We've been fishing on Lake Conway from our dock. The catch this week has been various--one smaller freshwater drum, one red-ear (the largest sunfish found in these waters), three blue-gills, and a handful of other bream (smallish pan-fish which are fun to catch because they're so scrappy, and worth cleaning because they're so delicious.)
And my husband made one other catch:
This, dear Reader, is a BOWFIN.
It is a large, heavy-bodied fish with a long dorsal fin and a huge, bony mouth. It has a reptilian, prehistoric-looking head with black eyes resembling a shark's. I had to run for the net to help the DHubby land this fish, as he was using very light tackle and a spinner-bait.
The colors on this fish are not faked--it really is that poisonous turquoise you see here. It's mating season, and male fish take on bright hues at this time of year.
The tail-spot is found on the male.
And here is a closer look at the bowfin's head. I would like to have taken more detailed shots, but we did not want to keep the fish out of water for very long. I have no idea whether these are good eating, and we are not inclined to test that. The other name for the bowfin is 'cypress trout'--which might suggest good eating or just relate to the general body shape of the species. This was a heavy fish!
Thursday seemed like a good day to head out to the lake after a morning chauffeuring the DHubby's mother to a doctor's appointment and assisting her with some errands. The DHubby did all of the preparations, and I joined him at noon, bringing lunch.
The day was breezy but clear, with glorious blue skies and drifting leaves. I hiked to the end of the road and back-- 45 minutes of brisk walking made more exciting thanks to the numerous dogs (almost none of whom were restrained or fenced in.) Once I was safely back, I decided to toss a line in the water.... with no real results. I did some chores, sat on the swing, read a quilt magazine, and periodically went back out to try my luck. I caught a nice striped bass--large enough to keep, anyway. The DHubby got up from his nap and joined me, just in the nick of time. I had something BIG on the hook, and I could not pull it in. Lucky thing the reel has 10-lb. line on it! and that the DHubby was right there and could grab the net.
It's a little hard to tell how big this freshwater drum is, but that's a size 12 foot next to it. (Not MY foot, of course.)
This fish was heavy!-- and very displeased with the turn of events.
The next morning, after the DHubby out-fished me big time, catching two huge bass, we threw all the other fish back, including the drum. Hope I catch another one some time--he was a fighter!
This morning was clear and cool. Well, heck: if we aren't going to get any of the rain that we need, let's at least go fishing, we thought. So we did:
If I'd known I was going to be photographed, I wouldn't have worn shabby ole gardening clothes. This large-mouth bass was 13.5". Altogether we caught three (this one was the largest) and the fillets totaled one pound. Two fish dinners coming right up!
As Jean Shepard observed, sometimes in the midst of our revelries, things go awry. (Well, he said it better.) Our route home takes us down a steep hill; the speed limit is 30 mph, but the vehicle rolls faster than that! And the police know it. I got pulled over at the bottom of the hill. Maybe because I looked like I couldn't afford a ticket (I mean, green pants and a turquoise T-shirt, both of which had seen better days), or because I immediately confessed and apologized, or because (as she observed) it was too pretty a day to write a ticket, the policewoman wrote me a warning and wished us farewell. (I plan to use the cruise control from now on.)
Here's to fishing (and catching!)
Something of a red-letter experience to report! We headed out to the lake late on steamy Sunday afternoon, with dinner in the cooler. When we arrived, a great blue heron was perched on the dock railing; he (or she) appeared unperturbed by our presence. The heron stretched, preened, and walked about for several hours before flying out to the cypress stumps in mid-lake toward nightfall.
Why no picture? Didn't have the wits to take the camera! Sorry!
Monday morning: up at dawn to go out and fish (it's nice to be retired,)-- well-supplied with crickets and red-worms. I caught a large blue-gill and then a red-ear almost at once. Hubby Dearest, fishing with lures, wasn't getting much action. Presently, though, he switched to live bait and got in on the fun.
It is not very often that I out-fish my husband, but he must have been holding his mouth wrong or something. I just kept pulling in one nice keeper after another, and a wide variety--a hybrid striped bass, some blue-gill, some red-ear, some pan-fish (generally referred to as 'bream'--pronounced 'brim.')
Thanks to cloud cover and a nice breeze, we weren't driven inside before the fishing slowed down close to 9 a.m. It was absolutely my best fishing day ever! I was sorry the heron wasn't around, as I would have shared some of the bream I threw back as too small. We saw quite a few green herons, including one that visited the dock once we were sitting down to a very late breakfast. And now the sun's out, with a prediction of 97 degrees (and heat index of 107.) Luckily, we're back home where there's a pool.
After weeks and weeks of poor fishing, July 4th turned out to be a great time to greet the dawn from our fishing dock.
A nice little mess of pan-fish! These are surprisingly scrappy and a lot of fun to catch. Plus, aren't they pretty?
I was feeling pretty smug about pulling in one after another.
Then Hubby Dearest used on of my night-crawlers, and here is what he pulled in:
This is a 15" large-mouth bass. Since we were fishing for bream, we had not carried a net out with us. Fortunately, he didn't break the line or get off the hook.
I will say that I think a blue-gill is prettier. This one is in bright mating colors.
The summer heat is hard on gardens. We have bulbs blooming in March, violets and pansies go wild in April, the roses are fabulous in May, and the daisies, hostas and primroses are wonderful in June...and then comes July, with brutal temperatures and wilting humidity. Thank goodness for crepe myrtles!
The blooms are in large clusters; each frilly flower will produce a seed-head that will open and scatter hundreds (trust me) of tiny seeds. One bush produces millions.
The 'shrubs' can grow very tall, and older examples can have very thick trunks, which are smooth and mottled--very handsome. Right now they are blooming all over town in a variety of colors--white, pale rose, bright pink, purple, deep red.
Bright, cheerful, incredibly hardy and versatile. Also, you can't kill one. (Believe me, we've tried.) When they get too tall and begin shading areas where we want sun, we cut them off flush at the ground. (These look awful if merely pruned.) The next year, they're back up, just a more modest size.
Bass for supper! A Glorious Fourth of July to you!
