Back story – my buddy, one of the guys I was traveling with – he was being leaned on by his wife to rent a fishing guide for a little while, to show him around the flats. Old salt to show us punks a thing or two.
Pulling his boat out one afternoon, my buddy noticed “Reeling N Ron” had a boatload of 10-11 year old kids.
“If he can handle them I’m sure he can handle us.”
I got “the look.” I may be older now, but I’m no less mature.
So that’s how I wound up on another fishing guide’s boat, and that’s how I wound up with some Redfish. Big Redfish. Free-lining some live bait, little piggy perch. Both times, I’d see the tip of the pole move, barely a twitch, and I’d gently lift it up from the pole holder, and then it was away we go.
Charlotte Plummer’s had the hook-up on what to do with a couple of keeper Reds – BYOF meal-deal. Had those bad-boys blackened. Proved to be almost too much. Excellent meal. Well, except for the hush puppies, not up to the usual standards for friend dough, but the rest of the meal was good. THe fish itself, caught fresh that morning? Ron himself did the honors of cleaning, and he did an excellent job of looking after us on the boat, too.
Shakespeare 7-foot Ugly Sticks, Penn Reels, Big Game line, and steel leaders. He parked us on some fish, we got a couple of undersized Reds, then, after changing location, it was “fish on” for me. One of the the pictures, I was trying, and unsuccessful, at capturing the sun rise over the backside of San Jose island, the orange orb of the sun casting a long and glistening reflection, a stripe of orange right along the rippling surface of the water.
Hard to tell from the pictures but one of those Reds was almost 28 inches long. Never weighed them, and the other was close 24 inches, maybe 26, I don’t recall.
Amazing experience.
I stopped off for a quick overnight in San Antonio, on the way back. Again, bowing to peer pressure, I saw “March of the Penguins.” I’d recommend it, but there might be some problem, like the part where the guy penguins balance the egg on their feet for months at a time, just as a show of devotion. Those guy penguins go something like 4 months without food, helping the girl penguins. Don’t get any ideas.
Musical notations:
“Didn’t get to sleep that night ’til the morning came around….” (Friend of the Devil – Hunter/Garcia)
“Du-dat” (Yes) “Look right away … Close to the edge down by the river….”
Then Lyle Lovett was singing about his boat.
And that little ditty from Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 2
The train was pulling into the Austin Station just as “Freebird!” cycled up on the iPod.
