Fishin' & Scoutin' with the girls.

Carl

Carl

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Got out in the boat Saturday to stick my opening day blind and to take my wife on for her first fishing trip! And my little girl for her 3rd.

We ran over to my normal opening day spot to find someone else had just stuck their sign & blind the day before. So I went north of them about 400 yards and put mine on the edge of the same grass bed. On opening day in this bay, people pack in, its normally about 200-400 yards between blinds. It sucks but its the norm and we all live with it on the opener cause the bird pile in there. Scouted some other spots and found a lot of coots already down. Flocks of 50-100 scattered on just about every grass bed. Saw a few ducks. One flock was definitely divers. The others were gadwalls. Good news is that we have tons of eelgrass and milfoil this year, even on some spots that have had little or none in the last 9 years. So its looking good for our opener in 31 days!

Then we started fishing.
Headed to a tidal channel south Interstate 10 and got into a slow but steady speckled trout bite. I let my wife do most of this fishing with live shrimp while I threw jigs. Turned out the fish pretty much only wanted live shrimp fished deep (6' under a cork). And it was 50/50 shorts and keepers. About every cast she either got a bite or hooked up. She ended up keeping 5 specs, and threw back at least that many shorts. Funny as hell hearing her hollering "hurry up" in Japanese and telling me to "get the net, get the net!!!" every time she hooked up!
I caught a nice "puppy" black drum. and my little girl caught some croakers and ground mullet too. She had more fun eating snacks and playing with the fish in the cooler.
When the tide stopped, the bite did too, so we packed up and did some more duck scouting and then back to the house.

We hope to get back out next week, my wife is hooked! On Sunday she told me she that she now understood why I loved duck hunting and fishing so much, that is was really fun and exciting. And she really likes catching fresh fish for dinner. We fried the speckled trout and made sashimi with the ground mullet. Might even be able to talk her into going duck huting this year too..
 
We ran over to my normal opening day spot to find someone else had just stuck their sign & blind the day before.


Signs? Can you really put up a sign in tidal waters and claim a blind site for yourself? I'm not sure if I'm intrigued or appalled by the concept. On the one hand, it might help handle some of the nonsense of idiots setting up right on top of us. On the other, I believe strongly enough in the idea of fish and game and the intertidal zone and near shore waters as public resources that the idea of an individual appropriating a private right to it just galls me.

This doesn't sound as bad as the Virginia blind leasing system--at least it's first come/first served--but I think it would drive me nuts.

Sounds like a nice trip with the family!



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Carl, that sounds like a wonderful day with the family.

One spot I used to hunt had a sign tradition like that on opening day only. Every now and then someone gets wound up about it but normally it works because it is one day only and folks generally like to respect tradition. In this case there was no law that would support your selection. I didn't hunt there during the first week of the season and after that there was never an issue finding a good spot.
 
We ran over to my normal opening day spot to find someone else had just stuck their sign & blind the day before.


Signs? Can you really put up a sign in tidal waters and claim a blind site for yourself? I'm not sure if I'm intrigued or appalled by the concept. On the one hand, it might help handle some of the nonsense of idiots setting up right on top of us. On the other, I believe strongly enough in the idea of fish and game and the intertidal zone and near shore waters as public resources that the idea of an individual appropriating a private right to it just galls me.

This doesn't sound as bad as the Virginia blind leasing system--at least it's first come/first served--but I think it would drive me nuts.

Sounds like a nice trip with the family!



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We do this in Ontario as an opening day tradition, but it's only for opening day. After that Its first come first serve. Again, it's just a tradition, not a law!
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Thanks for taking the time to write that story, Carl. I sure did enjoy it. That had to be so much fun especially for your wife and daughter. It was good to hear how much they enjoyed that outing. Now, it will be interesting in how long it will be before you all go out again---

Funny how you talked about I-10 which is just south of us only 140 miles. If I went south of it here, I would have to get a passport.
Al
 
Carl,

Sounds like a good time and you may have another hunting/fishing partner. Gonna be another boat in the future...LOL

Mullet...mmm...mmm..good. Of course the first thing that came to mind was fish spread. There is a place in Tampa called The Green Iguana. It was a bar and grill and they made the best Mullet fish spread. Man I miss that on a cracker sitting on the deck drinking a pitcher of Budlite with a sunset on the gulf.
 
Sooooo, When are you getting the bigger boat?
John
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I wish!!! Don't see it happening any time soon, she liked fishing but she likes stashing away money for retirement more than a boat payment!
 
Jeff,

It is a tradition, gentleman's agreement that we put up a sign with initials & year next to our blind, this "reserves" the spot for opening day ONLY.
Most guys mark the same spot year after year. That is why I was surprised someone stuck "my" spot already.
Avoids most conflicts and keeps everyone from having to campout on "their" spot.
Its not a perfect system but its been in place down here for generations and works for us.
After opening day, first come, first serve.
Also we don't build permanent blinds, just bunches of cane stuck in the mud. So its not like you are building a box blind.
 
Mullet...mmm...mmm..good. Of course the first thing that came to mind was fish spread. There is a place in Tampa called The Green Iguana. It was a bar and grill and they made the best Mullet fish spread. Man I miss that on a cracker sitting on the deck drinking a pitcher of Budlite with a sunset on the gulf.
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You know, the strange thing is mullet is really only considered a food fish in Florida and Alabama, west of here they don't eat it. Guys from Louisiana I talked to think we are crazy for eating it.
There are lots of places along the Alabama and Florida Panhandle coast that offer all you can eat fresh fried mullet, especially during roe-mullet season. If its fresh, its good. But it does not keep or freeze well at all.
 
Carl,

Your a lucky guy to get the whole family involved. My wife has no desire to come out hunting but my daughters do.
I'm so glad we don't have issues with blinds around here. With miles and miles of coastline and more marsh islands than you can count we can always find a good place to set up with no one else around.
Good luck this season
 




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We do this in Ontario as an opening day tradition, but it's only for opening day. After that Its first come first serve. Again, it's just a tradition, not a law!
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Yep, same here, its a tradition, "gentlemen's agreement.
 
And unless you are a riparian owner (waterfront property owner), getting a permit to construct a permanent blind is almost impossible and even it you did, you couldn't keep someone else from hunting it.
 
I'm spoiled by abundant public access and light hunting pressure. We don't have the numbers of birds many of you see, but we also don't have the numbers of hunters and have pretty much unlimited access to the ducks we have with minimal competition. I sometimes have to go to a Plan B spot, but except on opening day or Saturdays before deer season opens, it's rare.

In the one place I hunt that does see relatively high hunting pressure, our legislature banned permanent blinds and leaving decoys out overnight many years ago specifically to prevent "claiming spots". There is now a well established ethic of either getting out early or staying away from the folks who do.

I don't think I'd adapt well to hunting in places that are more crowded. In middle age I've given up fishing some of my favorite rivers and ponds because I'd rather explore by myself and catch small trout than stand in line to catch trophies. (And it's great to find lightly fished out of the way spots that hold bigger fish.)

I can't stand lines at Walmart or the grocery store either, and plan my shopping at odd times to avoid them.

My wife suggests I have entered my curmudgeon phase . . . . . .
 
John,

Actually, after opening weekend, its not so bad here. I cant think of a time during the last couple of seasons when I get to a spot and someone else was there already. Might be someone within 200-500 yards in some spots but most places I hunt, there wont be another boat within a 1/2 mile or more.
I hope my girl will want to hunt, she's not squeamish just says she doesn't like the noise. That may change.
 
BTW, we saw lots of mullet out in the bay, but what we caught were ground mullet, AKA: Menticirrhus americanus, the southern kingfish.
They are a type of croaker. Small but very tasty, we make sashimi with them or bake them whole.
 
carl,

not entirely true. We ate a ton of mullet West of you growing up. in fact, during the depression, Biloxi bacon, was supposedly smoked mullet. but yes here in LA, we rarely eat them. Although the tuna are eating them for breakfast right now.
 
Kris,

I stand corrected! I do remember hearing of Biloxi Bacon, smoked mullet, served with grit if I remember correctly.
Smoked mullet is hard to find here, the few places that do have it sell out quick.

No tuna eating mullet over here but the pelicans were giving them hell yesterday afternoon. Bad day to be a fish.
 
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