Corpusfishing.com

[Towboat Trash]

"As you get older it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary." --Ernest Hemingway

"You can plan a pretty picnic, but you CAN'T predict the weather." --"Ms. Jackson"; OUTKAST, October 2000


Can I get an Outkast/Andre 3000 "ewwwwww!" sound? All my peoples 30 and under better get on that. LOL. Actually....don't. Anyways-what a week. With my youngest brother visiting from out of state basically on leave from the Army, and specifically asking to go down the beach, a trip was planned, gear fixed, leaders made-the usual rigamarole. And like the two above quotes that are very different, my brother and I are very different fellas, but when asked to roll out down the beach, I looked forward to the trip. But obviously....with the opening of shrimping season and rumours of the cold water upwelling making a resurgence, optimism towards large July sharks was at a low. To add to the situation, the presence of another human being meant running around behind the dunes barefoot, waking up at 3am to chase racoons with sharp fillet knives, fish naked, eat tuna fish for breakfast, etc etc etc was probably OUT of the question. No need to encourage the family to commit me or anything. Sigh. At least I can still rename myself Towboat 3000 if I want to. Moving on.

Before hitting the beach the forecast kept deteriorating, and while no tropical activity would be present, the daily 20 to 25 knot wind nonsense would once again limit BTB adventures...as well as take away from the glory of hopefully catching some lower PINS surf trout on lures ONLY. And honestly, I'm so tired of having to tell Ralph that I didn't catch any trout, to which he always replies, "Gosh-that's a SHAME." So I planned a gigging trip with the bro, and upon hitting the beach Monday afternoon,immediately got into a school of skipjack of legendary parking lot size.









Finally back at home...


And watching some boob tube....





With no sharks seeming to be in the mix, and not much else either, we rolled out and headed to our spot. Unfortunately, the plan immediately blew up in our faces, as the water was blown out of my spot due to the gusting winds. After convincing my brother to tie a 12 foot line to my waist, we dragged the yak into the bay about a mile, crossing a mix of mudholes and mud flats, only to realize that at 8 inches deep a mile out, this trip was doomed. We headed back in, sloshing through the mud and the muck, half sinking in the potholes, and made it to camp around midnight, to crash out and get some rest. And for any who are wondering-don't even THINK we weren't sinking to our knees out there! Won't be doing THAT again....

Well, we fished out way south, and ya know....there's times when I hit the sand and just KNOW, today it just darn sure AIN'T happening. Don't ask me how, I just get that feeling sometimes. And this was one of 'em. The water got progressively colder, and in the 50's was registering a mere 79 degrees. SO AWESOME. Not.

So we built one heckuva campfire, got dinner ready, and I rigged up some baits from my homeboy Alberto's super deep freeze stash of death. With him as my new "sponsor," and one massive freezer of frozen goodies from Billy, I felt great! Time to run baits that probably won't even see a tooth mark!



And as I rigged up some grander rays.....I heard the lil' bro gag and run away.....LOL thankyou oh smelly fish oil in an old jug....and also big log from the Amazon rainforest....you made a great table for my ray endeavours....




And my bro kept on fishing...his first time to do the surf stuff....




And as the day wound down, everything just felt empty, and off. I swear even the Old Kronks didn't seem to be watching me for once from up in the dunes....



And I heard the brother yell, and he said, "What's this?"

His first red to be seen or caught.

I was happy as heck for him. Up to this point, only an occasional whiting and hardhead had been available this far south into the upwelling. The fish were biting up north, but getting run over by SPID-tards was not part of the plan.


And I continued playing shark fisherman...



And night fell, with four drops out. One 22lb ray in 25 feet of water, one smaller southern ray in the 2nd gut, and a fat bonita on the backside of the first, and one more in the 2nd.











Well, as the night fell all around me, I quickly as expected began seeing the numerous lights of shrimpers everywhere on the horizon. But you can't teach a dumb dog smart tricks, and you can't tell "Towboat 3000" much to begin with, so I was gonna run baits shrimp boats or not this week.




And not feeling too optimistic, I did the usual and laid down to take a bath and relax!

And as I chilled out, breakoff number one occured....


But the morning sun rose eventless, and I trout fished my way up and down the beach while the lil bro slept in...to no avail....and soon we went exploring a little bit.


Fishing the beach, the jetty, and even the channel...no signs of life anywhere other than massive horse mullet hiding from roving schools of feeding dolphins...


And I almost had to go "Towboat 3000" on some fools as they recently found new uses for air mattresses.....



But I belong on the beach, I know that, so soon it became time for round two.










And another awesome fire...



And another heckuva beach meal....Prime One aged 14 day steaks from the H to the B....









And after my lil bro took his Infantry behind on to bed, I stood vigil alone by the fire, just me and the wind, and maybe just maybe, some Naked Indians in the dunes....


You know, I sure hate to do things half-arsed. But I reckon ya'll know that. I get kinda passionate about stuff that calls my spirit in a certain direction. I wasn't gonna jot this report up, but what the heck. My brother and I that I haven't spent time with in years attempted to flounder gig, spent 3 nights on the beach together, had a lot of real good conversations, Obama-bashed for a lil bit (hah), made fun of Andre 3000's ridiculous self, caught a few reds, whiting, NO trout , and ran some really nice shark baits out. Shrimp boats be darned, we had fun. And I realized that ya know... we ALL need heroes. Every last one of us. I know I've got mine, and they for sure aren't anyone in the White House, but just some folks merely around this old town that I respect and admire. And even Andre 3000 can respect that. To all you guys out there who guide, who take family fishing regularly, or who just take along a friend or two, you have my utmost respect. I NEVER EVER knew what work it is to not be a selfish hog and fish alone, deciding when to eat or NOT to eat, things like that! And I realized for once....that maybe just maybe, I too have a lot to live up to as the oldest of my brothers....hero or not...

So here's to better fishing for the rest of ya'll, and even better times with family and friends! Cuz it all just ain't worth a darn if we can't share any of it with at least one person that we care about...

Have a great beginning of August folks. See ya around in a few.

-"Towboat 3000"
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Protect Padre at all costs for future generations to use and enjoy and never forget our freedoms aren't free.

www.padreislandexpeditions.com

[Team Buddhahead]

Tell your brother congrats on the Red! Thanks again for putting me on the beach......
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It's all about the family.....

[Savageman]

You always tell a great story w/pics. I felt as if I was there. Things didn't go necessarily as planned but they had to be special moments, nonetheless, with your lil bro. Thanks for sharing.

[ladyfish]

nice read, great photo's

[wallhanger]

Always love your post and although those solo trips seem to refresh your mind it is good to see you trying to give your brother a trip to remember. He will remember that day not for the fish but the time he spent with his big brother. In times where he needs that getaway thought he'll picture himself on that beach with you. We are thankful for his service and God bless our young heros.

[landlocked beachbum]

Do you think that the powers that be ghave noticed that they have a missing buoy????
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Dave


"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits". Albert Einstein