However, when I did get to fish without interruption, I usually caught fish.
I also remember fishing other places around Port Isabel and up the Brownsville Ship Channel. When I had my boat, I loved to fish the Tarpon Hole, just south of the old causeway. There were some monster specks that hung out there.
We rarely fished the Ship Channel by boat; but we did plenty of bank fishing between the boat ramp and Port Isabel. There were plenty of tacklebusters there, too.
Probably the best place to get tackle torn up, though, was the Port Isabel Turning Basin. If you fished there at night, you could count on losing terminal tackle. I lost a lot of rigs there; but never caught whatever it was.
I wonder if those places are still open to the public, or if 9/11 changed that.
July 7, 2006
Shingles (not exactly about fishing)
Nevertheless, it is important!
According to my wife, who retired as an R.N. after 40-something years, I have shingles. I looked it up on the ‘net; and was really stunned! As the hillbilly used to say about other things: “That stuff can kill you daid!”.
I always thought it was just an annoying rash that some people got years after they had been exposed to chicken pox but didn’t ‘catch’ it.
Bad news! The herpes zoster virus settles in and hides in the nervous system, where it can do all sort of things. It also affects people who had chicken pox.
If you’ve ever been exposed (you probably have), ask your doctor about the zoster vaccine…it could save your life!
July 1, 2006
Happy 4th of July!
I wish I was fishin’! Weather and my health forbid it, today, though. I’m really old; and I ate some bad Church’s chicken a couple of days ago.
I found out something that makes me doubly certain that I’ve bought my last chicken from that chain…Church’s Chicken is owned and controlled by Arabs. If I sound bigoted, so be it; but I do not trade with the enemies of my country.
Anyway, back to fishin’. I’m stuck here by my computer, so I’m watching the webcams. Corpus Christi has rain; but there are people braving it on Bob Hall Pier. Port Isabel/South Padre Island aren’t showing much action. The north jetties at the Brazos Santiago Pass would be great fishing right now; but I don’t see anybody out there.
Wish I could give some fishing reports; but my sis-in-law is on the phone, berating me about my bad habits.
June 30, 2006
Latest flashback? (Posted by Granddad)
Yesterday, I climbed into my truck to make a run; and found myself (in my mind’s eye) standing hip-deep in the Laguna Madre near Port Isabel, Texas.
What triggered it? I suspect that it was the fact that yesterday was Good Friday, a day which was always a holiday when I was a kid. Usually, that meant that my dad and I would get up early, drive down to Port Isabel, catch or buy bait; and wadefish off the North Shore near Port Isabel.
That area was usually great for trout, redfish, and black drum. Depending on several factors, we would either fish bottom or deploy popping corks, using either cut mullet or live shrimp, standing in 2-3 foot deep water and casting eastwards toward the Intracoastal Canal.
Sometimes, the action was slow, sometimes fast and furious; but we would stand there for as long as 4 hours, enjoying the experience as much as whatever fish action was happening.
When one of us got tired enough of standing, we’d wade back to shore and head home to clean the fish, put them in the refrigerator; and continue with whatever obligatory duties we had for that day.
I guess that’s when I learned to really love the freedom that this country offered back then…freedom which is now in jeopardy because of the infiltration of our government and institutions by the Communists.
Originally Posted: Saturday 10th April 2004, 10:39 AM
June 24, 2006
Greetings!
I decided that what this site needs is a blog. I guess this qualifies. I may not post every day; but as often as possible.